The Mentor and the Master: A Submissive Series Novella Read online

  The Mentor and the Master

  A Submissive Series Novella

  Tara Sue Me

  Copyright © 2018 by Tara Sue Me

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover photo: Depositphotos.com

  Cover Design: Mister Sue Me

  Editor: P. Wade

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Prologue: Cole

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Epilogue: Cole

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Tara Sue Me

  Prologue: Cole

  The hardest part about burying your past is everyone wanting to give it life support.

  That seems to be the norm, I find, when it comes to digging up secrets hidden away in the far corner of a distant lot you no longer own, in a county where you no longer reside.

  I should know. I am an investigative journalist. It’s my job to unearth those things seen as dangerous, shameful, and potentially life altering. I don’t think twice about dragging them from their dark pits and exposing them under a bright light.

  But of course, all those belong to other people.

  They aren’t my secrets.

  It isn’t my past.

  Until it is.

  1

  The weight of Cole’s gaze upon her sent a flash of awareness through Sasha as sure as if he’d touched her. Which he hadn’t. Nor would he soon. He was giving her time. She appreciated he wanted to make sure whatever she did was her own decision. But surely he realized she always took him into consideration.

  They had lived together for the last year, the happiest year of her life. The floral shop she owned and operated with her best friend, Julie, was doing well. She had a close circle of friends she could count on. And then there was Cole…

  What words best described the man who held her heart and mastered her body? How he always made her smile. The gentle way he cared for her. The fierceness of his protection. His ability to command her using the smallest movement of his eyebrow. The way he made her body sing with a mere glance.

  Over the past year, their relationship had evolved to its current state. Those in the lifestyle labeled them as Master/slave. She did not, she told Cole recently. To put a label on them was restrictive and limiting and made her feel as if she was filling and acting out a role.

  Her submission to him, she said, was none of those things. Instead, it was her natural response to him and how they were together. Therefore, she refused to give their relationship a label. Cole agreed and said she’d given the best description he’d ever heard.

  He then spent the next few hours drawing those natural responses out of her in several pleasurable ways. It was after as she rested, safe and content in the shelter of his arms, he brought up the tattoo, asking her thoughts on getting his mark to cover the scars left on her back by a previous partner.

  Her first thought was Cole. Did the scars bother him? Did they remind him of a time when she wasn’t his and make him jealous? But her assumption turned out to be wrong. They had talked at length about her scars and how she never wanted anyone to see them. The tattoo, he told her, would both cover the scars and to mark her as his. Permanently.

  But he wanted her to decide for herself what to do. They had discussed it the night before, but not today until a few minutes ago when he gave her a list of websites to browse, “to see if she liked anything,” and told her he’d be back in an hour.

  She liked the idea of both covering up the scars and wearing Cole’s permanent mark. Her only hesitations were the tattoo’s design and the process of getting one. She typed in the first website he’d listed and potential images of art filled her laptop screen. Nearly each one sparked an idea of another.

  She was so engrossed in trying to decide what tattoo design she liked best, jotting down ideas, and attempting to sketch out a few, she lost track of time.

  “Little one,” Cole said, brushing her shoulder.

  He whispered and touched her gently, but even so, she jumped at the disturbance.

  Cole let out a soft chuckle. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, but it’s been two hours.”

  It had been?

  Now she was no longer focused on the laptop screen, she noticed the afternoon light had shifted. She wasn’t sure what surprised her more - that she was so engrossed in her search or that Cole had let her go over time. It wasn’t like him.

  Normally, at his entrance into a room she occupied, she moved to her knees. But he’d yet to remove his hand from her shoulder and she wouldn’t consider getting out of her chair until he moved.

  “Is everything okay, Sir?” she asked, not liking the inability to see his face.

  “Other than how negligent of me it was to let you sit in the same position for two hours?” He didn’t let her answer, but moved to her side and held out his hand. “Come on. We’ll go for a walk. You’ll be stiff otherwise, and we can’t have that, can we?”

  She took his hand and let him help her stand. She guessed he wanted to talk. They usually stretched inside or he told her to her stretch alone. But for him to decide they were going on a walk, more than likely meant he had things to discuss.

  Her assumption appeared even more likely when they stepped into the hall and he’d placed her walking shoes and jacket by the door. He helped her into the jacket and waited while she slipped on her shoes. Even after they made it outside, they walked almost halfway around the property before he spoke.

  “Fritz called while you were online,” he said.

  Fritz was not only an old friend and the man who mentored Cole in his early days as a Dom, but was also living with Cole’s ex, Kate. Because Kate lived in upstate New York and Fritz’s home base was in Berlin, they’d been dividing their time between both places. Three months here, three months there kind of a thing.

  “He and Kate are moving,” Cole continued. “For good.”

  “Really,” Sasha asked. “They’ve picked a place to stay? Just one?”

  “Yes, and believe it or not, It’s not Germany or the US.”

  “Wow. Where are they going?”

  “Scotland.” Cole shook his head. “I don’t know if they put up a map and threw darts at it blindfolded or what.”

  “Knowing Fritz the way I do, which granted isn’t anywhere near how well you do, I’d have to go with the ‘or what’ but I’m willing to bet Kate wore the blindfold.”

  Cole let out a stout laugh. “I shouldn’t have picked that as an example, but I’m sure you’re correct. For damn certain he didn’t let her blindfold him.”

  They walked a few more steps before he continued. “They’d put Kate’s house on the market and it sold quicker than anticipated. Daniel’s offered to let them stay in the guesthouse until their house in Scotland is ready. Fritz wanted to know if we were free for dinner Friday night. He said he’d found a few things he wanted me to have as he was packing up in Berlin.”

  “Did you tell them to come?”

  “Yes. I checked both our schedules and saw nothing.” He looked at h
er and gave her the grin that always made her heart flip over. “Now, little one, tell me about the image searches.”

  For the rest of their walk, they spoke of the designs she saw: what she liked, what she didn’t. She wished she had her notebook with her because then she would be able to show him, but she would do that when they got back to the house.

  If they went through with her getting a tat, the decision would be his. Though she cherished he asked about her wishes, she wanted to make sure he realized her comfort with whatever he picked out. And she told him that as they returned to the house and stepped into the foyer.

  “Sasha,” he said, which was strange. He normally addressed her as ‘little one’.

  “Sir?”

  He took hold of her shoulders and made sure she was looking at him before he continued. “Those scars on your back have been a source of pain, but more than that, they are a source of shame.”

  She couldn’t argue with that. God, he knew her so well.

  He ran his knuckles over her cheekbone. “If you chose this, and it will be your choice, I want your back to become a source of pride for you. I want you to walk anywhere, wearing anything, or nothing, and not to think of the past, but instead of me and the fact that you are mine. Forever.”

  How did he expect her to do anything other than swoon when he talked like that? “I want that too, Cole. So much.” She rarely used his name because everyone did, but on occasion when they weren’t using a higher protocol of service, she would. Or in cases such as this when he used hers.

  His eyes blazed with heated desire. “You want to be mine forever?”

  “More than anything.”

  He drew her close in a crushing embrace and kissed her with a raw and unrestrained need. His rough fingers fisted her hair, and he tilted her head to deepen the kiss. She clung to him, amazed at how his touch aroused her more now than when they first got together.

  He dropped his hand to her ass and pressed her against his erection. “Feel that? Feel how hard you make me? I’m nearly out of my mind with the need to sink every damn inch of my cock as deep as possible inside you. To make you take it all. And when you don’t think you can take any more, to slide out a touch. But only so I can drive into you even harder to prove how wrong you are. And once I’m balls deep inside your tight cunt, I’m going to fucking master you with my cock, pounding into you over and over until nothing exists for you except me.”

  Had it not been for his strong arms around her, she would have melted to the floor in a puddle of submissive goo at the husky sound of his words. As it was she let out a soft moan and sagged against him.

  He pulled back and gazed into her eyes. She saw a tantalizing combination of desire, lust, and love in his. “What do you think about that, little one?”

  She shifted her hips, making sure she brushed his erection as she did. “I’m free now, Sir.”

  His eyes darkened further. “Get prepared and meet me at the bottom of the stairs in fifteen minutes.”

  Her body pulsed with arousal. “Yes, Sir.”

  2

  When he wanted to, Cole moved around the house without her hearing him. She’d discovered his ninja characteristics two months ago. He’d command her stay in position and then he’d left the room. She moved because her knees hurt and she hadn’t heard him return. Not wanting to repeat that mistake, Sasha remained still once she knelt at the bottom of the stairs.

  The hardwood floors lived up to the hard part of their name. After ten minutes her knees ached. She focused on Cole, picturing his face and the action helped. Not a lot. Her knees continued hurting but keeping him as her focus made it doable.

  She’d expected him coming up behind her, yet she still jumped when his hands brushed her shoulders.

  He chuckled. “Was that jump because I startled you or because you’re anxious about what I will do?”

  Oh, fuck. She hadn’t thought about his plans. “You startled me, Sir.”

  “Aren't you concerned? Did you ask yourself why I told you to wait at the foot of the stairs?”

  No, she hadn’t, but since he mentioned it….

  Yet his hands were still on her shoulders, and he realized his touch grounded her. She took a deep breath. He was pushing her. And further than he’d done in a long time. She took two deep breaths and focused on what she knew.

  “I am never concerned you will harm me, Sir. Only that I will displease you. And no, I didn't question why you asked me to wait by the stairs.”

  He continued her sensual shoulder massage. “Why are you convinced I will not harm you?”

  Fear tried its best to capture her in its snare and because it’d been so long since she’d felt a hint of fear, she nearly allowed it to catch her. Perhaps because she’d been focusing on him before his approach, or perhaps because he was still soothing her back and shoulders, but she didn't allow fear a chance to take root.

  “You will not harm me because you often tell me and others I am your everything and your heart and your most beloved.” Her voice shook because she didn’t see herself as valuable. “But it goes beyond that, Sir. Beyond the fact you don’t lie. It’s how you prove the words over and over by more than speaking them. Your actions prove them.” She closed her eyes. “Even now, your hands and touch whisper my worth to you.”

  He placed a kiss on her nape and at the touch of his lips on her skin, her body relaxed. Not stopping with one kiss, he trailed his lips across her shoulder blades, his warm breath a separate, but no less arousing caress. Between his mouth and hands, she relaxed further.

  “I want your feet on the floor, and for you to crawl up the stairs with your hands. Stretch out as much as you’re able. Understand?”

  Her muscles tensed again. Yes, he often took her outside the bedroom and the playroom, but not on the steps. She forced herself to take deep breaths and focus on him. After a few breaths, the tension eased.

  “Is this correct, Sir?” she asked, getting into the position he wanted.

  The staircase was freestanding, enabling him to walk to her side. He ran his hands over her body, adjusting her here and there to make sure no part of her body bore unnecessary stress.

  “How is that, little one?” he asked. “Comfortable enough?”

  “Not so comfortable there’s any fear of me falling asleep, Sir.”

  He chuckled, running a hand along her back one last time before stepping behind her. He remained silent, and she cursed his ninja skills.

  The leather tails he brushed down her back made her breath catch. He was mixing everything up today. First, he put her in a new position and place. Second, he rarely used a flogger on her back with no quick way for him to get to her front. Typically, she’d stand with her hands over her head.

  “I had you get in that position to give me access to your back,” he said. “But bloody hell, the sight of your ass is almost enough to change my mind.”

  He gave it a hard smack so unexpected, she cried out. He gave her three more harder ones. “Not another sound unless I’ve asked a question or you need to use a safe word.”

  She sucked in a breath and vowed not to make a sound. She closed her eyes and once more imagined him. The tails of the flogger ran down across her back. Not hard. Not yet. Only with enough force for her to feel.

  “Breathe, little one.”

  She took a deep breath at his command, unaware of how shallow she’d been breathing until the oxygen filled her lungs.

  “Good,” he said. “Keep it up. Not too deep. Not shallow.”

  There was a sex joke in there somewhere, but she wasn’t about to go there. Not in her current position. She bit the inside of her cheeks to make sure she didn’t laugh.

  He’d started the flogging light, but increased the force and it wasn’t long until he hit her pain/pleasure line. Then he kept her there. Using the flogger as an extension of himself, he drove her to the subspace spot she loved.

  She marveled at the sensations at the place he sent her. How long would he allow her t
o stay? Not that it mattered, she rarely wanted to leave, afraid she might not return.

  “Sasha.”

  His voice broke through her haze of bliss.

  Although this time was different. He wasn’t bringing her back down. What did that mean?

  “Talk to me, little one.” His deep voice seemed out of place in her current surrounding. Even so, it commanded her answer.

  “Yes, Sir,” she said and thought her wispy voice a better fit.

  “What color?”

  What color meant don’t stop, but keep on doing what you’re doing forever? They didn’t have one. Just boring green, yellow, and red. She should invent one, but how did you invent a color when they’d already been named? They had, hadn’t they?

  She should use one he’d heard of. It was probably better that way. After all, if she made up a color, he wouldn’t know what it was. But which one should she use?

  “Blue,” she blurted out.

  The bliss of the world dimmed for a second, but picked right back up.

  “That’s not one of our colors, little one.” This time he spoke softer and he was bringing her down. That was fine; it meant going back to him.

  The return made her happy because she’d be in his arms. She closed her eyes.

  “Sasha,” he said not more than five seconds since the last time.

  “Sir?”

  He kissed her cheek and she opened her eyes to find she was naked and in bed, held tightly in Cole’s embrace. She snuggled into his arms. This. This was her happy spot. Where love surrounded her and kept her safe.

  “Before you go back to sleep, little one.” The cadence of his accent lulled her. “Tell me where blue came from and what it means.”