by Vonna Harper
“It is for now. And maybe forever if you follow the rules.”
“I’ll—try.”
“Just because I believe you’ve learned your lesson doesn’t mean I’m ready to take things back to the way they were before you disobeyed.”
Sure she’d regret it if she disagreed with him, she lost herself in what his hands were doing. He occasionally slid his fingers under the horse hair and ranged over her inner thighs. When he did, she widened her stance. He didn’t touch her pussy.
Barely suppressing a whine, she tried to look back at him.
“I know what you want, but it isn’t going to happen now. Think of it as even more proof of my control. This—” he placed his fingers on either side of the plug, “will stay in place for the time being. So will the collar.”
“But—why?”
Grabbing her hair, he pulled her upright. Abruptly changing position caused the tail to slip between her legs. It felt so good!
“Because you’re my pet.”
Yes, Master.
Even though she didn’t resist, he continued to hold onto her hair. She didn’t like not being able to see him. He stroked her collarbone, leaving a little of the salve behind. Having his hand so close to her throat was disconcerting. No matter how much she tried not to think about it, there was no denying he could easily choke her.
“My family has always had dogs.” His breath ran over the top of her head. “Most of them had been trained to guard, but Mom shows designer dogs. None of them have been what I’d call pets. The guard dogs were there to protect, the designer ones to give my mother something to do.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“So you’ll understand that your role in my life is different from what I experienced as a child.” He released her, and she sensed him putting distance between them. “Turn around.”
Her legs slow to respond, she did as he’d commanded. There was something disconcerting about still being naked in front of him.
“Something for you to think about and for me to keep in mind,” he said. “Just because your status here has changed doesn’t mean I expect you to spend your days waiting for me to have time for my pet. You have a job.”
He fell silent, his gaze roaming over her body. His erection pressed against his pants, but she saw no sign that he had to battle to keep his arousal under control. She wished she could say the same. Even more important, she didn’t understand why she felt as she did.
“I won’t get a full eight hours of work out of you today, but I need you to get out there.”
“Not like this. You won’t make me—”
“It’s an intriguing possibility but no. You’d be too much of a distraction.” He jerked his head. “Get dressed.”
Alarmed, she clamped her hand over her mouth. “Not—” she reached behind her for the tail, “like this. Please, no.”
His smile had her off balance. Was he deliberately making things as embarrassing as possible?
“Of course not. The tail won’t fit in your jeans.”
If he thought his logic would impress her, he had another think coming, not that she dared tell him. She was used to being considered somewhat of an expert when it came to big cats. Being treated like a child made her long to prove him wrong.
Unfortunately, her anger was at war with the arousal that still had hold of her. He was too damn manly, the essence of what it meant to be an Elite. He belonged in a place like this, doing what he had to her, in control.
Masterful.
Sexy as hell.
Everything.
“My clothes...” She couldn’t remember what, if anything, she’d been going to say.
“Are where you left them. Turn your back to me.”
While he did something to the tail, she again tried to divorce herself from her body. However, his fingers repeatedly brushed her thighs, making it impossible for her mind to go anywhere else. He’d brought her so damn close to climax, maybe closer than he’d known since he’d been focused on teaching her a lesson.
And on his own arousal, she reminded herself when the glide of long hairs along her thighs ended. He’d gotten something sexual out of how he’d handled her. He was still dealing with that, maybe as much as she was.
“There.” He patted her ass then showed her the detached tail. “Now you can get dressed.”
“The—what about the plug?”
“It stays.” His hand landed again, a little firmer this time. “Your panties and jeans will keep it in place.”
The plug did things to her she’d never experienced, brought her close to her body. It wasn’t what she’d call comfortable but neither was it painful. It was simply there. Almost alive. Proof of his command.
Resigned and yes, looking forward to its presence, she nodded.
“This too.” He fingered the collar.
Awareness traveled from her butt to her neck. “You want everyone to know about our—about what’s going on between us?”
“I don’t give a damn what they think. No one will question me.”
“No, they won’t.”
She took a chance on facing him. There was something untamed about him, civilization a thin layer. She’d already experienced some of his wildness, which factored into why she couldn’t stop thinking about what else he might subject her to. She shivered.
“What’s that about?”
“I’m not sure.” She touched the front of the collar where the metal ring had been embedded. No one would mistake it for a necklace.
“I think you do. You’re asking yourself how much my labeling you a pet will impact you.” He pushed her hand aside and ran his finger through the ring. “It’s more than a label, a hell of a lot more than this.” He tugged. “I’m talking about your mindset.”
“You want to change who I am?”
“That’s for you to decide. Either you accept my position in your life or we’re always going to be at odds.”
“You could fire me, Master.”
“Is that what you want?”
No.
Chapter Eight
“Spill,” Dominick ordered as soon as Darek answered his cell. “I want to hear you used the items I suggested you buy in case you needed to discipline a female employee.”
“Some of them.”
“Which ones?”
“What the hell do you care?” Darek demanded of the zoo owner.
“Shit. You can do better than that.”
Dominick was right. It wasn’t that he was determined to keep the details from his fellow Elite. Something was going on inside him. Until he understood he’d keep certain things to himself.
“I assume spanking was in order,” Dominick said. “It usually is. What else?”
“Don’t you have anything better to do than bother me?”
He’d been trying to follow up on a hopefully accurate piece of news about a female jaguar on property owned by a man suspected of capturing and selling wildlife. He understood officials were building a case against him. If the rumor turned out to be true, he’d damn well better wind up with the jaguar, especially if it was female. Luna needed a mate.
That’s what he should be concentrating on, not remembering what Callie had looked like when she walked out of his place. Her slow and careful steps served as reminder of what was up her ass.
“Priorities, priorities.” Dominick laughed. “Tell me about the spanking. All I’m asking is a little satisfying of my curiosity.”
Dominick was what Darek considered a half bastard. He liked going to BDSM parties and playing his role, but from what Darek understood, he’d never gone to extremes. He’d only seen the attractive woman who lived with Dominick once, just enough to conclude she was a submissive. Maybe she considered herself the man’s pet. That kind of play had never interested him, but he hadn’t said no when Dominick insisted on telling Darek how he should handle a disobedient female Other.
A lot about this morning had gone right, at least for him. Time would tell w
hether it had had the same impact on her.
“It happened last night,” he said.
“Which tells me nothing. Did whatever you do feel natural?”
“Yeah, it did.”
“Considering what’s at stake there, I hoped you’d come to that conclusion. After all, lives could be at risk. So did you convince yourself you needed to discipline the Other you stole out from under me?”
“There was no convincing myself necessary.” He wasn’t so sure about that. “I made it worth your financial while so don’t give me that crap about stealing her.”
“I could have asked for more in the way of remuneration.”
“But you didn’t. After looking at what the zoo needs in the way of improvements, you figured you needed money more than you did a big cat handler.”
“The money issues are only temporary. I’ll get this place out of the red. Okay, so answer me this. Do you think you’ll have more use for your new tools?”
“I don’t know.”
“What about something in the way of restraint? Didn’t you purchase a butt plug and dildo, maybe more than one of each? You bought a vibrator, didn’t you? Not one of those wimpy things but something with real power.”
“Two vibrators,” he said, giving up trying to evade answering. “One’s small enough to...”
“Yeah, got it. If she tells you she doesn’t want it up her, she’s lying. They all get off on that kind of action. Hell, maybe you already know it.”
From the way Dominick’s words came out, Darek figured he’d had at least one drink. His speech wasn’t slurred, but he wasn’t holding back. Shrugging, Darek reached for the whiskey decanter on his desk.
“How far have things gone?” Dominick asked. “Has she sucked your cock?”
“No.”
“Don’t hold back. It feels great. About said spanking, did you use your hand or tools of the trade?”
“Both.”
Dominick whistled. “Hold on a moment while I refresh my drink. Then you can give me the details.”
Although it was only mid-afternoon, Darek decided he didn’t want the other man drinking alone so unstopped the decanter and poured a finger of whiskey in a glass. Took a sip.
“I’m back,” Dominick said unnecessarily. “Look, I know you’ve been under a lot of stress getting the preserve up and running so take that into consideration when it comes to why I’m asking. Back to the spanking and whatever else took place. Was there a moment when you weren’t sure you could stop?”
“No.”
“You’re sure? Speaking from personal experience, I know how intense a session can become. There’s a fine line between being in control and things getting out of hand.”
He tightened his hold on the glass. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Good.” Dominick drew out the word. “If there’s ever time when self-control becomes slippery, call me. I’ll bring you back.”
“I know why you’re saying what you are.” Darek took another sip and focused on the burn down his throat. “There was that time when you—”
“Past tense. That one time scared me. Knowing how close I’d come to inflicting some serious damage forced me to face myself. I’ve learned techniques for keeping my temper under lock. If you want to hear about them—”
“Not now. If things start to go sideways, I’ll call you.” He liked how firm he sounded.
“I’ll be here. Back to what happened between the two of you, was there more to it than discipline?”
“No.”
“But you’d like there to be.”
Much as he wanted to brush off the comment, he couldn’t. Since sending Callie off to her job, he’d focused on his own with the hope he could push her to the back of his mind. He hadn’t fully succeeded.
“Having that much control over a woman is heady,” he said. “I can’t deny that.”
“Any woman or just her?”
“What are you getting at?”
“I know what she looks like. Hell, if I’d had the time I would have tried to get inside her jeans. What red-blooded man wouldn’t want to fuck her? And you—you could have had your way.”
He stared at the glass. Much as he wanted to drain the glass, he didn’t. “That’s not how I operate.”
“I didn’t think you did, but I decided to ask. There’s a chance she wants to fuck as much as you do. She might not know it but it’s there. You’d be a fool not to take advantage of the situation.”
“I’ll let you know if I do.” He wasn’t sure he meant it.
“Sure you will. Darek, having control is a two-edged sword. She’s at your disposal. But because she is, there aren’t any barriers. Sex between people who want it is one thing. Sex because you can and she doesn’t object isn’t the same.”
“What the hell are you getting at?”
“I guess I’m trying to warn you how complicated things can get. Don’t let your cock be in charge.”
“I won’t.”
* * *
Callie had put off walking into Mr. Dalton’s house as long as she could. Despite Master’s treatment, her ass ached. Moving with a butt plug in her had called for taking measured steps and not sitting. She’d done her best to keep her movements to a minimum. Every time thoughts of Master tried to latch onto her mind, she’d forced them away.
But she was no longer in the lookout tower watching the predators go about their lives. She couldn’t put off facing the man who thought of her as his pet.
Pet.
After closing the back door behind her, she clasped her hands, widened her stance, and listened. He hadn’t made it clear which room he wanted her to go into. Maybe she should remain in the entryway but maybe he expected her to return to where her discipline had taken place.
Memories of his hand and the whips landing on her ass sucked the air out of her lungs. After filling them, she looked around for something to focus on. Her hand trailed over her mons and between her legs.
When a door to her right opened, she wasn’t surprised to see Master. Still, she couldn’t stop her heart’s erratic beating, couldn’t ignore the sudden heat throughout her.
“I thought you might be here,” he said. “Just get off work, did you?”
“Yes, Sir.” What did he want her to call him tonight?
“Sir? I guess that’ll do for now.”
He wasn’t just acknowledging her presence. His penetrating gaze stripped her naked, peeled off her layers, and reached her core.
He wore a light blue dress shirt and black slacks, looking every inch the powerful Elite he was. His clothes were far different from her jeans and old T-shirt. Undoubtedly he hadn’t spent his day in a lookout.
“Before we get started,” he said, “there’s something in my office I want you to see.”
Knocked off balance by the last thing she expected to hear him say, she started toward the room he’d just left. As she passed him, he ran a hand down her ass. The touch said a million things, like which of them was in charge, that he still saw her as his pet.
Her heart pounded.
“There. On the monitor.”
He’d followed a half step behind her maybe so he’d relive what he’d put her through earlier. Just like that, she tumbled back in time to when everything had revolved around him. She both wanted his full attention and feared it.
The office had a high ceiling, masculine furniture, hardwood flooring, and a large window that looked out at a riot of vegetation. She’d never seen such a large desk. Dark as the wooden desk was, she wondered if it was mahogany, not that she knew much about various woods. A huge monitor dominated.
A video loop was playing. Even when she stood behind his oversized office chair and leaned forward, she had trouble making out the images. The filming had obviously been done from a distance thus the grainy quality. The lighting wasn’t the best and whoever had held the camera hadn’t kept his or her hand still.
Sensing Mr. Dalton’s impatience and because she needed more self-c
ontrol before she faced him, she strained to make sense of what he wanted her to see. The second time through the loop, she realized she was looking at a predator as it paced in a small enclosure. Obviously the predator hated being trapped.
“What kind is it?” she asked.
He stepped beside her and tapped on the keyboard, his shoulder burning hers. The pacing slowed, and the predator was enlarged. Even though doing so blurred the image, she had no doubt what she was looking at.
“A jaguar.” She could barely get the word out.
“Yes.”
Excitement charged through her as she faced him. She had to crane her neck to meet his gaze, and he was still too close.
“Where is he?”
“She.”
“She?” Her hands had started trembling so she clutched them. “Where was this taken?”
“Less than five hundred miles from here. The bastard who bought her from some poachers did it so he could display her to his friends and colleagues.”
“How did you learn about her? The video, how did it come to be in your hands?”
He placed a hand under her chin and slid a finger under her collar. “Do you really think you have a right to ask?”
“Luna,” she blurted. “He needs a mate.”
“I’m aware of that.” He drew her against him. “There are a lot of details involved in what’s transpiring but I’ll leave the explanation until later. It’s enough for you to know this jaguar is no longer imprisoned. She’s on her way here. The bastard who put her in that cage is facing a criminal charge, and if wildlife law enforcement does its job, that particular black market will soon be out of business.”
As thrilled as she was to hear that, she couldn’t divorce her body or mind from what he was doing to her. He was demonstrating the scope of his power, power that went beyond what was around her neck and up her ass.
“I’ve had a long day,” he said. “For a while I wasn’t sure I’d get back here tonight, which would mean—” He reached behind her and cupped a hand over her butt. Just like that she felt as if he’d stripped her naked. “You’d have to continue to wear this. I imagine you’d like it gone.”
