“No, Master. I don’t like it.” She whined, and he stilled.
“Wombat?”
Was she giving up? Apparently, this could be amazing. “No, Master.”
“Shh. Relax your body, sweet girl. It’ll be better when I’m all the way in. Try to focus on letting me in, okay?”
She doubted that was true, but she’d gotten this far, so she wasn’t going to give up now. Inch by inch he fought his way in, adding lube and starting again when necessary. Finally, she felt his thighs touch the back of hers.
Banner arched protectively around her, holding her to him. She sniffled, sobbed, felt like her body was being invaded.
“I know, that wasn’t very fun, was it? But you were such a good girl for me.” He groaned in her ear, and it made her shiver. His cock twitched in her ass, and it felt a hundred times bigger than it already was.
“Not fun at all.” She was too afraid to move.
A hand slid between her thigh and the bed, seeking out her clit. Still sensitive from being kept so close to orgasm, she moaned and squirmed despite herself. Banner withdrew a tiny bit, then pressed back in, circling her hardened nub with cruel and persistent fingers. He’d made her move, damn him, and soon the fullness and burning soreness was stoking the banked fire in her belly.
It seemed impossible, but slowly his huge cock fucked her ass, claiming the last bit of her as his own. Aching, she writhed and babbled beneath him. He toyed with her clit, his touch gentle and teasing, a horrible counterpoint to the unbearably hard cock inside her. Pressure built in her pussy and bottom until she was a throbbing mass of sensation. Ache and ecstasy distracted each other—blended until her body clamped down on his cock. The orgasm rushed her, intense and stupefying. Her own hoarse screams deafened her.
“Fuck!” Banner’s voice was thick and pained. He panted, sounding as though he was trying to control himself.
Sore as she was, she squeezed his cock, trying to slow him down, but accidentally triggering her second orgasm. The movement of his hips became uncoordinated and with a desperate yowl, he came, his dick pulsing inside her and his fingers digging painfully into her clit.
Her third orgasm caught her by surprise. Unlike the others, this one was a total bitch and made everything throb painfully.
By the time she was coherent enough to realize that Banner had collapsed on top of her, she also heard applause coming from down the hall. She buried her face in the now sweaty bedding, feeling a stinging blush creep up her chest.
“Don’t worry. It’s tradition, little slave.” He peeled her hair away where it was stuck and kissed the back of her neck.
Her heart fluttered. How could he sound romantic when his cock was still buried in her ass? “Tomorrow when we see them, no one will mention hearing anything.”
Slowly, gently, he slid out of her, giving her body time to adjust to his withdrawal. He groaned.
“Thank you.”
“For what?” She looked back at him, and he was grinning at her.
“That . . . that blew my mind. Are you okay?” He stroked her ass, examined her, then patted her as if he approved of something.
“I don’t know.” She sniffled. “I feel like my new Dom should buy me a pony or something, although I have no desire to sit on anything ever again.”
“You’re not bleeding or anything, so you’re good to go again anytime.” Banner went into the attached bathroom and washed his hands and did whatever else guys did postsex.
She rolled onto her side, whining as all of her muscles protested. Her ass ached, and her clit felt as though he’d sanded it off. Good to go again anytime? No fucking way.
He came back before she’d found the energy to move and settled them under the covers. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her face, her eyelids, her lips.
“When I was on my way here tonight, I never thought . . .” He stared at her, so close that he almost looked as though he had one eye. Kate moved her head back a fraction until he had two eyes again.
The wonder on his face made her feel important and special—as if she were the best thing that had ever happened to him. Maybe it wasn’t true, or maybe it was just the after-orgasm buzz, but for now, she’d take it. This close he was almost unbearably beautiful. The short dark hair and dark eyes usually made him seem dangerous, but the only danger from him right now was the way his lazy smile made her heart skip a beat.
But what would happen the next day? Were they actually together—a couple? Or was this just something he had to get out of his system? Asking for answers this minute seemed rude, but she had to know. It seemed like they were on the same page, but what if they weren’t?
Relax, Kate. Enjoy the afterglow. There’ll be time to interrogate him tomorrow.
“We seem to have this problem where we keep ending up in bed together.” She smiled shyly.
His brows drew together. “It’s a problem for you?”
“As long as we never have to um . . . do that again . . . then no.” She held her breath, wondering if that would be a deal breaker for him.
“Never?” How did a guy manage to look dominant while lying on his side and cuddling?
Something stirred inside her, responding, wanting to please him. He smelled like sweat and sex and still faintly of leather, and even though she was sore, her body was trying to convince her that maybe some quiet, vanilla sex could be doable. Did he even do vanilla?
“W-well. If it was a hard limit, would you give me away again?”
“No, absolutely not.” He pulled her tighter.
They stared at each other. Banner seemed to be on the verge of saying something, but he only played with a lock of her hair. Eventually, he just kissed her—sweetly, like they were sixteen and on their first date.
“There’s a lot we need to talk about, but maybe we should wait until we’re not in a house full of people.” His words rumbled in his chest, the vibration feeling sexy under her hand.
Was “having a lot to talk about” good or bad? Not knowing what he meant was making her stomach twist.
“Okay.” She laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled in. The first hint of sleepiness tried to steal over her. As she began to drift off, she had a vivid recollection of Ambrose and Konstantin applauding. “Oh fuck. I can’t believe you made me scream like that!” She buried her face in his neck.
“What? What? I can’t hear you,” he said loudly, then grinned. “There’s some sort of weird ringing in my ears.”
She laughed and smacked him.
He quickly reminded her why smacking a Dominant was a bad idea.
Chapter 18
The obnoxious preprogrammed ringtone dragged him out of a deep, almost drugged sleep. Lost, he tried to follow the noise, then realized it was the only thing glowing in the dark room. He stubbed his toe on something but managed to grab the phone and hit ANSWER before it went to voice mail.
“Hello.”
“Banner?” Meadow? Was he late for school? He blinked, trying to get his bearings. Her voice was weird, as if she’d been crying. Meadow didn’t cry.
Shit. Mom?
“It’s me. What’s the matter?”
The other end went silent and terror leached through him. Then his brain took a step back, watching things unfold dispassionately. He remembered the gurney. His father’s waxy skin. Abruptly, he sat down on the floor and realized he was in a room with carpeting. Not home. Where the fuck was he?
“Meadow?”
“It’s . . . it’s . . .”
Mom. Hell, how were they going to go on without her? They were too young to be orphans. Such a weird word, “orphans.” It conjured images of lockets and mangy dogs. She’d overdosed. They’d known it was coming.