the same moment he set down the beer.
He jumped, nearly toppling the can from the end table, and gave a startled curse. He turned his head toward her, his brows raised above widened eyes. The shaft of man-meat beneath her hand filled with gratifying speed. She heard the crackle-pop of his fingers denting the aluminum as he grabbed to keep it from falling.
Annabel ran her fingertips along the turgid length that ridged the crotch of his casual summer slacks. Long, hard, wide, the feel of it brought a wave of longing that nearly sent her reeling...onto her back. She sighed with longing, the sound as the movie playing on the big-screen TV muffled it.
She played her nails against the zipper's metallic teeth. A curl of longing bloomed inside her womb.
He filled more, pressing against his clothing's confinement. When she cupped his balls, Zach made a sound that was either a grunt or a choked-off moan. The throttled sound sizzled along her nerves like a stroke of lightning.
"What are you doing, girl?"
Arousal freighted his voice. She fluttered her eyelashes at him.
"Really? You can't tell?"
He sighed. "Annabel..."
"Building trust, remember? I'm exploring."
"Exploring my cock is building trust?"
"Oh, yeah," she said, with a purr in her voice. "Last night, you didn't come. I'm exploring the depth of your resistance. I want to see if I can trust it."
He rolled his eyes, obviously disbelieving the lie, but only said, "Fine."
She might have been pissed with the Mr. Domly-Dom attitude, except the edges of his mouth curled, as if he was trying not to smile. Oh, game on now, dude . By God, she would control this thing between them, whatever the hell it was.
She fondled his balls.
His fingers played a restless tune on the end table.
She traced abstract designs along the length of his ever-hardening cock.
His jaw tightened. A muscle flexed in his cheek.
She tightened her hands around his cocktip and teased the glans.
He sucked in a deep breath.
She brought her mouth to his ear and puffed her breath across his skin, which pebbled in response. "I'm wondering, Zach, how long you can resist me."
Zach reached up, took hold of her chin, and pulled her head away from his. The gray of his eyes had darkened into the color of thunderclouds.
"I accept your challenge," he said and used the remote to pause the movie.
* * * *
The gleam in Annabel's eyes amused Zach. He swallowed a chuckle and let her play her cards. That she believed she had a winning hand was obvious, but the truth was her fight for control was nothing more than another indication of her shattered trust.
Control wasn't a magic pill against emotional trauma, as any naturally dominant participant of the Owner/property dynamic could attest to. There was no immunity from heartache. There was only the courage to try again...and again when necessary.
Annabel had the courage. She simply hadn't chosen to again take that chance. Not yet, at any rate. And what had gone on between her and Jeremy? The brother he knew wasn't a sadist, but there were questions unanswered, actions unexplained, and toxic repercussions only compounded the damage.
" A question of financial submission ," said Seth's voice in his memory. " The cards were in her name ."
A discussion for another place and time, he concluded. Right now, he would enjoy this game. Her sweet attempts to manage their sexual dynamic couldn't hide her desire to be found pleasing. That was the truth of a slave's nature. Her heart beat with a need to belong, which would easily be developed into a slave's devotion. If she had the right trainer, that is.
Victory filled her smile as he rocked into her touch and arched into her hand. The taste of power was on her tongue and knowing Annabel, she wouldn't give it up easily. He would take it from her, of course, but the challenge was how to do that without crushing her spirit, betraying her trust, and driving her back into her shell.
Hell of a task, but he was the Marine to do it.
He jumped, nearly toppling the can from the end table, and gave a startled curse. He turned his head toward her, his brows raised above widened eyes. The shaft of man-meat beneath her hand filled with gratifying speed. She heard the crackle-pop of his fingers denting the aluminum as he grabbed to keep it from falling.
Annabel ran her fingertips along the turgid length that ridged the crotch of his casual summer slacks. Long, hard, wide, the feel of it brought a wave of longing that nearly sent her reeling...onto her back. She sighed with longing, the sound as the movie playing on the big-screen TV muffled it.
She played her nails against the zipper's metallic teeth. A curl of longing bloomed inside her womb.
He filled more, pressing against his clothing's confinement. When she cupped his balls, Zach made a sound that was either a grunt or a choked-off moan. The throttled sound sizzled along her nerves like a stroke of lightning.
"What are you doing, girl?"
Arousal freighted his voice. She fluttered her eyelashes at him.
"Really? You can't tell?"
He sighed. "Annabel..."
"Building trust, remember? I'm exploring."
"Exploring my cock is building trust?"
"Oh, yeah," she said, with a purr in her voice. "Last night, you didn't come. I'm exploring the depth of your resistance. I want to see if I can trust it."
He rolled his eyes, obviously disbelieving the lie, but only said, "Fine."
She might have been pissed with the Mr. Domly-Dom attitude, except the edges of his mouth curled, as if he was trying not to smile. Oh, game on now, dude . By God, she would control this thing between them, whatever the hell it was.
She fondled his balls.
His fingers played a restless tune on the end table.
She traced abstract designs along the length of his ever-hardening cock.
His jaw tightened. A muscle flexed in his cheek.
She tightened her hands around his cocktip and teased the glans.
He sucked in a deep breath.
She brought her mouth to his ear and puffed her breath across his skin, which pebbled in response. "I'm wondering, Zach, how long you can resist me."
Zach reached up, took hold of her chin, and pulled her head away from his. The gray of his eyes had darkened into the color of thunderclouds.
"I accept your challenge," he said and used the remote to pause the movie.
* * * *
The gleam in Annabel's eyes amused Zach. He swallowed a chuckle and let her play her cards. That she believed she had a winning hand was obvious, but the truth was her fight for control was nothing more than another indication of her shattered trust.
Control wasn't a magic pill against emotional trauma, as any naturally dominant participant of the Owner/property dynamic could attest to. There was no immunity from heartache. There was only the courage to try again...and again when necessary.
Annabel had the courage. She simply hadn't chosen to again take that chance. Not yet, at any rate. And what had gone on between her and Jeremy? The brother he knew wasn't a sadist, but there were questions unanswered, actions unexplained, and toxic repercussions only compounded the damage.
" A question of financial submission ," said Seth's voice in his memory. " The cards were in her name ."
A discussion for another place and time, he concluded. Right now, he would enjoy this game. Her sweet attempts to manage their sexual dynamic couldn't hide her desire to be found pleasing. That was the truth of a slave's nature. Her heart beat with a need to belong, which would easily be developed into a slave's devotion. If she had the right trainer, that is.
Victory filled her smile as he rocked into her touch and arched into her hand. The taste of power was on her tongue and knowing Annabel, she wouldn't give it up easily. He would take it from her, of course, but the challenge was how to do that without crushing her spirit, betraying her trust, and driving her back into her shell.
Hell of a task, but he was the Marine to do it.
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