A Dom is Forever (Masters and Mercenaries #3)(77)

Such a lie and she was still a coward. The right answer was that she’d fallen in love with him, that he’d brought out an Avery she really wanted to be. She liked herself when she was around him. She felt powerful and strong when she wasn’t giving in to her insecurity. She adored him.

But she didn’t say it because she was deathly scared about the silence that would likely follow that particular declaration.

“You’re enjoying yourself? I guess I should have expected that. Well, I’m glad to hear it.” He didn’t sound glad. He sounded a little angry.

“What did I do wrong?”

His face cleared. He looked down at her with the polite blank mask she hated. She would rather he yelled at her than stared at her like she was a stranger and there was nothing between them. “Nothing, baby. Nothing at all. Come on. Let’s get the punishment portion of the evening done so we can move on to something you’ll enjoy.”

She followed him wondering all the while exactly what she’d said to put that look on his face.




Ten minutes later, she swallowed as she looked at the spanking bench Alex had directed them to. It was an oddly shaped thing with a long centerpiece that sloped down toward the head and four smaller padded arms and legs.

“I’m going to allow you to keep your clothes on this time. You can keep both the corset and the thong. I’ll work around them,” Lee said, sounding like he was being particularly magnanimous.

Her backside was going to be in the air and that teeny tiny piece of butt floss wasn’t going to cover an inch of it. Her big old cheeks would be right there for all the world to see.

She glanced over and saw Alex grinning a little. What was that about?

“Yes, love, he’s excited about watching you get your ass whipped because it means he gets a view of that juicy butt. He’s looking forward to it, and I’m thinking about tearing his eyes out.” Lee gave his friend a stare that would have caused Avery to run, but Alex just shrugged and kept his hand on Eve’s hair. The sub was back in her submissive position, but only after Alex had reminded her. The minute they had gotten to their destination, Alex had put a hand out as though that was their signal. She’d glared at him, too, so it wasn’t so surprising Lee’s stare hadn’t worked. Alex seemed to let it just flow right off his back.

Alex thought he would enjoy seeing her backside? She kind of wanted to ask but decided that would probably set Lee off. He hadn’t liked her saying something bad about herself. It was what had gotten her into this position in the first place.

He was doing this for her, she realized suddenly. She’d questioned her own desirability, and now he was putting her on display not for his pride, but for hers.

Her insecurity dropped away, and she looked up at the man who seemed determined to give her everything. “Will you help me get on the bench? I might fall.”

A smile lit his face. That pleased him. Helping her pleased him. Over the course of their time together, he’d gotten her into the habit of reaching for him. He held a hand out, allowing himself to be the balance as she lowered herself to the bench. It was thickly padded, but her breasts were bound and it seemed like the bench was meant to split them up in order to assure her comfort.

She would be precariously balanced with the corset on. She tried it and felt a little like a balloon trying to balance on a toothpick. Darn it. He’d said he was allowing her to keep her clothes, not that he was demanding it. He was making her choose. Safety and comfort over her own insecurity.

“Is something wrong?” Lee asked, his voice rising in anticipation.

She frowned. He knew exactly what was wrong, the bastard. He’d spent a week helping her to learn how to let go so she could experience pleasure at its fullest and now he was testing her. What side of Avery would win, he was likely wondering. The one who was afraid to show her body off to a bunch of people who really didn’t matter or the sexy thing who wanted her pleasure and to please her Master? If she kept the corset on, she might be able to save her pride, but she would just be enduring the experience until she could get back up. Or she could do what she’d come here to do. She could explore and figure out where she wanted to be.

She managed to sit back up, well aware everyone was waiting on her. “Sir, can I please take the corset off? I won’t be able to concentrate on the sensation if I’m worried about my balance.”

He stared down at her, one eyebrow arching. “It’s going to make your boobs hang, you understand that?”

She had large breasts and they would hang like pendulums off the sides of the bench. They wouldn’t be perky and petite, but if he wanted perky and petite, then he wouldn’t be here with her. If he needed small, lovely breasts to get him hot, he should not have thought about asking her to be his sub. He liked her breasts. He touched them all the time. He couldn’t seem to wait to get his mouth on them. That was what she needed to think about, not what anyone else would see. “I think you’ll like watching them sway, Sir.”

A brilliant smile crossed his face banishing the distant Dom and bringing back the man who cuddled close to her at night. “The girl learns. Come here and let me get that off you.”

His hands made quick work of the corset, much faster than Eve had gotten her into it. Her breasts swung free, and she could breathe again. And she was more than half naked in front of a crowd. Liam handed the corset off to Alex, and Avery looked around the space. They’d seemed to be alone, but now at least twenty people were standing around ready to watch the scene, including Lee’s big blond friend Ian. He was looking at her boobs, and he didn’t look like he was about to barf. “Where did they come from?”