Shelby - Mandy Harbin Page 0,18

point of pain as he gazed at her.

It was a reaction he quickly ignored.

Someone was screaming.

Shelby was flying, soaring into the clouds as fireworks exploded in the distance. But the screaming was still there. She didn’t care. She was airborne, the air whistling around her as she reached new heights, peaks she hadn’t even dreamed of discovering before this very moment.

Then quiet filled the space around her. She was shifting, the world tilting around her.

Warmth. She was wrapped in a layer of something soft, pillowing around her while hot air fanned her, blanketing her in comfortable heat. The air was moist with a hint of masculinity. Breath? Was something breathing on her? She blinked and looked to the side. She was in a room that wasn’t unfamiliar. She looked to the other side and saw eyes peering down at her.

“Welcome back, pet.”

Master.

No. Mason. Mason Showalter. The man she was investigating. She looked down and noticed the red blanket wrapped around her as if she was a swaddled baby. She shivered as she tried to move.

“No, Shelby. Just relax. You’ve experienced something powerful. Just breathe for me.” He gently nudged her head back to his chest. “Breathe,” he whispered.

She did because she didn’t know what else to do. She felt confused…but at peace. She also felt something else when she shifted. Her rear end was on fire. That really big man had used various implements to spank her. At first, she’d tried detaching herself so she could just get through the night. She’d told herself she wouldn’t do that, that she would fully immerse herself in this experience, but that had been when she thought Mason would be the one dealing out the sexual torture. The game had changed. But even her newly found determination to distance herself from the other man hadn’t lasted long. She quickly found herself sinking into the abyss with the onslaught of his ministrations. She looked around again, but didn’t see him.

“Where’s Master Rafe?” she muttered, mostly to herself.

“He left a while ago, Shelby.”

She nodded as her brain fast-forwarded to that moment, and then she gasped, her head whipping in Mason’s direction. She stared at him as the final pieces clicked into place. They’d had sex. Oh God. She’d sucked his dick. Then he’d…then they’d… Oh. God. Her face was now burning almost as much as her ass.

He tsked and shook his head. “You have no reason to be embarrassed, pet. It’s not uncommon for a sub to experience subspace. It doesn’t happen all the time, and I honestly didn’t expect you to experience it on your first night, but it’s totally natural. I hear it’s very euphoric.”

Sub-what? What was he talking about? Whatever it was, he seemed to think her flaming face was due to her momentary memory loss. He couldn’t be farther from the truth. She had to get away from him. She hadn’t wanted to have sex with him.

Oh really? Then why did you beg for it?

She slammed the door shut on that thought. She had a job to do. That’s why. It was because of her job. And it was because of her mission that she needed to get away now. She’d accomplished getting close, but that was all she could do tonight. No way was she in the right mindset to get information out of him right now. She was already feeling something she couldn’t put her finger on. Trapped? Maybe, but not quite. Whatever it was, it was uncomfortable, unnatural…yet not.

“I have to go.”

Mason narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

“I, er, I’m supposed to meet someone.” That was partially true.

“You set up a date after our scene?” The incredulity in his tone almost made her wince. The angry glint in his eyes made her want to explain.

“No. I have a friend. Viola. She knows I’m here. It’s a safety thing.” The tick in his jaw had her scrambling to finish. “I-I wasn’t sure what all would happen tonight, and she was worried about me. She insisted I meet up with her afterward, or she told me she’d have the cops bust down the door and come searching for me.” Again, partially true, but true enough.

Mason took a deep breath. “I see. But here’s another lesson for you. Recovery time isn’t just for the sub. You need to be held and comforted just as much as I need to do those things for you. It’s part of building that trust between us.”

She swallowed as she looked up at him. Did he expect them