The Taming of Jessica (13 page)

‘Thank you,’ she murmured, looking up into his concerned face. He’d taken off his shoes before diving in to rescue her, but even in his stockinged feet he still towered over her. His sodden shirt was plastered to his broad chest, and droplets of water dripped from his hair. Yet – and maybe she was just viewing him as her white knight, her rescuer in her hour of need – she thought she’d never seen Jason look as good as he did at that moment.

‘What kind of master would I be if my girl was in danger of drowning and I didn’t do anything to help her?’ he said. His hand smoothed over the bare skin of her back. ‘Now, come on, let’s get you dry.’

He unzipped the dress and pushed it down off her shoulders, letting the saturated garment slither to the floor. Jessica stepped out of it, for once feeling no shame at being naked before him, even though he was still fully dressed. Piles of clean, fluffy towels stood in a wooden rack by the wall. Jason took one and wrapped it round Jessica’s body. He used another to fashion a turban for her hair. Then he picked up the wet evening dress and made to lead her out of the spa area.

‘My shoes –’ she began.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll arrange for someone to collect them for you.’

Her small hand enveloped in his big one, they walked down the corridor, past the ballroom. Jessica could hear music and raised voices coming from behind the closed doors, the party still continuing without them, but she had no desire to step inside and witness whatever depraved scenes might be taking place within, not even to retrieve her master’s jacket, which still hung on the back of his chair. How on earth would she explain why Jason was soaked to the skin, why she was swaddled in towels from the spa? No, best leave them to it, and she would take whatever punishment she deserved for her act of flagrant disobedience; it was all she deserved.

Chapter Fourteen

Once in Jason’s room, she was ordered to sit on the bed. She waited while he went into the bathroom to strip off and towel himself down, thanking her stars that his key card had still worked, even though it had been in his trouser pocket when he’d dived into the pool. If it hadn’t, would he have sent her down to reception to beg for a replacement, or would he have taken her back to the room she shared with Honey, and forced her to sleep chained to her bed?

When he returned, the towel was wrapped round his waist and his dark hair stood up in damp little spikes. Despite all she’d gone through, her pussy fluttered with unexpected lust at the sight of him.

Sitting on the bed beside her, Jason removed her towel turban, pushing the wet strands of hair away from her face as they tumbled down. She trembled at his touch, though he seemed to misinterpret the reason.

‘You’ve had a shock, Jess,’ he told her. ‘I’ll get you a glass of brandy.’ Before she could protest, he sprang up from the bed and went over to the minibar, busying himself in fixing them both a drink.

‘Master.’ He looked round at the sound of her voice, squatting on his haunches with the bottle of Armagnac in one hand. Had he given her permission to speak? Would she be punished for her impertinence? Not worrying about any demerit marks she might be racking up, she ploughed on. ‘Why are you being so nice to me?’

‘Nice?’ Jason looked genuinely baffled.

‘Well, some of the other masters here, they’d have saved me from drowning, but they’d have made me towel them dry afterwards, not the other way round. And they certainly wouldn’t have let me have a drink to calm my nerves.’

He came back to the bed, pressing a brandy glass into her hand and taking a sip from his own before answering her. ‘Some of the guys here, they get so far into the fantasy, I think they forget there’s a real woman on the end of their whip strokes. When all the bets are off and the usual rules don’t apply, you behave in a way you might not do otherwise. You know, I don’t honestly know whether all of them actually like the woman they bought. But I do know that I like you, Jessica. And I like Max, and I want him to have the submissive he’s dreamt of by the end of the week. And that means using plenty of carrot, as well as stick.’

Jason grinned, his face lighting up. Jessica caught herself thinking again what beautiful eyes he had, then reminded herself sharply of the real truth behind his words. This week was all about teaching her to submit for Max’s benefit, not that of the man who sat beside her now.

That didn’t stop her swallowing a big gulp of brandy, surrendering to its fiery warmth. Already, the terrifying sensations of being dragged down to the bottom of the swimming pool, unable to free herself from her bonds, were beginning to seem like nothing more than a bad dream.

‘Master, you remember you said that talking about our personal lives wasn’t important. Well – I think it is. I think it’ll help me serve you better – and Max – if I know more about you.’

Jason considered her words for a moment. ‘OK, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, but in return you’ve got to answer any questions I might have. Absolute honesty on both sides, right?’

‘Of course.’ Jessica paused, though the only question she felt she really needed an answer to was the one that had nagged at her since the moment Jason had bought her. ‘In that case, tell me how you come to be among Damon Barada’s circle of dominants. I mean, Honey’s husband’s a London property tycoon, Wesley Cole designs best-selling computer games, Max manufactures eco-friendly lighting … So how did you make your millions?’

Just for a moment, he looked embarrassed. ‘Absolute honesty, right? Me and my big mouth. Well, the truth is I haven’t made millions, and I don’t think I ever will. I work as a personal trainer, and my stay here is being paid for by a grateful client. Otherwise, I’d never have been able to afford it.’

‘But surely you must have some money?’ Jessica persisted. ‘Look at how much you paid for me.’

‘That was your husband’s money, not mine,’ Jason confessed. ‘He wanted to make sure Sebastian Voller didn’t buy you’

‘Voller,’ Jessica repeated, and something else that had evaded her till now became clear. ‘He’s the German guy who was sitting with Max at dinner, isn’t he? Now I know where I knew him from – he and Max were once bidding for the same contract, and Sebastian Voller won it. They’re not exactly friends, from what I recall.’

‘Yes, and Voller isn’t exactly the kind of man you need to initiate you into submission, believe me. Max wanted you kept away from the guy, because he was frightened of how he would treat you if he got his hands on you. And I was just the person he used to prevent that from happening. I’m sorry if that’s not what you wanted to hear, Jessica, but it’s the truth.’

All her suspicions had been confirmed. Jason didn’t belong here, not really. And to hear that Max, of all people, had subbed him her auction price …

Almost as if he’d read her mind, Jason asked, ‘So tell me, Jessica, does that mean I’m not worthy to be your master?’

She considered the question, amazed to discover the first thing that sprang to her mind was Honey’s assertion that money mattered more than love. Max had only done what he’d done because he loved her, she knew that. He wanted her to be safe, to be treated with consideration for her own needs, as well as those of the man who mastered her. And Jason had no money, but that didn’t matter, not when he could take her places she’d never been, with his commanding words and the flat of his hand and his big, beautiful cock … ‘No, master. The question is whether I’m worthy to be your slave.’

‘Never doubt that, Jessica.’

Their faces were only inches apart, Jessica’s lips slightly parted as she stared into Jason’s devastatingly blue eyes. The line between them was clear – master and submissive, trainer and initiate – and she knew she was in danger of breaching it. Some things, once done, could not be undone. Yet, not caring about the consequences, she gave in to the instinct that overrode all good sense, and pressed her mouth to Jason’s in a soft kiss. His eyes widened, then he pulled her close, the kiss deepening as his tongue pushed between her lips. Her hands cupped the point of his chin, stubble prickling her skin. When they finally broke apart, breathless, she somehow found the voice to say, ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have –’

She’d kissed so many men, revelling in the feel of their lips, their tongues, their obvious need for her, but with Jason she’d experienced something she usually felt with Max alone – the knowledge that this was right, that she wanted to do it again. And despite her stammered apology, her body ached with the need to be in Jason’s arms, to kiss him till her mouth was swollen and bruised.

‘Hey, it’s OK.’ Jason traced the backs of his fingers over the contours of her cheek. ‘You had a terrible shock, and I’m the one who should be sorry. Leaving you unsupervised when you were so close to the side of that pool, with your hands bound and in those stupid heels … It was just asking for trouble.’

She couldn’t believe he was apologising to her. If she hadn’t disobeyed his order and returned to his side as soon as he’d called her, none of this would have happened. Prostrating herself before him, she murmured, ‘Master, I don’t think I’ll ever be worthy of you.’

‘Don’t talk like that.’ He pulled her up to face him, though she struggled to meet his gaze. ‘You’re doing so well, Jessica. I’m sure lots of women would have turned round and got straight back on the boat as soon as they realised what kind of place Isla Barada really is, but you – you’ve done everything Max has asked of you, everything I’ve asked of you. And tonight, in that dress, letting Damon do whatever he wanted to you – God, you looked magnificent. If you were mine …’

He let the sentence trail off, as if aware that he, just like Jessica, was in imminent danger of crossing a line. Then his mouth was on hers again, and his kiss told her everything his words dared not; how much he wanted her, how it could be if he was her permanent master, rather than merely the man whose job was to train her for her husband’s pleasure.

Her fingers twined in Jason’s hair, still damp from his rescue act; the sour chlorine scent of the pool still lingered faintly on his skin, but his own male aroma was strongest in her nostrils, exciting her on a base, primitive level. His kisses left a wet trail down her neck, as he nipped at the skin with his teeth. She wanted those little sucking bites to mark her, to leave the evidence of his presence on her body.

Their limbs tangled together as he lowered her back onto the bed. Through the towel, the hot, hard bar of his erection thrust at her, and she rubbed herself against it, her juices soaking the soft terry cloth. He could take her now; she was ready. In truth, she’d been ready from the moment she’d walked out of the bedroom to find him standing in his tuxedo, confident and elegant in a way she’d never imagined he could be. She’d been proud to walk into the ballroom, bound by him – bound to him in ways she could never have expected. Who cared if Max had manipulated the situation for his own ends? It had brought her to this point, where she was on the verge of surrendering herself utterly to Jason, and right now that was all that mattered.

Her master’s mouth moved lower, latching on to her nipple once more. Again he bit at her flesh, worrying the tight bud between his teeth, and all the while she moaned and begged for more. Jessica tugged at the knot in his towel, pulling it open so they lay, skin to skin, with nothing to impede her from feeling every inch of his broad, muscular body against her own.

Jason’s tongue snaked down her cleavage, laving her skin and coming to rest in the well of her navel. The hot, sinuous tongue-tip tickled her there, and she giggled and writhed against him.

‘Oh, you like that, do you?’ he asked, raising his head to look her in the eye.

‘I like everything you do to me,’ she admitted.

‘Even the things that hurt?’

‘Especially the things that hurt.’ She’d never thought she’d ever find herself making such a confession, but Jason didn’t seem fazed. He simply kept kissing her, still making his inexorable way down over the swell of her belly towards her wet, waiting pussy.

She kept expecting him to pull away at any moment. Oral sex was something a master received, not gave; the expression of a slave’s submission – or so she’d come to believe. Jason, though, appeared to have ideas of his own on the subject. With firm hands, he parted her legs wide, and took a moment to stare at the treasures the movement revealed. Jessica almost blushed; she’d never been the subject of such intense, almost loving scrutiny, not even from Max. But he seemed to like what he saw well enough; he reached out a finger, brushing it over the intricate folds.

‘I once read that a woman’s cunt is like an oyster, hiding a pearl at its heart,’ he said. ‘A precious, beautiful pearl …’ As he spoke, he touched her clit so lightly she thought she’d imagined it, but in combination with his reverent words, the stimulation was enough to have her groaning low in her throat and pushing herself towards him for more of the same.

Taking hold of her thighs, Jason made himself comfortable between them, easing her legs over his shoulders so that her crotch was right up against his face. The stubble on his chin pricked at the insides of her thighs and she knew if he planned to settle in there for a while he’d leave the sensitive skin irritated and sore, but she’d already accepted that a little pain was a price more than worth paying for the pleasure he was capable of giving her.

His mouth engulfed her pussy, and she knew at once this was a man who enjoyed the act of licking a woman. His tongue swept along the whole length of her cleft, right down to the crinkled bud of her arsehole, and he sucked her soft inner labia right into his mouth, making smacking noises with his lips as though he relished the taste of her. With her bum cheeks gripped securely in his big hands, he could hold her in place for as long as he wished to feast on her, and Jessica lay back, consumed by the intense sensations coursing through her body. She watched him eat her, his expression rapt, and knew that after tonight she could never go back to the meaningless one-night stands she’d used as a way of distracting herself from her dwindling sex life with Max. They’d been fun, and she’d loved the power she’d wielded over those young studs with their pretty faces and firm bodies, but none of them had ever made her feel the way Jason did now; the way Max could make her feel, if the two of them were prepared to work on their marriage, and take it back to how it had been in the early days.

Jason’s tongue returned to its squirming exploration of her rear hole, driving all thoughts of Max from Jessica’s mind. She’d never been so thoroughly licked here, and she wasn’t quite sure she should be enjoying it as much as she was. But when Jason slipped a finger into her channel, while still lapping at her arse, she could no longer worry about whether this was right and proper.

He broke off from his oral ministrations long enough to murmur, ‘Come for me, Jessica. Come in my mouth, my gorgeous slut.’

As if those words had pressed a button somewhere deep inside her, Jessica’s orgasm hit her with surprising force. The stars danced behind her closed eyelids, as bright as those in the night sky outside, and she yelled out, ‘Oh yes, Jason, yes!’

He licked her through the hard, heaving waves of her climax, and the shallow ripples that followed it, and at last he lowered her gently to the mattress. While she fought to recover something of her equilibrium, Jason slipped off the bed and went to find a condom, his rigid cock seeming to lead the way. When he returned and made to open the packet, she snatched it from his fingers. ‘Allow me,’ she said.

She’d learned the trick a long time ago, as a way of impressing Max; now she wanted to do it to return the compliment Jason had just paid her with his oral skills. Encouraging him to sit on the edge of the bed, she got down on her knees before him and popped the condom into her mouth. Jason said nothing, simply waited with bated breath as Jessica took hold of his cock and slowly, carefully, rolled the sheath over his length using her tongue and lips. Once she’d swallowed as much of him as she was able, she finished the job with her fingers, covering him all the way to the base of his shaft.