Mastering Her Heart Read online

  To do what is and was and always will be best for her.

  I reach to unburden her from the handbag, noting the way she brings her shoulder to her ears as my fingertips brush her arm.

  “Do you remember when I gave you the first Jane Eyre book?”

  The blush that races up her chest and settles onto her cheeks answers my question. It was her favorite book and each year after that first time I gifted her a first edition of the novel, I searched for other rare and beautiful copies of the book. In the years that followed, her collection grew to include over ten copies of the classic story.

  “Of course. My thirteenth birthday. You said every princess deserves her happy ending.”

  “And I meant it.” I set the bag down on the soft cream velvet tufted chair that sits in front of my desk.

  My other hand dares to settle once again just above the swell of her ass, urging her forward to where the fireplace is crackling and the warmth radiates. To my honor, she steps with me and her fresh scent reminds me of cherry blossoms and ginger. Complex and soft, but still exotic and pure.

  I lean forward, intending my words to seep directly into her ear, hoping that they will somehow wind their way to her heart. “That was the first time I called you my princess.”

  After a long moment, she turns her head to whisper into my chest. “And that was the first time I called you Daddy.”

  Hearing that last word nearly drops me to my knees. I take a step away, afraid of the things I want from her right now. When she continues, I’m holding my breath, trying to take yet another step away.

  “And do you remember the last time you called me princess?” The edge leaves her voice and in its place is the little girl. Again, I nearly trip as it hooks me, and every part of my being knows its purpose.

  It’s her.

  It has been for too long and I will never let her go again.

  Never.

  C H A P T E R F I V E

  PIKE

  I settle my eyes on the softest flesh my fingers have ever touched. Her cheeks are flushed still as we stand together, feeling the warmth of the fire and the crackling tension rising between us.

  Her eyes flicker. Their hazel strands, laced with the reflection of the flames, have me on the edge of reason.

  We’ve talked over every safe and mundane subject possible, avoiding the elephant in the room. The gravity between us is growing in intensity with every passing second. I know she’s working at Tuck & Burton. That she’s staying in her mother’s penthouse again, back on Central Park South where we all lived together.

  I imagine her in her room. Tucked into the same bed I kissed her goodnight in, more times than I can count, and yet I remember each one as though it happened right now, in this instant.

  I’m not a depraved monster, believe me. When she was young, my calling to her was that of a predator protecting its own. But as she blossomed into a woman, even as those protective instincts remained, they were topped with a longing I’d never felt before. A yearning for something that lay long dormant in me. She awakened my beast and nothing will ever slake his lust but her flesh.

  His ownership of what he knows belongs to him and him alone.

  My eyes have not left her face in a long while, and finally in the silence, Willow relents and meets them. We exchange no words, yet we say more than we have in all the years since we met.

  Her chest fills with a deep, settling breath, and her shoulders relax. Taking advantage of the drop in tension, I inch a step forward, closing the space between us to something far more intimate.

  “What do you feel?” I ask as my hand comes up to toy with a lock of her hair. Her lips fall open and her eyelids dance a bit lower.

  “I was angry when I saw you tonight.” She shifts on her feet, relaxing. “But now...” She stops herself, and I feel her fear of what might come next. I’m aroused and desperate to hear every thought and feeling. I want it. All of it.

  “Just say it. Say the words, Willow. What are you feeling right now?”

  My other hand comes to her neck, gliding my fingers to the back, snaking slowly up into her silken hair until my fingers close and I feel her melt. I tangle them tighter, pulling her head back an inch and holding it there, steady, forcing her eyes to stay with me.

  “Like I’m in a dream.” Her words seep over her lips in a slow dance. My face is down close enough for me to breathe them in. I want all of her to be part of me. I want her to melt into me. To give me all of herself. So that I can be the man she deserves. The only man she will ever need.

  Need.

  I need her to need me. In every way.

  “Is it a good dream? Or a nightmare?” I ask as my lips come to her forehead. I don’t kiss her. I rest them there, holding her steady, urging her to give more. To offer what I need.

  Her body shudders as I listen to her gather a nervous breath before answering.

  “I don’t know which it is. I think maybe it’s both. Because I’m scared to death, but it feels like all the good dreams I’ve ever had may actually come true. Because you’ve been in my dreams. For such a long time.”

  Her words drive a stake through my heart. Knowing she’s felt this way tears at me. It sends the pounding in my cock into overdrive. My mouth waters as my lips touch her flesh, the thoughts of my tongue slicing into her soaking cunt more than I can bear.

  I pull my lips from her forehead, just enough to form the words. “Do you remember the note I wrote in the book?”

  She nods and I pull her hair back, our lips fighting to touch.

  She doesn’t answer, so I continue. “You will always be my princess. Mine. Then I signed it. Daddy.”

  Even then those were the words I thought of constantly. She was mine from that first moment.

  “And now? What am I now?” Her question feels scorching hot, like flames lapping up from my feet to my face.

  I close any available space left between us. Her softness first touches the hardest part of me. Then I feel the swell of her breasts flatten against the flat of my chest. The pain of my longing for her folds in and over on itself, thickening my erection.

  The green in her hazel eyes darkens and there is no longer any denying the desire in me. I shift and gently rub my length into her soft curves, feel the way she turns her hips, just ever so slightly, every one of my senses heightened, focused solely on her. I swear, in this state I can even smell the subtle differences in her desire. Her pheromones call to me. The scent of lust as it releases from her skin.

  “You are mine.” I can’t help it. I won’t let her go again. “You are my princess.”

  I imagine my face centered between her legs. It’s a fantasy that has played over and over in my mind, millions of times. I want to taste her. To take her into myself in every way. Her flesh between my teeth as her cries of pain and desire fill my ears. I want to love her and hurt her and own her and care for her, in ways most would not understand.

  “And you are...who are you to me?” Her lips move against mine. The kiss that is taunting us will set in motion something I may not be able to stop, and I think Willow senses what is at stake.

  “Don’t think, Willow. Just say it. You tell me. When you think of me...when you want to call to me, what would you say?” I grind my hard on against her and listen to the halted breath, the moan she tries to stifle.

  Our eyes lock. Lips brushing lips with each breath and word, as I hold back the quaking orgasm she’s pulling forth within me. Not even a touch, not a brush of fingertips, but I’m on the edge, cum already seeping out, my balls tight with anticipation. She is a prize I’ve waited too long to claim.

  Her eyes fall shut as she lets go of all the pain, all the heartache. “I would call you Daddy.”

  My lips mount hers in a rush, I let the years of repressed desire go as my cum sprays into my pants. That word means more to me that she could possibly know. I cum so hard, I feel as though my body and my soul are being torn in two.

  Being a Dominant is about control. But
tonight she’s taken my orgasm from me, and it tells me what I’ve known for so long.

  I belong to her as much as she belongs to me.

  My tongue takes her mouth. There is no time for subtlety or soft innuendo. There is an eruption, an explosion, something the beast inside me has wanted for so long.

  Our mouths wind around and my fingers tear at her hair, raking, gripping. She moans, arching her back as I steal the very breath from her lungs, then give it back to her as I see fit. I shiver as icy heat travels up my spine, the last of my orgasm wracking my body as her flavor spreads through me.

  I savor every second of our binding kiss. Her breath is coming faster now, as our teeth clack together, grinding against each other even as flesh grinds into flesh. I feel her soften into me. Our need is clawing at us both.

  I want to be as close to her as possible. I want to feel her body wrap itself around me, giving me the honor of releasing my cum inside her. I’ve never done that before, not with anyone. I saved that for her. For us.

  I pull back, watch her eyes close, her mouth still hanging open, tasting the air, gulping breaths. “Are you okay?” A smile, small and real, crests my lips as I look into her innocent face.

  “I think so.” She mumbles, her eyes shut tight.

  “You should look at me, Caramia.”

  “I don’t want to open my eyes. I want this dream to last.”

  Her plump, pink lips slowly pull up, not for me but for the thought of me that’s inside her head. That smile has been my muse for so long. Now it’s showing itself to me, and I want to see it every morning, from now until the day I die. When I wake up in the morning with her next to me, it should be there. I don’t want to live another single day without making her smile. I will take care of her in every way.

  Before I can answer, reassure her that all this is real, there is a loud buzz from the intercom. It makes us both jump, breaking the moment, her eyes opening wide. The magic dispelled.

  “Don’t move, Caramia.” I shift and let my hands fall from her hair, give her a moment to find her feet as I step toward the intercom next to the elevator.

  “What?” My voice is sharp, and I immediately regret it. I never show emotion with the staff. It’s a part of my professional image.

  Sir James hesitates, his confusion palpable. “Lord Tower...the food you requested is ready. May we bring it up?”

  “Are you hungry?” Willow asks from behind me. “Because I ate earlier. Right before we came.” Her face goes red. “Before we left, I mean. To come over here. You didn’t give me a chance to tell you earlier, when you were talking about food.”

  She leans against the back of the velvet chair, her arms straight down at her sides, bracing herself there and adjusting her ass up onto the back of the fabric.

  I lick my lips, then turn away to whisper into the speaker. I tell James to hold the food and prepare a larger buffet for her friends, then release the button and step back toward her. Her skirt shifts, just above her knees, as she crosses her ankles and brings her ear lower to her shoulder.

  “In answer to your question, I am hungry.” I rumble, unbuttoning my tuxedo jacket and stepping back in her direction. I feel the sticky remnants of my orgasm against my still-hard dick. “But not for food. I’m hungry for your cunt, my sweet princess. Your Daddy is going to spread those legs and taste what’s his. Are you ready for that?”

  Her mouth drops open, the smile replaced by a look of shock, but her eyes give away the fire in her center. My words ignite something within her that only makes my beast more ravenous.

  I’m on her like an animal. Whipping her around her ass in the air, sliding her skirt up the backs of her legs, running my hands up the outsides of her thighs, the heat of her flesh searing my fingertips.

  I hear her soft whisper, no more than a warm breath. “Oh my God.” She quivers as my fingertips dig into her hips and I draw her ass back, upward, leaning my body over her until my lips graze her ear.

  “Tell Daddy you want his kisses, princess. The kisses he’s been saving just for you. Special kisses that will make you his forever.”

  She nods and whimpers as my fingers slip down inside the elastic of her cotton panties. Her body shakes as I slowly move lower, savoring each second her flesh is beneath my digits.

  “Who does this belong to?” I seethe into her ear, my teeth catching her lobe as the tips of my fingers find her bare outer lips. The slick of moisture, already she’s wet for me. I nearly come undone knowing she wants me as I want her.

  I slide the tip of my index finger lightly into the top crease of her pussy, just above her clit, and hold it there. Touching her here for the first time, in this first moment, is not something I want to rush. I want to remember this in my dreams, every night until I leave this life.

  My breath is shaking as I feel the slick heat and the softest flesh against my finger.

  “Oh my God.” She huffs again as she opens her legs an inch more. Those tiny, subtle movements mean more to me than anything she could imagine.

  “Not God, Caramia. Daddy.” I slip my finger down, brushing her clit, pressing gently on top as my other hand pulls her panties downward. They fall from my grasp to settle at her feet. Our bodies are still pinned into each other, my chest against her back, covering her with her skirt clumped around her waist.

  The next sweet sounds that come out of her steal my very breath. She is beautiful, her scent, her sight, her sounds. I get to my feet and hold her steady as I move around behind, watching her as a lion watches a gazelle. She gasps and squirms as I sink my teeth for the first time into her flesh, nipping the back of her neck, holding back from biting too hard. I just need her to know I’m here. A growl comes from the depths of me and I fight the beast that threatens to take hold. I will never harm her, but this is mine, and my teeth are the first marks of my ownership she will have. She will know the pleasure of pain, yet I would never truly hurt her. Never. She will know that. She will trust me, completely. She is mine to protect, completely. Her body. Her heart. Her soul.

  “You are my princess and the things I will do to you my sweet...” My voice shakes as the beast that lives inside of me fights the chains that have bound him for too long. “I’ve wanted for so long. I want all of you, Caramia. I won’t take any less than everything. Do you understand? After this, after you are mine, I will never be the same. I will not be able to stop. Are you Daddy’s girl?”

  I kneel behind her. Worshipping at the sight of her round ass. The pink shimmer of the slice of pussy between her full thighs. She’s my girl. But she’s a woman. Full and voluptuous. And I love every inch.

  My heart is a savage drum beat in my chest. Each thump matched by the same intense pounding in my cock. But, right now, it’s all for her. I will wait. My needs will wait. She will always come first in every way.

  She raises up on her toes, pushing herself back, toward my face, as I bring my hands up to grip her ass, pulling it apart and splaying her soaking pussy before me. Her luscious scent hits me like a freight train, branding me with her being for all time.

  I lift one hand, quickly bringing it up, then back down with a smack. Her body freezes and she gasps.

  “I don’t like to ask twice, Princess. Who are you?”

  A stifled moan precedes her breathy words. “I’m Daddy’s good girl.”

  “God damn right.” I growl losing my usual refined vocabulary as my mouth comes to cover her drenched cunt. I never swear, but I am a new man.

  She is what I was born for. All the years before this were nothing but hell’s waiting room, because I now know what heaven tastes like.

  I sink my tongue into her opening, holding it there as her body slowly relaxes and fills my mouth with a nectar so sweet I cannot imagine my life without it. I dart the point of my tongue in and out, feeling the way her body shifts and clenches, begging for more.

  My hands spread flat on either side of my face, pulling her apart, feasting. Her body is the buffet of my wet dreams.

&nbs
p; My fingers find the slippery outer lips and splay her open as I pull my face back for a moment to take her in. I stare in awe at the sweet pink folds, at the way she glistens in the low light of my office. Drawing in a deep breath through my nose, I hold, just for a moment, before my tongue takes the first taste of her hard little clit and she jerks at my sudden eagerness. Gasping. Mewling. She is hot for me and I have to pull back to run my tongue around my mouth.

  “I won’t ever let you go again.” I whisper the words, even as I sink back into her, making her shake, her thighs quiver.

  “This is just going so fast.” Her words are muffled as her face rests on her arms.

  “No, Caramia. We’ve been fighting this for so long. You are Daddy’s good girl. You have been for a long time. Don’t worry. It’s just us now. You’re going to cum in Daddy’s mouth, my sweet princess, and that’s all you need to worry about from now on. You will give me all your cum.”

  I attack her body with my mouth. Sucking and licking until she shudders and floods my face with her essence. I swallow, then go right on, sucking more out of her as she yelps and convulses. I pause, pulling back to enjoy the view, savoring the sight of her for a long moment. I note the quiver rocking her body, shaking her inner thighs, and a low chuckle of delight comes from my chest.

  When her breathing slows, she shifts to look behind her. Her face is even more stunning now than it was in the last moment. I need more. More from her. “More,” I growl. “One more for Daddy, princess. This one is mine.”

  My tongue starts high, just under the dark star of her ass, and I make a silent promise someday to enjoy her here as well. But not today. Today, I have other priorities. I slowly, firmly guide my tongue to her center. Holding her upper thighs from behind and pushing her forward without another word. My teeth skim over the slick inner flesh, and she whimpers in response. Then I’m moving, up and down, from asshole to clit while the music of her sounds fills my ears. I’m not gentle, far from it; I want what I want and I can be a demanding man. I’m gluttonous when it comes to her. I’ve waited so long, too long. I am a starved man, finally invited to the feast, and I will not be denied ever again.