Master A-0011 (Garden of the Gods #11)

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E than was gluttonous in his jealousy. Claiming as he blindly led us inside the apartment. How we made it home, I had no idea. The moment we were alone on the elevator, he hadn’t stopped kissing me. His mouth and hands were everywhere. And me, I was so blissed out, I couldn’t even get my mind to focus on the simplest task…like walking or speaking. My hands knew what to do. As one held around his neck, the other was desperately pulling at the bottom of the long-sleeve shirt he wore. Slipping underneath to make contact with the hard muscles of his stomach as he kept walking me backwards in our living room. But as for rationality, I had none. I had instinct and a mission. Nothing mattered more than that.

“You protected them.”

Glass from the lamp shattered as the back of my legs connected with the end table and I pitched back. Ethan easily held to me, making more threatening sounds as he pulled me in against him tighter. He didn’t let me answer. His kiss turned bruising as he walked us to the bedroom.

“He wanted you. I won’t forget the way he looked at you. I won’t forget him.”

“Moore? The guard?”

Ethan’s head jerked back. Green was so dark as he stared down.

“You remembered his name?”

“If it makes you feel better, I remember most names.”

“Who’s the shorter one?”

I blinked through the question, not able to recall. It had a rumbling sound leaving Ethan as he swung me down, pinning me on the bed.

“He wasn’t important. But Moore…you remembered him.”

“He wasn’t mean to me. He was curious about my scars.”

“ Because he wanted you .” Ethan growled as he pushed up my dress. “He better take my threat to heart or else I’ll eat his right in front of you.”

“Stop it.” My tone was soft as I reached up to cup his angry face. “You have nothing to worry about. You have me, not him. Just you.”

“But he wanted you.”

“How do you think I’m going to feel? Everyone wants you, Ethan. I’m not going to be burning the world down because of it. I have you, and you’re mine now, aren’t you? Only mine?”

Ethan’s jaw flexed and he nodded.

“Show me. Be mine.”

A barely existent moan left him. Where I expected Ethan to lower back to me, he lifted, scooping me in his arms instead. All I could do was clutch onto his shirt as he swept us into the bathroom. Adrenaline spiked. A flash of sickness rolled. As quick as the reactions were, they faded just as fast when a part of me knew they shouldn’t have.

“You want me to show you what it’s like to be mine?”

He placed my feet on the ground, spinning me to unzip my dress. Merlot silk pooled at my feet and as he lowered pulling down my panties, all I could do was stare at the death clock ahead.

“Give me a time, baby. What’s it gonna be?”

“You want me up there?”

“Do you trust me?”

No thoughts. No answer.

Turning back to him, I could barely swallow back the terror that was breaking through the sludge that wouldn’t allow me to think or react rationally. I should have screamed. Ran. I could do nothing as my lips pulled back into a smile and I tiptoed to kiss Ethan’s lips.

“I trust you. Ten and two. Five and seven. No. Make it four and eight this time.”

Ethan’s arm barred under my ass. “You want your legs wider. I like that .” He lifted me and walked me back. He didn’t have to tell me what to do next. My arm rose, the other helping as he strapped me in. When he had both done and fastened my ankles, I could feel my weight pulling down. Even as he adjusted the restraints, lifting me higher on the wall, the tightness couldn’t stop the odd sense of sinking into a doom I wasn’t ready for.

“Fuck. Son of a bitch. I like you up here.”

Fingers brushed over the wetness on my innermost thigh, and something flashed on Ethan’s face. His other hand lifted to display crimson coated fingers. The same fingers he’d had buried inside of me in the elevator. Instantly, his lips tugged back at the side and a smile appeared that I’d never seen him wear before.

“I guess I was a little rough on the way here. You’re bleeding again.”

“Am I?”

Ethan didn’t answer as he slid his digits into his mouth and sucked against them. He dipped in, moving back to my thigh that was level with his mouth. The suction was powerful, sending painful little zaps towards the one place that constantly craved him.

“ Ethan, wait .”

He didn’t listen to my plea. My head dropped lower, and my mouth parted as I tried pulling against the restraints. Even through the fog, the alarms couldn’t be ignored. I couldn’t think straight, but I knew you didn’t feed blood to a shark. Not unless you wanted it to go into a frenzy and eat you alive.

“Ethan—”

I gasped as he sucked against one side of my slit, biting with enough strength to bring tears to my eyes. He moaned, and pleasure twisted with panic inside me as he let go, swirling his tongue to brush my clit. My mouth opened to continue but fingers dug into my outer thigh, stealing my words. Something told me to wait. To see…He spoke of trust. I had to trust, didn’t I? A voice said I should, but it couldn’t be the voice of reason. It couldn’t be mine.

“This is hard for you.” Ethan kissed my pussy and paused, rubbing his cheek along my thigh, glancing up at me. “I wish you could feel what I did so you’d understand the compulsion. It’s addicting,” he said between clenched teeth. “Have you ever cut yourself and licked the wound? Or maybe had a cut in your mouth?”

“I…yeah. I bit my lip once, really hard. It split and was bleeding for a while.

“Do you remember the metallic taste when you ran the tip of your tongue over it? It’s almost like…putting your tongue to a battery. It’s wrong. You know it’s wrong, but fuck if you don’t want to try it again. That taste. The zapping tang. The strong metallic ping that takes you over. It’s overwhelming yet…it’s more.”

I cried at the intense burn as he spread my pussy, sliding his tongue over an area where I was torn.

“I just can’t stop, Pearl.”

Again, he licked, tasting my wound that was no doubt still bleeding along with other parts of me.

“It hurts.”

“Not as bad as my blade will, but I’ll make it up to you.”

“No.” The word came from nowhere, yet every part of me. My fists clenched through the constant burning. “You’re not my Master anymore.”

Ethan stopped, his eyebrows lifting.

“I’m not taking your knife tonight. Cutting me is for special occasions only. I’ll allow you a three-inch incision on our honeymoon. It’s your choice on where you want to put it.”

“You’re telling me no?”

“I’m allowed to disagree with you. I know we made a deal but there has to be restrictions, or it won’t be special. Honeymoons, anniversaries…never while I’m pregnant. Only after the babies are born. That’s my terms.”

For seconds Ethan didn’t speak. Instead, he leaned in, tracing his tongue in a circle from my entrance to my clit. The fire had me jerking through the pain.

Circle.

Circle.

Circle.

The heat was turning into something different. Something more as he paused and flicked his tongue over the sensitive nerves.

“Honeymoon.”

“Honeymoon,” I repeated, moaning as he pushed his tongue into my channel.

“I think you’re just afraid.”

“ I am afraid , and you know I have good reason to be. But that’s not the reason for my terms and you know it. They’re plausible. They’re generous if you’re looking at this like I am.”

Ethan’s lids narrowed.

“Tell me.”

As his tongue dipped back in my pussy, I let my body soften to embrace the pleasure.

“You have me for a lifetime.” I paused, gasping as I stared down at Ethan, who was keeping his eyes on me as he continued to suck and lick. “I plan to live a long time. Sixty, seventy more years at least. Think how many cuts that is. I told you my body is yours. I’m trusting you with it.”

He buried his face in my pussy, pushing his tongue deep. For a good minute he thrust and compulsively swallowed. When he finally rose, I could see his impatience. I thought he would unfasten me. He didn’t. Ethan turned, grabbing a small knife from the cart not far away.

“You said special occasions. We’re engaged now. One inch.”

“You signed a contract. You never asked me to marry you.”

Ethan’s mouth opened only to close.

“But you’re marrying me. You want to marry me.”

I didn’t speak. I couldn’t. My mind was back expressing concerns but none I could quite put into words. Or maybe I knew I shouldn’t.

“You want to marry me, don’t you, Pearl? You didn’t want to at first, but you do now. You do want to marry me.”

Although he didn’t phrase it as a question, I could hear the uncertainty in the statement. And I couldn’t deny there were uncertainties in myself to, but nothing I could battle against. Nothing I had a choice over. I’d marry Ethan. Even a huge part of me wanted too. Why…I didn’t know, but with the knowledge came something else. Something deeper inside that made me strong. It gave me power.

“Pearl.”

“This is where you unfasten me and get on one knee, Ethan. Ask me to marry you, and then take me to get a ring. You lied to that woman, Hazel, and I allowed it, but I do need a ring. I deserve that.

“You do, but I won’t unfasten you. I can’t for this.” He eased back, lowering to one knee like I mentioned, but he didn’t put down the knife. If anything, he held to it tighter as he gazed up at me. “Pearl…marriage for elites is almost always a lie. It’s a business arrangement. It’s part of the foundation of every family in our circle. I never wanted any part of it… until you . I know I didn’t give you a choice in this decision, but I’m giving you one right now—here with us, just like this—no lies. No hiding what we’ll be. Me down here. You always above me. And I will put your wants first. I’m going to try to give you the best life. The happiest one you could dream of. Will you accept me as your husband so I can prove it to you? Will you marry me and spend the rest of your life with me?”

Ethan’s Master phone ringing had both of us looking over.

“You come first. I’m not getting up until you answer.”

Denials. Screaming. The two overpowered my mind as a smile appeared effortlessly on my face. But it wasn’t a happy smile. Not entirely. It was that new part of me emerging. The me I didn’t know.

“I’ll marry you on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

No anger. No impatience. Ethan’s attention was one hundred percent mine despite the constant ringing.

“I go first.”

“What do you mean?”

“Matching marks on a place of my choosing. A mutual promise.” I licked my lips and felt my body come alive as images of my cutting Ethan filtered through. I’d never been into anything like that before but suddenly I wanted to. Maybe even needed to.

“Matching marks.” Ethan stood, reaching over, lowering me so that my face was even with his. “I accept.” He leaned in, pressing his lips to mine. “Do you accept my proposal, Pearl? Will you marry me?”

At the phone starting to ring again, Ethan groaned.

“I will marry you.”

His lips met mine, and the passion behind the kiss had me leaning towards him as best as I could in the restraints. I could feel him unfastening me. I barely cared as I took charge and pushed my tongue into his mouth. Fingers fisted in my hair at the back of my head, angling me so that he could devour me whole. And he did. I felt myself falling…falling…My mind spun and the need for him to touch me and make me his left me desperate.

“Finish letting me out.”

“You want me?”

“Yes. Set me free. Take me to the bed.”

Knocking in the distance. It had Ethan cursing as his head gave a hard jerk. He reached up, unbuckling the other cuff. He barely had my last ankle undone when multiple heavy footsteps approaching outside the barrier had him jerking to the door so no one could open it.

“Hold on. Give us a minute.” His hand rose behind him to tell me not to move as he cracked it open. “We’ll talk in the living room. What the hell is this… Oh. Fuck.” He stopped and his lips parted as he looked between whoever was in the room and me. Back and forth. Back and forth. “Pearl… I’ll be out here. Get dressed and join us in the living room.”