Absolve Me Page 6

  I’d love to talk with you next week to touch base on his progress. Our first goal-oriented session is tonight—wish me luck that it goes as planned!

  —Liza

  At a few minutes to nine o’clock, Liza moved a folding screen into the center of her office, pulling the chairs into position on either side. She checked her makeup—light, tasteful—and her hair, which was coiled into a demure bun on the back of her head. The sleeveless summer dress she’d chosen was paired with flirty, strappy heeled sandals, and she’d even taken the time to repaint her nails a delicate, girly shade that she’d never have selected for herself.

  It was as innocent and demure as she was going to get, she decided, if she ignored her laugh lines and the few new grays that insisted on making a surprise appearance.

  Rounding the opaque screen, she settled into the chair and let herself breathe for a moment, grounding herself in the fantasy she was creating for Dominic. She’d reminded him of their safe words via text, and asked him to consider his first step into the threshold of her office the start of their session. Once he entered, they’d begin, and if she did her job well, he should be able to see if the real thing could compare to his fantasy.

  Liza was determined to ensure that their session would be a success. So she closed her eyes, centered her thoughts and felt her pulse begin to pick up in anticipation.

  It wasn’t long before she heard the distinct metal click of a key in the door lock, and she drew and released a deep, deep breath. Game on.

  Slow, solid footsteps echoed through her hall, drawing closer to the office where she waited, a quick and not unwelcome flutter of nerves dancing in her belly. The door opened, and the air felt charged as Dominic paused—Liza could envision him in the doorway, hesitating, and she mentally urged him to take that next step and bring his fantasy to life.

  A few heartbeats later, he entered the room, and she heard the chair creak as he settled down. Yes. She drew a slow, measured breath. “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been...well, I’ve never come to confession before.”

  He didn’t answer her at first. Come on, Dominic...

  When he spoke, his voice sounded rusty. “Go on.”

  “I’ve tried to live a good life, be a good person. But sometimes I have...thoughts, impure thoughts, and I don’t know if I can be forgiven.”

  There was a tight pause, but when he spoke, his voice was stronger, more sure. “It’s true that impure thoughts can lead to sinful actions. It’s good that you recognize this. What kinds of thoughts are you having?”

  Liza dropped her voice to a whisper. “Oh, I couldn’t—I don’t know if I can say them out loud, Father. I’ve had...lustful feelings about a man.”

  “I take it this man isn’t your husband.”

  “Oh, no—he’s my neighbor. I barely know him. He just moved in a few months ago. But he works outside on his car a lot, and I can see him from my window. I’ve been watching him more than I should, and when I watch him... I imagine him, well...doing things.”

  Liza heard Dominic shifting in his chair. “Tell me what you imagine him doing.”

  “I’m so embarrassed, Father. When the weather got warm, he began taking off his shirt while he worked. He’s very...fit. And I imagined what it might feel like to run my fingers over his muscles and feel them flexing beneath my fingers.”

  “Is that all you imagined?” Liza thought she could her Dominic’s breathing become more ragged.

  “No. There’s so much more. Sometimes I’d think about taking him some lemonade on a hot day. He’d use his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face and rub the cold glass across his forehead. When he took a drink, I could watch his mouth and throat as he swallowed, and picture what it would be like to have his hot mouth on my lips, on my neck. In other places.”

  “Tell me,” Dominic ordered.

  Liza’s skin begin to flush as she got into her pretend fantasy. “He’d take the lemonade glass and trace it down my chest, running it over my cleavage until the condensation dripped down to mix with my sweat, following the same path with his finger, and then his lips. I wanted to know how it would feel if he took my nipple in his mouth through my dress.”

  Now Dominic’s harsh breaths were audible through the thin screen. “Did you want him to fuck you? Would you have spread your legs right there in his driveway if he’d asked?”

  Liza shivered. “Yes. I wanted it—I wanted him, and I’d have done anything he told me to do.”

  “That’s a very serious sin, my child. It’s important that you repent and vow to forsake these lustful thoughts in the future.”

  “But Father, what if I can’t stop? Every time I see him, I wonder how rough his hands would be on my naked skin, what his kiss would taste like...how his cock would fill me right up.”

  Dominic cleared his throat, but his words were thick and raspy. “If you wish forgiveness for your sins, penance must be performed. If you refuse to forsake your lustful thoughts, perhaps a punishment fit for the crime is the answer.”

  Liza let a tremor creep into her voice. “What kind of punishment?”

  Abruptly, Dominic’s chair was thrust back, scraping across the floor of the office, and in two strides, he was around the screen and gripping Liza’s wrists, drawing her up to his chest so fast that she gasped. His eyes blazed down into hers. “Dirty girls who lust for men’s cocks deserve a spanking.”

  Before she could respond, he was dragging her out of the office and down the hall, towing her to the back bedroom where they’d first had sex. He pulled her inside, and Liza squeaked with surprise when he shoved her down flat over the bed. She regained her balance, leaning up on her elbows, and twisted to look over her shoulder.

  He’d done as she’d requested and worn his full priest’s regalia, but with his hot gaze and fierce expression, he looked like some sort of ancient war deity, not a placid man of the cloth.

  Knowing what was coming did nothing to dull the throb of excitement that raced up Liza’s spine, and she bit her lip to keep from moaning. Instead, she dropped her eyes demurely. “What are you going to do?”

  Dominic raised his hand to his throat, his intense stare unwavering. With a few practiced tugs, he yanked open the neck of his shirt and pulled away the stiff white collar. He slapped it across the palm of his free hand like a strop, and the thwacking sound made Liza jump.

  Her own throat was dry. “I thought you were just going to...to spank me?”

  Dominic laughed, and it was hard, edgy. “I think you like the idea of being spanked, dirty girl. I think the idea of my hand tanning your sweet little ass makes you wet. But this isn’t about what you want. It’s about punishment. It’s about making you repent.”

  Damn. Liza almost lost the thread—had she really been worried that he wouldn’t be able to lose himself in his own fantasy? That silly boy at Club Atlantis could take a few lessons from Dominic La Sera. Remembering that flaccid encounter, she had to choke back a quick, hysterical giggle. If someone had told her a priest would have her motor revving this high, she’d never have believed it. Not for a second. But here she was, trying to stay in character—even as a secret part of her wanted to shout a heartfelt hallelujah.

  She shook her head to clear it, straightening so she was no longer looking back at Dominic. She sucked in a steadying breath and forced herself to focus. “Will it hurt?” she whimpered.

  “At first. It’s going to burn at first, little sinner. But you can take it. You’ll take it for me, won’t you?”

  Oh God, he was good. He had no idea just how good, but Liza’s body sure as hell did. And, with that realization, she stopped thinking and just let herself be in the moment. Her back arched almost involuntarily and she moaned, low and long. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes.”

  She felt his strong hands sweep her skirt up over her waist, and she knew that
his sharp breath was the result of Dominic’s first view of her ass, framed by a lacy black thong, presented for his pleasure.

  “Good girl,” he murmured. “Very good.” Liza couldn’t bite back a sound of pure need, and she was rewarded with an almost lazy slap of Dominic’s hand across her rear. “Quiet.”

  “Yes, sir,” she whispered into the bedspread, unsure if he could even hear her but loving the way the words echoed the sweet sensation of surrender that made her pussy throb and clench in pure need.

  “I’m going to administer your punishment now, and you’re going to take it without complaining. Do you hear me? I don’t want to hear you make a sound.”

  Before Liza could lift her head to agree, Dominic brought the flat side of his collar down across her ass, and she yelped in surprise.

  Smack! Smack! He administered two more blows in quick succession. “I said, be quiet.”

  Liza melted—just melted—into the bedspread. Dominic was tripping every one of her triggers without even knowing it. What might he do if he understood the power he held? Unwilling to risk breaking his rhythm, she pressed her face to the bed and levered up on her knees, raising her hips and backside to him in supplication.

  “Yes,” he hissed, and brought the collar back down over her already tender flesh, a series of measured slaps that rained down on her ass and upper thighs. Where the collar landed, she felt the bite and sting of the fabric like a molten kiss. Liza squirmed but pressed her lips together as the endorphins began to trickle into her system, filling her with a lazy, drowsy kind of pleasure.

  “That’s it,” Dominic praised. “Take your punishment. Do you repent your lustful thoughts?”

  Hell, no, she thought dazedly, unable to bite back a long, low moan.

  Thwack! “I can’t hear you, dirty girl. Do you repent?”

  “Uh...oh...yes...” Liza mumbled.

  The collar landed even harder. “I don’t think you do. I think you want this. Don’t you?”

  Liza could barely hear him over the thunder of her own heartbeat and the rush of blood in her veins. “Yes, Dominic, yes, please, I want it!”

  The blows ceased and Liza cried out, a wordless shriek of need denied.

  Rough hands seized her hips, yanking her backward to the edge of the bed. When Liza looked over her shoulder, she saw Dominic tearing open the fly of his pants. He released his cock with a groan and leaned over to pull a condom out of the side table. Once sheathed, he loomed over her, reaching down to seize the back of her neck. He slid his grip up to entangle his hand in her pinned-up hair. He forced her head forward so she faced the wall once again, and brought his lips to her ear.

  “Since you like being spanked so very much, naughty girl, I bet you’re going to love this.” As he spoke, he reached between them to dance his fingers up her slit before plunging them deep inside her in a single thrust.

  Liza howled, arching her back in intense pleasure as sparks shot through her. “Dominic!”

  He twisted his fingers in and out, making Liza shudder and moan before replacing his hand with his cock. Before she could catch a breath, he slammed himself home.

  The rasp of his skin against the tender red flesh of her ass and thighs made Liza see stars. As he flexed his hips and withdrew, she panted, and when he shoved back inside, she mewled. He set himself into a fast, aggressive pace, and with each slam of his hips, the added pleasure/pain from her sore backside drove Liza closer and closer to orgasm.

  But Dominic seemed to sense how close she was getting, and without warning, he pulled out completely. “Don’t come,” he ordered. “Not until you promise to repent.”

  “I promise, I promise,” Liza gasped, half out of her mind with crazed lust.

  The hand entangled in her hair tightened, and Dominic bent close once again. “Do you swear to stop lusting for other men? Do you swear to save your perfect ass and sweet hot pussy for me alone?”

  It was so note-perfect that Liza slipped out of character—but her own words and needs resonated so perfectly with his that she knew Dominic would never notice. “I’m yours, I swear! You’re the only one I want. Please, Dominic, please—”

  Even as she begged, he was fitting himself to her once again, and when he sank back inside, she gasped in pure relief.

  Eyes closed, she gave herself up to the wild pounding, feeling the scrape of his cock at the perfect angle to drive her over the edge. “Please, may I come?” she gasped.

  In response, he spanked her hard in time with his next thrust, and she screamed her orgasm into the bedspread, bucking and shaking as the pleasure swamped her. Dominic continued to drive inside her, groaning and muttering senseless words, and Liza went boneless, weightless, flying effortlessly along in complete tune with the urgent slam of his cock. Almost as an afterthought, she heard Dominic cry out, felt him grinding hard against her ass as he, too, came hard.

  They collapsed together on the bed, Dominic sliding himself out of her as they landed side by side. Liza’s breath came in labored gasps, and behind her Dominic’s lungs pumped like bellows. The oxytocin flooding her body was akin to being drunk—the kind of high, happy drunk that made her giggle like a schoolgirl.

  “What?” Dominic mumbled, clearly just as loopy as she was.

  “Sorry,” she managed, still trying to catch her breath. “I laugh when I feel this good.”

  She felt his hand stroke along her hip, tracing a lazy line from her ribs to her thigh. “Oh. Good. That’s good. I think.”

  His confusion tickled her, and she made the herculean effort to roll over so she faced him, giving him the full effect of her orgasmic afterglow. She met his dark eyes and grinned before lolling her head back onto the bed in bliss.

  “So.” He cleared his throat a few times. “That was okay?”

  “Okay? Okay?” Liza pretended to think about it for a moment. “Well, for me, it was fucking fantastic, but let’s talk about you.”

  The almost shy smile that touched his lips made her heart do a funny little flip in her chest. “I mean, it was great for me and exactly what I wanted, but it...sort of seemed pretty good for you, too. Is that...is that normal?”

  “You mean, do I always have screaming orgasms with clients?”

  He ducked his head, breaking eye contact. “That was an inappropriate question. I’m sorry.”

  “Hey.” She tugged up his chin so he could see the truth on her face. “It’s fine for you to ask, and no, it’s not normal for me.” She hesitated a moment, unsure just how much to disclose, but he was so earnest, so honest—she decided it might help him to see how very normal his desires were. “It can certainly happen, but the fact is, in my personal sex life, I’m submissive. I like to be sexually dominated, in particular by a strong, confident man who understands the power of a dominant/submissive dynamic. To be frank, this is exactly the type of sex I crave—and it’s very rare that I experience it during my work.”

  Dominic thought that over for a minute, his hand resuming its absentminded course along her side. “I think... I think I’d like to learn more about that—the dominant and submissive thing. I mean, it doesn’t have to be right now, but it seems like something I might want to understand a little better.”

  Liza laughed. “Honey, you’re a natural. If this is the kind of sex that floats your boat, some lucky woman’s going to be thanking God above for you someday.” A shadow darkened his expression but was gone just as fast as it came. Liza decided not to push, but filed it away in her mental notes drawer to explore with him later. “In the meantime,” she suggested, “I think I’m going to have a nightcap. If you’ve got questions, I’d be happy to give you any answers I can. Care to join me?” At his cautious nod, Liza pulled her dress back into place and sat up, stretching like a cat in the sun. “I’m gonna go grab a robe—meet you in the kitchen in five minutes?”

  “Sure.�
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  When she entered her kitchen a few minutes later, having donned comfy pjs and a light summer robe, she found him trying to decide between decaf coffee and the bottle of bourbon she used for juleps. He raised a questioning eyebrow, and she pointed toward the liquor. “Ice for me, please.”

  Dominic poured two and joined her at the kitchen island, where she perched on a stool. Raising his glass, he toasted her with a small smile. “Salud.”

  “Cheers,” Liza returned, tapping his glass. She took a long sip, letting the bourbon slide down her throat.

  He’d redressed, mostly—the collar was absent, likely stashed in his pocket. Which, she had to admit, was for the best. The sight of it was now, she suspected, going to cause a Pavlovian response in her brain—and other body parts—for a loooong time to come. The black shirt remained open at the throat, and as they chatted about Jersey, restaurants and the best homemade tomato sauce recipe, Dominic looked more relaxed than she’d ever seen him. The set of his shoulders, the lines around his eyes...it was night and day compared to the first time he’d walked into her office.

  “So, was this—I mean sex therapy—what you always wanted to do?” he asked, sipping at his drink.

  “You mean, when I was a little girl, did I imagine growing up to be a sex surrogate?” Liza laughed. He flushed, which Liza still found mind-blowingly adorable on a priest, and she smiled to soften her tease. “I’m sorry. It’s a legit question! It’s a very unusual profession, I know.” She settled more comfortably onto the stool. “I wanted to be a veterinarian. I brought home every stray and had no fewer than five animals at any given time. My mom drew the line at reptiles, but I had fish, dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, a sow, a horse...the list goes on. I pictured myself going to vet school, but it turns out blood and guts and broken bones are too much for me. Not to mention having to put sick and dying animals down... I just couldn’t imagine it. So, I went to college and took a lot of different undergrad classes, and found psychology. Still fascinating, no guts.