At His Pleasure: Addie Learns the Ropes (11 page)

Chapter Eighteen

The next night, I was ready.

I took as many naps as I could during the day—by this point mom was used to me sulking away in my room. I made a big pot of coffee at nine o’clock and set it on my bedside table, taking sips as I counted the hours and minutes.

To tell the truth, I was so on edge that I wasn’t sure that I even needed the coffee, but I took every precaution. If Joe was here tonight, I would be ready for him. And if he wasn’t, I was going to stay awake every night and sleep during the day until he came back and I got his attention. I would do whatever I had to do.

I put on a pair of jeans and a light tank top and sat on my bed, hugging my pillow and sipping my coffee. Anything could happen tonight.

The lights went down in the rest of the house and outside, the street grew darker as the streetlights came on. I got up and pulled a chair up to the window, wide awake and on alert.

The hours passed, until my back was aching from sitting on the hard chair, and my eyes were sore from watching the dark street. I got up from my chair and grabbed the blanket from off my bed, wrapping myself in the soft, warm cotton.

Part of me felt totally ridiculous, like I was some sort of princess waiting for my prince charming. But if there was a chance that I could see him...it would all be worth it.

I braided my hair, idle and bored. When I finished the French braid, I happened to glance outside and jumped out of my chair.

There it was: Joe’s sleek black car.

I tried to calm my racing heart as I threw aside the blanket and opened the window. He had to know where to find me—I flicked on the lamp next to my bed and darted back to the window.

Grabbing a yellow silk scarf—a memento I’d managed to save from Miami—I hung out of my window again and waved it back and forth. I gritted my teeth, praying that he’d see me.

And he did.

Joe got out of his car and waved back at me—it was dark but I could swear that he was smiling at me. He glanced around and crossed the street, silently stepping over the lawn until he was under my window.

“Hey, missy!” He whispered.

“Joe!” I couldn’t stop smiling. I’d never been so happy to see him, my unlikely savior.

“Can you come down?”

I shook my head. “No,” I whispered. “Joe, my parents are keeping me here. They’re not letting me leave.”

He blinked up at me. “Do you have a phone or something? Or some way of getting down?”

“No, I don’t think so,” I whispered. “Let me think for a minute.”

I looked around. There were no stairs on this side of the house. The only way down to the ground was the huge tree that grew just outside my window.

Did I dare?

“I’m coming down,” I mouthed to him, and slid a leg outside my window.

“Miss,” I heard him say. “I don’t know if that’s very safe.”

I ignored him. Instead, I swung my other leg over the ledge and sat on the windowsill, contemplating how I could get to the tree. There was a broad branch that hung just a few inches away. I eyed it. Could it hold my weight?

Only one way to find out.

I eased a foot over onto the branch, testing its strength. I exhaled. It seemed to hold. Now I leaned forward and put my weight on it, balancing carefully. I had one foot on my windowsill, and one foot on the tree. I reached up and grabbed another thinner branch above me, gasping slightly as I felt it wiggle in my hand.

Getting my balance again, I lifted my other foot off the ledge. Now I was standing on the tree, my breathing shallow, my hands clinging to the skinny branch over my head.

“Careful,” I heard Joe mumble from below. “Careful, miss!”

I gathered my courage and inched towards the trunk of the tree, feeling the branch droop underneath me.

Just another two feet. I can do this, I can I can I can…

Suddenly, I heard a low, ominous crack beneath me.
Oh no.
I had to move fast.

Half stumbling, I dashed towards the trunk and jumped—

And landed in the nest of branches at the center of the tree, just as the branch groaned and cracked, swinging down and hanging by its bark against the trunk. I hugged a thick bough, praying that no one inside the house had heard the noise.

I glanced down at Joe and waved, my hand shaking. He waved back and shook his head in amazement. Now I had to get the rest of the way down.

I slowly shimmied down the tree, my nerves running high. I could feel the rough bark tearing the soft skin of my hands as I eased my way down. The tree left long scratches on my neck and my arms. I gritted my teeth and tightened my grip. This was it. I was almost there…

Only four feet to go. My left foot found a thick knot below me and I jammed my toes into it, and slowly lowered myself down. The muscles in my arms and shoulders burned like fire, but I was running on adrenaline now.
Steady, steady…

I slipped. I fell down, flailing, until I landed against something—
no, someone
—solid and strong. Joe had caught me in his arms, the catch knocking us both breathless.

He carefully set me down on the lawn, giving me his arm to help me up. I was trembling all over now, partly from the fall and partly from the exhilaration of being free.

“Sweet mother of Christ,” he muttered. “I shoulda known you were some kinda daredevil.”

I managed a shaky smile. “Thanks, Joe,” I whispered. My throat tightened. “Can you...will you take me to Mr. Banks?”

He offered me his arm again. “Of course, miss,” he replied. “That’s why he sent me.”

* * * *

The ride seemed to take forever. I had memorized every twisting street and corner and streetlight, but it seemed to me that time was moving in slow motion. Joe was silent, seeing how nervous I was. I was grateful for that...I was in no condition to chat. All my thoughts were fixed on what was going to happened once I arrived at Mr. Banks’s mansion.

I sat up straight when we approached the immense house, rising up behind thick bamboo hedges. I’d been replaying this moment in my head for days.

The gate opened and Joe pulled up to the front door, just like he used to when I first started making my nightly visits to Mr. Banks.
I can’t believe how much has changed
, I thought to myself.
But I guess I was kind of in love with him even then...I just didn’t know it yet.

The car stopped and Joe rushed to open my door for me, extending a hand to help me out like I was a fragile little doll. A princess.

“There you are, miss,” he said, letting go. “I’ll be here if you need a ride. Anywhere, anytime.”

I smiled at him. “Thanks Joe,” I said. “You saved my life—thank you.”

I turned to the door. It opened as if it was magic.

I took a deep breath and stood up straight.

What was going to happen next?

* * * *

The hallway was as dark as it ever was. In a way it was just as I remembered it—deep brown wood, polished to a high shine—sleek and modern and cold.

There was only one place he could be. And as always...my master let me come to him.

I walked towards his study, my footsteps echoing off the walls. I had waited so long to see him, so it was strange how I felt myself slowing down as I inched closer. My mind was in turmoil. There was so much to say, so much to confess...where could I even begin?

Finally, I was there. I laid a hand against the door and pushed it open. Inside, the fire was roaring, like it always seemed to be...and Mr. Banks was sitting in his luxurious wingback chair, his eyes fixed on me.

I closed the door behind me. I felt as shy as I did that night I came here, full of daring, dressed in my short skirt and tiny tube top. All my boldness evaporated the minute he laid eyes on me…

“Mr. Banks,” I finally said, feeling my cheeks color like I was a fresh, young schoolgirl. “I—”

“Come here, Addie,” he ordered, his voice low and stern.

As if hypnotized, I obeyed. I stopped in front of him, feeling a familiar heat between my legs as his gaze raked over me.

“Kneel.” His eyes were fiery but his face was neutral. I had a feeling that this was a test. He wanted to know where I stood...and whether my training still held.

I held still for a moment, but I gave in, my knees bending until I was kneeling in front of him like I had done so many times in the past.

“Beautiful Addie,” he murmured, after a moment of contemplation. When I dared to lift my gaze his eyes were a shade less dark. By my obedience he knew that I was his...and that nothing had changed in the days that we had spent apart.

Except of course things
had
changed. Even if he didn’t know it just yet. I was thinking about how I could bring up what had happened...how to explain myself. My thoughts were a mess, and just when I was about to speak he silenced me with a kiss.

It was a deep, hot, knowing kiss. There was nothing shy or hesitant about it. His tongue pushed my lips apart, dipping into my mouth, rolling against my tongue. I felt dizzy as he kissed me, but melted into him, a soft desperate mew escaping my lips.

“You don’t know how badly I wanted that,” he murmured against me, out of breath. “The things you’ve done to my goddamn sanity, Adeline Curtis…”

He kissed me again, his hands cupping my face. He rose up and pulled me up with him, his hands sliding over my body. I could already feel my nipples hardening. I couldn’t even remember what I wanted to say—something more urgent and primal was taking over.

He tugged down my top until the swollen mounds of my breasts fell out. He pushed them together with his burning hot hands and licked at the nipples until they were gleaming wet in the firelight.

“Oh…” I clenched my hands in his hair, feeling him suckle, his lips tight around the hard buds. As he worked at my nipples his hands squeezed and caressed my breasts, groping them like he couldn’t get enough.

A moment later he was pulling the tank off me and tossing it away. He ripped off his shirt and pulled me to him and it was hot flesh against hot skin. Oh, it was so, so good, my wet pink nipples making wet tracks across his chest.

“My little Addie,” he muttered, his hands roaming my bare back, my waist, my hips. “God, you’re even sexier than I remember.” He buried his lips in the crook of my neck and a low groan slipped out from my throat.

He was working at my jeans now, unbuttoning them and pushing them down over my thighs. Bolder than ever, he slid his hands into my panties, squeezing my ass cheeks. Finally he pushed my panties down too, and my creamy body was bare at last.

He pulled away for a moment to look at me, my mouth swelling from his kisses, my breasts heavy and full, my pussy covered by a dusting of golden fuzz. He ran a finger in a straight line down my stomach, over my mound, brushing over my clit and parting my gleaming, puffy pink lips.

“Oh god,” I gasped, as my clit jumped at the contact. His finger dipped between my inner lips and paused at my slick opening.

“Did you miss me, Addie?” He pressed the finger in, testing me, feeling my tightness clench around him. “Did you miss
this
?” He pushed it all the way in.

I bucked my hips forward. “Yeah,” I gasped. “I missed it so much…I missed you...”

He took me in his arms and lowered me down to the floor, the luxurious rug brushing my sensitive back. “Then I’d better make it up to you,” he murmured, and lowered his head between my legs. I could feel his hot breath on my skin, and I gasped.

It was just his lips at first, grazing over my wet slit, the sensation like a soft tickle on my most sensitive flesh. He licked the delicate skin on the sides of my slit. Then he nuzzled into me, my swollen folds parting like a flower, the pressure of his mouth against me enough to set off a light throb through my pussy. I tipped my hips towards him, begging for more.

He wiggled his tongue into my slit, tasting my hot center. I could feel him rumbling with pleasure in his throat, the vibrations passing into my puss, setting me on fire. “Oh god…” I gasped. “So close...it’s so soon…”

The pressure of his tongue on my clit was perfect. He pushed his fingers back inside me now, thrusting so fast and so right. It was totally intoxicating, to feel him lapping at me.

I cupped my breasts in my hands, my thumbs rubbing my nipples, the twin sensations adding to the inevitable wave rising between my thighs. I stiffened and arched into his lips hard, my mouth going slack as I came.

I was crying out my pleasure, clutching my breasts so hard that they ached. He gave my puss a few long licks, savoring my salty tang on his tongue.

He pushed down his boxers as I lay there, quivering in the aftermath of his touch. I looked at him between my legs...his broad chest, the muscles flexing in the low light. His hands were back on me again and they were sliding all over my wet mound, smearing my cum over me, hungry and possessive.

He pushed my knees apart and touched the head of his cock to my lips, sliding it over my pussy, parting my folds lightly at first, mirroring what he had done with his tongue. I licked my dry lips. I knew what was about to happen, and I wanted it so bad that it hurt.