“You"ve never done this before.”

“No, ma"am. But I"ve had it done to me.”

“All right.” Anwyn unpinned her hair, let it tumble down her back until it caressed her hips.

She shook it out, threading her fingers through it, and felt Gideon"s hands pass over it, a quick tug. But when she glanced back at him he was unbuckling his belt, the picture of obedience.

An illusion, she was sure. “Then you should know you ease in. Let him relax, and I"ll help him get that way.”

“I"ll be fine,” Gideon grumbled. Anwyn pivoted on her heel. With unerring direction, she closed her hand over his testicles in the slacks. They were a little snug, because though Gideon had a whipcord musculature she wanted to feed, it still had more Irish brawler bulk to it than Daegan"s graceful physique.

“That"s enough,” she said softly, looking up at him. “It"s time for you to listen, and be still, and obey your Mistress. Do you understand?”

There it was, that quiver in the muscles her senses were fine-tuned to detect. She"d been so gun-shy of doing this, but all of a sudden, she knew what she wanted and how she wanted it.

She was demanding it from him. She wouldn"t hurt him. Brian was here, and it was going to be okay. She could be the Mistress she"d been aching to be to him for the past few weeks.

His gaze held hers for a long moment; then he gave her a nod.

“All right, then. Unbutton my blouse, the first three buttons.” She kept her hand on him through the slacks, kneading the organ that was lengthening, hardening there, indulging and amusing herself as Brian approached.

Gideon complied, his large fingers slipping the small pearlescent buttons. Brian was there with the sensors, but Gideon closed a hand on her slim wrist, drawing her attention. “Allow me?”

He"d done it before, knew where Brian needed them to go. She knew Gideon preferred to be the one touching her. It teased her mind, how she had a servant and a vampire who were equally territorial, in different ways. But she was of a mind to rub the fur of this predator the wrong way, drive up his reaction even more.

“Not this time,” she murmured. “You just watch. Make sure he puts them in all the right places.”

Temple, heart, throat, pulse points, back. Brian"s touch was gentle, and though he didn"t linger, Gideon"s attention stayed locked on the movement of the scientist"s hands. Over her breasts, down the back of her shirt where Brian"s fingers slid along her shoulder blades to find the right point. Her throat. Gideon"s gaze flared as she lifted her chin. It was the one place that Brian did linger, the vampire in him too strong to maintain his professionalism. It was just a slight caress along her carotid, but Gideon registered it. When his jaw tightened, she read the reason for his wariness. Sometimes older vampires took advantage of a fledgling. However, he held his silence, mainly because Brian"s hands slipped away then, the task done.

The adhesive was strong, such that the sensors usually took skin when they were removed, unless they did it slowly. It caused more pain that way, but she could handle pain. She didn"t want something like a dislodged sensor interfering with the next few moments.

In the past, wearing the tiny pads had diminished her shields, her self-confidence. It was a reminder that she was a victim, something sick and in need of care, protection. But she was in her element now and refused to be pulled from it. Gideon had continued to hold her wrist in that loose grasp as Brian did his task, but now she removed herself from her servant and indicated she wanted him to finish undressing. Turning on her heel, she saw Debra was adjusting the strap-on harness. The young woman bit her lip as the clitoral stimulator rubbed against her already aroused body. Brian was setting up his equipment, but she noticed his eyes kept cutting over to his servant. Everyone in the room was aroused, and that arousal was likely to get even more intense very shortly.

It reminded her of her dream, all the things her vampire senses gave her that she hadn"t had before. The power and pleasure building in the room was a heated wave, and she closed her eyes, riding on it, the different scents, soft breaths, shifting of bodies. With the possible exception of Brian, everyone in the room was facing something they"d never done before.

She"d certainly orchestrated acts like this before, but never as a vampire. The fear returned briefly, the flash of Gideon"s bloodied skull, his glazing eyes. She did the exercise she often used before a session. Several deep breaths, held, then let out slowly, centering herself, making herself acutely aware of everything in the room. In fact, when she was in this mode, there was no Anwyn. She was the elemental directing events, no thought upon herself at all, simply guided by instinct, sensation and pleasure.

Aware of Gideon"s attention and Debra"s, waiting for further instruction, she reached under her skirt, wriggled out of her panties and let them fall. Stepped out of her heels and left those delicate female items in a pile as she moved to the roomy couch and lay down, propping her upper body on the array of cushions there. She eased the skirt up until it was high on her thighs, but would not reveal anything until he positioned himself between her legs. She would take him naked, while he would have only the sense of her under her clothes, in whatever way she allowed him to touch her.

Yet she knew there were times this was even more erotic to the male mind. Breasts cradled in lace, a half-unbuttoned blouse enhancing the cleavage, the crescent of the curves. A length of thigh, disappearing into dark fabric inches before the hip or buttock was revealed. Her bare feet pressed to the sofa cushions.

“Come here, Gideon.” She stretched out a hand.

He was high and hard, his cock nearly brushing his belly. He hadn"t looked toward Brian at all. In fact, his body had stayed at a canted angle to him, a defensive, belligerent posture. In his mind she saw his trepidation that she would push it, try to antagonize him in some way with Brian"s presence, but she had no intention of doing that. Not this time.

He moved the several steps to her and she closed her hand on his forearm as he braced it on the sofa next to her hip. When he put his knee on the couch between hers, she gripped the other forearm, his hand now holding the top of the couch. The bite of her nails stopped his forward motion, a reminder. His thick lashes rose, revealing the dark blue eyes. “Ask me, Gideon.”

“Let me inside you, Mistress.”

“Say it the way you"re thinking it.”

“Let me fuck you.” His lips were pressed together hard, his gaze locked on her so securely she knew it was a deliberate effort not to look toward Brian.

It’s just us, angry man. You and me, and Debra. Brian will watch. That’s all.

Gideon would react violently if Brian touched him, yet he had an overwhelming desire to please her. He was afraid she was going to let Brian do something to him, and he would have to disappoint her, refuse her, because he couldn"t tolerate that. He was castigating himself for having limits, even as he knew he wouldn"t budge on those limits. Another reminder to him that he wouldn"t be her servant forever, because a vampire"s servant couldn"t have limits.

She read that swirl of thoughts, realized he was struggling with that cloud over their relationship, just as she was, but she decided she wouldn"t allow that conflict to affect this moment. Laying her hands on his jaw, she brought his gaze to her face.

You cannot disappoint me in this, Gideon. Give yourself to me and Debra, and let your mind go. Simply be mine, and let me handle everything else. I promise Brian will not touch you.

He nodded, and she lifted up enough to brush her lips over his, holding his face steady so she controlled the movement. As she did, she angled her hips, brushed the edge of her gathered skirt against his cock. She could feel the heat of it emanating toward what it wanted most.

Lying back on the couch again, she reached down, gripped him. His lips pressed together, those fine muscles quivering in reaction and barely leashed restraint that only drove her own desires higher. “Keep your hands on the couch where you have them,” she commanded, watching his face tighten further as she levered his cock downward, fitted the head in the wet and welcoming gateway of her sex. Contracting her stomach muscles, she drew him in, lifting her hips to slide up his length, then back down again, her body rolling with the motion.

It drew his hungry gaze to her breasts, thrusting up against her blouse, the roll of her abdomen and the rock of her hips. She parted her lips, let out a sigh as his thick length filled her, creating unspeakable pleasure that only heightened his need to take over as he saw it in her face, felt it from her body. But though the leash of restraint was taut, he didn"t try to yank it away. Not yet. And she wondered if he knew, intuitively, how that fired her own need to raging.

“Debra,” she said. “Please join us.”

Debra glanced at Brian. She"d moved to stand next to him, lubricating herself with the oil Gideon had left on the table. Brian was watching her glistening hands work the shaft. Now he picked up a towel, took each of her hands and wiped them clean. Reaching down, he caught two fingers in the top strap of the harness, tugged it, working the clit stimulator against her.

Her lips parted, her hand closing over his biceps for balance.

“You heard the Mistress,” the scientist said, low. “Do as she commands.” Debra nodded, moved toward Anwyn and Gideon. Anwyn knew that walking in a strap-on for the first time could be a very powerful experience, and she enjoyed seeing the pleasure and wonder cross Debra"s face as she adjusted her pace accordingly.

Gideon had turned his head, but now Anwyn directed his eyes back down. “Keep your attention here.” She placed her fingers at her collarbone, ran them down her sternum, into the folds of her shirt. “Don"t look up until I say you can.”

Do you want me to bark and roll over, too?

We might play fetch later, if you’re very good. Curling her hand in his hair, she tugged, not gently. He held his position, enduring the discomfort, his blue eyes intently studying the rise of her breasts, the valley in between. He was a breast man, she knew, and he liked hers exceedingly well. He"d quickly learned her ability to read his mind could be turned against her, so that he showed her in painstaking detail how he would run his tongue down that valley, tease in between, scrape the pale skin with the rough shadow of his beard, move over to take the nipple deep, suckle her hard . . .