Sculpt-Paige_Michaels-Becca_Jameson (12 page)

Julian bristled. “She was at Exotica when we were there?”

“She’s not stalking you, man. She wants what you have. She was on her way out when she saw you and probably would’ve left if I hadn’t stopped her.”

Julian stared at him hard, almost looking through him. “I won’t have my Morgan in any danger.”

“She won’t be. Lucinda takes full responsibility for what she’s done, and nothing will come back to you again.” Theo took a deep breath. “Haven’t you ever done something stupid you wished you could take back?”

Julian’s eyes flashed, and he looked down. “Yes. Of course.”

“That’s Lucy. It was incredibly stupid. Her at her worst. But if there’s no forgiveness, what does our world have to offer? We’re all deeply flawed in some way. Hers just happens to be more on the surface. But I give you my word, she will never harm you or Morgan again.”

“You’re that sure of her, huh?” Julian asked, signaling the waitress to come take their order.

Theo studied his menu and said, “No. I’m that sure of myself.”

»»•««

A ball of nerves rested in Lucinda’s stomach as the clock approached five. Her ass hurt from another round with the plug after her nap, but the pain was just what she needed to calm herself down.

She squirmed in her seat in the cab all the way to Theo’s house and spent half an hour positioning herself on the bed in her designated room a dozen ways before deciding to rest in a child’s pose with her ass facing the door. She was sideways on the bed, exposed with her ass the highest point of her body thrust in the air at the edge of the mattress.

As badly as she’d wanted to explore the rest of the house—especially the master bedroom—she’d forced herself to go directly to her room and strip. It didn’t escape her notice that she still had never even seen Theo’s bedroom. She practiced deep breathing and waited. At five, the garage door opened, and a flood of moisture dripped from her pussy. She heard his footsteps on the stairs, and her desire ratcheted up even more.

“Perfect,” he said as he stepped in the room.

She bit her tongue to stop from responding. She wanted this too much and didn’t want her own mouth to get in her way. He seemed to be waiting for a response, and when he didn’t get one, he slipped out of his shoes and undressed. She peeked at him from between her legs, but still didn’t say anything.

“I’m not sure what to do with a silent brat. I know you’re not pouting. I can see how wet your cunt is from here.”

She let a whimper escape, and he grinned.

“You want me to take that ass bad enough that you’re holding your tongue so you don’t ruin your chances. Smart brat.”

She shifted her legs open more. He stepped forward and slid a finger through her folds, swirling the moisture around her clit before pushing in and out of her a few times. She rocked back into the intrusion, but he pulled his finger out too quickly.

“Safe word?”

“Degas, Master.”

“Good.” He moved to the side table and pulled out lube and a condom, placing them next to her spread legs. “The only thing I want to hear in this room is you begging or you using your safe word. No sass. I’ve been thinking about this ass all day, how much I can’t wait to breach your tight hole and make you scream from it. Did you use the plug again?”

She nodded.

“Good.” He pressed her head down so she was forced to stop looking at him. She concentrated on her breathing as she heard the pop of the lube cap and the crinkle of foil.

He released her neck, leaving her to imagine what every rustling noise behind her equated to. She didn’t move. She didn’t breathe.

And then in one quick movement, Theo grabbed her hips and thrust into her ass to the hilt.

She couldn’t help the stark scream she emitted. She lifted her face off the mattress, but Theo released her hip with one hand and shoved the back of her head down once again. “Don’t move, brat. My show.”

She sucked in a sharp breath, trying to work through the pain. She felt light-headed. All her blood rushed to her pussy. The sensation was foreign to her—and welcome. Amazing.

Her Master dug his fingers back into her hips, pressing firmly on the cut on one side and adding to the intensity of the moment.

A normal person wouldn’t have been able to tolerate either source of her discomfort—neither the open wound on her hip nor the instantaneous stretch of her tight rear hole that now throbbed with the intrusion.

And she’d never been pushed so close to an orgasm so fast in her life. Every single cell in her body screamed for release.

“That’s my girl. Breathe through the pain.” His cock was still lodged deep inside her. It seemed to split her in half. Even the work she’d done with the plug twice that day didn’t hold a candle to the size of Theo’s cock. The man used it as a weapon. And he was winning the war.

Before she could catch her breath or begin to acclimate to the pressure, he jerked himself almost out of her tight hole and thrust back in. He gripped her hips harder and fucked her again. And again.

Tears sprang to her eyes as the level of discomfort rose. The delicious feeling of his cock ripping in and out of her made her pussy pulse with need. He hadn’t touched either her clit or her sheath, and still she was so close to coming, she had to grit her teeth to keep from doing so.

“Don’t. You. Fucking. Come. Brat. Not. Until. I. Say. So.” His voice was choppy. Clipped. Each word coming out individually as he continued to fuck her ass.

She squeezed her eyes closed tighter as he rammed her over and over.

The pain in her tight hole subsided with each thrust. She doubted she was even injured. Although initially it seemed he had torn her sensitive skin again, she doubted that was the case.

The cut on her hip, however, was another story. He knew exactly what he was doing as he dug his fingers roughly into the cut, reopening the wound.

She could feel the warm drops of blood as they oozed out of the injury.

Suddenly, without pausing his rough fucking, he released her hip and slapped her ass with so much force she nearly shot forward on the bed.

She screamed. “Yes. Oh God. Master…”

The welts on her ass were nowhere near healed from the whip. Each time his palm landed on a new spot, his slaps reminded her how sore she still was.

Deliciously sore.

So many sensations assaulting her all at once. She couldn’t stop the freight train that was her impending orgasm. In fact, she sucked in a sharp breath with each slap, bit her bottom lip, and fought a losing battle for control.

When Theo finally thrust into her for one last time, his cock pulsing in her tight hole, he groaned around his release.

She wanted to scream. She was so close. So many times she’d forced herself not to come, and now he stopped moving.

A whimper escaped her lips unbidden.

He leaned forward, keeping his cock lodged inside her, and wrapped one arm around her belly. His fingers pressed into the cuts he’d made there. “Come for me,” he whispered.

Instantly, she shattered, thrusting her ass tight against his torso, ensuring he was as deep as possible. While she succumbed to one of the most intense orgasms of her life, her Master ground his fingers into the cuts on her hip and belly. That was the only catalyst she had, the pain of her stretched ass and the reminder of the cuts on her body. It was more than enough to send her over the edge into a strange oblivion that left her dripping with her own come as her pussy and clit both pulsed around nothing.

The orgasm was strong, but as she fought to catch her breath, she knew it wasn’t enough.

Damn him.

He knew exactly what he was doing when he left her still bereft of his cock inside her pussy.

She wanted to scream, cry, stomp her feet. But she was too worn out to do any of those things. And besides, she knew perfectly well he would only withhold what she needed longer if she made any comment.

Instead, she held her tongue as Theo slowly removed his fingers from her cuts and his cock from her ass. She winced at both actions.

He eased her onto her side. “Don’t move.”

She had no intention of doing so. She didn’t even open her eyes or brush the thick strands of hair from her face. She simply lay there, breathing shallowly as her Master returned.

Without a word he cleaned the wounds on her belly and hip and applied a cool ointment. She didn’t even flinch when he pried her ass cheeks apart and pressed a cool cloth to her burning hole. And she remained just as still as he smoothed the cream around the edges of the tight throbbing opening and then pressed a finger deep inside her to spread the substance as deep as he could reach.

She should have been humiliated at his administrations.

Instead she welcomed his touch. So gentle. So caring.

She was lost to him.

She fisted her hands as he pulled a sheet over her broken body, brushed her hair away from her face, and kissed her temple. “Sleep, Lucy.” Those were his only words.

And then he left her there.

Alone.

In the dark.

With nothing but her thoughts that ran rampant through her head for only a few minutes before she succumbed to the need to rest and fell asleep.

They’d been together for over a week, and Lucinda was covered in welts and bruises, and she loved every minute of it. Each night, she’d return to Theo’s house after work, and he still surprised her with what he asked for, what he demanded.

If she mouthed off, there were immediate consequences—most of which involved him withdrawing his attention from her—but he also showered her with praise. As if he hadn’t heard her confession about the horrible things she’d done to Morgan and Julian. As if he actually thought she was worthy of him as her Dom.

He’d told her she needed to let go of the past and move forward. And every day, she felt the ground grow more solid beneath her feet. She’d brought him the whip twice in the past week, and both occasions, he’d done her bidding, no questions asked, just like he promised. For the first time in forever, she thought she might have finally found the right person to be with.

She glanced at her watch as she was exiting the pottery studio on Wednesday night. Six o’clock. Plenty of time to shower and get changed before she was to meet Theo at Exotica. He wanted to do a scene with her publicly, and she couldn’t wait.

But the grin on her face disappeared the minute she stepped onto the sidewalk.

“Lucy, baby girl, we’ve been waiting for you. Surprise!” Her mother’s twang pierced through the street noises and hit Lucinda right in the gut.

“What are you doing here, Mama?”

“Well, baby, your daddy and I haven’t seen you in such a long time. We thought it was high time we came up here, met your friends, saw how your life here was.”

Lucinda narrowed her gaze. Her parents hadn’t ever been to visit her. They made it very clear how they felt about the “North” and that if she wanted to see them, she needed to come home. They
expected
her to come home, because that’s what good Southern girls did. The past few years had been a waiting game for them. And every time she’d seen them, they had asked if she had gotten the Twin Cities out of her system yet.

“Mama, you’ve never wanted to come visit me.”

Her mother batted her hand as though the point was irrelevant and stepped forward to give Lucinda a breath-stealing hug. “You look good, baby girl.”

“Where’s Daddy?” Lucinda asked, pulling away.

“Back at the hotel, resting. He’s going to meet us for dinner.”

“I have plans tonight, Mama.”

“Well, baby, you’ll have to cancel them. Your parents are in town. I’m sure whoever you’re meeting will understand.”

She wasn’t sure Theo would understand. More, she wasn’t sure she wanted to give up a night with him at Exotica for a painful and stilted meal with her parents. But guilt creeped up her spine, and she knew she would cancel.

She pulled out her phone and shot him a text as her mom waved down a cab.

Lucinda: My parents surprised me with a visit. Can’t make it tonight.

Short and sweet. She wouldn’t tell him how she felt about not meeting him. She wouldn’t tell him about the sick feeling in her stomach at the idea of sitting through a dinner with her judgmental parents.

She slid into the cab with her mother and looked at his return text on her phone.

Theo: Please call me before bed tonight. Be safe, sweetheart.

Her heart skipped at the endearment. God, she missed him already. What the hell was happening to her?

Her mother chattered about all the different things going on at home, but Lucinda paid little attention as the cab worked its way through traffic to the hotel on the bank of the Mississippi River. When they arrived, she helped her mother out of the car and walked numbly to the hotel restaurant where her dad sat.

She froze when she saw him. He looked terrible. Pale, waxy skin, deep sunken eyes. And he’d lost a good deal of weight. The imposing man who’d dominated her childhood had turned into a shell.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, as he gave her a weak hug.

Her mother shuffled to the other side of the table and sat. “Sit down. We’ll talk over dinner.”

Lucinda couldn’t take her eyes off her father as they ordered. While his voice was still deep and authoritative, the rest of him looked fragile. She could barely stop the questions as their drinks were delivered.

“Tell me,” she said to her father.

He sighed. “I have pancreatic cancer. The prognosis…isn’t great.”

The breath whooshed out of her. “How long have you known?”

“A few months now.”

She felt like she’d been smacked. “And you’re just telling me now?”

Her mother interrupted. “We didn’t want to worry you. Wanted to figure out what we needed to do and what the treatment would look like.”

“And?”

Her dad sighed. “Chemo. Radiation. Only a ten percent chance of recovery.”

“Oh Daddy.”

Her mother lifted her chin and folded her hands in front of her. “That’s why we came, Lucy. We need you to move home and take care of your father.”

The floor dropped out from beneath Lucinda. “What? I mean, Daddy, of course I’m worried about you and will do everything I can to help. But my life is here. I have a job and an apartment.”