I closed my eyes and said softly, “You loved your wife.”
“Don’t make me say it.”
I whipped my head around. “I get it. Every other woman will remain in her shadow.”
He looked stricken.
“Am I right?”
“She was having an affair.”
I froze.
“Bastard came to her funeral.” He shook his head. “Found out after the fact. Was looking at her phone to make sure I’d informed her friends and hadn’t missed anyone. I found their texts, the endless messages. Her lover worked at the hospital with her. He was a surgeon.”
“Oh, Ethan.”
“Despite all that, my work got her killed and almost got you killed, too.” His gaze rose to meet mine. “And you mean more to me.”
All this time I’d believed I was competing with the memory of a perfect woman.
He shrugged. “The consequences really should have been a series of revenge fucks. But I couldn’t get what she’d done out of my head. This nagging doubt that I was never enough for her. This guilt for causing her death.”
And only Cameron had the skills to unravel the complexity of grief, betrayal, guilt, as well as his self-hate.
“Cameron never told me,” I said.
“What am I to you, Scarlet? Please tell me I’m more than a client.”
“I love you.” I stepped forward and hugged him.
“Promise me I’m the only man that gets to touch you.”
He was right, of course. So many dommes and subs committed to each another, agreeing to play with each other only and not share themselves sexually with other clients. What they’d found fulfilled them on every level and their bond became too precious to jeopardize. Even Cameron had pulled back on the partying when he seriously dated.
I cupped Ethan’s face. “I’ll hand my clients over to Lotte. I’ll remain at Enthrall to oversee the place, make sure it runs well. Is that okay?”
“Thank you.”
“Richard can take care of most of the other details and we’ll reassess my position.”
“Maybe…?”
“Yes?”
“Maybe just have female clients?”
“That wouldn’t bother you?”
“Can I be the only one who gets to have sex with you?” He shrugged. “Call me old-fashioned but I’m new to all this…as you know.”
“There’s still that issue we’ve not yet discussed.”
“Where we’re going to live? I’ll give up my place. That won’t be difficult.”
Wow.
“I wasn’t even thinking that far ahead.”
“That’s not what you meant?”
“I’m going to need to be my authentic self.”
“I love your authentic self.”
“Look, as we’re talking long-term, I need to know I’ll be fulfilled in this relationship.”
He studied me and then lifted the lid to my suitcase. “You know I’ve never submitted to anyone. Dr. Cole was different. That was for a therapeutic session.”
“You know what I am…who I am. I must dominate you, Ethan. If not in life, then at least in the bedroom.”
“I don’t know how to let you.”
“Do you believe we’re compatible?”
“If I let you dominate me, will you stay? Spend the rest of the weekend with me? Spend your life with me.”
Was he asking me to marry him?
He raised his hands, holding his wrists together.
Desire flooded through me at what he was offering. “I want you to want this, Ethan.”
“Cameron told me my therapy took so long because I refused to surrender. I’m assuming surrendering to you will feel different? Obviously.”
“Are you mine?”
His swimming trunks revealed an erection.
I picked up his belt buckle that he’d discarded earlier and wrapped it around his wrists, yanking it tight to secure them together.
This was it, a test of compatibility like no other.
We were on the verge of something profound and the call to prove there really could be an us was on the line.
He let out a sigh of arousal as I slipped his swimming trunks off his hips. His jaw tightened and his eyelids became heavy. His cock grew harder in the grip of my palm as I caressed him leisurely.
“I’ll do anything for you,” he whispered.
“Submit entirely.” I ran a finger around his tip.
“Oh, Jesus, this is as hot as I remember it from when we were in the dungeon.” He was rock hard now and if he expressed any doubt he was enjoying being dominated, his body told me otherwise.
His hands fisted into tight balls as he tried to let go of his power.
“Fully submit and I’m yours,” I whispered into his ear.
Our first session had been disrupted by his devilish threats to bring down Chrysalis.
This one would heal us.
We needed this…I needed this. If we were to have any chance of surviving he’d have to learn to become my willing sex slave from time to time and prove he, too, relished in my domme play.
Taking my time I set the scene, making sure the Do Not Disturb sign was on the door, the lighting dimmed and that small gap in the curtains pulled all the way closed. He watched my every move with the laser stare of a hawk, remaining in the center where I’d ordered him to stand and wait patiently, with his wrists bound and his enormous cock arched in desire.
Keeping him revved and ready, I guided him into the shower by holding onto the belt for leverage. We needed to wash this chlorine off. I worked on my own body first, having him in the shower with me but standing back, watching, as I cleansed my body with soap, rubbing the foam over my breasts and between my thighs, lingering teasingly over my sex.
His resistance weakened as he grabbed himself and gave long hard tugs to ease his aching cock.
I gripped his chin, scolding him, and he ceased with a groan of frustration.
Ethan was rewarded for his obedience with my full attention to every part of him, first washing his hair, soaping his body, and then massaging his balls for a while.
“Scarlet.” He hissed through clenched teeth.
“Mistress Scarlet.”
“Mistress,” he said with an edge. “Let me taste you.”
“Very well.” Reaching up, I scrunched his hair at the scalp and guided him to kneel before me.
I swooned when he buried his face between my thighs, sucking and lapping at my clit and serving me dutifully.
“You’ve been such a good boy,” I purred the words. “Look what you get.”
My head rolled back as he continued to devour my sex. Pleasure swirled deep in my core as I tweaked my own nipples.
“Enough,” I snapped.
He rested his forehead against my thigh and panted in frustration.
“Up.”
He rose majestically.
We stepped out and I took my time drying him with one of the plush towels. I let him dry me, too, and he knew well enough to avoid eye contact and remain subservient. Stretching out the play was a punishment in itself, the sub tortured by restraint, his body thrumming with pleasure.
Removing the belt from his wrists, I coaxed him to lean forward and place his hands on the edge of the sink. Using that same belt, I whipped it across his buttocks until he was rocking forward and backward, moaning, pre-cum hinting at his imminent release, his moans and glazed expression proving he’d slipped into subspace.
“Harder,” he demanded. “You know I deserve it.”
Exulting in his response, I saw that familiar burning desire in his gaze. His breaths were short and sharp, and proving he could come like this was as much a thrill to me as it was to him, from the way he now and again reached between his legs to jerk-off, balancing with his left hand on the sink to steady his gait.
“Both hands back on the edge,” I demanded, pointing.
He complied with a groan of pleasure and I cupped his balls, playing with them.
“You choose my punishment then. Whatever you deem is appropriate.”
I tapped his cock. “Better.”
He shoved out his ass, offering it to me again, and I knew this call of a newbie sub, this secret desire that all men wanted to ask for but shied away from. After sucking on two fingers to wet them, I gave him what he wanted and slipped them all the way in through that tight puckered ass. His groan was loud and full of yearning.
With my left hand I reached for his cock and set about a rhythmic pace of finger fucking him and jerking him off at the same time. His eyes squeezed shut, jaw slack, hips pumping into my hand and then pushing back to force my fingers deeper.
“Come for me, Mr. Neilson.”
He yelled as his cum arched into the air, and I slowed the beat of my fingers to draw out his pleasure, his entire body shuddering, beads of sweat trailing down his spine.
Slipping my fingers out, I caressed his butt cheeks to show my approval.
He looked so adorably dazed, his eyes wide and blinking at me with surprise. “Scarlet, you can dominate me all day long if that’s my punishment.”
“Stand straight,” I snapped.
He straightened his back and placed his hands behind him. “Did I pass the test?” He studied my face, searching to see if he’d pleased me.
As I washed my hands beneath the faucet, I bumped him playfully with my hip. “Wait here.”
Returning to the bedroom, I set about uncorking a bottle of chilled Dom Perignon and poured us two crystal flutes of champagne. Carrying them back to the bathroom, I was pleased to find my sub posed just how I’d left him.
I lifted one of the glasses to his lips and let him have a sip. Then I set the glasses down.
Pulling myself up onto the edge of the sink, I spread my legs apart before him. Ethan’s gaze was locked on my sex and he looked spellbound, a lick of his lips proving he liked what he saw.
“Mistress?” A plea as his eyes slid down between my thighs.
Dipping my fingertip into one of the glasses, I let a drop of champagne drip over my clit. The sparkling bubbles felt delicious.
With an arched brow I gave Ethan permission to move.
He stepped forward and leaned low, his biceps flexing as he held himself there with his head between my thighs, lapping and sucking and moaning, his tongue searching and finding that delicate liquor. The purposeful sweep of his tongue felt amazing.
Reaching over for the glass, I poured the rest of the champagne over my sex for him and he lapped at it, his eyelids heavy, his panting now furious as he strove to obey - to please.
I reached right again and lifted one of the flutes, taking sip after sip of champagne as he continued to lap decadently at my clit, my erotic moans spurring him on. I savored the bubbles, and at the same time, luxuriated in the sensation of having tamed this fierce man.
“Does that taste nice, sub?”
“I’m close to coming again.”
“Good boy.” I ran my fingers through his dark locks, trembling with luxurious sensations that morphed into an endless climax.
Shuddering out the last of my release, I whispered huskily, “You’ve made your mistress very happy.”
“I need to switch,” he said sharply.
“Soon.”
“Now.” He gave a firm nod. “Please, Scarlet. I need to take control.”
Dragging my teeth over my bottom lip, I mulled over his request. “What do you have in mind?”
“Get down from there. It’s my turn to fuck you hard. Let me serve you from behind.”
A thrill raced up my spine. “Make it count.”
He took my glass and set in down, then wrapped his hands around my waist and lifted me off the sink to stand before him.
He spun me around and shoved me forward.
Ethan slapped my butt. “Brace yourself.”
“Careful.”
“If you suspect I’m giving you another reason to punish me later, you might be right.”
“Pleased to hear it.”
He slid into me, using my slickness to aid his furious pounding, his hands gripping my hips to garner control.
“Harder,” I demanded, shuddering. “I say when you get to come!”
With each thrust he proved we were perfect for each other, two wild souls that fit together, a perfection combination of air and fire.
“Mistress, I’m close.”
I let out a long purr.
“Don’t make me beg!”
My orgasm stole my breath away, but I sucked in enough air to say, “Come.”
Ethan shot his warmth inside me, yelling through his orgasm as he rammed his cock even deeper.
Eventually he grew still, his breaths short and sharp. Mine were ragged as I gasped his name.
He slid out and I turned to face him, already missing our intimate closeness.
Ethan stared into my eyes. “Now do I get to call you mine?”
I gave him a gentle smile. “The first day you entered my dungeon, I knew I would belong to you.”
His warm gaze held mine. “So did I.”
EPILOGUE
Present Day
“ARE YOU WEARING my socks again?” Ethan stared at my feet in mock horror.
He’d shaken me out of my daydream.
I’d been standing in the garden, lost in thought, mulling over how ridiculously happy I felt. We’d been lovers for a year now, and it made me smile that the man who’d tried to destroy me once was now my greatest advocate.
Ethan and I had moved into an elegant Mediterranean-style home in Pacific Palisades six months ago, though only a handful of close friends knew we were together. With his position as a D.A., and my ties to Chrysalis, we’d had to be cautious about who we trusted.
This place was a stone’s throw away from Enthrall, and hidden behind a large iron gate to ensure privacy. The panoramic ocean and cove views were breathtaking.
I turned to face Ethan. “I like your socks. They’re cozy.”
“They look enormous on you.” He stepped forward and handed me a mug of coffee, then took a sip out of his own. “I like you wearing my shirt though.”
I loved wearing his shirts at home. They always smelled amazingly like him and made me feel safe.
Ethan wrapped his left arm around my waist.
He really looked stunning in his Armani suit. Tailored to perfection, it showed off his muscular lean frame. He was also wearing my favorite deep gray tie, the one I’d bought him for his birthday. My suave Ethan took my breath away each time he opened his damned mouth.
I sipped my coffee. “Tastes different.”
“Decaf.”
I let out a long, painful moan.
“You’ll survive.”
I turned and looked up at him. “How about we invite everyone over? Have a dinner party and announce it.”
Ethan placed his hand low on my belly and closed his eyes. “I can feel her moving.”
I laughed. “We don’t know if she’s a she yet. And besides, it’s too early to feel any movement.”
“We’re really having a baby,” he said, grinning at me. “She’ll take after you and be a little minx.”
“Or you and be a complete hardball attorney.”
“Maybe it will be twins and we can have one of each.”
I thumped his arm playfully, and then said, “Listen, I’ve been thinking.”
“About?”
“Leaving Enthrall. Retiring.”
“Do you feel pressured by me?”
“Never. It’s the right time.”
“Maybe it’s time you wrote that romance novel?”
“That’s what I was thinking, too. You wouldn’t mind a stay-at-home wife?”
“You know what I want. You, happy.”
“I’ll call Cameron and tell him my plans. He’s on New York time, so I’ll call him early. I’ll tell Richard as soon as I get into Enthrall. He’ll be supportive, I just know it.”
Ethan gave a nod of approval and tur
ned to walk into the house. “We received something. I opened it. Hope you don’t mind.”
I followed him back in and he handed me a heavy cream envelope with gold embossed writing.
He gestured to it. “I say we beat them to it.”
I raised my gaze to look at him.
“Scarlet, just you and me, saying our vows on the beach. Hawaii, maybe? I can book it today. If you like.”
“Are you asking me to marry you?”
“No.”
I blinked at him.
“I mean, yes. I mean…I wanted to make sure you liked the idea first before I asked.”
“That sounds like a proposal.”
“I didn’t get the ring yet.” He lowered his gaze. “To be totally honest, I saw you standing out there in my socks and I thought, ‘I can’t live without this woman’.”
I couldn’t help grinning.
He stepped forward. “I’ve been wondering whether I could ever cope with a no from you. And worried that, by asking you to be my wife and to commit to us entirely, I might push you away from me. What then? How the fuck could I even exist without you?”
I laughed. “So you’re asking for a ‘yes’ before I say ‘yes’.”
“Did I fuck up?”
“Not really.”
“I fucked up.”
“Go stand in the garden and wait for me.”
“Why?” He looked worried.
“Just do it.”
We both set our mugs down on the counter and he headed out to the garden, glancing back at me cautiously. It made me smile.
This man made jurors tremble, sent evil criminals away for life, and yet when it came to me he always showed such respect, such love.
Heading into our bedroom, I made my way over to the bedside cabinet and pulled out the small black box. Placing it on top of the envelope, I went back out to the garden.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed when he noticed what I was carrying.
I lifted the lid and showed him the fine gold band. “Ethan Neilson, will you marry me?”
“Is that like an engagement ring?”
“Yes.”
He beamed as he reached for the band and slipped it onto his left ring finger. “Let’s get married this afternoon.” He shook his head. “We need a marriage license. I know a judge who can expedite it.”
Enthrall Secrets (ENTHRALL SESSIONS 7) Page 18
