Her breath slipped out in a sigh as she caught his scent. She literally felt his energy enter her apartment, spread out, touch her. The bolt turned, the doorknob locked and the chain slid into place. Each metallic click twisted her tension even further. Suddenly, the throbbing in her clit was a fire. With one touch, he could set her off, all that banked sexual need recognizing that release was so close…but if it was his desire, he could also prolong it for hours.

He"d stopped at the archway to her dining nook. She could feel him assessing everything, how she"d followed his instructions. If she was braver, if she could believe in a future, she might have said, no matter how her voice shook, “Good evening, Master.” But she didn"t. She just waited.

When he moved, stopped behind her, her fingers flexed in their tangle at her lower back. He touched her hair, and she gasped, trying hard not to lean into his hand, but wanting to, more than she"d wanted to do anything her whole life. Her calves were now so slick with her juices she had to tense her thighs so she wouldn"t slide to one hip.

Above her knotted hands, something ticklish, soft, slid up her spine. Flowers. He let them spill over her shoulder so she could turn her face into that spray of wildflowers, a plethora of colors, textures, fragrances.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

The flowers slipped away, and she heard the whisper of them being laid on the tablecloth. Then his fingers slid over her spine. It was such a dizzying rush to feel that contact, it took her a moment to realize he"d unlocked the padlock to the waist chain.

“Lift your chin, keep your eyes down.”

That firm, even voice. Her pussy spasmed, hard, and she made a small whimper, even more desperate than what Max had heard. When he touched the collar, she spoke before she could stop herself.

“Please don"t.”

He stilled. “Please don"t what, Rachel?”

“Don"t take the collar off. Please.”

“I won"t. I"m taking everything else away though. No talking again until I give you permission.”

He unhooked the chain in front with a set of pliers, and it dropped into the vee of her lap. It glanced off the clit hood, making her jolt.

“Lean forward on your hands. Calf pose. Knees spread the same width.” The asana required a concave position for the back, like a sway-backed cow, but it also lifted the ass pertly in the air. With her knees spread out that way, he was seeing everything. He removed the chain from her waist and from between her buttocks, and then his fingers slid between her legs, cupped the clit piece and the clamp inside her labia that had held it in place, as well as kept her pussy open. She shuddered, but managed to hold her position. When he pulled it all away from her, leaving her in nothing but the collar, she moaned at the friction, her arms quivering.

What was he thinking? What had he thought, seeing her waiting for him as he"d commanded? Did he think she was beautiful and irresistible, as Dana had said? Was she going to really take herself into that insecure territory?

“Child"s pose. Frog modification.”

He"d straightened up now, and she dropped her ass down on her heels, spreading her knees so her upper body, her abdomen and breasts, pressed to the carpet along with her forehead. Her arms stretched forward, fingertips reaching.

“Grip the table leg, at the foot.”

As she did, he stroked the line of her spine. “That metal piece was so wet. Your clit was slippery as the inside of an oyster shell. You"ve been aroused all day, haven"t you?”

“Yes.”

“I"ve been hard all day, thinking about it. I want my dinner, but I want this first.” He slid his hand beneath her then, thumb pressing against her anus, his other fingers sliding through the slick lips of her pussy and settling over her clit. He stroked her with all five digits, sending an explosion of sensation through her.

“Oh…” She cried out, and yet he continued that methodical stroke as her body convulsed, trying so hard to hold the pose he"d demanded.

“This is my pussy, isn"t it, Rachel? I can demand anything I want from it. And I want it to come. Right now.”

Child"s pose was aptly named, because for this it made her as vulnerable and unprotected as a babe. In the folded position, she couldn"t move her lower body, except for those tiny, involuntary rocks of motion, and it made the power of that long-withheld climax all the more explosive. Her gaze inadvertently flitted to the clock. Seven-oh-two.

Two minutes since he"d arrived and she was…

Her mind lost the script, lost all sense of place and time as the climax detonated, exploded, literally ripped through her. The power of it was terrifying, overwhelming, eternal. Even the well-insulated walls couldn"t possibly muffle harsh screams like this, but she was beyond such things. She was a creature of pure flame, of gushing release.

His other hand was against her bare back, holding her down while those fingers worked her. When he shoved three of his fingers into her at the pinnacle of her climax, she wailed, thrown onto another crest, particularly when the fourth finger stayed at her clit and added a vibration of sensation at the right moment, when she thought she couldn"t take any more. She was wrong. She dropped her hips even lower between her spread and folded legs, grateful for the flexibility that let her push her clit even more eagerly into his touch. She let go of everything but the feeling, every part of her subsumed by what he was doing to her, unable to control the waves of incoherent cries, moans, whimpers and pleas that broke from her lips. He whispered to her, a rough male growl.

“That"s it, sweet girl. Come hard for me. Keep coming for me, keep screaming for me.”

She might not have blacked out as decisively as Dana had, but she was pretty sure she phased through three or four different planes of existence before she began spiraling down to earth. What had Ben said? Jon could catapult a woman straight over the Pearly Gates, right into Heaven. She was pretty sure she believed it, with every ounce of her soul. But she didn"t want to go to Heaven. Not if he wasn"t with her.

He had his arm around her waist, lifting her. She made an uncertain noise, not sure if she was capable of such a wide range of movement so soon, but he was relentless, straightening her up onto her knees, bringing her back against his body. He had her hips pulled into the vee of his thighs as he squatted behind her. She opened her eyes in time to see him lift his fingers to his mouth, suck her fluids from them.

Before she knew it, she"d twisted around and was straining up, had her mouth on his, those fingers between them, so she was tasting him and herself at the same time, licking him frenetically, licking his lips, tasting his tongue, wild and disoriented.

Cupping the back of her head, he took over, turning her all the way around on her knees and cinching her in to his hard body, kissing her senseless, taking away everything but pure, blissful compliance.

“That"s only the first time you"ll come for me tonight.” He lifted his head at last. As he shifted to a sitting position on the floor, holding her in his lap, he caught a finger beneath her collar, a sensual tug holding her in place now, reminding her of her manners when she would have strained toward him again.

She stared up at him. “I missed you.”

The serious mouth softened, though the fierce light in his eyes only grew brighter.

That sodalite color, so many versions of blue when lit by everything happening behind the intelligent, concentrated gaze. “Not anywhere near as much as I missed you. Matt said he thought I"d be willing to give Consolidated Electronics our whole damn company if it meant I could leave one second sooner. You"re gorgeous, Rachel Madison.

The picture you made when I came in…on your knees, waiting for your Master. My cock may have been hard all day thinking of you, but seeing you like that has made it ache so much it hurts. Can you feel it?”

It was under her ass, and it was taking all she had not to squirm and rub herself against it. It was thick steel, making her rapidly beating heart stay that way.

“I could help with that.” Swallowing, she swept her lashes down, her fingers curled in his shirt. She loved him in his suits, his tailored shirts and silk ties. It made her want to devour him. “You said you wanted me to wear the lipstick, so I could…mark you with it.”

“You"d like that, wouldn"t you?”

She nodded, barely able to contain her eagerness. “I"d be happy to do it for you now…before anything else.”

“Look at me then, and ask properly.”

He knew how to make things more difficult and intense at once. As she complied, her throat clogged at the sheer impact of meeting his gaze, so close and penetrating. Her fingers burrowed in his shirt front, and she was glad he hadn"t told her to remove her touch. “Please…let me suck you. Let me give you pleasure.”

“You do that, just by breathing. There"s a word missing though.” She lowered her gaze again. “I"m sorry… It"s difficult.” But she wanted to say it, so much…

“You"ll get your wish, but because of that omission, you only get to use your mouth.”

He stood, shifting her back to the floor onto folded knees. As he rose, she saw the line of his slacks stretched taut on his thighs, because of the strain his cock was putting on the fabric above. She swallowed. He held her hand for an additional moment, then gave it a squeeze and released it. Taking a seat at his place setting, he turned the chair so he was facing toward her. “Stand up, put your hands behind your back.” She did, conscious of how his gaze coursed over her legs, the tendons elongated in those high heels, the way they tilted her ass. “Now turn away from me and bend over.

Half-fold position. Keep your feet close together and put your hands on your calves.” When she did, he leaned forward, set his hands to her hips. A mewl of need broke from her lips as he fastened his mouth over her framed pussy, lapping away her climax, swirling deep into her channel, tasting her. The nerves were still vibrating, overstimulated, and it made her legs tremble on those teetering heels. He had to hold her fast. When he finally sat back, she was gasping.