Gentle Control (5 page)

He slipped the toy inside her, fighting the urge to bury his fingers there again. “This goes here. The strap I laid out will hold it in place while we shop.”

Excitement zipped across her face and he saw Prissy Tempest depart. Burning Hot Tempest was here to stay. “Put it on me,” she murmured.

33

Brynn Paulin

Unable to resist touching his vibrant woman, he stroked her folds while he nibbled the sensitive flesh behind her ear. “I have the control for it in my pocket. I may or may not use it while we’re out. You never know. I may just let the feel of it inside you turn you on.”

She shuddered, her arousal already taking her.

“You like feeling my possession even when I’m standing away from you, don’t you?” he murmured. “It marks you from the inside out. Tell me who owns you?”

She hesitated. It was a moment, a millisecond, but it was a breath too long. “You do,” she replied. Next time there would be no faltering. She’d answer immediately without a shadow of a doubt.

Shoving back his irrational irritation, he secured the device then lifted a pair of jeans from the bed. “I want you to wear these.”

“They won’t fit.”

“I think they will. They’re yours. The movers your father hired didn’t take everything.”

“I can’t believe you still have them.”

God it made him sound obsessive. It wasn’t as if he’d created a shrine to her. At first, he’d stuffed them in a box with some of her other things because he’d believed she would come back. Later, he’d forgotten that he had them, the box just moving from home to home as storage items often did. But when he’d seen her today and remembered her in only her jeans…

“Put them on.”

“My panties…”

He shook his head, ending the protest. Between the egg and the stiff seam of her jeans rubbing her naked clit, she’d be hard pressed not to come before they returned home. She was so responsive. Playing with her, driving her to the brink of frenzy, had always been a favorite pastime.

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Gentle Control

For both of them.

He bit the inside of his lip as she bent to put on the jeans, the smooth curve of her rounded ass beckoning him. Tempest wasn’t the only one tortured to the edge of frenzy. Maintaining control when they finally hit the bed would be difficult. And he didn’t plan relief for either of them until their first stop tonight. God help Tempest. It would probably be fast and hard.

His cock throbbed behind the fly of his jeans, begging him to reconsider, to take her now. Ignoring the arousal, he fished a red T-shirt from his drawer and handed it to Tempest. It would be loose on her, but he didn’t necessarily want the world to see her pert nipples.

“Bra?” she asked in a resigned voice.

“No.”

She made a face accompanied by an eye roll and yanked the shirt over her head. He almost sighed in relief when her breasts were hidden from view. Almost. The soft cotton draped over the soft mounds, emphasizing them.

They had to get out of here before he lost it. “Where’s your purse?” he asked.

“With my clothes.”

“Go get it and give me your cash and credit cards.”

Her brows drew together.

“Remember,” he added. “Dependent on me. You can have them back later. Don’t worry, angel. I’ll be sure you have everything you need.”

“I’m not worried about that.”

“Then what?”

She hesitated, then shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

Josh caught her chin. “Don’t hide from me. No secrets. That’s always been our rule, remember?”

“It’s not my father’s money. It’s mine. I earn a paycheck. I pay my own bills.”

35

Brynn Paulin

“Doesn’t matter.”

Her irritation was plain as she padded past him into the living room but she didn’t argue. Josh followed, feeling like a modern version of Simon Legree.

So it wasn’t her daddy’s money. Josh still wanted that crutch out from beneath her.

He had nothing against his sub earning her own money and using it as she pleased. He just didn’t want that of Tempest. Not right now. Not until he trusted her. She’d left him once—he wouldn’t leave the door open for her to leave him again.

It irked him that he couldn’t trust her more. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d spook her and she’d take off faster than a skittish colt. He didn’t want to hold back and for that he felt compelled to be sure it would take some doing on her part should she choose to run. Or she’d have to ask him to let her go—and he would.

Tempest had agreed to be his. She wasn’t his prisoner.

She was his submissive.

The muscles in his groin tightened. She was his. Period. By the time their allotted agreement was finished, she’d be ready to tell Phillip goodbye forever.

Fishing her purse from the pile of clothes, Tempest dug inside then handed him three major credit cards with a ten-dollar bill. She shrugged. “That’s it.”

Feeling even more uncomfortable with his demand, he took the offering. He wouldn’t back down now. This was for the betterment of their relationship and as a Dom it was his right to place this restriction on her. She knew that.

He shoved the cards and cash in his pants pocket. He’d lock them up in the safe in his bedroom when they returned with their purchases later. First he had to get his keys or they weren’t going anywhere. He stifled a sigh. They were in the bedroom…

“Wait here,” he told her, already backing toward the hallway. If she followed him, he’d have her on the floor and be in her in five seconds flat.

Damn, he needed to regain some control.

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Gentle Control

From the corner of his eye, he saw Tempest shift, squeezing her thighs together as he stalked into the other room. He really wanted to stomp and get some of the frustration out of his system. But he wasn’t the stomping type.

Behind him she let out a quiet moan and his nerve endings jumped.
Breathe, Josh,
breathe.
The egg must have shifted, sliding slightly as her body coated it with her arousal. It wasn’t going anywhere with the strap he’d laced around her. The binding fit like an erotic thong and wouldn’t allow the vibe to escape.

He fingered the controller. Tempting…but he didn’t want her to have her release just yet. Besides, they had to shop for her clothes and get on the road. Practicality took precedence over burning desire. This desire wouldn’t go away—it hadn’t in eight years.

He doubted a few more hours would change that. Check-in at their first stop, a bed and breakfast literally in the middle of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a.k.a. the middle of nowhere, was at four. If they missed check-in, they’d miss dinner and supposedly there was nowhere, absolutely nowhere, nearby for them to eat. He grinned. They’d better be on time. Tempest would need nourishment to keep up with him.

The outing to get clothes ended up being uneventful despite Tempest’s occasional argument about his choices—most stemming from the poor self-image fostered by her family. She seemed to think she couldn’t wear anything alluring without looking silly or fat. He didn’t understand how she could be upset by the clothes he picked when the thought of her in them made his mouth dry and his cock rock hard.

She’d balked but he knew he was right. His sister was the same size as Tempest and he’d been shopping with her enough times to know the right sizes. That torture had paid off though he didn’t want to imagine his sister in most of the clothing he’d purchased for Tempest.

He didn’t argue with her. Drawing his fingers lightly over her hip was enough to remind her who was in charge and who had the final say. He didn’t allow her anything prissy. Within two hours, the suitcase he’d gotten her was filled with jeans, sexy shirts, scandalous lingerie…anything she’d need for the weekend.

37

Brynn Paulin

He couldn’t believe how much he liked knowing that she wore the panties and bra he’d selected. It fed the Dominant inside him, feeding the beast who’d been without sustenance for too long.

As they drove down the highway in his truck, her head rested on his shoulder, her floral scent filling every breath he took. Being with Tempest changed everything about his vacation. Aside from the bed and breakfast, he’d planned to stop wherever the whim took him. Instead, with the assistance of his cell phone and administrative assistant, he’d made reservations at specific spots along the route. He’d planned to take his bike. Instead they were cruising along in his truck. He’d planned on soul-searching.

Instead the soul he’d always wanted was curled up on the seat beside him.

He couldn’t be happier.

Well, yes he could. Before this morning, the idea of being with Tempest again hadn’t occurred to him in anything other than far-fetched fantasy. So why was it he couldn’t fully appreciate this miraculous interlude for what it was? Impending dread crowded in on him. If he couldn’t convince her otherwise, she’d leave him again. The thought of the fiancé waiting in the wings filled him with surprising jealousy too. He knew there must have been other men but this one… He had a claim on her. Josh resented it more than he liked to admit.

Tempest was his. There was no way he’d easily let her go again.

His fingers clenched on the steering wheel.

He wouldn’t think about that—any of it. He’d focus on the pleasure Tempest brought him. Dropping his hand to his pocket, he flicked on the controller for the egg still lodged inside her.

Tempest sucked in a breath. “Josh…”

“We’re almost there, angel.” Two miles, in fact. He maneuvered onto a gravel road, canopied by thick trees and edged by wildflowers.

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Gentle Control

“G-g-good.” Her fingernails dug into his thigh, much like they had earlier when they’d crossed the Mackinac Bridge, and distracted him from everything. Driving took all his will. Perhaps switching on the vibe hadn’t been such a good idea.

Tempest squirmed making tiny aroused noises that yanked on his cock. The vibrations probably weren’t enough to make her come but they’d certainly take her down that path. God, he couldn’t wait to be inside her. In his whole life there’d never been anything to compare with being buried deep inside Tempest while she thrashed beneath him, overtaken by her release.

Soon. Very soon.

The trees started to clear and the bed and breakfast came into sight. Josh almost slammed his foot onto the brake. What the hell? His “four star bed and breakfast on wooded grounds” was Four Star Bed—the motel name, he assumed—with breakfast available. There
were
woods surrounding the clustered buildings—however this wasn’t what he’d had in mind. Something quiet, relaxing, romantic…not seedy. The place might be off the beaten track, but it looked like a place to take a hooker for an hour.

He really needn’t have worried about the four o’clock check in.

“This is it?” Tempest asked.

“Yeah.” His irritation sharpened his tone. It pissed him off that his plan had spun awry. How was he going to win her if he brought her to the most redneck hole-in-the-wall on the map?

“It’s nice…rustic,” she commented.

His head snapped from the abomination before him and he stared at her in disbelief. Her grin told him she knew exactly what he was thinking.

“It’s a little…rundown, but it looks clean,” she added.

“That’s good,” he said in a low voice and grinned. “I wouldn’t want you kneeling on a dirty floor.”

39

Brynn Paulin

Her eyes went dark, filled with a desire that had nothing to do with the constant rhythm of the toy inside her. “Will you let me suck you off?” she whispered.

“We’ll see. You’ve proven to be a very naughty submissive today.” Man, he loved her that way.

Her lips tipped upward. Even with the years that had passed, she knew him too well. She knew how much she’d satisfied him.

“Let me please you then…Master.”

Their room had better be ready.

Josh jerked into a parking space and nearly dragged Tempest into the office. It had been a freaking stupid idea to wait until they reached the bed and breakfast before he toppled her to a mattress. He glanced around again.
Really
stupid.

Way to botch up “romantic”, idiot.

He reached into his pocket and flicked the vibe’s switch a notch higher. Tempest jolted, her breath leaving in a hiss. He leaned toward her to whisper in her ear. “Do you think you can keep from coming while we check in?”

Her teeth sank into her bottom lip as she fought to keep control. Damn he wanted to feel those teeth on his cock, lightly scraping upward as she wrapped her lips around him. His balls drew tight in anticipation. On second thought, they’d better wait on that part. It had been too long for them both.

Fighting for the control required of a Dom, he willed his erection to subside. Fat chance of overcoming his body this time. Being aroused by some woman for whom he had marginal feelings and lusting after Tempest were two vastly different things.

She made another strangled noise and he glanced at the man running the reception desk. “Or will you explode right in front to the complete stranger checking us in?”

Why the hell did that thought just about set
him
off?

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Gentle Control

Tempest’s eyes were slightly glazed and her fingertips brushed her thigh, much like his did when he silently reined her in. She was trying to pull herself back from the edge, the same way he did when he disciplined her. It wouldn’t work. It wasn’t him.

“I’ll be okay,” she murmured.

He bit back a smile. No, she wouldn’t “be okay”. She was too close to the edge. Still, he didn’t argue as he held open the door to usher her inside. She waited just inside the door then trailed behind him as he approached the clerk. Josh wasn’t stupid. She sought to hide her wobbling steps as her release overtook her. Each rapid breath taunted him.

He should have fucked her before. If he didn’t come in his pants now he’d be lucky.

Chances of restraint were fifty-fifty with his odds rapidly decreasing. A sudden vision of shoving her against the counter and taking her for the world to see almost undid him.