Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries Book 11) (11 page)

He’d known she would have gone to bed with him. She’d been deeply frustrated by how unphysical he’d been with her. He’d had to turn his head a time or two to keep her from kissing him.

Not touching her had been hell.

“The good news is now everything is out in the open.” It was awkward standing here with her. At one point in time he’d felt so comfortable talking to her. He hadn’t known her then. There hadn’t been a mile-high wall between them. He hadn’t realized how far apart their worlds were back then. He’d thought she was a sweet woman who worked in a dentist office. He’d had something to offer that woman.

What the hell could he give Mia Lawless except a couple of orgasms?

There was one other thing he could give her.

“Are you ever coming back to Sanctum?”

Her eyes flared briefly at the mention of Sanctum, but then she shut down again. “I wasn’t sure I could.”

Ah, yes, she was still invested in the lifestyle. “Ian didn’t revoke your membership. I asked him not to. Kori and Sarah made a plea for you, too. Actually, they made him cookies. My brother can be bribed.”

“Somehow I can’t see Ian Taggart being happy with me in his club. I lied to him, too.”

“You would be surprised at how reasonable Ian can be when he wants to. You should come back.” Another thought hit him. A nasty one. “Unless you joined a club in Austin.”

“No, Case. I haven’t been out trolling for strange Doms,” she said with a sigh. “I’ve been working with my brothers. They have their own insane plans, you know.”

He knew they were investigating a couple of people. Adam and Alex had been working on it. Case had stayed away. He wasn’t sure why the Lawless brothers wanted to take down StratCast Industries or why they seemed to have a hard-on for Patricia Cain, who wrote cookbooks and shit. If they wanted to take down the ice queen, who had a whole network dedicated to her telling the rest of America how shitty their taste was in everything from food to throw pillows, more power to them.

“Well, you’re welcome to come back. I know Kori and Sarah miss you. Erin’s talked about you, too. She likes any woman who’ll threaten to shoot her. Once she hears how you dealt with my rudeness, she’ll want to be your best friend.” His sister-in-law understood the need for a violent reminder every now and then. “You should see your friends. You know, I never asked you about her. About the friend you lost.”

It had been the whole reason for her lie and he’d never asked her about it. They’d been far too busy bickering over inconsequential things or ignoring each other.

“Her name was Carrie. We were roommates in college. She was very excited to be working on her first set.” Mia looked wistful, her eyes misting. “She was my first friend in college. We kind of clung together. She was from a small town and I, well, I had an odd upbringing. We kind of clicked. We roomed together until she moved to Vancouver for the show. I miss her.”

“I’m sorry, darlin’. I really am.”

She gave him a wan smile. “You know what it means to miss someone. I’m sorry about everything, Case. I thought I was doing the right thing. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

He moved in, taking the opportunity she was giving him. They should have done this a long time ago. “And I’m sorry I made you think I didn’t want you. I did. Walking away from you every night was hard as hell. I still want you, Mia.”

She looked up at him. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Tell me why you looked for Theo.” He should be asking her how she’d found Theo. He knew that, but he couldn’t do it. They would be together for days. He could find that out later. Right now, he needed to find out if she wanted him, too.

“You know why.”

He did. It was the same reason he hadn’t played with a single sub since the day he’d met her. No play. No sex. No anything because no one was Mia and it seemed like she was the only woman in the damn world who could do it for him. “Because we have chemistry. Because nothing ever felt like kissing me. No sex. No intimacy. None of it ever worked the way it did with me.”

“God, you’re an arrogant man.”

He wasn’t. It was all a front. “I’m not being arrogant. I know how you feel because I felt it, too. Why the hell do you think I lied about having a girlfriend? I haven’t touched anyone since the day I met you.”

Her eyes flared, her mouth dropping a bit. It was good to know he could shock her. “What are you trying to say, Case?”

He finally did what came naturally. He touched her, sliding his palm up her neck to cup her cheek. That was what he’d been missing. Connection. Warmth. “I think we’re going to be together for a few days. I’m tired of not knowing.”

He wanted to know what it felt like to cover her body with his, to have her spread and waiting and offering herself to him. To know how it felt to slide inside all that warmth. To be surrounded with her.

It wouldn’t last. It would only be for a few days, but for those days he would know what it meant to take care of her.

She frowned, but he felt her lean into his hand as though she needed the contact, too. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t want to know what a real D/s connection is like?” He was going to hit her where he suspected she was weakest. She hadn’t gotten to play. She’d taken the class, gotten a tiny taste, and she would need a full meal.

God knew he did. He could make a fucking buffet of her.

“It would only be for play, Case.”

His dick jumped in his jeans. “Only for play and out in the field.” That gorgeous mouth started to open and he was sure she was about to spew some serious bile his way. He put a finger over her lips. “No. This is where we went wrong in the first place. We should have sat down and banged out a contract. We should have taken this seriously.”

Now that he thought about it, did it only have to be a few days? Why? If they were upfront about what they needed, there was no reason the contract couldn’t be open ended. Why put an end date on it? She would be back in Austin. He would be working in Dallas. They could get together for sex and play. He would know the boundaries. She would know what he was willing to give her.

It might actually work.

His blood started to thrum through his system. He could have her. He could play with her.

“I’m not incompetent, Case.” Her face tilted up, her body moving closer to his. Her words might be defiant, but her body wasn’t. She was softening, her lips opening slightly. “I can handle myself. I know how to use a gun.”

An armed Mia was kind of one of his worst nightmares. He let his free hand stray down to her waist, enjoying the feel of her curves. “You’re a reporter, not a soldier. I’ve agreed to stand back and let you work. I’ve agreed to let you bring along Fain. Give me something here. I’m in charge of this operation.”

She sighed, a sexy sound. “I don’t want you to cut me out. I can’t stand being treated like I’m made of glass.”

She was so obviously made of warmth and sex. He lowered his head, lips hovering over her mouth. He’d waited so damn long. “I won’t cut you out. I promise. But I need to know you’ll obey me if things get dangerous.”

“It won’t,” she promised, her hands moving to his waist.

He wanted those hands all over his body. “But if it does…”

Her lips were so close. “I’ll follow your orders. You’re in charge if things get dangerous.”

That wasn’t good enough. “And here, Mia. I’m in charge when we play. You’re the sweet sub and I’m the dirty Dom who’s going to demand absolutely everything you have to give me. Tell me yes. Tell me we can play.”

“Yes, Case. Yes.”

He covered her mouth with his, devouring her like a starving man. He couldn’t be gentle. He needed her far too much.

Her arms wound around him and she held on, pressing her body to his. Her breasts flattened against his chest.

This was what he’d wanted that first night, the first moment he’d seen her. He’d wanted her soft and submissive. She’d called to that dominant piece of him he hadn’t known existed. Before Mia had walked into his life, he’d enjoyed the lifestyle, but he hadn’t truly understood it. He hadn’t known what it meant to need to dominate a woman—not for mere sexual purposes or to feed his own ego. He needed to dominate her because she ruled his every thought, because he needed to be important to this one woman.

No. Case forced himself to stop. He pulled away from the drugging kisses she was giving him. He couldn’t go down that path. If he was going to take her, it would be on his terms, and that meant he wasn’t going to play the idiot. He wasn’t going to ask for more than she could give him. He wasn’t going to pretend this was some grand love. She wasn’t Charlotte and he wasn’t Ian. They didn’t get that forever thing.

But they could have this.

“What’s wrong?” She looked up at him and then started to pull away.

He wasn’t going to let that happen. He turned her around so his front nestled her back. “Nothing’s wrong. I want to feel you. Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited to touch you, Mia? How often I’ve thought about this?” His hands were on her waist and he brought them up slowly. “I want to memorize every inch of your skin, and do you know how I’m going to do it?”

She leaned back into him. “You’re going to touch me.”

He loved how breathless she was. No other woman ever responded as honestly to him as she did. He could trust her body even if he didn’t trust the rest of her. Oh, she wouldn’t mean to hurt him. He actually believed that, but she would choose her world. She would choose her family over him. He could keep her for a little while.

“What am I going to touch you with, princess?” He moved slowly, letting his hands find the warm skin under her shirt.

“Your hands.” Her head fell back against his chest. Without heels on she didn’t quite reach his shoulders. “I want your hands everywhere, Case. They feel so good.”

“I will touch you everywhere, but that’s not all I’ll do.” He was right under her breasts. This was one of the things D/s had taught him. Sex required discipline. Patience. Control. He wanted to shove her on that bed and force his dick inside her, but that wouldn’t make it good for her. This methodical arousal of every inch of her body would make her ready for him, would make her scream for him.

Might make her stay with him for a while.

He flattened one palm on the curve of her belly, the other touching the band of her bra. There was zero reason to hide how hard he was. He let his cock rub against her backside. “I’m going to put my hands on you. I’ll touch your breasts and cup that hot ass of yours and I will let my fingers explore how hot and wet your pussy gets for me.”

“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 get to know each other’s bodies and responses. It makes us thoughtful lovers. I want to be your lover. 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 nice 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 a 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. But first I’m going to touch everything that just became mine.”

He moved both hands up to cup her breasts. They filled his palms. Mia was nice and curvy, built for sex, built to take him.

All the reasons he shouldn’t have her floated away on a haze of lust. There was zero reason to wait. Beginning the relationship with Mia would do nothing but make it easier on them both when they got to Colombia. And there was that handy bed right there. All he had to do was take two steps and he could toss her down, rip off her clothes and ease them both.

Mia turned her head and he managed to catch her mouth with his. She opened immediately, inviting his tongue to glide along hers. He slipped his hands under her bra and finally felt soft skin. Her nipples were tight.

He wanted to taste them, needed them in his mouth.

He turned her around and picked her up with ease, setting her on the dresser. Luckily the elegant fucker looked like it was bolted down because it didn’t move at all. “Take off your shirt.”

She was panting, but her eyes shifted to the door. “Case, we’re not alone.”

He closed the door and turned the lock. “We’re alone and don’t you tell me they might hear you. I don’t care if they hear you. I don’t care if they know exactly what we’re doing. They don’t matter. This is between you and me and I’ll fuck you anywhere you’ll allow me to. You should probably understand that right now.”