All He Desires: The Complete Series (13 page)

Jake pulled back on my hair, withdrawing himself from my mouth before sitting back to catch his breath. He cracked an eye open and smiled, cupping my face and drawing me up to join him on the couch before kissing me—tasting himself on my tongue.

"That's a good pet," he exhaled, running a hand through his dampened hair. "A very good pet."

I buried my face against his neck, breathing in his cologne and sweat. "I thought you didn't like breath play, Master."

"That's not the kind of breath play I meant." He sighed, content. "I refuse to choke a sub, but I have no problem sparing her a few seconds of air when she has me in her mouth. Did you like it?"

I closed my eyes. "I did, Master. More than I thought I would."

"And why is that, I wonder."

"It made me panic at first, Master."

"And then?"

"I could...feel it—like you were teasing my clit."

"Mm, good to know." He drew me away from him so he could meet my gaze. "But you didn't finish."

"No, Master."

"Good girl." He sat up once I was out of the way. "We should clean ourselves off and leave the room so someone else can use it." When he stood, he was unsteady on his feet, but he caught himself before he fell. "Come. If you're good, I'll treat you when we get home."

Even as we left the playroom, I could still see the crowd clustered around Master Devlin and Marisa, but her moans had died down. Remembering my place, I walked two paces behind Jake, but when I looked around the room, I did it with my eyes wide open.

The scene was everything I could've ever imagined, and more. With my head full of templates and new ideas, I knew exactly what kind of mask I wanted to make for Jake, and it was like nothing I'd ever seen before.

"T
hat should be the last of them."

Jake shuffled through the doorway before setting the final box on the floor in front of me. It was amazing to see just how many boxes my life could fit into—or in my case, how few boxes I needed in order to get the job done. Aside from my laptop and cell phone, there wasn’t much I actually
needed
to take with me.

We’d been on the move for most of the afternoon, and if I’d had a chance to make the bed, I probably would’ve fallen in it hours ago. It wasn’t that carrying the boxes up and down the stairs was a problem; it was the long-ass drive from one side of the city to the other.

Jake wiped his forehead against the sleeve of his jacket before kicking the door shut behind him. He looked just as weary as I felt. Between his long hours at work and spending his spare time helping me move, it was no surprise. He’d been eager to get me out of the old place for months, and while a new apartment wasn’t what he’d initially had in mind, he didn’t pressure me when I’d asked for his help.

Jake combed his fingers through his hair and leaned against the wall. "I don’t know about you, but I could really use a drink."

I smiled and removed a stack of newspaper wrapped plates from one of the cardboard coffins before setting them on the counter. "Well, seeing as the refrigerator won’t be delivered until next week, you might have to settle for the warm drinks we brought with us."

He wrinkled his nose at that. "I knew we should’ve brought some ice."

I glanced around the barren apartment. "Some furniture probably wouldn’t have hurt, either."

At least we brought the mattress and box spring with us—
bed things we had yet to set up. I pressed my hands against the counter and tried not to look as exhausted as I was.

With as many memories as I’d left behind in the old place, I didn’t once regret handing my sofa over to Good Will. I knew someone out there could find a use for it, but that someone wasn’t me. I’d bought it back when Dennis and I were together. A lot happened on those worn cushions, none of which I cared to remember.

Things like sleeping in the living room because I was too afraid of him when he was drunk. Or the few times he spilled beer on the upholstery and didn’t bother to clean it up, not even after I’d asked him to.

The floors might be bare now, but it’s mine.
No co-signing. No help from my parents. It may have dipped into my savings, but I knew spending a little more for a new apartment was a lot better than signing on for another year at the old one.

Jake pushed himself away from the wall and headed for the sliding glass doors leading out to my balcony. "Have you checked out the view yet?"

I laughed. "I saw it when I signed the lease, remember?"

"Since it started to snow?" He gestured halfheartedly at the bleak darkness outside. "Have you ever seen it snow on the Puget Sound?"

Brushing my hands off on my jeans, I decided it was in both of our best interests to leave the unpacking for later. He hugged an arm around me when I set my head on his shoulder, silently watching the flakes fall onto the few inches that had already managed to cover the ground.

The snows that came in late November were rare, but this year seemed to be the exception. It had started to snow earlier in the day, and by late evening, the usual glow one expected after a small storm could be seen inside my living room.

My move close to Puget Sound meant being closer to Jake’s place, but it was a fair drive away from
The Limelight.
Away from all things familiar. The view Jake mentioned was one of the main reasons I’d gotten the place. Instead of looking out into traffic or at a brick wall, I could actually go
outside
on
my
balcony and watch the ferries go in and out.

"Welcome home, Kira," Jake murmured, kissing my forehead.

Home.
It wasn’t a word I used lightly. My last place was just somewhere to sleep, to hold a business. I’d gotten it shortly after Dennis and I met, and looking back on it now, I’m glad I couldn’t get out of the lease until after we split up. I shuddered at the thought of what may have happened if I’d moved in with him like he’d asked.
You would’ve been out a house.
Among other things.

So when the lease on the old place was up, I started to look around. Jake insisted I stay with him, but if past experience taught me anything, it was to land on my own two feet instead of relying on someone else to do the landing for me.

I could tell he didn’t like the idea of me staying by myself, but at least it was far from Dennis. And Jake easily complied once I’d agreed to a few, non-negotiable conditions. I was expected to change every email address and screen name I’d ever had. Surprisingly enough, it was a lot easier than I expected. Replacing my cell was just as uneventful, and shortly before the move, I cut off all ties with my ex. Not that he’d contacted me anyway, but Jake had seen him lurking outside
The Limelight
more than enough times to put him on edge.

In the end, this—the spectacular view and the peace of mind we both felt—was worth it.

"Oh," Jake said, excitement in his voice. "I forgot to tell you. That corner shop I mentioned last week?"

"Yeah?" I hugged my arms around his waist for support.

"They want to place a few of your masks in the shop." He drew his head back so he could look at me. "It’s on commission, of course, but at least then they’d be where folks can see them. The agreement is forty-percent for the shop and sixty for you. If you’re interested."

I swallowed hard. Jake had mentioned his interest in showing my work off to a few retailers, but I hadn’t expected to hear back from them so soon. In fact, he’d only started shopping my work early last week.

"Are you sure I’m ready?"

He smiled. "The pieces you’ve been working on—your
Limelight
collection—is what they’re most interested in. They may place a few of the more colorful pieces, but they really seemed to be interested in the leather, ropes and lace."

"How many?"

"Hmm?"

"How many do they want? And for how much?"

"They have enough room right now for five, that is until they see how things go. If they sell well enough, they’ll offer more room, maybe even a spot in the front window. As for cost, that’s up to you. Remember what I said about adding your overhead into the overall cost."

"Overhead includes supplies, hours and electricity. Thing is, you bought the supplies for me and have provided all the energy I need. So, shouldn’t you be pricing these?"

He looked out at the snow and didn’t talk for a long moment. "No. I told you in the beginning I expected my subs to keep a hobby, and you have. And now that you have your own place, it looks to me like you’ll need a job. These masks could bring in what you need to cover your lease."

"And if they aren’t? Would you let me go back to work?"

"As an escort, no. But we can talk about this later. There’s something else I’d like to ask you."

Curious about the little he’d kept to himself, I knew better than to press the matter. Once Jake got something in his head, there was no changing it. My job as an escort had bothered him, even back when he was one of my clients. And it wasn’t a life I planned on going back to, but seeing as my resume was blank for the last two or three years because I offered prostitution out of my home, how was I supposed to get a job?

He’ll talk about it later.
Later for Jake usually meant if and when it came up. Knowing him, he’d do whatever he could to keep me from needing that job, starting with placing my masks inside a few of the local shops.

"And the other thing you wanted to talk about?" I asked when he didn’t continue. "You left me hanging there."

He turned me around so I was facing him. "What are you doing tomorrow night?"

I frowned. "Well, I need to unpack. Get the bed made up. Stuff like that."

"Forget unpacking for now." He caressed my cheek.

"And the masks?"

"You have time to work on those. All I want you to worry about tomorrow is making yourself available for say...seven o’ clock?"

I raised my eyebrows at him. "What aren’t you telling me?"

"You’ll see, but the thing I want to discuss with you will have to wait until then."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Because, all I want tonight is a stiff drink, a warm bed and an amazing woman to share it with. Sound like anyone you know?"

I smiled and curled my fingers around the collar of his shirt. "Oh, I might be able to set you up with someone."

"After this past week, I could use a nightcap, and I'm not talking about the alcohol."

* * * *

J
ake and I stepped out of our shoes seconds before falling into each other’s arms. He pressed his lips to mine, crushing them like I knew he would when I dug my nails into the back of his neck. It wasn’t the first time we’d acted like a pair of lust-filled teenagers, and I was sure it wouldn’t be the last. We were barely inside his front door when we collided, one kiss away from grinding against one another. Two kisses at most until all of our clothes were off and out of the way. Three, and we’d be skin against skin with him buried deep inside me.

Master and slave had no chance when we were like this. As he unraveled, Jake deepened our kiss. In the time it took us to go from his car to the foyer, he'd managed to lose his voice. His sense of control.

He wasn't the one commanding me; his body was. Even being as tongue-tied as we were, our bodies still remembered the steps, and I flawlessly fell into place beside him. Eager. Willing to please.

Jake backed me into a wall, his hands searching the front of my blouse as he undid each of the buttons. I sucked in a hiss of air when he pinched one of my nipples, his breath hot against my neck. I loved it when he was like this. Going out of his damned mind as I lost all sense of reality. Time had no place here, inside these walls. All that mattered were his lips on mine, his hands on my breasts and me digging my nails into his back.

Driven by his as much as my actions, I grinded against him, whimpering when his hard cock pressed into my thigh. Delirious, I gave in to his kiss, sharing our breath with every beat of our hearts. Neither of us broke away. Together, we refused to come up for air.

My hands searched the front of his jacket and, with tentative fingers, I slowly drew down the zipper. His dress shirt wasn’t as easy to get rid of. Every button slipped through my fingers, almost as if getting him out of that shirt was the hardest thing to do in the world.

And it was. Given the state of mind we were both in, it was amazing we were still standing, let alone moving. Electricity crackled around us, and I arched my back away from the wall as Jake undid my jeans. The man had no problem removing my clothes, but in his rush to feel every inch of my skin, he’d forgotten about his own.

I let out a frustrated growl, then sighed when the button on his pants finally came undone. I drew in a shaky breath, smiling to myself when I wrapped my fingers around Jake’s painfully erect cock. The warmth of his skin under my fingertips was almost too much.

The man was intoxicating in his own right, but when he was standing in front of me, losing it as I held him in my hand, there was no drug in the world that could replace the way I felt just then. Powerful. Unstoppable. Unable to hold back.

Jake broke our kiss, gasping for breath. We separated, quickly removed our clothes, then fell into each other’s arms again. I buried my face against his neck, inhaling his cologne as I stroked him with my palm. He moaned. Turned his head to kiss me on the cheek.

And every time his breath caught, I took it as a small victory, knowing I was in control, unraveling him from the inside out.

"God, I love it when you’re like this," Jake sighed, nuzzling my neck.

"Aggressive?" I smiled when his breath caught again.

"No." He swallowed. Groaned. "When you know exactly what you want and will go to any lengths to get it."

I trembled when he pressed a finger to my clit. "Does..." I wet my lips. "Does that mean you’d be open to a role reversal?"

Jake took my hands in his and held them above my head, keeping me against the wall. "No. There’s something you need to know." He leaned in to kiss my ear. "You could be on top for all I cared, but never forget who’s in control."