Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)

That ridiculously cut jawline of his tightened. “Fuck, Mia. I swear you’re going to kill me one day. We don’t have a written contract but that verbal one is in play here and now. Is that how Wade taught you to greet your Dom? Because I’ll have a real talk with him about that when we get home.”


She dropped to her knees, thankful the carpet was plush. Actually the room itself wasn’t half bad. It wasn’t the Four Seasons, but it was clean and neat. The bed looked far too small for Case, but she suspected he wasn’t going to complain.

Mia breathed in and released, letting the tension flow from her body. It had been months since she’d even tried to find this place. She’d enjoyed working with her training Dom. Javier had been a friend, but even when she’d trained with him, she’d closed her eyes and dreamed it was Case who held the flogger. It had been Case who spanked her. Case who tied her up.

She’d never allowed even intimate touching in her contract with Javier for one reason only. He hadn’t been Case.

“Is this better?” She lowered her head, letting her hands rest palms up on her thighs. They were splayed, and if she hadn’t been wearing clothes, her pussy would have been on display, ready and waiting for her Dom’s pleasure.

Her only Dom. She would have one and if it didn’t work with Case, she would lock that piece of herself away forever because he was it for her.

She might be able to get over him, might be able to move on and find another man she could click with. But she would never find another she would submit to.

“This would be perfect if you weren’t wearing any clothes. But I have a few questions while I’ve got you in this mood. I expect you’ll be less likely to hedge the truth with me while you’re kneeling at my feet.”

The tops of his feet came into view, old worn cowboy boots. She stared at the scuff marks. They were perfect for him, strong and battle-tested.

He was right about that. The simple act of settling into her position made her more willing to talk. “I’ll try, Sir.”

“Who was that nightgown for?”

She was glad she wasn’t looking up at him or he would have seen her wince. “I put it in there when I flew from Austin to Dallas. I knew it would be an overnight flight to Colombia. I needed something to sleep in.”

His hand found the top of her head and he gently forced her to tilt up. One brow was arched over his blue eyes. “You expect me to buy that? You sleep in ridiculously sexy lingerie?”

She tended to sleep in a tank top and panties, but he didn’t need to know that. If he was anything like her friends’ Doms he wouldn’t let her sleep in anything at all. “No, Sir.”

“Then what was the plan? I know there was a plan in there somewhere.”

“I thought I might accidently need something from the main cabin after I’d gone to bed and then you would see me in my sexy nightie and very likely ravish me.” She’d read too many romance novels.

“Put it on.” He stepped back and offered her a hand up.

“Case, I know it was a silly thing to do.” So why had she still snuck it into her bag? She’d casually made her way back to the bedroom after she’d landed the plane and carefully slid the gown into her oversized Louis Vuitton overnight bag.

He glanced her way. “Mia, do you know how many women in my life have gone to the trouble to seduce me?”

She could only guess. Thousands, likely. “A bunch, I would suspect.”

“None,” he replied. “Not a single one. I was the easy hookup who could get them off in my hometown. In the Navy, it was a parade of women who thought it would be awesome to fuck a SEAL. In the last couple of years, it’s been women I picked up at bars. I’ve had two fairly serious girlfriends in my whole life and I initiated sex every single time. So yes, I want you to go to the bathroom and change into that filmy nightgown and I want you to show me how you would have played it.”

“Those women were crazy.” The words were out of her mouth before she could think about them. But they were also true. She’d planned to seduce that big cowboy from pretty much the minute she’d laid eyes on him. Schemed and plotted and planned to be with him any way she could.

His lips curved up in a sad smile. “They just knew I was a bad bet as a potential husband and honestly, the two girlfriends were probably more submissive outside the bedroom than I would have liked. But they were easy to be around and they didn’t give me trouble.”

She was trouble. A whole lot of trouble. She couldn’t seem to help it. “I’m not like them, am I?”

He smoothed back her hair, staring down at her. “You are the opposite of every girl I’ve ever been with before. You’re a woman who lied to me, used me to further your cause, and caused me to do the one thing I swore I wouldn’t. Be the guy a girl cheats on her man with. You put me in that position.”

She felt tears well. “I’m sorry, Case.”