“No Sir.”

  “Then why are you?”

  “I—I wanted to see what you were using on me.”

  “Should it matter?”

  With an inward curse, Ava shook her head. Dammit, why did she continue to challenge him? Why couldn’t she simply accept what he gave and float away once more? Her own hardheadedness irritated her. She could only imagine how annoyed Quinn must feel. How long would it be before he uncuffed her and called an end to their session? Probably not much longer. The thought filled her with dread.

  No. She wanted this…needed to prove to them both that she could give more than she had in the past. Needed to prove that she trusted him. Quinn’s warm breath at her ear drew her focus back where it belonged.

  “The whip is nothing like you expected, is it, princess?”

  “No, not at all.” She shook her head. “I was afraid it would rip my skin open.”

  “I have no desire to be a sadist, my love.”

  “Thank god,” she replied on a grateful sigh.

  “Now that you know how I intend to use the whip, do we need to discuss this further?”

  “No, Sir.”

  “Good. Then close your eyes and let me take care of you.”

  As she complied, Quinn landed a sharp slap over her ass. She arched back in surprise, and he plucked her nipple, twisting it with a low growl, sending a sensual burn to spread through her. The opposing stings collided in Ava’s midsection to throb in time with her aching clit. Quinn snaked his fingers between her legs and toyed with her sex once again. As he assuaged the sting, Ava felt the burn merge into a hungry quickening she wanted prolonged. Plunging two fingers inside her quivering tunnel, he rubbed her distended clit with his thumb while skimming tender kisses along her neck. As he nibbled on the lobe of her ear, Ava rocked against his hand, soaring high in a matter of seconds.

  “Yes…yes,” she moaned, hovering on release.

  “You don’t have permission,” Quinn warned with evil delight.

  “Please…I need…need to come,” she panted breathlessly.

  “Oh, you will, gorgeous. When I decide it’s time. Unfortunately that time isn’t now.”

  His denial echoed in her head as he removed his fingers. When he took a step back, irritation clawed through her. “No. No. No,” she whimpered only to have her pitiful sounds of despair met with Quinn’s soft chuckle.

  Ava frowned. He enjoyed the fact that she was suffering…enjoyed it far too much.

  Suck it up, cupcake. He can’t keep you cuffed here forever.

  The thought flittered through her mind, followed by a feeling of sadness that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She wanted to please him, not brood and sulk because he wasn’t giving her exactly what she wanted. The cuffs might be chaining her body but not her mind. It was past time she set her inner submissive free.

  When she felt the whip feathering over her backside once more, Ava’s eyes slid shut. Let go. You’re safe. Treasured. Loved. As she repeated the mantra in her head, she slid back into the peaceful darkness, lulled by the rhythmic whisper of the whip.

  Chapter 4

  Quinn felt frustrated that Ava fought her surrender, though it wasn’t a total surprise. Unlike him, she’d not had time to prepare for any of this. He’d purposely kept his plans a secret, wanting to both gauge and absorb her unguarded and honest reactions. He wanted to see just how far she was willing to go in order to grow.

  Ava didn’t like change all that much, hence her struggle now. But Quinn had an even bigger surprise in store for her, one he hoped she would ascertain at dinner. This session was but a precursor…a small stone on the road. She’d soon be scaling a mountain if all went as intended. But first he had to annihilate the barrier she slid between them before his grand plan was revealed.

  Summoning all the patience he could muster, he remembered how she’d fought his Dominance in the beginning. Ava hadn’t been a member of Club Genesis long when he’d first met her. She hadn’t scened with any other Dominants, only gained an understanding of the lifestyle by watching others. It wasn’t until he’d managed to give her a taste of subspace that she’d finally handed over her control. And her power was a heady, delightful gift.

  He wanted to kick his own ass for not pushing her limits all along, but like a fool, he’d let work commitments rob him of his Dominant focus…Ava. He meant to fix that here and now.

  Though she obviously hadn’t yet grasped his design, Quinn held out hope that before the night was through, she’d comprehend the meaning of his strategy. He’d continue to reinforce his presence and command in order to show her how epic their journey could be together.

  Quinn didn’t give credence to the little voice inside his head warning this could all backfire in his face. Clenching his jaw in determination, he set the whip down and eased his chest firmly against her back. He felt a slight quiver ripple through her as he drank in the enticing heat pouring off her slender body. Quinn closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath. The scent of her spicy, slick cunt toyed with his senses. Parting his lips, he could almost taste her on his tongue…sweet, warm, delicious. He wanted to groan in frustration but instead pressed his lips against her shoulder as he reached between her legs. Liberally coating his fingers with her fiery essence, Quinn trailed fragile, soft kisses down her shoulder blades as he inched his way to his knees.

  Ava’s beguiling purrs and moans spurred him on even more. Mesmerized by the sight of her red-stained orbs, he dipped lower still. Peppering kisses over her crimson flesh, he paused and parted the cheeks of her ass with his thumbs. The sight of her tiny, puckered rosebud made his cock scream. Every fiber in his being shouted for him to release his dick and drive balls deep into her sinful, puckered passage. Denying himself the wicked pleasure of squeezing his throbbing crest through her gathered opening was sheer torture.

  But the poor bastard was at the mercy of Ava’s submission. A fact that had him briefly wondering who was submitting to whom.

  Leaning in closer, he extended his tongue before flicking the tip over her crinkled rim. Ava issued a mournful groan that morphed into a whimper of approval as she melted against the cross. Quinn issued an inward curse of frustration. Replacing his tongue with a thumb, he craned his neck, spreading open her slippery labia with his other hand before extending his tongue and lapping at her dripping nectar.

  With his thumb pressing through her tiny opening, Quinn felt the muscles in her legs tremble against his wide shoulders. And when he extended his tongue to focus on her clit before sliding two fingers into her quivering pussy, Ava cried out in ecstasy.

  The feel of his tongue, lips, fingers, and heated breath engulfing Ava’s sex set her ablaze. The conflagration of sensations lit her up brighter than all the lights in Vegas. Demand clamored up her spine and spread like lightning through her limbs. The decadent tingle splintered the ethereal clouds of subspace. But Ava didn’t mind…didn’t mind one damn bit. She tried not to focus too keenly on the overload of pleasure he capably gave, but the blistering need rising inside her was more than she could contain. She prayed Quinn would grant her permission. But the quickening buzzing inside flooded her system. The familiar numbness spread from her core and down her thighs.

  “I can’t… hold—”

  “Come for me, princess,” Quinn snarled against her pulsating pussy.

  The vibration of his words over her flesh combined with his luridly thrusting fingers and invading thumb ignited her toward the heavens like a rocket. Ava screamed out his name as ecstasy had her splintering into a million convulsing shards. Her cunt clutched and milked at his fingers as her cries echoed off the dungeon walls.

  Before she could begin to slide back to earth, Quinn stood and moved in close behind her. The metal teeth of his zipper sent a new wave of relief to spread through her.

  “Beg for it, baby,” Quinn demanded in a hoarse and needy tone.

  “Please…fuck me, Master,” she panted, breathlessly.

  “Louder,” he growled.

  “Fuck me. Fuck me hard,” she screamed. “I need your cock slamming deep inside me…please.”

  Quinn exhaled a curse. He gripped her hair roughly with one hand while he aligned the fat head of his cock against her quaking pussy with the other. With a feral, unmerciful thrust, he drove himself deep inside her. Pain fused with pleasure, and Ava cried out as she worked to accept his invading girth.

  “How hard do you want it, princess?” he whispered in an animalistic tone. His warm breath cascading over her ear and down her neck sent a shiver through her. “You feel so goddamn perfect…so hot and silky. I could stay inside your tight little cunt forever.”

  “I don’t care,” she panted, needing him to move…needing to feel the friction of his shaft sliding in and out of her sweltering core. “I just want to please you, Master. Take me any way you’d like, but please…I need it now.”

  Though he’d pinned her whole body against the cross, Ava rocked her hips, bumping her pelvic bones against the unyielding wood. She’d probably be wearing bruises by morning, but she didn’t care. The only thing she wanted…no, needed, was for Quinn to drive his delicious hard cock in and out of her and relieve the blinding pressure burning inside.

  “You need it? Need what?” he taunted, nipping at the fluttering pulse point at the crook of her neck.

  Ava issued a mournful groan as she rocked her ass against his steely abs.

  “That’s not an answer, princess. Do I need to get the whip back out?”

  “No,” she cried. “Oh, god. Help me, Master. I’m dying here.”

  “Help you with what?”

  His derisive tone and maddening mind games were driving her insane. “Fuck me, goddamnit,” she barked. “Move.”

  “Who makes the rules here, girl?” he asked, sinking his teeth into the tender flesh below her earlobe.

  The frustration of the moment tried to yank her from where she wanted to be, but Ava clawed her way and held on. “You do, Master,” she whimpered as a tear trickled down her cheek.

  “Then tell me what you need…the right way, slave.”

  His whiskey-rich inveigling tone dripped over her flesh like thick, warm honey. Ava closed her eyes as a needful whimper rolled over her tongue. “Please…fuck me, slow and deep. The burn is too much. I’m going up in flames. I need you to put this fire out. Please. No one can make it better except you.”

  His satisfied hum tickled the rim of her ear as he eased, inch after agonizing inch, from inside her. Ava issued a sigh of relief only to suck in a gasp as Quinn drove himself deep once again. Mewling, she met his thrusts as a new kind of burn enveloped her. A magical, mystical heat that melted her bones and engulfed her in a fiery blaze.

  Ava’s head swam. Her body sang. And Quinn pumped past her quivering muscles with a tantalizing and demanding rhythm. He claimed more than her body…he claimed her soul. And she was more than happy to give him that…give him her all. Gone were her reservations, insecurities, and doubts. They’d been replaced by a glorious completeness—a euphoria that only Quinn could give.

  “Yes. Oh, god…yes,” she gasped, gripping the edges of the cross.

  Ava held on tight as he drove her back up with each rhythmic, feral thrust. His hot breath spilled over her neck. Quinn’s woodsy cologne mingled with the heady tang of sex in the air, driving her need high and hard. Even the fact that Quinn was still fully clothed and the metal of his zipper that chaffed her enflamed orbs didn’t distract from the euphoria suffusing her. The symbolism of her being stripped bare didn’t escape her, either, and understanding seeped into her lust-filled haze.

  Quinn wasn’t making love to her, at least not in his usual way. No, he had a purpose for this raw, animalistic act of sex. She simply didn’t know what it could be. Ava’s body began to tense. God, she didn’t want to fail him…not again. Sensing the change in her, Quinn drove deep inside her, then stilled. He burrowed his face against the slope of her neck, dragging his whiskers over her flesh, before trailing his tongue up the side of throat close to her ear.

  “Come back to me, princess. Get out of your head. Follow where I lead you,” he murmured in a patient and loving tone.

  Lifting her chest from the cross, Quinn wrapped both arms around her and pulled her tight against his rugged body. Surrounded in his decadent heat, she was disappointed by the barrier of clothing separating them. Still, Ava took refuge in his strong arms. He silently held her for several minutes before reaching up and releasing the metal carbine that bound her to the cross. Quinn then clasped each of her wrists and drew her arms down to her sides. Slowly withdrawing himself from inside her, he bent and released the cuffs at her ankles. A wave of panic crested through her. She’d done it…failed to surrender her all to him. Tears stung the backs of her eyes, and Ava desperately tried to blink them away.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice cracking with remorse.

  “Shh,” Quinn instructed. “You have nothing to be sorry for, princess. You’ve pleased me, immensely.”

  “But…you didn’t finish, Master.”

  “No. Not yet, at least.” Smirking, he spun her around to face him and began removing the cuffs from her wrists. “We’re just taking a little break.”

  “A-a break?” she stuttered, utterly confused.

  “Yes. If we continue playing, we’re going to miss our dinner reservations,” he explained, still wearing an evil grin. “Go into the bedroom. There’s a present for you under the bed. I’ll meet you there after I clean up the dungeon.”

  Quinn’s words slowly sliced through the pool of raging estrogen and angry endorphins plowing through her system. A break? Dinner? Is he fucking kidding? Forcing a nod while trying to mask her irritation, Ava turned and marched into the bedroom. Tossing a glance over her shoulder, she watched as Quinn zipped his trousers and gathered up the toys before depositing them into a dark, cloth bag. She was unable to fully process what had just transpired, and an oily film of defeat settled deep in her bones while his words of praise rubbed her raw.

  With the conflicting emotions warring, Ava knelt beside the bed and pulled out a large white box with a huge pink bow. After setting the gift on the bed, she carefully untied the ribbon and lifted the lid before peeling back several thin layers of white tissue paper. When the contents came into view, she sucked in a gasp and fell in love with Quinn all over again.

  “Mercy,” she whispered as she lifted the breathtaking, champagne-colored evening gown from its box.

  Her heart raced with excitement. She darted a glance at Quinn still tidying up the dungeon and couldn’t help but smile. How had he known she’d been coveting this exquisite creation for months? The amazing man had spent a small fortune on the gown. With a trembling finger, she traced the tip over the delicate lace embroidery, caressed the rippling beadwork. She sighed with delight at the feel of the silky satin draped and elegantly tucked upon the seductive sweetheart neckline.

  Turning toward Quinn once more, she found him leaning against the doorframe across the room. His eyes sparkled, and a devastatingly handsome smile adorned his sensual mouth. A palpable current of lust rolled off his body, drawing her attention from the dress to the lingering desire still thrumming inside her. While she didn’t completely understand the rules of the game Quinn was playing, Ava had a bit of reciprocal torment to share. Easing off the bed, she strolled toward him, rolling her hips with each languid step. Quinn’s smile grew wider as he pushed off the doorframe, meeting her in the middle of the room.

  “Thank you for the amazing dress, Master. It’s gorgeous,”

  Quinn cupped her face and pressed a raw, hungry kiss on her lips. “Spoiling you is a treat, my beautiful girl. I can’t wait to see you in and out of it. I plan to peel it off your sexy body later…with my teeth.”

  “I can put it on right now, if you’d like?” she countered with a playful smirk.

  Kissing her again with a low growl, Quinn slid his hands to her stinging butt cheeks, then lifted her, pressing his bulging erection against her. Ava purred into his mouth, then ground her mound over his luscious hardness. She knew her playfulness would cost her. And it did. He raised a hand from her ass and landed a reprimanding swat as she clenched her cheeks together. The burn spread over her flesh like hot embers in the wind. Yet, still meshed with his mouth, Ava couldn’t help but giggle. That only earned her another spank, but this time she didn’t laugh, she moaned.

  “That’s more like it,” he growled with a smile before dipping his head and latching on to one of her nipples.

  “Mmm,” she moaned. Arching her back, she lifted her breasts in offering.

  God, she loved him more than life itself. And when he took control of her—well…when she let him—nothing on earth could compare to the unadulterated bliss he so effortlessly gave.

  He drew his tongue around her areola in slow, languid circles. Ava could feel her nipples growing impossibly harder. And when he sank his teeth into the taut berry tip, she sucked in a gasp and tangled her fingers into his soft, thick hair, basking in the sweet ache spreading over her chest. He released his mouth with an audible pop. She followed his gaze and dropped a stare at her red and distended, glistening wine-colored nipple.

  “Take that sexy red ass of yours to the tub while I grab a shower. We need to leave the room in forty-five minutes.”

  “Yes, Sir.” She smiled. “Thank you again for the beautiful dress.”

  “Anything for you, my princess,” he replied in that low, rough voice that never failed to send a shiver down her spine.

  Drawing her bath, Ava sat on the edge of the huge whirlpool tub, watching as Quinn stripped off his clothes. She wanted to weep at the beauty of his thick-corded muscles rippling from his shoulders, down his back, and all the way to his strong, thick arms. But as soon as he stepped out of his trousers, his beautiful engorged cock snagged all her attention. It was long, hard, and lined with thick, throbbing veins, and Ava wanted to crawl to his feet, rise to her knees, and suck him deep into her watering mouth.