Mastered 2: Ten Tales of Sensual Surrender

by Opal Carew

  As my dragon will guard me. I exhale raggedly. “Logan?” He meets my gaze. “Why didn’t you?” Why didn’t he formally announce his takeover of St. James Communications? That transfer of power was my billionaire’s goal, why he approached me to buy my shares over seven months ago.

  He leans forward, presses his lips against my right earlobe. “Because you love him.” I feel his words over my skin, their meaning reaching deep down in my soul. “And I love you.”

  He loves me. My breath hitches. “You do?”

  “I do.” There’s no doubt in his voice.

  “I’ll always love my father, even if I walk away from him,” I warn my billionaire.

  “Then I’ll always protect him.” Logan shrugs, appearing unconcerned.

  And that is what he’s doing, protecting my father, because my half-siblings would have sold their shares to someone. That someone might not be as kind, might not put up with my father’s tirades, absorbing the insults, the hatred, not saying anything, allowing him to believe he remains in charge.

  Warmth blossoms deep in my chest, curling around my heart. Logan did all of that for me. This is how much he cares. “Thank you,” I whisper.

  Chapter Five

  “Arianna is transferring her shares back to our father,” Cindra finds the courage to say. I frown at her. She must be desperate for the money.

  “She agreed,” Kayla pipes up, supporting her sister.

  I didn’t agree. I was told. My gaze slides to my father. But I’ll do as he demanded, give up ownership in his company, because the shares are rightfully his, not because I’m blindly following orders.

  Never again will I automatically agree to any of his requests.

  “Do you want me to destroy them?” my billionaire asks, reading my volatile mood.

  My half-siblings suck in their breaths, Cindra and Kayla acting not so brave now. They appear miserable, knowing their fates are in my hands.

  I consider saying yes for one glorious moment, imagining my half-siblings being stripped of their places in the family, in society, losing their wealth and pricey toys, but, I sigh, I don’t have the heart to destroy them. “Hurting them would hurt my father.”

  “And, although your father doesn’t treat you the way he should, you’d never hurt him,” Logan completes my thought. “If they try to harm you again, I won’t ask for your permission. There will be nothing left of them financially.”

  Kayla whimpers.

  “If they try to harm you again, even inadvertently.” I level a hard glance on my half-siblings. Sweat beads on Frederick’s forehead. “There will be nothing left of them. Period.” My gaze returns to my billionaire. “I’ll destroy anyone who hurts you.”

  His lips twitch. “I don’t doubt that, pet.” He wraps a strand of my blonde hair around his index finger. “You’re my match.”

  “Only in that way. I have no family, no job, no ownership in the company.” My brutal new reality hits me. “God. I don’t have a last name.”

  “You have me. You’ll work for my umbrella company. I have more than enough events to keep you and your staff occupied. Everything I have is yours.” My billionaire addresses my concerns one by one. “And you wouldn’t have had your last name for much longer.”

  “No?” My eyes widen. He plans to marry me, the St. James slut?

  “No.” Logan taps the end of my nose and I blink. “Benoit can work for my company too, if he wants,” he says louder.

  “He wants.” A voice calls from the hallway, my friend shamelessly listening to our conversation.

  “No one is working for Ross,” my father barks.

  Logan’s face hardens. “Arianna’s not working for you. You allowed a sex tape to be filmed in her office. Did you know those people? How did they get passcards?”

  “How did you get a passcard?” my father mutters.

  “I no longer have a passcard,” I interject. “You fired me, remember? And Logan needs me.” I glance at my billionaire. “No offense, but I’ve heard your events are uninspired.”

  “They’re boring as hell.” Gold sparks dance in his dark eyes. “And the organization is a mess. I should have brought the function in-house years ago.”

  He does need me. I beam. “I’ll take care of everything.”

  “And who will take care of me?” my father mutters. My half-siblings betrayed him. I’ll no longer watch out for my father. He’s as alone as I was, before I met Logan. “I might have been too hasty with my decision.” He gazes down at his phone.

  “Might have been?” Logan growls.

  I squeeze my billionaire’s hands, stopping his response. This is a momentous occasion. My father, to my knowledge, has never questioned one of his decisions. He considers it a sign of weakness.

  The room grows silent. My father’s mouth moves, yet makes no sound.

  I won’t make him say the words. “I don’t want the job, the pendant, or the shares. I only want your love.”

  My father’s gaze slides to Logan. “You don’t expect me to love him too, do you?”

  I stifle a smile. “I wouldn’t ask the impossible.” I pat my billionaire’s chest. “Though I hope you’ll grow to respect him.”

  “I already respect Ross.” My father shocks me with this admission. “I just don’t like him. Why would I? He wants my company and my daughter.”

  His daughter. My father has taken me back. My heart fills with joy. Although our relationship will never be the same, we will have a relationship, and maybe this new relationship will be stronger, healthier, more stable.

  “You can have your precious company, St. James,” Logan drawls. “I’ll continue to give you my input and you’ll continue to ignore it.” He succinctly sums up their board meeting discussions. “Your daughter is the prize I want.”

  “You have that prize.” I don’t hide my love or my desire, allowing all of my feelings to show. Logan’s muscles flex. His irises darken. He hardens, all over, the ridge in his dress pants pressing against my left thigh.

  I turn him on with a mere look. My tongue darts over my bottom lip and his gaze tracks the movement. I control this dangerous man.

  “Behave,” Logan murmurs, a promise of retribution shining in his eyes. “We’re leaving.” He stands, lowering me to my feet, my body sliding over his, the contact exciting me.

  “We’re not done, Ross,” my father grumbles.

  “We’ll talk at dinner tonight.” Logan invites himself to this important meal. “For now, we are done.” He links his fingers with mine, securing me to him, sending a silent message. We’re a team, together, one.

  We stride out of the boardroom, hand in hand. I smack into Benoit, my friend unabashedly eavesdropping by the open doorway.

  “Pardon.” He blushes. “I was--”

  “You were looking after Arianna, ensuring she was okay.” Logan holds out his hand. Benoit grasps his palm, appearing stunned by the offer, and they shake. “I value your loyalty to her.”

  The two men take a step back and study each other, my friend and my master, weighing the other’s worth. They’ve met casually at events I organized and Logan crashed, their conversations stinted and brief, my normally irreverent friend amusingly tongue-tied around the billionaire.

  “Do you need Arianna urgently?” Logan breaks the silence.

  “N-n-non,” Benoit stutters.

  “Good.” My billionaire smiles. “Because I do.” He places a hand on the small of my back and coaxes me forward. “I expect you in my office, nine a.m. sharp on Monday, Benoit. We have work to do.”

  “M-m-mais oui, sir,” my friend squeaks.

  “I’ll call you later.” I glance over my shoulder at Benoit.

  He’s staring at Logan’s ass. “Mon Dieu,” he mouths and bites his right fist. I laugh. My billionaire does look damn good from the back. I gaze up at him. His eyes sparkle. He looks even better from the front.

  “You are what Doms call a bratty sub, pet.” Logan’s voice lilts with humor. “I see I have years
, perhaps decades, of training ahead of me.”

  He plans to train me for decades. I wiggle my toes, unable to suppress my happiness. “You may have to punish me, sir.”

  “There is no may. You’ve been a bad girl and I will punish you.” He opens the door.

  “Will you, sir?” I pause, glancing up at him, his statement filling me with both trepidation and anticipation. I trust him to dole out only as much pain as I can take, to offset the hurt with bliss.

  “I will.” He presses his palm against my spine, propelling me over the threshold.

  I step into the warm sunshine, my billionaire following behind me. The scarred man stands beside a limousine, no expression on his face. I walk slowly, every step bringing me closer to my punishment.

  Will Logan use the nipple clamps on me? I shudder, remembering that delicious agony. Will he take out his displeasure on my clit, slapping that sensitive bundle of nerve endings? Or will he ignore me? That’s the cruelest punishment I can think of. Having been neglected most of my life, I’ve grown to crave his attention.

  I enter the limousine, not meeting the scarred man’s gaze. He must know I misbehaved, that I ignored his boss’s commands. I lower my ass to the leather seat.

  “Do you deserve to sit beside your master?” Logan asks, filling the space to my right, his stern tone wetting my panties. The limousine door closes and the interior lights dim.

  “No, sir.” I move quickly, kneeling before him, my pencil line skirt drawing tightly over my thighs, the carpeted floor rough against my bare knees. I place my arms behind me, imitating the women on the BDSM sites, and I wait, my head bowed.

  “What is your safe word, pet?”

  “Marriage, sir.” I use the same word, unable to think of another.

  “I’ll accept that safe word today.” My master doesn’t sound happy. “But you’ll choose a different one going forward. It’s no longer appropriate for us, is it, pet?”

  It’s no longer appropriate because he plans to marry me. “It isn’t, sir.” I struggle to hide my happiness.

  “You’re a clever girl.” His brown eyes reflect his approval and a warmth spreads across my chest. “Remove your jacket.”

  The partition is open. His man sitting in the front seat will see me. But I comply, trusting Logan, eager to please my master, my future husband. My fingers tremble. My heart beats faster. I slip the garment from my shoulders, revealing my black silk bra, the diamond nipple clamps sparkling, clipped underneath my full breasts.

  Logan holds out his right hand. I drape the sky blue fabric carefully over his palm. He places the jacket on the seat.

  “Pull down your bra,” he orders. “Show me your tits.”

  God, this is humiliating. I obey him, my face burning. The cool air tightens my nipples. The bra’s underwire pushes my breasts upward, presenting my curves to him.

  “Hands behind your back.”

  This position displays my nudity even more. I silently offer Logan my body, communicating that I’m his to do with as he pleases.

  “Very pretty, pet.” He slides his dress shoes between my legs and nudges my knees wider apart, the stance straining the seams of my skirt.

  I peek up at him through my eyelashes. He gazes at my breasts, at my face. The floor vibrates under my knees, the limousine moving. I don’t know where we’re going and I don’t care, my focus on my billionaire master, the man I love.

  He spreads his legs. “Come closer, pet.” Logan pats his thighs as though I truly am a pet he’s calling to heel.

  This treatment shouldn’t thrill me but it does, very much, my nipples puckering to sharp points. He’s in charge. I don’t have to think, don’t have to make any decisions. All I have to do is obey, feel, be.

  I walk forward on my knees until his body brackets mine. My subservience excites him as much as it excites me, his black dress pants tenting around his erection.

  “You have beautiful tits.” Logan cups them with his big hands and I press my lips together, suppressing my cries, my delight. “Full and firm.”

  He plays with my breasts, kneading my curves, squeezing them together and releasing, and I arch my back, greedy for more of his coarse touch, more of the pleasure only he can give me.

  He rubs his calloused thumbs over my nipples, each brush of his skin spiraling my desire skyward. “You like that, don’t you, pet?” he asks knowingly.

  “Yes, sir.” My voice is husky.

  He pinches the taut peaks and I jerk, a delicious pain radiating from his grip, escalating my bliss. “You’re exquisite,” he murmurs his approval, rolling my nipples in his fingers. I press my lips together, stifling my moans, writhing with joy.

  “I’m tempted to fasten my lips around your pretty pink nipples and suck, taking your softness in my mouth.” His low seductive tones sweep over me, pulling me under. “I’d tongue you until you came, splitting apart in my arms.”

  Sweet mother. I squirm, wanting that more than life. His mouth would be hot, his lips firm, his tongue rough.

  “But that would be a treat.” He drops his hands and leans back in the seat, leaving me frustrated and confused. “And only good girls deserves treats.” My billionaire master settles his hard gaze on me, his no-bullshit expression making my pussy tingle. “Are you a good girl, pet?”

  “I want to be a good girl, sir.”

  His eyes narrow.

  Oh shit. Wrong answer. “No, sir,” I hastily amend. “I’m not a good girl.”

  Logan shakes his head. “How did you misbehave today, pet?”

  He’ll make me list my transgressions. Sweat trickles down my spine. I know I’ll forget something, disappoint him yet again.

  “I didn’t answer your question directly, sir, when you asked me if I was a good girl.” I mention my most recent fuck-up first.

  He tips his head, acknowledging my admission.

  I can do this. “I sat beside you when I didn’t deserve to. I laughed when Benoit admired your ass, disrespecting you in public.” My misdemeanors pour out of my mouth. “I--”

  “Stop.” Logan raises his right hand. “You know what I want to hear.”

  “I do, sir.” I drop my gaze, unable to look at him, to see his disappointment, his anger. “I disobeyed you, sir,” I mumble. “You told me to wait for you, and I didn’t.”

  “Why did I tell you to wait?”

  “You wanted to protect me, sir.” My voice is small.

  “You knew that was my goal, yet you still disobeyed me.” Logan’s words whip my fragile heart, his disappointment causing me more pain than any physical punishment ever could. “Your family hurt you. I saw the anguish in your eyes when I entered the boardroom and that displeased me. Very much.”

  Oh, God. I hang my head, ashamed.

  “You’re a clever, powerful woman, pet. Why did you deliberately put yourself in a position where you could be harmed?”

  “I wasn’t thinking of myself, sir,” I plead, wanting him to understand, to not question my competence. “I was trying to protect you.”

  His eyes blaze, my explanation escalating rather than easing his fury. “Because you believed I couldn’t protect myself, couldn’t protect you.” He shakes with fierce emotion, his ironclad control slipping. “You thought your master was weak.”

  “No, sir.” I lift my chin, alarmed that he thinks I doubt his abilities or his character. “You’re the strongest man I’ve ever met, the only person I completely trust.”

  “You trust me?” Logan thunders, his fingers folding into tight fists, his knuckles whitening. “After I failed to protect you? Our enemies hurt you, humiliated you, thinking I wouldn’t care, wouldn’t seek revenge. You’re mine, pet, and they harmed you.”

  He’s not angry with me. He’s upset with himself, blaming himself for a situation no one could have foreseen. “Our enemies didn’t realize I was yours, sir,” I reply softly, wishing to ease his guilt. “That was my fault. I asked you to keep our relationship secret.”

  “You asked.” His s
houlders lower a fraction of an inch. “But I should have denied your request. I’m your master. It is my place to decide what is right for you. I should have claimed you publicly, left no doubt that you’re under my protection.”

  “You’ve claimed me publicly now, sir.” I gaze at him, not hiding my love, my faith in him, my trust.

  “That’s true.” Logan uncurls his fingers one by one. “Our relationship isn’t a secret any longer.” His gaze sweeps over my face, my breasts, my hips. “Everyone knows you belong to me.” His eyes gleam with a primitive satisfaction.

  I smile at him. “No one would dare to hurt me now, sir.”

  “Yes, pet. Only I have that right.”

  My smile fades. He hasn’t forgotten my punishment. I wait for his next command. Logan gazes at me, not saying anything more, his emotions shielded.

  Seconds stretch into minutes. I sit on my heels, remaining in position, while he studies me, debating my fate. My arms and legs ache. My chest rises and falls, my breasts bare, my nipples taut, aching for his fingers, his rough touch.

  I’m a clever, powerful woman, I silently repeat Logan’s words. I can take any chastisement he assigns me. He turns his wrists, revealing his creased calloused palms. What would those hands feel like on my ass? He splays his thick fingers and my lips part, my breathing growing ragged.

  “What are you thinking about, pet?”

  “Your hands on my ass,” I answer without thinking. I then realize what I’ve said and my face heats. “I was reflecting on my bad behavior, sir.” I attempt to sound contrite.

  His eyes glow, gold sparks warming his brown irises. “You’ll reflect over my lap.” He rubs his hands over his pants-clad thighs. “Lift your skirt and lie across my legs, pet. Your bad behavior has earned you a spanking.”

  My breath hitches, my pussy growing damp. “Yes, sir.”

  Chapter Six

  If I crave a spanking, is it truly a punishment? I shimmy my skirt up to my waist, the cool air in the limousine caressing my skin. Logan watches me, an indulgent expression on his angular face.

  As I reveal my black G-string panties, the panties he supplied, his smile fades. “Remove them. When we’re alone, you’re to be bare under your skirts, your pussy and ass available for fucking at any time.”