Savannah's Sentinel (Mountain Mastery Book 2) Read online

Savannah North was perfect for his friend. The young agent was smart as a whip and her mind worked at warp-speed. Kyle West was fast-tracking her background investigation and fully intended to lure her away from Uncle Sam once she and Landon returned from Costa Rica. When Nate had questioned the wisdom of hiring a husband and wife team, Kent and Kyle had both reminded him about how well it worked with the McCalls.

  Ken had laughed as he’d explained, “Landon has already said he wants a lesser role, so he’ll be training and then offering strategic advice on missions. I don’t think there will be much actual field work in his future.”

  “And if he and Savannah end up together? Do you think he’ll be on-board with her going on ops without him?” Nate already knew the answer, but asked the question anyway.

  This time it was Kyle whose laughter came over the line. “That’s theirs to figure out. Sam and Sage seem to have found a system that is mutually beneficial.”

  “And Jen lets them think they’re in charge, so it works out well all the way around.” Kent’s added comment was likely truer than the McCall brothers wanted to admit.

  Taz stepped up on the other side of Kodi and pulled her out from under Nate’s arm and into his own. “Come here, baby.” Nate wanted to roll his eyes at Taz’s attempt to soothe her heated ass. Just an excuse to cop a feel…you’re a jerk. He knew Taz had heard him when his younger brother flashed him a wide grin over the top of Kodi’s head. They settled her between them and turned their attention back to the scene unfolding in front of them.

  When she started shifting her weight from foot to foot, he looked down ready to admonish her for not standing still. The command to stop moving died on his lips after he realized she couldn’t see what was going on, and they’d promised her a front row seat when she’d expressed her desire to support Savannah. Because of their height, both he and Taz forgot their petite wife didn’t share their ability to see over the heads of everyone else in the room.

  “What’s the matter, Ayasha?” Nate had pinned the nickname on her from the moment they’d met. Referring to her as “little one” in the language of his Native American ancestors was more than appropriate considering the difference in their sizes.

  He smiled at her disgruntled expression. “Not all of us are giants. I promised to be front and center to support Savannah, and I’m failing miserably. I didn’t greet her when they arrived, and now she’ll think I’m not even here. We talked on the phone last night, and I swore I’d be here for her.” Her eyes went glassy with unshed tears, and he could feel the distress radiating from her. “Tally is my only friend here, and I was hoping to add Savannah to our group, but I’m blowing it.”

  Nate felt a stab of guilt because he knew how isolated Kodi felt. As a bestselling romance author, she spent most of her day sequestered in her office upstairs writing. She was just finishing up a three-book series, final two books following her debut novel that had taken the romance market by storm. She’d been working for them prior to their marriage, but they’d wanted her spare time for themselves so they’d asked her to write full-time, freeing up her evenings to spend with them.

  Kodi still helped out in the club when they were shorthanded, but her contact with the outside world was limited by her circumstances. Of course, if he and Taz had their way, she’d be busy with a baby sooner rather than later.

  Grabbing her hand, Nate led her around the crowd to a spot where she’d be able to see. He pulled her against his chest and felt his cock respond. Leaning down, he whispered against her ear, “Ayasha, you would tempt a saint—and Goddess knows I’m no saint. Hold still or you will not be here long enough for Savannah to notice you.” As if his words alone conjured her attention, Savannah turned her head and locked gazes with Kodi. Nate could feel his sweet wife trying to telegraph her support, and the relief in Savannah’s eyes was easy to read. He’d been in the lifestyle so long Nate often forgot how vulnerable newbie submissives felt during their first public scenes. Great Goddess, if we’d sent her out on the op without getting these first scenes under her belt, it would have spelled disaster for sure.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Savannah leaned back in the soft leather seat aboard the Wests’ private jet and tried to not wince. Damn, it had been two days since her scene at Mountain Mastery, and her backside was still tender. Glaring at Landon’s smug look, she turned and focused her attention on the small buildings of the local airport.

  “What’s the matter, Princess? Still being reminded why smarting off to your Master is a bad idea?” She was determined to ignore his taunting question, but he wasn’t having it. “Not answering isn’t going to work out well for you, pet.” This time his voice held more warning than the teasing tone she’d heard in it earlier.

  “Yes, Sir. I’m still quite uncomfortable.” That was all he was getting from her. If he is expecting more, he is going to be sorely disappointed…pun intended.

  His soft laughter ignited her desire and annoyed her in equal measure. Damn, he could be the most aggravating man on the planet when he wanted to be. After he’d used the world’s biggest paddle on her, Landon had flogged her until she’d come screaming his name. She wasn’t sure what bothered her most, the spanking in front of people she was just beginning to think of as her friends or the fact she hadn’t been able to hold back her orgasm. Savannah was still seething about her lack of self-control.

  “Tell me why you are so angry, pet. And let me caution you against lying. The only thing that will get you in trouble faster than lying is putting yourself in danger unnecessarily.” Good thing you added that last qualifier since putting myself in danger is a very large part of my professional life. “Lying to yourself won’t be tolerated, either, and I’m mentioning it again because I suspect you’re angrier with yourself than you are with me. I’m just not sure why.”

  Savannah didn’t answer for so long she wondered if perhaps she could get away with ignoring him altogether. “It’s not a huge space, pet. I’m not going to forget you are nearby or that I’m becoming impatient waiting for your answer. Stop trying to figure out how to frame your answer and just respond truthfully.” It wasn’t that she didn’t want to answer his question or that she was trying to skirt the truth. Her struggle was an internal battle as she fought to understand the answer.

  Taking a deep breath, she decided it was best to just to plunge in with both feet. What’s the worst that can happen? He’ll laugh at my naiveté? Certainly, wouldn’t be the first time that happened. She knew better than to accept such an over-simplified answer. The truth was much more unsettling. Over the past ten days, she’d not only forgiven him for the humiliating rejection two years ago, she’d started falling in love with him. Dammit all to hell, she’d promised herself she’d protect her heart. And worst of all, she realized vanilla sex would never be enough for her now. Oh yeah, all those pansies in suits with their five hundred dollar haircuts and two hundred dollar manicures my family keeps trying to shove my way are going to be falling all over themselves to hook up with a woman who gets off on being flogged.

  She looked up and met his gaze, hoping he wouldn’t see what she was about to share was only a small part of the truth. “I’d promised myself I wasn’t going to come. I have no self-control around you, and to be honest, that just pisses me off.” She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but his careful consideration wasn’t even on her list of possibilities. “It’s like you have more control over my body than I do. How can that be possible? I don’t understand it, and I feel powerless to change it.”

  “And you don’t like it.” She didn’t miss the fact he’d made it a statement rather than a question. “Do you dislike it because I can bring out responses you’re trying to withhold or because you don’t appreciate my intimate knowledge of your body?” He reached forward and fastened her seat belt, his eyes never leaving hers. The jet vibrated beneath her feet as it readied for take-off.

  Dammit, his scrutiny made her feel like a bug under a microscope. She hadn’t considered some
of her frustration might stem from the fact she knew exactly how he’d come to know his way around a woman’s body. Fuck me! I’m not jealous. I can’t be; he’s not mine.

  “Savannah, listen carefully. I’m your Master, and as such, it’s my job to read every signal your body is giving me. You’ve studied enough body language to understand it’s only the basics that are universal. After that you need to know the person—does the color of her eyes deepen when she’s happy? Do her pupils fully dilate when she is aroused? Do they constrict when she thinks I’m not aware of the fact she is holding back?” She felt the flush of guilt staining her cheeks.

  She shook her head in frustration and dropped her gaze to her hands. He reached forward and unfastened the belt. Landon wrapped his hand around her wrist, and with one quick pull she landed with a sequel of surprise on his lap. Savannah looked outside and was surprised to see they had already taken off. Landon used his fingers to turn her face back to his. “Do you really think you can fool the man who knows your body better than you do, Princess? I’d be a miserable failure as a Dom if I wasn’t intimately acquainted with every square inch of you. Hell, I’d have to surrender my Dom card if I couldn’t make you come when you didn’t want to.”

  Shaking her head, Savannah couldn’t hold back her smile. He’d used humor to make his point rather than scolding her, and she appreciated that more than she could say. “Thank you for understanding I wouldn’t have dealt well with being reprimanded today.” Her emotions were still too raw from the intense scene they’d shared. And the icing on the cake was not sleeping last night. She’d tossed and turned until Landon had pulled her against his chest, wrapped his arms tightly around her, and threatened to put her over his knee if she didn’t lay still.

  “If you’ll talk to me when something troubles you, I think you’ll find I’m a very understanding man.” She would have rolled her eyes if they hadn’t been so close to drifting shut. He stood up effortlessly with her in his arms and headed to the back of the plane. Savannah had flown in private jets her entire life, so she knew exactly where he was going, but once she laid her head against his shoulder, darkness surrounded her, and she never felt him settle her on the plush bed.

  Landon had known she was holding back during their scene, and he’d suspected it was just her stubborn pride so he’d pushed her over anyway. He hadn’t talked to her or coaxed her; he’d simply dominated. For the purposes of this operation, her body did not belong to her—it was his to command. His to play with when and how it pleased him. And it had certainly pleased him to watch her fight the explosive chemistry between them.

  Nate and Taz had both sent him messages late last night suggesting he plan a similar scene with Savannah as part of the new Dom training they were starting next week. Both men also sent several suggestions on how he could piss her off in advance—great friends, those two. After settling his sleeping slave into the jet’s bedroom, he sat down with his laptop and tried to catch up on some of the work that had been pushed to the back burner.

  He wondered how his dad managed to juggle a wife and son while building the business from the ground up. Landon was finding it difficult to keep up, and he didn’t have the same family obligations. Leaning his head back against the seat, he realized he hadn’t spoken to his dad in almost a week. Dammit, after his father’s heart attack, Landon had promised himself he’d never let an entire week go by without calling them. Grabbing his phone, he dialed his dad’s number. He grimaced when his dad answered. “Landon, is everything alright?” God, was he so self-serving that his dad assumed something must be wrong for him to call?

  “Everything is fine, Dad. I just wanted to touch base and see how things are going with you.” And to ask you how you managed to have it all when I can’t seem to accomplish half what you did.

  Thankfully, his dad didn’t miss a beat, launching into a story about an encounter he and a friend had with an alligator on a local golf course. Landon laughed as his dad recounted their attempts to play through the area where the female had evidently stashed her babies. They chatted for several minutes before he heard what sounded like a door closing. His dad said, “What’s weighing so heavy on your mind, Landon? Spit it out, son. It’s not like you to be so evasive.”

  Chuckling to himself, he couldn’t help but wonder why he’d thought he could fool the man who’d raised him. Nobody fooled Ashton Nixon for long. “How did you do it? You never missed a game or school event, yet you built the business from the ground up. I was the luckiest kid in the world, and your marriage is the envy of everyone I know. I can’t keep up, and I don’t have a family to divide my time.”

  “True, and that’s something your mother and I worry about. If you had a wife and children, you might stop and smell the roses occasionally. I might have built the business, but it was little more than a solid foundation when I turned it over to you. Most of the significant growth has occurred since you came on board, and it’s really taken off since you assumed the helm.” His father’s praise sent a bolt of pride through him. Hearing his dad acknowledge how hard he was working made him smile.

  When Landon didn’t comment, he heard his dad sigh. “You’ve excelled in two entirely different careers, and you’re not even forty. Hell, you’ve exceeded every expectation your mother and I ever had for you—save two.” Landon didn’t have to ask. He knew full well his parents were itchy for him to marry and give them grandchildren. When he didn’t say anything, his dad asked, “What’s her name?”

  Swiping his hand over his face, Landon shook his head. How did his dad always recognize what was at the heart of things. He didn’t want to jinx any future he and Savannah might have by talking about things too soon. “Who?” Even as he asked the question, Landon heard how lame it sounded.

  “Damn, son, that’s just plain insulting. You’ve never worried about how I juggled a family and my business obligations. There’s only one thing that can make a man that introspective—and it’s not some woman you’re dating casually or topping at the club.” Fucking hell, why did he think he could maneuver his way around his dad? It had never worked in the past—the man was one of the most intuitive people Landon had ever met.

  “Savannah. Her name is Savannah, and we’re working together now, but…well, I’m hoping…” He didn’t get to finish the thought because he could see the woman in question through the open bedroom door. She swung her feet over the edge of the bed, but she didn’t appear to be fully awake. He smiled at her slightly dazed expression. Damn, she was cute when she was confused. As the fog began to clear, she looked up and smiled. Landon felt like someone had just kicked him in the chest, and he knew his dad heard his soft gasp.

  “Go to her, Landon. Never let an opportunity to touch your woman pass by. Touch her every time she walks by you and any time you are in the same room. The smallest touch often means the most. I’ll give your mother your love.” And then he was gone.

  Landon set his phone aside and thought back on his childhood. His dad had always been very tactile. Landon didn’t remember ever seeing him walk by his mom without touching her in some way. Some of those touches had been overtly sexual and embarrassing as hell for a young boy, but most had been small bits of tenderness that had probably gone largely unnoticed by everyone but his mother.

  He was on his feet and moving toward her before his mind registered the desire his heart already felt. Without a word, he urged her to lift her arms over her head and slid her soft tee-shirt off and tossed it aside. He hadn’t let her wear panties or a bra, and now he was grateful, because her soft pink nipples were already peaked, their color darkening with arousal. Running his palms down her sides, he savored the feel of her soft skin. “You’re so beautiful, Princess. Your skin reminds me of soft moonlight, just enough pink to lend a subtle tint to the white…perfect.”

  When he saw the denial in her eyes, he shook his head. He’d heard the same complaint from Tally—in a world where tan skin is revered, those with lighter skin tones often felt ostracized because
they didn’t fit the beach babe mold. Personally, he loved the fact they cared enough to protect themselves from the aging damage of the sun. He reached for the button of her slacks and smiled when nothing but bare skin came into view as the zipper slid down.

  “If we lived in Texas, I’d make your tailor sew weights in the hems of your dresses so you could wear them everywhere we went. I’d throw away all your panties and enjoy unfettered access to the slick folds of your pussy whenever the urge struck. Parties, restaurants—anytime I wanted to touch you, I could. There’d be no need to worry the wild Texas winds might flash what belonged to me to everyone nearby. You’ll discover I’m very particular when it comes to who sees what’s mine—I’m unashamed of how possessive I feel.” He stopped before he added with you, but the surprise he saw in her eyes told him the words weren’t necessary.

  He skimmed his hands over every smooth inch of exposed skin and sighed as the intoxicating scent of her arousal assailed his senses. Savannah’s instinctive responses fueled his desire in ways he’d never anticipated. When he’d first met her, he’d questioned whether she’d be well-suited for the lifestyle he knew he’d never be able to give up. He regretted that it had taken the kidnapping of an innocent woman to make him realize his error, but he wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip through his fingers.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Savannah wondered who Landon had been speaking with on the phone when the soft murmur of his voice woke her. Had that conversation fueled the change she sensed in him? Whoever he’d been talking to seemed to have unlocked a floodgate of emotion she hadn’t seen before, and it gave her hope the attraction she felt wasn’t as one-sided as she’d feared. His much larger body blanketed her own, every square inch warmed by his heat. She’d been so lost in her thoughts she hadn’t noticed him shedding his own clothing until the sensuous feel of bare skin sliding over bare skin alerted her.