Empowered [Sexual Magic 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (14 page)

“God, you smell good,” he murmured.

She tilted her head and nuzzled back. “So do you. What shall I wear today? Innocent?” She pulled a white sundress from the bar, then another lower-cut, sapphire-blue number. “Seductive?” One hanger pointed at a pantsuit whose top cut down to the middle of her chest. “In between?”

He continued to gently knead her breasts, then slipped his palms over her waist and down to her hips. “I guess naked is out of the question?”

She laughed. “No, thank you. An exhibitionist I am not.”

“Unless I order it.”

She nudged him hard with her shoulder and tossed a mock-frown at him. “You know I hate it when you do that, too.”

Noah stepped back and caressed her butt, smiling at the goose bumps left in the wake of his fingers. “Wear the white dress,” he said. “Panties only, no bra.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Noah studied her slender back for a long moment, and then lifted his eyes to meet her gaze in the mirrored closet door as she slid it closed. “Do you do that automatically now? Without thought to the meaning behind it?”

Puzzlement creased her brow. She slid the dress over her head, tugged it into place over her breasts, then turned to face him. “What do you mean,
chéri
?”

Noah scrubbed his palm over his mouth. What
did
he mean?

“Noah?”

He dropped his hand. “Have you become so accustomed to saying ‘yes, Sir’ to me that the phrase has lost all the power it once held?”

“Of course not.”

Her instant and assertive answer made him feel that much more the fool. He managed a smile. “Good.”

“That was a strange question, Noah. What is going on with you?”

How could he tell her when he didn’t even know? “Nothing, my love. It was just a question. With a new Dom in training, it’s important to remember all the rules and why we use them.”

Her lifted brow silently challenged him, but he didn’t offer any more. “Ready?”

She looked mulish and he thought she might push him further. Finally, her shoulders eased, and she nodded, looping her arm through his. “Yes.”

Noah opened the door to the suite and made certain it closed as they exited and headed toward the elevator bank. After he pushed the call button, he caught and pulled her to him.

“Noah,” she gasped and grabbed at his shoulders.

“Madelyn,” he murmured, suddenly unable to get any other words to form. He lowered his head and kissed her softly, slowly. The way a lover should. The way he used to kiss her.

She melted into him instantly, her arms snaking up his neck, fingers curling in his hair.

He shuddered at her touch and tugged her even closer. Noah nipped and teased her mouth, savoring her sweetness. He caught her full bottom lip between his teeth, then laved her with the slickness of his tongue. Her nails convulsed on his scalp as her mouth opened and she met his tongue with hers.

Her whispered moan slipped through him like brandy, heating his blood and searing his senses. He gathered her tightly, hands roaming along her back, cupping her hips.

Pulling free of her mouth, he dropped tiny kisses along her jaw. When she purred and tipped her head, he followed the long column of her lily-white neck down to the pulse at the base of her throat.

He flicked at the beat with his tongue, smiling when the pace increased and she gasped.

“God, Noah, I love your mouth on me. Love the way you kiss me.”

He clenched her hips, landed one final butterfly-soft touch to her neck and withdrew. Her normally pale cheeks were flushed with passion which mirrored brilliantly in her eyes, making them seem shimmering orbs of the brightest blue.

“Good,” he replied, voice husky. “Because I love kissing you.” He stroked her bottom lip with his thumb. “You have a perfect mouth, Madelyn, but your passion is so damn sweet, I could feast on you for years and never want.”

Her eyes widened and the sheen filled deeper.

Tears?

“Hey, what’s this?” he asked, wiping at a wayward drop.

She shook her head, rose on tiptoe, and pressed her mouth to his, the touch firm and almost desperate. “Oh, you know,” she finally said, a tremulous smile now on her lips. “Women get all weepy when their men speak such beautiful, romantic things.” She lifted one delicate shoulder and winked. “Besides, I’m French.”

He laughed and nodded. She used that excuse for everything she didn’t want to explain. “All right, I’ll buy that. For now.”

He reached around and pushed the button for the elevator again. They’d apparently missed it the first time it came through.

She looked up at him and chuckled. He took her hand, lifted it to his lips, and kissed her fingers. “What can I say, love, I lose all sense of time and location when you’re around.”

Madelyn nodded as the bell dinged, signaling the car’s arrival. “As it should be,
chéri
.”

They stepped inside. Noah nodded at the small blonde standing at the back. She looked a little familiar, but with her hair pulled into a ponytail and those huge sunglasses on her face, he couldn’t be certain. She wasn’t really standing, he realized, so much as propping herself along the brass rail and mirrored wall.

He pushed the ground floor button, wrapped his arm around Madelyn’s waist, and watched the girl. She flinched as the doors closed and the car lurched. He thought she had a decidedly green cast to her face.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

Madelyn frowned. “Yes. Why do you ask?”

He shook his head and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Not you, her.”

Madelyn craned her neck around. Her eyes widened and she stepped backward, one hand reaching out. “Winslet? Isn’t that your name?”

Noah cursed and spun.

The girl straightened. He thought she looked surprised, but her eyes remained hidden. “Yeah. Do I know you?”

The elevator bumped to a slow stop, and the doors opened into the loud lobby.

Winslet started to edge past, but Madelyn caught hold of her arm. “Yesterday, on the beach, remember? With that redheaded Domme? We were there when our friend stopped her after she refused to yield to your safe word.”

The girl trembled, and Noah caught her other arm. “Come on,” he said, and they steered her out into the milling crowd. He shouldered people aside, eyes scanning the lobby for a quiet location. He finally spotted a series of alcoves with benches and headed for a vacant one.

She didn’t argue or protest his manhandling. Damn, her arm was so small in his grip. His stomach rolled at the thought of what could have happened if Gabriel hadn’t intervened. Something had to be done about that bitch before it was too late.

“Sit,” he ordered.

She sat and looked up at them, head bobbing between them like a tetherball.

“Take your glasses off, dear,” Madelyn said softly.

Winslet did, and Noah cursed at the red-rimmed eyes now meeting his. He squatted in front of her and took her hands in his. “Are you all right?”

She nodded, but caught her bottom lip between her teeth.

“You’ve been crying,” Madelyn stated and sat next to her. “Are you in pain? Is it your back?” She eased the girl forward and reached for the hem of her T-shirt.

“No, I’m fine,” Winslet said and shoved at Madelyn’s hand.

“Then why have you been weeping?”

Winslet’s gaze dropped.

“Answer the question,” Noah demanded.

The curt tone obviously struck at her submissive nature, and she swallowed hard. “Because I was sad. I couldn’t find her, you see. She was nowhere to be found.” The girl’s red-rimmed, swollen gaze met his before falling again. “I looked everywhere, too.”

He was stunned into silence.

Madelyn covered their joined hands. “You looked for Krista?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The soft words, full of dismay, made him sick. “For God’s sake, why?”

Winslet stiffened, and her young face took on a familiar mulish, stubborn cast. One he’d seen on countless subs over the years and Madelyn’s on a nightly basis.

“I wanted to apologize for using my safe word,” she said. “I was weak.” This last bit was said with a wealth of self-disgust. “I wanted to beg for another chance. To prove I can take her whip, that I am worthy of serving her.”

“My God, girl, she’s a monster.”

She surged to her feet and glared down at him. “No,” she shouted. “She’s a goddess.” Winslet pushed past him, shaking off Madelyn’s restraining hand. “Leave me alone. You can’t possibly understand. I will find her. I will obey this time.”

She shoved the glasses back on her face and stalked away.

Noah rose, intent on following and stopping her. Madelyn caught him.

“Let her go,
chéri
. She’s too caught up in whatever web Krista has cast around her.”

“She’ll kill that girl,” he muttered. “She’s too frail for that bitch’s tastes.”

Madelyn shrugged. “We don’t know that. Just as you told Gabriel last night, there are all kinds out there. Different tastes, different likes. Winslet obviously likes great pain and humiliation and believes Krista can give her what she craves.”

“But—”

“But nothing. If she were our client and you discovered this about her, you would give it to her,
non
? Beat her as hard as she wanted. Humiliated her as much as she begged you to. This is true and you know it.”

Damn it, he hated it when she was right and used such logic against him. He looked at the space where Winslet had disappeared.

She was gone and Madelyn had it correct.

“Fine,” he said on a growl. “I just hope to hell that girl doesn’t find Krista.”

She nodded. “Me, too. Come on, let’s go find Gabriel. I think the morning is ripe for a mimosa. Or twelve.”

Gabriel checked his watch for the third time in as many minutes. They were late. He sipped his coffee and stared out at the guests already converging at the pool.

Was it something he’d done? Were they upset he had not stayed last night?

He cupped the mug handle tighter, unused to such uncertainty.

When he’d returned to his suite last night, he’d been exhausted both physically and mentally. Nevertheless, he’d spent a long portion of the evening flipping through the books and writing out a list of pros and cons regarding the encounter. He’d enjoyed everything they’d done but had been just a bit irked at not being able to lay hands on Madelyn. Noah refused to even allow him to spank her delectable ass.

Gabriel had a feeling the other man still nursed a grudge against the accidental whip lash he’d inflicted on Madelyn.

Too damn bad. He was going to have to get over it. As soon as they showed up, he’d damn well tell him so, too.

“Good morning, Gabriel.”

Madelyn’s lilting accent slid over him like lavender honey, and his mounting irritation disappeared immediately.

He set his cup on the table and rose.

She enveloped him in a tight hug, her soft lips grazing his cheeks, first left then right.

He found himself grinning like a schoolboy in the midst of a crush.

And he didn’t give a damn.

Noah held out his hand. “Fleming. How you doing today?”

The tone was friendly with no hint of animosity. The big man didn’t try to crush his hand with his grip, either.

“Fine,” he replied with a grin. “How about you two?”

“Well enough,” Madelyn replied as she sank into the chair Noah held out for her. “Though I could use something with a bit of kick at the moment.”

Noah nodded. His face was set in grim lines as he took a seat. “We ran into Winslet in the elevator. The daft girl was upset because she couldn’t find Krista again last night.”

Gabriel’s eyes widened. “Holy shit, that’s nuts. Doesn’t she remember what happened?”

“She remembers,” Madelyn said. Her elfin face was tense and filled with sad disapproval. “But as I reminded Noah, this lifestyle is filled with all kinds, and believe it or not, there are some who fit perfectly with Krista’s urges. Winslet must be one of them.”

The poolside waitress arrived. Tall, leggy, and sporting an impressive pair of purchased breasts, she had the look of a sultry, cocoa-skinned Barbie. Her white bikini looked stark against her dark skin, and she smiled flirtatiously, teeth just as bright. She winked at him as she’d been doing all morning. The girl made no secret of her interest in him, but he’d not responded in kind. One thing at a time, he figured.

“Good morning, would you care for a menu?”

Madelyn smiled up at her and Gabriel’s breath caught. Sure, the waitress was beautiful and her body was banging, but compared to Madelyn, she faded into merely attractive.

He blinked at the realization and shifted in the chair, sneaking a glance at Noah. The other man was studying Madelyn, his expression yearning and almost…haunted.

Gabriel wondered what the hell was up with that.

“Yes, thank you,” Madelyn said. “And definitely a mimosa.” She tapped her finger against her full red lips, and Gabriel’s heart kicked up in response. “No, make that a pitcher, please.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The girl turned to Noah. “And you, Sir?”

She drawled “Sir” at Noah with obvious invitation, just as she’d done to him all morning. Gabriel smothered a self-effacing smile. Yeah, she was looking for fun, all right, and apparently didn’t care where she got it from.

He snorted and picked up his mug to cover his smile.

“Coffee, thanks.”

The girl lingered for another moment, eyes and body full of allure. When none of them responded, she tossed a carefree grin and turned away. “Coming right up.”

“Don’t worry, darling,” Madelyn said, voice full of amusement. “They’re all like that. There are tips and then there are
tips
.” She licked her lips and dropped her gaze to his crotch.

Gabriel’s cock swelled immediately, and her sultry chuckle only had him throbbing harder against his khaki shorts.

“Behave, Maddie,” Noah said, but he, too, chortled.

Gabriel took one of her hands, his thumb rubbing the soft skin on the underside of her wrist. The breeze whirled, tossing her hair and bringing to his nose the delectable scent of lavender. “So, how are you after last night?” he asked huskily.