The hot wax hit her nipple again and then the other, immediately followed by a drop on her p.u.s.s.y that ran between her lower lips.

The next drip ran across her c.l.i.t, and Lori screamed as her o.r.g.a.s.m took over almost without warning. Her s.e.x pulsed, the only thing touching her skin being the drying wax. The stiffening substance was more erotic than any direct skin-to-skin contact would have been.

"That's it, baby. Let it go." He stroked her inner thigh with one hand, coaxing the o.r.g.a.s.m to its fullest.

When she began to breathe again, Jude resumed his decorating. Every drip brought her slowly back to fully aroused. She concentrated on each hot line running across her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and p.u.s.s.y. Her belly and thighs were treated in between with no rhyme or reason to the madness. There was no pattern she could follow. No way to know where she might feel the next heat.

Her skin would be pink, but she wasn't injured. She felt each sharp bite that just as quickly eased into a dull ache. The pleasure/pain was hotter than ever.

"Your t.i.ts are so f.u.c.king gorgeous like this, baby." More wax landed on first one and then the other. She knew by the lessening of the burn that they were almost covered now. Wax landed on wax to create a new sensation.

The same thing happened to her stomach and then lower. She gripped her p.u.s.s.y as he worked the hot wax around every crevice. And then nothing. Silence, except for the murmured voices around her.

A clicking noise made her flinch. Another. And then another. He's taking pictures...

She swallowed. He's taking pictures and I have yet to see what he's done. Her breathing increased and she had to remind herself the photos weren't nudes. After all, she was more "clothed" now than when they'd started.

"I'm going to take the blindfold off now, baby." He lifted the dark material and she blinked into the dim light. He lifted her head so she could easily see.

"Wow." The word popped out of her mouth unbidden. She was a rainbow of colors, like a giant mold had been poured over her made from every crayon in the box. It was breathtaking.

"What do you think?"

"I love it." She smiled.

Jude set her head back down. He trailed his fingertips over the wax. She couldn't feel him as sharply as she would bare, but the effect was impressive. As though her body craved more of his touch and wouldn't be denied. And then he peeled the wax away from her upper chest and slowly removed the entire art form from her skin in one piece.

As her nipples were exposed, she moaned. The cool air made them pebble into their previous state.

He moved lower, peeling away from her belly and then her p.u.s.s.y. So much had acc.u.mulated between her thighs, she thought she might come again from the removal alone. Heightened awareness of her c.l.i.t and then her s.e.x made her squirm to no avail.

She let her head roll back and forth to give her something else to concentrate on. She saw several small pots lined along the side table, a row of little potpourri dishes, each with a different color wax dripping down the sides.

The wax disappeared from her body, but before she could relax, Jude pressed a finger into her p.u.s.s.y. "Again," he commanded.

That was all it took. Lori came, gripping his finger and holding it tight, wishing she never had to let him go.

Carlton stood very still, rooted to his spot as he stared at Margaret. She leaned against the wall outside the room Jude had arranged for his scene. She bit her lip as she watched his performance.

She should be hurt, confused, angry even. He couldn't blame her. Instead she had a forlorn look on her face. She cared enough for Lori to know she had to let her former Domme go it alone. Her strength was amazing. Jude was Lori's master, body and soul. Margaret had no place in that equation. It was no one's fault. And the woman clearly knew that.

She would step back and let Lori live her new life. Her renewed life. Lori might have switched, but she was no permanent Domme. She was a submissive through and through. Even Carlton could have told Margaret that. Instead he'd stayed out of Margaret's business, and Lori's, letting their relationship play itself through for over a year. He'd begun to a.s.sume his a.s.sessment of Lori had been wrong. Maybe the woman could switch from submissive to Domme. And that didn't even touch the ideas he had about Margaret.

Margaret watched both parties with equal admiration. He saw the way her gaze shifted from Lori to Jude, sizing them both up as her shoulders drooped. She was jealous. Not angry. She wanted what they had.

She leaned hard against the wall, glancing down at herself and smoothing her hands down her torso. She wore a bustier and tight leather skirt. Red.

Finally Carlton couldn't resist approaching. "You okay, Maggie?"

She turned and lifted her gaze toward him, not surprised by his appearance. She smiled. After all, she shouldn't be surprised. He was the man who kept a diligent eye on each member of the club and their states of mind. "I'm fine." She wiped her watery eyes with the back of her hand.

He narrowed his gaze. "You look like you lost your best friend."

"I did, didn't I?" She tipped her head higher to see his face.

He lifted one side of his mouth. "I suppose so. What are you going to do?"

"Our lease has another month on it. I moved back into the apartment when Lori left. I'll find someplace smaller I can afford soon."

Carlton nodded. "Let me know if you need anything," he hedged. He wanted to say more, but nothing that came to mind was appropriate. Instead he tucked a long lock of her hair behind her ear and walked away.

Chapter Eighteen.

Jude couldn't keep the smile from his face. Normally he tried to remain stoic at the club. He was a Dom after all. Control was his middle name. But not tonight. Tonight he was chest-pumping proud of himself. And even more proud of Lori.

As he wrapped her in a blanket and held her tight against his chest, he kissed the top of her head. Spectators had dispersed when the scene ended and Jude was glad to have Lori more or less to himself. He lifted her from the table and carried her away from the scene.

He moved to a seating area and took a spot on a dark leather couch. A shiver wracked his body. G.o.d, Lori deserved more. Far more than Jude could give her after tonight.

Minutes pa.s.sed. Jude stroked Lori's back, her hair, her a.s.s under the blanket. When her breathing returned to normal and she squirmed in his arms, he knew she'd come down from the subs.p.a.ce he'd taken her to.

"You okay, baby?" He tipped her head back with a finger under her chin.

She nodded and smiled. "Where did you learn to do that?"

He shrugged. "Lots of research and then the advice of a few Doms here. I needed to be sure I wouldn't burn you. It's not too hard. There is a temperature setting on the little pots."

"Mmm." She snuggled back into him.

Jude clasped Lori's hand and brought it to his lips. He kissed every finger, memorizing each knuckle. His chest hurt. How was she going to survive this? He'd waltzed into town and taken away her support system. Now he was going to dump her in the dirt and walk away again.

Thank G.o.d he'd managed to bring Jason over to his camp, so to speak. Without that man's support, he'd be a disaster right now.

Everything that had happened in the last few weeks was his doing. He'd made choices that affected several peoples' lives and would forever alter their realities. He found it hard to dredge up a giant pile of guilt. He wasn't sure he would do anything differently if given the time to start the last month fresh.

He'd had the most glorious moments with Lori. Hopefully the memories would last a lifetime for her, and she could find the strength not to let Jude's absence tarnish her life.

Still, the pain he felt in his chest was real and powerful. He loved this woman so much it hurt. The thought of abandoning her once again with no explanation made him want to scream in frustration.

Except he'd already gotten that out of his system with the paperweight through the drywall in Jason's office.

"Let's go home," Lori whispered as she set her palm on his bare chest. "I'm exhausted."

Jude nodded. He stood, pulling her to his side and heading toward the dressing rooms so they could put their street clothes on.

When he emerged from the men's side, he found Lori already waiting for him. She stood next to the front desk, Carlton frowning at her side, as was his customary facial expression. The man busied himself, not looking at Jude.

They'd been close years ago, but Jude had ruined that. It didn't appear reparable.

Things with Jason were only marginally better, but at least the man seemed to understand and was on the same page now, or at least reading the same book.

Carlton seemed far less willing to let bygones be bygones.

Jude held Lori to his side while they waited for the car. When the valet arrived, Jude tipped the younger man and helped Lori into the pa.s.senger seat.

She was quiet, pensive.

Jude gave her that, letting silence reign during the drive home. The scene had been intense. She would need to regroup.

When they were back home, he set his keys and the contents of his pockets on the front table and turned her to face him. Without a word, he leaned in and kissed her, gently at first, and then more pa.s.sionately when she grabbed his biceps and demanded it.

Without breaking contact with her lips, he bent his knees and picked her up to carry her down the hall to the bedroom.

Still nibbling at her mouth, he set her on her feet and reached behind her to lower the zipper of her black dress. She wore nothing underneath, thanks to his destructive behavior at the club. It was easy to slide the thin dress off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor, leaving her naked.

She shivered.

He leaned back, finally breaking contact with her lips to tug his shirt over his head. "You cold, baby?"

She shook her head.

Jude flicked on the low light next to the bed and then removed his clothes hastily, dropping everything on the floor with her dress and then taking her shoulders and backing her up until her legs. .h.i.t the bed.

She climbed on top and he followed. Unlike any other s.e.xual encounter they'd had as a couple, he wanted normal tonight. A deep desire to be with her in the traditional sense. Love her. Ensure that she felt that love even if he didn't say the words. He feared he'd be too choked up for sentimental.

Her eyes were wide as she met his gaze. He lowered her onto her back and leaned on his side against her, nestling his knee between her legs. He stared down at her perfect body and traced a path over her skin with one finger, barely making contact.

He smiled when goose b.u.mps rose in his path. Her skin was pink from the hot wax, some spots with slightly raised lines that would fade tomorrow or the next day.

He almost felt sad to know his marks would disappear. Would his mark on her life fade also?

Jude caressed her body slowly until she squirmed and a tiny sound escaped her lips. "Jude...please," she murmured. She reached for him with the arm not trapped between their bodies, but he shifted his position, took her wrist and lifted the arm above her head to trap it there in his grip with his bottom hand.

He resumed his perusal, touching her everywhere. Memorizing her body, every nuance, each place where she flinched or squirmed. Some spots were almost ticklish, and he reveled in her responses. When he tapped her nipples, they jumped to attention and she arched into him.

He moved on, stroking under each breast until it swelled with need. Lower still he caressed her thighs. She spread wider of her own accord, and he desperately needed to see her, taste her, breathe in her essence. He released her hand and moved between her legs, opening them farther to his view. "Put your other hand above your head, baby. Keep them there."

He was going to love her all night long, but he was still in charge.

Jude pulled her folds apart and inhaled her scent, a moan escaping his mouth as she shivered beneath his touch.

"Jude..."

He leaned in closer and licked a path through her p.u.s.s.y and across her c.l.i.t.

Lori bucked her hips.

Jude wrapped his arms under her knees, pulled them wider, and set his palms on her hips to steady her. He flicked his tongue over her c.l.i.t repeatedly until she writhed and her breathing came heavier. He didn't want her to come yet. But he wanted her hot.

He pressed his tongue into her p.u.s.s.y and stroked inside her for a moment, not long enough for her to get too close to the edge. He licked her folds, sucking her everywhere he could reach until he was sure she couldn't take more.

"So smooth." He rubbed his cheek against her p.u.s.s.y.

Finally he crawled up her body and reached for a condom on the bedside table. He lifted off her only far enough to don the latex and then lowered himself between her legs again.

Jude stroked his palms up her arms from her armpits to her hands, where he entwined their fingers and held her tight. He didn't have to tell her to look at him. Her eyes were saucers meeting his gaze as he slid into her heat. Her mouth fell open on a sigh and then a moan as he reached the deepest point.

Jude made love to her. Slow. Easy. Perfect. He didn't rush, though he knew she was doing everything she could to keep from coming too soon. When he finally stiffened inside her and held himself as deep as possible, he said the word: "Come."

Lori obeyed, shattering around him as he filled her. He would never forget this tender moment, etched as it would be in his mind forever.

Lori smiled into the pillow as she felt Jude's finger trailing up her spine. They'd made love late into the night and then fallen asleep. Apparently he was ready to go again and she wasn't about to argue. His desperation fueled her own. They'd spoken little. Words weren't necessary. What mattered were the memories they created.

One finger became two and then four as Jude stroked her back, easing lower with each pa.s.s. He brushed the sheet aside, exposing her a.s.s, and swirled his fingers around both cheeks until she thought she'd have to beg him to reach lower. She drew her knees up slightly, giving him s.p.a.ce to reach her p.u.s.s.y.

He didn't take the hint, or if he did, he ignored it. Finally, one finger landed in her crack and trailed between her cheeks. He circled her tight hole and then moved lower, reaching under to tease her p.u.s.s.y.

Her skin was sensitive from the wax and the number of times he'd made love to her, but she still craved his touch.

Jude kissed a line down her back and across her a.s.s. "Don't move." He reached away from her for the bedside table and returned.

A small pop made her flinch. Lube. She knew that sound. A moment later her suspicions were confirmed when the cool substance landed between her cheeks.

Jude toyed with the outer rim of her hole, r.i.m.m.i.n.g it and spreading the lube. When he finally pushed a finger inside her, she was more than ready. She actually craved the contact.

He twisted and turned, adding a second finger to follow the first. When she lifted her a.s.s, he set his free hand on her lower back and held her down.

For long minutes, he scissored his fingers inside her until she writhed. She squeezed the pillow with both fists, wishing he would touch her p.u.s.s.y. Anything to alleviate the need she had.

Instead, his fingers disappeared. She heard the tear of the condom wrapper.

Jude nudged her legs apart and lifted her onto her knees, her face still resting on the pillow. "I'm going to take your a.s.s now, okay?"

"Yes." She sounded eager even to her own ears. Anything. She'd do anything to make this last.

His c.o.c.k hit her hole, and he swirled the lube at the entrance before he pressed slowly into her tight pa.s.sage. "Relax for me, Lori. Don't resist. I'm going to make it good for you, baby."

She eased her grip on his c.o.c.k and took a deep breath. "Do it."

Jude slid the rest of the way home until his torso met her b.u.t.t. He held still. She didn't think he was breathing. Finally a long exhale. "So f.u.c.king tight." He pulled most of the way out and pressed back in on a moan. "Jesus, Lori. I..."