Mastered

his desk or her dress up to her waist.

He set her ass on the edge of his desk and with an impatient gesture, he swept the surface of his work area clean, knocking the contents to the floor. Shit scattered in all directions and her eyes widened, her pupils dilated so that only a thin ring of blue circled the black orbs as she stared warily at him.

Not giving her any time to think, much less gather her scattered emotions, he eased her down until she lay flat on her back on the desk and her legs dangled over the side of his desk. It made him a complete bastard because he was absolutely taking advantage of a woman who was still reeling from the events of the night. But at the moment, he didn’t give a fuck because he was consumed by the need to taste her. To give her a taste of what her shithead ex hadn’t bothered, or was unable, to give her.

She would leave here satisfied completely and then she’d return to him. Oh yes, she would be his. She just didn’t know that. Yet.

He gently slipped her shoes off, hesitating just a second because the idea of him being between her legs with only those shoes had his dick already leaking pre-cum. That was for later. He’d fuck her in those shoes and nothing else.

He dropped the heels onto the floor and then shoved her dress up her legs and over her hips to gather around her belly. She was clad in lacy, sheer panties that covered golden curls at the V of her thighs. He tugged the thin band, sliding the sheer material down her thighs to her heels and let them drop to the floor.

Impatiently, he nudged her thighs apart and groaned when he got an unimpeded view of her glistening arousal. The pink lips of her pussy beckoned him and he lowered his head, running his tongue between her lips from her slick entrance to her quivering clit.

She cried out and arched violently upward, her legs shaking spasmodically. Clamping his hands on her hips, he held her firmly in place as he began sucking and licking in long strokes. Moisture surged onto his tongue and to his satisfaction he’d been right. She tasted every bit as delicious as he’d imagined.

He could die a happy man between her legs, his tongue lightly fucking her, tasting her from the inside out. With light laps, he worked his way up to her clit and circled the taut bud until she let out a keening wail. Then he rimmed her entrance with the blunt tip of one fingertip, slipping only the slightest way in.

As she got wetter around his finger, he grew bolder with both his hand and his tongue. He stroked her velvety walls, reaching deeper to the slightly rougher area of her G-spot. As soon as he exerted light pressure and suckled gently at her pulsing clitoris, she went wild, bucking, her breaths loud and forceful.

“Oh my God,” she said in awe, wonder in her voice. “I had no idea it could be this way, that it could feel so good. So . . . perfect.”

Her words slid over his ears like the finest silk and he experienced an ego boost like no other he’d ever felt. This woman deserved a man who could satisfy and please her in bed, and he had every intention of being that man. He was claiming her, putting his stamp on her, even if he didn’t fully possess her tonight.

Knowing he would have her fully, completely, gave him a surge of sheer male satisfaction.

He gently sucked her pulsing clit between his lips as he added a second finger, stroking in and out.

“Oh. Oh!” she gasped. “I don’t want it to end. It’s too perfect. Oh my God. What do I do? I feel like I’m coming apart!”

“Let it happen, Angel,” he murmured. “Let yourself feel the pleasure and forget all about the past. This is how it should feel when a man takes care of his woman and isn’t a selfish bastard out to please only himself.”

He stretched her more with his fingers and then began to stroke in and out, enjoying the silky walls of her pussy. He licked and sucked at her clit until her entire body was rigid, her bottom lifted entirely off the desk as if desperate for his mouth.

He felt the ripple of her pussy around his fingers and cursed the fact that it wasn’t his cock. He was so hard that it hurt and his straining erection felt as though it were about to split apart. He’d never wanted a woman so badly in his life and he’d damn sure never been this aroused—and unselfish.

“Give it to me,” he demanded. “Come in my mouth, Angel. Let me taste you.”

He withdrew his fingers and then moved his mouth down to her opening and slid his fingers up to her clit to caress as he licked and sucked her sweet juices.

Her cry splintered the quiet and she went wild, bucking and writhing as she exploded into his mouth, on his tongue, bathing his chin with her creamy nectar. He gentled his ministrations, knowing how hypersensitive she would be as she came down from her orgasm, but he continued to tongue her, lapping up every drop of her essence.

And then she went utterly limp and when he raised his head, he saw her dazed expression and the hazy, dreamy look in her eyes. She was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen.

Her gaze found his and uncertainty, shame and embarrassment replaced the look of euphoria that had been present. She looked away, her cheeks flushing.

Drake gently lifted her to a sitting position and then slipped her underwear back on, then eased her from his desk and straightened her dress before bending to slide her heels back on her feet.

He cupped her cheek, softly caressing her jaw with his thumb.

“Maddox will take you home now, but he’ll be back to pick you up at seven sharp tomorrow night to bring you back to me.”

She nodded numbly, obviously dazed and confused, bewilderment bright in her eyes. She didn’t even register Drake summoning Maddox back to his office and didn’t react when Drake cupped her face with both hands and kissed her lingeringly.

“Tomorrow, Angel. Until then, dream of me.”





Evangeline sat in the back of the luxurious car, utterly still with shock. She should be shaking like a leaf and completely freaking out. Okay, so she was freaking out, but she wasn’t broadcasting that to the big silent man who’d been charged with “seeing her home.” The same man who’d intervened and prevented Eddie from hitting her.

Did he know what had happened in Drake’s office, or whatever the heck he called it? It seemed more his lair and he was some brooding dark beast. A beast who had the most wicked mouth and certainly knew how to use it to pleasure a woman.

Mortification swept over her, nearly destroying her carefully constructed composure. She’d allowed herself to be escorted from Drake’s office as if they’d simply had a conversation and he was thoughtful enough to ensure she got home safely. But on the inside she was a hot, writhing mess, still shaking from the aftermath of the most mind-blowing orgasm she could imagine.

Not that she had anything to compare it to, but surely all orgasms weren’t that earth shattering. If they were, then all everyone would ever do is have sex. The world would revolve around down-and-dirty sex.

If she had a man like Drake, it would certainly be all she ever wanted to do. If he was that talented with his mouth, then what about the other parts of his body? Imagining his cock deep inside her nearly made her orgasm all over again, and she glanced furtively at Maddox, praying she hadn’t just given herself away with the betraying quiver that stole over her body and set all her girly parts to tingling all over again.

She was still hypersensitive. The exquisite, sumptuous leather she sat on vibrated erotically over her swollen, throbbing clit as the car navigated through Brooklyn. It was the worst sort of torture because it was a good distance from Impulse to the apartment she shared with her three roommates in Queens.

She didn’t chance staring at Maddox too long. She didn’t want him aware of her scrutiny. That, and she was positive he’d take one look at her face and see her every thought reflected, and that would truly send her over the edge on a night where her nerves were already frazzled and frayed to mere threads. And she was barely hanging on to those fragile threads as it was.

He was utterly unaware of her anyway, his gaze fixed ahead at a point over the driver’s shoulder as if studying the streets, alert at all times. Was he expecting them to be carjacked or something?

She almost laughed but knew that too would give away her mounting hysteria.

Surely escorting errant women from his boss’s club wasn’t in his usual list of duties. If she hadn’t had the night from hell—and heaven, God, the last part had been pure bliss—she could almost summon sympathy for him and his job of babysitting her all the way to Queens.

They continued the drive in silence and when they were but minutes from her apartment, she breathed a sigh of relief. But then Maddox shocked her by turning his attention to her, the first time he’d even acknowledged her on the ride home.

“Are you all right?” he asked gently. Then he shook his head, evidently irritated with his own question. “Of course you aren’t all right. But will you be?”

Her mouth fell open because she’d gotten the distinct impression that she was a tedious job, an unwanted one at that, but now genuine concern, and worse, sympathy was reflected in his eyes, making her wince.

She didn’t want this man’s pity. Or Drake’s for that matter. The evening had been a disaster. Well, except for the bone-melting, oh-my-GOD orgasm Drake had given her, because it had been painfully obvious to everyone at that damn club that she didn’t belong, no matter that Drake had tried to dissuade her of that notion.

“I’m fine,” she said quietly.

He cast a doubtful look in her direction. One that told her he saw right past her obvious lie, but then she’d never been able to deceive anyone. She was everyone’s version of Miss Goody Two-Shoes, which was why Eddie had seen her as a challenge and wanted to be the one to shame and humiliate her. To conquer the ice queen and be smug over his victory. Some victory. He’d been terrible in bed, and it had only taken Drake’s mouth and nothing else to reveal that much to her.

“Okay,” she muttered. “I will be fine. Happy? I’ll get over it. I always do.”

He frowned at that, his eyes glittering with sudden anger, but he clamped his lips shut, thank God. She had no desire to bare her soul a second time to a complete stranger as she’d done with Drake within five minutes in his presence. Her and her annoying, ridiculous habit of blurting out the truth, no matter how humiliating. She’d mentally kicked herself at least a dozen times for not telling him it wasn’t any of his business. But then there was the fact that Drake didn’t appear to her to be a man to ever be told to mind his business. She’d convinced herself that he scared the holy hell out of her, but then he’d been extraordinarily tender—and sweet—to her, and she hadn’t been able to summon fear when he was making her mindless with his mouth. But after? When she’d partially regained her senses? He definitely terrified her.

The driver rolled to a stop in front of the aging seven-story apartment building that was far older than she was. She and her girls lived on the top floor and the elevator had stopped working a year ago, something the cheap asshole landlord hadn’t ever seen fit to fix. It made carrying groceries, or even worse, walking up those six flights of stairs unbearable after a long night at work with aching, swollen feet.

Evangeline didn’t wait for the driver or Maddox to get out. She quickly opened her door and stepped onto the curb, hoping neither man would bother to get out and would be on their way, more than happy to be rid of her.

No such luck, but then nothing about this night had gone right, so why would now be any different?

Maddox climbed out on his side after checking for traffic, which wasn’t much given the lateness of the night and the fact that for all practical purposes it was a one-way street since vehicles were curbside parked on both sides, making it a tight squeeze for two cars to pass in opposite directions.

He came around to stand beside Evangeline and stared up at her dilapidated building, a scowl forming on his face.

“You live here?”

She stiffened at the implied criticism and snobbery, and she fixed him with an icy glare of her own.

“It’s all I can afford and I share it with three other roommates. We do fine. It has all we need.”

He shook his head and reached for her elbow, but she evaded his grasp.

“Thank you for the ride home,” she said, politely distant.

He ignored the obvious dismissal and his hand closed around her elbow as he herded her toward the entryway.

“I’m walking you up to your apartment.”

There was a stubborn glint in his eyes that told her no amount of arguing was going to sway him on the matter. She sighed and threw up her free hand.

“Whatever. Let’s just get it over with. I’ve had a long night and I’m ready to face-plant on my bed.”

His mouth twitched ever so slightly. She could swear he was battling a smile, but then none of the men who worked for Drake that she’d seen tonight looked like they smiled. Ever.

When he headed for the elevator, she pulled up and shook her head, directing him toward the stairs.

“The elevator doesn’t work. We’ll have to take the stairs.”

He frowned. “What floor do you live on?”

“Top,” she said, already bracing herself for his reaction.

“Jesus,” he muttered.

Then he simply bent down, gripping one of her hands and anchoring it on his shoulder.

“Hold on to me.”

She had no time to question and it was a good thing she was too befuddled and rattled to disobey his order because he lifted one foot, causing her to teeter, and slipped one of her heels off. After her bare foot was solidly back on the floor, he repeated the action with her other shoe before easing her hand back down to her waist.

Her shoes dangled from his fingertips and with his free hand, he pressed his palm to her back and ushered her to the stairs.

“What on earth are you doing?” she asked in a strangled tone, finally managing to find her voice.

“You’ll break your damn neck climbing six flights of stairs in those toothpicks you call shoes,” he growled.

She rolled her eyes as they began their climb. “I’m very used to wearing heels like these.”

He cocked a mocking eyebrow at her. “Can’t say I’m convinced after tonight’s fiasco. You damn near killed yourself.”

She uttered a growl of her own and pinned him with her most ferocious frown. “Well gee, excuse me all to heck. I was a little more concerned with getting out of the way of a fist trying to make contact with my face than I was about staying upright in my shoes.”

It was the wrong thing to remind him of. His expression went utterly glacial and a murderous look entered his eyes.

“He won’t fuck with you again.”

The conviction in his voice made her uneasy. She used sarcasm to avoid thinking too hard about the certainty with which he’d made that particular statement.

She lifted one eyebrow. “So you have a magic ball? You can see into the future and you know he’ll never come at me again?”

“Trust me. He will never come within a mile of you.”

Her stomach quivered and she swallowed the fear quickly forming a knot in her throat. He wasn’t joking and she did not want to know how he knew this and why he was convinced that Eddie would never be a problem for her again. Some things were just left better unsaid. Ignorance was bliss, and it was a motto she’d adhered to her entire life. No reason to make any drastic changes now. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, her mama always said.

“This is it,” she said in a hushed voice when they reached the end of the hallway. Her apartment number was 716, but the six was turned sideways and the seven dangled precariously upside down. It would fall any time and she’d been meaning to fix it herself since her landlord was a useless piece of crap who never bothered to grace the building with his presence unless someone was late on rent. Then he was Johnny-on-the-spot and pounding on their door, threatening immediate eviction, even though it wasn’t legal.

“Jesus,” Maddox muttered again.

Knowing that if he walked into her apartment with his badass protective routine, her roommates would never let her go to sleep until they pried out the entire soap opera that had been her night, she unlocked the door and opened it just enough so she could slide through. Then she turned back, putting her entire weight against the flimsy door, as if he’d have any problem pushing past her. For that matter, he could kick it down without breaking a sweat.

“Seven. Tomorrow,” Maddox said crisply, suddenly all business. “Don’t come down. I don’t want you waiting on the street. Stay inside until I come up for you.”

She barely managed to control her flinch. Barely. Even so, she was certain she’d gone completely pale.

After giving her the best sexual experience of her life, Drake had calmly told her that his driver would be at her apartment the next night at seven and she was going to spend the evening with him. Just like that. He didn’t ask. He planned without consulting her about . . . anything . . . and she was supposed to just meet his driver and go God only knew where with a scary-as-hell man who also happened to have a positively sinful mouth and an equally sinful body.

She’d been too shattered by her orgasm to do anything but nod dumbly when he’d given her his crisp instructions, and then she’d been herded out of the club and into the car that drove her home.

“Seven,” she answered, nodding to reinforce the lie.

And then she shut the door, thanking God the girls weren’t all waiting in the tiny living room for all the gory details of her evening. She leaned back against it, closing her eyes, her control finally breaking, and she began shaking from head to toe. Even her teeth chattered as she relived every sinfully decadent moment of being sprawled across Drake’s desk as he went down on her like a starving man.

There was no way in hell she would be here at seven tomorrow. She had work, rent to pay and money to send home to her mother. And nothing, not even a very scary, very sexy man who made her tingle in places she’d never tingled in before was going to prevent her from taking care of her responsibilities.

She hadn’t moved so far away from her tiny southern town to a city with a bigger population than her home state to be a party girl or even to have fun. She’d come to the city because her family needed her, and she wasn’t going to let them down.





It was the height of cowardice, and Evangeline made no excuses, nor did she even attempt to offer any when she left her apartment well in advance of seven o’clock the next evening.

Though she’d been granted a temporary reprieve when she’d gotten home and her girlfriends weren’t waiting up—much to Evangeline’s utter astonishment—to make her spill all the gory details of her evening out at Impulse, they had awakened her the next morning by all piling onto one of the twin beds in the room she shared with Steph and literally pounced on her.

Evangeline had grumbled and whined about them waking her up when she had to work a late shift that night, but they’d ignored her and informed her she had time for a nap. After she gave them every single detail, word for word, of the ultimate payback they’d cajoled her into. As if she had a prayer of going back to sleep after recounting it.

She hesitated for a long time, biting her bottom lip until her friends grew concerned, and Evangeline knew she would have to spill or they’d assume far worse than what had actually happened, and they would absolutely have no compunction about paying Eddie an unexpected visit and beating the ever-loving hell out of him.

And one wimpy guy against her three ferocious, positively evil—their best quality, in Evangeline’s opinion—friends? Wouldn’t have a chance in hell. Then Evangeline would have spent the rest of her day figuring out how to afford to bail all three out of jail, when raising the funds to bail just one would have been impossible.

Her friends were loyal and protective, and their friendship was unconditional. Evangeline wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world, which was why, despite her humiliation over the events of the night before, not to mention the OH-MY-GOD ending and her leaving like a mute automaton, programmed to obey without question, she poured out the entire story.

The first part involving Eddie was actually enjoyable, and now that she had distance and wasn’t existing in that moment, she could actually find amusement in what a complete spineless wuss he was and what a complete moron she’d been to have ever allowed him to have sex with her. Especially allowing him to be her first. Despite the amusement she was able to summon, the humiliation was still ever present in her mind, because how stupid and naïve could she have been? She wasn’t a stranger to hard life lessons, but this was one she would have been more than happy to take a pass on.

Her friends found it vastly amusing as well, once they got over their rage at the way Eddie had humiliated her and had actually assaulted her in public! But Evangeline had assured them that he had thoroughly received his comeuppance and he had ended up being far more humiliated than Evangeline.

It was then Evangeline had paused in the retelling, and Steph, ever the astute bulldog who never let anything go, narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she stared Evangeline down. She had the uncanny ability to make Evangeline feel like a guilty schoolgirl caught cheating on a test.

“Okay, all of that went down within minutes of you getting there. I mean, you had only just arrived and gotten a drink when Eddie came up to you with his little tramp clinging to his arm. What he had to say couldn’t have lasted more than a few minutes at most before the bouncer dude got involved and tossed Eddie and his floozy out, but you were gone a hell of a lot longer than that. So what else happened?”

At that, Nikki and Lana both clued in to what Steph was getting at, and Nikki pinned Evangeline with a piercing stare that was almost as squirmworthy as the ones Steph was so famous for.

“You’re holding out on us,” Nikki accused.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Lana muttered. “Spill, girlfriend. We mean everything. And don’t leave a single detail out or swear to God, me, Nikki and Steph will all make a trip to Impulse, find this bouncer who took care of Eddie and find out exactly what happened afterward.”

Evangeline groaned, because they absolutely would. The men who worked with or for Drake—she hadn’t exactly been able to figure out the dynamics of that situation in the short time she’d been there—were all badasses. She hadn’t needed more than a few seconds in their company to figure that much out. Anyone with eyes and any modicum of common sense could tell these were not men to fuck with.