“You are required to obey your master.”

  Her movements were methodical, but she followed my command, spreading her legs far apart. My mouth watered from seeing how wet she’d become even in the last few seconds. Her juice was trickling between her swollen folds, dampening the bedding. I had to remind myself to hold back, that I could feast on her tight little pussy in a few minutes.

  I caressed the soft skin of her inner thighs, daring to slide a single finger into her tight channel. She was more expressive than any other woman I’d been with, the blindfold hiding nothing. I could feel every muscle in my body tensing from my own level of excitement and anticipation.

  Wanting her was easy.

  Needing what I’d found with this woman was enticing.

  It was keeping her that concerned me on several different levels.

  I almost bent my head, ignoring my own personal rules but closed my eyes and snapped the tawse against her bared pussy.

  There was no significant force used, no intention of damaging her luscious flesh. But her scream still sent a rush of shudders through me.

  “My God. That is…” She tossed her head back and forth, jerking the bindings in such a way she managed to slam the headboard into the wall.

  I repeated my actions three more times before swirling the edges around in circles. Every breath she took was pronounced, the scattered sound driving a sharp pain into my heart. The brutal vibrations were something I’d never experienced with any other woman, which meant I was even more fearful of hurting her.

  I would never do so.

  “Pain. Pleasure. Raw ecstasy. Is that what you feel?” My question was almost inaudible given my raging hunger that had burst to the surface.

  “Yes, sir. Yes… Sir.” Her smile was now blissful, so much so I was momentarily taken back.

  I finished satisfying my sadistic needs, the sound of my wrist cracking as I brought down the straps pulling at the built-up adrenaline. I tossed it aside, slowly twirling my finger around her already swollen clit.

  With my breathing as labored as hers, I left the bed to retrieve the ice cubes. When she started to lower her legs, I used only my fingers, bringing them down three times in rapid succession against her pussy. “You will not move until I allow you to. Understood?”

  The smile was entirely different, not only teasing but given how her face was, I could tell it was mostly from extreme bliss.

  “Yes, sir.” I didn’t recognize her voice any longer. Part mischief. Part lust.

  And all mine.

  The possessive thought was something that could ignite any fire, pushing every man’s boundary. I crawled between her legs, selecting a single ice cube. The scent of her sweet pussy was enough to enthrall me, but this wasn’t about my pleasure, but hers.

  Or so I wanted to keep telling myself.

  I was a sadist but there was little I enjoyed more than being able to drive pure rapture into a woman. I was floating on air as I carefully swirled the edge of the cube in exactly the same location where the whip had been.

  Shivering, Jasmine stopped her movements, sucking on her lower lip. Was she trying to hide her emotions, masking her reaction? She would soon learn she could never mask her true self from me.

  I took my time, rolling the cube up and down her pussy, marveling at how quickly she was panting. Seeing the few drops of perspiration beading across her lip was just another powerful draw. With the first cube completely melted, I grabbed a second. Even the skin of her stomach was on fire, strings of water running down both sides almost immediately. Unable to resist, I dragged my tongue through them, making exaggerated sounds to ensure she knew what I was doing.

  As I’d done before, I waited until both melted before grabbing two more. Only this time, I drove the cubes past her swollen folds.

  “Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh.”

  As I pumped them in with rough actions, she twisted and rocked, the sound of the rope continuing to stretch allowing for a true sense of satisfaction.

  Now I was a crazed man, replacing my fingers with my mouth. The sweet taste of her was incredible, like cherries in the spring, and I took my time allowing the ice and heat from my tongue to drive her into the same level of madness.

  But I wasn’t stopping there, using a third and fourth cube as she writhed. Everything about this moment was sheer perfection as she began to drift into another moment of rapture. As she’d done before, she dug her heels into the comforter, pushing down with extreme pleasure.

  “Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.” Her pants and moans were mixed together, her head twisting back and forth.

  As I gathered her legs into my arms, keeping her bottom aloft from the bed, I buried my face into her sweet pussy.

  And within seconds, I was rewarded with the woman I’d claimed being pushed into an intense orgasm.

  Feasting was such a joy.

  CHAPTER 24

  Jasmine

  Pleasure.

  I’d always believed it was a short-lived feeling, a moment of sheer rapture that was fleeting. When it was gone, it was gone. But everything Braxton had told me had come to pass. Without being able to see what he’d been doing, I’d been fearful at first yet had instantly yielded to the pure but simple ecstasy.

  Even now, just as the crazed climax began to sizzle, the sensations from the wax and ice to the remaining slight discomfort from the intimate pussy whipping left me quivering. I was a blubbering mess, unable to process a clear statement, let alone dare attempt to say anything that made any sense.

  I longed to touch him, craved for his lips to drive me into another incredible moment of ecstasy. And I could swear he knew exactly what my mind and my body needed, tenderly pressing his lips against my earlobe. When he bit down, I wasn’t certain I even recognized my voice.

  He was growling, the sound pushing even more barriers. I was so lightheaded yet full of energy. The combination was strange but exhilarating. As he peppered light kisses down my cheek, dragging his tongue around my lips, I found myself purring.

  Every sweet moment was exaggerated as my needs intensified. He knew exactly what he was doing to me and what I needed, the how of which remained a mystery that I could only marvel at. The influx of electricity had shoved the ugliness aside, allowing me to experience the sheer joys of passion in an entirely different way.

  While I continued stretching the rope, fighting to free myself, I really didn’t want to escape him. Why would I? He was chuckling darkly as he dragged his tongue around my right nipple, biting down before sucking.

  The concept of pain and pleasure remained in the forefront of my mind. I could easily surrender to him forever. The thought should terrify me, but it didn’t.

  “Please,” I found myself saying.

  “Please what, little koala?” His voice was even huskier than normal.

  Where my mouth and throat had been dry before, the moment I thought about having my lips wrapped around his thick cock, I was salivating. But the truth was that I needed him. All of him. It felt as if he was my drug and I’d pass out if he didn’t fill me with his thick shaft.

  “You sure you want that, baby?”

  Was the man teasing me? “Yes. Oh, God, yes.” I didn’t need to wait long, the feel of his body weight pressing against mine adding to the white-hot surge of electricity. Now my sense of scent was enticed more than it had been before, awake and alive as his exotic aftershave wafted into my nostrils. The man was truly masterful at creating passion, but no matter what he said, I doubted it had but so much to do with being trained by some unknown master dom.

  He was taking his sweet time, which would normally be fine, but my inner core was throbbing. I couldn’t help myself, continuing to struggle in vain. The man was a master at tying rope, something that shouldn’t surprise me about him. I was arching my back, straining against my bindings as the feel of his cock pressing between my open thighs left me breathless.

  His ability to tease me was as powerful as mine was with him. But I was starting to lose tiny parts of my mind with how much time he was taking.

  “You will always be mine, little koala. No matter how far away you are, distance will never change that.” He rubbed the tip of his shaft up and down my pussy, which only brought out a series of scattered moans.

  I wasn’t certain how to take what he’d just said. It was almost as if he was telling me when this was over, he’d let me go. Yet only in a few days, I’d started to feel uncertain about choosing not to have him in my life. He was more than just a savior. He was a lifeforce that I needed.

  My chest felt heavy almost as if with sadness, and I had no idea as to why. When he finally eased just the tip of his shaft into my tight channel, I wrapped my legs around him. He didn’t admonish me or say a single word.

  He allowed our bodies to become closer, the need spiraling out of control. The way he captured my lips forced me up from the bed. I could drink the man in for hours, increasing the rapture until we both couldn’t stand it any longer.

  With our combined breathing so labored, even as he swept his tongue back and forth across mine, the sense of urgency was already interfering.

  He raked his fingers down the side of my breast, jerking one leg into his arm and placing my calf over his shoulder. I felt so exposed, the inability to see anything pushing my boundaries more than before.

  When he finally drove the entire length inside, I wasn’t just breathless and lightheaded. I was lost in the clouds.

  “You are so beautiful.” When he issued the husky words, I felt beautiful, more so than I’d felt my entire life.

  There was nothing like your own mother telling you that you weren’t pretty enough time and time again to shove you into a dark box. Ashton had told me it had been her way of coping with what did or didn’t happen when I was younger, but I didn’t buy it. She had booze to do that, doing her best to avoid the conversation both with the cops and my father.

  Of course, neither one of them had believed me.

  I shut off the memories, concentrating on what this wildly sexy man was doing and how he was making me feel. I hated to admit he was right, the blindfold alone something I could never have tolerated with another man, but with him, every act of darkness was exciting.

  His thrusts became harder. Rougher. I loved every second as he stretched out my leg, pressing kisses against my skin.

  The tingling vibrations of electricity continued and a few seconds later I felt another wave jetting through me. We were both taken off guard, his subtle laugh filtering into my ears.

  “Oh. Oh. Oh. Uh. Uh. Uh.” The guttural sounds were the only coherent ones I could make. So what if I sounded like a wild animal? I wanted to laugh, but the pleasure was far too extreme. A single climax erupted into another and as I finally came down from the rafters, a moment of satisfaction and exhaustion settled in.

  He wasn’t ready to come, pounding into me with all the ferocity of a lion. I wasn’t certain how I’d gotten so lucky to expose my inner vulnerability with a man like him. I also wasn’t entirely certain what had allowed me to feel comfortable enough to do so, but a raw burst of emotions flooded me and a single sob escaped my throat.

  When he stopped moving altogether, I did what I could to encourage him by trying to arch my back. Every muscle was stretched, my mind blown at how emotional sex could be. It had never been before, likely because I’d hidden myself away for fear of feeling too much. I’d always felt as if by doing so, I’d not only acknowledge what had occurred in the darkness of my room but also in some crazy way approve it.

  Even though I was wearing a mask, I cinched my eyes shut, doing everything I could to block out the tears that had already formed.

  When he sucked in his breath, I sensed he knew anyway, no attempt at hiding my feelings successful around him. He continued fucking me, yet he was slower in his actions, more tender.

  As if I would break.

  His breathing finally drifted into being almost unrecognizable, which at least allowed a smile. The pleasure for both of us was all consuming and as his body started to jerk, I clamped down on my pussy muscles.

  It was my little bit of control, something that always surprised me he’d allowed. He thrust five more times, his cock expanding more than before. When he finally erupted deep inside, there were no words to express, no sentiment at all.

  As he slowly lowered my leg, wrapping his strong arms around me, I realized that for the first time in my life I had an angel; a dark one, but he was exactly what my heart and soul needed.

  The waves were more intense than before, high tide allowing them to crash into the pylons holding the amazing structure of the villa from harm’s way. We were outside, enjoying the warmth and the incredible series of stars that seemed endless.

  Braxton had started a fire in the firepit, the bottle of wine he’d opened after our incredible round of passion close to being finished. I had no idea what time it was nor did I care, but I had a feeling morning would dawn soon enough.

  Perhaps we weren’t on a timetable of any type but after the strong work ethic I’d established as a teenager, being somewhat lazy in my thinking and my actions seemed far removed from the usual girl.

  Then again, everything I’d experienced around him was. The realization wasn’t lost on me. After the sensory deprivation exercise, wine had seemed richer, food tastier, and the scents of the ocean and tropical foliage mixed with the exotic spices the man exuded had been almost as powerful as the hot sex.

  Almost. We were on a round seat of some kind that was meant for two people. He’d even brought a blanket out, wrapping the soft material around both of us when I’d shivered.

  Braxton had remained quiet, which was unlike him. We seemed more comfortable with each other, not needing to banter or to have him grill me about what I might know. It was so nice to be able to sit under the stars and ponder the world.

  “It’s so beautiful here,” I half whispered as I pressed the back of my head against his shoulder. When we’d first met, I never would have believed him capable of enjoying something so simplistic. But here we were, happy and content with each other.

  Maybe the relaxed feelings would prove to be a one-time situation but I knew whatever happened between us, I’d remember this time fondly.

  “Yes, you are,” he muttered into my ear.

  I jabbed my elbow into him. “I’m serious. Look at all the constellations.” I pointed to the sky.

  “Pretty little spots of light.”

  “Have you never looked up at the sky before?”

  “Maybe when there’s an approaching storm.”

  I jabbed him against for emphasis. “You’re incorrigible. I don’t buy it. Given our location and the lack of bright light, you can see things most people will never pay attention to their entire lives. See that one?”

  “Which one?”

  “Follow my finger and close one eye. Did you?”

  He laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “That’s Ursa Major. Orion.” I cocked my head slightly. “See the one that kind of looks like a horse.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Relax your mind. That’s Centaurus.”

  “Beautiful just like the woman finding them. I’m curious. How did you know so much about stars?”

  I shrugged and felt a hit of sadness derived from my past. “When I was a little girl, after the first attack on our family, my father locked us all down. He installed security cameras everywhere, hired guards to stand watch and even had me home schooled for a length of time. I wasn’t allowed to do what I’d done before, going out with friends. There were no family dinners, not that they’d been a highlight since my parents usually fought. There were no school programs so after some whining and begging, my father bought me a telescope.”

  “Wow. I didn’t know you were basically incarcerated.”

  “Well, almost losing your life can do that. He was scared for all of us, one show of emotion I wasn’t used to. The other was his brief moment of acting like a father when setting up the instrument he’d purchased. He’d even bought a couple books on astronomy for me, explaining the solar system in a way no textbook had been before. I know this sounds odd, but it was the closest I’d felt to my father my entire life. Granted, it didn’t last but I cherished that and the memory.”

  I felt his body tensing.

  “He had his reasons for trying to keep us safe but weeks turned into months.” My words faded slightly and I was tired of hating my thoughts and memories of the past. “Anyway, I fell in love with the stars and have felt that way since. They were my tiny refuge, just seeing them allowing me erase some of the… bad things that happened.”

  I should have known he wouldn’t allow what I’d just said to fade into nothing. Maybe I honestly wanted to share with him my darkest hour. That’s what trusting someone was all about. Right? With the exception of Ashton, no one knew my dark secret. I’d planned on keeping it that way.

  His deep exhale was an indication I’d been right that he wouldn’t let it go. He wrapped his fingers around mine, pulling my hand to his lips.

  I was already shivering slightly from being in his hold but the intimacy of what he was doing was more pronounced. “We all go through things in our lives that bring back bad memories.”

  “I doubt you’ve ever had a nasty little issue your entire life. Unless you were arrested as a young man.” I tried to laugh but it sounded fake.

  “Why, yes, I was. However, I was the idiot who was caught red-handed trying to steal a car.”

  “You?” I lifted my head, still laughing especially since he was serious.

  “Oh, yes. Of course my older brother put me up to it but that didn’t matter. I got the scared straight moment.”

  “The what?”

  “You know, when the cops slap you inside a jail cell with a couple huge men who were told to give me a hard time?”

  “Did it work?”

  “You bet,” he said, laughing. “My father didn’t need to dole out any further punishment. I couldn’t talk about what had happened for weeks.”

  “They hurt you?”