Quinn stood at the edge of the bed, drinking in the sight of his gorgeous submissive. Ava owned his heart, mind, body, and soul. Watching her struggle so sweetly filled him with unmitigated pride. His chest rose and a lump of emotion lodged in his throat. A part of him wanted to speak…take away the panic and chaos rolling off her in wave after potent wave. But another part of him didn’t want to break the spell. Her determination to please him was an arousing, heady, and erotic sight. A sight that fed his Dominance, like a twelve-course meal.

With his gaze locked on her swollen pink pussy, Quinn unconsciously licked his lips as he watched the glistening, spicy nectar sliding down her busy fingers. She was beyond stunning. Even his throbbing erection agreed as it leapt against the zipper of his trousers, anxious to nudge between her slick, succulent folds. To press past the inviting bow of her lips and drive deep into her soft, slippery throat.

Christ, she was gorgeous, in both body and soul.

A smile tugged his lips when she defiantly called him out, but quickly faded as her voice cracked. Ava had begun to crumble…succumbing to her own fears at Quinn’s drawn-out silence.

“Please…whoever is in this room with me…say something,” she begged in a desperate whimper.

Ava was strong and he savored her tenacity and courage. It was only part of what made her submission such a raw and unique gift. And he drank in every drop she willingly gave, like a fine aged whiskey.

As he bent in close to her glistening pussy, her intoxicating fragrance filled his senses. Quinn’s mouth watered and he grew light-headed. Every cell in his body longed to latch his lips over her freshly waxed mound and lap up every drop of her hot, spicy nectar. Tongue-fuck her into oblivion before driving balls deep inside her wicked cunt until they were both sated and unconscious. Instead, he gritted his teeth and blew out a feather-soft breath over her wet sex.

“Oh, god,” she cried in a moan of defeat. “I’m scared.”

Quinn’s heart sputtered as he watched Ava curl into a fetal position, then burrow her face beneath her arms…hiding from the embarrassment and fears that consumed her. The sound of her sobs filled him with a potent sense of Dominance. Her tears were the ultimate treasure. A gift he coveted more than when she knelt at his feet. When Ava stripped away the exterior shell and opened her submissive soul in such a way, it filled him with hope that all aspects of the lifestyle could be attained with his alluring slave.

Quinn knew it was time to rescue his love.

Bending, he gripped the back of her neck and hauled her upright before latching a fist into her soft, brown hair. Ava cried out, struggling and fighting as he firmly guided her face to his crotch. Forcing her to inhale his scent, Quinn pressed her nose tight against his trousers and his straining cock. After drawing in the first breath, Ava instantly relaxed and wrapped her arms around his hips, fisting his pants in a death grip of salvation.

“Oh, Quinn,” she murmured. “Thank god it’s you. I was so scared.” Her warm breath leached through the material of his pants and he bit back a growl.

“Who?” he thundered. With a fist full of her silky hair, he forced her chin to tilt upward. He smiled at the perfectly shaped O of her lips and the blindfold blocking him from her view.

“Master,” Ava whispered. “I thought you were—”

“Do you have permission to speak?” Quinn barked.

Taking a step back, he regretted cutting off her lifeline, but he’d given her a taste of contentment and couldn’t gamble giving her more. Drawing his free hand back, he landed two stinging blows upon the insides of her buttery-soft thighs. Quinn clenched his jaw as Ava jolted and sucked in a startled breath. Even the miniscule touch of her flesh played havoc with his control. He’d only just started putting her through her paces, and already he ached to throw all his plans aside and sate his own thrumming desires. But he couldn’t. Too much was at stake. If he didn’t cement their Master/sub relationship here and now, Quinn feared she might slip through his fingers. He loved her too much to allow that to ever happen.

He’d started planning this with Ava over three months ago, after realizing she’d come to expect a predictable play routine. Their sessions had grown stagnant. Something had to be done in order for them to press forward and explore a deeper level of the power exchange.

Quinn had no one to blame but himself. He’d allowed work to consume his every waking thought. He’d lost focus from where it belonged—on Ava and pushing her submissive limits.

He aimed to give her both guidance and control…something they both craved. She’d expect the usual, and for that reason alone, Quinn had to stray far from the norm. If he didn’t, she’d readily hand over her power. Though that’s exactly what they both wanted and needed, Quinn wanted to forge a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Ava.

In order to do that, he’d have to keep her on her toes and throw her off-kilter. She’d likely fight him most every step of the way. But the reward for them both when she finally ceded her control would make it even more delicious, for him and for her.

Her body heat surrounded him in an enticing blanket. He had to put some distance between them before he fucked up and lost his head and tossed his plans to the wind. He took another step back.

“You disobeyed me.” His tone was flat and cold. She winced. “My directions were clear, were they not?”

“Yes, but I—”

“You were afraid. I know.” He cut her off and watched her lips begin to tremble. “But your fears were unfounded, weren’t they?”

“Yes, Master,” she whispered guiltily. “I didn’t mean to fail you. I simply wasn’t sure who was in the room with me. My mind wandered to scary places it shouldn’t have.”

Quinn inched forward and fisted her silky hair. Ava straightened and sat as still as a statue as he drew a thumb over her tempting bottom lip. “Do you think I’d let anyone have free reign over you in any way?”

“No, Sir,” Ava answered quickly.

“Oh, you don’t, huh?” he taunted. “What if that’s what I wanted? Hmm?” Quinn felt a barely perceptible tremor skitter through her body. She opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. “What if I wanted to sit and watch while another man…or woman used you? Would you allow that? Allow some stranger to take their pleasure with you?”

“I—I don’t…is that what you want?” she gasped. Her body tensed as if on high alert.

“Answer me.”

She swallowed audibly. “We’d have to discuss…negotiate a situation like that, Sir.”

“Yes, we would,” he replied. “Tell me, princess…the minute you realized you weren’t alone any longer, why the sudden gush from your pussy?”

A quivering breath fluttered past her lips. Her body grew more rigid as a pink hue rolled from her chest and settled on her cheeks. “I—I don’t know,” she answered, slightly dropping her chin.

Quinn knew she was lying. He didn’t like the fact that she wanted to keep anything from him, especially her fantasies. “I think you do. I think we both do. Remember all the times I’ve pressed you up against the glass in my office and fucked you from behind? All those times I whisper in your ear…I wonder who’s watching us, princess. I wonder who’s getting hard and wet watching me fuck your sweet, dripping pussy. You come like a goddamn freight train, my love. You like the idea of some stranger watching you at your most vulnerable and uninhibited state. It turns you the hell on, doesn’t it, princess?”

Her blush turned a deep crimson but she still remained silent. Quinn clenched his jaw and cinched her mane even tighter. “I asked you a question, Ava.”

“Yes,” she replied in a murmur so low he almost didn’t hear her.

Quinn bent and pressed a feather-soft kiss to her lips in reward for her sharing what he knew was an embarrassing secret…at least to Ava. For him, it was a clearing of the path he intended to forge with her, later.

With a flick of his wrist, he released her hair. “Present your ass to me, girl. Hands and knees. On the bed. Now,” he snarled.

As Ava scrambled into position, he watched her tremble while she lowered her cheek to the sheet. With her smooth, milky-white orbs raised to cock level, Quinn wanted to howl. She would surely be the death of him if he didn’t get inside her soon.

“I’m sorry, Master,” Ava whispered.

“For what?”

“I—I don’t know,” she mumbled.

“Allow me to help you then, princess,” he scolded with a grin, grateful she couldn’t see his delighted expression. “Are you sorry for failing to follow my instructions? Or perhaps you’re wanting to apologize for trying to weasel out of answering my last question. Or is it for something altogether different, Ava?”

Her shoulders sagged. Quinn was indeed keeping her off-kilter. Dangling her over the cusp of submission by calling her princess, yet keeping her from fully submerging into the right headspace when he called her by her given name. Again she didn’t reply. He’d either disarmed her with his knowledge of her private fantasy or she was trying to devise the answer she thought he wanted to hear.

Both were unacceptable.

With a shake of his head, he drew back his hand and landed a loud, firm slap over her soft butt cheeks. Her body jolted as she let out a short yelp of surprise.

“If it’s pain you want, princess, all you have to do is ask,” he whispered close to her ear. “But if it’s pleasure you’re seeking, you’re going about it the wrong way.”

“No, Master. I want pleasure…I mean, I want to give you pleasure,” she quickly amended.

He chuckled softly. Yes, he wanted that, too…eventually. “You’ll please me by answering my questions without hesitation.”

“I’m sorry for both,” she blurted out.

“Very good,” he praised, skimming his palm over the fiery red imprint left by his hand. When she purred, Quinn couldn’t help but grin. “I want you to share everything with me, princess. Not just your body but your fantasies, your secrets and dreams.”

He reached down, lightly tapping the insides of her thighs. Ava obliged his wordless command by inching her knees apart wider, granting him a stunning view of her swollen, wet pussy and tightly puckered rosebud. Quinn ached to ruthlessly plunder both openings, but instead he swiped a finger though her glistening folds, coating the tip with her sultry-hot slickness. Ava moaned and slowly rolled her hips as he painted the moisture over the opening of her gathered rim. Goosebumps erupted over her flesh, and a delightful shudder quaked through her.

Moving of their own accord, his other fingers delved into her hot, slick core. He closed his eyes, savoring her heat and the quickening rising inside him. “You feel like silk, princess…soft, luscious silk,” he murmured in a voice rife with hunger.

Ava whimpered. Her tunnel clutched around his slowly stroking digits. His cock was howling to be enveloped deep within her liquid walls. Grudgingly he lifted both hands away, watching with an inward growl as her passage grasped at nothing but air.

“Count for me, princess.” Her entire body tensed. He wanted to chuckle. “Surely you realize you’ve earned a punishment.”

“But I’ve learned my lesson, Sir,” she replied with a wheedling tone.

Ah, the little minx. Wanting to forgo pain and try to coax him into giving her nothing but pleasure had Quinn wishing he’d had the forethought to hide a nice, thick paddle under the bed. But then again, he always preferred a more hands-on approach when it came to doling out Ava’s punishments.

As she began counting each slap, her voice carried out loud and strong. But by the time he’d landed six and seven, her voice quivered. Quinn wanted her tears. He knew he wouldn’t have to wait long. Without a proper warm-up, Ava’s tolerance for pain was virtually nil. There wasn’t any familiarity for her to cling to, and that’s exactly where he needed her. Even before he drew his hand back for number ten, Ava was crying. Her sobs stoked that primal, visceral need to mold her even more infinitely beneath his firm and loving hands.

The sting on his palm served to sharpen his focus like a well-honed blade. His psyche shifted into a deeper level of Dom space. Nothing existed now except Ava and the beauty of her struggling to process the pain.

Up until a few weeks ago, Quinn would have stopped the punishment and sipped her tears, and softly caressed her reddened flesh before taking her to the heavens. Of course, that’s exactly what she expected him to do, but Quinn couldn’t relent. This was new ground…new territory for both of them, and Ava held the key to their future. If he couldn’t entice her to hand over her power, all Quinn’s plans would evaporate, like smoke on the wind.

Sucking in a hopeful breath, he landed his hand over her angry red backside five more times in rapid succession. Ava lifted onto all fours, her body taut and rigid as marble. Tossing back her head, she unleashed an ear-piercing scream. Quinn issued an inward curse…he’d lost her to the pain. Every fiber in his being wanted to wrap his arm around her waist, draw her flush against his chest, and whisper praises in her ear. Instead, he placed his wide, hot palm at the small of her back, and pressed her into position once again.

Her pitiful sobs echoed in his ears, made his cock jerk, and forced him to clench his jaw. Quinn wanted to yank off her blindfold and sip the tears as they spilled down her cheeks…drink in the life force that fed his Dominance.

* * *

Unaccustomed to this new side of Quinn, Ava tried to analyze his harsh and uncompromising demeanor, but the blistering fire crawling down her legs and up her spine made focusing impossible. The searing pain of his spanking engulfed her and blocked out all rational thought.

She felt lost. Cast out in a furious typhoon of uncertainty on a flimsy inflatable raft. Clutching her fists in the sheet, desperate to feel his rugged body draped over her while he whispered words of praise in her ear, Ava wondered if or when she’d find solid ground once again. Any hint of reassurance would be a godsend, yet Quinn seemed determined to withhold even a sliver of security, opting instead to continue his barrage of unrelenting punishment.

Ava was consumed by the faltering feelings and an unfamiliar sense of panic swelled inside her. And for the first time ever, she contemplated using her safeword. No. Quinn was only leading her into unfamiliar territory. That wasn’t enough to warrant her calling a halt to the punishment…a punishment she’d patently earned.

And if she were truly honest with herself, he wasn’t giving her more than she could handle, either. The fact that he hadn’t warmed her up prior to administering the punishment was what made the pain seem unbearable. In the past, he’d used paddles and, on occasion, a crop. Ava hadn’t folded and sobbed the way she did now. She’d ridden the pain, encompassed by the sublime and euphoric subspace floating in her mind.

Waves of displeasure rolled off him and seemingly crackled in the air, but the choking sobs burning the back of her throat made it impossible for Ava to offer up an apology.

Suddenly, Quinn smoothed his hand over her ass. She jerked in surprise and tried to will the taut muscles to turn to liquid so she could savor his benevolence. But his light, adoring touch felt as if he were scouring the raw nerve endings of her flesh with sandpaper. Inwardly screaming in protest, Ava longed to crawl away from his touch, but that would only add to the punishment she hoped was finished. Gritting her teeth, she panted through the pain and attempted to ride the blistering waves zipping through her body.

Only when Quinn bent and began trailing tender kisses over her enflamed orbs did Ava relax. She even sighed in relief as his firm, soft lips worked their magic, assuaging the pain and turning her bones to melted butter. Yes, the worst was over; she’d paid the penance and atoned for her disobedience. And just when she thought she’d endured all the pain Quinn wished to dispense, he sank his teeth into her throbbing flesh, like a rabid dog attacking its prey. Agony exploded, rolling up her spine; her brain begged her to flee.

“Goddammit, Quinn,” Ava hissed as she blindly scrambled across the bed. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” The hateful question launched out of her mouth before she knew what she was saying.

“Excuse me, princess?” Quinn asked in a tone ripe with indignation. “Do I need to shove a big, red ball gag between those pretty lips of yours? Or maybe I should fill your mouth with my hard cock to curb any more of your recalcitrant remarks. Hmmm?”

She swallowed tightly. Though his question was rhetorical, Ava opted for his cock over the nasty, ball gag. The damn thing made her jaw ache and caused her to drool like a dog salivating over a steak. If she was to earn a sore jaw, she’d rather achieve it by worshiping his cock.

“I’m sorry, Master. I—I didn’t mean to lash out like that.”

“Then why did you?”

His question came from right beside her. Ava swiveled her head toward his voice, completely unaware that Quinn had moved to this side of the bed. “It’s… You’re doing different things to me.”

“I certainly am.”

The humor in his voice both perplexed and ticked her off. “I don’t understand, what you’re doing. What do you want from me?”

“Everything,” he chuckled before his tone turned stern. “Do you trust me?”

“You know I do.”

“Hmm, I’m not totally convinced that’s true, sweetheart.”

Quinn stroked his fingers over her cheek. Ava nuzzled into his touch. Suddenly, the questions and worries that had been pinging through her calmed and leveled out.

“It is the truth. I swear. It’s just that I can’t seem to find my place…my center. The feeling that I’m connected to you.”

She felt his fingers slide to the edge of the blindfold before he lifted the fabric and peeled it away. Ava blinked at the harsh light as his face came into focus. His dazzling green eyes were brimmed in pride and lust but, most of all, reflected an unconditional love. All at once, her heart swelled, and the contentment she’d sought enveloped her in a blanket of peace.

“I told you I was going to push you farther than you’ve ever gone, didn’t I?”

“Yes, Sir, but I didn’t think that I’d feel so…”

“So what, my love?” he prodded.

“Lost…struggling to find my submissive place.”

“But that’s exactly how I want you to feel. Do you know why?”

“No.” Ava shook her head.

She sat quietly, waiting for him to explain. Explain why he aimed to shake the foundation out from under her in such an unusual and disquieting way. Tendrils of self-doubt began to web through her system. Was she lacking to provide him with the type of submission he craved? Had the failure to follow his task been as much of a disappointment to him as had been to her? Questions cluttered her mind. Ava’s anxiety mounted as she patiently waited for him to say…something.

As if gathering his thoughts, Quinn pursed his lips, then flashed her a devastating smile. His eyes twinkled as he eased onto the bed beside her. Ava exhaled the boulder of tension from her lungs, and her heart sputtered. The heat of his body and masculine scent—a mixture of woodsy cologne and soap—surrounded her like a blanket of reassurance. Ava wanted to climb into his arms, curl up against his steely chest, and stay there for all time.

“A Master pushes limits, princess. It’s his job. I’ve been neglecting my duty to you…to us. But I intend to make that up, starting here and now.”

“You’ve not been neglecting me. You’ve been busy… We both have. Besides, I like the things we do. I…” Did she dare say it? “I know where I stand…what my role is, and where my place is in our BDSM relationship.”

“And therein lies the problem, princess. It’s time to move past the things you like, and push to another level to find more fulfillment than we’ve experienced thus far.”

Ava’s heart sank. In a backhanded way, Quinn confirmed her biggest fear—she wasn’t meeting his expectations. What if she never attained the level he desired? What then? Would he kiss her good-bye and seek out another sub…one with more experience, who could make him happy?

The thought made her want to throw up.

Quinn cupped her chin, forcing her gaze. Studying her with his moss-colored eyes, he sliced her open like a scalpel. Quinn had always possessed an almost freakish ability to read her thoughts. The slash of his brow told her he’d picked up on the guilt and shortcomings that wheedled their way into her brain.

With a frown settled over his mouth, he stood and extended his hand. She stared at his wide palm and capable fingers before accepting his invitation as he helped her from the bed. His skin was hot, setting off a familiar current of electricity that tingled up her arm and sent a low vibration humming through her system.

He moved his hand to the small of her back. A ripple of delight rolled up her spine as Quinn led her across the room to a nondescript wooden door. Funny, she hadn’t even noticed the portal when she’d unpacked. Of course, her mind had been focused on other things.

She watched as he lifted a small key from his pocket. With a tiny snick, the lock disengaged and the door swung open. Peering inside, Ava sucked in a gasp.