Scavenger (Dark Day Isle, Book 2) *Available on Most Retailers!*

Provoke the Bastard

Once they were dropped off at the beach, Felix turned the vibrator off to give his little vixen the break she needed. She was already more sensitive than he was used to, making it difficult to gauge her limits. He'd never make her do anything he didn't fully believe she could accomplish. Her downfall was literally in the palm of his hand. It would be easy to push her over the edge, ensure she failed, but that wouldn't prove a damn thing. Nor would it garner her full trust or submission, and those had become his two biggest objectives after this morning's upheaval.

With a steady tug on the leash, he forced her neck to crane back so he could peer into her face. He still wasn't completely settled, he knew, but he was getting there. The arousal he'd been fighting since he'd first stroked his fingers over her delicious little pussy was both a helpful distraction, and its own kind of hurdle. It gave the lingering effects of his aggravation and disappointment an edgy punch.

"Are you ready to take a walk along the beach, my pet?"

"Yes, Master."

God, he loved how genuine her accent sounded when she spoke his language. To discover she'd soon be calling his homeland her own wasn't helping him keep his bastard side in check. If he wanted to be severely honest, everything about Tessa provoked that beast in all the worst possible ways.

"Let us see," he said, inching the hem of her cover up to slide his hand between her thighs. A partial moan and growl formed in his throat from the wet heat he found there. "Already soaked through your bikini. Are you sure you want to continue, Tessa? I could ease your torment right now, take the vibrator away."

Her lips parted in surprise. Then she eyed him with skepticism, and her features firmed with determination. "I'm sure, Master."

Pride and lust sang through his chest, pulling his mouth into a slow smile. He captured her soft lips and ran a possessive stroke of his tongue across the seam.

"Good girl," he praised as he tucked the leash into the neck of the cover. "Now, take it off."

Her resigned expression revealed just how much she'd rather not, but that was the sadistic twist to his little game. To make her feel more exposed in a swimsuit than she'd been in just chains and clamps the night before. The most arousing aspect of it all was how much she enjoyed it. That she longed for the suffering. Felix had never subscribed to the labels dished out in the community, but he'd be the first to admit that he had a sadistic streak. The ways his little fox still managed to trigger that side of him without being a typical masochist fascinated him to no end.

Perhaps that was why he'd panicked when she'd threatened to go back to auction. In truth, the whole ordeal had come as a total shock. He couldn't have been less prepared, despite picking up on her distant mood. Felix counted it a blessing that she couldn't hide it that well, because it meant she wasn't schooled in the art of deception the way too many people were. The little lies at the breakfast table, the pretense of being asleep, irked and disappointed him. Yet, it had been her choice of leaving that had rattled him the most. Denial had lanced through him when she'd spoken those words, and he'd felt something dangerously close to desperation. Spending half the night debating with himself over his unusual and intense reactions to her hadn't helped. And the locks...God, those fucking locks of her collar and cage were a dangerous new element.

Felix's gaze refocused on the silver collar around Tessa's neck, and though he couldn't see her newest lock resting against her nape, just knowing it was there stirred his blood. He took a moment to admire the way the white two-piece showcased her phenomenal body. A gold ring graced each of her bare hips where the narrow strings to her bottoms looped through. A matching gold ring held the top together between two triangles that failed to completely cover the full, firm swell of her breasts and tied at the back of her neck.