Masterpiece (The Masters of The Order Book 1)

by Verne, Jillian

  As he stared into her eyes, his heart accepted the truth of her and his conflicted mind found peace in that truth. He was the artist. She was his medium. It wasn’t a metaphor. Together, they could create something so beautiful that anyone who saw it would be forever changed.

  Forever inspired.

  The true meaning of beauty.

  His Beauty.

  *****

  Julianne understood exactly where all this was headed and opened herself to it.

  That sadistic hand still tormented her bottom, but now the sensation hit something lower, deeper. Shocking vibrations resonated through her core as the blissful freedom that accompanied a hard union with a Master swept her up and flung her into the euphoria of submission. There was zero hope of holding back the amazing climax that was sure to follow.

  “Please, sir, please, please,” she begged, the helpless sound of her tortured pleasure muffled against Darion’s hand.

  “Bad girl, begging me to stop when you know I will not.”

  She jerked her head away from his hand and with a strangled voice cried, “No, sir. I beg you to let me come.”

  Darion barked a laugh. “Yes, my lovely. Spread your legs and come. Now.”

  A sharp pinch on her clit triggered an earth shattering orgasm. She came with a throaty wail and sank her teeth into the hand over her mouth.

  As the spasms coursed through her, she felt herself being dragged off Darion’s lap, her hips draped over the high sidearm of the settee.

  Nicolai roared into her from behind and everything in her world fell into harmony.

  Both men took her in turn throughout the afternoon until Nicolai carried her up the stairs. Julianne was asleep in his arms before they reached the top step.

  20

  Perilous Questions

  Fitful dreams filled her sleep.

  She was hot. Too hot. Pressed down beneath a heavy, heated blanket. She arched her back, straining for cool air, and her arms pulled. She tugged, but they didn’t move.

  Julianne’s eye fluttered open to find her wrists tied above her head and a powerful body pinning her to the mattress.

  Darion was gone.

  It was Nicolai who pulled her from the sleepy haze with an impatient stab of a rock hard cock. His hips rose and fell with crude finesse drilling long, knifelike strokes into her sleeping channel.

  The way he took her, so unexpectedly, so selfishly, brought an odd satisfaction. Nicolai was using her body for his pleasure, not hers, and this love hurt. The extent of her own depravity at finding pleasure in this wake-up call surprised her even as her legs spread to welcome him.

  “Ahh,” she moaned against his silky hair coming fully awake to the shock of his possession.

  “Good morning, lover,” Nicolai grunted without breaking his momentum, then drove himself impossibly deep and came. The muscles of his neck strained as the release rippled through him and spilled into her. “This is how I plan to wake up every morning for the rest of my life,” he groaned and collapsed on top of her.

  She ran her tongue up his neck to taste his sweat and ground against his groin. Even in caveman-mode, Nicolai made her feel safe and cherished, and that really turned her on.

  Pushing up on both arms, he kissed the crest of her forehead. “How are you feeling today, my beautiful sleepyhead?”

  Tousled hair fell over his face, the shadow of a beard darkened his jaw and soft, just-fucked bedroom eyes shone down at her.

  Cher Dieu, the man couldn’t look any more gorgeous if he tried. “Horny.” She grinned and swiveled her hips.

  Her morning lover rolled his dreamy eyes. “Where has my reserved little girl gone?”

  Easing up to slip a hand between their naked bodies, Nicolai began to rub her. She burrowed into his chest and closed her eyes, breathing in his scent and giving herself over to those talented hands and all the wonderful things they were doing to her body. Being bound only ramped up the arousal. Right before satisfaction found her, he stopped and rolled to the side. Her entire body shuddered as her climax receded.

  His withdraw hurt more than the sex.

  Her wicked lover laughed, long and low. “Not yet, my love.”

  Nicolai nibbled under her ear and pressed a wet fingertip into her mouth, putting the taste of her stunted arousal onto her tongue.

  “Only when I allow it.” The voice was pure honey; the cruel control, bitter. “I’ve wondered something for a long time now, Beauty mine.” Crystal eyes roamed her skin as warm hands cupped her breasts. The look in his hooded gaze made her quake at what her wolf was wondering. “Can I make you come by doing only this?”

  A hungry mouth came to her breast. She gasped as soon as Nicolai’s tongue touched the nipple. It was still sensitive from yesterday’s game with Darion. Nicolai began to suck, hard and harder, focusing the sharp suction on the tip until it was hard enough to mimic the feel of the clamp. His hand played with her other breast. Bruising fingers dug into her softness, almost crushing her and reinvigorating her lurking orgasm.

  Nicolai had given her a taste of this severe ecstasy once before. Just like the last time, he knew where her enjoyment would end and kept the breast play right on the edge of what she could take. She arched her back, offering her body without hesitation as he guided her along the fine line between pain and pleasure until what should have hurt like hell became pure heaven.

  Teeth sank into her skin.

  “Yes!” she cried, reaching for that supernal peak and dug her heels into the mattress.

  The flat of his palm slapped the mound of her sex.

  Is he punishing me for what happened yesterday?

  The sharp sting quickly faded, leaving mysterious, somehow wonderful, vibrations echoing in its wake. Her insides turned molten at the decadent combination. She rose up and he slapped her again.

  Oh, no, definitely not a punishment.

  She moaned against the pillow as the second smack quickly translated into the same dark pleasure.

  “No more, my masochistic angel,” Nicolai said as he stood, clearly amused by her reaction.

  Her eyes shot to his face and she jerked against the restraints. She was shaking, coiled tight, hurting, needing. “No. Please, Nicolai,” she whined as the promise of a magnificent orgasm melted away once again. She wanted to call him Master, but avoided the word remembering what happened the last time she said it.

  Nicolai walked over to the armoire like he was out for a leisurely stroll.

  “You’re so mean,” she groaned in frustration.

  “You have no idea,” he muttered.

  She grit her teeth. How dare he leave me like this, on the brink, so tantalizing close? She yanked on the binds, twisting and turning, trying desperately to free herself. Very unladylike grunts escaped with the effort.

  Nicolai just stood across the room. Watching.

  Resigned that freedom was impossible, she collapsed limp on the bed.

  “Are you finished?” he asked.

  There was something in his voice she hadn’t heard in it before and a hint of fear entered her mind. Her insides clenched. Yet again.

  “This isn’t fair.”

  “No, but it’s what I want,” he said, voice soft, and returned to stand by the bedside with one hand hidden behind his back.

  The look he gave her was carnal suggesting that her decadent lover had something equally decadent in mind.

  “I have a special surprise for you, Beauty. Close your eyes." He smiled.

  I know better than to trust that kind of smile. “What if I don’t want to?” she huffed, unsure whether she could handle one of Nicolai’s surprises, especially after what her little performance with Darion seemed to have set into motion.

  A forbidding look crossed his face, but his tone remained mild. “Feel free to test me, Beauty mine. See what that gets you.”

  Testing him probably isn’t a good idea. She may be horny, but she wasn’t a fool. She sensed the change in him. Nicolai was in control, but no longer restra
ined. Her mind seized with...what was it? Fear? Maybe. Curiosity? Probably. Lust? Definitely.

  “Do I have to blindfold you?”

  She reluctantly closed her eyes, shutting out the salacious gaze. What is he going to do to me now? Her insides curled into a tight knot of apprehension even as desire blazed through her blood.

  The bed dipped with Nicolai’s weight. He pulled one knee to her shoulder. Something wrapped around the back of her thigh. Nicolai tugged, spreading her wide, and secured her leg to the bed. Then he moved to the other side and repeated the action.

  Imagine being that vulnerable to me. Imagine being displayed for my eyes. Whatever I offer, you will take. Do you trust me enough to be bound for my pleasure?

  Mon Dieu. My wolf is tying me to his bed, just like he said he would.

  A finger ran under her chin, down her sternum to the chain at her waist. “So fucking sexy. Mine to take as I please.” Utter confidence coated his words.

  Some sound escaped her. Almost a moan. More like a howl.

  At first she thought Nicolai was going to fuck her again, but something foreign slid into her vagina. It was hard and thick. She was so wet that it moved easily, despite its size. She instinctively tried to push it out, but he held it in place. She heard a click and a different kind of vibration began deep inside of her.

  “Oh. Oh my,” she gasped and went rigid, instantly shot back into startling arousal.

  “Am I being mean now?” he murmured, his tone playful as he held the vibrating toy in place.

  She clamped down on the hardness as those little vibrations shimmered through her wet channel. Lost to the new sensation, she squeezed her lids tighter, drowning in need, her voice muted by the pleasure.

  One hand pressed on her belly as the other drew the toy out of her body at the most unhurried pace. Nicolai laid it over the perfect spot and she jerked at the intensity. The vibrations lingered just long enough to spark, but the toy pushed back inside before she burst into flame.

  The ache in her throbbing clitoris pounded through her body, beating in time with her thundering heartbeat as Nicolai withdrew the toy at an even more agonizing pace. The muscles in her torso and thighs tensed into taut bands as she waited for it to touch the perfect spot again.

  Nicolai guided the toy along her thighs, over her folds and finally, to her long suffering clit. He was torturing her, moving the vibrations over and around to take her to the precipice, then backing away, only to return and inflame her anew.

  Each time, it was almost enough, but not quite.

  She squirmed helplessly, quivering against the restraints. If I could only get a bit more friction. From the very first, Nicolai controlled her orgasms, but never quite like this. This time he pushed her past need, past pleasure, to a place where her entire body was awash with dark, dangerous desperation.

  What is he trying to do, kill me? “Please, Nicolai,” she begged.

  And begged.

  And begged.

  And begged until she was hoarse, soaked with sweat and trembling.

  “Who owns this body?” he finally asked over the despondent pleas escaping her lips.

  “You do. I am yours, Nicolai. Please. Please. Please!"

  “Before I let you come, I want something more from you.” His voice was a growl, primitive and pure male.

  “Anything. Anything. A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G.”

  The toy fell away and he leaned over to whisper against her lips. “I worship you for your innocence.” His breath caressed her face. “You honor me with your virginity.”

  The dark lust that rolled over her was as intense as the orgasm Nicolai was withholding. She knew what would happen next and her whole body sparked, ready to burn.

  “Open your eyes. I want to see your eyes while I do this.”

  When she did, the sex in that admiring gaze almost sent her screaming into release. One slippery finger sank into her tight hole. At first the piercing sensation was mild as it stroked in and out. When Nicolai probed deeper, adding another finger, a steady fire built inside of her. She strained against the binds as the burn scorched hotter and pulled up, trying to avoid the blistering pressure. The movement only allowed those menacing fingers to push the aching fire deeper.

  “So tight, Beauty. Relax for me. Let the pleasure come to you.” His voice was dark, excited.

  The exhilaration Nicolai felt at having this power over her blazed in his face. It was beautiful and exactly what she wanted to see. He toyed with her body for a long time, savoring each touch. In and out. Around and around. Gently stretching her. She craved submission into the sexual extremes and this edgy play was awful and fantastic and so damn sexy. Seeing Nicolai’s rapture only heightened the excitement. She relaxed, writhing with the rhythm of his hand, until her body softened to the forbidden touch.

  And the pleasure did come.

  “Take a deep breath, Beauty mine. This is going to hurt and you’re going to like it.”

  His mouth covered hers, a hot, wet gag to swallow her scream as he thrust hard into her. The muscle of his arm bulged with the exertion as the tight ring gave way to the vigorous stab. Pain flared through her body. It was a merciless penetration. His hand felt huge and she convulsed with the severity of the harsh invasion.

  She wanted to beg him to stop, beg him to never stop, as she rode the wave of fiery lust that came with this depraved intimacy. His other hand began to pet her forgotten clitoris and the sensations converged. The burning pain was matched by an equally burning pleasure. She moaned into his mouth.

  He broke the seal on her lips. “How about now? Am I being mean now?” His voice dripped with sex.

  She threw her head back against the pillow, crazed with the erotic ecstasy that seared her. “Mean, definitely mean,” she panted, and then added, “but good. Sooooo good."

  I'll die if he stops.

  “I love to watch you like this, Beauty mine, on the edge of passion. When you’re ready, I will take you here,” he pushed into her, “but for now, I give you this.” He leaned close to her face. She could barely hear the whispered word over her own desperate moans. “Permission.”

  She came in a wild fit, screaming his name and thrashing in a haze of rapture she thought she would never survive.

  When she returned to earth, Nicolai lay beside her, propped on one elbow and looking sexier than any man had the right to look. A single finger ran over her bottom lip.

  “I apologize.” The satisfaction in his dark gaze said he was not apologizing for his latest surprise.

  “You’re not angry?” They hadn’t discussed what happened with Darion.

  “No, Beauty, I’m not angry,” he said with a sigh. “You did what you had to do to open my eyes. I promise you, I adore everything I see.” A look of regret crossed his face. “I only wish I hadn’t been so blind.”

  “And I wish I could have just told you.” She nipped his finger. “No. No regrets. We will find our way together. You and only you, Nicolai. Just know that I love you.”

  “Love indeed."

  The magnificent smile that graced his face told her he felt the same. The topic of Darion LeClair was closed.

  “I hate to be the one to remind you of this, but we have to get dressed. You have a visitor coming today.”

  He untied her binds and carried her limp body into the bath.

  *****

  Julianne startled when she noticed him leaning against the molding of the archway.

  He’d been there for ten minutes.

  “Why do you do that?”

  Nicolai raised an eyebrow.

  “Watch me like that.”

  “I’m a devil. Remember?”

  Lust shone in her eyes as her perfect lips curved into a wicked smile. “You’re my devil.”

  “And your devil enjoys watching you unaware. Small details say so much. Like that subtle shift of your hip. If I didn’t know better, Beauty mine, I would say you’re turned on.”

  She squirmed again. “I can’t decide whether thi
s toy is a punishment or a reward. Good Lord, Nicolai. How am I ever going to get through Sister’s visit with this thing inside of me? I feel like there’s a neon sign over my head detailing every sin.”

  “From this vantage point, it looks as if my beautiful devil enjoys her sin.” He grinned and stepped into the room. As he poured himself a cup of coffee, he asked, “Do you want me to stay or leave after she arrives?”

  Although he asked, he had no intention of leaving Julianne alone with a nun. Bad enough they were “living in sin.” What would the Sister have to say if she truly understood? He wanted Julianne proud and wouldn’t allow some zealot to taint her wondrous inhibition. Their lives were intertwined now and they would face whatever Sister Genevieve had to say together.

  And the toy? Just a little more sin to keep Julianne focused.

  “Please stay. I don’t know what to expect and I’m nervous.”

  As Thomas escorted the Sister into the room, Nicolai rose to greet her. Julianne rose as well, but a bit more slowly. He hid his enjoyment at why. The threesome exchanged innocent banter over coffee and cake. News of the lycée. Talk of Nicolai’s recent opening. All the while, suspicious eyes monitored every detail of Genevieve’s behavior.

  Upon hearing that Julianne sold her first work, the Sister gushed with love and pride. “A professional artist. Well done. Your father must be so proud.”

  Julianne skirted the comment with a nod. “Would my mother be?”

  If the Sister caught Julianne’s dodge, she didn’t show it.

  “Especially her.” Genevieve put her hands on Julianne’s cheeks. “You are so much like her. In fact, Lianne is why I’m here. I brought you something.” She bent to open her briefcase, removed a tattered book and handed it to Julianne. “This belonged to her.”

  So far, so good. The Sister seemed to be ignoring the topic of his living arrangement with Julianne and talking about Lianne was a good thing given how much Julianne longed to know about the mother she’d lost too young.