Chapter Five
LEO GLANCED DOWN at the woman in his arms.
Her eyes were closed. Those red lips were parted and held a dreamy half smile. Her brow was smooth and relaxed, and the red and black mask emphasized the pale smoothness to her skin. His fingers itched to remove the final barrier between them and demand she give up her last piece of defense.
But he didn’t have the right.
He wasn’t her Dom. He was moving to Vegas. This was a brief interlude between strangers.
Then why didn’t she feel like a stranger?
Why did she feel familiar? Like a whisper of a memory from the moment his mouth claimed hers? It was as if she’d imprinted herself on his very flesh in the last few hours and he wasn’t sure how to handle it.
He got up from the bed quietly and walked into the bathroom to get some clean washcloths. He needed to get a grip. Yes, she’d touched something inside him he’d never experienced before. Her shattering surrender and truthfulness. Her vulnerability and strength. Her sweetness and touch of spice.
But she wasn’t his.
Smothering a vicious curse, he returned to the bed and began cleaning her up. She gave a small moan as he smoothed the cloth over her inner thighs and pussy. He took the second one and wiped away the dried tears on her cheek, smoothing away the sweat drying on her skin. She practically purred beneath his touch and Leo was taken aback at the violent surge of possession that swamped him.
He wanted to be the one to guide her deeper into BDSM. To learn her. Take care of her.
He needed more damn time.
“Sir? May I ask a question?”
He smiled, returning the cloths to the bathroom and sitting on the edge of the bed. “You can call me Leo while we’re out of scene.”
She drowsily propped herself up on her elbow. Dark waves fell over her naked breasts, allowing just the hard tip of her cherry red nipple to peak through. Her eyes gleamed with curiosity. “How long have you been a Dom?”
“About ten years now. I always felt like something was missing for me during sex, but I had no idea what it was. My cousin, Roman, educated me in the world of BDSM. He was a dominant and when I told him about my lack of sex drive, he sensed I needed to try BDSM. The first time a woman sank to her knees in front of me, I’d never felt so complete. It was as if I finally belonged and knew who I was.”
“How old are you now?”
He grinned. “Thirty-five.” She looked eager to ask more, but seemed hesitant, as if it was against the rules. “Scarlett, you can ask me anything you want and I’ll answer truthfully. You have just as much right to demand from me as I do from you.”
Pleasure bloomed on her face. God, she was so expressive. “Are you still in the Navy?”
“No, I got out same time as Jonathan and Cruz. I work in security now.”
Her gaze touched on his arms with admiration. “Did you get your tats in the Navy?”
He absently stroked the intricate designs that marked his skin. “Yeah. Serving for those years showed me some things in the world I’d been immune to.” He trailed off, but her eyes urged him to continue. His ink was extremely personal and many people didn’t give a shit about the why. “My father wasn’t the nicest guy in the world. We had a crappy relationship, so I did my share of teen rebellion. I became wrapped up in myself and what people could do for me. Always focused on how bad or good I felt. I was selfish.”
“Most teens are,” she said.
“Maybe. I decided to join the navy as a big fuck you to my dad, who wasn’t a fan of the military. Service changed me. For the first time, I saw beyond my own world and grew up. I never wanted to forget so I got ink for each of the things I learned were important.”
She leaned over, moving her fingers gently over his bicep. Her cherry red nails flashed. “This?” she asked softly.
The dragon’s eye stared back at her with fierce command inked in dark blue. “Protection. A reminder to watch over others.” She drifted downward, tracing the elaborate edges of the anchor. “Symbol of the Navy. Represents strength and hope.” Her fingers paused above his wrist. “A clock. To remind me time is short and shouldn’t be wasted.”
She moved to the other arm which held thick black lines in the tribal symbol. “For friendship?” she asked.
“Yes, this is my reminder of friendship and the strength of brotherhood.” Rising above the simple sketch, an elaborate angel with wings outspread over his bicep floated in vivid color. He watched her face as she studied the ink. The look of wonder twisted his gut with need.
“An angel? For God?”
She swiveled her gaze and met his. He trailed a finger down her soft cheek, pressing his thumb against her swollen lower lip. “To remind me there’s something bigger than me. And as much as I love control, I’m not really the one in charge in the end.”
Her breath skipped. Those dark eyes widened, and suddenly, he was kissing her, but it was different from the other times. This time, his tongue stroked and seduced, drank in her honeyed sweetness with patience, savoring every slick movement of her mouth under his. Tenderness stirred. Warmth uncurled in his belly and heated his blood, and then he was hard and ready for her again.
He broke the kiss slowly, with reverence.
“Thank you, Leo.”
His name fell from her lips in a symphony of sound. “For what, little one?”
Her sigh was pure pleasure and joy. “For helping me realize I was right about myself, and he was wrong.”
He stiffened at the mention of her ex. He’d tried to make her feel ugly about who she was. If Leo had been able to show her she was beautiful inside and out, it was one of the most satisfying moments of his life.
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting more from your sex life,” he said, stroking her cheek. “You should never apologize for being who you are. There are men who will worship at your feet and fuck you senseless the way you deserve. Don’t ever settle.”
“I won’t. But you managed to do something that will make all the difference.”
“What’s that?”
She tilted her chin up and smiled at him. His breath caught in his throat at that stunning, open smile meant just for him. “You made me feel beautiful again,” she said softly.
Raw emotion slashed through him. This had never happened before. He was well known in the BDSM industry to love playing with a variety of subs and form no attachment. Leo always figured he’d been wired to be non-monogamous, or maybe never meant for a long term, exclusive relationship. He’d never experienced anything other than attraction, respect, and friendship. People told him they were building blocks to something greater, but for him, the spark never took flame.
Until right now.
An odd wash of fear froze him in place. He stared at her smiling face, at her wide Gypsy eyes and tumbled hair, her pale skin and red lips, and fell hard for a stranger he’d just met a few hours ago.
Refusing to hold back, he took the leap.
“I want to see you again,” he said simply. “I know tonight is supposed to be anonymous, but I’m willing to change the rules. I want to remove my mask. Learn more about you. Take you to dinner. Bind you in my chains. Show you the world of BDSM—the world I find so beautiful and freeing and truthful. That’s my new proposition, Scarlett.”
Leo held his breath. He’d never been so off-balance. The need for her to agree; to want more like him; twisted inside. Ridiculous. He was a grown ass man and he finally understood how a boy feels asking a woman to prom. Worried the wrong answer will tear something permanently and he’ll never be the same.
Her smile faded. Regret flashed briefly in her eyes, but then she pressed her cheek against his chest, as if trying to remind herself he was real. Her voice came out in a husky whisper. “I don’t know if I’m ready for more. But I know something changed in me tonight. I know I’m not ready to leave you yet. I’d like to stay tonight, if you’ll let me.”
It wasn’t the answer he wanted, but damned if he didn’t respect her truth. He decided not to tell her about moving to Vegas at this point. She agreed to stay. He had till dawn to change her mind, and damned if he wasn’t about to take on the challenge of a lifetime.
“Then you’re mine until morning. And we are officially in a scene.”
With one swift movement, he flipped her over and pushed her to her knees. She gasped, but didn’t fight him. With her delectable ass high in the air, he quickly cuffed both wrists to the bed, then dragged her legs far apart. Her ass was still a rosy pink from her previous spanking, and her pussy was already wet with anticipation.
“Say it, Scarlett.”
She trembled. “I’m yours till morning, Sir.”
“That’s right. I’m going to fuck you from behind now. Hard. You are not to make a sound. Not a whimper, or I’ll make sure you don’t come for the next hour.”
Her breath hitched. He watched with satisfaction as her arousal dripped down her thigh. Oh, she was so delicious to play with. “Y-y-yes, Sir.”
“If you do make a sound, I’ll introduce you to a ball gag and we’ll do this all over again, without the orgasms. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.”
He donned the condom. Sunk his dick deep into her sopping pussy, sputtering a curse as her tight channel squeezed him mercilessly. Then pounded into her giving flesh like a caged animal desperate for freedom, giving her everything he had, and damned if when she came, not a sound emitted from her lips, not a groan or a whisper, and Leo knew he’d do anything in his power for this night to never end.
But it did.
And in the morning, when he woke, she was gone.
Her black mask was the only thing left behind.