Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 93751 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93751 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
“Master Mason came to me last night with an interesting proposal that we both believe would offer you a more rewarding, if challenging, experience.” He nodded toward Mason. “You want to take it from here?”
Mason cleared his throat. “Okay. First, I want to address the elephant in the room, as it were. That kiss. I didn’t plan it, and I apologize if I overstepped.”
Hannah felt herself blushing yet again as she glanced from Mason to Anthony. Anthony smiled faintly but said nothing. She looked back at Mason. “Oh, um. That’s okay,” she said, her fingers floating up to touch her lips before she could stop them.
“Okay. Good. I bring up the kiss because I want you to understand this proposal isn’t some kind of back door for me to take advantage of you, sexually speaking.”
The devil on Hannah’s shoulder whispered, “Oh, come on. Take advantage.” She gave it a mental flick and the imagined demon vanished.
“That said,” Mason continued, “Both Master Anthony and I agree that you would benefit from a more direct training approach. I have volunteered to take on that task. I’m willing to work with you one-on-one during the remainder of your stay.”
He placed his hand on her arm, his touch sending a shiver down her spine as he locked his gaze on hers. “But only on the condition that we dispense with the BDSM-lite bullshit. If I take you on, you won’t get to pick and choose what you want to do, when you want to do it, or how far you want to take it.” He moved his hand up her arm and over her shoulder, brushing his fingers along her throat. His touch left a trail of heat in its wake.
Mason opened his hand so his thumb and forefinger spanned her jaw. As he gently pressed into the yielding flesh just below her jawline, Hannah forgot how to breathe. Something dark and hot deep in her belly flickered to life at his primal touch. Her heart fluttered like a trapped butterfly as they stared at one another.
Once again, Anthony cleared his throat with that polite, “Ahem.”
Mason’s hand fell away, and Hannah managed at last to fill her burning lungs.
“So, to summarize,” Anthony said, “if you agree, Master Mason will become your full-time trainer for the duration of your stay. He will conduct all your sessions, and administer any punishment deemed necessary. You will not have the option of refusing him, but by the same token, he will respect your limits.”
“My limits,” Hannah echoed faintly. What were her limits? She couldn’t think clearly. Was this really happening? Did she want it to? Or was it time to end this adventure and run back to the safety of the familiar?
Don’t let fear hold you back from your dreams, a voice whispered in her soul. This was an amazing chance, if she had the courage to seize it. But it was also terrifying.
“You will not have the option of refusing him.”
She understood now on a visceral level what Lucia had meant that first night they’d met. Having no safeword, no back door, would be so freeing. There would be no decisions to make, no internal justifications necessary. She wouldn’t have to constantly question her own motivations and desires. She could just…submit.
“Yes,” Anthony replied. “Your limits, which we can discuss and agree upon now. Our slave trainees are not afforded this option, nor do they want it. But, at least for now, since you are not seeking erotic enslavement, but only a deeper exploration of your submissive and masochistic potential, you will be permitted to set hard limits. Limits that Master Mason will not violate, not without first getting your consent and approval.”
Hard limits. Yes. Hannah knew all about those from her research. But what the hell were hers? She could barely think straight. What if she forgot something crucial? Wait. Was she actually considering this? And with Mason, of all people? Was she out of her mind?
“Hey,” Mason said, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. “You look like a deer caught in the headlights. Relax. You’re among friends here.” He placed his hand lightly over hers. “I take my job as a responsible Dom and trainer very seriously. This isn’t some roundabout way to get into your pants, or to force you into something you don’t want to do. I hope you’ll give it a chance—give me a chance—to help you uncover the true submissive I believe is still furled inside you.”
Oh, shit. Now he was being poetic on top of melting her with his kiss and igniting her with that hand on her throat, not to mention that powerful orgasm he’d wrested from her before they’d even been properly introduced…
A part of her—the reckless part—was more than ready to say yes to the dress, and everything that went with it, limits be damned. Another part—the sane part—was still demanding to know if she’d lost her marbles.