TheOneandOnly (14 page)

Sean laughed. “You say that like it’s a bad thing. Don’t
worry, I’ll catch my girl. You won’t get hurt.” He ran his hand down her
shoulder then took a fistful of hair and pulled, tipping her head up to face
him. “I want to Master your body and your heart.”

He lightened his grip and caressed away the sting. “At the
club we use respectful titles—Master Sean, Master Steven. They don’t mean much
more than Ms. Jarrett or Mr. Jameson. And yet when Dana looks at Brian and
calls him Master there is such love and depth to the word it creates a yearning
in me. I want that type of relationship. Not Master/slave, but one that
stretches beyond the bedroom. I want a woman who I can rely on to stand by me
if the going gets tough. I want to forge a bond that can’t be broken. I want
that with you. No one else, Michelle—just you. You aren’t one of many. You are
the one and only.”

Oh God, she was going to cry. “I want that too, Sean.” And
she did, more than anything. She told herself not to get too comfortable. Just
because everything about Sean screamed he was “the one” didn’t mean he was. She
was a firm believer in the old adage that if something seemed too good to be
true, it was. But that didn’t stop her from wanting it.
One day at a time,
just take it one day at a time and don’t get too far ahead of yourself.

“Soon, you’ll call me Master and give me the key to your
heart. From that day forward, I’ll be the luckiest man alive. Until then, I’ll
just keep beating down your defenses, one swat at a time.”

He’d granted her that special smile, the one that turned her
knees to Jell-O and her heart to mush. “You may be at it a while,” she teased.
“My defenses are made from the strongest alloy known to mankind. It’s called skepticism
and it’s been honed over years of false promises and shitty role models. My
mom’s longest marriage was measured in months and it ended with a trip to the
hospital.”

Sean’s eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. “Males who abuse
women aren’t men at all. They’re vermin. Some find our lifestyle attractive and
we have to be very careful who we allow around our subs. We do background
checks and if there are any allegations of domestic abuse their membership
request is declined. Some still manage to fall through the cracks, which is why
we have monitors stationed in the garden, privacy areas and dungeon at all
times.”

“I know you’ll keep me safe, Sean.”

He chuckled. “Hmm, trying to butter me up before I beat your
ass? Good try, subbie, but I’ve been attracted to that fanny of yours for too
long now. Come here.” After offering her his hand to help her stand, he stepped
back and sat on the edge of the bed.

He guided her to stand sideways between his legs then rest
her torso on the bed. “Put your hands out straight and link your fingers.”

Once she complied, he laid a pillow over her hands and
wrists. The added weight gave her a sense of feeling restrained. Her heart was
beating fast and she was aware of his every movement.

“Good girl.” He swung his calf over hers, locking her
between his legs. His left arm rested along her spine with his hand placed at
her tailbone.

She felt completely at his mercy. Her breath was coming in
pants and he hadn’t even touched her yet. Okay—she had to admit she was, in
fact, a submissive. There was no denying how aroused she became every time she
put herself into Sean’s capable hands.

His hand trailed down her thighs and stroked the lips of her
pussy. Moving upward, he skimmed his fingers across her cheeks. “Have you been
taken here before?” He rested his thumb at the entrance to her ass.

Michelle drew her head off the bed the slightest bit. “No,”
she moaned, feeling his cock twitch against his soft jeans and her tummy.

“Virgin territory?” he murmured as continued to apply
pressure there and stroke her pussy with his fingers.

His touch felt good—naughty, but good. “Yes, but I suspect
not for long.” She settled back onto the bed and relaxed.

“Smart girl. You know I’m obsessed with your ass. I’ve
always considered myself a breast man and I love your tits. But for months now,
I’ve been staring at your ass. Your uniform at the diner didn’t hug your form.
The only saving grace was that the apron ties pulled the material tight,
showing off your fantastic butt. It launched more than one fantasy.”

Sean’s hands were squeezing her cheeks, a deep muscle
massage that sent any resistance she might have had right out the window.

“Don’t worry, baby. We’ll go slowly and make sure you’re
prepared. I won’t hurt my girl.”

“Thank you.” She’d been curious, but never dreamed she’d
find someone she trusted enough to try it with. Sean’s experience, Michelle was
finding, was a double-edged blessing. Knowing he knew how to keep her safe was
very comforting. Maybe if she kept that in mind, she could temper her feelings
of self-doubt.

Sean’s right hand left her bottom a second before he gave
her a stinging swat on her right cheek. His hand immediately caressed the ache
into a delicious heat. Then two swats came, one on each cheek. Again it stung,
but his hands turned it into something altogether different.

“You like that, don’t you, Michelle?” he purred as his hands
worked magic along her skin.

“Mmhmm.” She could stay there forever with his hands on her
body. His soft voice drifting over her, telling her she was beautiful and such
a good girl. More swats heated her ass and sent her clit throbbing. His fingers
began plundering her pussy, sending her into an erotic haze of pleasure and
pain.

No pattern emerged—or her brain was too muddled to find one.
Sometimes it would be one swat, sometimes four or five before he soothed her.
She didn’t care. He made it all pleasurable.

“Such sweet surrender, baby. This is the gift you give me.
The gift I want from you alone. You’re so wet, Michelle. I need to be inside
you.”

“Yes, mmm, more.” Alarms were clanging in her mind. She’d
been on the verge of calling him Master. What the hell was happening to her?
She’d read too many books or something. She rallied to get her wits back about
her as Sean slid her legs onto the bed. She heard something, she wasn’t sure
what—then Sean’s arm slid under her hips and pulled her ass into the air.

His cock was at her opening. “You belong to me, Michelle,” he
announced as he pushed into her. “Your body is mine to control, to do my
bidding. I decide when you come. You can only come with my permission. Do you
understand, Michelle?”

Reality and her fantasies merged. How many times had she
fantasized he’d declared she belonged to him and him alone? She’d dreamed he
would demand her body obey him. “Yes, all yours.”

He kept one hand wrapped around her waist while his other
pinched and pulled her nipples. He didn’t even pretend to be gentle. His
assault was rough and just what she wanted. She now understood the meaning of “hurts
so good”. Again and again, he pounded into her, taking her higher. “Please,
Sean, I need to come.”

He pulled his hand away from her breast and slapped her ass.
“Ask me. I already know what you need. Now ask permission.”

Oh God, his voice almost sent her over the edge. She was
panting, trying to control the fire burning through her. “Please, may I come?
I’m begging. Please.”

His right hand left her body and she held her breath waiting
for another swat or for his touch along her breast. She needed his touch.
Missed it. Then she felt his hand along the base of her spine and his thumb
invaded her ass.

“Yes, baby, you may come for me.”

His cock and thumb glided in and out of her in perfect time.
The sensations were all-consuming as the orgasm exploded through her. Her
muscles tightened and spasmed around his cock until he came right after her.
The pulsing of his dick buried deep inside her sent delicious aftershocks
bursting along her nerve endings.

Sean still held her by the waist, but her arms lost the
fight and her torso collapsed onto the bed. She heard him chuckle as he pulled
out, turned her over and slid back inside her. “The night is still young,
Michelle, and I need more.” Impossibly, his shaft moving inside her started her
arousal building all over again. Just that fast, she was hungry for his touch.

Sean woke to an empty bed.
What the fuck?
He looked
around the room and found Michelle’s purse lying on the floor by the bathroom.
He fell back onto the bed. She wouldn’t have gone anywhere without her bag.
Wiping his hand down his face, he admitted he had it bad for Michelle. It
didn’t matter that he was way too old for her and that they’d only just started
truly seeing each other. She was the “the one”. He just had to find a way to
make her see it too.

A few times last night he felt she was about to call him
Master. Maybe his love-sopped brain was making him hear things, but he was
certain she was falling for him just as fast as he was falling for her. He got
out of bed, cleaned up a bit, pulled on a pair of jeans and went looking for
her.

The smell of food was a heavenly beacon telling him exactly
where to look. As he came to the archway, he saw Michelle wearing one of his
button-down shirts, open and swaying in the breeze as she danced to the music
emanating from the earbuds attached to the phone sitting in her breast pocket.
When she moved to the stove to flip something in one of the skillets, he
glanced at the clock.
Five-fifteen. What an unholy hour!

It didn’t matter. He’d become an earlier riser if it meant
seeing this show each morning.

Once her back was to him, he silently went and took a seat
on one of the stools at the island. It took only a moment for her to notice
him. In mid-spin, she saw him sitting there. A huge smile broke across her face
in welcome.

“Good morning.” She took one of the buds from her ear.

“Yes, it is. My best ever, I think. What are you making? It
smells wonderful.”

“I know you prefer a light meal in the morning, but I’m a
big breakfast girl. I can make you some oatmeal if you’d prefer. I’ve got a
full day, though.” She shook her head. “No breaks. So I either eat now or
starve all day. I’ve got hash browns about ready, two eggs nearly done, bacon
is waiting and the toast is about to go.” She shrugged. “But if you’d rather,
I’ll boil water for oatmeal.”

He smiled. She breathed life into his home and into him.
Both had been missing for so damn long. “We’ll skip the oatmeal and go for the
real breakfast.”

“Perfect. Would you butter the toast and I’ll finish up the
rest?”

“I can handle that. What’s your schedule today?” He’d
assumed she had class Tuesdays and Thursdays. Damn, he’d wanted to spend the
day with her. Who was he kidding? He wanted to spend
every
day with her.

“Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I have class from nine to one
and work one to five.” She made a plate for Sean then started on her eggs. “I
assumed over-medium would work. I should have asked. Would you rather have
something else?”

“Nope, you nailed it.” He took the plate she offered him,
set it on the island, then went to butter the toast.

“I’m scheduled for the same days at the diner, midnight to
noon.”

“I thought you’d quit.” He also thought they’d passed this
hurdle already. To keep himself for saying more—something he’d regret—he went
to the fridge and pulled out the orange juice. He filled two glasses with ice
and took them to the island.

“I wanted to talk to you before I did that. Are you sure you
want me to? Maybe it would be better if I kept my jobs. It would cause a lot
less hassle for you at the club and we could still see each other on Sundays. And
maybe we could find a few hours on Tuesday and Thursdays, depending on what you
have going on and how much homework I have.”

“Why are you doing this? I feel like we take one step back
for every two forward.” He was holding his emotions in check—barely.

Michelle pulled out the other earbud and killed the music.
She put her hand over his and sat next to him at the island. “Sean, I’m just
giving you a chance to back out. Once I officially quit, I’m pretty much locked
in. We both know that. I’m giving you one last opportunity to slow this down or
change directions before you’re stuck with me.”

“Quit. Make the calls right now.” He could breathe again,
knowing that she wasn’t trying to run away from him.

She kissed him on the cheek. “I will, I promise. But I need
to wait for the sun to come up at least.”

“Yeah. Why are we up before the sun? It’s painfully obvious
I need to improve my technique if after a night of loving you can roll out of
bed a few hours later looking this amazing.” She did too. Absolutely beautiful.

“There’s not a damn thing wrong with your prowess in the
bedroom, and you know it. I feel more alive this morning than I have in…ever.”
She rested her head on his shoulder.

He put his arm around her and pulled her against his chest.
He rested his chin on the top of her head and just held her for a few moments.
When she pulled away, her hair snagged in his whiskers, keeping a small part of
them linked together.

“Eat up, bossy man. I’m going to have to take off soon.”

“I thought you went to USC. It’s not ten minutes from here.”

“My apartment is about five or six miles from here, then
school is another three and I have to shower and change. I’ve been wearing
those same clothes off and on since Friday morning. They’re going straight in
the washer.”

“Michelle.” He put his fork down and stared at her. “You
didn’t sleep before your shift at the diner on Friday, did you? Son of a bitch!
You were up more like forty-two hours, weren’t you?”

“Yeah.” She shrugged. “I’ve done it before and each time I
vow it will be the last. Hopefully this time it will be. Quit staring at me and
eat.”

“Oh, subbie, I guarantee it will be the last time you ever
do that again. This is great, by the way. Thank you.” He wanted to turn her
over his knee and paddle her ass all over again for that stunt. If he’d had any
idea she’d been up so long, he never would have allowed her to work that night.
She’d kept quiet on purpose.

Michelle ate a few more bites, then drank some juice.
“Thanks for getting up with me,. You didn’t have to.”

“Did you really think I’d let you walk?” No way in hell was
he allowing
that
either.

“We were up pretty late last night. If I didn’t have class
I’d still be crashed. Sean, seriously, I enjoy walking. It’s about my only form
of exercise and I like it. It gives me a few minutes of peace and quiet—usually
the only I get all day.”

“That’s too bad. It’s not happening. We can go jogging in
the mornings or on Sunday and Monday evenings. There’s an exercise room on the
other side of the house too. If you want a workout, you’re welcome to use it.
Although I think our activities last night counted as cardio.”

“Sure, if I sleep over, going for a morning walk would be
great. I don’t think I could keep up with you on a run.”

“I rather like you sharing my home. Is there a reason why
you’d rather not stay here?” She was a private person and she probably wanted
her space, but damn it, he wanted her here. She brightened his home and made
him smile all the time. Hell, he was dreading being away from her while she was
at school.

He finished his breakfast and took his plate to the sink.

She shrugged. “No, not really. You have a beautiful home and
I love spending time with you, but aren’t you afraid you’ll get sick of me
invading your personal space?”

“I don’t think you have much to worry about. We can take it
a few days at a time if you’d be more comfortable.” If anyone had told him six
months ago he’d be inviting a woman to share his home so quickly, he’d have
told them they were nuts. He was pushing her hard and moving way too fast, yet
in some ways it wasn’t fast enough. The change she’d made to his life in such a
short period was nothing but miraculous. He felt like he was coming out of a
cloud into a bright, sunny day.

“That’ll work.”

* * * * *

Michelle sat at the reception desk in the business office on
campus. She kept looking at her cell phone, considering texting Sean. It was
pathetic how she couldn’t stop thinking of him. The last couple of days had
been crazy and the sex was—well, phenomenal.
Screw it.
She was going to
be herself and if that didn’t work for Sean—well, it was best to find out now.

I miss you.
Her stomach roiled as she hit send. Was
she being pushy? Clingy? Damn it, why’d she send it?

Ping!
She looked down and saw it was from Sean. Oh of
course it was from Sean—she hadn’t been texting anyone else. Still, the
response came awfully fast. She wondered what he’d texted back, but wasn’t
ready to open it. What if he was in a meeting or something and she’d
interrupted? Considering how fast she’d received the reply, it might be an auto-message.

Okay, enough torture
. She slid her finger across the
screen and opened the message. Squinting both eyes and peeking through one, she
read,
I’ve been thinking about you all day and counting the minutes until
five.

She squeaked and did a small under-the-desk fist pump.

What are your plans?
Was that prying? If she was
going to stay at his house, then she should know what his plans were…shouldn’t
she? Feeling your way through a new relationship sucked in so many ways.

I thought I’d take you to dinner then we’d swing by the
club and I’d finish the tour. Are you up for that?

The club was closed Sunday and Monday so it would only be
the two of them…hopefully. Her imagination was off and running.
Sure,
she texted back, wondering exactly what she’d agreed to. Their leisurely shower
had been anything but relaxing. She was still a little sore. Not that she
minded though—it was a physical reminder of what they’d shared.

Michelle touched the collar around her neck. She probably
should have taken it off. While in many ways it looked like a necklace, she
knew it wasn’t. Her tummy bunched a little every time she thought about
belonging to Sean. He was leading her down a path she never dreamed she’d
actually take. Sure, she enjoyed reading about Dominance and submission, but to
live it was something else entirely. A mix of scary and sexy as hell. She was
growing very attached to Sean. These few hours away from him had brought that
point home.

Still, going back to the club was a little daunting. She’d
seen more flesh in that one night than she had in her life. Sean had helped her
deal with some of her jealousy issues. She’d never met a man willing to
communicate as openly as Sean. It probably helped that he was comfortable in his
own skin. She wondered if all Doms were like that. No, they couldn’t be, or
there’d be women lined up around the block to get into the club.

It was slow at work. There weren’t many appointments and she
was able to get a lot of her homework done. She decided it was time to call the
diner and bar and tell them she was quitting. She’d already called friends and
gotten her shifts covered for the rest of the week. They’d have someone hired
to replace her by then. It would have been better if she could’ve given them a
full two weeks, but Sean would lose his mind if she did that. Who was she
kidding? She’d rather spend time with him.

At five, her cell phone pinged.
I’m in the visitor’s
parking
. She was halfway down the stairs before the church bells down the
street finished chiming. It was easy to spot him leaning against the fender of
his car, much like when he’d waited for her at the diner. God, that seemed a
lifetime ago—not just a few days. He looked up and smiled. Dropping his cell
phone into his pocket, he took a few steps to meet her, then wrapped his arms
around her and hugged her tight.

“You feel so good in my arms.” Sean nuzzled her neck. “I
missed you today.” He opened the back and tossed in her backpack before opening
her door. “We need to stop by Aiden’s office, then we’ll grab a bite. Do you
have any preferences?”

“I like you nibbling on my neck and…lower.” She’d already
turned pink, but seeing that smile was worth it.

Taking her hand in his, he gave it a kiss. “I’m so glad,
because I can’t seem to get enough of you.”

“Thanks for picking me up. You’re spoiling me.”

“None of that. I’ve been thinking of you all day. I haven’t
gotten much accomplished other than looking at the clock every three or four
minutes and thinking ‘damn, time is moving slowly’.” He chuckled.

“Same here. I had such trouble focusing I barely finished my
exam in time.”

“I was afraid to text and have it chime at an inappropriate
moment.”

Michelle laughed. “Me too. I had no idea what you were
working on today and I didn’t want to appear…needy, clingy, pushy. You know,
all the things women are often accused of being.”

“Text any time you want. Since I’m the boss, it’s not a
problem, and I like to know you’re thinking about me.” Sean reassured her as he
pulled into a parking lot of a beautiful antebellum home that had been
converted into a law office. “Aiden needs some papers signed so he can set up
the account in your name. I think he said he needed a copy of your driver’s
license—that kinda thing.”

Her heart started hammering in her chest. “Sean, I don’t
want to do this. I don’t want your money.”

“We’ve been through this. It protects us both. Let’s go talk
to Aiden, but bottom-line, Michelle, you’ve quit your jobs and you need a
parachute. That’s all this is.”

“All right. I’ll hear him out, but this is under protest.”
She didn’t like this even a little bit.

Aiden explained in detail that it was up to her to access
the account. If the money hadn’t been removed within one year’s time, it
reverted to Sean. Knowing that allowed her to sign the documents with a clean
conscience. She knew she wouldn’t take his money, so as long as it made its way
back to him there wasn’t a problem.

Once the paperwork was completed and she’d signed the
multiple documents, Aiden said his piece. “No offense intended, miss, but
Sean’s been my friend a long time and I need to make sure he understands. Buddy,
if you sign this, she can take the money and run. There’s nothing stopping her
from cleaning out the account at any time and neither one of us could stop it.”