She’d had an orgasm. During the week that followed, Beth couldn’t keep her brain from circling back to that, over and over. As she mowed lawns, trimmed bushes, cleaned up debris. As she fertilized, sprayed, and weeded. As she designed and planted new flowerbeds.
Now, late Friday afternoon, at her apartment complex’s pool, she balanced on the diving board and dove in. She surfaced with a gasp of pleasure, the water cool against her overheated skin. The faint scent of chlorine mingled with the fragrance of banana and coconut suntan lotion wafting from the women on the lounge chairs. They fluttered and chattered like a flock of birds, casting flirtatious looks at the two men at a nearby table.
Beth sighed. She’d had so much trouble finding a furnished apartment in a decent area that she’d resigned herself to a singles-only complex. But she didn’t belong here with these carefully made-up women who never got in the water. She felt like a common daisy planted amidst orchids.
But as Beth finished her laps and sat on the pool’s edge, she realized she felt pretty today. Last week, a man had looked at her, at all of her, and shown his pleasure. Had obviously enjoyed touching her. She glanced down at her suit, at her almost nonexistent cleavage. The
“Hi.”
At the sound of a man’s voice, Beth turned so quickly she almost fell into the water. Heart pounding, she looked up. One of the men from the table loomed over her. Lanky, nicely tanned, hair carefully styled.
“Hi,” she answered, pressing a hand to her chest. Being so panicky was liable to give her a heart attack one of these days.
“I’m new here,” he said, holding his hand down to help her up. “My name’s Todd.”
“I’m Beth.” She let him pull her to her feet, his hand soft, lacking calluses. When had she started to find a rough hand attractive?
“Want to join me and my friend? We’re just hanging out, unwinding from work.”
“Uh, no, thanks.” She went through this about once a week. Her answer never changed. “I’ve got other plans.”
“That’s too bad. Maybe next time.” He smiled, then his eyes widened as he noticed the scars showing around the edges of her very concealing black suit.
She shrugged. “Nasty car accident,” she said, lying without any remorse whatsoever.
An hour later, back in her tiny furnished apartment decorated in one-color-fits-all beige, Beth stared sightlessly at the car chase on the television. Tomorrow was Saturday. She’d see Master Nolan again. Her heart did a slow somersault inside her chest
She wanted to see him with an urgency she hadn’t felt since meeting Kyler. Kyler who she’d been convinced truly loved her.
She’d been so very wrong.
Her hand tightened on the mug of tomato soup. She dreamed of Master Nolan every night, of his sure hands moving on her body, of the intense look in his eyes and how he saw her every reaction. In her dreams, her body would warm, arousal shooting through her… And then his face would blur into Kyler’s. The sound of his rough voice would meld into Kyler’s refined one. She’d hear the snap of the single-tail and then her grunts of pain when he shoved himself into her dryness.
At one time, she’d loved Kyler so much she hadn’t seen past his movie-star good looks to the monster inside. But if she could be so wrong about him, she could be wrong about anyone. There was no way to tell who a person was inside.
And although Master Nolan hadn’t hurt her, he easily could. He was a Dom. Someone who wanted control. Complete control. She couldn’t give him that. She didn’t trust him…or herself.
She took a sip of her soup and had to force herself to swallow. Nolan had done what she’d hoped for. He’d made her feel alive again. And she’d felt something besides fear. But he demanded too much. She was relinquishing too much of her control over her body…and her emotions. Her body might survive, but… She sighed miserably.
Before Kyler, she’d been tough, as sturdy as kudzu. You could jump up and down on the invasive vine, and it would just keep growing. After Kyler? Now she felt like an impatiens-step on it even gently, the stem would break, and it would die.
Her hands curled around the cup of soup, trying to absorb the warmth as cold grew inside her. Being with Master Nolan again was just too big of a risk. She needed to back away. But how? And what would Z do?
Pursing her lips, she considered. What if she got someone else to top her tomorrow? If that worked out, then Master Z wouldn’t cancel her membership, would he?
And Master Nolan wouldn’t want her if she humiliated him by obviously preferring another Dom.
She thought of his black eyes, his ruthless face, and shivered.
As twilight gathered around him, Nolan hammered one last nail into the board before rising to his feet. He rocked back and forth on his tiny dock-the structure no longer swayed under his weight. Good. One less chore on his list. His place had sure gone to hell while he’d been gone.
After wiping the sweat from his forehead, he sat on the end of the dock and listened to the background hum of his world. Water lapped softly against the wood. An egret flapped slowly overhead, a flash of white in the dark sky. A barred owl gave a series of hoots from the trees farther down. Around the water’s edge, crickets trilled, and frogs chirped with the occasional bass note of a bullfrog. Near the center of the lake, a fish jumped, splashing back into the water.
In the desert, he’d craved the sounds of Florida, the feel of the humid air moistening his skin, the rich tropical scents with the underlying odor of sulphurous water. It felt damned good to be home.
Even if that home was empty.
He glanced back at his big house, designed and built to hold a family. Last year, he’d been happy to release Felicia, and she deserved to have someone who loved her more than he had. And someone who enjoyed being a full-time master. But he was fucking lonely at times.
As if summoned, his cell phone rang, the jarring noise silencing the frog chorus for a moment. He glanced at the display. His oldest brother.
“Hey, Adam, how’s it going?”
“Life’s good. Ah…you doing okay?”
A corner of Nolan’s mouth turned up at the careful concern. During the years in covert ops, Nolan had been a damn fine killer, but it had taken its toll, and his brutal, bloody nightmares had terrified his family. Adam undoubtedly knew that Iraq had reawakened his ghosts. But Nolan had put them back to rest. Eventually. Being home was good. Getting little redheaded subs off was even better. “I’m fine, bro. Stop worrying. And how is everyone?”
“Not bad. Jenny’s pregnant again. One more kid for the clan gathering.”
Nolan grinned. His youngest sister wanted a big family; this would be her third. “I’ll have to give her a call. How about you? Getting married yet?”
“Hell no. Not till they let me have at least two wives.” A pause. “You still into the bind-em and beat-em stuff?”
Nolan snorted. “Coming from someone who prefers four or five people in his bed, you’ve got no room for snide remarks.”
“Least I don’t have to tie them up to fuck them,” Adam said, continuing the long-running insult fest. “You gonna make it home this summer?”
“Probably not until fall. Why?”
“Dad wanted you to-hell, speak of the devil. He’s on the other line. Talk to you later.” Adam clicked off.
Nolan grinned and shoved the phone back in his pocket. Always good to hear from family. Sometimes he missed living closer, but considering his
What would they think of Beth with her myriad of scars? He grinned. Yeah, they’d like Beth. Although beat-up,
