Page 9 of Her Hollywood Master (Master Me #6)

He walked around the bed and gazed down at her. She didn’t know what to expect. Would he be stern? Business-like? She didn’t dare look at him.

“Baby-girl,” he said softly, “everything’s going to be all right.

I promise.” He squatted beside her. In the next moment, he pulled her into his arms, cradled like a child.

“You’re scared and you’re feeling pulled in too many directions.

You’re a pleaser by nature and you’re not sure you can please everyone. ”

She couldn’t believe he nailed it. She burst into tears, burying her face in her hands.

He cradled her head to his chest, rubbing her ear with his thumb. “Shh. It’s going to be all right.”

“How?”

“I know it’s tricky, baby, but we’ll work it out. I promise.”

She sniffed, embarrassed her tears were wetting his chest.

He held a tissue to her face. “Blow,” he said.

She tried to take it from him, but he refused to give it.

“I said, blow, little girl,” he said, but his voice was gentle.

Joel held Marissa, pouring his strength into her. He hated that he hadn’t been able to head off this breakdown—he’d been trying to help her through it with the stress-relief spanking, but now he feared he’d backed her into a corner.

He wanted to tell her she didn’t have to do this with him, that he’d still help her get back on the movie, regardless.

Except he couldn’t make himself say it. He truly did believe she’d be better off here, with him.

He wanted to help her get her life back together.

If he let her walk away now, she’d walk right back into the mess she left.

He had no confidence in her finding her way out, when she hadn’t even been able to show up on time, even under the threat of being fired.

And if he was completely honest, he would admit he didn’t want to give up this extremely hot opportunity for fantasy-fulfillment with her.

He hadn’t dated anyone since his divorce and it suddenly felt like his heart had started beating again. He cared again. He desired again.

He rocked her, stroking her hair until the tears stopped.

“I think I do need that spanking now,” she sniffed.

He stilled. Had he heard that right? Hell, yeah! Not one to ever let a spanking go un-delivered, he maneuvered her into the face-down position. Her butt looked so cute in her tiny cut-offs, but he’d have to be careful not to leave marks on any part of her thighs because they didn’t cover much.

He spanked her with the jean shorts on first, just because they were too sexy not to spank over. When she began to wriggle, he requested she pull them down.

She reached back and shuffled her shorts and panties down.

He closed his eyes to keep the mental picture.

It was one of the most submissive poses—the lowering of panties while already over the lap.

His cock strained against her hip, but he had no intention of getting his own needs met this morning—this was for Marissa.

He kept it light, planning to give her enough time to settle into it.

She relaxed over his lap, not offering much protest in the form of wiggling or dodging. Gradually, he picked up the intensity. She began to gasp and jerk under his hand. He kept it at that level until she whimpered.

“Just a little more, baby girl. I want to be sure we get all your endorphins flowing.”

“Mmmph.”

He picked up the intensity just a little more and her head jerked up, her back arching as she squeezed her cheeks together. “Stay in position,” he warned.

“Is it enough?” she asked.

He bit back a laugh. “It’s enough when your Daddy says it’s enough,” he said firmly, still spanking hard.

“It hurts,” she whined, rolling her bottom from side to side like she might swim away.

“I know, baby. You’re being a very good girl right now staying on Daddy’s lap for your paddling.”

She moaned.

He delivered five more full-strength swats and then brought his hand to rest on her warm skin. “It’s over, baby. Come up for some sugar.”

She scrambled to turn around and he cradled her again, wiping her tears. She nestled into him, as if eager for his tenderness. He loved being able to give her what she needed.

“Come on, let’s get you some breakfast.” He helped her pull up her panties and shorts, zipping and buttoning them for her, then picked up her up.

She giggled and kicked. “What are you doing?”

“Carrying my little girl. Wrap your legs around my waist like a monkey.”

She obeyed, holding her own weight with her legs and snuggling in close. Of course she knew just what to do. Marissa Sparks had a latent Little just begging to be nurtured. He carried her to the kitchen where he made her a smoothie.

“Yum,” she said. “What’s in it?”

“It’s my detox special—kale, pineapple, almonds, chia seeds, coconut oil and lemon juice.”

She took a sip and made a smacking sound with her mouth. “Wow.”

“You like it?”

“I love it. So you think I need detoxing?” Her finger went to the cold sore on her lip.

He raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?”

She flushed, her shoulders sagging and he immediately regretted it. After the meeting he could scold her all he wanted. Right now she needed hand-holding. He checked the clock. Only seven a.m. They still had some time to kill.

“Let’s take a walk,” he said when they finished their smoothies.

“On the beach?” she asked, her expressive face lighting up.

“No, in traffic. Of course on the beach,” he said, grabbing her hand and leading her out the kitchen sliding door and down the deck stairs to the sand below.

“I can’t believe you live right on the shore,” she said, as if she didn’t command a salary worthy of any kind of house she wanted.

He wondered what her financial situation was.

“So...did you play daddy with your ex-wife?” she asked. “I’m sorry—if that’s too personal.”

“No, that’s not too personal. You have a right to ask. Yes, but not all the time. We went in and out of it, I guess. We always had a D/s relationship.”

“What does that mean?”

“Dominant and submissive. I spanked her when she was naughty,” he said with a grin.

Marissa stopped to pick up a shell. She rubbed at the mother-of-pearl sheen with her thumb. “Why did you...I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”

“What?”

She darted a sidelong glance at him. “I was just wondering why it ended,” she said softly.

“Oh. Well, she left me for her yoga therapist.”

Marissa said nothing, as if waiting for more.

“I walked in on them screwing in the living room. In retrospect, I don’t think it was the first time she cheated on me.”

“Her colossal mistake,” Marissa said softly.

He smiled. “You’re sweet. She did, actually, decide it was a mistake, but I wasn’t willing to take her back. Once that kind of trust has been broken, there’s no recovering from it.”

She slid her palm in his. “Do you know, I found Billy Fox in my sister’s bed yesterday morning? While his new girlfriend was stumbling around downstairs?”

He squeezed her hand. “That sucks. I’m sorry.”

She shrugged. “His girlfriend said she didn’t mind, so I guess they were made for each other. Better her than me.”

He glanced at his watch without letting Marissa see. He wanted to delay her panic as long as possible. Finding a natural moment, he steered her back in the other direction so they’d arrive at his house around the time they had to leave.