SovereignsChoice (14 page)

Aiden gives me a stern look. “And what if I
did expect such a thing, Emma? Would you refuse me?”

I swallow hard, trying to think how to
phrase my answer. “There are limits, Master,” I say, my voice sounding choked.
“Lines you can’t cross in public. I mean, it’s one thing for us to-to do these
things here in private at your house. But—”

“But submitting to me in public, where
other people can see is out of the question?” His eyes are cool now, dangerous.
“We shall see about that, darling.”

“Aiden, please—”

He holds up a hand to stop me. “You
will
be dressed tonight, Emma, never fear. It may not be an outfit you would choose
for yourself but it will cover you adequately, that I promise.” He puts down
the razor and strokes my bare skin gently with the second warm washcloth.
“There,” he murmurs. “Finished.”

I look down at myself and see that I’m completely
bare between my legs. I bite my lip, feeling incredibly naked—I didn’t realize
how much my little thatch of light-brown curls hid. Now it’s possible to see my
outer pussy lips clearly as well as my slit. Even my clit seems more prominent,
peeking out from between my slippery inner folds, as if begging for attention.

“You have the most beautiful pussy,” Aiden
murmurs, looking up to meet my eyes. “So luscious. I love how wet you get for
me, my darling.”

“You-you do?” I whisper breathlessly. He’s
said similar things before but he seems to be in a particular mood tonight.

“Of course. Look.” Still holding my eyes
with his, he opens me with his thumbs, revealing my slick pink interior. “Look
at how creamy and swollen your little cunt is,” he says, spreading me wide. “It
needs to be touched. Needs to be tasted and stroked and licked. Tell me, Emma,”
he murmurs. “Do you want me to kiss your pussy? Do you want me to go down on
you and lick your hot little cunt?”

Goddess! I can barely breathe I’m so hot.
“Yes,” I whisper, unable to deny my need. “Yes, please, Master. Please
.
”

“There’s just one thing,” Aiden murmurs,
his breath hot on my exposed inner pussy. “I won’t make you come—not yet.
Knowing that, do you still want me to taste you? Do you still want my mouth on
your pussy, my tongue deep inside you, darling?”

I bite my lip in frustration. When is he
going to allow me a release? It’s been days since my last orgasm and I’m dying
to come. But there’s no question that I still want his mouth on me. “Yes,” I
whisper. “Yes, I still do…I still want it.”

“Good girl,” Aiden breathes and then he
tastes me, lapping my open pussy in long, slow strokes that send me quivering
to the edge, just a heartbeat from coming. But though he traces my swollen,
needy clit with his tongue until I think I’m going to scream, Aiden somehow
manages never to push me over that elusive edge. He seems to possess some sixth
sense that tells him exactly when I’m about to come. It allows him to pull back
at the last instant, leaving me wanting him so badly I think I’m going to die.

After twenty minutes of this I’m so
sensitive I don’t think I can take it any longer. My Master seems to sense this
because he finishes by lifting my hips and slipping his tongue deep into my
pussy entrance. He growls low in his throat with pleasure as he tastes my honey
from the source and I gasp at the feel of him pressing inside me. It feels so
good, so right, but it’s just not enough. I need more…
more
.

“Please, Master, I need more,”I beg
shamelessly as he at last releases me and sits back, licking his lips.

“And you’ll get more, darling,” he purrs softly,
stroking my inner thigh. “A little later tonight.” He rises easily, as though
he hadn’t just spent the last half hour on his knees going down on me and lifts
me off the bed. “Come, it’s time to get you dressed.”

It occurs to me as he goes to the wardrobe
that I felt the press of his fangs against me while he went down on me and yet
he somehow didn’t so much as scratch me. That leads to the realization that he
hasn’t bitten me at all, since that first night when he claimed me. Is he
getting his blood somewhere else? The thought makes me feel irrationally
jealous.

“Master,” I say, trying to think how to
word the question. “Are you going to eat tonight?”

“I may.” He shrugs as he digs through the
layers of clothing hung neatly in the wardrobe. “Honestly I’m more interested
in satisfying other appetites.”

“Like…your appetite for blood?” I ask softly,
not sure if I ought to be talking about this or not.

He turns from the wardrobe, frowning. “Why
do you ask?”

“Well, it’s just…” I look down at the
carpet. “You haven’t bitten me since our first night at the Sacrifice Ceremony.
I thought you might be getting, well…thirsty.”

He looks at me directly. “Do you wantme
to bite you, Emma?”

“No,” I say at once, before I think. “I
mean, it
hurts
. But I don’t…don’t want you to bite anyone else either,”
I finish in a small voice.

He gives an amused chuckle. “I’m not a
young vampire, darling, I don’t need much blood. But you’re saying you want me
to get it from you, when I do need it?”

I bite my lip. “Yes, I guess so. That’s
what I’m saying.”

“Even if it hurts?”

I remember the sharp pain of those gleaming
white fangs driving into my wrist and can’t help shivering. But I’m sure of
what I want. “Yes,” I say. “Even though it hurts.”

“It doesn’t have to hurt, you know,” Aiden
says softly. “If you’d let me in and stop resisting so much I could make it
quite pleasurable for you.”

I don’t see how being bitten could be
pleasurable but then, I used to think the same thing about being spanked and
punished. Aiden is slowly changing my outlook on pain. Also, I can’t help
remembering the strange burst of pleasure that seemed to follow the pain during
that first bite—was that him?

“Are you saying you can get inside my
mind?” I ask. I’ve heard that some very powerful vampires have this skill. It
would certainly explain how he always seems to know what I’m thinking. Also the
way I heard him talking inside my head while he was drinking from me.

Aiden shakes his head. “Not unless you make
the conscious decision to let me in. But until you embrace the bond between us,
that will never happen.”

I’m not sure what “embracing the bond”
entails but before I can ask he presents me with a skirt and blouse and says,
“Here. Put these on.”

“All right.” The clothes look normal
enough—a thin white silk blouse paired with a plain black pencil skirt. But…
“Where’s the underwear?” I ask, thinking he must have forgotten them. “I mean,
I can’t wear this with no bra under it.” I gesture at the white blouse. “It’s practically
see-through. You’ll be able to see everything right through it.”

“Exactly.” Aiden gives me a slow smile.
“Now put it on, Emma.”

“But—” The words of protest die on my lips
at the stern look on his face.

“I said,
put it on
. Don’t make me
punish you before we go out tonight. I can promise you that sitting down for a
two-hour dinner will be much less pleasurable if your ass is stinging from my
belt.”

That gets me moving. After all, the skirt
looks normal—if a little short. And maybe the blouse isn’t as see-through as it
looks.

Except it is.

When I look at myself in the oval mirror
over the dresser after putting on the outfit, I gasp in dismay. I might as well
not be wearing a top at all. The white silk is so sheer you can see not just
the outlines of my nipples but the nipples themselves along with my wide pink
areolas and full breasts. I literally feel more naked wearing this blouse than
I do when I’m actually naked.

As for the skirt, it’s not nearly as normal
as it looked at first. It’s a close-fitting sheathe that goes to mid-thigh but
it has two very high slits, which I didn’t notice at first. When putting it on,
I assumed these slits went to the sides but then Aiden called me over. To my
dismay, he rearranged the skirt so that the slits are in the front and back.
They’re cut so high you can actually see my ass cheeks and the slit of my bare
pussy if I move just the right way.

“I can’t go out in public like this,” I
tell Aiden. “I’ll be arrested for indecent exposure!”

“No, you won’t.” His eyes flash. “No harm
will ever come to you while I’m with you.”

“But-but what if I see someone I know?” Or
anyone at all, for that matter.

“The only person you need to be worried
about seeing is me,your Master,” Aiden tells me sternly. “Have you
already forgotten the point of our dinner date tonight, Emma? You are supposed
to be proving that you’re ready for me to take you completely. So far I am
not
impressed.”

“Yes, I know but…” I twist my hands together
and look at myself in the mirror again. Yup, still obscene.

“You’re beautiful,” Aiden assures me softly.
“And I want to show you off. But since you’re still so shy…” He removes a long
black silk wrap from the wardrobe and puts it around my shoulders. It hangs just
long enough to cover the top part of the skirt and drapes around my front to
cover my breasts as well.

I feel immediately better. “Thank you,” I
say.

Aiden frowns. “As long as you know you’re
going to have to remove that when we get to our private room in the
restaurant.”

Well, as long as it’s private I don’t
mind.
“Fine,” I say, agreeing easily. I don’t mind
Aiden seeing me dressed like this—I just don’t want anyone else looking.

* * * * *

Bern’s is a large, white, windowless
building in the SoHo district of South Tampa. I look around avidly, interested
in everything as we walk inside. The interior seems to be designed like an
old-fashioned bordello with lots of red velvet and gold fixtures. To be honest,
I’ve always wanted to come here. Lexy’s tale of a steak so expensive it pretty
much costs five dollars a bite is both intriguing and horrifying—especially to
someone like me who spends less than thirty dollars a week on groceries.

Aiden is looking everywhere too but not out
of curiosity, I sense. He seems to be looking for trouble, his gray eyes
narrowed for possible threats as he keeps one arm around me in a way that is equally
protective and possessive.

I don’t know what he’s so worried about.
Despite his warning that he has enemies, I can’t imagine anyone ballsy enough
to assault the new Sovereign who also happens to be a frighteningly powerful
vampire. And even if they did, would they really choose the swankiest
restaurant in Tampa to launch their attack? I seriously doubt it.

Aiden mentions his name to the maître d’
and the man snaps instantly to attention. “Of course, Mr. James. Right this
way, sir. It’s an honor to have you dining with us tonight.”

Wow. I look at Aiden with wide eyes. Either
he comes here often or he dropped a ton of cash on renting the private room. I
hope it’s the latter—I don’t like to think of him bringing other women here. Or
anywhere for that matter. Hmm, should I really be letting myself feel so
attached and possessive of my vampire Master? But it seems I can’t help it.
Aiden spoke of a bond between us. Maybe my feelings are part of that.
Or
maybe you’re just beginning to care for him, bond or no bond,
a voice
whispers in my head. Care for him? Or love him?

Before I can answer that question to my own
satisfaction, the maître d’ himself takes us to our table, which is round with
cushy, booth-type seating on one side. The table is draped in spotless white
linen with a single white candle in the center. It’s actually not so much a
private room as a slightly less public space, being located in a small,
concealed alcove in a shadowy corner of the massive restaurant. Occasionally I
can see servers passing by carrying trays of wine or food but for the most
part, there’s no one but us, once the maître d’ gets us seated.

Aiden sits beside me with one hand on my
thigh. The entrance to our little alcove is directly in front of us—apparently
you’re meant to sit in the round half-booth and enjoy the ambiance of the restaurant.

“Now that we’re settled,” he murmurs and removes
my black wrap.

I bite my tongue to keep from protesting.
He didsay I’d have to take it off as soon as we got seated at the restaurant
so I’m pretty sure there’s no point arguing. Still, I can’t help being
embarrassed. I cross my arms over my breasts self-consciously but Aiden shakes
his head.

“No, darling. It’s my wish that you be on
display tonight. Put your arms down, please. And uncross your legs.”

I’m not very comfortable obeying either of
these orders. The minute I sat down, my skirt began riding up, pushing its high
slits even higher. Though I’ve tried to adjust it, I can still look down and plainly
see my naked pussy slit framed by the black fabric. Aiden seems to enjoy the
view.

“Don’t hide yourself from me,” he murmurs,
his breath hot in my ear. “You’re beautiful, Emma. It’s my very great pleasure
to show you off tonight.”

Miserably, I try to relax and not think
about how naked I feel. I tell myself that the table will block the view of
anyone passing by. But the tablecloth isn’t that long—I hope no one drops a
fork and bends down to get it. Still, at least my skirt and what it reveals is mostly
hidden from view but there’s nothing I can do about my blouse. It’s simply
transparent, putting my ample breasts on display whether I want them to be or
not.

“It doesn’t matter if you want to show
yourself or not, Emma,” Aiden murmurs sternly, reading either my face or my
mind. “What matters is that I am your Master and I choose to show you. Now sit
up straight, I think our server is here.”

I sit up, my cheeks flaming as a young man
who looks to be around college age steps into our shadowy alcove. “Hello, sir,
madam and welcome to B—” He catches sight of my fully displayed breasts and the
words die on his lips. “I…uh…” He fumbles with the menus in his hands. “I
mean…” His eyes are darting everywhere in a desperate effort not to look but
they keep returning to my nearly naked cleavage and nipples, as though he just
can’t help himself.