Devoted: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella (26 page)

“You’re killing me, Case.” She squirmed a little, as though trying to get him to move.

He held her tight, his mouth against her ear. “Don’t. We haven’t talked about punishments so I’m not going to stop and spank that sweet ass, but now you’ve been warned. This is my time. It’s my time to explore your body and get you hot. I’ll give you time later, but for now you’ll let me enjoy how you feel under my hands.”

“D/s sucks,” she said with a shaky laugh.

He ran the tip of his tongue along her ear, enjoying the way she shivered. “No it doesn’t. It makes us take things slow and really get to know each other’s bodies and responses. It makes thoughtful lovers. I want to be your lover, Mia. Do you understand what I mean by that? I don’t want to be your boyfriend. I want to be your Dom. It’s different. A boyfriend can take you or leave you. A Dom is responsible for you. It means something deeper to me.”

“I’ve had boyfriends and not one of them made me feel the way you do,” she admitted. “Please don’t stop. I’ve waited so long for this.”

He could smell her shampoo and the soap she used. He leaned down and ran his nose along the graceful column of her throat. “When I’m done touching you, I’m going to taste you.” He ran his tongue from her collarbone back up to her ear. “I’m going to lick you and we’ll see how you like a little bite.”

He nipped at her ear, just a little sharp bite that made her jump in his arms. She groaned, but it wasn’t one that told him she was in pain.

“I think I like it, Case,” she replied, her breath shaky. “The training course alone taught me that.”

He growled. “I don’t like the thought of someone else training you.”

Her body shook with her husky chuckle. “Javier and I were just friends. Promise. I liked the flogger he owned more than him. I liked the sting. I thought I could maybe survive a thud, but I got so hot when he hit me with the stinger. I wasn’t thinking about him though. I always thought of you. It was never him holding that son of a bitch and making me beg for more.”

Fuck, she could talk dirty, too, and that did something for him. “I didn’t bring a flogger with me. I should have been more optimistic, but I think you’ll find I can still take care of you. I’ll find all kinds of things to torture you with, princess. But first I’m going to touch everything that just became mine.”

On behalf of 1001 Dark Nights,

Liz Berry and M.J. Rose would like to thank ~

Steve Berry

Doug Scofield

Kim Guidroz

Jillian Stein

InkSlinger PR

Dan Slater

Asha Hossain

Chris Graham

Pamela Jamison

Jessica Johns

Dylan Stockton

Richard Blake

BookTrib After Dark

The Dinner Party Show

and Simon Lipskar

Table of Contents

Book Description

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Epilogue