Returning to Her Master

Much more than she had ever expected, Cassie met each hard thrust with acceptance, her body convulsing in spasm after spasm of pleasure so fast she couldn’t tell when one orgasm ended and the next began. The wall swam before her tear-filled vision as she relished the pleasure she remembered and had despaired of ever experiencing again.

Marc eased his grip on her hips, hoping she wouldn’t be sporting bruises there tomorrow. His senses reeled with the force of his climax and he blamed the last few celibate hours watching others for his unwanted response. Pulling out of her snug pussy brought reality crashing back.

“I need a drink,” he muttered, turning away from the look of sated pleasure on her face as she turned around, a look he had never forgotten. “Want anything?”

Cassie straightened her clothing and followed him into the gorgeous kitchen that had her salivating at the thought of baking in it.

“I’ll have a beer too,” she answered when he pulled one out of the stainless steel refrigerator. “Thank you.”

Taking the brew, she took a hefty swallow, working to get her still vibrating body and mixed emotions under control as she looked around his space. The open expanse of the den and kitchen appealed to her as did the floor-to-ceiling windows, hardwood floors, and the comfortable-looking leather sofas. Pretty paintings depicting different mountain scenes hung in artful display on one wall and drew her attention.

Needing to move and avoid his probing look a little longer, she walked up to them, admiring the artist’s talent. “These are lovely. Someone is very gifted.”

“Yes, she is. Morgan did those.”

“Morgan?”

“Jack’s fiancée. She’s the one you couldn’t have missed fucking the two men,” he clarified with deliberate bluntness, just to see her reaction. When she didn’t respond, just continued to peruse the paintings, he found himself needing to know what she thought of what she had seen. After all, she had fled from a similar situation before. “No comment, Cassie?”

Cassie turned back to face him, flinching at the closed, tense look on his face. “No, Marc, no comment. I didn’t come here to berate you for your lifestyle or to interfere with any relationships you have going.”

“Why exactly are you here? The last time we spoke, you told me not to contact you again.” Two years and he could still recall the way his gut wrenched upon hearing those words in her tearful voice.

Downing the rest of her beer, she padded back over to him and set the empty bottle on the counter. Hopping up on a stool, she winced at the pressure on her sore buttocks, doing her best to ignore his knowing smirk as she folded her arms and faced him across the countertop. Leaning against the kitchen island separating them, he let his beer dangle from his hand as he watched her out of steady, unreadable green eyes.

“That was a mistake in a long line of mistakes I made with you, the biggest one being that I jumped into a relationship too soon after that weekend, and I allowed it to go on longer than I should have. I ended it at the beginning of the year.” Rick had been nice, treated her well, and genuinely cared for her. But he wasn’t Marc, and discovering her needs were no longer satisfied with a vanilla man had been as upsetting as breaking off their six-month relationship.

“I’m sorry,” he replied, but she could tell he wasn’t, which gave her a sliver of hope.

“Are you really, Marc?” She needed something from him, just a crumb of encouragement that would prove she hadn’t uprooted her entire life and added to a long line of mistakes by moving out to Colorado in search of what she had a chance at once and wanted again.

Releasing an exasperated sigh, he ran a hand over his face, feeling the end-of-the-day stubble and then noticed the redness on Cassie’s cheeks. He once demanded honesty from her. He needed to give it also, even now, even though he didn’t want to. “Hell, no.”

Cassie smiled at him, relieved. “Me either. I know that sounds awful, and he’s a nice man, but he’s…” She stopped short from saying her ex wasn’t Marc. Too much information might have him turning her away instead of fucking her up against the wall again.

“Vanilla?” Marc figured that had to be a big part of what had gone in the relationship. Cassie had fled from the reality of her submissive nature, and from him. He suspected she hadn’t found it so easy to set aside.

“Yes, which just reinforced what I knew I could no longer hide from. I had more satisfying sex with you in three nights than I had with him in six months.” Her admission brought on another heated blush, but she promised herself she would be upfront about everything with Marc if he would give her another chance to explore her submissive side. “I think I logged on to your website at least once a week in the past few months, reassuring myself you were still here. I also researched the area, the towns around here, and the employment opportunities.”

When he raised a black brow, took a swig of his beer, and didn’t comment, she took a deep, fortifying breath and continued. “I don’t know if I told you or not, but I worked my way through college in a bakery. I’ve enjoyed teaching, but it’s not my first love. When I saw the ad and my offer for the bakery in Bear Creek was accepted, I turned in my resignation.”

Marc damn near dropped his beer at her stunning revelation. “You’re the one who bought Martha out?” His fondness for sweets from Martha’s bakery was well known.

“Yeah. Do you know the place?”

“I have intimate knowledge of everything Martha had made over the years.”

Cassie had forgotten nothing about him, including his sweet tooth and she’d hardly been able to believe her good fortune when she found the bakery up for sale. “I think I can appease your sweet tooth. It will give you a reason to come in to town to see me,” she hinted, feeling him out.

It seemed they were both floundering with uncertainty on where to go from here, Marc thought, unable to keep his eyes off her. He still couldn’t believe she was here, not only here, but here to be with him. He didn’t know how he felt about that, if he wanted to go there with her again or not. The remorse and pain of living with the knowledge his actions drove her away before they could see if they had something worth exploring besides great sex was something he never wanted to go through again.

Ignoring her comment, he stated with an abruptness that made her flinch, “I need to get back downstairs. It’s Morgan and Jack’s engagement party and they will wonder where I ran off to.”

“Morgan. Is she someone special to you?” She hated to ask, but she needed to know if she’d made a horrible mistake in coming here. The way his voice softened when he said the other woman’s name had the little green monster rearing its ugly head despite hearing of the woman’s engagement.

“Yes, but not like you mean. She and Jack are very much in love and committed to each other, and they’re both good friends.” He almost smiled at the relief on her face. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to her. You’ll like her.”

“Maybe I should head back to town. I don’t want to intrude on a private party.”