Mastering Lexie (Stronghold Book 4) (32 page)

Granted, she
still wished that Patrick had come after her harder... but then again, he'd
reached out, hadn't he?  He'd called and texted, and because it wasn't the
response she wanted, she'd ignored that.  Dismissed it.  And she
wanted him to prove that he cared more about her than he did about Jake? 
UGH.  When did she get so needy?  She knew that he loved them
both.  Yeah, he should fight for her, but he should also respect his friendship
with Jake.  She should respect that friendship too instead of playing
games to try and push Patrick into behaving the way she wanted him to. 
Not that she’d meant to play games, exactly, but that’s what had happened.

That's what
Andrew meant when he said she was only thinking about herself.  Yeah, she
thought she could make Patrick happy, but she was going about it in the wrong
way right now.  She'd started off so right, but then when he hadn't
followed the course she'd plotted out in her head, when he hadn't reacted the
right way, she'd practically had a meltdown.

"I'm such
an idiot," she mumbled, tears sparking in her eyes.

"Aw, it's
okay honey, we all are sometimes," Andrew said, reaching over to pat her
on the head.  "Besides, you aren't all in the wrong.  He
shouldn't have let you push him into training you so soon in the first
place."

"Thanks,"
Lexie said, snorting.  "Not exactly what I meant."

"Yeah
well, relationship are rough.  Especially when you're into kink and trying
to figure out if the person you love can also give you what you need."
 Something about his voice had changed, and when Lexie looked at him, he
was staring off into space, looking at a blank spot on her wall.  She
immediately knew that he wasn't really talking about her and Patrick.  "It's
not easy and it can go really, really badly.  I don't blame Patrick at all
for being cautious.  I'm surprised he wasn't more so."

"You're
talking about you and Katherine, aren't you?" she asked quietly, not
wanting to jolt him out of his introspective mood.  Andrew so rarely
brought up his ex, especially what ended their relationship, even this little
bit of insight was a revelation.

"I pushed
too hard, and she couldn't handle it," he said, just as quietly.  The
inherent sadness in his expression had Lexie scooting closer to him, leaning
her head against his shoulder to offer comfort.  "I know Patrick was
scared of doing the same thing to you."

"That's
because he thinks I don't know what I want or need."

"No, it's
because the reality is different from the fantasy.  Katherine had the
fantasies, but she couldn't handle the reality."

Yeah, like how
in her fantasies, she could always handle everything that Patrick threw at
her.  And her nipples were never sore for days after a scene.  Not
that she minded that part, she just hadn't fantasized about it.  For her,
the reality had been just as good as her fantasies, better, but she could
imagine how that might not have been the case.  What if Patrick had been
more into pain than she'd thought?  Or demanded High Protocol all of the
time?  There were a few couples at Stronghold who practiced that, and she
couldn't imagine always having to ask to speak.  Sure, she'd known he'd
never required that of his girlfriends, but she'd never known for sure what
went on in his bedroom.

Poor Andrew. 
He was still staring off into space, his mostly-eaten bagel just resting in his
hand on his thigh.  Lexie nuzzled her head against his shoulder.
 "Is that why you're such a man-whore now?"

"Excuse
me?" he asked, jerking out of his reverie, and Lexie giggled, as he pushed
her away from him.  He practically pouted at her, insulted.  "Did you
just call me a man-whore?"

"Hey, if
the shoe fits..."

"Just
because I like to make sure as many of Stronghold's masochistic submissives are
as satisfied as possible..."

Lexie rolled
her eyes.  "Uh huh.  Keep telling yourself that."

"What do
you mean by that?" Andrew asked, narrowing his eyes at her.  Lexie
gave him a look.

"Seriously? 
You might satisfy a few of the subs, who don't want relationships, like Ellie,
but the rest of them wish you would settle down.  Granted, they all want
to be the one you settle down with..."

"They
know the score."

"That
doesn't stop them from hoping," she said tartly.  More than one
submissive had ended up in the locker room crying, because Master Andrew had
played with her last week and then hadn't given her a second glance this
week.  Maybe she'd been ignorant about what she was doing to Patrick, but
he was just as ignorant about what he'd been doing to the subs.

"I can't
stop them from hoping," Andrew said with a shrug.  "I tell them
the truth, and that's all I can do.  Whether they choose to believe me or
not is up to them."

Lexie made a
face at him, but there wasn't much she could say to that.  He did tell the
truth.  Always.  Brutally sometimes.  And the subs kept choosing
to scene with him anyway.  Kind of like she'd kept chasing after Patrick
anyway.  

She should
call him.  Or, better yet, go to him.  Maybe bake something as a
peace offering.  After talking to Andrew, she could understand Patrick's
side of things a little better.  At the very least, he deserved to be
heard out.  Pride made for a lonely bedfellow.

"I'll go
talk to Patrick today."

"Good
girl," Andrew said approvingly.  She rolled her eyes.

"Why
couldn't you have been like this last night?  You kept glaring at
me."

"Last
night we were in Stronghold and I was a Dom who was disappointed in your
behavior.  You were trying to manipulate Patrick by showing up the way you
did, and I didn't approve.  Today I'm your friend, doling out hard truths
and big hugs."

Lexie shrieked
as he suddenly popped the last of his bagel in his mouth and wrapped his arms
around her, although she noticed that he was careful not to jostle the arm
holding her coffee cup.  There wasn't much left, but she appreciated it
anyway.  She also appreciated the big hug.  He was such a doofus, but she
loved him.

******

Something
thudded against his front door.  Frowning, Patrick looked up from the book
he was reading.  He'd decided to start on the small pile (which never
seemed to get any lower) of books he'd been meaning to read.  It was
better than staring at the television, which didn't take nearly enough of his
focus.

THUD. 
THUD.  THUD.

Lexie? 
Patrick couldn’t think of anyone else who ever kicked his door rather than
knocking on it.  If her hands were full, she never bothered to put
anything down, she'd just kick the door.  

Putting the
book face down on his coffee table, he jumped up, moving quickly and
quietly.  Rather than getting his hopes completely up, he looked through
the peephole.  Short black hair, big blue eyes, and a wary expression met
his gaze.

Holy shit.

He stepped
back and yanked the door open.

"Um. 
Hi."  Lexie looked up at him with a tremulous smile on her face, as
if she wasn't sure about what she was doing.  As much as he loved her
confidence, her hesitancy was just as endearing to him.  Maybe more so,
since he so rarely got to see her uncertain.  She held up a cherry
pie.  His favorite.  "I brought you pie."

"Homemade?"
he asked, grinning because he already knew the answer.  Holding the door
wider, he turned so that she could step inside.  She gave him a dirty look
as she passed by him.

"Nope."

Lexie made
terrible pies.  The only time she'd ever managed to succeed in making a
good pie was with her mother standing over her, watching her every move, and
guiding her every step.  Otherwise, somehow, they just always turned out
bad.  She never did anything really obvious, like mixing up salt and
sugar, but they just always came out unpalatable.  

But Patrick
loved pie, and she knew it, so she'd picked one up, even knowing he'd tease her
about it. 

She set the
pie down on his dining room table, turning to face him and shifting back and
forth on her feet nervously.  He waited, patient.  As much as he
wanted to know what she was doing there, he didn't want to antagonize her now
that she was here.  Hope was welling up inside of him that she'd come,
rather than called or texted.  That had to mean something.

Finally, she
straightened up to her full height and looked him in the face.  "I
came to say that I'm sorry for leaving the club on Thursday night and for not
returning your calls or texts."

Patrick moved
forward, invading her space.  She stood her ground, tilting her head back
to keep eye contact.  The thin blue sweater she was wearing couldn't hide
the hardening of her nipples as he loomed over her, pressing her rings against
the fabric. 

"Is that
it?" he asked, his voice a low, deep rumble. 

She scowled up
at him, putting her hands on her hips.  "I'm not sorry for leaving
the Doctor's Office, if that's what you're getting at."

"What
about last night?"  

"Oh...
I'm sorry about that too," she said, losing some of her defiance.
 "Leigh asked me to come to Stronghold, and I didn't think about how
it would look if I showed up without the collar on and with Michael.  Not
that I was really with him, which is why I didn't think about it.  We all
came together.  He didn't play with me last night, and he didn't ask me
to.  Even if he had, I would have never said yes."

Letting her
babble, Patrick could feel his heart lifting up in his chest, the tension
leaking out of him.  She closed her mouth with a sudden click of her
teeth, realizing that she was blathering.  The look that she gave him
clearly said that it was his turn.  He couldn't help but chuckle. 
Submissive she might be, a pushover she was not.

Reaching up to
brush her hair way from her eyes, he enjoyed the feel of her silky strands
against his fingers.  His cock stirred.  If he had his way, they were
going to be doing more than talking tonight.  As far as he was concerned,
he'd gotten the go ahead from Jake, and if Lexie was here, that meant they
could work this shit out.  She certainly didn't seem averse to picking up
where they'd left off, rather than returning to the friend zone.

"I'm
sorry about how harsh I was with you on Thursday.  I was startled, and
angry at myself for not maintaining my control, and I reacted badly."

"Yes you
did," Lexie said, giving him a pert look that had him chuckling again.

"Careful
there, Pixie, you're in enough trouble as it is."

Her eyes
widened in surprise, and she shook her head, but he could also see her pupils
dilating as her breathing picked up.  She might be shaking her head, but
she liked the idea of being in trouble and in need of discipline.

Patrick
twirled her hair around his fingers, and she gulped a little as her eyes
flicked to his hand and then back up to him.  They'd never stood quite
this close, with him touching her like this.  Her already big eyes got
even bigger as she seemed to realize that something had changed, that he wasn't
holding back anymore.  Good.  Because, while he was still in control
of himself, the boundary lines had shifted, and she was about to be in for a
surprise.

"If you
had come to my office on Thursday, I would have apologized then and
there.  But maybe it's better this way.  I had a chance to talk to
Jake this morning."

Her lips
tightened and then smoothed out, as if she wanted to say something and then
exerted the effort to stay quiet.  No, she still didn't like that he'd
felt the need to talk to Jake, but she wasn't going to make a big deal out if
it either. 

"I told
him that we're going to be dating by the time he gets home.  I hope you
don't make a liar out of me."  

The look in
her eyes softened as they lit up from within, her head tilting towards his
hand, body turning towards him a little more.  Yeah, she liked that
idea.  Triumphant satisfaction blazed through him.  He didn't know
what she had been expecting when she'd shown up at his house tonight, but he
knew exactly what he was going to take now that she was here.

"Okay,"
she whispered.

"Good, as
long as we're on the same page."

Her lips
parted as he leaned down, his hand cupping her cheek, fingers still tangled in
her hair, and he kissed her.

Patrick's lips
were soft against hers, gentle, almost coaxing.  She couldn't help but
move closer to him, almost unbelieving that this was really happening. 
They were kissing!  Not because of a scene or pent-up sexual tension, but
because Patrick
wanted
 to kiss her.

This should
have been what their first kiss was like.  This gentle but demanding press
of lips, one hand on her cheek, the other sliding around her waist to draw her
in closer as she opened for him and his tongue delved into her mouth. 
Lexie made a needy noise in her throat as she kissed him back, sliding her
tongue against his, pressing herself against his body.

The sensation
was heady, the fulfillment of a long-held fantasy making the moment both
surreal and ecstatic.  It wasn't just arousal that exploded through her
body, it was excitement, joy, and love.  The revelation of hope that she'd
held on to for years.  

Patrick wasn’t
just kissing her, he was devouring her.  Lexie was becoming light-headed
as he kissed her so deeply, so possessively, that it was consuming her entire
being.  His fingers slid around to the back of her neck holding her in
place, as if he was afraid she would pull away.  No chance of that. 
She kissed him back just as hungrily, glorying in the moment.

When he pulled
away, she tried to follow, going on her tiptoes and whimpering at the
loss.  Opening her eyes, she stared imploringly up at him, hoping he
wasn’t going to stop now.  She might have to kill him if he did.  It
would be a waste of a seriously great kisser.

“Boundaries.”

“What?” 
She blinked, confused and trying to catch up.

“What are your
boundaries for today?” he asked, his voice rasping.  Fingers stroked her
back, along her spine, making her shiver as lustful tingles ran under her
skin.  “Your limits.  How far are you willing to go?”

Oh. 
Oh.

Fuck yes.

“No limits,”
she whispered huskily, her throat tightening with excitement and making it
almost difficult for her to talk. 
Yes, yes, yes!
  “I trust
you.”

Heat and need
flared and then his lips were on hers again, but this time he wasn’t just
leaning over her, he was lifting her up.  Grasping her ass, he pulled her
hard against him and Lexie jumped, instinctively, helping him.  Her legs
wrapped around his hips, the hard ridge of his erection pressing directly
against her splayed pussy. 

As excited as
she was, she couldn't stop the little tremor of anxiety that went through her
as well.  She'd been dreaming about this for so long that she couldn't
believe it was actually happening.  Some part of her was terrified that
she'd fallen asleep and was just dreaming.  Really, really vividly.  

Patrick's
fingers dug into her ass and he started to move, still kissing her, and she had
to admire his ability to multitask.  Walking slowly but surely, he went
down the hall, and Lexie thought her heart was going to pound its way out of
her chest when she realized that he was taking her to his bedroom.  She
felt a bit faint, and not just because he was kissing her so deeply that she
could barely breathe.  

Oh my
god... Oh my god... Oh my god...

She felt like
she was going to die of excitement, like her heart was going to give out because
it was beating so rapidly – and she would never forgive herself if she did.
 

When he put
her down, he slid her along his body so that she rubbed against his
erection.  She'd always enjoyed how much taller and stronger he was than
her, but now it felt even more so.  Patrick loomed over her, his hands on
her back, looking calm and put together, while she was fallen apart at the
seams.  Her lips were swollen from kissing, her lungs weren't getting
enough air, and her legs could barely hold her up.

"Put your
hands up in the air."

She didn't
question, she just obeyed, and shivered as he tugged off her shirt. 
Moving like an automaton, Lexie stood completely submissively as he stripped
her.  Pants, bra and thong all dropped to his floor, something that he
seemed to relish as he scattered her clothing in his bedroom.  Which was
kind of funny - or it would be if she wasn't so focused on what was happening -
because everything else in his condo was so neat and clean.  But
apparently he liked her clothes on his floor, go figure.

Standing in
front of him, completely naked, was an entirely different experience in his
bedroom.  So much more intimate than at Stronghold.  She'd never
realized how much the other patrons of the club made a kind of buffer, even
when they weren't in the room.  There was always the noise of the club,
filtering through the walls, adding to the atmosphere.  Here, there was
nothing but her and Patrick and now she was completely naked and vulnerable.

"Easy,
sweetheart," Patrick murmured, sliding his hands over her bare skin,
caressing.  She trembled even more at his touch, her own hands coming up
to press against his chest.  "We don't have to do anything if you're
not ready."

Oh fuck
no.  Lexie shook her head, her hair flying wildly at her vehemence.
 "NO!  I mean, no, I'm ready.  I'm just... nervous."

She licked her
lips as his dark eyes glowed with an inner fire, fingers sliding along her
spine and making her want to drop to her knees... except that he hadn't told
her to.  This was Patrick in his element like she'd never seen him before,
totally in control and holding nothing back.  No wonder her body was
jittery with emotions.

"Well
that's easily solved, Pixie.  You don't have to worry about doing anything
but what I tell you."  The smug satisfaction in his voice made her
pussy clench.  Strange, how any other man, at any other time, would make
her want to slap him for saying that, but right now it was the hottest thing
she'd ever heard.  She practically whimpered she was so turned on.
 "Get up on the bed and sit with your back against my
headboard."

Pulling away
from him sucked, but it excited her to be following his orders... knowing that
this was going to be more intimate and more thorough than any scene at
Stronghold had been so far.  Behind her, she could just hear the rustle of
his clothing as he pulled it off.  Jumping up onto the bed, she quickly
turned and sat down with her back pressed against the headboard.  The
headboard was an intricate combination of padding and decorative wood paneling;
the largest padded section was right in the center of the bed, so that's where
she sat, giving her a comfortable seat as she watched Patrick strip.

Dark skin
rippled over hard muscles, a view that she was quite familiar with from summers
at the pool.  He wasn't a body builder, but he was built.  Lexie
loved staring at him at the pool.  Heat curled between her legs as he
began stripping off his pants and boxers at the same time.  This was the
view she'd never seen... 

His cock was
long and thick with a large, fat crown.  The whole shaft was slightly
darker than the skin tone of the rest of his body, and the head looked almost
purplish.  Glossy, white pre-cum was leaking from the tip, looking even
whiter against his skin, and Lexie squeezed her thighs together.  He was
bigger than the dildo that she used, not by much, but enough that she couldn't
help but squirm in anticipation of what it would feel like to have him filling
her.

Seeing her
watching him, he smiled a lazy, sensual smile that she'd never seen
before.  Geezus, didn't he know what a smile like that could do to a
girl?  She was already so hot she was practically melting.  He made
her feel like a drooling, brainless fool.  The whole bimbo fuck-doll thing
had never appealed to her before, but she could suddenly understand where it
was coming from, because she felt completely empty-headed and like all she
wanted to do was have sex with him for hours.  Maybe days.  No wonder
they all rarely saw Rick and Maria lately, if this was how those two felt.

"Hold out
your arms, horizontally."  That deep, commanding voice rolled through
her, and she lifted her arms as though in a dream. 

One knee on the
bed, his cock bobbing in front of him, Patrick leaned over slightly and opened
a compartment on the headboard right by her arm.  Lexie jerked in surprise
as the wood paneling slid to the side, revealing a thick leather cuff on a very
short chain.  Hearing her soft exclamation, Patrick grinned at her.
 "Andrew made the bed for me."

Which meant it
probably had all sorts of kinky surprises.  Andrew loved wood-working, and
he especially loved doing custom pieces.  Although he sometimes did
contracting, Lexie knew that he made a lot of his money making custom pieces
for people at the club and to sell online.  They weren't just functional
and kinky, they were beautiful.  It didn't surprise her at all that the
headboard was one of his pieces, although it did send a jolt of arousal through
her, because she knew that whatever other secrets this bed had, they would be
seriously kinky.

With one wrist
secured to the headboard, Patrick got down and walked around the entire bed to
her other wrist, completely secure in his nudity.  Lexie had to admit, she
liked watching him walk, seeing the way his cock moved with his body and
admiring his almost arrogant self-confidence.  Even so, part of her was a
little disappointed that he hadn't just crawled right over her.  

It only took
him a minute to secure her other wrist in the same way, so that her arms were
flung out on either side of her, holding her in the sitting position. 
Lexie wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that now that she thought about
it.  What could they possibly do with her in this position?  Unless,
of course, he just wanted to torture her for a bit.  Which sounded both
hot and frustrating... now that she was finally in his room, in his bed, and
the lines had all been erased, she didn't want to wait any longer for
satisfaction.

"Spread
your legs."

Now that was a
command to make her pussy cream.  Lexie tilted her head up, her gaze
meeting his, as she spread her legs, leaning back against the headboard to give
him the best possible view of her pussy.  

"Very pretty,
Pixie."

But when he
reached out to touch her, he didn't stroke that needy, pink flesh. 
Instead, his hand cupped her breast, tweaking her nipple, and Lexie moaned in
both arousal and disappointment.  Looking down at his tormenting hand, she
was even more aroused by the contrast of his dark hand against her milky skin,
the beauty in that visual.  Her skin looked even creamier against his
hand, her nipple even pinker, and the silver ring through the tender bud
gleamed brightly.  When she looked back up at him, she realized that he
was watching himself fondle her breast as well. 

Her nipples
were both standing at attention, even though he was only touching one, as if
the other was begging for his touch.  Heat was running through her body,
followed by shivers, as he pinched the aching bud, massing it between his
fingers.  Lexie moaned, low in her throat, leaning her head back as he
pinched it hard and then switched his attentions to the neglected nipple. 
Having his hands on her was so fucking hot... she'd wanted this, craved it
even, during their other scenes.  

Leaning over
again, he kissed her, and Lexie moaned into his mouth as her lips parted, and
both of his hands found her breasts.  His hands were larger than her
mounds, engulfing them, and he squeezed and kneaded the soft flesh.  She
wanted so badly to be able to touch him back, her arms jerking on the
restraints, and the fact that she couldn't, that she was completely under his
control, made her hotter and wetter.  Soft, helpless noises were coming from
her throat, which should have been embarrassing, but she couldn't stop
them.  She was too needy.  Too swamped with sensation.

Fingers drew
back on her breasts and began to squeeze and massage her nipples, gently at
first, and then pressing harder, tugging farther.  Her legs moved
restlessly, wanting to come back together, to press her thighs and relieve some
of the ache in her core, but every time she remembered - just in time - that
he'd ordered her to spread her legs.  The struggle to keep them open was
becoming harder and harder as he stroked her arousal higher, setting her on
fire from the inside out.

When he pulled
away from the kiss this time, giving her nipples one last pinch, she felt like
a raw nerve, a quivering mass of need, and if she weren’t so desperate for him
to touch her, she would have wanted to kill him for looking so goddamned
calm.  Even with his cock rigidly hard, practically slapping up against
his stomach, his expression hadn't changed from smug and in control.  It
was incredibly sexy and infuriatingly frustrating at the same time.

"Please,"
she whimpered, looking up at him, imploring him with her eyes to have
mercy.  The emptiness between her legs was making her entire body ache,
her legs were desperate to press together and try to relieve the need that had
built there.  Her pussy was throbbing, hot and molten with her honey, so
swollen that she was sure she wouldn't need much to cum.  

"Please
what, Pixie?" he asked, cupping her chin with his fingers and running his
thumb over her pouting lower lip.  Her tongue flicked out against the pad
of his thumb, and he smiled, an almost cruel smile, filled with sex and
dominance and just a hint of sadism.