by Abby Gordon
“Come.”
Fire rushed through her, making her gasp and pant in its wake. Master held her in his arms, keeping her safe as the orgasm took over her body. She felt his approving murmur, fluttered her fingers behind her and brushed his hard length.
“Oh, that tears it,” he muttered.
Holding her upper arms, he hauled her about. She felt tile beneath her feet, then felt the air move as something plopped on the floor. Then she was being turned by his hands on her shoulders, which then pushed her down. Bending her knees, she found herself kneeling on a towel. His fingers threaded through her hair, tilting her head, pulling her forward until her mouth touched something.
Before she realized what it was—the head of his erection—he was pushing it past her lips. She could taste the salty pre-cum on her tongue as he steadily entered her mouth, tipping her head to the right angle.
“Breath through your nose, Venus,” he told her. “I’m watching you. I’ll take care of you.”
She hummed, hoping he’d take that as an “I understand” or “I trust you.”
The tip of his cock brushed the back of her mouth, and she knew he still had a few inches to go. How…her head was brought further forward and angled and she felt more of him as he went down her throat.
Behind the tie, she closed her eyes, feeling her absolute and total surrender. Blindfolded, hands bound and on her knees, his cock being forced down her throat. She loved it. Loved being absolutely controlled and dominated by her Master. With a sigh, she leaned forward, stretching her lips.
Staring down at her, watching for signs of trouble, Tony felt her slide further into the zone he’d heard about. He felt the vibration of her sigh along his dick. Absolute surrender. She’d completely given herself over to him. The trust in her, the responsibility of her, rocked him. His thumbs brushed over her temples. His Pippa was proof that an intelligent woman could be totally submissive. Still watching her face, the line of her shoulders, he rocked his hips forward and back as he fucked her mouth.
So close, so damn close. And he kept his eyes on her. He knew that this was when gagging was most likely to happen. Sure enough, just as his cock jumped in her mouth to start his release, her throat convulsed.
Tony didn’t hesitate. He stepped back, even as his hands pulled her head away. She thrashed, her mouth open as her head tried to follow his cock. His release spewed out, landing on her face, neck, and breasts. One hand left her head and flattened on the counter to hold himself upright. His legs trembled as if he’d just run a marathon.
“Why did you do that?” she demanded, frowning up at him.
“Because I’d rather you not choke on my cock,” he told her, his release slowing down. “You were doing beautifully, Venus.”
She huffed. “I need to work on that,” she grumbled. “It was my first time doing that.”
“I’m sure we can get in lots of practice,” he replied, managing not to laugh. “You enjoyed it?”
Her upper body relaxed and he realized only his hand on her head kept her from collapsing to the floor.
“Oh, Master,” she whispered. “It was amazing. Like the most perfect place. Nothing mattered except doing whatever you wanted me to do. Kneeling at your feet, taking your cock in my mouth.” She smiled. “I was helpless, and I wasn’t afraid. You were in complete control over me, and it was the most right thing ever. It was bliss.”
Tony stepped toward her, guiding her head to rest on his thigh. Giving a happy hum, she rubbed her cheek against the black hairs on his leg. Gently, he stroked her head, reveling in the total domination he had over her. Reaching out, he pulled a smaller towel off the rack and wiped off her face.
“It was the submissive zone,” he said quietly, still marveling that he’d found a woman like her. “I’ve heard about it, but never taken a sub there.”
“Really?” Pippa murmured. “You’re very good at it.”
Tony shifted and knelt on one knee so she was in the center of his position. He held her against his chest, heard the contented little purr again. He held her carefully, hands gentle as they caressed her, untying her wrists.
“Pippa, you know I’m not letting you go, right? You know you’re staying with me? Wherever I go, you’re going to be with me. I’m not letting you go. Ever.”
“Never?” Her voice was low and breathless.
He tugged the tie from her eyes and tilted her head so he could see his face. “Never,” he vowed, kissing her. “My sweet Pippa,” he murmured, kissing her face.
“You don’t know me,” she whispered, stunned.
“I know you are strong, intelligent, gorgeous, sexy, so damned submissive I can’t fucking believe it,” he told her, tangling their tongues together. He met her gaze, saw her struggling to understand what he had said. “You are a loyal friend. A fierce friend. I saw your reaction to those assholes trying to get mud on Jessica.” He grinned and claimed her mouth, smashing their lips together. “I realize you don’t know much about me, and might wonder at what you’ve gotten yourself into, but…”
“I know you’ve been through your own hell and come out strong, tough, smart and determined that no one will stop you from succeeding at whatever you want to do—” She interrupted him, gentle fingers touching his lips. “I know you’ll protect me from anything and everyone, including yourself. Including myself. Even if I don’t want you to. I know that I love how you take control of me. And I do know something secret about you,” she said pertly.
“Oh, and what is that?” he wondered, hardly daring to believe what she’d said. Could she possibly feel for him what he did for her?
“You snore.”
He blinked. “I do not,” he denied.
“Do too,” she laughed, her arms wrapping around him. “I don’t know if I do. You’ll have to let me know.”
“I don’t think you will,” Tony decided. “You’re too damn perfect.”
“Which is probably why I’ll sound like a locomotive,” she drawled.
Laughing, he gathered her close. “I think we both need a shower,” Tony observed. “You wash my back and I’ll wash yours?”
“Just our backs?” wondered Pippa, her fingers wrapping around his cock.
“God, I hope there’s a ton of hot water,” he muttered.
Chapter Nine
Clean and sexually satisfied—again—they decided to cook dinner before the height of the storm hit and the winds knocked out power. Pippa wore only her tee while, given that they would be doing the steaks on the small stove top, Tony pulled on boxers and a white tee. Pippa scrubbed a couple potatoes and put them in the oven before joining him in cleaning up the bathroom and the living area.
Glancing about the walls, Tony noticed the paintings and stepped closer to see them.
“Aren’t they amazing?” she commented, fluffing a throw pillow. “Henry Longworth was an incredible painter. He did primarily British landscapes, but they all have people in them.”
Recalling some of the conversation between Sean and Adam in the car between Teterboro and LaGuardia, Tony put the final pieces together and it staggered him.
“You said ‘was’?” He tried to stay casual, realizing Pippa didn’t know. “Is he dead?”
“He and his wife were killed in a plane crash,” she replied, tucking the sommelier exam results back in the laptop case. “It was,” she paused, frowning in thought, “twelve years ago at the end of this month. A horrible storm swept across the North Atlantic from Newfoundland through Scandinavia. There were dozens of plane crashes, hundreds injured or killed.”
“Tragic,” he murmured. “Did they have any children?”
“I don’t remember,” she admitted. “I was only nine when it happened.” Her eyes wandered over the bookshelves and then she reached for a large coffee table book. “Here it is. Jessica got this a couple years ago. To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the crash. A bit morbid if you ask me.”
“It reminds people of the talent,” suggested Tony.
“I guess,” she shrugged, sitting cross-legged on the floor. “Where’s the biography part?” she muttered, flipping pages.
Knowing what was coming, Tony went and sat behind her. Stretching his legs out along her sides, he pulled her between his thighs.
“Here it is. Henry married Dominique de la Lavendal, only daughter of the Comte and Comtesse de la Lavendal de Provence.” She whistled softly. “And they had one daughter…” Her voice trailed off. “Jessica.” She twisted in his embrace, glaring at him. “You knew.”
“Not all of it. My flight departed LaGuardia a couple hours after Sean and Jessica were to land in Teterboro, and I went with Adam to pick them up. So we would all be on the same page for the next few weeks. Adam said he’d made the hotel reservations for the London premiere at the Armitage, per Sean’s call earlier in the week.” Tony gave her a slight smile. “Sean doesn’t want Jessica to step foot in the Lincoln again. Or be around Andy.”
“And?” she pushed, eyes still hard on him.
“That’s when Jessica gave me her key, telling me where the market was and emailing Mr. Jenkins that I’d be in her apartment.”
“Flat,” Pippa corrected. “And?”
“She fell asleep as we were talking. Just before I got out, Adam told Sean that a Comte de la Lavendal de Provence was in New York City and would like to meet with him to discuss his granddaughter’s future.”
“Oh, my God,” she gasped. “Had Jessica told him?”
“I don’t think so,” Tony answered. “Not from the expressions on Sean’s face. Puzzlement, then he glanced down at Jessica. You could see the way he was putting things together.” His arms tightened around her stiff body. “Still, there was nothing said about her father or mother. How they died or anything. Or why she’d been living here in London for, what, five years or so? She really hadn’t told you? Hinted at anything like it?”
Pippa’s jaw went slack, but her eyes narrowed and he waited.
“She’s never said anything,” she whispered. “Never said why she didn’t go see them or why they didn’t come here. Except for when she started ‘Project Pippa,’ she never mentioned either of them.”
“Maybe she was doing her own ‘Project Jessica’,” he theorized.
“Why?” Pippa wondered, shaking her head.
“Ask when they come over in a few days for the London premiere.”
“Oh, I will,” she vowed, an edge to her tone. “My best friend, practically my big sister, and she never breathed a word about who she really was.”
“You hadn’t told her why you left home,” he reminded her. Her elbow made contact with his ribs. “Ouch. Venus.”
“That wasn’t fair,” groused Pippa.
“Something might have happened to cause a rift,” he replied. “Clearly not nearly like yours, or they probably wouldn’t be trying to get in touch with her through Sean, but the fact that they’re trying shows that they still care about her, right?”
“I guess,” she sighed, then gasped. “Oh, my God.”
Scrambling to get up, she nearly dropped the heavy book on Tony’s groin. He barely prevented the corner from colliding with his dick. Gasping himself, as it did still hit his inner thigh, he leveraged himself up to see over the couch as she knelt and opened a cabinet next to the fridge.
“What are you looking for?”
“She really had it,” Pippa announced, her voice quavering. “She really…really got it and labeled it for me.”
He got to his feet and walked over, a bit gingerly at first. Disguised as just another cabinet in the kitchen was a wine fridge.
“What is it?”
She held up the bottle. Tony read the piece of paper taped to the neck: To celebrate Pippa as a sommelier. Then his gaze dropped to the label.
“Holy shit,” he breathed. “Lavendal, seventy-two. I don’t know much about wines or champagnes, but even I know that’s one of the best.”
“She told me she had it when I called about the results. I couldn’t believe it,” she said, standing. “They’re rare and expensive. I guess now I know how she could afford it.”
“Except I got the impression her grandparents didn’t know where she was,” Tony reminded her.
“Her parents’ estate then. I didn’t know much about art until a few years ago, but even I knew who he was,” Pippa deduced. “But still, why live here in this little flat? I just don’t get it.”
“Well, put this back until the two of you are together,” he said, handing her the bottle. “She loves you a helluva lot, Pippa.”
Kneeling to put the champagne back in the wine fridge, Pippa caught her breath at his words. Her hands trembled and she managed to set the bottle back in its slot and close the door.
“She does,” she whispered. “Oh, she does. And you know something? I don’t care why or what she was doing here when she has bags and bags of money and probably a castle or two in France. She came here and was the first best thing to happen to my sorry life.” Looking up at him through her tears, she smiled. “You’re the next best thing. Because if Jessica wasn’t in my life, you wouldn’t be.”
“I followed that logic,” he told her, helping her to her feet.
“Oh, my God,” she breathed, her legs nearly collapsing under her.
“What? Are you all right?” Tony scooped her in his arms and carried her to the couch. “What is it? Are you sick?”
“I’ve been job searching the past three days,” she told him, gesturing to her laptop. “Going through the application process anywhere and everywhere.” Her fingers fisted on his tee. “Including the Lavendal vineyards in Champagne and Provence.”
His eyes widened and she nodded.
“Well, I’d say you might just be able to get a good reference from Jessica Longworth,” he murmured.
“Jessica Longworth,” she whispered. “Where did she get Munroe from?”
“Ask her,” he replied, cuddling her on the couch.
“Champagne,” she repeated, brain jumping ahead, reviewing all the information she’d absorbed during her job search and research.
“We’re not opening that bottle,” he told her.
“I know that,” she agreed, smiling at him. “What will Sean’s reaction be when he realizes Jessica is the sole heir to her grandfather’s estate? Including the title?”
“What?” Tony stared at her, then frowned. “I thought France didn’t let women inherit titles.”
“In some regions, they do. Champagne, where the Lavendal family originates, does.” She wrinkled her nose. “I did a lot of research in my job hunt. The things her family has done. Her grandfather was a colonel in the French Army until he inherited. Her great-grandparents were part of the French Resistance and the Nazis put some of the highest bounties on their heads. And before that, a lot of them lost their heads during the French Revolution and the family line was almost lost.” She raised her hand, pointer finger extended. “One heir escaped and went to Quebec until Napoleon was dead. He came back and reestablished the vineyards and everything else. And before that, they were part of the French court all the way back to the Crusades.”
“Wow,” he marveled, then grinned. “I’d say she’s got Sean’s family beat every which way. His sister isn’t going to like that.”
“He has a sister?” That was news to Pippa.
“Sophia or Sophie,” replied Tony, then shrugged. “I’ve only met her a couple times. She’s about ten years older than him. They’re not at all close, mostly because he didn’t go into business or finance. She thinks he turned his back on the family legacy.”
“A bit of a snob, is she?” Pippa sniffed.
“Very much so,” he confirmed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she steps back into his life now that Jessica’s in it. Not with all that lineage you just told me about.”
“You think he’ll buy it?”
“Nah,” he shook his head. “Sean will be polite and all but, trust me, he knows bullshit when he smells it.”
“He
’s the brother you didn’t have,” she observed.
Tony nodded. “He is. Has been since we started sharing a room way back then.” He threw his head back and laughed. “You talk about my snoring? God, Sean could wake the dead. I guess Jessica has learned about that by now. And how much of a slob he can be.”
Pippa giggled, relaxing against him.
“And the man cannot cook to save his life,” Tony continued. “He can’t even heat up microwaveable meals. He’s blown up three microwaves. He says it was only two, that the third was defective, but,” Tony winked at her, “he’s the one who didn’t follow the directions and remove the metal flip-top.”
“Boom?” she guessed, laughing.
“Huge boom and a bigger mess from what Adam described. Ask Maisie when they get here. Her imagination runs riot as she describes it.”
“Well, he’s in luck because Jessica can cook.” Pippa sighed. “Heavens, the girl can cook. She’s working with me when we’re not dead on our feet from work.”
“Really?” Tony murmured in her ear. “So, what are you going to cook for me tomorrow since I’m doing the steaks tonight?”
“I know a wonderful chicken dish I can do tomorrow if the power doesn’t go off,” she replied, loving how he nestled her against him. “And since we’re here, I can check Jess’s recipes.”
“So, you’re a newly minted sommelier, a chef in the making,” Tony’s voice dropped, “a submissive extraordinaire. Any other hidden talents, sweetheart?”
“That about sums it up,” she told him, blushing at his compliments. “What about you, oh, Master sublime?”
“Mm, I like the sound of that,” he grinned. “I just try to keep Sean’s ass out of trouble.” He sighed. “It’s been a bit rough lately. And actually,” he leaned back in the cushions, stretching out and pulling her on top of him, “I was thinking of a career change.”
