Branded Sanctuary Read online

Page 36

 

  In answer, he closed his hand on her shoulder, eased her toward him again, down onto her back. First he took her fingers, the ones shed passed through the flame, and studied them. She realized he was making sure she hadnt singed herself. Then he let her slide the hand free as he curved over her and put his mouth on the upper rise of her breast. His hair brushed her skin. His fingers gripped her waist as he shifted over to her nipple, closed his mouth there with a deep suckling pull, easy and quiet. Instead of kittens, now the desire in her belly was a lazy cat in a heated window sill, burrowing deeper in the joy of sunshine and complete, mindless lassitude. Everything in the universe was revolving where it should be.

  She loved how he communicated so much without words, the way the most important things always were. Oh. Oh. She drew a trembling breath, the hand nearest him curving around his shoulder, finding his hair and threading into it.

  It was astonishing how he could find what she wanted, and then give it to her. Not for a mere blink, not until his own desire kicked in, impatient to take them somewhere else, but as long as she wanted it. A ll his senses seemed tuned in to her breath, the tiniest movements of her body, every infinitesimal increase in her arousal. If he were watching a calm pond, he would be the first one to notice the tiny ripples from the movements of water bugs, or sense a fish coming close, but not quite breaking the waters surface.

  Knowing that, it wasnt absurd at all to believe that suckling her nipples was the most importantthe only thingin Brendans existence at this moment. Because it was what she wanted.

  Trusting, she laid her other hand limply over her head, feeling like some kind of decadent princess again, lounging on her bed like a raft on an ocean, watching her servant pleasure her.

  Shed thought of submission from the angle of whips, chains and contracts, vaguely disturbing internet sites and tonights auction. But for the first time, she thought she was glimpsing the true essence of it, the elusive understanding of why he was like this. Why Marguerite had said it was hard to explain. It was better grasped when all things were stripped down to this, a sacred act of devotion.

  A s she shifted, her fingertips brushed one of the candleholders. Following it up past the guard, she caressed the candles sleek column, liking the silken feel of hard wax. Following her train of thought, relaxing into the moment, she closed her hand over the base, lifted it.

  It was amazing how steady her hand was as she brought it to hover over his shoulder, angled over her abdomen because hed moved his attention to her other nipple now. His mouth intensified the coil of liquid lust spiraling through the curve of flesh, down through her lower belly and arrowing straight between her legs. She watched the movement of his head, his mouth, the way he cradled her breast, compressing it so the nerve endings all focused on his lips, teeth and tongue.

  She tipped the taper, and hot wax pattered onto his shoulder. His skin shuddered like a horses under the impact, but he didnt break his nursing rhythm.

  A t all.

  It was one of the most erotic things shed ever seen. He hadnt flinched, as if she could do anything she wished, anything that gave her pleasure.

  She did it again, a different spot, and it was the same, though she felt a sympathetic burning sensation through the back of her shoulder, imaging how it must feel, how it stimulated the nerve endings there.

  Brendan, she whispered. Kiss me.

  He lifted his face, bathed in candlelit shadows, and put his mouth on hers. She was still holding the candle, and when she fumbled, trying to find her way back to the dresser with it without breaking that pleasurable contact, his hand closed over her wrist, helped her safely take it back to the table. Then she brought both hands back to his shoulders, wrapped her arms tight around him, giving herself to that kiss. Her fingers found the wax, already hardening, but still soft with lingering heat. He slid his arm underneath her, keeping her close to his chest, so their hearts beat together, and she realized both organs were moving at a faster pace, almost synchronized, like that first night.

  I want to be back inside you now. He looked at her through thick lashes, his gaze so intent. Just to be inside you. May I do that?

  In answer, she curved her leg over his hip, welcoming him. Brendan shifted, bringing his weight onto her, watching every change in her face, the way she bit into her lip, the expression in her eyes as he brought his mostly erect cock back into her. A s he eased in, she gave a small whimper at that brief giving sensation when he made it past the gateway, then she sighed over the slow, deep glide, all the way to the heart, that point of fullness, when things that were meant to come together did, a perfect fit in nature.

  You feel so good, she said in a hushed tone. Like everything Ive ever wanted. It scares me.

  Me too. The corner of his mouth turned up.

  Why does it scare you?

  Because I know its real.

  It made her breath catch funny, somewhere between a sob and surprise. Since she wasnt sure what to say in reply, she fingered the wax on his shoulder, broke a piece of it away. It got away from her, tumbling down his back, lost in the ocean of covers.

  He smoothed a palm down her side, all the way to her hip and then to the thigh muscle, crooked over his buttock. While he took his time with the gliding touch, she realized with some amazement he was also making sure her muscles werent tense or tiring.

  Youre not real, she whispered. Brendan, dont you ever think of yourself?

  I dont have to do that. I know what I am, what I want, Chloe. Its other people who need my focus. Like you.

  But do you want anything for yourself?

  Your pleasure, your happiness. Your joy.

  That brief ripple of fierce light in his eye should give her a burst of warmth, and it did. But still A true slave cant want anything for himself. She punctuated the words with a sound of pure want in the back of her throat as he moved, a slow stroke, his gaze latched on her face. Cant have desires. Beyond serving a Master, that is.

  Or Mistress. He bent, touched that clever mouth to the corner of hers, not impeding her ability to talk, but certainly taking away her desire to do so. His ass flexed under her legs, his shoulder muscles constricting as he shifted his body lower, his chest a solid wall, her breasts compressed beneath. A s their abdomens touched, his cock made another slight but significant movement inside her, telling her he was hardening further.

  Youve been reading, he added, the trace of amusement not lessening the burning desire in his face, the restraint that kept his jaw and chest muscles tense in a very appealing way.

  I read a lot during this weekgetting ready. But it didnt tell meeverything. Tonightthose slaves and you Do you know why you willingly Submit?

  Need that? Want that? Crave it? She knew she was coming back to that locked closet, and her questions would reflect more on what she wanted and her confusion about that, rather than his. But maybe one would lead to another. Since she wasnt sure how to word it, she asked the way she felt it. With great difficulty, because she was having to push past how he was distracting her.

  Do you know why you cant do without it? Can you do without it?

  His teeth closed on her carotid, making her body undulate, a slow roll attended by a keening note from her lips. Do you know why you prefer a mans cock inside you, he whispered, instead of a womans touch on your pussy?

  No. Her whimper became a short cry as he executed a far more deliberate movement inside her. Her nipples, so aroused by him earlier, tingled with the response that glittered through her body like a shower of silver sparkles. I justI experimented, here and there, but I likemen. A lot.

  His lips pulled into a smile against her throat. When he lifted his head, enough so their faces were close, his mouth was too inviting. She returned the favor, nibbling him back as he obligingly held still so she could taste and tease.

  Oh, she breathed. I like that. Stay still, just like that.

  She moved over his
mouth, the lips slightly parted, and discovered a new erotic pleasure as she dipped into it with tongue and lips. He didnt move, not even a twitch. The only movement was his cock pulsing hard inside her, indicating how pleasurable and difficult at once it was for him to obey, stay motionless as her hands went down his back, traced the width of his shoulders, found the taper of his waist, and then dipped to grip his ass.

  With an impish smile, she brought her hips up, taking him deeper, then let her hips sink back to the bed, a heated, moist stroke, all executed by her will. His thighs quivered, a shudder running through his shoulders.

  Brendan, why are you like this? she repeated in a whisper. What do you feel when a woman takes you over like this, pushes you to mindless obedience, makes her every wish your only desire, your only reason for living?

  She saw all that in his eyes and face, in the tension and compliance at once in his body.

  Because She was intrigued to see his gaze sweep down, his focus on her throat, the flush of desire across her sternum. His voice vibrated through her. I feelwhole, like Im doing what Im supposed to do. Im on the edge of being exactly what Im meant to be, and theres no need for anything but to beyours. When I get completely lost under a womans touch, her power and control, swept away, I know this is what I want most. Ill do anything for her. For you.

  It overwhelmed her, as so many things about him did. Despite the growing need in her thighs and pussy, the surging in that delicious part of her lower abdomen, reflecting the tiny spasms happening in her clit, she needed one more answer. Even so, her hips kept moving of their own volition to slide her increasing slickness up and down his cock.

  Youve been with men.

  God, Chloe He bit back a groan as she clenched tight on him, so that the sucking sound of her now thoroughly wet cunt reached both their ears.

  Yes, but never

  He stopped, face constricting a brief minute, telling her she was testing his control, a quiet delight to her. Never a Master, he said, his expression strained. Except for training, or charity auctionwhich is different. Never a Master. Justmale lovers. Submissives. Like me.

  I dont think theres anyone like you, Brendan. She said it with fervent belief. Or maybe it was just that shed never met anyone like himfor her.

  Do you want to come for me?

  Yes. Fuck, yes.

  But shouldnt I come first?

  She was teasing him, half serious, half sensual, and he caught both. He gave her a look of wry exasperation and something more tender before he gave a jerky, determined nod. Gripping him hard with those internal muscles, she slid back down like a slow, hot mouth.