Amanda told Jack what she had gone through to stay in Victor’s good graces. Every detail incensed him. With a good Dom, many of the things she revealed would have provided all parties involved intense pleasure. With Victor, Amanda’s sexual acts had been nothing more than a power play to control and punish her.

He sighed and held her closer, keeping his fury in check. Amanda needed a peaceful haven right now, not exposure to a churning sea of anger. He laid a chaste kiss on the top of her head. “I’m sorry, Amanda. You shouldn’t have had to go through that.

“It’s not like it’s your fault,” she whispered. “I chose to be with him.”

Jack clenched his teeth. Despite the effort to remain calm, his anger and frustration for Amanda seeped out. “He should have respected you. Just because you were submissive didn’t mean you had no say, no control over what happened to you.”

She pulled back a bit and stared into his eyes. For a long moment, it felt as if she were trying to plumb the depths of his shallow soul. A lump formed in his throat as he considered the garbage her searching might easily reveal.
“Thank you, Jack, for listening to my tale of woe and not judging me.” A tiny smile graced her lips to match the sincerity of her voice.

A small part of the responsibility he felt for Amanda lifted from his shoulders. She’d made a step forward if she understood that her BDSM experience was atypical.

Before he had a chance to respond, she tilted her head closer to his face and kissed him. The sensuous onslaught of her full lips pressed against his caught him by surprise. Awareness of her hummed through his body and set him on edge. Didn’t she know how her kiss could make a man react?

She pulled back and looked into his eyes again. Hers held a glimmer of surprise. He felt sure she could see his shock.

“I rather liked that.” Then she kissed him again, her tongue tracing the contour of his mouth until he opened for her exploration.

A groan welled from deep in his throat. His hands slid from her shoulders to the sides of her head, where he could hold that marvelous sexy mouth to his. His thumbs stroked her cheeks, and he let her drink from him. Her recovery would be long, and if she could absorb some of his strength, he would give it to her. She deserved so much better than the experiences she’d had so far.

The emotions she’d managed to drag out of him surprised him. It had been a long time since he’d wanted to take on the personal responsibility of emotionally shielding a woman, of restoring her trust in a man.

Her hands splayed over his chest, parted the robe, and played with his nipples. He tried to remind himself of what she’d just gone through, but those wicked fingers plucked at him and made a music that overwhelmed his thought processes.

Of their own volition, his hands gently embraced her face, stroked her neck, and then caressed her shoulders. Amanda’s soft, feminine hands somehow shut down the ability of his mind to do anything but react. Giving in to her freed a part of him that longed for personal contact.

She leaned closer and he felt the blanket give way. Breaking the kiss, she encouraged him in a breathy voice. “Touch me. Make me feel.”

She’d read his mind. He needed to touch her and jump-start the dormant activity of his heart. Jack rained kisses down her face, following the path of his caressing fingers. When his hand reached her breast, the soft flesh he could worship with his lips and tongue, he was amazed by how the soft orb overflowed his palm. She was made for a man like him, a man who could be her master, lover, and protector. He could teach her, let her experience a sincere BDSM relationship. He smiled at the thought and resisted the urge to beat his chest.
He kissed the swell of her breast.

Her sharp intake of air preceded her barely uttered, “Please.”

She leaned back and he tumbled on top of her. A wild, wanton look radiated from her face. Holding her before, he’d tried to ignore the swelling of his shaft, but covering her, hearing her beg for his touch … his body could only be held back so long. He pushed the fallen covers away from her body and drank in her unadorned form.

Amanda was beautiful. He bent his head to take a dark nipple between his lips, rewarded when the tiny tip hardened into a peak in his mouth. He laved the point, twirled his tongue around the sensitive tip, and suckled until she moaned.

Beneath him, she shifted and spread her legs in invitation. He tore his mouth away from her breast and gazed into her radiant face.

“I’m sure,” she said, as if she could read his mind. Her delicate hand guided his to the dampened nest of curls between her legs. She lifted her hips until he touched the opening to her ready core.

The evidence of her desire propelled him as if he were on autopilot. Her heady, musky scent encouraged him to continue touching her. He dipped a finger into her, sliding easily into her heat.

Her hand left his and grasped his rod. A shudder ran through his body, anticipating what she’d do next. The hand he’d thought fragile grasped him with iron surety and began to stroke him, making him harder than he’d been in years.

He slipped another finger into her, wanting to bring her to the first of many orgasms. Slick heat sucked his digits deeper into her channel, and he teased her pleasure nub with his thumb.

Her breathing came faster. Her hand curled around him tighter, not painful, just more insistent. Drops of cum slipped from the head, and when she ran her palm over the tip, the lubrication heightened his pleasure.

“Please, please, fuck me now,” she begged. “Let me come.”