A little while later, Lisa came back into herself feeling strangely weak and a lot confused. She tried to get up, to slide away from Mason, but his arms only tightened around her, keeping her immobile. “You’re not going anywhere yet, little sub,” he murmured against her hair. She wriggled, trying to get free, feeling panic that she couldn’t. His fingers gripped her chin and raised her face, but she couldn’t look in his eyes, was too afraid of what she’d see there so she shut them tight. She had just let him play with her body without much resistance. Surely that was wrong. Surely he would see her as a wanton slut. She did not want to see the disgust in his eyes and once again tried to get free of him. “Lisa,” his voice was stern and she stilled, her body obeying his command before her mind could refuse it. “Look at me.” She slowly opened her eyes to look up at him. There was no disgust there, no judgment, but they were not soft and kind either. They drilled into her, the intensity
He watched his little sub out of the corner of his eye as he drove them home. She had surprised him in so many ways tonight, not the least of which was how beautifully she gave in to her need to submit. He had never had a sub of his own; he had only ever played with unattached subs and had never had the desire to take one for himself. He worried that he was too possessive, too But having Lisa in his arms tonight had changed something in him. He’d already felt a protective pull towards her, but now he felt his body claiming her. Mine. It was an oddly disconcerting and yet powerful feeling. It had taken all of his control not to flip that little skirt over her hips, bend her over the back of the couch and bury his aching cock into her. But that was not what she needed tonight, despite the clambering of his rather hard and extremely put-out cock. He would take it slow with her. She was a novice and he didn’t want to rush her. His need was great, but it would frighten her away like a sc
Leaning her forehead against her door she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to find her walls, her strength. He had stripped both away tonight and now she was left aching and cold inside and with nothing to shore up her defenses, she was liable to fall apart at any moment. But she couldn’t do that, she wouldn’t do that. She hadn’t done that when her parents had died and left her alone and she hadn’t done it when her aunt had treated her like a personal slave and she hadn’t done it when her aunt had died when she was sixteen and left her to fend for herself. She would not do it now simply because a man had shown her a little attention and care and then left her standing in front of her apartment door. Lisa straightened her shoulders and shook off the feelings of abandonment and rejection. Mason had given her an incredible orgasm. She should be flying high. So he hadn’t wanted to ‘cuddle.’ That was okay because Lisa didn’t like to cuddle anyway. She unlocked her door and
He couldn’t breathe. The hand on the back of his head pushed him into the pillow, cutting off his air supply while another hand used a switch to beat him. The sting of the switch caused him to cry out, which only brought the punishment down harder on him. The hand on his head clawed into his scalp, pulling his hair as his head was reefed back and another sharp sting was administered to his bare buttocks, re-opening the barely healed stripes from his previous indiscretions. He could smell the rum-laden breath as it hissed across his face and the verbal vitriol that accompanied it was almost worse than the repeated strikes against the bare skin of his back and thighs and arse. His throat ached and burned with the need to breathe as his neck was bent back almost to breaking point. He forced his mind to blank and his panic to recede as he found the cold vacuum where he could retreat, where the pain and the words didn’t bother him…the place where he welcomed the death that he knew wou
She didn’t say anything, but swung the door wide and motioned him to follow her. He closed the door behind himself and walked behind her, trying to take in her apartment as she led him to the second bedroom. With eyes downcast, she swung it open to reveal a sight he had not expected. The entire room was covered with plastic sheeting. Not just the floors, but the walls and ceiling as well. It was well lit and a stainless steel bench dominated the centre of the room. He was pretty sure it was an autopsy table and on it was a pig carcass that had large chunks of meat carved off it. Another carcass hung from a deadly-looking hook in the ceiling and that one looked to have been flayed, the skin peeled away to reveal the flesh beneath. “What is this?” he asked softly. “It’s my murder room,” she said, her voice dull. He shot her a look and then turned back to what was in front of him, putting the pieces together. “You use pigs because they are closest to humans, genetical
Time became immaterial as they stood there, frozen, while Mason battled for reality. She stood with him, adding her strength to his, giving him her silent support, knowing that she wouldn’t leave him like this, wouldn’t abandon him when he needed her. He released her wrists and she dropped her arms, linking her hands behind her back where they wouldn’t be a threat. His arms came around her, trapping her arms against her torso, and he held her tightly against his chest, resting his cheek on top of her head. She burrowed into his chest, softening against him, using her body to soothe him. They stood in a plastic room surrounded by a scene that would disgust most people and yet… she felt closer to him than she ever had. “Lisa,” his voice croaked as he nuzzled her hair. She lifted her face to him and he kissed her, his lips sliding across hers delicately, tenderly. “I’m sorry,” he whispered against her lips, and she kissed the words away, wanting him to know that he didn’t
She nodded and bit her lip, his nostrils flared and his breath huffed out raggedly. “You remember your safe word?” he asked. “Red,” she whispered and he smiled his approval. “If you get scared or anything hurts, you use your safe word and everything stops. If you’re unsure, you can say yellow and we’ll discuss what’s happening. Okay?” She nodded. “I need your words, Lisa.” “Yes, Sir,” she said after a small hesitation. He nodded and his eyes praised her. “Your hands are bound together, but not to the bed. I need you to keep them above your head, can you do that for me?” She started to nod and then caught the look in his eye and spoke instead. “Yes, Sir.” He kissed her, teasing her lips, nipping and sucking and licking until her mind began to fade away. He moved so that he was suspended over her, his forearms on either side of her head supporting his body, his legs straddling her. He was still fully dressed and she was naked, bound, and vuln
As she realized how completely at his mercy she was, a strange sort of peace settled over her and she stopped struggling. She didn’t need to think, she didn’t need to tell him what she needed. He was in control and the relief of it swamped her. He shifted so that her thighs were under his biceps, leaving his hands free to explore. He stroked a finger through her wet folds and her hips tried to buck, but his weight held her down. “Look at you,” he whispered in awe. “Wet and pink and swollen for me.” He used his fingers to spread her lips and she knew she should be embarrassed that he was examining her so closely, but she couldn’t muster it. Having him holding her down and taking his pleasure was causing her body to flood with heat and her mind went blank, logic and reasoning fleeing and leaving nothing but feeling. He placed a soft kiss on her mound just above her clit and she moaned. He chuckled, his warm breath dusting over her wet curls and causing her inner musc
Six Months Later…Everyone he loved was in the room. They were celebrating. Barry and Becky had finally set a date. Lisa and Mason wouldn’t be far behind. Brian and Cassie kept sneaking glances at one another that they thought nobody else noticed. He thought he knew what was going on but he didn’t want to ruin the surprise. It was their news to share and he was happy to wait for them to be ready to share it. Liam and Loretta were here too. He’d been slowly getting to know them. There was a lot of hurt to work through, but they were getting there. Jonathon quite enjoyed having a younger brother even if it was only in small doses at the moment. Devi and Kirra were also there. Kirra was graduating in a couple of weeks and then she would be hopefully attending one of the universities close to home. She wouldn’t know if she got accepted until the new year, but Jonathan was quietly confident that she would get into her top pick. And then there was Emma. Every day with her was
“I know it’s too soon,” he said, cupping her cheek. “But I want you to know that I am in this for good. I want to spend my life with you Emma. I want us to be a family. You, me, Kirra, Devi, Liam, and Loretta—” “Loretta?” “My mum. I want one big, messy family with you and me at the heart of it. Tell me you want that too.” She pressed against him and brushed a kiss on his lips. “I do,” she said before putting the remaining half of the chocolate in her mouth and grinning. The wheel came to a stop and he drew Emma to her feet, moving them both over to the window. The entire city of Melbourne was spread out below them, but it dimmed in comparison to the woman in his arms. “I love you, Emma,” he whispered before kissing her while they stood on top of the world.He took her home. He couldn’t not. They had stuff to work out and a relationship to manage. He had a family to get to know and she had her mother’s illness to navigate and her sister’s final year of sch
He stepped into the pod and waited for the door to close before holding the final box out to her, his mouth dry. She reached for it but he snatched it away, lifting it beyond her reach. “Before I give this to you, I need to explain.” She looked from the box to his face and nodded. “Okay.” The wheel started to move and Jonathon moved them over to sit on a bench. He exhaled roughly. “Okay, so I don’t know how much of this you already know, but how about I just start at the beginning?” She nodded again. “My mother left when I was two. I always believed she left us for a man with money. I’ve recently found out that wasn’t true.” He took a deep breath and her hand rested gently on his chest as she moved closer to him. He took strength from her closeness. “Someone was impersonating me—” “Liam?” He nodded. “Right. Liam. It turns out Liam is my brother. He was trying to draw me out and get me to notice him. He ultimately wanted to meet his father. He didn’t
“Are you looking for this?” the security guy asked, holding out an old-fashioned paper ticket. Emma laughed as she snatched it from him, waving it over her shoulder as she jogged toward the front doors of the building. She slid into the car and Brian looked at her expectantly. “Um…” Emma looked between Brian and Cassie. “I want to say Luna Park, but I don’t think that’s right.” “Why Luna Park?” Cassie asked. Emma held up the ticket in her hand. “We went to a fête in Merveille and rode the Ferris wheel.” “The Melbourne Star,” Brian said, his voice gruff. “Of course!” Cassie cried excitedly, leaning over to give Brian a smacking kiss. “You’re brilliant.” Emma could barely keep still as Brian drove them across town toward the Docklands and the giant observation wheel. As much as she was enjoying herself, she wanted to see him. She had already forgiven him for his lie and now she desperately wanted to ask his forgiveness for her stupid, fearful, erratic
She walked around the corner expecting to see Jonathon outside the patisserie, but there was no one there. She stepped inside breathed in the sweet scent of pastries and chocolate and looked around, hoping to spot him, but he wasn’t there. “Are you Emma?” a lady asked. “Yeah,” Emma said, turning to the woman who sat at a small table with a familiar little box in front of her. “This is for you,” the woman said, standing and walking away. Emma sat and took the box, pulling at the bow and opening it to see another chocolate truffle, this time it had an ’S’ written on top of it in dark chocolate. She didn’t need the little ‘Eat Me’ note to know what to do. She put the truffle on her tongue and closed her eyes. The chocolate coating melted away to leave behind a cake center with the sweet tang of apricot jam. “Sachertorte,” she mumbled to herself as she sighed and opened her eyes. Emma picked up the note that had nestled beside the truffle in the box.The first time we made lov
Dear Emma,The first time we met I wanted to kiss you. I knew I couldn’t. I knew it was stepping across a line both personally and professionally, but still, I couldn’t deny the attraction I felt.Our relationship has had an unconventional start, a bit of a rocky middle, and an absolutely appalling ending, but there were some real high points along the way. Let me remind you of how good it was between us and how good it could be again.Do you remember our first kiss? I don’t think I will ever forget it. I thought I knew what I was getting myself in for when I leaned down to brush my lips across yours, but I was a fool. You were so much more than I ever thought I would ever experience. You took my breath away and I lost a little bit of my heart to you at that moment.If it meant as much to you as it did to me, meet me there at the place where we first kissed.Jonathon.Emma could feel the wetness on her cheeks and she sniffed as she wiped at the tears. “Well?” Cassie asked, rocking o
It was the first Saturday morning Emma could ever remember that had the three of them sitting around the kitchen table eating pancakes and laughing. What would have been a simple, family Saturday morning ritual for some was something out of a fairy tale for Emma. She knew they were a long way from being a happy family, there was still a lot of hurt to navigate and broken trust to overcome, but it was a start and for once in her life, she was willing to just go with it. On this day, Devi was back to the woman she vaguely remembered from before Tom died and Emma wanted to soak it up and memorize it. From pancakes, they’d gone to gardening. Emma shared her plans with Devi and Kirra. She would let the lease go on her flat and move back in here permanently. It meant she would be on hand if Devi needed her and hopefully give some stability for Kirra’s final year of school. After she graduated and went off to uni, Emma could look at what would happen next. They all agreed that if they were
Emma wanted to believe her, but it was tempting to turn away and close her heart off so she couldn’t be hurt again. Except it would hurt anyway. If there was one thing she learned through this whole saga with Jonathon it was that closing your heart off to others was a mistake. You ended up hurting everyone that way, not least of all yourself. She put her arm around Devi and hugged her. “Good for you mum,” she said.Jonathon worked all night and most of the day. He tried calling Emma but when she didn’t pick up or reply to his texts after the first twenty or so, he gave up. What he had to say needed to be said in person anyway. Inspired by the woman he had fallen irrevocably in love with, he had spent the night holed up in his test kitchen creating the perfect set of truffles. Anybody could buy a box of chocolates or a bunch of flowers but only he could create an entire set of truffles that spelled out just how much he loved her and how much she had impacted his life. He had words
Kirra said when Emma finally made it home. Emma had been wandering around the city trying to come to terms with what all this meant for her life going forward. She had made some hard decisions, but she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It hadn’t helped with the pain in her chest where her heart was currently crumbling away to dust, but at least she knew that she wasn’t going to end up like her mother just because she had fallen in love. Life was always going to throw her curve balls and she just learned something about herself. Despite her previous belief, she was actually strong enough to withstand them, even swing the bat at them, and make the best out of a bad situation. “Hey, yourself,” she said, sitting at the table opposite Kirra. “Where’s Zoë?” “She had to go and run some errands.” “Where’s mum?” Kirra bit her lip and her eyes teared up. “I don’t know.” “She’s not here?” Emma asked, sitting up straighter and leaning forward. “When I got home, Z