Chapter Ten
Mia let Tucker and Brock lead her from the room, grateful they weren’t going to watch another scene. She would spontaneously combust if she had to watch another ménage. Sweet Mother Mary, she’d almost come watching Master Cam flog CeCe, and now, she was embarrassed to have been crushing on her new friend’s man. She could try to blame the alcohol, but the truth was easier.
It wasn’t Cameron Barnes who’d mesmerized her, it was the Master… the confident sexual Dominant who’d kept her totally enthralled during the scene. The catlike grace of his movements, the set of his shoulders contrasting against his complete focus on CeCe had riveted her. No wasted movements, every breath appeared to be choreographed for maximum efficiency and impact.
Dating had always been such an incredible disappointment for Mia, and now, she was beginning to suspect why. She’d never dated an alpha male because she’d only dated men her grandfather had previously approved. Her last date had interrupted their make out session to take a phone call… from his mother, for heaven’s sake.
After that, Mia had decided to stick with the men in her romance novels and forgo the real ones who always seemed to let her down. Most of the men she dated were candid about their motives, wanting to get close to her grandfather for one reason or another. The only one who’d indicated any interest in sex for the sake of pleasure had wanted her to fuck him with a used strap-on he’d picked it up at a pawn shop. He’d pulled it from the trunk of his car to show her his bargain; she’d taken a taxi home. Years later, the memory still made her shudder with revulsion.
“I don’t know what she’s thinking about, but it’s not how to best please her Masters. Did you see the look on her pretty face? Move her over closer to the railing, let’s see what we can do about bringing our sub’s sharp mind back into focus.”
Brock’s words were spoken loud enough for anyone nearby to hear, and the words made her pussy convulse as if he’d stroked his fingers along the sensitive walls. A warm rush of cream coated the newly denuded lips of her labia, and Mia once again thanked the stars above she was barefoot, or she might have stumbled right over the edge into the dark rolling water.
Mia looked out over the slow cresting of the waves and felt her breath catch. “It’s so beautiful. The light dancing over the surface makes me wonder if the forest fairies have come out to play on the water.”
Brock smiled down at her. “Our mom always told us God scattered diamonds on the water at night to lead sailors home. I think that was one of the reasons we wanted to be SEALs.”
Mia’s heart melted at the sentiment. Surely any man who spoke so sweetly about his mother wouldn’t embarrass her too badly out here in the open, right? The thought had no sooner floated through her mind than the two of them stopped abruptly. Shifting, so they were standing shoulder to shoulder with their backs to the open area where other couples were milling about, both men crossed bulging arms over their chests as they studied her.
“We’ve reviewed the contents of your e-reader,” Tucker broke the silence first, “so we know you are familiar with at least the basics of the lifestyle, sweet cheeks. We’ll be using the stoplight system for safe words. Tell me what you understand that to mean.”
Mia wasn’t sure if it was his commanding tone or her soul-deep need to please, but she didn’t hesitate to explain what she’d read time and again in the erotic novels.
“If I become overwhelmed either physically or emotionally, I should say ‘red,’ and that brings everything to an immediate halt. And if I’m approaching my limit, I can say ‘yellow’ to let you know I’m getting close to safewording out.”
Brock nodded, and she saw a shift in his posture that told her their charade was about to become much more real. His voice was quieter than it had been a few minutes earlier… when it had been obvious he’d intended for those around them to hear what he was saying.
“Do you understand the difference between an erotic spanking and a punishment spanking?” He must have seen the flair of uncertainty in her eyes because before she could take a step back, his one-word, clipped command locked her feet in place. “Don’t.”
“Answer the question, Mia. Stop thinking and just respond,” Tucker’s words were spoken softly, but their steel core was impossible to miss.
“I understand the concept, but I’m not sure I believe there is a difference.”
Brock’s nostrils flared, and the feral grin that spread over Tucker’s face probably should have worried her. She’d read so many stories where the Dom claimed to be rewarding his or her submissive with a spanking, Mia had almost decided the word was code for something else.
How could anyone consider being smacked on the ass a reward? It didn’t make any sense if you asked her. But then, CeCe looked like she’d certainly enjoyed the flogging, so maybe there was something to the whole erotic pain concept.
But how much is too much? The whole thing sounds awfully intimate for role-playing, and I’m not very good at hiding my emotions, so maybe I’d better skip anything that’s going to muddle up my mind. These guys are being paid to deliver me to their bosses in Texas, then they’ll be done. I’ll feel like I did something wrong, and they’ll feel like they have to avoid the clinging Colombian vine. Holy shit, can this get any more convoluted? How do I know what I’m supposed to do? I’ve never been any good at this, and now, my life and the life of a man I’ve only met once for a few short minutes may depend on me pulling off this ruse.
“And this nonsense is why you need a good paddling,” Brock’s stern voice brought her out of her musings. “Where on Earth did you go?” When she blinked at him in surprise, Tucker used his fingers under her chin to direct her attention in his direction.
“Contrary to most people expect, my brother has the heavier hand, so you’re going over my lap instead of his. I’m not going to give you a number, you’ll have to trust me to know when you’ve had enough.”
Enough? Oh dear, this sounds ominous.
“No, sweet cheeks. You’ll recognize ominous when you see it.”
Just fucking dandy, now my subconscious is talking out loud.
*
Tucker scooted the nearest deck chair aside since the thing was six inches off the ground. Hell, even as petite as Mia was, her chin would probably scrape on the ground if he pulled her over his lap that close to the wood plank surface. There was a bench a few feet from a glass-paneled railing; she’d be able to look over the water, adding another dimension to the experience. Even in the dim light, he could see her mind was already spinning off in another direction, so he didn’t waste any time on preliminaries. Pulling her over his lap, Tucker scooted her forward until her ass was peaked perfectly for the fall of his hand. He smiled at her squeak of surprise.
“Hold still, Kodak. I’m going to see what I can do about your little focus problem.” Her dress had already risen far enough to bare the bottom half of her ass cheeks, and he used the calloused pads of his fingers to push the light fabric up to her lower back. Slowing the movement gave her mind time to process his touch as a caress rather than letting her stumble over her embarrassment at being exposed.
Tucker loved the way her skin looked in the moonlight, the way the soft glow highlighted her beautiful curves. Fuck, he’d keep her naked and bathed in pearlescent light if he could—she was absolutely glowing. He trailed his fingers through her slick folds and chuckled.
“I think our little sub likes having her bare ass upended to the breeze. She’s soaking wet, and I’m looking forward to feeling all that slippery sweetness coat my fingers when she comes.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brock rearrange himself, and Tuck understood his brother’s dilemma since his own cock was straining the confines of the pants Cam had given him. Without giving her a chance to worry about what was to come, Tucker landed a swat on the fleshiest part of her perk ass.
She jerked in his hold and gasped, but he knew her reaction was more from surprise than pain. The swat he’d given her had been solid, but it hadn’t been harsh.
“Stay still, sweet cheeks.” He rested his palm over the heat from the first swat for several seconds, giving her body a chance to register the warmth spreading to her nearby pussy. Another swat, this one more stinging than the first, made her gasp, and he admonished her, “Don’t clench your muscles, Mia. Let go of your fear and breathe.”
“Easy for you to say. Your pink bits aren’t waving in the wind for everyone parading by to see, and somebody twice your size isn’t using his baseball sized mitt to paddle you.” Her indignant response earned her three sharp swats, delivered in quick succession. She’d certainly notice the difference between these and the two she’d gotten before.
“We’ll always take your sass out on your lovely ass, baby. You’re lucky it’s Tucker’s lap your draped over and not mine. I take a dim view of cheeky answers,” Brock’s tone was strained, and Tucker would tease him later that it was a result of oxygen deprivation to the brain since all his blood was likely pooled a lot farther south.
“Yes, Sir.”
Tucker hated the sniffle he heard in her response. Dammit, this wasn’t supposed to be about pain, but there had been witnesses to her flippant answer, so they hadn’t dared let it go.
“Behave, sweet cheeks.” Leaning down, he lightly bit the shell of her ear. “When you speak out in front of the other guests, we’ll have no choice but to meet the challenge. We don’t want to punish you, pet. We’d much rather make your body sing with pleasure. I’m looking forward to feeling you come around my fingers and hearing your soft cries as the pleasure rolls over you in wave after wave of ecstasy.”
When she shuddered, he set a steady pace of strikes, making sure his palm never landed in the same place twice in a row. By the seventh swat, he could smell the musky scent of her heat. Glistening trails of her cream were silver rivulets coating the insides of her thighs and dampening his knee.
“She’s soaking wet. Fuck, I can see it from here,” Brock’s voice was filled with desire, and Tucker knew it was testing his brother’s patience to stand to the side. Brock’s palm fell harder than Tucker’s, and as a newbie, Mia needed a lighter touch for this introduction. Slipping his fingers through her slick folds, Tucker groaned when she squirmed against his cock. Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, those wiggles were going to make him come before he could get inside her, and he hadn’t done that since he was sixteen.
Pushing his fingers inside her rippling vagina, Tucker zeroed in on his spongy target. Pressing against her G-spot, he snapped, “Come for me, pet.” He’d barely gotten the words out when Mia’s entire body answered his command. Her cry of release was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard, and Tucker suddenly regretted not being able to see her face. Next time he made her come, Tuck wanted her eyes locked on his.
When she sagged over his knee, Tucker leaned back and let Brock roll her into his arms. Instead of sitting down to give Mia the aftercare she deserved, his brother stalked toward the sliding doors on the starboard side of the deck. Brock was halfway down the hall by the time Tucker caught up.
“Damn, where’s the fire?” Tucker hoped his brother would regain some measure of control before they entered the suite, or he was going to burst into flames, and Mia would be caught in the firestorm.
For the past year, Brock had been the one with the cool head, and as a result, he’d taken the lead when they’d played at the club. Tucker hadn’t cared about anything remotely emotional, wanting nothing but the brief escape sex provided. As soon as it was over, Tucker excused himself, happily leaving the cuddling to Brock. But everything about Mia felt different and even as reluctant as Tucker was to admit it, she drew him like a magnet to steel.
Clasping his hand on his brother’s shoulder when he stopped in front of the door to their suite, Tucker gave Brock a look he hoped screamed rein it in. Some of the lust-crazed look in Brock’s eyes cleared, and the curt nod of his brother’s head was probably the only assurance Tuck would get.
“Open the door, or I’m going to fuck her in the hall,” Brock’s growled words elicited an immediate response from Mia, but it was the polar opposite from what Tucker expected. The little sub, whose ass had to still be smarting from the spanking he’d given her, giggled. Giggled!
*
Mia felt like she’d been run over by a dump truck filled with boulders after the most spectacular orgasm of her life. She’d sagged over Tucker’s lap, trying to pull the fragmented pieces of her mind back together when she suddenly realized Brock was picking her up. Nobody’s brain could function after being blown into tiny bits and scattered over the dark water of the Caribbean Sea, and she hadn’t had enough energy to protest.
When Brock stopped in front of what she assumed was the door to their suite, the tension was vibrating from him in waves. She started to worry he was angry she’d come like a common streetwalker until she heard him admonish his brother to open the door before he fucked her in the hall. Relief swept over her, knowing he wasn’t angry, and thanks to the chaos her hormones were causing, she giggled rather than keeping her gratitude in check.
Brock’s lips pressed against her forehead before he shook his head and smiled down at her.
“There is a time for giggling, baby, and this is not it. I’m skating on a very fine edge. Watching Tuck bring you to a screaming climax shredded my control. Unless you want me to pin you to the wall and fuck you until neither one of us can walk, you’ll keep quiet until my slower-than-molasses-in-winter brother opens the damned door.”
Mia didn’t know anything about molasses in winter, but she kept her question to herself as Tucker muttered an oath, then shouldered past Brock to scan his card in the lock.
Mia’s first view of the suite took her breath away. They’d planned to stop here before eating, but her growling stomach had protested, and they’d headed directly to the restaurant. The spacious suite’s marble floors gleamed in the soft light from the wall sconces, and her eyes immediately went to the glass accordion doors opened to showcase an enormous balcony overlooking the water. Brock must have followed her gaze because he snorted a laugh as he set her on her feet.
“Next time, sweetheart. Strip.”
Next time? What did that mean? Her mind finally caught up, and she realized he must have thought she wanted to have sex on the deck. Which she did. But that wasn’t what she’d been thinking. She’d simply been admiring the view. The sound of tearing fabric reached her ears a split second before she heard Brock growl, “Too slow, baby.” The dress she’d been wearing fell around her feet in tatters, and she blinked up at him in utter disbelief.
Tucker burst out laughing, and Brock muttered something she hadn’t been able to hear, but it didn’t stem his brother’s laughter.
“You’re supposed to be the romantic one, asshole. Hell, who knew you’d get so worked up watching a moonlight spanking. Give her a minute to get her bearings before ordering her to strip in the middle of an unfamiliar room, you Neanderthal.” He glanced her way, his heated gaze raking over her from the tips of her French manicured toes to the top of her head. The slow perusal made Mia’s blood run hot, and she knew she’d flushed at the close scrutiny. “Although I must admit, naked looks beautiful on her. Turn around, pet. I want to check your ass for marks.”
She gasped and tried to take a step back, but what sounded like a growl kept her rooted in place.
“He wants to make sure there won’t be any bruising from your erotic spanking, baby. Turn around, so we can see if we need to treat you with arnica cream.” She knew the healing powers of arnica, but the thought of these two big men rubbing cream into her tender tissues made her knees wobble when she tried to turn. Brock’s warm hand cupped her elbow, steadying her as she shuffled her bare feet over the cool marble.
Mia heard Tucker move closer and felt the soft brush of cool air over her heated posterior as he knelt behind her. Holy shit, could this get any more embarrassing? His fingers trailed over her skin, and she flinched when they moved over a particularly painful spot.
“She’s going to be sore tomorrow, but the tenderness will remind her of how beautifully her body blurred the line between pain and pleasure.” The rustle of clothing was her only indication he was once again standing until he pressed a kiss to her shoulder.
“You were absolutely amazing. You are meant for this lifestyle, sweet cheeks.” She noted he hadn’t said she was meant to be theirs, and something about that tore a hole in her heart, but she pushed those thoughts aside. Mia was determined to enjoy the cruise and squeeze every bit of pleasure she could from the experience because the chance of her getting another opportunity like this one was slim to none. Was she going to milk all the enjoyment she could from this chance? Damned Skippy.