by Vonna Harper
“I wish you’d had someone like that when you were growing up,” he said.
Mr. Dalton was all about action and decisions and sometimes about domination and keeping her in line. She didn’t know what to make of this new person or how to react.
“There’s no going back in time,” she said.
When he didn’t respond, she considered what else she might say. He hated it when she apologized, but she wasn’t sorry she’d told him what she had about her past. He’d introduced her to what might be the most important person in his life. She couldn’t do the same, but she had given him something she never thought she would. Either he understood how rare that was or he didn’t.
“My uncle said you deserve better than me.”
At first his words didn’t make sense. Then she understood what he’d said but it still didn’t compute. Instead of asking him to explain, she kept her gaze on him. He still put her in mind of a predator but much of that was because his muscles were sharply defined. He understood his world and his place in it.
Just as she was starting to do here.
“Was he talking about my job?” she asked. “Maybe he thinks I can take on more responsibilities.”
“It’s not that.” Groaning so low she barely heard him, he got to his feet and walked to the window. “I never take time to simply appreciate my surroundings. Developers don’t want this land because it’s so far from civilization, but it’s perfect for my needs. I feel fulfilled here.”
She’d been right. She didn’t know this man. Maybe he’d deliberately kept this side of him from her but maybe it was just emerging.
“Thank you for telling me that.” She wished she could go to him and place her arms around him.
“Yeah, well, I’m learning some new things about myself. I guess it happens to everyone.”
“It did to me.”
“What are you referring to?”
Before now they’d really never carried on a conversation. He ordered and she complied. He spanked and she received—in ways she hadn’t anticipated but mostly enjoyed.
“I didn’t think I’d ever tell anyone that my parents didn’t want me. For it to be you...”
His slow steps as he positioned himself in front of her should have given her enough time to emotionally and physically prepare. But she had no defense against the deep-seated heat between her legs. Did he sense what was happening to her?
“Why do you think the floodgates opened in my presence?”
You have to know! The things you’ve done to me, how you awakened my deepest sexuality—
“Maybe—” She licked her dry lips and focused on the masculine fingers gripping her chair arms. “Maybe it was you telling me about the cougar attack. That and seeing your uncle, him telling me I could call him by his first name—so many things.”
“Yeah.” He brushed her jawline. “So damned many things. Like my understanding you had no choice but to put the panther cubs’ lives first even if it meant risking my anger.”
Please touch me again. Gentle this time. “I barely thought about you.”
“I get that.”
They’d been down a road like this with him laying out his rules and the consequences for disobeying.
“Do what you believe you have to.” She deliberately met his gaze.
“The thing is, that’s changed. A hell of a lot has today.”
When he returned to the window, she concentrated on his wide, strong back and muscled arms. This wasn’t the body of a man who spent his days behind a desk.
Or his nights alone.
“Call me Darek,” he said with his back to her. “I want to hear it.”
She swallowed. Her fingers went to where his had been. “Darek.”
“Yeah, there.”
“There?”
“The change.” He faced her. “The way I saw the world was turned upside down and inside out the day of the attack. Today isn’t as earthshattering, but that damned wise uncle of mine is right.”
Still getting used to having called him by his first name, she swiped at a tear. “What about?” she asked because she sensed he needed prompting.
“About giving you and the other employees credit.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “There’s a hell of a big difference between here and what happened to Uncle Clark and me. Safety measures, fences, people’s instinct for survival.”
“Considering what you survived, I understand why you’re so cautious.”
He walked back to her, captured her wrists, and drew her to her feet. “Just as I understand why Luna, the panther cubs, and the other predators here mean as much as they do to you.”
This wasn’t the man who’d hired and disciplined her. This one was wiser, more caring.
“They’re my family.” Her tears kept falling. “I realized how important animals are to me when I first went to work for that older couple. Their livestock, dogs, cats—I loved all of them.”
“Did they have pigs? Don’t tell me you tried to hug them.”
“I did,” she said with her head uplifted and his angled down toward her. “I picked up a piglet thinking to cuddle it. The mama charged me just as the piglet peed down my shirt.”
His laugh had her doing the same. Her tears still blurred her view of him while his body against hers made her doubt her ability to continue talking. Maybe he felt the same way because he scooped her in his arms and carried her out of the room. He didn’t let her down until they were in his bedroom.
* * *
“I want to see you naked,” Darek said as he unfastened her collar.
“I am.” She stroked her breasts both to prove her point and because they were so sensitive, so heavy.
“Not completely.” He drew the collar off her neck and dropped it onto the floor next to the bed they were on. “There. That’s better. For now.”
“Now?”
He replaced her hands with his, applying enough pressure that she didn’t try to sit up. “This is new for both of us,” he said. “We were raised to take very different stations in life within the Society for granted. I’m just starting to question things.”
“So am I.”
“We don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring. Maybe we’ll decide to take a break from deep conversations. Nothing like giving and receiving a little discipline to lighten things.”
She gave him her best interpretation of a groan. “You don’t know what it’s like from my perspective.”
“Don’t I? I happened to have been a very interested participant. I saw.”
But he hadn’t experienced, not that she cared to bring that up now. They were both naked. He’d easily teased her nipples into hard points and she’d stroked his inner thighs, even pressed her mouth to his cock’s tip. She wanted to do more, say words that remained lodged inside, but like him she’d just started on this new journey. He’d guide her until she felt free to speak her mind and she’d encourage him to share his emotions with her.
There was more they needed to say about what they’d touched on not long ago, but those things could wait.
One thing couldn’t.
“When you had me wear the ass plug—afterward I felt as if I’d stretched a bit back there.”
“You probably had.” He ran a hand between her legs, capturing and sheltering her pussy. “Why are you asking now?”
“I was wondering...” Weary of everything being an Other had done to her, she shook off hesitation. “If my asshole can accommodate your cock.”
Chuckling, he tightened his hold. “I’m sure it can in time with a little assistance on both our parts. Fortunately, we have another option for now.”
“Oh? And what’s that?”
Moments later she was on her belly with her ass in the air, her legs wide and his cock going deep into her. She tightened her channel muscles around him.
“Shit!” he gasped. “Feels incredible.”
“Yes, it does.”
After that she didn’t feel like talking or listening
. Experiencing was enough, everything. Clawing and biting the sheet, screaming at the end.
Then collapsing under his weight.
“Maybe I’ll keep you like this all night,” he said as his body blanketed hers.
“Is that a threat or a promise?”
“What do you want it to be?”
“Both.”
“Good.” He kissed the side of her head. “Good.”
Chapter Fourteen
“Put on the collar.”
No lights were lit in the garage where the preserve’s vehicles were stored, but Callie didn’t hesitate to hold out her hand. Master—she called him that when it was just the two of them—placed the length of leather in her palm. It didn’t matter that she’d been thinking about this all day, she still trembled.
“Now,” he ordered.
“I can’t find—oh, there it is.” She stroked the clasping mechanism then placed the soft but solid collar around her throat and fastened it.
His text earlier in the day had been short and to the point. YOU ARE HEREBY ORDERED TO REPORT, NAKED, TO THE DESIGNATED SPOT A HALF HOUR AFTER DARK.
Most of the time Darek, Mr. Dalton, treated her as if she was another employee. Their personal relationship was no one else’s business. She couldn’t imagine ever telling anyone about what took place in private and believed he felt the same way. He would always be an Elite while she was an Other.
But when it was their time—
Tonight he was more essence than reality, a commanding voice in the night. For the past four days she’d worn his butt plug. He’d inserted it after they’d had sex and shortly before he’d left for an extended meeting with the federal agency in charge of funding for nonprofits. Upon his return, he’d informed staff that the preserve would remain in operation for at least the next five years. She’d celebrated with her coworkers. Now it was just her and Master.
“I thought about you the whole time I was gone,” he said. “Deciding whether I wanted to focus on my pleasure or yours. I decided I can do both.”
“You did, Master?”
“Yes. Because I can’t see you, I want you to describe what you look like.”
His voice was a caress, promise, and challenge. Much as she wanted to throw herself at him, she didn’t try. “I took off my clothes as soon as I closed the door,” she managed. “Starting with my shoes.”
“Why not your shirt?”
“I’m—maybe because not having shoes on felt less revealing.”
“Go on.”
She leaned against the low-sided wagon she’d spotted before she closed the door. “I hardly remember taking off my jeans and panties.”
“Next time start at the top and work down.”
Next time. “Yes, Master.”
“Where are your clothes?”
“I’m not sure. Probably on the floor.”
“What happened once you’d shed your clothes from the waist down?”
Her head pulsed while the rest of her felt as if it was melting. He hadn’t touched her for days, but the butt plug had made it impossible for her to forget him for a moment, not that she wanted to. The collar reinforced the sensation.
“I had trouble with my bra because my fingers didn’t want to cooperate.”
“What about the plug? Have your fingers cooperated when it came to tending to it?”
“It wasn’t easy.” Thank goodness he couldn’t see her blush. “But every time I had to take it out, I managed to reinsert it.”
“What about now.”
“It’s there.”
“That’s a good pet. Now to see how obedient you are.”
Grateful for the wagon, she gripped the sturdy side and waited for his next words. Hopefully her fantasies over the past days were about to come true.
“I trust I didn’t need to explain why I left you like I did.” He sounded closer than he had earlier.
“I think I understand.”
He chuckled. “Oh, it’s more than think. You’re an intelligent woman and a fascinating pet. As for my command, I insist on easy access to your ass. Present it to me.”
Now that she’d been in the garage for a few minutes, she was able to make out faint shadows but couldn’t locate Master. She thought he was behind her. Willing herself to stop looking around for him, she planted her hands on the top of the wagon’s wooden side, extended her arms, and leaned forward. Her breasts dangled.
“You have the right idea,” he said, “but your ass isn’t all the way on display. You can do better.”
Widening her stance, she lowered her head as far as she could without losing her balance. Until Master had changed how she viewed her body, she hadn’t given much thought to her ass. Now, particularly when he was punishing her, she believed her sexuality started and maybe ended there. He had a way of turning discomfort into an experience beyond words. Calling what she felt an erotic high didn’t go far enough. More like her entire being locked into arousal.
“That’s my pet. You love this, don’t you?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Love being my submissive.”
“When it’s the two of us I do.”
“I understand.”
Thinking he’d say more, she held her breath. Seconds passed.
“Master...”
“Be patient. Don’t rush this.”
She was too on edge, too deeply influenced by her naked body, heavy breasts, and most of all the plug. A whimper slipped past her numb lips.
“You’re right. I’m not being fair, to either of us.”
He lightly stroked her buttocks with both hands, his fingers leaving lines of fire in their wake. Her legs weakened.
“Oh, my god.”
“Does that mean you approve?”
“Yes.” Saying the one word took a great deal of strength, strength she needed to hold onto so she could be the sex partner he deserved.
His strokes became a circular motion. He alternated between featherlike touches and nearly enough pressure to push her against the wagon. He claimed her waist, traveled over the fullest part of her buttocks, dipped into her ass crack, scratched the backs of her thighs. More whimpers escaped her to accompany her trembling body.
She hadn’t heard his breathing when he first touched her, but she could now. She pictured his chest rapidly expanding and contracting. His eyes would darken and he’d partly close them so he could tap into himself. Much as she wanted to pleasure him, she knew to let him take the lead. He’d inform her when he was ready to be touched, and he wasn’t there yet.
“Such a fascinating ass,” he said. “Soft skin. Exquisitely round.” He flattened his hands against her buttocks. “I can feel you tremble.”
“Oh.”
“Oh? As in you don’t care?”
“I do.”
She was becoming hotter where his hands rested, the sensation sneaking to between her legs and increasing her awareness of both of her openings there. Her juices slid over her inner thighs. Her butt muscles clenched the plug.
“I want to see how far I can push you,” he said, “but it isn’t going to happen today.”
“What?” She tried to straighten but lacked the strength.
“Take it easy. I was just admitting I’m human. Now to see if the same can be said for you.”
When he tapped her inner knee, she struggled to widen her stance. He rewarded her effort by stroking her pussy lips. She jumped with every touch.
He slipped a finger into her. “Your body’s giving you away. You’re ready.”
I know.
He withdrew then claimed her pussy a second time. She held her breath until she became lightheaded. Was his intention to push her frustration as far as he could? If so, he’d nearly reached her limit. Teeth clenched, she wiggled her ass.
“Don’t worry, my pet. I haven’t forgotten the end game. What I’m doing—hell, let’s call it foreplay. However, I agree with you that we’ve played that game long enough. Time for the main event.”
; Oh, yes! She wiggled her ass again. She was trying to see how long she could sustain the movement without risking dislodging his finger when he seized the ass plug and started twisting it, slowly pulling it out of her as he did.
“My god! Oh, my—”
“Like this, do you?”
“Yes.”
“Me too but not as much as what’s coming next.”
The twisting, pulling sensation continued, making it hard for her to concentrate on what was taking place inside her pussy. She was under attack from two directions, experiencing something wondrous in both openings.
Sweat broke out on her spine. The strain in her legs increased. She’d never thought her life would take this turn, but it had, and she loved it.
Loved Darek Dalton, who today she called Master.
“There,” he said as he removed the plug. She heard it land on the floor. “To state what should be obvious, you’re ready to have that hole filled by something else.”
“Yes, oh, yes.”
“No hesitation?”
“None. I’ve wanted—you must know what I wanted.”
Chuckling, he removed his finger from her pussy and used what he’d collected to lubricate her asshole.
“Maybe I should have turned on the light,” he said, “so I could see what’s about to happen.”
“Next time?”
“Possibly. As for now, it’s time to put an end to anticipation on both our parts.”
Her head pulsed, her arms threatened to give way, and her thigh muscles were on fire. Those sensations were nothing compared to the hot pulsing sensation in and around her pussy.
Something warm pressed against her bottom hole. With everything she had to focus on, it took her a moment to realize it was his cock.
Then there was nothing except him entering where no man had been. The wonder of it took her out of the real world and into something expansive and endless. He’d well prepared her for this. She was ready to be ass fucked. Hell, she could hardly wait.
