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  He shed his sweatpants.

  Opening her eyes, she gave a gasp upon seeing him. She stiffened.

  He didn’t get it. Given how receptive she had been to his attentions, why did he feel like he had to seduce her all over again?

  No matter. He was more than up for the challenge.

  “I’m just about done,” she said, staring at his ready erection. “Then the shower is all yours.”

  “You in a hurry?” he returned, stepping into the shower with her.

  “Don’t you have to get ready for your meeting with Dawson?”

  “There’s time.”

  He turned her around to inspect her derriere. Her arse had recovered amazingly well, with no evidence of the flogging it had received. He could go harder next time.

  “I can skip the conditioner,” she murmured.

  She was about to take a step away from him, but he had moved his hand from her shoulder to her throat, which stopped her instantly. He stepped into her, molding his body to her backside. Hot water cascaded between them. It rained over his head when he leaned in toward her.

  “You saw the state of my cock,” he said into her ear. “A good pet asks what she can do to address it.”

  Still holding her throat in one hand, he moved his other hand over the smoothness of her belly and down between her thighs.

  “Isn’t it a little early for...”

  “For what?”

  “Sex.”

  He liked the sound of the word falling from her lips.

  “You have a problem with sex in the morning?” he inquired, dipping his fingers below her mound.

  “I don’t want to make you late to your meeting.”

  “Won’t happen.” And even if it did, it would be worth it. What the hell was she afraid of?

  He caressed her slick folds and felt her shiver against him. Desire flared through his groin.

  “Now be a good pet and get yourself wet for me,” he instructed.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to—”

  He tightened his hold on her throat, pulling her head till it met his chest. Water poured down her face. He took a step back so that the shower wasn’t right over her.

  “Do it,” he snapped.

  She was trying to arch away from his erection, which exaggerated the heaving of her breasts. “I’m not really in the mood.”

  “Bullshit.”

  To prove it, he dipped his fingers into her slit and drew out wetness. He put his fingers to her lips.

  She turned her face away. “That’s probably left over from last night.”

  “Then you’ll have to work on getting some fresh cunt juice.”

  She didn’t have a response this time, but she wasn’t taking any action either.

  “Are you keeping me waiting, pet?”

  “I thought a break might—”

  He turned on the body jets and picked her up by her thighs. Spreading her legs, he positioned her cunt in front of one of the jets fixed to the shower walls. She let out a loud gasp as water blasted her between the thighs.

  “Shit!” she squealed.

  But he held her in place through her writhing. She strained against him, the back of her head digging into his shoulder as she tried to resist how quickly the water pressure was affecting her.

  “Oh, God...” she moaned.

  He stepped closer to the jet. Her moans turned into cries at the increased intensity. A minute later, she started convulsing, and a loud scream rose above the steam and water swirling about them. She tried to push away from the jet, but he stood firm, tightening his grip on her thighs, prolonging her climax.

  Unable to take any more, she shielded herself with her hands, and only then did her body relax. He allowed her slide from him. She collapsed onto the floor. He shut off the jets, leaving only the waterfall on, before squatting down next to her.

  He grasped her chin and lifted her gaze to his. “Maybe next time I tell you to get yourself wet, you won’t make me do it for you.”

  Still recovering from her orgasm, she stared at him half dazed. The other half was a mixture of awe and anger. If he were really wicked, he would take the hand shower to her overly sensitive clit. Instead, he kissed her beneath the fall of water, smothering her lips with his. Once more, seeing her spend had caused his arousal to soar. He devoured her mouth until she needed to catch her breath.

  “You wet for me now, pet?”

  She hesitated, which made him consider another round with the jets, but then she replied, “Yes, Master.”

  “Show me.”

  She reached between her thighs and showed him fingers glistening with a viscous fluid not water.

  “How do you know it’s not left over from last night?” he asked.

  She dared return a smirk. “Why don’t you taste it?”

  It was an impertinent response for a sub. But he suddenly wanted nothing more than to do what she asked. Grabbing her hand, he jammed her fingers into his mouth, swirling the taste of her over his tongue. He sucked the digits clean.

  “Stay there,” he said when he was done.

  He stepped out of the shower to grab a condom from one of the drawers. After putting it on, he stepped back in and pulled her to her feet. Pressing her back against the shower wall, he returned to ravaging her mouth with his. His cock wanted in something fierce, but he only ground his pelvis into her for now.

  He groped her all over, her body warm and slick to the touch. Her resistance had melted and she returned his kiss, making his head swim. Fuck. He couldn’t remember wanting a woman this badly before.

  He flipped her around to face the wall and pinned her wrists above her head. He held them in place with one hand while his other reached around her hip to fondle her clit. The way her arse arched into him was enough to make him bust a nut.

  Bending down, he slid his cock beneath her rump and speared himself into her heat. The movement thrust her farther into the wall, smashing her breasts. To create space for herself, she pressed away from the wall and backed herself farther onto his cock.

  Bloody hell. She felt so hot. So fucking good.

  A thousand points of pleasure were dancing on his shaft and penetrating into his core. His ardor could not wait, and he started thrusting deep and hard, lifting her to her toes and slamming her into the shower wall.

  “Fuck!” she grunted, writhing between him and the wall.

  He wasn’t sure if she was trying to avoid getting smushed to the wall or if she was returning his thrusts. Either way, it was driving him crazy. But he forced himself to slow down enough to intensify his fondling of her clit till he had her moaning and trembling. He wanted to feel her come on him.

  With his cock, he stroked her cunt, building her arousal. The dual assault made quick work of her orgasm. She wailed and erupted into shudders. Her cunt contracted waves of rapture about him. Unable to resist any longer, he shoved himself as far into her as he could. He was going to go all the way. He pounded into her, smacking her arse with every thrust.

  His climax bowled into him with surprising force. He drove himself into her as if his life depended on his being inside her as deep as possible. Cum filled the condom. He didn’t stop until he was completely drained.

  For a whole minute, his legs shook uncontrollably, but he remained buried inside her, relishing her heat and the ways her body curved into his. The shower rained over his shoulders and down between them. When he had regained his legs, he stepped back, allowing her to come off her toes. He let go of her wrists so that she could peel herself from the wall. He caught her when she stumbled and wrapped his arms about her slick body. He stroked her between the legs, eliciting a groan and a shiver. She slumped against him.

  “Did you come for me, pet? Twice?”

  “Yes, Master,” she murmured.

  “Did you ask permission?”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Seriously? Was that one of his rules? She couldn’t think straight.

  Kimani thought to move away from him to cl
ear her head and get away from the humidity of the shower still raining down on them. But his arms kept her trapped. Her IQ dropped against the feel of his slick, hard body.

  “It’s not a drought year, but we shouldn’t be using this much water,” she remarked.

  He squeezed a breast, then started pulling at a nipple. “I asked a question, pet.”

  “Yes!” she yelped. “I mean, no! I didn’t ask permission. I forgot. Sorry.”

  “What do you think would be an appropriate punishment?”

  Her mind whirled. Shit. She had no idea.

  “I’ll give you time to think about it,” he said. “If what you propose is acceptable, I’ll take your suggestion. If it’s not, we do your proposal and what I have in mind.”

  She sucked in her breath. She hated how he always managed to stick her between a rock and a hard place. This was not a good situation. And it had taken him less than an hour to obliterate her resolve not to fool around with him anymore. She was beginning to think it was impossible. Because he made her come so good. Because her body reacted to his every touch before she was even cognizant of what was happening. Hell, he didn’t even have to touch her. He just had to look at her to produce sensations inside her. Reasoning didn’t stand a chance.

  “What’s considered ‘acceptable?’” she asked. With his arms wrapped about her, her body continued to hum. To her surprise, she was ready to go at it again. The climax against the shower jet had been agonizing and amazing all at once. She hadn’t thought a second orgasm possible because being slammed against the shower wall hadn’t been all that comfortable, but it was as if his ardor had seeped into her; his desire expressed in the force with which he dominated her, fueling her lust. Of course, he was more physically powerful than she, and there was something seductive about that. It spoke to a raw, primal instinct.

  “You’re a smart woman. You’ll figure it out.”

  “I don’t get any guidelines whatsoever? That’s not very fair.”

  “Who said life is fair?” He released her. “Finish up but don’t get dressed yet. You can wear the robe on the back of the door. Then wait for me in the playroom.”

  Her traitorous body mourned the loss of his embrace. He waited in the shower, which could have fit four people comfortably, as she quickly ran conditioner through her hair. She then hurried out and wrapped a decadent, oversized towel about herself. She needed to put distance between her and Ben. Seeing him step under the showerhead, the water streaming down his chiseled body, however, she was tempted to stay and watch.

  No. Better to go and take advantage of some alone time to think.

  Slipping into the large robe, she left the bathroom. But she didn’t want to go into the playroom. Standing in the bedroom, she willed herself to focus. A part of her wanted to take the opportunity to run, escape, far from Ben. The whole thing was far too messed up. She should not be this attached to a potential subject of her story. In fact, her involvement with him took him out of the story.

  But Sam wanted more info on him, or his uncle rather. Maybe that was okay. Or not. At first, like Sam, she had been excited by the special angle she had been given. But now she didn’t feel so good about it. Her original intent was to expose the Scarlet Auction and their suspect practices, prevent other women from falling into Marissa’s situation—which she felt Claire was perilously close to doing—and thereby land herself a job at the Tribune.

  But how could she do that and get herself untangled from Ben? The man expected her to come up with her own punishment. Having seen what was in his playroom, she did not want to go through with it.

  Maybe just a little bit.

  Damn her curiosity.

  But it might be so cool.

  And it might not. She had no doubt that Ben was as good at inflicting pain as he was at pleasure. She’d had a dose of it already and suspected the forthcoming punishment would be tougher. Better to get the hell out while she could.

  But then how was she going to get her story? How was she going to stop Jake? She couldn’t just leave Claire in his hands.

  Hearing that the shower had stopped, she quickly bolted out of the bedroom, down the hall, and into the playroom. He wouldn’t be happy if he found she hadn’t followed his command. She looked about the room for the safest spot to sit or stand. She opted for the bed. The wrought-iron spindle bed looked innocuous enough, except it was the complete opposite of the other bed in his place. This one looked like it belonged in a jail cell. It didn’t have a box spring, let alone pillows and linen.

  Ben entered wearing only a towel around his hips. Kimani closed her mouth to keep herself from drooling. He looked so hot with water still dripping off his hair. Unlike most mixed Asians she knew, his hair was jet black. Thick, shiny and straight, it was completely unlike hers. She wanted to run her fingers through his locks, maybe yank them, hard, to make him gasp the way he made her gasp.

  Standing in front of her, he reached for the sash of her robe, undid the tie, and pulled it from its loops. She braced herself for being tied up.

  “About the punishment,” she said, “some guidance would be helpful.”

  “I’m sure it would,” he replied placidly, and began wrapping the sash around her eyes.

  She pursed her lips in displeasure. Since meeting him, she oscillated between thinking him a nice guy and an asshole. Right now, he was an asshole.

  “What are we doing now?” she asked, worried about the deprivation of sight.

  He tied the ends of the sash behind her head. “You’re lucky I don’t usually require my subs to be silent. But none of them ask as many questions as you do.”

  “So I’m not the quiet type.”

  “I can tell.”

  She felt his thumb at her bottom lip.

  “I might require you to be silent,” he said softly, “just for the fun of it. Or I could simply gag you. You got a preference?”

  “Yes. None of the above.”

  He chuckled, then pushed his thumb into her mouth. Instinctively, she began to suck it.

  “Good pet,” he crooned.

  She wanted to kick herself for the delight his compliment sparked. It wasn’t like she was hard up for praise, so why did she like pleasing him?

  He pressed down on her tongue. She sucked harder. Would he make her suck his cock next? She remembered the blow job she had given him at Jake’s cabin. She had never had to work so hard before because he’d come like three times without ejaculating. She still couldn’t quite wrap her head around a non-ejaculating orgasm.

  But he had come normally in the shower. So maybe she might get lucky again. Maybe multiple orgasms weren’t the norm for Ben. One would think that a woman would be ecstatic to find a guy who could stay hard like Ben. But it made him capable of so much more...and that made Kimani nervous.

  “Don’t you have to get ready for your meeting?” she asked after he had withdrawn his thumb.

  He pulled her to her feet. “I’ll worry about the meeting.”

  The robe was pushed off her shoulders. He led her a few steps from the bed. Orienting herself, she guessed that she was standing next to the tall metal frame that reminded her of a high-bar from men’s gymnastics. Only this frame, if she recalled correctly, had leather cuffs dangling from the center.

  She was correct.

  He lifted an arm above her head, and a cuff soon encircled her wrist. The same was repeated with her other arm.

  She should have escaped when she’d had the chance.

  “What—are we starting the punishment?” she asked.

  “Shhh. Just enjoy the moment.”

  How was she supposed to do that blindfolded and locked to a metal frame? She didn’t like not knowing what to expect. It was why she didn’t read or watch a lot of thrillers. Too much suspense.

  “I’d enjoy it a lot more if you clued me in on what’s going to happen,” she told him.

  “You should know it’s not as exciting without the element of surprise.”

  Fuck exciting.
She didn’t want exciting.

  “You want to be at my complete mercy. Right, pet?”

  She groaned. His seductive voice made it sound inviting. But, no, she didn’t want to be at his complete mercy.

  His hand gripped the back of her neck, making her gasp.

  “Right, pet?”

  “Y-Yes.”

  “You don’t sound convinced.”

  “What else am I supposed to say?” she retorted.

  “Look, I won’t punish you for telling the truth. I will punish you for lying.”

  “Then, no. Or, I’m not sure. I don’t know you well enough to be convinced.”

  “Fair enough.”

  She felt his hands at the cuffs, perhaps checking them. Then his hands slid down her arms and down her back to her butt. She tried to block the sensations his caresses produced.

  “That’s it?” she questioned. “You’re just going to leave it at that?”

  “I am.”

  His hands withdrew, and she heard him walk away. He wasn’t going to try to put her at ease?

  “Wait!” she called. “Are you just going to leave me here?”

  She heard something being turned on. A vibrator, possibly. Hopefully.

  “What’s that?” she asked, desperately wishing she could see.

  “You’ll see.”

  He was standing before her. She could hear the device close to her. She yelped when it touched her nipple. It was a vibrator of some sort.

  His fingers were between her thighs, sliding against her moisture. And then the vibrator replaced his fingers. Almost immediately her body hummed in pleasure.

  She heard something like tape being pulled, and then she felt it wrapping about her legs. At first, she was worried it was duct tape, but to her surprise, the material didn’t stick to her skin as expected, though it bound her thighs together tightly about the vibrator.

  She was excited and worried about that vibrator.

  This time she remembered to ask permission. “Am I allowed to come?”

  “No.”

  Shit. Now she wasn’t so keen on the vibrator. He had taped it there, which meant he didn’t expect to remove it anytime soon. Double shit.

  “But you stuck a vibrator to me,” she protested.