Shades of Pleasure: Five Stories of Domination and Submission (35 page)

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My sincerest thank you.

*****

Please turn the page for a special sneak preview of DARKEST
DESIRE, the second book in  my Black Gryffon series.

An Excerpt From: DARKEST
DESIRE

Copyright © TAWNY TAYLOR, 2012

All Rights Reserved,
Kensington Publishing Corp.

Beautiful.

Exquisite.

Thoroughly, utterly, intoxicatingly sexy.

And as deadly as a cottonmouth.

That was Malek Alexandre, summed up in twelve concise words.

A spectator at the private bondage club, standing in the
shadows at the back of an open dungeon, Lei Mitchell moved aside to let a slave
wearing a black thong and dog collar pass. Her gaze never left Malek. Not for a
second.

This was an opportunity she couldn’t deny herself.

For once she was free to just . . . enjoy. Without fearing
she’d be caught by Malek, one of his brothers, or her sister, Rin.

Lei’s hungry gaze wandered up and down his body at leisure
now, taking in the full glory of his heavily muscled form. He was wearing a
simple outfit—black, snug-fitting knitted shirt and tailored trousers, no
leather for this man—but still Lei could make out the rippling bulges and clean
lines defining each muscle as he lifted his arm and flicked his wrist. The
leather tails of his flogger sailed through the air toward their target, and
Lei’s breath caught in her throat.

Malek was not just any dom. He was
the dom.
The one
who made her blood pound hard and hot through her veins. If only submitting to
him wouldn’t mean her destruction.

Warm and tingly all over, even though her insides ached a
little at knowing she would never—could never—know the pleasure of submitting to
her master, Lei stood in that dark corner, just out of his sight, and watched
as Malek trained a submissive. The sub, a male, clearly enjoyed every stroke of
the lash, as evidenced by the look of utter rapture on his face . . . and the
large bulge pressing against the only garment he was wearing, the snug black
G-string. Like Malek, the sub was lean, firmly muscled, bronzed, attractive. He
was also delightfully responsive. She wouldn’t mind taking him back to her
private suite sometime.

Since being rescued from a nightmarish life as a sex slave,
Lei had come to this private bondage club to exorcise her demons. One of her
previous owners had trained her to dominate him. As it turned out, his kink had
become her salvation. Now she was the one in control. She was the one holding
the whip, tying the knots, instead of receiving the blows or being bound and
forced to fuck.

Free now from that horrendous life, she couldn’t seem to
stop herself from seeking out opportunities to dominate men. She wasn’t sure
why. She received no sexual fulfillment from it. She received no emotional
fulfillment either. She was still the empty shell of a girl she’d been the day
her sister had bought her out of hell.

But now she was an empty shell with a compulsion.

And a fascination with a certain dom.

As Malek released his submissive from his restraints, in
preparation for a change in position, Lei tried to walk away.

But she couldn’t. Her feet simply wouldn’t move.

Her body was tight. Hot. Her heart was pounding. It was as
if she were lowering to her knees before Malek, waiting breathlessly for his
next command.

Malek ran his fingertip down the sub’s spine.

A tiny shudder of pleasure quaked through Lei’s body. Her
pussy clamped tight against an aching emptiness. She licked her dry lips and
curled her fingers into fists.

What would he do next?

The submissive settled on his knees on the floor, butt
lifted high, rather than resting on his heels. He tipped his head down.
Waiting. Patiently.

Lei had been forced into that position too many times to
count. She’d never voluntarily kneeled before a man. She couldn’t now. But that
didn’t stop her from imagining herself in the submissive’s place at this
moment. If she closed her eyes, she could feel Malek’s gaze sweeping up and
down her body. Her skin burning. Her nerves prickling.

It was anxiety and anticipation both. A touch of fear
coupled with the expectation of good things, wonderful things. Of unimaginable
pleasure. And glorious pain.

If only . . . if only . . .

“Is that a smile I see?” Malek’s voice was unexpectedly
light, playful. His tone both put her at ease and made her that much tighter.

“No,” the submissive answered.

“No,
Master,
” Lei whispered to herself as she opened
her eyes. Such a show of defiance surely deserved a punishment. She didn’t want
to miss this.

What would Malek do?

A chill skittered up her spine.

Malek’s brow lifted, but he said nothing.

Ah, he was going to let his submissive wait, wonder.

She unclenched her hands and dragged her sweaty palms down
the sides of her legs. A huge lump congealed in her throat. She swallowed hard
and squeezed her thighs together. The burning in her pussy was becoming
intolerable.

Malek used the tip of his whip to lift his submissive’s
chin. “I asked you a question, and I expect a proper answer. So I’ll ask again,
is that a smile I see?”

The submissive’s lips twitched. “Maybe.”

This was a submissive who liked to push his luck. Lei had
scened with more than enough to know the type. They craved the punishment and
weren’t by nature submissive. They merely took on the role so they would be in
a position to get what they wanted. Depending upon the submissive, and the dom,
that could be a few lashes, being humiliated in public, or perhaps being
paddled to within an inch of their limits.

But what he probably wasn’t expecting was what Malek did,
even if they had discussed the possibility ahead of time.

Malek walked away.

The submissive’s eyes widened. His mouth formed an “O” of
shock; then his lips clamped shut.

Damn. Lei couldn’t help but smile at the submissive’s
reaction. She’d put money on him thinking twice about playing Malek like that
again. Or maybe he’d make a different choice in a dom, if that was his game.
Either way, it was something to watch.

While Lei continued to study Malek’s behavior as he prowled
around the open dungeon, he turned. His gaze swept the crowd of onlookers
gathered around the perimeter of the room. It snapped to her.

Their eyes met.

The air seeped from her lungs.

Her face burned.

He smiled, and she swore her heart skipped a beat. Maybe
two.

Dangerous. That’s what that man was.

Her body had never reacted this way to any man before,
especially since . . . being rescued. She met his smile with a tiny nod, then
forced herself to walk through the throng toward the back hall, toward her
private suite, her haven. Her sanctuary.

* * * * *

Please turn the page for a special sneak preview of
Compromising Positions, available now!

Compromising
Positions (An erotic romance novel)

by

Tawny Taylor

Copyright ©2012 Tawny
Taylor All Rights Reserved

"Be ready to squirm in your seat, reach for ice water and to go take a
cold shower. ...hotter than a roaring fire."
~Tracey West, The Road to Romance
"...filled with wittiness, enchanting characters, and of course, hot sex.
...brings it all home in a nice, neat little package. Well, an explosive
package anyway."
~Sinclair Reid, Romance Reviews Today
5 ribbons
"...grabs you from the first line and stays with you after the last page
is read. This was my first TAWNY TAYLOR book, but it definitely won't be my
last."
~Cindy, The Romance Junkies

Fate Doherty, marketing director of Detroit's second largest
dating service, is on top of her game—until longtime rival and sexy bad-boy,
Gabe Ryan makes a play for her job. What's worse, he seems hell-bent on rekindling
the old flame she thought she'd smothered years ago... Now, thanks to Gabe’s
mission—which seems to have nothing to do with the position they are fighting
for—they may both end up in a compromising position...or two.

SAMPLE

Now she was left with Gabe. Alone. Oh, God!

He grinned at her like a cat might before it swallowed a
canary. “Are you sure you’re all right? You don’t look so good. Do you want me
to take you home?”

“I’m fine.” She scooted away, hoping the distance might ease
the heat between her legs.

“Have I told you how great it is working with you?”

“Indirectly.”

He laughed, and she couldn’t help admiring the way his
features frolicked. A curl caught a breeze as the waiter swept by. She stopped
herself before she reached for it.

“You’re one hell of a woman, Fate.”

“And you’re one hell of a smooth talker, Gabe.”

He grinned. “Actually, if you knew me better, you’d know I’m
a straight shooter.”

She didn’t want to go there. For some reason talking about
shooting anything left her head spinning. “I need to go to the bathroom.” She
grabbed her purse, scooted to the end of the bench, and stood, but immediately
dropped back down.

The world was rocking under her feet like a moonwalk.

Guess I’ve had more beer than I thought, and how the hell
had that happened?

“Are you all right?” Gabe was right next to her again.

“I’m fine. Just got a bad start the first time. I’ll try
again.” She stood, and the world dipped and tipped. Her head swam. Two beers
did that to her? Sheesh!

On legs that felt like they were tied to anchors, she slowly
propelled herself through the crushing crowd to the bathroom. And after peeing
a gallon, she checked herself in the mirror—not a pretty sight—and headed back
to tell Gabe she needed to call it a night.

When she returned to the table, Gabe stood. “Ready to go?”
he asked, car keys in hand.

“Yup. Where’s Michael?”

“He left. Had a personal issue to deal with. Said he’d see
you tomorrow.” Gabe took her hand.

She sort of leaned into him as she walked. He didn’t sway
like the rest of the world did.

When she got to her car, she fished through her purse for
her keys. When she hit the bottom, and still no keys, a tide of panic rose up
her throat. “My keys! I must have lost them in the bathroom.”

“I’ll find them later. Why don’t you let me drive you home?”

“No, all I need to do is go back inside.” She took a step
back toward the entry, but something caught her by the waist. “What the hell?”
She looked down. Hands. She glanced over her shoulder. “Would you let me go?”

He spun her around until she was facing him directly.

Not a good position. He was so close. He smelled so good. He
towered at least a head taller than her. Perfect height. Perfect width. Solid.
Hard. Sexy...

He leaned down and dropped a kiss on her nose. “You’re a
very important part of the new Single Temptation. I couldn’t let anything
happen to you, now, could I?”

What?

“So, let’s go to my car, and I’ll drive you home.” He didn’t
remove his hands from her waist.

“You’re driving me home for the sake of the company?”

“Partly...” He glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “Okay,
I confess. I’m worried about you for personal reasons. Don’t you feel it, Fate?
That old magic?”

“No.”
Liar!

His handsome face screwed into the picture of confusion.
“Really?”

Actually, what she felt right now went way beyond what she’d
felt in college. Had to be the Oregon lager. Probably had twice the alcohol
content. “We have to work together, at least for the time being. We’d better
keep things professional...” Her gaze dropped to his lips as he licked them,
and she felt her own go Sahara Desert dry.

He leaned closer, and her eyelids fell closed.

His mouth touched hers, and an A-bomb exploded in her body.
Shockwaves pulsed outward to her limbs and knocked her brain loose from its
connections.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on for life,
relishing the lazy, deliberate exploration Gabe was performing on her mouth.
His fingers kneaded her waist then tiptoed up her sides. Hers tangled in silky
curls at his nape.

By God, she’d lost her mind! But who the hell cared? He
tasted amazing. He smelled wonderful. And as his body crushed against hers, he
felt fantastic. Hard angles and planes. Smooth muscle working under clothes she
wished she could strip away.

His hands found the sides of her breasts and slipped between
their bodies to tease her nipples through her clothes. She could feel herself
getting wet. She straddled his leg and ground into him in rhythm with the
throbbing in her crotch.

She wanted him. Now! Her hands dropped to his hips and
slowly slid around to his ass. Rock-hard. Something sharp poked her palm
through his rear pocket, and in response to the pain, she slid her hands around
to his front, grabbed the pronounced lump she found there and gave it a
squeeze.

“Ouch!” Gabe broke the kiss and took her hands in his.
“Easy, baby. This tool isn’t a Craftsman. It needs a little gentle loving care.
Eeeeasy does it.”

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