Knight's Mistress (28 page)

Miss Hart’s casual domesticity shouldn’t have surprised him; she didn’t stand on ceremony. She never would have considered finding some lacy nightgown, or putting on make-up for him like so many women. Her hair was unruly; she didn’t feel the need to flirt or seduce. She only wanted to know when they were going to eat breakfast. This morning scene made him want to smile – it was so ordinary. ‘We forgot to order last night so I hope I got you something you like. They’re bringing up our breakfast now.’ He walked to the dresser. ‘What do you want to play today?’

She glanced away from the TV screen, gave him a blank look. Then his question registered belatedly and she grinned. ‘Why ask me, Svengali?’

He grinned back. ‘Definitely a user-friendly answer.’

‘Depends on who’s using whom. I figure I’m using your really big dick for my own personal pleasure, so we’re about even. Is that too blunt?’ she said with fake, wide-eyed innocence.

‘I’ll let you know if I’m ever in the mood for niceties,’ he drawled and went back to opening drawers.

‘What do you think of this?’ he asked a moment later, holding up a sheer black bra. ‘I seem to be on some bizarre baby psychic wave. I don’t know whether to blame my mother for bringing up the subject or you for your big tits. Although I must not be the only one who plays this game if Mrs Hawthorne is selling these little numbers.’

Kate turned from the TV news. ‘Is that a nursing bra? She sells
nursing
bras?’

‘Along with several other play themes. I’ll show you the schoolgirl white cotton bra and panties later, and the harem outfit.’

‘I didn’t see those.’

‘You only tried on a few, Mrs Hawthorne said. You were being difficult. Shocking, I know,’ he said with a grin. ‘So yes or no?’ He lifted the bra a fraction higher.

She smiled. ‘What do they usually say?’

A trifling shrug. ‘I don’t usually ask.’

‘So I’m special.’

‘In every conceivable way, Katherine. So, what’ll it be?’

She slowly, ostentatiously, stretched, gave him a flirty look. ‘Will I like it?’

‘You will,’ he said, controlling the impulse to fuck her on the spot after that cock-teasing stretch.

‘Will it be as good as yesterday?’ she purred.

He liked that she was prodigal in play. ‘Better. I have a new toy for you.’

‘Now there’s incentive,’ she said, sweetly.

‘You’ll be able to come whenever you want with the toy. How’s that for incentive?’

She clicked off the TV and jumped from the bed, her breasts still jiggling from her leap as she walked towards him.

She pointed as his erection surged under his sweats. ‘I think he likes me.’

He smiled. ‘Every minute of every day. But we’re going to have breakfast first. You have to wait for your new toy. Hold out your arms.’

She blew him a kiss then lifted her arms.

A few minutes later, they were at the breakfast table. The flowers had been changed, various shades of yellow glowed in the morning light.

‘I suppose the bedroom flowers will be different when we return.’

‘I don’t know. We’ll see.’

She grinned. ‘Have you no control over your staff?’

‘Not much,’ he lied. ‘Coffee first? I see chocolate milk in that pitcher.’

‘Coffee, please. I love when you serve me.’

‘As do I when you serve me,’ he said, glancing at her, wilful intent in his gaze.

Defenceless against his pointed look, as willing as he was wilful, she softly groaned. ‘Oh, God, don’t start,’ she whispered as a flutter of arousal shimmered deep inside her. ‘I have to eat first.’

He smiled. ‘Don’t you always. Fortunately my ego is resilient. Those are yours.’ He pointed to three domed plates.

Two quick calming breaths and she lifted the first silver cover. An omelette.

‘It has lobster in it. I hope you eat shellfish. Open the other one.’

Having been distracted by the food, she lifted the second cover with more composure. A beautifully displayed petite bacon sandwich cut in small triangles lay on a bed of creamy slaw.

‘Did I do well? One last one,’ he said, gesturing at the third covered plate.

Kate lifted the lid. Three truffles were set inside a diamond tennis bracelet.

‘Thank you for yesterday,’ he quietly said.

‘It’s too much.’ She picked up the bracelet. ‘This is too much.’ Each stone was at least a carat.

‘It’s not nearly enough,’ he casually replied. ‘Now eat. I know you’re hungry.’

‘I’ll argue later.’

He grinned. ‘I like when you argue.’

‘Because it always ends with sex.’

‘That must be why.’ He lifted his coffee cup. ‘To a pleasant day.’

He had salmon just as he’d had the day before, an omelette with some kind of sausage and peppers, fried potatoes, a fruit plate like hers, a bowl of spicy noodles
and some buns stuffed with a meat mixture. Kate ate a bite of each when he offered it to her. ‘Diversify your tastes,’ he said, coaxing her to try each item. ‘It’s a big world out there.’

‘I like this cosy one.’ She surveyed the small room that opened on the courtyard, the morning light wintry and pale, the scent of roses drifting on the air. ‘I like when we’re alone.’

‘Speaking of alone, that reminds me,’ he said, pulling her birth control pod from his sweats pocket and setting it on the table. ‘Should I give you one or not? Do we want to add to this small company? Should we discuss it?’

‘There’s nothing to discuss.’ Pithy and direct.

He paused for a moment, then ignoring her comment, said, ‘Why don’t we decide later. Take off your robe now.’ An infinitesimal lift of his brow. ‘If you don’t mind.’

‘And if I do mind?’

A fraction of a second. ‘Take it off anyway.’

A small, chafing glance, a snappish note in her voice. ‘You’re lucky I’m willing to play your games.’

‘Very willing, I’d say.’

She flushed under his insolent gaze. ‘I want one of those pills later,’ she said, determined to put some limits on what she would allow him.

‘I heard you the first time.’

‘I know what you’re doing and you can just stop this ultimate control shit.’

‘Make me,’ he softly said.

‘It’s not a game, Dominic.’

‘Everything’s a game, babe. Business, life, fucking.’ He smiled. ‘But any game with you is extra special. And yes, I
am
lucky, very lucky that you like to play. Now would you please take off your robe. I’d be very grateful.’

‘I should say no.’ But her body was already responding to the deep, rich cadence of his voice, to the vivid heat in his eyes, to the soft, insistent command, to the high-testosterone signals of latent male power.

‘Please don’t.’ It was a warning, no matter how softly uttered.

A shiver of arousal went through her at the threat in Dominic’s voice. She fidgeted restlessly against the instant, cruel desire, the wild, subversive need, the willingness to be corrupted by his capacity for mastery. ‘It’s unnerving,’ she whispered, gripping her chair arms as though to resist. ‘Wanting you this much. Craving you. Losing my reason because of you.’

‘There’s nothing wrong with wanting pleasure,’ he murmured.

She took a deep breath. ‘Even if it takes over your life?’

‘Even then,’ he said gently, glancing at her white knuckles. ‘Do you need help with your robe?’

He knew, he always did. She shook her head and began untying the belt. Dominic had found her another quilted silk robe this morning, celadon green, warm.
For winter
, he’d said, wrapping it around her shoulders. It fitted perfectly, like the other one; she hadn’t asked why. She
told herself she should ask, she shouldn’t so easily fall under his spell. But she didn’t do either. Instead, she freed the belt, slipped the robe from her shoulders and sat before him in only the sheer black silk bra.

‘I don’t know, Katherine,’ he softly murmured. ‘When you look like that – your ripe tits ready for nursing like you’re already knocked up – I’m not really sure I feel like giving you your birth control pill.’ The nursing bra left a portion of her breasts exposed. Her turgid nipples and rosy areolas were framed in sheer black silk, her breasts lifted high under the taut straps, the blatant display inspiring rash behaviour in a man who’d always viewed himself as an arch pragmatist. ‘If you were nursing my baby, you’d have to share those tits with me.’ Dominic’s voice was low, his gaze audacious, his cock rock hard and aching. ‘We’d have to put that in writing.’ He crooked one finger. ‘Come here.’ He pointed at a spot beside his chair. ‘We’ll discuss your birth control.’ Perhaps Katherine was right. Perhaps this was the ultimate control. He could possess her in the most primal, selfish way, make her pregnant, maybe even ignore the practicalities of his life and her and keep her. Make sure that he got his share of those tits.

She didn’t move, her body listening to him with a schizophrenic tension, and unreliable wildness, panting
yes, yes, yes
to all he wanted while her mind was screaming
no!

‘You always hesitate, Katherine. I don’t understand,’ he
sardonically murmured. ‘We both know you want to fuck. You can’t get enough. Are you tired of fucking me? Is that it?’

Every soft-spoken word jolted through her, every deliberate insolence was a controlled threat that aroused, inflamed, tantalized – made her think of what it felt like to fuck him, how he felt deep inside her, how he made her feel when she climaxed. She looked up, met his gaze, ‘No, I’m not tired of fucking you.’

He smiled. ‘I’m pleased to hear it. I could do you twenty-four seven if you’d let me.’

A very small smile in return. ‘Sorry.’

‘That’s what I thought.’ He tapped the blue plastic pod. ‘But we really should discuss this. Personally, I’m in some crazy baby zone. Come closer and convince me I’m wrong.’ It wasn’t all about sex, but what it was about eluded him. Perhaps it was buried too deep under the emotional debris of his life.

She came to her feet, drew in a small, shaky breath, urgent desire swelling inside her with a kind of primitive ferocity. Good judgement was flying out the window. ‘What if I’m in the same crazy zone?’

‘That could be dangerous,’ he murmured, turning his chair as she drew near. ‘One of us should be sane.’

She moved between his legs, leaned in, took his face between her hands and kissed him with tantalizing deference, offering herself to him. ‘You’re older,’ she said against his lips. ‘You be the sane one.’

‘Maybe we need a referee.’ He pulled her tight against his thighs as she stood upright, ignoring the devil-to-pay impasse, the danger, willing to take the risk. ‘Because I’m flipping out and thinking baby. Especially with your tits that close.’

‘This close?’ she whispered, bending.

His mouth closed around her nipple and they both felt the rush, the indescribable, spiking rush that always took them by surprise. The amazing pleasure that was new each time, staggering, electrifying.

Baffling, he thought. Lethal.

Awesome, she thought, and pushed against his mouth.

He sucked her until she was frantic, until he wasn’t far behind, until they were both breathing hard and he was wondering, sofa or chair? Would he actually make it to either one with his orgasm pushing him so hard?

She might have said something, although if she had, she had no recollection.

He wasn’t sure whether he heard it or thought it, but he suddenly spat out her nipple, sat back and grabbed the plastic pod from the table. Snapping the lid up with his thumb, he took out a pill and, with his heart ricocheting off his ribs, muttered, ‘Open up.’

When she did, he shoved the pill into her mouth, handed her his coffee cup. ‘Drink, swallow or I won’t fuck you.’

She drank instantly, so grateful for his intervention, tears sprang to her eyes.

‘Hey, hey, don’t cry.’ Taking the cup from her, he set it
down, pulled her onto his lap and held her close, ‘I won’t let that happen again. It was my fault, not yours.’

‘Not all of it,’ she whispered, looking up, fear and desperation still glowing in her eyes. ‘I’m helpless to stop myself.’

‘We both are.’ He wiped away a single tear sliding down her cheek. ‘But I’m older,’ he said with a smile. ‘It’s up to me to be the sane one. Right?’

‘OK.’

He laughed softly. ‘So if the crisis is big enough, you’ll fall in line.’

But she didn’t smile. She said gravely, ‘We can’t let that happen again.’

‘It won’t.’ But, he wondered what the hell he’d do tomorrow if the craziness didn’t go away. He thought about sending her home. Thought about
not
fucking her tomorrow, immediately nipped that particular train of thought in the bud.

He told himself he’d been frantic because he’d been waiting all night.

He told himself he wasn’t used to waiting for anything.

Then she whispered, ‘Please, Dominic.’ She touched the knot on his sweats. ‘If it’s all right with you, I mean, if you’re not too freaked out.’

‘Never with you, baby.’ And speculation gave way to a more familiar lust.

He opened the knot for her, lifted her enough to drag his sweats down his hips, adjusted the sweetest houseguest
he’d ever had on the head of his dick and uttered a low animal sound as she slowly consumed him.

Once she was resting on his thighs and thoroughly impaled, her impatience, momentarily assuaged with her drug of choice buried deep within her, she whispered, ‘I’m sorry, but I need you twenty-four seven too.’

He felt his cock swell inside her, felt the flame-hot surge slide up his spine, felt his adrenalin kick up a notch and explode in his brain. ‘We’ll take care of that,’ he said on a forced breath, needing to answer her. ‘I promise.’

‘It’s frightening to be this obsessed,’ she whispered, briefly resting her forehead against his before sitting back with a sigh.

‘And insatiable,’ he said with a smile.

And overwhelmed with affection.
Deeply felt, terrifying to them both.

‘We should be more sensible,’ Kate said.

‘I agree.’

They’d both always considered their level-headed intellects their greatest assets.

‘Irrational desire is …’

‘Irrational,’ he finished. ‘We’ll deal with it.’