Dangerous Master (20 page)
She swallowed. Her throat was desert dry. With clumsy fingers, she unfastened the row of tiny buttons on the front of her gown. The material shimmied down her body and landed in a gold puddle at her feet. Knowing Zane would not appreciate her covering herself, she forced her arms to remain at her sides. A gush of juices pulsed from her pussy.
“The gift,” Zane said aloud.
Jennifer broke through the crowd. She was wearing a deep burgundy saree now. An ornate jeweled headdress dripped beads over her center-parted hair. In her hands she held a small gift-wrapped box. She climbed the stairs, knelt before Mandy, and, before Mandy had a chance to reach for the box, lifted the lid.
Jewelry. But what was it? A necklace?
When Jennifer lifted the piece, which glittered blue and silver, she knew the answer to that question. She stood, looked askance, and when Mandy nodded, affixed one looped end around one nipple, then moved to do the same with the other. As she pulled the loops tight around the hard tips, a sharp little biting sting zapped through Mandy’s body. She sucked in a gasp of surprise but didn’t move. Jennifer returned to her knees.
She glanced down at the beautiful chain of blue stones hanging between her breasts. It was gorgeous.
The onlookers all started applauding.
Mandy’s face burned hotter.
“You may now show your gratitude for my gift,” Zane said behind her.
She turned to discover he was standing with his legs in a wide stance. The drop-flap opening of his pants had been opened, and his thick cock was now standing hard and proud, awaiting her attention.
Grateful to be doing something besides standing on display, Mandy hurried to him, lowering to her knees. She gripped his cock in her hand, letting her thumb run over the silver ball on the underside of his glans. Her index finger curled around his thickness, just behind the matching ball on top, positioned farther back, just before the flared ridge. She’d never had sex with a man who had a piercing before. It was sexy to look at.
She opened her mouth, taking him inside. Her tongue flicked over the ball before flattening to allow him to slide deeper. Her upper lip skimmed over the top ball, then clasped closed. She used her hand like an extension of her mouth, stroking back and forth.
She rested her other hand on his thigh. His muscles tightened under the satiny-smooth skin as he slowly thrust his hips forward and back, forward and back. Someone came up the stairs. She heard soft footsteps, but she was too busy to care. Zane’s breathing deepened.
“Mmm, so good,” he said.
Spurred on by his encouragement, Mandy lapped at him as if he were a lollipop. With the piercing, there was no way she could take him in her throat, so she had to get creative. She flicked her tongue over him, concentrating on the glans. Meanwhile, she stroked him, head to base with her hand.
Fingernails dragged down her back and her spine straightened. A fresh coat of goose bumps puckered over her skin. A flare of heat pulsed out from her center.
“Spread your legs,” Zane said.
Mandy obeyed, sliding her legs apart.
Something wet slipped between her ass cheeks. Instinct had her freezing in place. It was her turn to start breathing heavily as the thing found her anus and started prodding at the tight ring of muscles.
“Bend over, Amanda.”
She lowered her upper body, supporting herself on outstretched hands. She started to glance over her shoulder, but Zane stopped her with another sharp, “No.” Understanding he was doing what he believed would give her pleasure, she let her head fall forward instead and relaxed her ass. A toy slid inside, filling her.
“Now, on your back.”
It felt strange moving with that toy wedged deep in her ass, but she maneuvered into the position Zane indicated. Rachel and Lindsay had joined them on the dais. They knelt on either side of her, hands resting on their laps, heads lowered.
Zane rolled on a rubber then, while Rachel applied some lube to Mandy’s burning tissues. He knelt at her feet. “Her legs.”
Rachel and Lindsay each took one of Mandy’s legs in their hands and lifted, forcing them back toward her chest and out. Her pussy was open wide now, and on full display. She was breathless, on the verge of orgasm, and anxious to finally feel Zane’s cock filling her.
He curled his hand around his thick rod. Angled over her, he kissed her until she was delirious. She flung her arms around his neck and pulled him down. How she longed to feel his weight upon her. How she longed to feel his thick cock plunging inside. Desperate now, her body aflame, she tried to wrap her legs around his hips and grind away the ache pulsing in her core. She couldn’t.
She whimpered into his mouth.
He broke the kiss and looked down upon her with lust-filled eyes. Enthralled, she cupped his gorgeous face and gently brushed her mouth over his.
“Take me, please,” she whispered.
“I am your king.” The tip of his cock nudged at her slick opening, and a wave of erotic need rippled through her body.
“Yes, Zane. Always.” She held her breath, waiting.
His hips swung up, and Mandy thought for the briefest moment that he wouldn’t fuck her. A groan bubbled up from her chest, but before it made it all the way up her throat, his hips surged down, his cock slammed deep inside, and all the air left her lungs in a long hiss.
“Ohhhhh,” she said. She gripped his arms, using them for leverage as she pushed her hips forward to meet his thrusts.
He fucked her hard, his body possessing hers, staking its claim, leaving its mark and she was so, so grateful. This was what she’d waited for, longed for, dreamed of.
Someone grabbed her wrists, pulling them up, binding them over her head. Now she was even more powerless. Completely at his mercy.
His thrusts were long and sure and smooth. Each one caused a chain reaction inside her body. Small sparks exploded here and there, those sparks igniting mini-blazes that grew into wild, out-of-control infernos. Before she knew it, she was shaking all over and begging him to let her come.
Changing his angle of penetration, he sat back on his knees and rubbed his thumb over her swollen clit.
“Come now,” he demanded.
Her body obeyed.
A whole-body spasm overtook her, and great big waves of carnal heat crashed over her. She quaked while her pussy milked his cock, and her ass squeezed the toy still buried deep inside. So lost was she in the intense orgasm that she barely heard him cry out as he found his release.
Moments later, his body settled over hers. His arm slid under her head, cushioning it. His semiflaccid cock slipped out of her body.
When she was finally able to breathe, she opened her eyes.
He was staring at her. His expression was unreadable.
She wanted to tell him she was falling in love with him, but she was afraid to. It was frustrating, feeling what she did for Zane and not being able to simply tell him.
He kissed her hair and she closed her eyes. She could feel a smile of contentment spread across her face. Maybe they didn’t need words. Maybe it was enough to have him holding her like this, having him take her in such a public way, when he was known not to fuck his submissives. Surely this whole thing meant more than merely a fantasy come to life.
Remember, he said there’d never be a commitment between us. You told him this was enough. You can’t renege already.
20
M
andy’s heart was pounding so loudly, she could hear it.
andy’s heart was pounding so loudly, she could hear it.
It had been a week since that glorious, amazing, unbelievable experience with Zane. She’d dreamed about him every night. She thought about him practically every minute of the day. And she’d looked forward to tonight with the exuberance of a kid anticipating Christmas morning.
All week long, while she’d run around in circles, chasing Clark and Nickerson around town, she’d wondered if that unbelievable experience she’d shared with Zane would change their relationship, stabilize it, add a new, deeper intimacy. God, she hoped so.
She was about to find out.
“Are you okay?” Sarah asked, keying into Mandy’s jittery nerves.
“I’m fine. Nervous.”
“Honey, if he doesn’t fall to his knees and tell you he loves you, he doesn’t deserve you.”
Mandy didn’t respond. Sarah could be right. He might love her. But she would probably never hear him say the words. They’d agreed there would be no expectations, no commitment. They would be friends. Lovers. But never monogamous partners. Never husband and wife.
“He’s obviously crazy about you. He’s never done anything even remotely close to what he did for you last weekend. He loves you, even if he isn’t able to say the words. Trust me.”
Mandy wanted to trust Sarah.
“They said he’s in here, in his suite.” Sarah motioned toward the closed door. “Go ahead.”
Mandy didn’t reach for the knob. “But the door’s shut. It’s usually open.”
“I’m sure it’s no big deal. Especially with you. I’ve been to every party the man has hosted this year. He has always had an open-door policy, with the understanding that if you go inside, you’ll be expected to join in the scene.”
Mandy reached but before she touched the knob, she pulled her hand back. “I don’t know.”
“You’ve scened with him before. You know he doesn’t get intimate with his submissives... .”
Except for her.
Maybe there are others, too. What if I’m not the only one he fucks?
Sarah pointed at Mandy’s nose. “I know what you’re thinking. You’re wrong. He loves you. He’s never been the kind of dom to fuck his submissives. Why would he start now?”
Good question.
Sarah gave Mandy a little nudge.
“Okay.” This time Mandy’s hand made contact with the gold-toned doorknob. She grasped it.
“Have fun.” Sarah gave her another nudge. “You’ll thank me later.”
Mandy turned the knob and pushed. She stepped into the room as the door swung wider. Her gaze locked onto Zane’s tall figure. He was standing. Dressed head to toe in black, as usual. His back was facing the door. He didn’t turn around right away.
His hips. He was moving. Was he ... ?
His head fell back.
Mandy stood frozen in place, unable to move.
Behind her, she heard Sarah mutter, “Oh, shit.”
Her breath caught in her throat.
Zane’s movements became jerky, uneven, as he drew nearer to completion.
Mandy clapped a hand over her mouth. She wanted to turn around, walk out, save her dignity. Why the fuck couldn’t she move?
“Yes, harder. Please harder,” a man said. The partner hidden from Mandy’s view.
So that was why he couldn’t make a commitment to her.
Zane was fucking another man.
A man. Mandy didn’t know if that made it easier or harder for her. Neither, probably. He was still fucking somebody else.
“That’s how you like it. Rough. Hard,” Zane said, his voice raw, breathy. “You can’t ever get it hard enough.”
“Yessss,” the man said.
“Mandy, come on,” Sarah whispered.
Mandy felt a tug at her arm. She didn’t move.
Who was he fucking? Did they know each other well?
Why did she care?
“Mandy, honey. Let’s go,” Sarah urged.
Mandy jerked her arm out of Sarah’s grasp. She dragged the back of her hand across her face. It was wet. Tears. She was crying. She sniffed.
Still, Zane didn’t stop. He kept on fucking. His narrow hips ramming back and forth. Although Mandy couldn’t see anything, she could imagine a man bent at the waist, Zane’s cock pistoning in and out. Zane’s beautiful face darkened, his eyes glimmering with sexual hunger.
And she’d been stupid enough to think he only looked at her that way.
“Mandy,” Sarah said, louder.
The sounds of male moans and groans of pleasure were building. They were both close to release now. Zane would hold off; he would wait for his lover to come first. Mandy knew it.
“You don’t need to watch any more of this,” Sarah hissed. “Come on.”
Mandy was finally able to turn away, but as she walked through the doorway, she couldn’t help glancing over her shoulder.
Sarah jerked harder on her arm.
“I’m coming already. You don’t have to be so rough.”
“Sorry.” Sarah stopped when they reached the end of the hallway at the top of the stairs. She glared back in the general direction of Zane’s suite. “I’m just so ... angry. For you. Not at you.”
“Don’t be. He told me he couldn’t make any kind of commitment.”
“But—”
“Zane has always made it clear I shouldn’t expect monogamy ...”
“But—”
“I told him I was okay with it. I shouldn’t have let myself get carried away, believing the fantasy. I’m such a fool.”
“You’re crying.” Sarah wiped at Mandy’s wet cheeks. She was doing a lot of blinking, too. And her eyes weren’t exactly bone-dry.
“I’ll be okay. I’m a big girl.”
“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have suggested he had feelings for you. I led you to believe things were more serious than they were.”
“I’m not upset with you. Not at all.”
The muffled sound of men’s cries of release echoed down the hall. Both Mandy and Sarah followed the sound of the voices with their eyes. Then they looked at each other.
Mandy’s eyes were burning again.
“Let’s get out of here.”
Mandy nodded. She wasn’t in a party mood anymore. She was in the mood to get into some comfy sweats and snarf down a half gallon of chocolate fudge brownie ice cream.
They clacked down the stone stairs. Mandy tried to hold her head high. Sarah was in front of her. Mandy couldn’t help noticing how stiffly she was walking.
Now, that was a good friend.
At the bottom of the staircase, a familiar man strolled up to Sarah. Eric. Sarah’s bisexual ex-boyfriend. He caught her elbow, cradling it in his palm. Sarah gave Mandy a guilty look. “There you are. I’ve been looking for you. Waiting for you. I need to talk.”
“Shit, Eric,” Sarah grumbled. “Now?”
“Please.”
Mandy waved her off. “Go ahead.”
“I’ll only be a minute. I swear to God.”
Mandy stepped to the side to wait. She spent the time trying to hide behind a huge indoor tree, while running her index fingers under her lashes, hoping to wipe away what had to be terrible raccoon eyes.
Eric pulled Sarah toward a quiet corner where they chatted intimately.
“Amanda.”
Oh, shit, Zane.
With a great deal of reluctance, she turned to face him. She saw the surprise in his eyes as their gazes met.
“Did you just arrive?” He extended his arms to hug her.
She struggled with how to respond. Let him hold her and make things even more painful? Or let him know she was upset? If he knew she was upset, he would probably reiterate what he’d said before, and then she’d probably feel even worse.
She leaned into him and closed her eyes. Sadly, the image of him fucking that man was burned into her memory and it played the instant her eyelids fell closed. She squeezed them harder, trying to trap the tears that were burning to be released.
Quit being such a crybaby. You’ve always known what kind of man Zane is.
One of his hands cupped the back of her head. His slow, steady heartbeat thumped in her ear as she flattened it against his chest. She inhaled, drawing in the scent of him, his cologne and the slightest hint of sex.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
A man strolled up to Zane before Mandy could answer. “Heya, Zane.” The man’s gaze slid to Mandy. “Thanks for the invite.”
“Not a problem.” Zane cupped Mandy’s elbow in his palm and steered her toward the stairs.
Mandy’s gaze snapped to Sarah.
Sarah was still talking to Eric, head bent, expression serious. Whatever they were discussing, it was something intense. Mandy didn’t want to interrupt to let her know Zane was escorting her up the stairs. Mandy didn’t necessarily want to go upstairs with him either. But when another guest bounced up to him, a female this time, wearing a dress that looked like blue shrink wrap, Mandy knew she wasn’t going to be able to hold a private conversation with Zane out in the foyer. Better to take it somewhere quiet.
Up the stairs they went and into Zane’s suite. Zane shut the door, then turned to face her, arms crossed over his chest. “You were crying.”
Lie? Or tell the truth?
“I was. But I’m okay now.”
Something flickered in his eyes. “Why?”
Lie? Or tell the truth?
She opened her mouth. Nothing came out.
Dammit.
She tried again. “Zane...” That’s all she could manage to force out.
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
“What is it?” He came to her, slid a flattened hand against the side of her head. The touch made it ten times worse.
She backed away. “I think I need to take a break.”
“From ... ? Me?”
She nodded.
“Why?”
She crossed her arms over her chest, mirroring him. “I have to be honest with you. I’m starting to have feelings for you. It’s making it hard for me to—”
Realization spread over his face. “It was you, wasn’t it? You came up here earlier.”
Mandy’s eyes were practically on fire. Her nose, too. She nodded.
“Shit,” he said.
“You don’t have to explain. You’ve made it clear from the start that you weren’t offering a committed, monogamous relationship of any sort.” Her damn eyes were leaking. Her nose too. She sniffled and dragged her hand under her eyelashes. “Dammit.”
He pulled her into an embrace. “I’m sorry, Amanda. I never wanted to hurt you.”
“I know.” She relaxed against him. Her arms slid around his waist. It was so unfair. She felt warm and safe here, with this man, in his arms. If only he could give her more.
If only he could love her.
That isn’t fair. You knew who he was. You can’t expect him to change just so you can be happy.
You fucked up this time, asshole.
Zane was so frustrated and lost, he didn’t know what to say. He ached to comfort Amanda. She had trusted him. She had let herself be vulnerable. Wasn’t that what he’d expected?
But the consequences ... the fucking consequences.
He’d been vaguely aware that someone had come into the room when he’d been fucking Bruce. But he’d been concentrating so hard on what Bruce needed, that he hadn’t let himself become distracted.
You should’ve known it was her.
To be fair, Amanda had told him she wouldn’t be arriving until later. When Bruce had come to him, pleading with him to feed, he’d figured he’d have plenty of time to do what he had to before she’d arrive.
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