Playing Hard to Master (Masters Unleashed 2)

She could come to love him someday.

Wait.

She froze. Her heart pounded in her ears.

Did thinking she could love someone mean she already did?

“Come on.” He rose from the hot tub, water cascading down his back and legs. “I brought something with me I want to play with again.”

At the table, he dug into a small bag she hadn’t noticed before. Whatever it was, she was game. Curious and playful now, she left the hot tub to get a closer look.

When he turned around, he held up the belled nipple clamps they’d used last time they were in this room, and smiled.

She knew her eyes widened. Not only because she felt it happen, but she could tell by the satisfied look on Ambrose’s face. Why did Doms enjoy shocking their subs so much?

But nipple clamps? With her skin all hot and vulnerable? Fuck no. And her period just ended, which meant her breasts were still sensitive and sore.

By the look in his eye, she could tell he was undeterred. Backing away, she slowly shook her head.

He nodded and grinned, moving toward her.

Instinct made her fling her arms over her breasts. He laughed, evil and maniacal. A second later, he was on top of her. He clutched tight onto her upper arms and panic hit.

For some reason, all she could think was get away. The idea of those things on her nipples . . . She shuddered. She couldn’t handle it. Not today.

So she ran.

She caught a confused look on his face just before she turned the corner into the bathroom and locked the door.

Panting, she leaned up against the door.

Shit. What was she doing? Why did she run? It was a game she’d played before, sure, but it was usually mutual and for fun. She had just run because she’d been . . . scared.

Was he going to be pissed?

As if on cue, he boomed from outside the door, “Everly, I’m going to retrieve a few things upstairs.”

She gulped.

“When I come back down, you’d better be waiting in the living room for me.”

Okay, that didn’t sound too bad. Maybe he was just getting them warm clothes.

“If I have to wait for you, your punishment will be worse, so I suggest you get your ass out here.”

Crap. Biting her lip, she paced the bathroom a few times. They’d only had funishment so far, not actual, real punishment. Unless the strap incident counted. How bad would it be? Her stomach sank even as her clit tingled with excitement.

God, what was wrong with her? Ambrose wasn’t a Dom to be fucked with, and she’d just pissed him off. This was no time to be horny. Yet she was.

But staying in the bathroom would only end up worse for her. She just had to suck it up, walk out, and deal with whatever came.

When she heard his footsteps move up the stairs, she opened the door and scuttled to the living room. Thinking she’d better look pretty damned sorry, she took off her wet panties and knelt on the ground in front of the fireplace.

The heat from it brought her attention to the fact that he’d turned it on. Probably for her. At least he cared enough to do that. Maybe she wasn’t in too much trouble.

He appeared a few moments later, holding a wooden hairbrush at his side.

Fuck. She hated wooden implements. Floggers and crops and canes were so much more fun. Her gaze stayed on the brush, and she whined.