Collaring Brooke (Club Zodiac Book 3) Read online

  She squeezed her legs together, her mouth falling open in shock. “Like a time out?” The idea sent a flutter to her sex.

  “Exactly like a time out. If being spanked is something you crave, you won’t get it from any of those means. It’s okay to crave the release, but I don’t like you feeling like you deserve punishment for a disagreement with me. And I sure as shit don’t want you to think being attracted to me deserves a beating.”

  She nodded again. “Understood.” It would take some time to change how she looked at things, but he made perfect sense. However, if he wasn’t going to be willing to strike her in the future for misbehavior, what would be an acceptable reason to give her what she needed? If he meant that he only intended to spank her this one time, she didn’t think she could agree to that, but at the moment she needed it so badly she didn’t want to risk him changing his mind by arguing the point further.

  He stared at her face, probably judging her state of mind. “You won’t utter another word except your safeword. If I hear anything besides yellow or red, we end the scene. Understood?”

  She opened her mouth to agree and then stopped short and nodded.

  He smiled. “Good girl. My way or not at all.”

  She nodded again, though she was confused by her body’s response to the way this was playing out. That knot in her belly was back. Wetness leaked between her legs. She was aroused. Not at all what she’d planned.

  He was confusing her, smearing the boundaries between sex play and punishment play. Was it calculated or was she that messed up?

  “Take off your clothes.”

  She gasped, opening her mouth to speak and then stopping herself. My clothes? She’s been naked with him earlier, but that was different. It was sexual. This was a different kind of need. It didn’t require nudity. In fact, it required her not to be naked so she wouldn’t get so aroused.

  He crossed his arms in front of him and waited.

  Darn. He was serious. If she wanted to get what she was asking for, she needed to give him what he demanded in return.

  Slowly she stood and pulled her T-shirt over her head. Her fingers struggled to obey directions from her mind, but she somehow managed to pop the button on her jeans and lower them over her hips. Next she unclasped her bra and dropped it to the floor. And finally, she wiggled free of her panties.

  By the time she was finished, there were red splotches across her chest from nerves.

  “Hands at your sides,” he commanded.

  She pulled them away from her chest, unaware she’d been covering herself. She had to curl her fingers into her palms and dig her nails into her skin to remind herself to stay still.

  “Shoulders back.”

  She did as he said, but her traitorous nipples jumped to attention even without contact. Her breasts felt heavy under his gaze.

  He stared at her forever. “Spread your legs farther. Shoulder width. When you submit to me, always keep your knees or feet spread out. I want you to feel the air on your pussy.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice as if his next words were too lude to utter as loudly. “I want your pussy open so I can easily reach out and stroke through your folds whenever I desire.”

  She shivered, a small noise escaping her lips.

  He smiled. “I think that makes my little sub wet.”

  He was not wrong.

  “Turn around.”

  It was awkward, especially keeping her feet spread apart, but she managed to face the window, wondering where his gaze was now.

  “Your bottom is so gorgeous. So white and smooth. It’s going to look even prettier all pink from my palm.”

  A quiver shook her body.

  “When I’m done with your bottom, it will be too sore to sit down. And then I’m going to massage your body until you’re putty under my hands, rubbing lotion into your sensitive skin. Every stroke of my palm over your bottom will remind you who you belong to.”

  Belong… She found she liked the sound of that. He’d insinuated before that he owned her. She knew he was only playing, but the idea of belonging to him made her heart soar. She’d give anything to be his.

  “I’m going to spank you because you’ve given me no choice, but you’re not going to get the reaction you think from it.”

  She swayed a bit on her feet, wondering what he meant. He couldn’t control her reaction to a spanking. Only she could. She knew the second he struck her skin the first time, she would slide into that happy place where she escaped the world and enjoyed the feeling. Whatever other reaction he thought she might have would never happen.

  His hand landed on her bottom unexpectedly, sending goose bumps down her legs and up her back. His touch was light, gentle. “Baby, you’re going to come so hard for me you won’t know what happened.”

  Come? What? No. Not from a spanking. Would he be disappointed?

  She stiffened, worried she couldn’t be the person he needed her to be. Maybe this had been a bad idea all along. He’d told her multiple times he wasn’t a sadist and didn’t want to play that way with her, and yet she’d pushed and pushed and pushed until she’d gotten what she wanted.

  But had she? She wanted the euphoric release only being struck with something could provide. The burning sting of a palm or belt or whip. It chased her sins away and left her rejuvenated. Like a new person.

  He cupped her butt cheeks with both hands, molding them, pulling them apart until she gasped at the exposure. His palms slid around to the front of her thighs and farther until they nearly touched her sex. But not quite close enough.

  Suddenly his hands were gone and he spoke. “Turn around.”

  She faced him again, her hair falling loosely around her face.

  He tugged a hairband from his pocket and held it out. “Pull your hair back.”

  She was surprised he was letting her do it, but she took the band with shaky fingers and gathered her hair behind her head, pulling every lock out of her face.

  “Good girl.” He reached for her nipples next, flicking his thumbs over them and then tweaking them both with a quick grip and twist.

  She gasped as she swayed forward. The sting was welcome. It brought her fully alive, but it also sent another wave of arousal to her sex. Pain and arousal?

  She remembered how he’d elicited the same thing from her with a swat to her inner thigh earlier. What the heck ride was she on here?

  After briefly cupping both breasts a little too firmly, he released them, wrapped a hand around her wrist, and angled her to one side of his thighs.

  By the time she realized he intended to take her over his knee, she was already falling forward.

  She’d never been in this position before. Faith had spanked her on a bench and then used other toys on her against the St. Andrew’s cross and the spider web, but not across her knees.

  Ironically, her mother had never spanked her in this position either. She’d forced Brooke to bend over a chair or couch or table or bed. If Brooke didn’t comply, the beating would be longer and worse.

  “Relax your body,” he ordered softly. With one hand on her lower back, he held her across his knees. His other hand stroked up and down her thighs and butt cheeks.

  Her breasts hung over his leg, brushing across the bed with every movement. Her stupid nipples were demanding attention, and she found herself rubbing them intentionally over the comforter.

  If he noticed, he said nothing.

  She braced herself on her elbows, holding her head up, but the position was strenuous.

  “Brooke,” he admonished, “lower your arms and set your cheek against the bed. I’m not going to begin until you’re relaxed.”

  Relaxed wasn’t a sensation she usually felt when she was being punished, not by her mother or Faith. A nervous tension always stiffened her body. Although, she did recall Faith demanding her to loosen her body also.

  More caressing, up and down her thighs. With every stroke, his fingers got closer to her sex. “Spread your legs farther. I want your knees open.
”

  She awkwardly obeyed him over his lap.

  “That’s a girl. Just like that. It changes your frame of mind when you open your pussy to me. Feel the cool air hitting your clit and those sweet lips of yours.”

  She moaned before she could stop herself.

  “That’s it. Let your body do as I say. I want you to be so wet you can’t stand it.”

  He was certainly getting that wish. Arousal leaked onto her thighs.

  “That’s my good girl. Now, I’m going to spank you, but I’ll do it at my pace, and it will be my choice how hard I strike each time. You don’t have permission to speak. You may moan or scream or cry out, but no words. If you speak, I’ll stop.”

  She pursed her lips to ensure she didn’t break his rule. Even though this arrangement between them was new, she didn’t doubt his words for a second.

  The first swat that landed took her by surprise. It also pushed her breath out of her lungs. Her skin tingled where his palm landed, but something else happened at the same time. It was as if he’d pushed two fingers into her vagina instead of spanking her.

  She gritted her teeth, pressing her forehead into the bed to control her weird reaction.

  The second slap resonated louder in the room. It landed lower on her cheeks, right where her butt and her thighs met up. Again, her sex clenched. Oh. My. God.

  He had said she would come. She had not believed him or understood his plan.

  Another two swats landed in succession, leaving her gasping for air. Her arousal went through the roof, her sex pulsing with need.

  If he was aware of her body’s reaction, he didn’t let on. “Your bottom is so gorgeous all pink like this. I can see my fingerprints on your soft cheeks. I wonder how long it will last?” he mused. “Will I still see the evidence of my spanking on your bottom tomorrow?”

  She was glad his questions were rhetorical, keeping her from accidentally speaking out loud.

  He rained several more slaps to both cheeks, alternating back and forth, his palm striking the lower part of her butt over and over while she held her breath. All she could think about was the building orgasm he’d elusively promised.

  Just when she thought she couldn’t take another moment, his hand thrust between her legs, two fingers sliding deep into her channel without warning.

  She came instantly, screaming out around her orgasm, her sex pulsing around his now thrusting fingers as they pounded in and out of her, his thumb hitting the bundle of nerves above her sex each time he thrust again.

  As her orgasm subsided, she squirmed to get away from his fingers. Too sensitive. An overload of sensation flooded her body.

  He didn’t let up however, his hand on her back holding her steady as he removed his fingers from her sheath and dragged them up to circle her nub with soaking wet fingertips. He applied more pressure, flicking and circling and tormenting the bundle of nerves until the sensitivity transformed into something else, and she found herself climbing that mountain to the top again.

  She gasped at the realization that she was going to come again. He showed no signs of stopping, and the need grew quickly back to a fevered pitch.

  “That’s my girl. So wet for me. Your little clit is swollen and needy.” His fingers worked her hard, relentlessly. She couldn’t concentrate on any one feeling because he switched it up too fast. Circling. Pinching. Flicking. Brushing. Rubbing.

  She arched into him when she reached the peak and called out his name as she crashed over the precipice. “Carter…”

  Chapter 18

  “That’s a good girl. Just relax,” he whispered as he eased his fingers away from her sex and then caressed the inside of her thighs. Still holding her down, he marveled at how gorgeous her skin was. He was pretty sure she wouldn’t bruise. That would never be his intention. But he did appreciate the warm pink tones.

  He felt victorious that he’d made her come. He’d used the spanking to arouse her, hoping she would be able to pull the two needs together into one. And it had paid off as he suspected.

  He might be able to give her this on occasion, but only if she allowed him to channel the heat and sting of the blows toward a building arousal. He didn’t have it in him to spank, flog, or whip her for the sake of physical release from the punishment. For many people in the lifestyle, it was euphoric. Good for them. He didn’t want his submissive to need that sort of thing.

  But this…this combination. He could handle this. In fact, his cock was so hard against her thigh, he needed to adjust it.

  When she squirmed against him, he winced. “Hold still.” He gripped her thigh and then he grabbed her waist and hauled her body farther onto the bed, climbing up beside her. He flipped her onto her back, threw a leg over both of hers, and settled his hand on her chest.

  She blinked up at him. “Thank you.” Her voice cracked.

  “You’re welcome. How do you feel?”

  “Weird. You made me come with a spanking.”

  He gave her a wry grin. “That was the plan.”

  Her face flushed that gorgeous shade that matched her bottom now. “I didn’t think it was possible.”

  “Now you know.”

  “Will it always be that way?”

  “Yes. With me, it will.”

  “What if I want you to spank me with my clothes on without adding sex?”

  “I won’t.”

  “But—”

  He set his fingers over her lips and pressed. “Shh. Baby, please. Stop arguing with me for a moment. I’m exhausted.”

  She grinned, but surprisingly acquiesced.

  “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.” He shot her a look of warning as he slid from the bed and left the room. When he got to his own bathroom, he grabbed the lotion with one hand while adjusting his cock with the other. She was going to kill him if he didn’t have her soon. But he’d bombarded her with far too many sensations to add penetration with his cock. Not yet.

  When he returned, he found her right where he’d left her. “Turn over onto your belly.”

  She did as he ordered, confusion pulling her brows together.

  He popped the lid off the lotion and squeezed some into his hands. After warming it between his palms, he set both hands on her bottom and massaged the skin. It was heated, but he hadn’t struck her too hard. It wouldn’t be sore for very long.

  She squirmed under his touch as he eased his hands up her back to her shoulders, working the lotion into the tight muscles there next. She sighed into the pillow as he continued down one arm and then the other before working back to her bottom and then down her legs next.

  She was putty, just as he’d promised.

  He kept working until she was fully relaxed, and then he set the lotion aside and climbed up next to her, flattening a palm on her lower back to keep her still. “I’m proud of you. You’re a beautiful submissive. It’s shocking how deeply you’re able to submit to me with so little experience. It’s humbling. Thank you for trusting me.”

  “You’re welcome,” she murmured. “I feel better now.”

  “As good as you expect to get without the orgasm added?” he teased.

  “Mmm.” When he pinched her butt cheek lightly, she squealed. “Hey.”

  “Answer the question.”

  “It was amazing. I loved it.”

  “Good girl.” He continued to caress her back, thinking she would fall asleep, but as usual she did the unexpected.

  “What do we do now?”

  “You mean about your mom?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tomorrow morning, I think we should go visit Mrs. Thurston first thing and see what she knows about you. It will give us more information. And then we’ll head to West Palm Beach, if you’re ready.”

  “Do you think my grandparents still live there?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s the best place to start.” He wanted to tread carefully. He needed to think things through before they made the drive. There was a reason Laurie Ann Wilson fled her family and
her baby’s father and hid from them for twenty-two years. That reason could not be pretty.

  For one thing, it was clear now that Brooke’s mother had been very young when she ran away from home. Perhaps she had already been pregnant when she left.

  “I’m nervous.”

  “I know, baby.” He kissed her forehead and then nuzzled her neck, breathing in her scent. He would never get enough of her. “We don’t have to track anyone down yet if you’d rather wait. It’s up to you.”

  “No.” She blinked. “I want to know. You think you can find my grandparents?”

  “Easily. We could go straight to the police station if you want, but I’m betting they know less than us. The case went cold twenty years ago.”

  She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. “You can get an address?”

  “Yes. If they’re still alive, I’ll find them. Probably in five minutes.”

  Brooke pushed on him and wiggled free until she was sitting. She pulled the sheet from the bed up to cover herself.

  He tried not to smirk at her sudden modesty. He’d seen, felt, and tasted every inch of her skin. Now she needed to hide? “Where are you going?”

  She slid off the bed. “I can’t just lie here. Let’s find my grandparents.” She reached down and grabbed her clothes off the floor, setting them on the bed. The sheet she held was still tucked into the mattress, making it difficult for her to function.

  Carter climbed off the opposite side, rounded the bed, and stopped her with a hand to her wrist. “Relax. We’ll look up the address. But you don’t need to get dressed.”

  She glared at him as she snagged her panties.

  He tugged them out of her hand and put them in his pocket. Spotting the T-shirt he’d given her the first night at the top of the bed, he leaned across her to grab it. “You can wear this. Nothing else.”

  She flinched. “Carter—”