BegMe (7 page)

“Believe me, darlin’, the pleasure is all mine.” His accent
became pure Texan.

It melted some of the ice from her tone. Just a little.
“What can I do for you?”

A pause. “Come over to my place.” He gave her the address.
“It’s time for your next lesson.”

She lifted the receiver from her ear and glared at it. No
call for days and then suddenly he expected her to drop everything and rush
over? What was she, some kind of booty call?

Anger boiled in her blood.

“So, I’m just supposed to drop everything because you’re
feeling horny and thought to yourself, ‘Hmm, which tasty piece of ass haven’t I
tried? Oh I know, I’ll call Tessa’?”

She was nobody’s booty call.

“A submissive should never question her Dominant.” He spoke
the words through gritted teeth.

“Screw that,
Mister
Campbell. You treat me with some
sliver of respect or this whole deal is off.”

Deep down, the sexually repressed part of her soul cried out
for the deal to continue. She wanted to see him but Tessa Connolly was no man’s
doormat. She was an independent woman with a busy schedule.

She heard Jared sigh. In frustration? Or because his booty
call was over?

“I’m sorry. I have no excuse for not calling. I pushed past
your boundaries. I didn’t want to rush you, especially after what happened at
the club. I didn’t want to scare you away. I wanted to give you some space.
Some time to digest.” Again he paused. “Please come over.”

Her heart pounded. From a few meetings, he knew her well.
She needed time to analyze, to process. If he’d pushed her further she would
have bolted. He’d considered her emotional well-being above his physical needs.
The final sheet of ice around her heart melted.

But it was the
please
that undid her.

She sighed into the receiver. “Okay. What do you want me to
wear?”

If this was her second lesson, she wanted to be prepared.
Would he take her out? Would it be another restaurant for lunch? The club?

“You have an overcoat?”

She frowned. “Sure.”

“Wear that, nothing else.”

“What!”

“I said wear nothing underneath. Come to me now, Tessa.
Don’t keep me waiting. This is your second lesson. What we agreed. Don’t
disobey me.” His tone became more forceful. Commanding. Yet he couldn’t
disguise the laughter in it.

She glanced at her open closet and located the
overcoat—long, black and made of wool, with a hem that reached the floor.
Despite her reservations, the idea of being forced to wear nothing underneath
secretly thrilled her. It had always been a forbidden fantasy.

“I’ll be there.”

She replaced the phone on the cradle and sighed. He’d
called. He’d apologized. He’d commanded.

Tessa steeled her spine and padded over to the closet.
Excitement and nerves coursed through her. Her pussy throbbed, already dripping
wet. Her hard nipples rubbed against the silk of her nightshirt, creating an
ache that matched the dull pulsing in her cunt.

She wondered what Jared had planned today.

Pulling the coat off the hanger, she headed to the bathroom.
Time to get primped and primed for her next lesson. A smile twitched at her
lips and she dashed into the shower like a schoolgirl on a first date.

* * * * *

Jared put down the phone and grinned. She was coming.
Finally. One minute she frustrated the hell out of him with her stubborn
streak, the next his cock was so hard he could barely walk.

He sat on an oversized chair and stretched his legs onto his
coffee table. He picked up a glass of bourbon and sipped, wincing as the liquid
burned a path down to his stomach. The clock hadn’t struck midday but what the
hell, he needed a stiff drink. Shifting, he winced. The drink wasn’t the only
thing stiff.

A voice on the radio sang about desire and a deep-seated
lust. Jared could relate. Tessa Connolly was under his skin. At first she’d
been a fascination, a challenge. After the dinner date, she’d become something
more.

Closing his eyes, he pressed the heel of his hand against
his forehead, hoping to ease the ache. Maybe the alcohol didn’t help.

Tessa. Tessa. Tessa.

The woman plagued his every waking thought, not to mention
his every erotic fantasy. None of his other partners had affected him so
quickly. He hadn’t wanted to possess them as much as he wanted to possess her.

He needed to break down her barriers, get beneath the
surface, see what made her tick. He wanted her to think of no other man but
him. He understood her struggle. He didn’t need to be a psychologist to know
Tessa was representative of him. An abandoned father left him unable to get
close to anyone. He couldn’t form lasting attachments.

Everyone leaves. Jared always wanted to be the one doing the
leaving.

Sometimes he yearned for more, wanted to share his life with
a woman. The concrete wall around his emotions wouldn’t allow it. In the past
it didn’t matter. Until now. Until Tessa.

It wasn’t just her need to submit, it was everything. Her
stubborn streak, the sexy way she toyed with strands of her hair, the small
frown creasing her brow when she was angry.

Snorting in disgust, Jared took another hit of bourbon. Life
always knew how to throw a curveball. Tessa was supposed to be a means to an
end. A way to get back into the scene. A way to ignite his desire to dominate.
He wasn’t supposed to feel for her.

He had no clue
what
he felt for her, but there was
something. Something intimate, something more than just a Dominant giving
lessons to a willing submissive. Every time he thought of her with another dom,
he wanted to do major damage to the nearest wall. He was even considering
asking her to be his partner at the BDSM party in a few weeks.

“You are so screwed.” Figuratively and hopefully…literally.

What seemed liked hours later, the doorbell chimed, saving
him from wallowing in his thoughts any longer. A glance at the clock made him
wonder what had taken her so long.

Jared padded through the house to the front door. Unlatching
it, he pulled it open a fraction and waited for his eyes to adjust to the
change in lighting.

Outside, the weather matched his mood—damp, wet, dark. The
wait had been worth it. Tessa stood framed against the light, shoulders
slightly hunched as she brushed speckles of rain from her all-black coat. His
gaze trailed down the length of material. The coat was set in a Japanese geisha
style. Its high-necked collar made sure her body was covered from neck to foot.
The only skin on show was the pale skin of her ankles.

When he caught a glimpse of black high-heeled stilettos, he
laughed. The coat might be practical but the shoes were real showy. It made him
wonder what she wore beneath. He’d commanded her to stay naked. Had his
stubborn Tessa followed his order?

His laughter drew her gaze. He saw the spark of recognition
behind her eyes, of desire mirroring his own.

“Tessa. Come in.” He opened the door wide and allowed her to
step inside.

She looked at his glass and raised an eyebrow. “Little early
to be hitting the bottle, isn’t it?”

He flashed a wicked grin. “Never too early for a snifter of
fine whiskey.” He whirled the glass under her nose. “Here, have a sip. It’ll
warm your bones. Or so my momma used to tell me.”

She eyed the glass warily. A few heartbeats later she took
it from him and swallowed the remaining alcohol. Her grimace as the liquor went
down made Jared chuckle. He loved a woman who didn’t shy away from anything.
Tessa was one of those women.

He winced. He didn’t want to think about using the L-word
and a woman’s name in the same sentence.

He scowled and silenced the thoughts in his head. “Feeling
warmer?”

Tessa shivered and shook her head. “I think my brains just
dropped out.” Blinking rapidly, she focused her gaze. “That’s some good malt.”

Jared gave a mock tip of an imaginary cowboy hat. “Only the
finest for us Texans, ma’am.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard it all before, cowboy.” She patted
her short black hair, smoothing wet strands from her forehead.

The movement lifted her breasts, and Jared growled. His cock
hardened, strained against the confines of his jeans. Lust, need and something
he didn’t want to examine clawed at his skin. He didn’t feel playful anymore.
Instead he felt wild, feral. He felt the need to take, command, dominate. Not just
anyone—he felt the need to dominate Tessa. His woman. His submissive to do with
as he pleased.

Blood coursed around his body, his pulse pounded in his
ears.

Moving toward her like a predator closing in for the kill,
Jared fingered the buttons on her coat. He rolled them between his fingers and
imagined rolling her nipples in the same way.

He flashed a grin. “Ready for lesson two?”

Biting her lower lip, Tessa nodded.

“Good.” Slowly, he moved his hand across her shoulder,
caressing his way down her arm. Twining his fingers with hers, he led her
through the house.

It was time to up the ante in his game of seduction.

Seduction? Where did that come from?
Jared scowled,
thankful Tessa couldn’t see his expression. When had it moved from scratching a
mutual itch to seduction?

The minute she came on your hand at the restaurant. The
minute you saw unabashed pleasure on her face from a simple orgasm.

Shut the fuck up.

“You have a nice house, Jared.” Her words broke his
thoughts.

Thankful for the distraction from his internal dialogue, he
turned his head, answering her with a smile. “Glad you think so.”

Onward they moved, through rooms, hallways. Jared knew it
was pure hedonism to have a house this large. Five bedrooms were more than
enough to accommodate his lone ass. Most of the time he just rattled around in
the place. Most of the rooms never got used.

No one could accuse him of failing to make something of
himself with a house this size. It was kind of a fancy
screw you
to his
dad. Jared would never be trailer trash. Back in Texas, they’d lived in a
small, cramped apartment. As soon as he made enough money, he’d bought this
house.

He liked the house, enjoyed the open space. One room had
gotten more than its fair share of action, though not in a while. In a few
minutes, Tessa would see the room for herself. He couldn’t wait for her
reaction. Would she be shocked, or would she embrace it like everything else he
had offered her?

“I hope you like this room. It’s where your real submission
will begin.” Stopping outside a plain wooden door, he turned and cupped Tessa’s
expectant face between his hands. Smoothing the pale skin of her cheekbones, he
asked, “You ready?”

She answered with a hesitant yes, and Jared opened the door.

* * * * *

Tessa blinked. The rest of the house had been contemporary
but minimalist. This room was beyond anything she could have imagined. The
walls were a dark, dark red, covered with erotic fetish photographs. A large,
wooden bondage table stood in the center of the room. Complete with leather
stirrups, its polished walnut frame gleamed. The black-vinyl upholstery shone.

She closed her mouth, realizing too late it gaped open. One
second later and spittle would have flowed out. Various other bondage equipment
lined the walls. Some she recognized, some she didn’t. Tilting her head to the
side, she contemplated one strange contraption, wondering how the hell it could
be used for pleasure. It looked like something from the Inquisition.

She pointed at it and turned to look at Jared. “My lesson
doesn’t include that, does it?”

She gulped, swallowed the rising panic. An erotic image of
her spread-eagled and tied down flashed into her head, Jared standing over her,
wielding a cane, tapping it lightly on her breasts.

Her pussy creamed. Her aching nipples pressed against the
wool coat, begging for attention. She wouldn’t be able to move, he’d be in
complete control and she would be unable to stop him. Fear and anticipation
lodged deep in her stomach.

Could she really let him secure her to that thing? Would it
hurt? It looked like it would hurt.

From the chuckle he gave, Tessa knew her face held a look of
pure horror.

“No, my stubborn little slave. That is for someone…” He
stopped, searching for the right word. “More experienced in the ways of bondage
and submission. As your Master, I’m just trying to get you to submit.”

Not as easy as it seems, huh, mister?

She couldn’t help her defiance. Her nature was to be
dominant. To take control. She’d been that way all her life. Despite her
desires, she was scared of losing herself in submission. She was afraid giving
up control meant her life would come crashing down.

Who knew fulfilling desires would be so damn hard?

She rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay. I promise
to play nice today.” She walked into the room and opened her arms wide. “I’m
all yours to do with what you will.” Turning, she flashed Jared a wicked smile
before clasping her hands, lowering her eyes and bowing. “Master.”

Stepping into the room behind her, he closed the door. The
sound reverberated around, followed by utter silence. Soundproofing. She was
reminded of an old movie quote, something about no one being able to hear you
scream in space. Yeah, no one would hear her scream. Whether that was bad or
good had yet to be determined. Although she trusted Jared, niggling doubts beat
at the edges of her mind. What if he hurt her?

“Take off your coat.” He leaned against the door, arms
crossed over his chest.

Locking her gaze to his, Tessa slowly, seductively, undid
each button, bending to reach the ones at the bottom. Keeping the coat closed
until she reached the last button, she bent one knee, sliding her foot up onto
tiptoes. The material parted and she flashed him a peek of bare flesh. Jared
might be a Dominant but she could enjoy making him squirm.