Authors: Lara Valentine
Tags: #Romance
“I believe you. You are very good about cleaning up after me. Kade, let’s get your bath done, sweetie.”
“Awww! Now, Mom? I was winning!”
“Yes, now. Let’s get your bath over with.”
She looked into Nate’s sympathetic eyes.
“Go get ready and I will be there in a second, baby. Scoot.”
Brianne nudged Kade toward the stairs. He hated bath time until he was actually in the bathtub. Then she couldn’t get him out of it.
Nate pulled her into his arms as soon as Kade was out of sight. He rubbed his hands along her shoulders, kneading the tense muscles.
“Oh, man, that feels good. I have to tell him, Nate. I can’t keep this from him. I am so fucking tired of cleaning up after Rick. He makes a mess, and I clean it up.”
She felt his hands slide into her hair and knead her scalp. It felt so good her knees almost buckled. What did she do to deserve this man?
Put up with her scumbag of an ex, that’s what!
“Well, sweetheart, if I ever see Dick again, I will be more than happy to kick his ass for you. And then I will kick it again for Kade.”
She groaned as his fingers dug into her scalp, and she felt a little of her tension start to recede.
“You’ll have to wait in line after me, Lisa, and probably Tami, too.”
“I’ll wait until after you, baby, but I want some of his scrawny ass left to kick. I won’t wait until after Lisa and Tami. Especially Lisa, she knows how to kick butt.”
She rested her head on Nate’s chest. She could feel his heart beating. Just the sound seemed to relax her a little.
“I better go give Kade his bath. Then I am going to have to tell him, Nate. Fuck, this sucks.”
“If you want me there, Bri, I will be. I don’t want to intrude, but I would like to be there for you.”
Brianne was acutely aware that she hadn’t called Nate when everyone had told her that he would want to know. She felt pretty shitty for leaving him out. He had heard about all this from Lisa. He should have heard it from her.
Shit.
Being in a relationship was hard.
“I’m so sorry, Nate. I should have called you. I meant to but things got away from me at the police station. I didn’t want to leave this kind of voice mail on your phone. Are you pissed at me?”
Brianne peeked up through her lashes to check out Nate’s expression. She was surprised to see it was one of sadness, not of anger.
“No, sweetheart, I’m not angry. Just disappointed that you didn’t feel strongly that you could share this with me. I can’t help but wonder if you feel that you couldn’t trust me to help you through this.”
Now she felt even worse. His disappointment was much harder to take than anger.
“No! I do trust you. I swear. I would trust you with my life. With Kade’s life, too. I guess—I guess I am just used to handling things on my own. Rick was never there to help me, so I just had to deal with things myself. It’s a hard habit to break.”
Nate traced her jaw with his fingertips.
“Do you think it is a habit worth breaking, Bri? I want to be there for you. I want you to be there for me, too. I want us to be a team.”
Brianne hugged Nate tightly.
“Yes, yes, yes! It is a habit I want to break. I want to be there for you, too.”
“Mom! Are you coming upstairs or not?”
Nate and Brianne both laughed at Kade’s phenomenal timing and extremely healthy lungs. Brianne decided to show Nate that Kade got those lungs from her.
“
Yes!
I’m on my way right now!”
Brianne could hear Nate laughing all the way up the stairs and into the bathroom.
* * * *
Brianne crawled between the covers after her terrible, crappy day and practically draped herself over Nate. She just wanted to sleep and wake up in a world where the last twelve hours hadn’t happened. She had just had the worst conversation of her life, and that included when Rick told her he was leaving her for a twentysomething blonde waitress. This had been much worse. She would rather cut off a limb than have her son hurt in any way, especially by a man that was supposed to love him.
With Nate by her side, she had broken the news to Kade as gently as she could. She left out the part about leaving his wife for his lover but left in that he had broken the law. Kade needed to understand that even if Rick came back he was in a great deal of trouble. She had tried to assure Kade that his father loved him and that this had nothing to do with him. But when Kade’s bottom lip trembled and his green eyes filled with tears, she knew that nothing she said was going to make this okay.
“Bri, we can talk to a friend of mine. She’s a child psychologist and may have some advice. You may also want Kade to talk to her.”
Brianne sighed as Nate’s warm hands stroked her hair.
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. One conversation couldn’t hurt, and I’ll do anything to help him through this.”
“You are a wonderful mother, Bri. Kade is so lucky to have you for his mom. Now what are we going to do about you?”
“Me? What about me? I got over Rick leaving a long time ago.”
“Not Rick leaving, Bri. The feeling that Rick has taken control of your life right now.”
“What, are you some kind of psychiatrist, Nate?”
Nate rolled Brianne onto her back, pinning her there with his big, strong body.
“No, slave. I am your Master. And as your Master, I am supposed to take care of your needs. Right now you need to be in control. So as your Master, that is what I am going to give you. Control.”
“Control? I admit I could use some. How do you propose giving me control?”
Nate’s eyes were that soft blue she loved so much. He was always thinking about what she needed. Yeah, she knew that this was part of the Dominant in him. He was protective and giving. A stunning combination in any man, but in this man, it was devastating.
Nate rolled over and placed his hands over his head and grabbed the headboard.
“You may do as you wish to me, Mistress.”
Holy shit!
Had Nate just said that?
“Um, Nate. Are you sure about this? You said you were a Dom all the time. Doesn’t this go against the grain a little?”
“Part of training to be a Dom is learning to submit, Bri. When I was training in LA, I trained with a Mistress. It is truly the only way to know how it feels to be spanked, paddled, whipped, on your knees. I will be truthful. I hated every fucking minute of it. I am not submissive by nature, so it was a real struggle for me. But it gave me a real appreciation for what submission means. I told you that part of my job is to give you what you need, not just what you want. Tonight is one of those times. You need to be in control, and I can give you this. Why wouldn’t I?”
Could she do this? Take control from Nate? Even lying there he radiated command. But he was right. She did want to feel like she had control of things. What better way than to take control of him?
Brianne gave him a mock scowl.
“Well, I am going to be difficult to please tonight. You will need to obey me without question. Is that clear, slave?”
Nate’s mouth twitched. She could tell he was trying not to laugh.
“Yes, Mistress. The slave will obey.”
* * * *
Brianne was almost heady with power. Nate lay on her bed naked as the day he was born, with his arms above his head, gripping the headboard. He was laid out like the yummiest buffet she could ever imagine. It was such a luxury to be able to touch him however and wherever she wanted. Normally her hands were restrained and she longed to run her hands over his smooth biceps, his muscled back, his beautiful cock when they were making love.
She hardly knew where to begin. She swung her leg over and straddled his thighs. It was really the only hope she had of holding him down, other than restraining him outright. She could tie him hand and foot to the bed if she desired. She knew he would allow it, and he had installed discreet restraints on this bed that tucked under the mattress when not in use. But she wouldn’t do that. Ultimately, this was about him giving her just enough control to feel better. She didn’t need to tie him down and wouldn’t take any more of this gift than she absolutely needed.
Knowing this was probably a one-shot deal, she decided to drag out the pleasure as long as she possibly could. She started at the top of his head, running her fingers over his short hair, inhaling his shampoo. It was a clean, citrus scent. She massaged his scalp before sliding her fingers down to his face. She took her time exploring his handsome face, running her fingertips over his stubbly jaw. He hadn’t shaved since this morning. One glance at his white-knuckled hands told her that he was holding himself in check. His instincts were telling him to flip her off of him and take control. He didn’t do it. She was overwhelmed at his love and control. She would never forget this gift.
Her fingers trailed down the corded muscles of his neck to his broad shoulders. She massaged those muscles until he groaned in pleasure. His cock was hard against the warmth of her pussy, and her juices drenched her cotton panties as she ran her hands over his gorgeous male body. She used her fingernails and scraped his nipples lightly, causing his body to jerk underneath her. Her fingernails stilled at the flat, male nubs, holding them in a gentle pinch. She could feel his cock pulse against her in reaction.
“Stay still, slave. I don’t want to punish you.” She tried to sound commanding. Nate must have practiced for years to sound as lordly as he did. One command from him and she was on the verge of orgasm every time.
Nate quirked an eyebrow at her words. “I’m sorry, Mistress. I don’t want to be punished. If I misbehave again, what will you do?”
Well, shit
. She didn’t really know what she would do. This dominating stuff was harder than it looked. She would have to make it up as she went along. She wondered if he did, too.
“There’s a drawer full of plugs right next to this bed, slave. You may find one inserted in you if you do not obey and submit.”
Holy hell!
Did she really just threaten her Master with a butt plug? Nate just looked at her with a sardonic smile. He didn’t look very submissive, but then he really wasn’t.
“I will obey and submit, Mistress. I don’t want anything up my ass. I’m sorry.”
She could tell Nate was trying to hold in his laughter. Apparently, she wasn’t too damn intimidating.
Time to shut him up.
“Silence, slave. You no longer have permission to speak. Now I am going to continue the inspection of my property, and you are going to lay here like a good slave. No coming without permission, either.”
She lowered her lips to his chest and began exploring him with her lips and tongue. Her tongue ran down to his navel and then up to his nipples. She licked and sucked them until he was groaning underneath her. She nibbled a path down his rib cage and then up the other side, letting her hand trail down to his straining cock. He couldn’t come without her permission. This would be fun.
* * * *
Nate gritted his teeth at Brianne’s sensual exploration of his body. He was ready to come, right now, and she had barely touched his cock. He started reciting baseball stats in his head, holding off. Her soft hands had run all over his body and then when her lips and teeth had followed—Christ Almighty. It had been all he could do not to roll her on her hands and knees and ram into her from behind, showing her without a doubt who was in charge in the bedroom.
Instead, he lay there trying to be still and quiet as her tongue found his already painfully hard cock. He couldn’t stop the moan that broke from his throat as she drew the mushroom head into the warm cavern of her mouth. He gripped the headboard harder in an effort to keep from tangling his hands in her auburn hair and holding her head there, fucking her mouth until he came. He wanted to shoot his load into her throat and watch her swallow his seed. Not tonight. She needed this.
He bit his lip until it bled and held himself still as her mouth and tongue started moving up and down, bringing him further into the maelstrom of pleasure. When she pulled off his cock with a pop, he groaned. He had never been close to begging before, but he was pretty damn close tonight. He opened his eyes to look into hers and saw them dark with passion. She was almost as gone as he was.
“My turn, slave. Keep your hands on the headboard.”
Brianne scooted up his body, and he licked his lips in anticipation of what was to come. His little Mistress was going to give him a taste. He was surprised. After all this time, she should know that the one servicing was actually the one in control. But he wouldn’t complain. Her pussy was a hairsbreadth from his mouth, and he could smell her arousal. The heady fragrance hardened his cock even more.
“Mistress, may I lick you?” Shit, even his voice sounded strained.
“Say please, slave.”
She’d pay for that later, he thought. Teasing the mean Dom wasn’t the best idea.
“Please, Mistress.”
“Yes, slave. Make me come.”
Yes, he would make her come, dammit. She would be begging before this was all over. He reminded himself that he had given control to Brianne. It was just one night.