Bound to be Tested: Emergence, Book 3 (10 page)

She lifted her torso the inch she could, pleading with her body.

Jude finally exhaled and slid almost out of her before pressing back in. Again. Again. He moaned around each thrust, or maybe that was her.

When he leaned closer to her, and his chest brushed against her nipples, he spoke the one word she longed to hear, “Come.”

She shattered. There was no way to stop the tidal wave of emotion that swept through her body.

Months, years, of pent-up frustration all raced out of her at once, her entire body shaking with the pulsing of her pussy around his cock.

Home.

Chapter Nine

Jude stared down at the woman sleeping in his bed. She lay on her belly, her arms above her head, her gorgeous red hair spread across his pillow.

He’d climbed out of bed carefully, without waking her. She was exhausted after what he’d put her through last night.

He’d been harsh, but she’d needed to know how things were going to be under his direction.

Lori knew, if she remembered correctly. He wasn’t a Dom to be reckoned with.

But was she the same submissive woman he’d dreamed about night after night since he’d left her?

He’d never forget the look on her face when he’d told her he was leaving, that he didn’t want her anymore. It had been the single hardest thing he’d ever done in his life. And he’d done some very difficult tasks, both before and since.

He’d hurt her. Destroyed a piece of her. He knew he would never get that back. All he could do was hope she could find it in her heart to forgive him and let him back into her life.

She would be starving when she woke up, and he reluctantly turned to leave her in peace and start breakfast.

Coffee was first on his list. Until he swallowed the elixir, he was no good to anyone. He got the machine going and then turned on the burner to start frying bacon and eggs. He liked his submissive well fed. No one could keep up with his demands without enough energy.

When he had everything cooking, he stared out the kitchen window at the backyard. He’d barely thought about what happened to him yesterday in this same spot. Panic welled up inside him as he considered the possibility of someone being out there, lurking in the woods behind the house, waiting to stamp out his happiness.

Sweat beaded on his forehead at the unreasonable thought. There was no one out there this morning, any more than they’d been there yesterday. It was all in his head. Lack of sleep drove him to imagine things.

He set the spatula on the counter and grabbed the edge of the sink with both hands to steady himself.
Deep breaths, Jude. Shake this off
.

Even after spending several weeks in Washington, DC debriefing, he was no closer to chasing the images from his mind that consumed him every time he wasn’t busy doing something, anything. The staff at his debriefing center had mentioned PTSD many times in the weeks following his return. He’d rolled his eyes at them and pretended to be perfectly adjusted.

He was a Dom, dammit. Men at his level of command, both in and out of the military, didn’t let a little thing like post-traumatic stress get in the way of plowing forward with their lives.

Jude squeezed his eyes shut against the images in his mind and then blinked several times to adjust his gaze to the backyard again. Nothing out of place. That was good. As long as he wasn’t seeing things, he considered himself safe.

A phone pinged on the counter, jarring him from his self-pity. It belonged to Lori.

He turned the burner down, swiped the cell off the counter and headed back to the bedroom.

Lori was dragging herself to sit on the edge of the bed as he entered. “Hey, baby,” he whispered.

She turned to face him. “Is that coffee and bacon I smell?” She inhaled deeply.

“Yep. And your phone rang.” He held it out.

“Ugh.” Lori reached for it.

“Expecting bad news?”

She lifted her gaze to him. “What do you think? I didn’t exactly race over to tell Jason I was slipping back into your fold.”

“Oh.” Great. He’d nearly forgotten that hurdle for twelve hours.

Lori looked down at the text as the phone rang. “Yep.” She flopped back onto the bed and answered. “Jason.”

Jude watched her closely, padding over to her side as she grimaced into the phone.

“I know, I… Yes… Yes, I am… Jason, I’m a big girl… No, don’t… I’m fine…” Lori glanced at Jude and raised her eyebrows. Then she rolled her eyes. “I will… Okay… No, please, Jason… Okay. Fine. Give me an hour.” She moaned as she set the phone down next to her like it had a disease.

Jude reached for Lori, pulled her upright and sat next to her. He’d heard Jason screaming through the line. “He’s coming over, isn’t he?” he asked.

“Yep. It wasn’t as though I had a chance to talk him out of it.” She leaned back over the phone. “I need to text him the address.”

When she finished typing, he lifted her chin to meet her gaze. “I’m sorry.”

“For what, exactly? For leaving me? For putting me in this predicament where Jason is having a fit? For breaking up my perfectly good relationship with Margaret?”

He sucked in a breath. “Is that how you see it? Do you feel like I ruined your relationship?”

“Didn’t you?” She squirmed, trying to wiggle free of the grasp he had on her biceps. Finally she gave up and met his gaze again. “I was her Domme, Jude. That’s the only relationship we’ve had for a year. You destroyed that in one evening. I couldn’t even look at her straight after you took over my scene.”

“Are you mad?” He furrowed his brow.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But it’s weird, and I’m not surprised Jason is heading this way. He’s probably had a few words with Margaret too. They’re close.”

“Well, I’m sorry for all of the above. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you ever. It was totally unavoidable on my part.” That wasn’t entirely true. He didn’t have to be here right now. He could have stayed away, let Lori live her life. But once he’d gotten it in his head to return to her, he hadn’t been able to shake the idea. He needed her like his next breath. Probably more than he’d admitted to himself.

“You’ve said as much.” She wiggled from his grasp and scooted to get away. “I need to hurry. It wouldn’t be a good thing if I were naked when Jason arrives.” She eased onto the floor and padded toward her suitcase.

Jude stepped up behind her where she bent to rummage through her clothes. “No clothes in my house, Lori.” He couldn’t back down on that edict now. He’d seem weak.

She stood with an armful of clothing and spun around. “You’re kidding, right? You want me to meet Jason without clothes?”

“First of all, don’t use that tone with me. You know better. Second of all, you haven’t used one ounce of respect toward me since you woke up. And thirdly, I don’t want you to meet Jason at all right now, certainly not in my home, no.”

She looked at him with fire behind her eyes.

He held up a hand. “Hold on, baby. I didn’t say you couldn’t see him, just that I don’t like it. Put your clothes down. I’ll figure something out while you shower.” He nodded toward the bathroom. “Go on. And leave the door open.” He wouldn’t tolerate her taking any privacy. Lori turned toward the bathroom, dropping her armful of clothes on the suitcase in a huff. “Baby, you need to take a moment to think about your actions this morning. Surely you can remember what it was like under my roof. It hasn’t been that long. This disrespect will land you in an uncomfortable predicament for quite some time.”

She flinched when he finished, her ass clenching in front of him. “Yes, Sir.”

“Get in the shower. I expect you to finish in there and meet me in the kitchen quickly.” He stepped back toward the door. Grabbing the frame, he turned back. “You aren’t to touch yourself for any reason without my direction. Understood?”

“Yes, Sir.”

He left her to finish breakfast. He didn’t know how he was going to handle things with Jason yet, but he did know he had to deal with the issue. She was his. He’d do everything in his power to impress that upon her without alienating her. It was going to be difficult, the road uphill.

Lori stood under the spray of water, shivering even though the stream was as hot as she could tolerate. Jason had been furious. He wasn’t going to take this well at all. And she couldn’t blame him. But he wasn’t in her head. He didn’t understand what kind of hold Jude had over her.

She
didn’t understand her reactions. How was someone else going to? And she had no earthly idea how she’d go about explaining her actions.

Jude was demanding. He’d always been that way. It was what attracted her to him in the first place. She’d craved his firm hand. She still did if her pussy’s reactions to his words were any indication. How the hell had she gone from being a stern Domme to a humble submissive in the blink of an eye?

“Are you going to stay in there all day?” She jumped at the sound of his voice.

Shit. She hadn’t even started. She grabbed the shampoo so fast she fumbled and dropped the bottle on the tile. As she lifted it and popped the top, she felt him watching her.

“I used to have a time limit on your showers.”

He had, that was right. She made quick work of rubbing her scalp and using the shampoo to wash her body. In less than a minute, she had the conditioner in.

“Be sure to shave everything.”

Lori took a deep breath as she reached for the razor he’d left. Pink, of course. She needed to gather her nerves if he was going to watch her shave. As it was, she was shaking like a leaf from having been caught daydreaming instead of bathing.

Steady
… She didn’t need to nick herself on top of everything else.

Jude sauntered closer as she worked, until he was leaning against the glass door. His gaze penetrated her, making her hyperaware of every move.

She worked from the bottom up, carefully ensuring her legs were smooth and then lifting one leg onto the shower bench to reach between her thighs. Her hands weren’t as steady as she’d like with him watching her, but she managed, praying she’d done a good enough job to pass his inspection. At the last second she even removed the strip of hair she’d been neatly grooming for several months. He’d said he liked it, but she knew how he felt about a bare pussy.

When she finally set the razor down, rinsed her hair and flipped off the water, she was downright nervous.

Jude opened the door and made a gesture that she should exit, swiping his arm through the air and bowing as though she were royalty. His face was grim when he looked at her.

He grabbed a towel from the rack and dried her himself while she bit her lip. When he finished, he tucked the towel under his arm, took her hand and led her from the room.

She trailed behind him as he pulled her into the bedroom. He set a towel on the bed. “Lie on the edge of the mattress.” His firm voice sent a shiver down Lori’s spine. Shit.

“You know I always like to check your work.” Jude waited while she situated herself on the bed and spread her legs. He was so close she could hear him breathing. “If I have to go back over any areas, you won’t like the consequences.”

Lori’s hand shook as she held her folds open for him.

Jude leaned forward and examined her with his intense gaze. He stroked one finger over her skin while she held her breath. “Good job.” He grabbed a tube of something from the side table, popped the lid on the cream and squeezed out a long line onto his finger. Lori flinched while he applied the ointment. She tried to keep her mind on anything else, but Jude was thorough. She sucked her top lip between her teeth as he stroked through her folds and across her clit. When it was over, Lori’s heart raced. She’d survived, and the look on Jude’s face as she exhaled told her he’d thoroughly enjoyed her plight.

“That should be enough,” he said as he wiped his finger on the towel. “Any more and you’ll come.”

And that would be a bad thing?

She needed to come. Between Jude’s touch and his scrutiny, she was a ball of nerves.

“Follow me.” Lori heaved her still-shaky self off the bed and followed him through the bedroom and out to the main living area. The breakfast nook was sunny, two walls covered in windows. He led her straight toward that area. She almost let her guard down as they arrived, thinking he was going to seat her and let her eat, but no such luck.

“Stay. I’ll be right back.” His voice was rough.

Lori flinched, goose bumps rising across her skin as she remained rigid, waiting on him to return.

Moments later Jude was back, holding exactly what Lori suspected. She fisted her hands. It had been so long since she’d endured one of his punishments. Even after him fucking her last night, she would be tight. She hadn’t had a real cock inside her for two years. And the dildos she and Margaret used were never as large as the one Jude held in his hand.

Jude pulled a chair from the breakfast table over to the wide expanse of floor-to-ceiling windows lining the wall. He set the chair against the center window, facing the glass, and placed the cock in his hand on the seat.

Lori hadn’t seen that particular type before, but he’d had similar dildos in the past. This one was flesh colored. The base was a wide rubber that adhered to the surface of the seat when he pressed down. The large phallus bounced above its base, secure now.

Jude stepped back and pointed at the chair. “You know what to do.”

She closed her eyes for a second. How long before Jason would arrive?

“Now,” he commanded louder than the first time.

She shuffled to the glass wall and gripped the back of the chair, her eyes riveted to the thick circumference of the dildo. Her arms shook and goose bumps raced across her skin.

“Straddle the chair, baby.”

She rounded to the side and lifted one leg over the seat. It was awkward and hard to hold herself above the rubber as it made contact with her pussy. She stared at the cock, noticing it was more than just a huge dick. It also sported a raised area in front that would serve to annoy her clit at the same time.

Jude leaned over her, and she flinched when he popped the top of a tube of lubricant, the sound reminding her of past experiences so similar to this one. He squeezed a generous portion of the clear lube onto the tip of the cock and stepped back. “I’m betting your pussy is wet enough not to need the gel, but I want to make sure.” He pointed at the cock. “Ease yourself onto it, baby. Not too fast. You aren’t meant to get off. You know the drill.”

Lori gritted her teeth and set her hands on the window to brace herself as she lowered over the thick phallus. She closed her eyes, desperation climbing up her spine as the width of the rubber filled her pussy, stretching it wide and making her hyperaware of her sex.