by Maren Smith
Laying the clothes on the bed, she slipped the robe off and padded into the bathroom, praying she could remain upright as she showered.
Standing under the hot, pelting spray, Carlie wondered how she’d ever be able to return to her boring, vanilla life after this. She wasn’t an idiot, except when it came to Luke. He would attempt to revert to surrogate big brother status when they parted tomorrow, leaving her to either seek another ‘normal’ relationship, or to return some day to the Castle for a weekend with another Dom. Despite the billowing steam filling the bathroom, her body went cold at that thought, and she couldn’t picture herself letting go with a stranger like she had with Luke, Master M. Maybe someday that would be an option, when the memories of this weekend faded, and she became desperate enough to let Jana persuade her again to make the trip.
The peal of her cellphone greeted her when she opened the bathroom door. Snatching it up off the bedside table, she answered Jana’s call with a smile. “How’d you know I was in my room?”
“I didn’t, and I only have a sec, but wanted to see how it was going. Are you having as good a time as I am?”
Carlie thought of everything Master M had introduced her to and couldn’t deny she’d enjoyed every minute of his attention, even the embarrassing trek from her room to the gardens, since she knew it would end with his hands on her again. “Yes, he’s been very… thorough with proving I’m submissive.”
“See,” Jana teased, “you should’ve listened to me a long time ago.”
She didn’t tell Jana it was only Luke she could imagine bending over for. Jana would do her best to get Carlie to test herself with someone else. “Yeah, yeah. You were right, as always. You better get going before you end up in trouble.”
“But getting in trouble can be so much fun. I’ll catch you later.”
Shaking her head, Carlie tossed the phone down and donned the cotton dress and apron again. With time to kill before she was to meet Luke again, she opted to explore the shops in the lobby instead of hanging out in her room. Maybe she could find an interesting new toy in the Castle Store to keep her company when she moved, and Luke was no longer a regular fixture in her life. Her stomach cramped thinking about a future where she no longer shared a special bond with her brother’s best friend. Since she knew him well, she didn’t doubt he thought they could go back to being friends after tomorrow. She only doubted her ability to accept that.
Luke rounded the corner and came to an abrupt halt. Across the large foyer, Carlie sat on a bench by the spa, and seated next to her was the same man who had snared his attention and set off his radar yesterday. Nothing looked suspicious between the two, but his gut clenched as he moved forward, frustrated with the evening crowd mingling around and slowing him down. For the first time, he cursed the massive size of the Castle as unexplainable fear threatened his composure and tightened his throat. It made little sense, but just the limited possibility the man showing such interest in Carlie might be Carmen, sent a wave of uncontrollable rage and terror through him.
When Luke was halfway across the foyer, the man looked up and their eyes locked for a split second. Once again, no recognition flitted across his face, no sign he knew Luke or was worried about his fast approach. But he rose, squeezed Carlie’s shoulder and hiked down the West hall at a fast enough pace to add to Luke’s suspicions.
The pleasure on Carlie’s face when she saw him turned to surprise when he clasped her arms and hauled her up, his voice cracking like a whip as he demanded, “Who was that?”
Rearing back, her alarm at his behavior gave way to annoyance. “What’s wrong with you? He just stopped to talk for a minute.”
“Don’t turn stubborn on me. I need to know why you were talking to him and what he said, every word,” he snapped, desperate for a reason to chase after the guy. “Do you know where he’s headed now?”
She shook her head. “No, why—”
“Everything okay here?”
Luke whipped around at the deep, concerned voice, irritation at the unwanted interference rippling under his skin. His sixth sense went on immediate alert, not because he knew him, or the red-haired, Little Maid sub standing at his side with her head down, but because of the fierce glint reflected in his brown eyes and the soul patch on his chin. The pink diamond stud winking in his right ear went along with the man’s portrayal of an Italian bad boy, a good undercover persona, and if Luke’s instincts weren’t mistaken, he was likely the undercover agent Dane mentioned earlier. Either that or Carmen had someone other than law enforcement on his ass. He didn’t much care who took the bastard out as long as someone did. “We’re fine. We—”
He cut Luke off with a fast slice of his hand through the space between them. “I saw the man talking with your sub and have an interest in him as well.” Turning to Carlie, the tall intruder questioned her next. “What do you know about him?”
Suspicion took hold of Luke, and he urged Carlie onto the bench before drilling the man with a glare as cold as his voice. He did not need this new complication. “Who are you?”
He hesitated but held Luke’s stare, increasing the tug on his sixth sense.
“Just a concerned guest. I’d hate to think someone was harassing subs,” he replied evasively, but his eyes kept straying down the West hall, his clenched fists a sign he was as eager as Luke to go looking for the other man.
Luke cast a quick look around, ensuring there was no one within earshot before he took a calculated risk and asked in a quiet undertone, “Undercover?”
After subjecting Luke to an intense scrutiny, he replied with an imperceptible nod, “Name’s Miguel. Time’s wasting.”
So, he’d been right. He returned Miguel’s nod, a silent communication of acknowledgement before pointing a finger at Carlie, hardening his tone and ordering, “Stay put. Do. Not. Move.”
“Sit down, Holly, and do the same. Don’t budge until we return.”
The girl nodded but didn’t look up as she sat next to Carlie. Luke could feel Carlie’s eyes shooting daggers at his back as he nodded at Miguel, and the two of them dashed down the hall. He prayed he wasn’t putting his trust in the wrong place in his desperation to keep Carlie safe when he asked point blank, “How deep under are you?”
Miguel sighed, glanced back at his girl then said, “Deep enough you’d need a bulldozer to dig me out. I can’t go out of sight of my sub.”
“Agreed. Keep an eye on them while I make quick checks into the theme rooms, then we’ll head back.”
“Make it fast.”
Luke felt the same fear-induced urgency reflected in Miguel’s tone and hard-eyed look and didn’t waste time arguing.
Carlie watched the two men stalk off, wondering what the heck was going on. She’d never seen Luke so agitated, and while she would like to think his overbearing attitude stemmed from jealousy, deep down, she knew better. Over-protective he might be, especially when keeping his promise to her brother, but possessive he was not. That would have meant he cared beyond friendship, that he thought of her as more than Evan’s little sister. Wishful thinking, that’s all she’d ever had before this weekend, and she’d be a fool to let herself hope for more, to think submitting to him would change the way he felt.
While keeping her eyes on the men as they moved down the hall, she murmured to the quiet woman next to her, “I’m going by Cinderella this weekend. Do you know what their problem is?”
“I’m Holly.” She shook her head, her long hair brushing her back, but didn’t make direct eye-contact with Carlie. “And, no, I… don’t know what’s got Master Miguel riled up.”
“Well, here they come. Good luck in getting answers.” The dissatisfaction etched on both men’s faces told her they hadn’t found the man who’d stopped by to chat with her. She didn’t know what the big deal was. He’d just asked how she was enjoying her stay. They hadn’t even exchanged their fake names. When they stopped in front of her and Holly, she didn’t like the disadvantage of having to crane her neck back t
o look up at them, and she really didn’t enjoy feeling as if she’d done something wrong when she hadn’t.
“Why are you glowering at me? All I did was talk with another guest for a few minutes,” she stated in defense of the innocent conversation.
Luke blew out a frustrated breath and raked his fingers through his hair, something she’d love to do if he ever gave her the opportunity to touch him. “I can’t go into detail, little one, but I need to know what he said, as close to word for word as you can get.”
She shrugged, trying to remember. “He stopped, said he’d seen me around and asked if I was enjoying the weekend. I assured him I was.”
“That’s it?” Miguel questioned with a frown.
“Pretty much. He only sat down for a minute. Oh, and he asked if I was happy with my Dom, and if not, to look him up, said he’d take care of me.” Luke’s face paled before his green eyes turned to chips of ice, the look sending a frisson of unease through her. He and Miguel exchanged a look she couldn’t read then the other man nodded and walked away with Holly, leaving her even more unsettled. “What’s going on, Lu—Master M?”
Drawing her to her feet, he held her close for a rare hug, his voice a rough growl in her ear when he whispered, “You don’t leave my side until I put you on the bus for Granger tomorrow, got it?”
No, she didn’t, but at that moment Carlie didn’t care about Luke’s strange reaction to an innocent, short conversation. Shoving aside her concerns, she basked in knowing she would have him all to herself for the next twenty hours, including overnight, and that outweighed every other concern for now.
The primitive need that consumed Luke the minute he spotted Carlie talking with the man who, for some unfathomable reason, raised his radar, didn’t abate as the evening wore on. Clasping her hand, he held tight, wishing there was at least a slim chance he could talk her into leaving. The questions in her eyes were joined by a flare of excitement with his statement, igniting an answering fuse inside him, but what choice did he have? He knew his behavior confused her, but his hands were tied over how much he could reveal about the real reason for this weekend visit at the Castle. As far as anyone except a select few knew, he and Dane were guests, just like everyone else, including Carlie. When he’d mentioned he was on a case, he’d seen the doubt on her face, but there’d been nothing he could say to relieve it, just as there didn’t seem to be any way he could control the growing urge to toss her down and pound himself inside her until she begged for mercy.
“Jana told me there’s only one bed in the guest rooms,” she tossed out as he led her to the small café for dinner. He didn’t want to be distracted by the larger crowd enjoying the evening’s buffet tonight. It’d be too difficult to divide his attention between keeping one eye out for trouble and maintaining a low profile among so many friends. It was more important now than ever to sustain a diligent scrutiny of anyone he didn’t know or recognize from previous visits.
“That’s right.” He left it at that, both of them realizing the significance. Without a doubt, when Luke took her to his room, there would be no stopping him from crossing the line he’d been straddling this weekend. But which would be the worst betrayal; taking Carlie to his bed or putting her life at risk by leaving her alone, without his protection, for even a short time? As long as she stayed with him, she’d stay safe. He’d never allow anything or anyone to get by him to cause her harm.
He couldn’t shake the other man’s parting comment to Carlie, the one that set off alarm bells and shook him to the core. If that man was Carmen ‘The Butcher,’ telling her he’d take care of her, regardless of the context, was as good as a death threat. Images of another, innocent young woman who’d fallen prey to The Butcher kept flitting through his head. Susan Mills would never see her twenty-fifth birthday and had suffered a painful, horrendous death all because she’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just like Grace, and now Carlie. If Carmen had managed to infiltrate the Castle’s security, and if the man who’d caught Luke’s attention and set off his radar for no particular reason was Carmen, how many other innocent guests might he have added to his hit list?
Cold chills swept through Luke when Carlie’s face and body replaced Susan’s in his mind, when he imagined her blood draining from multiple wounds inflicted to cause the maximum amount of pain while drawing out her inevitable death. He’d have to find a way to come to terms with his guilt after this case ended because, come hell or high water, that wasn’t happening.
“Not that I’m complaining, mind you, but are you going to tell me what that was all about?” she asked after they’d taken a seat at a corner table for two.
“I told you I was on a case. The only other thing I can say is we’re trying to circumvent a potential threat.” Handing her the menu, he switched topics. “You don’t get the options like on the buffet in here, but the food is just as good.”
Luke spent the next two hours trying to keep his mind off the possible threat to Carlie and the night ahead. As they ate, he cursed making her go without the bloomers tonight because all he could think about was her bare flesh under the cotton dress, the feel of her denuded labia and her face when he brought her to climax with his mouth. Her hand shook as she reached for the salt; her dilated pupils and the way she squirmed in the seat were all sure, telltale signs of what was going through her mind.
Had his actions corrupted the innocent kid next door, or had he been that blind these past few years to her desires? Carlie wore one of the most expressive faces he’d ever seen, and numerous times since the week of Evan’s funeral he’d caught a look of longing on her face, a hint of lust in her amber eyes. He’d put her infatuation down to grief and loneliness and never taken it as serious. Little did he know just how deep her desire went, and how far her fantasies delved. More than once, he’d caught himself picturing her in place of the sub he was in the middle of a scene with, imagined her strapped to an apparatus, her butt red, her body pink-striped, his cock buried deep inside her convulsing sheath. There were nights he’d been plagued with dreams of Carlie wearing nothing but a pair of her silly glasses, her lush body jerking under his forceful thrusts. But never, not once in all his imaginings or when seeing something reflected on her face that went beyond friendship, did he consider acting on either one. She’d been Evan’s baby sister first, the cute, pesky kid next door second and the grieving friend he’d sworn to look out for third. In his mind, those three relationships resulted from his close bond with Evan, which automatically erased the possibility of a fourth, intimate one, notably one that included his kinks.
Fearing for her safety, frustrated, guilt-ridden and edgy with the overwhelming need to lay claim to her in the most raw and primitive way known to man, by the time he hauled her upstairs, he doubted he could hold back longer than two seconds once they were in his room.
Opening his door, frustration came to the surface first as he backed her against the wall and caged her in with his arms. Her breathing increased, her gaze molten as those eyes raked over his chest and she raised her hands to touch him. Knowing as soon as she did, there’d be no turning back, he leaned down and ground out, “Why did you have to be so stubborn?”
Chapter 7
With Master M pinning her against the wall and all those hard, glorious muscles rippling against her softness, Carlie ceased questioning what had gotten into him, too eager to accept what he was offering to ponder the change in his attitude right now. Her heart tripped into a rapid beat when those emerald eyes lit with a flame of lust and he thrust his hips between her thighs, grinding his erection up and down against her mound. Their clothes offered little protection against the stimulating friction, the hard press of his lower body forcing her legs apart so she couldn’t squeeze them together to contain the cream seeping from her needy vagina. He didn’t give her time to answer his question before he swooped down to cover her lips. She greeted the forceful possession of his mouth with a low moan, opening with willing eagerness for his invading tongue.
The carnal intensity of his kiss would have driven her to her knees if he weren’t holding her up. Liquid heat pooled between her legs with his tongue strokes over her teeth, gums and tongue; her folds and inner muscles swelled with the sharp nip at the soft fullness of her lower lip before he drew her tongue into his mouth with a strong pull. The flavor of him washed over her as she wedged her hands between them and slipped inside his vest. Warm, smooth skin stretched over taut muscles tingled her fingertips, the accelerated beat of his heart matching the pounding rhythm of hers. She sifted through springy, chest curls then sought one, small, pebbled nipple while she clamped her right leg around his hip and tightened in a lame attempt to get closer, to latch on and never let go.
Master M cursed against her mouth when she tweaked his nipple then shifted his hips just enough to fumble between them and release his cock. With a few deft moves, he had himself sheathed then caught her off guard by yanking the long dress up. When he released her mouth, she could barely make out the hard glint in his eyes in the dim light as he grasped her buttocks and lifted.
“Wrap your legs around me and hold tight because I don’t think I can stop this now, not even if you uttered the safeword and Castle security came storming in here.” He plunged into her, his tense shoulders relaxing under her hands when she greeted his entry with a warm, liquid gush, the automatic grip of her slick channel giving permission to stay and do his worst.
