Game On (The Morgan Brothers Book 4) (14 page)

“I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time and…”

“And we found you despite your best efforts to elude us.” Phoenix had a valid point, and she knew it, but she wasn’t going down without a fight.

“But…” She made a gesture indicating she was talking about them both, “you guys have resources most people can only dream of. And I know Micah helped as well, so I don’t think this is a fair comparison.” Even she could hear the defiance in her voice, and she was sure they hadn’t missed it.

“Captain, that’s the lamest thing I think I’ve ever heard you say.” Aspen noticed Mitch slipped back into the military mindset whenever he felt she was out of line. She knew he still took missions with the Wests’ team, but she suddenly realized she didn’t know what he did the rest of the time. She knew his family had various business holdings, but from what she’d read he had only a minimal interest. Yet, he didn’t seem like the type to sit around all day watching soap operas either…
interesting
.

Vowing to do more research as soon as she got back to her hotel room, she looked up at Mitch and smiled, knowing he’d see right through the gesture. She’d been so focused on Mitch, Aspen missed Phoenix shifting his position. He pulled her sideways until she was pressed against his chest. “Enough chatting. Let’s get started. Remember, use your safe words if you need them.”

She had no idea how he moved so quickly, but before she realized she’d been moved, she was laying across his knees. Her bare ass was peaked in a way that left her toes bouncing in the air and the tips of her fingers barely brushing the floor. Wrapping her hands around his ankle, she tried to steady the rocking motion before she ended up dizzy from the quick up-ending.

“Your safety is our priority. A good Dom cherishes and protects his submissive. And, honors the gift of her trust.” The first slap on her bare flesh made her gasp. It hadn’t been particularly harsh, but it had taken her by surprise. She was more prepared for the next blow but heard herself squeak anyway. Damn, her ass felt like it was on fire and she’d bet he wasn’t anywhere near finished. Aspen felt herself sliding slowly down a slope of desire until she settled in a daze where the pain slowly shifted to something altogether different. The heat from the swats was becoming a burning desire she didn’t understand. Why wasn’t she screaming her safe word? And for the love of God, why was she so wet that she could feel it soaking the folds of her sex?

P
hoenix could practically
hear the wheels in Aspen’s mind spinning as she tried to rationalize her body’s reaction to the pain. When he landed the last swat, he leaned down to press his lips against the hot pink skin of her rounded ass cheek. “Your skin turns the most delectable shade of pink; it’s the color of the heart of a summer sweet sun-ripened melon.” Pressing another kiss to the baby soft flesh, he felt his cock harden and knew she would be able to feel the evidence of her effect on him before long. “Hell, I may spank you just for the sheer joy of seeing this color again.”

Phoenix slid his fingers between her legs, leisurely stroking the soft folds of her sex but not pushing between the swollen lips. Her honey coated his fingers, and he wanted to slide the between his lips and taste her. “It seems your body has an intimate understanding of the link between pleasure and pain, even if your mind is struggling to make sense of it.” He stroked the outer lips of her pussy and smiled when she moaned. Watching Aspen’s back arch as she tried to press the sensitive tissues against his fingers was one of the sexiest things he’d ever seen.

He’d played with submissives for years and had rarely walked away feeling anything other than sexual satisfaction. Phoenix always made sure the subs he played with were sated even though there was no personal connection between them. But there was something different this time, and he wasn’t entirely sure he could even describe it. The only thing he knew for certain was he’d enjoyed watching the imprint of his hand blossom with color on her delicious ass. He’d reveled in the feel of her satiny skin beneath his calloused palm, it humbled him to hear how quickly her whimpers of discomfort had subtly transformed into the sweet moans of desire. Christ, those delicious sounds were going to echo in his mind forever.

“We’ll give you what you want, sweet Athena, but you’ll have to be patient. Aside from our combined limit lists, there is only one thing off the table as far as your pleasure is concerned. We’ll never compromise your safety, nor will we stand by and allow you to put yourself in jeopardy.” He continued to tease her slick folds with the tips of his fingers, smiling at Mitch when she growled in frustration.

“What Master Phoenix is trying to impress upon you, Aspen is how seriously we take protecting what we consider ours.” Phoenix felt her stiffen ever so slightly at Mitch’s words. He thought she might be planning to protest their claim, but a quick flick of his finger against her clit pushed any dissenting thoughts she’d had right out of her head. Damn, he loved the way her body shuddered under his touch. “Now, up you go.”

He’d planned to stand her up slowly, but she’d bounced to her feet the second he’d spoken. When she swayed, Mitch clasped his hands around her waist, steadying her. “Next time, wait for one of us to help you. There are physical aspects of the lifestyle you’ll learn over time, but for now, put yourself in our hands.” When she frowned at him, Mitch shook his head. “Frowning at your Dom is never a good idea,
mon cher
. Consider this your only warning. The next time one of us is on the receiving end of that look, you’ll find yourself unable to sit comfortably for a few days.”

Aspen wasn’t sure
who she was the most frustrated with…Mitch for his high-handed declaration or herself for not calling him out. She intentionally blanked her expression and watched him closely. The goal was to give the appearance of compliance while holding her “fuck you” attitude firmly in place. She’d learned at an early age how to use both skills to her advantage…the vacant look had saved her ass more times than she could count. And using her internal defiance as a shield had often been the only way she knew to avoid being hurt by others’ opinions.

Mitch studied her for so long she started to fidget despite her determination to remain still. The corner of his mouth quirked up, and she knew he was trying to hold back his smile. He was toying with her. She knew it, but it was still working…
dammit
.

“You know, little goddess, I think you are far more complicated than Master Phoenix, or I anticipated.” She tilted her chin up fractionally, enough to be noticed by someone paying attention, but not enough to be blatantly disrespectful. “I had assumed the attitude was abeyant military training you hadn’t yet shaken—but, now I don’t think that’s the case. I think it’s smoke and mirrors. You hide behind it, even if it’s internalized.”
Shit! I’m not getting into this with him…them.
Hoping he wouldn’t sense how close he was to the truth, she didn’t respond.
Well, if this isn’t the shit frosting on my crappy cupcake of a day.

Mitch wanted to
laugh out loud—
damn it, I hope like hell she knows how to play poker.
Sweet baby Jesus, we’ll have her naked in three hands at the club’s next casino night. Fucking perfect.
He loved the way her eyes broadcast everything she was thinking, even when she tried valiantly to hide behind her glower. When she was intrigued, her eyes were impossibly wide. Arousal caused her pupils to dilate so much they only left a narrow ring of green remaining. And the flash of fire as the color faded to ice green when she was angry was so captivating he wondered how often he would annoy her intentionally simply to see her reaction. This blank look was straight up pissing him off. But it was the deep jade of arousal he knew would be the most addicting.

“Aspen, don’t think for a minute I don’t see through this façade. Any attempt to hold back your response will be seen as a personal challenge,
cher
.”

“You’ll deny yourself a lot of pleasure with that nonsense, sweetness.” Mitch watched Phoenix trail his fingers over the heated flesh of her ass before cupping the round globe in his heated palm. Her gasp made Phoenix grin down at her. “Still tender from your spanking, little goddess?” Mitch knew his friend had planned to give her several stripes with his belt, but her mental step back must have warned him it would only serve to push her further into herself.

They knew it took time to develop a level of trust that allows submissives total surrender, and they’d barely scratched the surface with Aspen—but it didn’t mean he wasn’t anxious to know she was giving them everything.

When they’d had a chance to build a solid foundation of trust, it would provide a springboard for everything good the lifestyle had to offer. Then—and only then would they’d be able to use punishment to break through any attempt she made to stonewall. For now, he and Phoenix needed to keep her off-balance every chance they had, it was the only way he knew to give her a chance to get out of her own head.

“
Cher
, all that thinking is going to cause you nothing but trouble when we’re in a scene.”

“And let me assure you, my sweet Athena—we are most definitely in a scene.” Mitch was relieved to see Phoenix had lightened his approach. He didn’t want his friend’s intensity overwhelming Aspen before they had a chance to show her how amazing single-minded focus could be when it was directed toward her pleasure.

“I understand all this in theory, but it’s a lot harder to shut down my head than I thought it was going to be. Damn, I studied this…I should be able to do it, right? I’m just supposed to do what you tell me. How hard can that be? After all, I was in the Air Force…I know how to take orders. Not that I ever was really good at blindly following along if I didn’t see the point, but still, I know how this is done.” Mitch didn’t even try to hold back his laughter. Hell, he had no idea how she’d managed all that without a single breath.

“While I appreciate your stream of conscious rambling because it’s damned enlightening—for now, I don’t want to hear you say another word unless it’s one of your safe words.” When she nodded, he pressed his lips to hers. What was supposed to be a chaste kiss to calm her, turned into a firestorm the instant his lips touched hers. Every single cell in his body felt as if it had suddenly been electrified. All his best intentions were pushed to the back of his mind, and the only thing he could think about was sinking his cock so deep in her he’d be able to feel her heartbeat.

Mitch had never come so close to completely losing control with a woman, let alone with a submissive during a scene. He and Phoenix had scripted this evening to the point he’d worried there wouldn’t be a spontaneous moment left—hell, even Aspen’s near meltdown hadn’t derailed him as much as this kiss. Nothing mattered but this moment and the woman now crushed against his chest. He plundered her mouth with his, using his tongue to search every corner, every small niche before swallowing her soft sigh. He cataloged everything, every whimper, and moan—committing to memory exactly what he’d done to elicit the response. Each whisper of sound was another step in her surrender and Mitch relished it for what it was—a sweet gift of trust.

A
spen tried to
keep her head in the game, but holy hell, Mitch Ames could kiss. His lips were hot and silky soft, and when he’d slammed his mouth over hers everything around her faded. The intensity would have frightened her if she hadn’t seen the soft look in his eyes a split second before he robbed her of all cognitive function.
Somebody should probably alert EMS because I’m not sure I’ll remember how to breathe on my own after this.
When he finally pulled back, she sucked in a deep breath hopping her eyes would be able to focus again.

“Damn, I love seeing that dazed look. Master Phoenix, I think we might have just found the first key to helping our lovely sub get out of her own head.”

“Let’s test your hypothesis.” Before she could shift her fuzzy focus to the second man standing in front of her, he pulled her into his arms, hugging her so tightly she was conscious of every breath she fought to pull in. She felt as if she’d been bound by his arms and the effect it had on her body was startling. Trying to sort it out in her mind, the only thing she could think of was she’d that needed the reassurance he still wanted her after the punishment he’d given her.