Desire: Blend sinful with sweet. Whip to perfection. Don’t forget to lick the spoon…

Aidn Greer is a much-sought-after Dominant in the BDSM lifestyle with an unusual problem. He hasn’t owned a submissive in more years than he cares to think about. He’s bored with unchallenging women, yet mentoring other Doms and training subs has left him cold as well. He’s craving something other than plain old vanilla—a taste of something sinfully sweet that, for once, he can really sink his teeth into.

Professional cake baker Bailey Harris wasted ten years bored to tears with her marriage, enduring a job she hated, and harboring a secret desire for something passionate, fulfilling and dark. Then she found it…in the world of BDSM. Exploring on her own brought the kind of mind-opening experiences that led her to declare her independence—and exposed a yearning to find the one Dom for whom she’s willing to kneel. Permanently.

When Aidn and Bailey meet, it’s fire and ice. Sugar and spice. And an experience that satisfies every detail of both their fantasies. Almost. While the big, beautiful sub is everything Aidn wanted, her fierce independent streak could be more of a challenge than he bargained for…

Warning: This book brings together scorching-hot counter sex, decadent pink frosting, and no-holds-barred BDSM play for a spanking good time. Be sure to bring an ice-cold drink along…

eBooks are not transferable.

They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

577 Mulberry Street, Suite 1520

Macon GA 31201

Pink Buttercream Frosting

Copyright © 2009 by Lissa Matthews

ISBN: 978-1-60504-678-5

Edited by Tera Kleinfelter

Cover by Scott Carpenter

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: October 2009

www.samhainpublishing.com

Pink Buttercream Frosting

Lissa Matthews

Dedication

To those that have encouraged and supported me. To those that have let me cry on their shoulders at all hours of the night and day. To those that have mentored and guided me through my understanding of submission and BDSM, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Chapter One

Robert let out a low whistle. “Check out the rack on that one! She’s one piece-of I wouldn’t mind getting to know.”

“You’re such an asshole.”

“And you’ve been boring as shit for months.”

“Sorry. Not interested.”

Silence fell between the two friends and colleagues. The waitress brought the check as well as a couple of fresh drinks, telling the men there was no rush, eyeing both appreciatively and earning a wink from Robert.

“What about her? She’s not bad in a hand-in-the-cookie-jar-one-too-many-times kind of way.”

“Jesus, Robert. Could you be any more of a jerk?”

“Well, she’s not all bad. She’s got a pretty nice rack, too. Probably has a nice tight-on-the-inside ass to go along with it.”

Aidn glanced up with the beer bottle poised at his lips and followed the direction of Robert’s gaze. The man was just not going to shut up until he did. He took a long swallow as he watched the woman cross the cobbled street of the outdoor shopping area toward the bar and grill he sat inside of. He got a quick look at her before she turned and walked away down the sidewalk and something twitched in his mind. In that brief glance she seemed familiar to him, or at least her face seemed familiar, but he was unable to place where he might have seen her.

He had to agree with his friend. She was kind of pretty in a cute, wholesome way, though Aidn wasn’t into cute and wholesome. He wasn’t into curvy, either, and she definitely had curves, a few extra from the way she filled out her jeans and the form-fitting T-shirt. Still, there was something in the way she carried herself; confident and not at all timid about her petite, rounded body. The potential was there for an afternoon fuck session. Could he convince her of it? He could just imagine his hands gripping her hips as he thrust into her over and over again.

Damn, I’m no better than Robert. Shaking the thought from his head, he took another long pull of the beer to finish it off and put the bottle down. “No, she’s not.”

“When was the last time you got some?”

Aidn stared at Robert for a moment, trying to find the best way, a different way, to explain it. Again. “It’s not about getting some. Shit. If that’s all it was about then there would be pussy in my bed every night.” And he certainly didn’t want to think about how long it had been.

“Then what? Are you bored? Have you fucked every single woman in town already?”

Robert’s attempt at humor was appreciated, but Aidn didn’t have the patience for it. Was he bored? Probably. His usual choice of woman was likely part of the problem. He liked variety and he liked singe-the-flesh-from-your-bones hot with long legs, made even longer in sky-high heels. But the emptiness was getting to be too much. The lack of connection on even the most basic intellectual levels drove him nuts. He wanted depth. He wanted to delve into a hot and interesting mind. He wanted someone worth his time and dominant skills. The truth of that was what was killing him. The need to be in control, to take a woman to the edge of her comfort zone and then push her off into unimaginable pleasure pulled at him. He was tired of fighting his own nature just to protect himself, but he couldn’t seem to help it, couldn’t seem to stop.

Most of the women he came in contact with played at being submissive, played the role in the bedroom. Dominance and submission was so much more than that to him. The hunger to have a girl on her knees at his feet because she needed to be there, because she needed to surrender tore him up inside.

He needed to stop thinking about it in personal terms. It wasn’t unlikely he would find a girl like that, a girl he could trust, a girl he wanted to trust.

He was suddenly ready to be done with lunch. He wanted to find the woman again, see if he could place her. “No. I haven’t. That’s your aspiration in life.”

Robert grinned at him. “Yes, it is. But, if it’s not just about a piece of ass, what is it? Have you changed your mind about wanting to find a submissive?”

Yes. “No.”

“I don’t understand that either, Aidn. You’ve been in the lifestyle for a long time. What happened was years ago and it’s time you put it behind you and tried again.”

“It has been years, but you know why I don’t own, why I only choose to teach and guide others.”

“Yeah, I do, and it’s a lame-ass reason. You get to remain detached so you don’t get fucked over again. You get to remain in control. You get to remain a cold bastard. Yes, that much I get.”

“Exactly.”

“Whatever makes you sleep better at night. Look, I’ve got to get back to work. Some of us still have to punch the clock.”

Robert threw some bills on the table to cover the check and stood. Aidn stood as well and followed his friend out the door. He took a deep breath of fresh air, then let it out slowly, glad to be outside.

“You know, Aidn, maybe you should go introduce yourself to that woman. It may just be that you need a change for a while.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

He was about to give up when he spotted her through a display window sniffing an open tube of lotion, a look of sheer bliss on her face. The longer he watched her, the more it gnawed at him that he’d seen her before.

He’d just slipped his hands into the front pockets of his jeans when it hit him—the fetish club. He’d seen her at Abyss.

She was a wanderer, usually found around the upper floors watching rather than participating in the scenes and play sessions. They’d spoken a few times, never more than casual exchanges and greetings. He’d found himself following behind her at times, though usually kept his distance. She had an air of innocence coupled with an air of intense curiosity that intrigued him. Did she know how different she appeared, that she drew the interest of those that lived rather than just played at the lifestyle, that she drew his interest?

And here he was, observing her again, this time through a pane of glass, keeping himself apart from her even though he was completely drawn to her. It was rare that he met other club patrons outside the informal, social gatherings BDSM people referred to as munches—play parties—and the club. Seeing her in public, in daylight, in every day surroundings, made him feel odd, as though he were intruding or exposing a secret.

She put the lotion back on the shelf and turned away with an almost wistful glance back at it. Why wasn’t she buying it when she so obviously wanted it? He didn’t have time to think beyond that because she was coming toward him, but then she stopped and turned back. She picked up the tube again and drew her top lip down between her teeth. With a quick stride, she went to the cash registers at the back of the store and soon exited carrying a small green- and pink-striped bag.

“Hello.”

She stopped, stumbled a bit and looked up. Within seconds, a blush stole across her cheeks. She recognized him, and a jolt of pleasure raced through his blood.

Her eyes darted away from his face then back up. “Hi,” she said softly, a smooth Southern accent lacing her voice.

He moved a little closer. “I’ve never introduced myself when we’ve talked before. My name is Aidn.”

The blush got a little pinker. “I know.”

He nodded. Her gaze kept moving, flitting back and forth to the area around them. Another curiosity about her; the confidence he’d noticed earlier was now replaced with uncertainty. For a moment, a small minute moment, he felt bad, but… “I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention to make you uncomfortable. I was having lunch and saw you pass by.”

“It’s all right.”

Questions appeared in her eyes and he braced himself, though he couldn’t imagine what for. She was harmless, really. She might set his blood on fire and make his cock uncomfortably hard, but she was still harmless, just a girl he’d seen in a club. Right? Right.

“Is there something you want, Aidn?”

A loaded question. She didn’t mean it the way he took it, but he wanted a lot more than he dare ask for. He wanted to touch her, wanted to kiss her. He wanted to lay her out on a bed and fuck her until she couldn’t walk, couldn’t move. He wanted to tie her up, bind her, shield her eyes and gag her mouth so all that was left was sensation. What he didn’t want was to stand in the middle of the sidewalk, shifting from one foot to the other with the silence growing between them. “No. I just… I honestly don’t know why I stopped you.” Frustrated with his fumbling, he ran a hand through his hair.

She smiled up at him and started to walk away. “Okay. Maybe I’ll see you at the club again. Have a good day.”

He never fumbled around women. What the hell was wrong with him? He needed to get his shit together. “Wait.”

She turned and looked up at him again before the word was fully out of his mouth. He tried to hide his grin. “Yes?”

“At least tell me your name.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s Bailey.”

“Pleased to meet you, Bailey.” He held his hand out to her and she took it, sliding her smaller palm against his larger one. If he was romantic enough to believe in sparks, he would swear they were there in that small touch. “Would you like to get coffee or something?”

Her eyes hid nothing. She let them roam from his head to his shoes and back again. He bit back another grin. She was taking his measure, trying to determine if she could trust him, here, in public. It was sobering really. Most women, especially those from the club, dropped to their knees in a frenzy to just spend time with him, but not this one.

If she could read minds, she’d have found that his request wasn’t all that benign. He had ulterior motives, ones she would likely run from. Unlike her, though, he could hide his thoughts. His eyes didn’t give him away, not unless it was what he wanted.

When she slid her hand from his, she hesitated only slightly before answering. “Sure.”

Again, pleasure coursed through him and he found himself…happy. “Great.”

She turned and started walking. He fell into step beside her. “Are you pleased with your purchase? You didn’t seem sure about it.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I am. It smells like frosting.”

He looked down at her but she kept her gaze straight ahead. “The lotion?”

“Yes. It smells like cake frosting.”

“You started to leave but went back to get it. Why the hesitation?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t need it.”

Didn’t need it? “Is lotion like that ever really a necessity? I mean, isn’t it more of a small indulgence?” As if he knew anything at all about such things.

“Yes, I suppose so. There are more important things than a twenty-dollar tube of lotion. Even if it does smell delicious.”

There was a dreamy note to her voice when she said the word delicious. As they walked along and talked of nothing important, he took note of the fact that he was a good head taller than she was. Her dark blonde curls bounced against her shoulders with each step she took and his fingers itched to grip them, to see if they were as soft to the touch as they appeared to be. He wanted to tilt her head back and kiss her. He wanted her name on his lips.

“Aidn?”

Lost in thought, he hadn’t noticed she wasn’t beside him anymore. He looked back to find her standing in front of a coffee shop, an expectant look on her face. Chagrined, he made his way back to her. “I apologize.”

“It’s okay. We can skip it if you like.”

“No. I was just off in my own little world. It happens from time to time.” He guided her into the store with a hand at her back, just barely touching her. The heat coming through her shirt was enough to make him curl his fingers into a fist. It would likely scare the poor woman if he reached under her shirt to touch her bare skin as he wanted to do. Would she welcome his touch? Would she tremble? Would she quiver? Or would she slap at his hand? He damned sure wanted to find out, bu—

“Aidn?”

Shit. He’d done it again. What the hell was wrong with him?

“Care to share?”

She was biting back a smile and he laughed. Was she flirting with him? Relaxing just a little? Doubtful, but the look in her eyes, the small twinkle, gave him pause. What would she think if he told her the truth?

“I might.” He winked at her before turning his attention to the barista.

At the counter they ordered a large black coffee for him and a small macchiato with extra caramel for her. There was silence between them as they waited for her drink. It wasn’t uncomfortable per se, but she seemed to be looking everywhere but at him again.

The coffee drink was handed to her and they walked to a small table outside under an awning. Once seated, she pinned him with a pointed look. The girl changed from one moment to the next. She would keep him on his toes, and though it made him smile, he didn’t have a desire to be kept…on his toes or anywhere else for that matter.

“How did you know I hesitated about buying the lotion?”

“Truth?” She nodded as she sipped her drink. “I was watching you through the window, trying to make out where I’d seen you before.”

“Ah. Okay. So…”

“So what?”

She laughed. It was the first time he’d heard the fresh, full-throated sound. It wasn’t small and dainty, but rather passionate and honest. She wasn’t trying to impress him and he couldn’t have been more impressed by her.

“You were going to share where your thoughts were earlier.”

That expectant look was back and he wasn’t sure what to say. Was he really going to tell her about his desire to kiss her? Was he really going to put himself out there like that? Not likely. He wasn’t in any way, shape or form ready for that.

“But it seems that you have changed your mind. It’s okay. What do you do? For work, I mean.”

A safe topic of discussion. Thank God. “I’m a lawyer. Contracts, mostly.”

“Fascinating.”

Aidn smirked. There really was nothing fascinating about contract law, he just happened to be very good at it. “Not really. Though some of the lifestyle contracts are interesting to review.”

“Lifestyle contracts? You mean BDSM contracts?”

“Yes, it’s something I do pro bono for the local community. I like to think I help people understand what they’re getting into between themselves, what the core of BDSM is all about. It’s an honor thing and can’t be held up in court, but it is a declaration and there are many who want the formality that a contract provides.”

“Oh wow. I’ve never given contracts much thought.”

“Couples use them to set out the rules of their relationship, how they are going to handle scenes, boundaries, limits. Some contracts are for training purposes and give a specific time frame for such, while other contracts are set down for the lifetime of the relationship. Quite honestly, that’s the only fascinating part of what I do.”

“I can see why. I guess BDSM is very serious for most people who participate in it.”

“Yes, it is. There are players, those that dip their toes in the water, and then there are others, those that live it day in and day out who jump in headfirst.”

She took a sip of her drink. “I like that. The jumping in headfirst, I mean.”

He did, too. “You don’t play at the club.”

Her eyes widened at the change of subject and her guard went back up. Immediate regret hit him, but he wouldn’t go back. He would rather not be the focus.

“Ummm…no, I don’t.”

“Why not?”

“I…” She swallowed and shifted in her seat, looking for an escape and he couldn’t blame her, but he wasn’t going to let her go or let her off the hook either. “I prefer to play in more private, personal settings. I’m not much of an exhibitionist.”

“Hmm. Pardon me for saying, but I don’t think exhibitionism has anything to do with it.”

“You’re welcome to think whatever you like.”

The tensing of her shoulders, the stiffening of her movements when she got up to throw her cup in the trash were all telltale signs. She was ready to be away from him and he couldn’t blame her. He was ready for their little disaster of a conversation to be over as well. Lifestyle discussion in a vanilla setting often made people uncomfortable. He should have known better.

“I should be going,” she said softly, hesitancy lacing her voice. She clearly didn’t want to leave, but she didn’t want to stay either. When he didn’t say anything else, she reached for her purse and the bag from the bath shop.

Aidn nodded, willed his tongue not to move and his lips to remain closed. “Wait. Let me walk you to your car.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Humor me. Again? I’ll try to be better behaved.”

A small smile quirked at her lips. “Okay.”

She skirted the table and walked away from the coffee shop, not waiting for him at all. He had never made such a big mess with a woman and he was completely floored by it. His usual finesse was gone, replaced by a bumbling idiot. Robert would be having a field day with this.

Aidn got up from his seat, tossed his cup in the same trashcan and caught up with her.

There was no time for any further conversation before they reached the parking lot, which was probably for the best. She stopped at the end of a row of cars and turned to look up at him. “I’m parked down here, so…”

“Okay.”

“It was nice to see you and…”

“Likewise.”

Neither seemed to know what else to say and as she started to walk away from him for the third time, he reached out and took hold of her fingers, tugging her to a stop, hoping to fix everything.

“Go to bed with me.”

Chapter Two

“I’m sorry. What did you say?”

The surprise and shock on her face mirrored what was in his head. Yeah, what had he just said? Surely, there was a better way he could have approached the subject. Dumbass. “I know. I’m an ass for asking.” He shrugged but made no apologies for it. He wanted it. He wanted her naked and writhing under him. He wanted her wet, spread and begging. He wanted to know why she visited a place like Abyss and how he could keep her from going back, how he could keep her all to himself. He wanted more than he could comprehend in that moment when all it had started out with was him recognizing her face and then a teasing notion of him needing to get laid.

She was studying him again, like she had done outside the bath store. He steeled himself for a well-deserved, flaming rejection and one-way directions to hell. Bailey was submissive, but she wouldn’t be afraid to tell him off.

“No, you’re not an ass. I’m flattered, I think. It’s just… Things haven’t really gone well between us for the last thirty minutes or so and…”

“I know.” He squeezed her fingers, trying to reassure one of them, which one, he wasn’t sure. “Do you have to get back to work?”

“No.”

“Do you have a boyfriend? A dominant? A husband?”

She shook her head. “No. Aidn, I don’t understand why you want to.”

“Neither do I, Bailey.” He gripped the back of her neck in his palm and lowered his head until his lips barely brushed hers. “Lots of reasons that I can’t explain.” And he kissed her. His lips took hers and she opened for him, giving his tongue access to the hot cavern of her mouth.

There was no hesitation in the way she returned his kiss or in the way her tongue tangled with his. Her fingers gripped his tightly, holding on, and he completely empathized with the feeling of needing to be held up, of needing something solid to grab on to.

He lifted his head and looked at her, watched as her eyes slowly opened to meet his. She licked her lips and he bit back a groan.

“Wow. So, when do you want to, you know?”

He couldn’t help but smile. “I was thinking right now,” he murmured, tasting the corner of her mouth.

“Oh.” She blew out a breath, then gulped another back in. “Do you want to get a hotel room or…go to my place?”

He focused his gaze on her face. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were bright with hunger, and her pulse was beating wildly in her neck. She wanted him nearly as much as he wanted her. “Either your place or mine. I don’t want the coldness, the sterile impersonal atmosphere of a hotel for this, for you.”

“Mine, then. It’s just a few miles away.”

Her answer was so quickly given, so matter of fact that it took a moment for it to register. “You’re sure?”

His fingers began to tingle at the images floating through his mind, at the realization that he was going to touch her, fuck her. Not just touch and fuck her, but do it in her bed. His cock hurt at the mere thought.

“Yes, Aidn, I’m sure.”

“Okay.”

“I don’t do this. I don’t take guys home for sex. I just…I think it would be better than me knowing where you live.”

What an odd comment. He started to ask what she meant, but thought better of it. There would be time for questions later. Right now, before the heat in her eyes started to fade too much, he needed to get her naked and squirming.

“No, I know you don’t.”

“Good. I mean, I didn’t want you to think I made a habit of it. It’s not one of th—”

“Shh. I know. It’s okay, Bailey. I expected you to say no.” He lifted his hand and rubbed his thumb across her lips. “This is new for me, too. Trust me.”

She nodded and tried to smile. He couldn’t explain his need for her and he was afraid it was more than just the fact that he hadn’t had sex in weeks.

“So, before you get too nervous, how about I go get my car from the other lot and meet you back over here in a few minutes? I’ll follow you to your house.”

“Okay. I drive a green VW bug.”

Aidn laughed. “All girl.” His hands gripped her hips and pulled her flush against him. “All woman,” he murmured before kissing her again, leaving a trail along her jaw and down her throat. He buried his face against her skin, where her neck met her shoulder, and inhaled her scent of flowers and lemon. “You smell so damn good, Bailey girl.”

He slid his hands up her arms and over her shoulders, into the strands of her short curls. He fisted his fingers and tugged, tilting her head up. “You’re going to be so delightful,” he whispered and stared down at her for a moment before letting go. “I’ll be right back.”

I’ll be right back.

Bailey repeated the words in her head as Aidn turned and went back the way they’d come. When he was out of sight, she stepped off the curb and walked down the long row to her car.

She couldn’t believe she’d agreed. Going to bed with the man? Had she finally lost her mind? After all the life-altering changes she’d made, now she was going to take a man home with her for the express purpose of sex?

Chastising herself did nothing to change her mind though. Thinking about the smiles, the kisses, the touch of his hands in her hair and the way he’d pressed their bodies together brought the butterflies in her belly to fluttering life.

She’d admired him, lusted after him for months at the club. He moved with such ease, commanding attention by nothing more than simply being there. He talked to few people, sometimes he even talked to her, but watched more often than not with an intensity that left her breathless. He missed nothing, taking in everything around him. He would look at a submissive the same way, never missing anything in her reactions. The look in his eyes showed how much he loved the play of dominance and submission and it made her heart flip because she, too, loved it. Feeling that way about him and not even really knowing him had been damned dangerous before, but now she wanted him even more, no matter how uncomfortable and awkward the last half hour had been.

Just the sight of him and her breath usually paused in her throat. Tall and broad, yet lean through the abs and hips, the man filled out a T-shirt and jeans like nobody’s business. Dark blue eyes framed by long black lashes, black hair that brushed against his collar with a slight wave, smooth hands and a to-die-for Southern accent all added up to disaster for her.

With a sigh, she unlocked the car door and got in behind the wheel, placing her purse and the shopping bag with the lotion in it on the passenger seat. Their lack of ease with one another wasn’t his fault. It was hers.

She hadn’t expected to see anyone from Abyss out in a public vanilla setting. Not that they didn’t shop too, it was just a surprise. Though she wasn’t ashamed of being a submissive in the BDSM lifestyle, she was still adjusting to being single and free to explore it openly whenever she wanted. She was still getting used to being friends and having friends in the lifestyle without fear of ridicule from her husband. Ex-husband.

It was these little hang-ups that made meeting Aidn at the mall so bizarre for her. Well, that and the fact that it was him, the man she had a lust crush on. It didn’t help that he kept turning the conversation around to her either, putting her on the spot.

Her nervousness wasn’t for lack of wanting to be with him, but rather that she had been afraid of making a fool of herself, because she couldn’t keep a straight thought in her head beyond wanting him, beyond wanting his hands on her, beyond wanting to be put on her knees at his feet. Could she orgasm just by looking at him? From the moment he’d spoken to her on the sidewalk outside the bath store, and as they’d talked, and walked, then kissed, the answer was an unequivocal yes.

Bailey found it hard to believe that he wanted her, but she’d seen it in his eyes. She wasn’t the kind of woman who could have a one-night stand and not feel the sting afterwards, but she wanted this. She had too few hot, steamy memories in her life and she deserved at least one. Didn’t she?

How long had she waited for a man to talk to her, talk about her like he couldn’t wait to have her? She hadn’t melted on the outside, but her insides had.

And then, there was his smile.

When he smiled at her, she felt it press right up against her clit. Aidn was pure sex all the way. Hard. Rough. Tie-me-up, tie-me-down, fucking-all-night kind of sex.

Though even with all that, which was a hell of a lot, she’d like to think that her reaction to him was just because she’d been without sex for…well, hell, for too damned long. But in all honesty, it wasn’t because she was horny or overworked and underpaid. Nope, it was all because of him.

She’d been going to Abyss for little more than a year and with all the dominants, both male and female who had crossed her path, none affected her in quite the same way as Aidn. She had always been partial to take-charge alpha men both in and out of the bedroom, but there was something special about this particular alpha man that tugged at a part of her deep down inside.

Thank goodness she’d gotten her birth control prescription refilled.

Aidn turned and walked away from her with his dick harder than it had been in months. Good heavens, what was it about her? She had a round pixie face, she had full hips…she was definitely heavier than the women he normally had sex with. And for some inexplicable reason, that made him want her more. He’d only planned to engage her in conversation, pass some time, never seriously thinking of taking her to bed, but there was nothing he wanted more than to do just that, to feel her soft curves wrapped around him.

Then there were her eyes. Damn her eyes. The look in them, the submission in them when he’d tugged her hair. She was primarily a sexual submissive. He’d bet on it. The hunger and need in the dark green depths blew him away and fueled the desire clawing at his insides. Sexual release and hard, constant use would fuel her submission and her submission would fuel her need for sexual release. He understood those needs well, for his dominance rode the same unending ride.

From the moment he’d heard her voice outside the store, looked into her eyes, saw her smile, her blush…he knew he’d fuck her. He’d fuck her long and slow and sweet. He’d give her, give them both, a few hours they’d never forget. Add in her submissiveness… God, it had been way too long since he’d had a girl like that in bed.

He crossed the side street to his Jeep and answered his ringing cell as he got in.

“I have a client for you. Do you have time to meet with her today?” Robert asked.

“Her?”

“Yes. Her.”

“Are you trying to set me up?”

“No, I’m serious. You need to talk to her.”

“I don’t have time today. I have…plans.”

Robert laughed. “The girl?”

“Yes, the girl.” Impatience laced his voice.

“I’ll get Misty to call your office tomorrow then.”

“Misty? Oh, come on. It’s a joke, right? A client? Shit, man.”

“Aidn, really, it’s a serious case. She needs a contract reviewed.”

“You do contract law. You review it.”

“I can’t. I kind of… Well, my opinion isn’t objective or professional.”

Aidn sighed. Robert had fucked her. Great. “Okay. Yes, tell her to call the office in the morning.”

“So…what exactly are your plans?”

“None of your fucking business.”

She waited. She checked her watch. She turned on the car and listened to the latest song on her mp3 player. She waited some more. Was she waiting in vain? Had he kissed her like that and then just drove away, not bothering to tell her he’d changed his mind?

No, surely he was more decent than that.

His reputation in the tri-state fetish community was legendary. He was honorable, trustworthy, and yet hadn’t had a submissive of his own in years. But, that wasn’t a part of this…this was just sex, so she had to put the idea of him being the perfect dominant out of her head.

She looked at her watch again. He would never tell a girl to wait and then just leave. Right?

Ten minutes had passed since he told her he’d be back with his car. Ten of the longest minutes of her life. What if he didn’t come back? What if she wasn’t his type? She had to laugh at that. She wasn’t really anyone’s type, being short and plump with non-descript features.

The dominants at Abyss never looked at her twice, even when she was right in front of their faces. She was only…herself. And she hated self-doubt, pushing it to the back of her mind.

Another five minutes passed and still no Aidn. It was time to go.

Aidn hung up the phone and pulled out of the parking space. He’d taken longer than he should have and he hoped Bailey hadn’t left. His cock was still hard, and growing harder by the second. He needed to be inside her body. He needed…and that need was fucking with his head.

He turned down the row she’d indicated before and slowed, looking for her little green car. A VW Bug. It fit her. It fit her cuteness and for the life of him, he couldn’t remember ever referring to a woman as cute before. But then, he’d never referred to a woman as “girl” before either, but that fit her as well. She was a girl, sweet and innocent, wrapped in a woman’s enticing and voluptuous body.

At the end of the line of cars, he spotted hers. He pulled up alongside and she looked over at him through the window. There were shadows in her eyes that kicked at him hard.

He motioned for her to roll down her window and he did the same. He grinned at her. “Smile, pretty girl, and take me home with you.”

Emotions shifted on her face and finally, she smiled. Oh yes, submissive to the very core.

She put her car in gear and pulled away. Aidn followed as she drove out of the parking lot. Her driving was conservative. She used turn signals, never followed anyone too close, didn’t speed. She followed all the rules of the road. Was she like that in other parts of her life? Was she locked away, blocked in by rules? Was her life more vanilla than kink?

Though he was well known and well respected in the BDSM lifestyle and despite the fact it was a big part of his life, he didn’t date submissives. He dated vanilla women, engaged in vanilla sex and kept the dominant side of himself just out of reach. It was simply something he did, something he’d done in the years since… He didn’t let anyone get inside his head and that wasn’t about to change with Bailey. It was just sex, a fun way to spend an afternoon. No more, no less.

Bailey pulled into a parking spot around the back of a newly constructed townhouse; the kind that housed a storefront on the bottom floor and living quarters above. They were becoming popular once more, a reinvention of Main Street from years past before suburbs had taken over. Live and work in the same location, convenient to shopping and other activities. It was a nice idea really, and one he’d thought about looking into for himself. Maybe he still would.

He followed her up to the door and listened as she grappled with the keys. She was nervous and rightly so, as he was a little nervous, too. Suddenly, she turned around.

“Oh!” she said, her nose nearly touching his chest. She stumbled a bit and he caught her with one hand at her waist. “Ummm, thanks. Look, are you…well, are you sure you want to do this? I mean, you know, we can…”

“Yes, I’m sure.” He really wasn’t sure at all anymore, but he wasn’t going to turn and leave either. He was afraid his cock would hate him and never function right again if he did. He was afraid he’d never function right again if he did. And so, he’d do this. He’d touch her, feel her, fuck her until she couldn’t walk, fuck her until his cock was happy and sated, and then…well, he wasn’t sure about after. He’d worry about that later.

“Open the door, Bailey. You want this.”

“Right.”

Doing an about-face, she inserted the key in the lock, opened the door and walked through. He followed her, closing and re-locking the door behind them. It was little more than a closet, but to the right was a staircase leading up to the living quarters which they began ascending at a relatively quick pace.

They came to another door and she unlocked it as well, this time with a more steady hand. It opened into a surprisingly spacious kitchen. Aidn surveyed the smooth granite countertops and a smile spread across his face.

“Bailey.”

Her name was a whisper on his lips and she spun around at the same moment he reached for her. His mouth crashed down on hers and his hands went to her hair again. There was something alluring about the soft curls surrounding her face. He was so drawn to touch them, to hold the strands between his fingers and tug. There was power in the gesture and the moan from her throat told him all he needed to know about whether she liked it or not.

His tongue took possession of her mouth and his fingers gripped her hair tighter, slanting her head to the side, holding it hard against his kiss.

Her tongue slid against his, stroked, retreated, then stroked again. He took it between his teeth and bit softly, eliciting a whimper from her. Very good. He walked her backward toward the counter.

Aidn lifted his head, pressed his lips against her temple and dropped his hands from her hair. “I want you up here.”

She blushed for the umpteenth time since he’d intercepted her on the sidewalk. “Oh no, Aidn.”

“Oh yes, Bailey. Up on the counter. I want you right here, right now.”

“The floor?” she offered hopefully.

“No. Stop arguing. Up on the counter. Now.” His fingers unbuttoned her shirt to just below her breasts. He parted the fabric and reached for her plain Jane bra, pulling her breasts out of the cups. The picture she made like that was more erotic than if she were completely topless. She was a wet dream, a fantasy come to life. In his mind’s eye, she was spread out in an erotic black and white photo shoot with a wicked gleam, daring him to reach in and touch her.

He looked at her and hoped like hell she could see the desire reflected in his eyes because he couldn’t find the words to speak.

His fingers skimmed lightly over her skin, feathering over her nipples, which hardened into peaks that he pulled and pinched and plucked. His eyes met hers when she hissed a breath between her teeth. His girl liked a little discomfort. Few things could have pleased him more in that moment.

He left her breasts and dropped his hands to her jeans, unfastening the button and unzipping them. “Kick off your shoes, Bailey.”

And she did, gripping the counter behind her for support.

When her shoes were gone, he pushed her jeans down over her hips and let her shimmy out of them the rest of the way. He gripped her by the waist, but she turned in his hold and lifted herself onto the smooth surface of the countertop. She sucked in a breath as her legs came to rest on the cold stone then let out a moan when he spread them to wrap around his torso.

He gently pressed his hand to her chest. “Lean back.” He drew both his palms down her body, curling his hands around her heavy, incredibly perfect breasts, envisioning rope bindings, clamps and chains. Why had he never suspected the delight to be found in soft, rounded flesh?

Her waist was thick, and his hands couldn’t span it, but it was definitive and gave her her own unique version of an hour-glass figure. The longer he touched her, the longer he looked at the pure pleasure on her face, the more he wanted her. Her skin was smooth, pale, and he loved the way her stomach fluttered when he ran his fingertips over it.

“Shall we find out if you’re wet?”

The inarticulate sound she made brought a smile to his face. “Yes, I agree we should.” He palmed the juncture between her thighs, feeling her heat and, oh yes, her wetness through the cotton of her panties.

Her panties. They weren’t the kind that he would call sexy or that he would have salivated over. They were just white cotton panties that rode low on her hips but covered every inch of her ass, her lower belly and her pussy. He normally preferred women in thongs, g-strings, see-through lace and crotchless. He couldn’t deny the pretense of innocence and purity Bailey’s gave, though, and the hot, sinful effect they had on him.

Aidn couldn’t be too sure he wasn’t going to explode from the fire racing through his veins.

He teased her by slipping his fingers just inside the crotch of the wet material and was rewarded by a tensing of her thighs. “My girl likes that, does she?” My girl. Curious. He did it again, this time reaching farther inside to touch the hidden folds that were tempting him. She was soft, so soft, so slick with a need that mirrored his own. “We need to get these off of you.”

“Yes. Please, Aidn. Please.” She lifted her hips, pleading.

“Oh my, begging. I love it. Beg me, sweet Bailey.”

“Please…”

“Hold on.”

Aidn glanced around the kitchen and then started opening drawers until he found the object he’d been looking for… “Bailey.” He stepped back between her legs, legs that spread and wrapped around him as though… No, he wasn’t going to go there.

He trailed the point of the scissors lightly over her panties. “Ever had a piece of clothing cut from your body?”

Bailey shook her head. He shuddered. He couldn’t help it. Her compliance, her trust, her body, her everything. Fuck.

“Good. I like the idea of being the first.” He didn’t need to be going there, either. “Stay still for me. I don’t want to nick you.”

Chapter Three

It was likely one of the most erotic, memorable moments she would ever experience. If he didn’t want her to move, she wasn’t going to move. “Okay.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Wh—?”

“Yes, sir. Say it, Bailey. Yes, sir.”

“Y…yes sir.”

“Damn, girl, what you do to me. Here, sit up just a little and watch.”

He helped her up, angled her so she could look down between her legs, down at the silver blades glinting in the sunshine streaming in from the windows behind him. “Oh.”

He smiled. God, how she loved his smile. “Yes. Oh. Now, stay still.”

He gripped the scissors by the finger holds and hinged them open, sliding them on either side of the crotch of her panties. Her breath hitched and her legs trembled with each slice of fabric.

She’d been right. It was a singular and erotic moment unlike any she’d experienced before. Oh damn, she was trying not to melt with the sensation of slowly being exposed to him like that.

When the material was cut through, he sliced up the leg opening and with one strong tug, he yanked the scraps away from her body and tossed them to the side, but not before grinning at her like the Cheshire cat. “Oh, Bailey girl,” he murmured, his gaze riveted between her legs.

“Am I…” She couldn’t finish her thought.

“Yes, you are.”

Their eyes met and she sighed with relief. He understood what she’d been unable to ask.

He lightly touched her. “Just relax. Let your knees fall open. Yes, oh yes, Bailey, just like that.”

His fingers, feather-light and slightly rough, tingled all along her body. He touched her everywhere, inside and out. She was hot and she was cold. She was slipping into a place that she’d only dreamed of. Subspace; the sensation of floating on air, a bliss so sweet it could be painful. She’d read about it, talked to others about it, but until Aidn, she hadn’t had an inkling of what it might be like to feel it. She gave herself up to it, gave herself and her pleasure over to him, and he was taking her there, making her fly. She was a different woman than she’d been just hours ago.

Lust hummed through her blood. Need ripped at her and centered in her breasts. When his fingers slid inside deep, the need clenched and she let go, her body spasming in an orgasm that surprised her with its power. It kept going, singeing her nerve endings and curling her toes.

Her entire body jerked and trembled. She gasped for breath and a strangled cry ripped itself from her throat. Her hands fisted when she couldn’t find anything to grasp hold of. Everything shifted from bright color to dim shades and the feeling of perfection infused every pore.

She’d never felt anything quite like it and she never wanted it to end.

“Jesus, girl.” Aidn’s voice sounded far away, strangled, desperate. He stroked in and out with his fingers, slowly placing the head of his cock against her. “Bailey.” So lost in coming, so lost in her own pleasure, she barely heard him speak her name.

“Bailey.” He said her name again softly, and she finally opened her eyes. He was smiling at her and she melted again.

“Hi there.”

“Hi.”

Fingers slid through her hair and his thumb rubbed softly over her lips. “Are you okay?”

She nodded and licked her lips. The out-of-body feeling was starting to fade and slowly, his handsome features came into focus. She could get lost in his eyes, in his smile, in the sound of his voice whispering to her.

“Good. I need to ask…are you clean? Been tested? Birth control?”

She hoped her voice worked. “Yes. Every six months. It’s on file at the club per member rules. And yes, I’m on the pill. You?” They should have talked about this before now, maybe on the phone as they were driving to her place, or before they’d ever left the parking lot at the mall. She didn’t want to discuss it now. She just…she just wanted him inside her, fucking her for all he was worth.

“Yes. I’m clean. It’s on file.”

“Great. Fuck me. Please, Aidn.” She lifted her hips, pushing herself on his cock head.

He took hold of her hips and dug in. “Tighten your legs. If you can lock your ankles around my back, do it. Hold me. Grip me, Bailey.”

She nodded and wiggled on the counter, readjusting her legs around him, pulling him to her with her heels pressed into his ass. His hands slid up to her waist, up higher to her breasts. As he pumped into her with small, strong thrusts, his fingers tugged and pulled and twisted her nipples, drawing her up, suspended on the counter

“Please…”

“Please what, Bailey girl? Tell me, beg me.”

“You, please, Aidn. I need…”

“What do you need?” He let go of her nipples and reached around, taking her ankles in his hands, removing them from behind his back.

“You. Please…just you…”

“I’m here. You’ve got me.”

Aidn adjusted his grasp on her, pressed her legs back toward her head and opened her wider, hammering into her hard, fast. She was tight and scorching hot and likely the best fuck he’d ever had. He didn’t like one-night stands, but this had to be one. The effect she had on him was too much for him to handle. The effect he had on her was too much for him to handle.

“Touch your breasts, your nipples, Bailey.”

And she did. She rolled them in her fingers, her short nails digging into the sensitive tissue. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, off the way she fondled herself for him, so innocent and yet, she was so tempting and lush.

He was trembling and she was shaking, her pussy pulsing. He pressed hard into her, holding himself there, flooding her body.

Her soft whimper mixed with his animal-like grunt.

“Thank you.”

He barely heard the whispered words over the loud hammering of his heart. He’d never fucked like that, never had a woman more decadently displayed just for him.

Fighting to catch his breath and watching her do the same, he imagined spending days and weeks like this with her. He wanted her like he hadn’t wanted another woman in years. And he wanted her again. Right now.

With his cock still buried inside her, he kissed her swollen and flushed lips. “Where’s the bedroom?”

Aidn woke up first. Late afternoon sun filtered through a bank of windows and warmed the room. He turned his head and found Bailey still asleep with her head pillowed on her hand. She was prettier than he’d initially thought and it didn’t have to do with her physical appearance as much as he was used to with other women. Had he always been so shallow?

He rolled from the bed and ambled into the bathroom, scrubbing his hands over his face. He should leave. She was too…too…too something for him. Something he couldn’t put his finger on, and while the sex had been fevered and passionate, it had just been sex.

His cock twitched as though attempting to argue that stupid notion. He really didn’t want it to be smarter at the moment than his rational, higher-thinking brain.

Her eyes had told him everything. She was with him every step of the way, and when his cock flexed inside her, the groan that had slipped from her, the smile that had graced her face took his breath away. Damn. She could break a man with a look like that. Everything she was feeling, everything she needed had been written there for him to see. He was in way over his head. All he’d wanted was to fuck her, to pleasure them both, to get some stress out of his system. This was—she was—much more than he’d bargained for.

He’d barely touched her and she’d come. All her defenses were down and she’d been nothing but pure reaction and raw ecstasy. It unnerved the shit out of him and if he didn’t get the hell away from her…

He turned the water on and stepped into the spray. He hoped she wouldn’t mind. Normally, he’d wake a woman up and talk her into the shower with him, but not this time, not this woman. He needed distance. He needed to wash the sweet scent of her off his skin.

He sighed. He was kidding himself and was man enough to admit it. He didn’t like it, but… There was more than sex, more than the heat of her around his dick, more than the passion that burned inside her and flowed into him when he touched her.

The hot water rolled down his back and sank into his muscles. She had one of those multi-setting showerheads. It was on a hose and detachable. As he stared at it, his mind wandered and he grinned. He could see her using it for more than the manufacturer’s intended purpose.

After scrubbing his head, trying to get rid of the last of the cobwebs in his mind, he turned the water off and stepped out. He looked out the bathroom door and found that Bailey was still sleeping. That was a damn good thing. He’d worked her over, fucking her like a madman twice more once they’d gotten upstairs to her bed. Nothing quite so naughty as on the counter, but hard and rough and quick, trying to get it out of his system, this all-consuming hunger that had blindsided him back on the sidewalk. He still wasn’t done. He was still on edge, still needing…

He toweled off and went to get the jeans he’d left lying on the kitchen floor downstairs. After tugging them on and fastening the buttons, he wandered into the living room. Decorated in black and white, with punches of bright colors, it was neat and clean with wavy lines and swirled fixtures. While beautiful and vibrant, not unlike its owner, it was also timid, as though she were trying to find just what her own style would be. There was darkness and light, whimsy and structure. Who she had been before and who she was becoming?

The bookshelf at the end of the room drew his attention, with row upon row of books. Half of the shelves were filled with cookbooks, mostly about baking. Recalling the bakery storefront on the street, he was curious to know if she owned it. As he glanced over more of the titles, another shelf toward the bottom caught his eye. Fetish books.

He was familiar with most of the titles and contents, one of which he’d helped write. Fetish books with picture and descriptions. Fetish books without pictures at all.

His interest piqued, he picked one up and flipped through it, finding some of the pages folded down in the corners. He smiled. She really was a student of the lifestyle. How long had she known? What was it she’d said earlier about preferring private play? Had long had she been exploring it? Did she want a relationship of dominance and submission or was she just into casual play?

The pages she had dog-eared were not the light and fluffy, fun, kinky sex pages. No, she had worn the texture off the pages of more intense, harder play from touching them so much. Collars and leashes. Dragon tails. Cages and crosses. Rope bindings. Ring gags.

There was indescribable depth to her. She had a bright smile and a delightful, sensual personality and yet at the same time, it was becoming quite clear that she had very dark desires.

Aidn knelt and put the book back, thoughts bouncing around in his brain. She was an enigma, one that would be incredible to figure out. When he stood, he heard a sound filtering down from the bedroom. He went to the bottom of the stairs and listened. She was moaning.

He went up, two steps at a time. Shit. Was she in pain? Had he hurt her?

Her breath hitched as he walked to the doorway of the bedroom. She was on her stomach with the sheet pushed to her lower back. He looked at her in a whole new light now than when he’d first noticed her at the club and across the street from the restaurant. She was no longer an adorable and curious, full-figured woman who could stand to lose a few pounds, but rather a sexy, naughty, delicious…damn, he couldn’t finish. She was moving restlessly, her legs drawing up under her and spreading. Another moan escaped her parted lips..

He walked to the side of the bed and from this angle could see just the edge of the areola of her breast. Could he touch it without waking her?

There was an indulgent smile on her lips. Her brows wrinkled and her eyelids fluttered. She was dreaming. And then, she was coming. Holy shit. She was having an orgasm in her sleep.

Her body shuddered under the sheets. Her mouth formed an O and then his name slipped out on a breathless whisper.

Aidn was rooted to the spot and then he was moving back, away from the bed and out the bedroom door. She was dreaming…about him. He was standing right there beside her and she was dreaming about him. What the hell did it mean? He didn’t want to know.

Back downstairs, he grabbed his shirt and shoes from the same spot in the kitchen where his jeans had been and let himself out without a second thought, running from her, from himself, from something he desperately wanted but couldn’t have.

Chapter Four

Bailey pasted a smile on her face as she greeted her two o’clock appointment. Just because she hated all things having to do with men and romance and love and sex thanks to Mr. Slink Away Dominant, didn’t mean she couldn’t be sincerely happy for the newly engaged couple seated across the table from her. Did it? No, of course not. She was, after all, a professional.

“So, what’s the date of your wedding?”

“Valentine’s weekend,” the bride gushed, holding tightly to the arm of her very uncomfortable looking groom.

Bailey understood his pain and wanted to throw up, wanted to break her pencil and jab Barbie Bride in the eyes with the jagged ends. “Oh, isn’t that just wonderful!”

“Yes! Please tell me that you have the date open for a wedding. I just don’t know what I’d do if you’re already booked.”

“Let me check the calendar to be sure.” She flipped open her day planner and made a show of checking dates. She was open for anything, everything, and most especially Barbie’s wedding. “Yes, actually, I am still available and that gives us just about six months.”

“Oh that is just perfect. You were recommended so highly that I just had to have you and you did such a gorgeous job with my friend’s wedding cake. I knew you’d be perfect for what I want.”

Bailey was touched, this time truly touched by the kind words. “That’s a great compliment, thank you. What is your color scheme? Red and white?”

The bride beamed. “White with red and pink accents. Perfect for Valentine’s Day, don’t you think?”

Pencil snapping. Jagged ends. Deep breath. All without her smile faltering. “Absolutely. What color pink?”

“I want a really pretty shade and not anything that would clash with the red.”

That feeling of throwing up…it was back. “No, we don’t want anything to clash. I have a variety of cake flavors, do you have a preference?”

“Chocolate. That’s what you made for Angie’s wedding and it was to die for.”

“Great. Chocolate. Buttercream frosting?” Did they see the tightness around her mouth at all or was it just something Bailey was feeling as she looked at them?

“Is that what was on Angie’s cake? I want it to taste just like hers. Can you do that? Make it taste exactly like hers?”

The plea was so earnest that Bailey fought not to laugh. “I’m pretty sure it was buttercream I used on hers and yes, I can make it taste just like that.”

“Oh, good. And I want roses all over it in pink and red.”

“All right. Let me get one of my pattern books and you can see if there’s something that fits the vision you have in your head. I’ll just be a second.”

Bailey stood, walked behind the counter and knelt down, trying to compose herself, trying to get back the professionalism she was quickly losing. She didn’t know why she was losing it, except for the fact that images of Aidn kept drifting in and out of her mind. It wasn’t marriage she was seeing though, it was a collaring, which was dumb as she’d only been with him once and he’d walked away. It was just a feeling, a gut feeling, that he was the one. It was a feeling that pissed her off.

A few deep breaths later, she stood and pasted another smile on her face. She grabbed some wedding cake books and a couple of magazines and set them on the table for Barbie and Ken to begin going through. “I have some cake samples if you’d like to try them.”

“No, that’s fine. I know what the chocolate tasted like and that’s what I want. I don’t need to taste anything else,” Barbie said absently, her eyes and fingers devouring the pages of cakes in front of her. Ken simply sat there, helpless, looking even more uncomfortable in the silence that ensued. Bailey tried to give him an encouraging and kind smile but wasn’t sure she pulled it off.

“This one!”

Bailey looked at the picture that the bride was pointing to and inwardly groaned. The cake consisted of four stacked tiers, with cascades of icing roses from the top to the bottom and gum-paste petals sprinkled along the base.

“And I want alternating red and pink roses.”

“And the scattered, loose petals?”

“Can you make them white? Or would it be better if they were a color?”

“I think either would look lovely, but it’s whatever you want. It’s your big day.”

“Yes, it is,” she squealed.

“And what do you think?” Bailey asked, turning toward the still-silent groom.

“Oh he doesn’t care. He likes whatever I like.”

Sheepishly he shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head. For some reason the gesture caused a small twinge of sadness in Bailey. Her husband had been like that. Agreeing to whatever she wanted, never having much to say about anything. His nonchalant attitude about work, social plans, life and her…it was just more than she could take for the rest of her life. Now that she’d found heat and passion in a whole different personal lifestyle, she couldn’t regret having left him and striking out on her own.

She did wish things had worked out differently with Aidn though, that it had been more than just a one afternoon deal.

After filling out some paperwork and taking a deposit, Bailey walked the happy couple out and then returned to the kitchen. She needed to bake, to play. It helped her forget, to cope through tough times.

Half a bag of powdered sugar later, along with half a pound of butter, some vanilla and cream, she was feeling pretty good. Aidn hadn’t crossed her mind but three or four hundred times. Surely, that was some sort of improvement.

She didn’t hear the phone until she’d turned off the mixer. “Hello?” she said absently into the cell phone that she dug out of her pocket, spreading sugar dust everywhere on her jeans. Great.

“What are you doing Saturday night?”

“Hmmmm? And hello to you, too. Saturday night? Nothing that I know of, why?”

“Want to go to Abyss?”

No way. “Oh, no. No, I don’t.” She ran her finger along the inside of the bowl, scooping up some frosting.

“Come on. You haven’t been out of the house in two weeks.”

“Of course I have. I’ve been in the bakery and it’s been really busy. Weddings and all that, you know.”

“That’s not all you’ve been doing. You’re moping over that guy and eating icing.”

Bailey wiped the mound of icing off her finger. “I am not moping over anyone. I have been working. A lot.” And yes, eating icing. Lots and lots of it. And feeling guilty for it and feeling sad that he left and strangely motivated at the same time to work harder, create more. Anything at all really to keep from thinking about him. He touched what she’d always known was there, what she’d been hiding inside herself… Bailey stuck her tongue out at the phone in a defiant, childish gesture and refused to give him another thought…for at least the next five minutes.

“You’re going Saturday night.”

“No, really, Jen, I don’t want to go. Maybe next time.” In about ten years.

“No. I’m buying your ticket today and I’ll be by to get you at eight-thirty on Saturday night.”

“I don’t want to go.”

“I don’t care. We’re going. You need to get over that. It was one day. And only for a few hours at that. Nothing to still be thinking about.”

“You don’t understand.” Her voice sounded weak and wimpy. She hated that.

“I do understand. I’ve had one-night stands before.”

“He was different. I know he was only a one-time thing. I knew that the moment he asked me to…but… God, Jen, he was different.”

“I know, B. Has he tried to see you again?”

Bailey laughed sardonically. “No, of course not.”

“We need to go out, have a few drinks, flirt a little.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“I do. I’ll pick you up on Saturday night. Dress sexy. Gotta go.” And with that, Jen was gone. Bailey looked at the phone before hanging it up. So much for her objections, but Jen was just trying to help.

She put the cell phone back in her pocket and finished adding color to the frosting. Turning on the mixer, she watched the color shift and weave through the pure white buttercream, getting lost in the swirling of the paddle. Damn. She turned off the machine. The pink wasn’t the right shade. What she had in her head was pale, just a hint of color, but enough that one could tell it was pink and not white.

Oh well. She’d try again later. It was her personal project, to perfect the shade of the frosting. It would look incredible on her chocolate fudge cake. The consistency was perfect, not too sweet, not too heavy, but light and fluffy, whipped butter and cream.

She loved the pleasure, the smiles on her customer’s faces when they bit into her cakes. It was a boost to her confidence in herself and in her chosen profession. She was finally happy, finally doing something she loved, something for herself. Though it was only just the beginning of her business, she was doing well and she had big plans for her bakery.

It had taken her a long time, but she’d finally learned after her divorce that she wasn’t so bad. She’d come to love her curvy body and the choices she’d made to improve her life. Her figure had never really been an issue before, either. Now, she was obsessing about it, about Aidn, about what kind of woman he preferred. He hadn’t acted put off by her size, had actually seemed to love her curves and full breasts, but… She wasn’t fat, but neither was she a perfect single-digit size. It had to be something else that had driven him away. Something else had to have spooked him or maybe he just hadn’t wanted more than the few hours they’d shared.

When would she stop thinking about him, stop wanting him? It had seemed so much more personal than just an afternoon of sex. The way he’d held her hair in his fist as he’d taken her from behind before they finally collapsed in her bed. It was possession. She gave herself over to him and he took her. She held nothing back as she normally did during sex, always keeping a part of herself locked away so as to not to get too close. But not with Aidn. She gave everything that afternoon, knowing it was probably going to be her only chance to be with him in that way and now…she couldn’t say if she wished she hadn’t.

She wanted to call him, couldn’t stop fondling the business card she’d found on the floor in her kitchen, but she wasn’t about to show him how desperate she was for him. No way, no how. She should have gotten the picture loud and clear by now. What the hell was wrong with her? She didn’t get all fucked up over a one-night hunk, even one that she dreamed about constantly, one that she could still feel all over and inside her body. Yet here she was, aching for him, crying for all that he’d brought out in her and drowning herself in her work.

A glance at the clock and a deep, heartfelt sigh told her that if she didn’t drown a little more, she wasn’t going to get the Pierson cake finished and delivered by closing time.

Aidn sat outside the front of Bailey’s townhouse. What was he doing? Cutting the engine of the Jeep, he looked around the area a little.

Bailey Bakes was painted in swirls of pink, purple and brown on a wooden sign that hung from an iron rod beside the glass door. It had a touch of historical class to it. “Now or never,” he murmured, getting out and locking the Jeep’s doors. Before he could think about it again, he crossed the sidewalk and pushed open the front door, stepping inside the small bakery. A bell jingled above his head and the smell of vanilla assailed him.

“Hi, can I help…”

Bailey’s words trailed off once she raised her eyes. She was wiping her hands on an apron adorned with cupcakes and had a smudge of white across her forehead.

“Hi.”

She swallowed visibly. “What are you doing here, Aidn?”

“Honestly? I don’t know.” He looked around, taking in the tiny shop, knowing his answer wasn’t adequate. His eyes lit on the front window display of three very beautiful, very different-in-design wedding cakes. He walked over, stuffing his hands in his pockets for lack of anything better to do with them other than to reach for her, to know if she was as soft and exciting to the touch as before. “Did you make these?”

“I decorated them. They aren’t really cakes.”

I really need to get the hell away from you. There was such warmth in the bakery, like coming home after school on a spring day to a house smelling of freshly baked cookies. He wasn’t a homey kind of guy, he wasn’t nostalgic, but one would never have known that if they were privy to his thoughts in that moment. Robert would be having a damn field day with this. Good-bye was on the tip of his tongue, but that’s not what came out. “What are they?”

She giggled and the sound caused something in his heart to tighten and then loosen. Big fucking danger zone.

“They’re actually made from foam that is cut and shaped, then covered with icing and fondant and decorated.”

“Huh. Learn something new every day. You do bake real cakes though, right?”

She rolled her eyes and his hand itched to spank her for the gesture. She was teasing with him, but still, the urge to bend her over his knees and yank her jeans and panties off so he could give her a good bare-hand-to-bare-ass spanking was nearly overwhelming.

“Yes, of course I do. I wouldn’t make any money otherwise.”

“Did you go to school to learn this?”

“A few years before my divorce, I started baking a lot, took some cake decorating classes. I found that I enjoyed it, that I was good at it. I took some business courses, a few pastry courses and well, here I am.”

“This is why you were so in love with the lotion, isn’t it?”

She nodded along with letting another giggle escape. He should leave, but he was going to kiss her instead.

And he did. With all the tenderness he could muster, he cupped her face with one hand and pulled her flush against his body with the other, lowering his head and kissing her surprised mouth. It was soft and gentle, a mere tasting of her.

He lifted his head long before he wanted to and looked down at her. Her eyes slowly opened to meet his. She licked her lips and he bit back a groan.

“Oh wow,” she whispered.

“Indeed,” he whispered back, tasting the corner of her mouth.

“I… That was…”

He focused his gaze on her face. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes were bright with hunger She wanted him. She was aroused and hot for him just like that. In the space of a heartbeat, she’d gone from wary and business-like to lusting. It was incredibly tempting, knowing he had that kind of power over her.

“Ask me for another kiss, Bailey.”

“Please, may I have another kiss?”

“Sir.”

Her eyes widened once the word registered. He wasn’t sure why he’d put it out there, put the line in the sand, but he wouldn’t take it back. It seemed the right thing to do, just as it had when he’d taken her on her kitchen counter.

“Please, may I have another kiss, sir?”

He couldn’t explain his reaction to hearing her say “sir”…pride, power, happiness.

“I want to try something. Will you let me?”

“What?”

“I want you to close your eyes. Just listen to my voice. Trust me. Please, Bailey?”

She twisted the apron strings between her fingers and looked down at the ground. “Why?”

“In one of the books on your bookshelf you tagged a page about sensory deprivation and while I could likely find something to blindfold you with, I’d rather just ask you to close your eyes, to listen to my voice, to just talk to me and let me in.”

Aidn could see she was struggling just as much as he was with the request. She was fidgeting with her fingers, wouldn’t look at him and worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. When she finally lifted her head, her eyes were closed and his heart skipped a beat. “Good girl. Now, say it again. Say ‘sir’ again.”

She licked her lips and swallowed hard. “Sir.”

He dropped his hands from her hair and took a measured step back, taking in some air. What was he doing? Why wasn’t he leaving? Why was he leading her down a submissive path when it was all kinds of wrong for him to do so? Why couldn’t he resist her?

“Such a good girl. I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, but there are all kinds of stories running around. The BDSM community is rather small. But, all you need to know is that what is happening here between us is unusual for me.”

She nodded and he reached out, gently stroking her neck with the pad of his thumb, unable to resist touching her.

“You said you came to the lifestyle late. When? Do you have any experience?”

When she licked her lips, he wanted to push her to her knees and feel that tongue on his cock.

“Yes, sir. I started exploring about two years ago and joined Abyss last year.”

“How did you get it? The experience, I mean. Before you answer that, do you have any appointments? Are you expecting anyone?”

“No, sir.”

He walked to the door and turned the lock. When he was back with her, he took her by the shoulders and turned her around, walking her slowly into the kitchen area of her shop. He didn’t want anyone to walk by and see them through the front window.

She was still trusting him. He hadn’t trusted anyone in so long, in matters like this. She made him miss it.

“Talk, Bailey girl. Answer my other question now.”

“Oh. I…I joined an online lifestyle site and after a while I became friends with a couple of submissives. They invited me to a few play parties and private get-togethers.”

“But you didn’t play at the parties?”

“No. One of the dominant men kind of took me under his wing for a few months and trained me.”

“He’s not your dom, though?”

“No. He has a submissive. She was one of the girls that had invited me and he was just trying to help me learn.”

“What did he show you or do to you that you enjoyed?”

The color in her cheeks heightened to a bright pink and she began to fidget with the apron strings again. His fingers itched to tie her hands behind her back with them. He leaned back against a worktable and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting.

“Spanking and flogging. Bondage, wax and a little sensory deprivation. He helped me to understand the dynamics of BDSM, that it was about my consent to submit and a dominant’s consent to control.”

“Do you still see him?” Aidn didn’t want the answer to that question. Just the thought of anyone spanking Bailey or touching her in any way now that he had, just…

“No, sir. I am not seeing anyone.”

But you. The words hung in the air between them. She didn’t have to say them and he didn’t have to tell her to open her eyes to know what he’d see there. Her willingness with him would be his undoing if he didn’t get it together.

He moved to stand in front of her, beside her, and finally, behind her. She leaned back against him and his nerve faltered. With his hand, he reached out and ran his fingers through the back of her hair, gripping the strands, tugging and pulling her head back. His lips touched her forehead as a gasp left her.

“Did you like the spankings, the wax play? There are things I want to do to you, things I want to show you, things I haven’t wanted with anyone in a very long time. I want to clamp your nipples and your clit. I want to bend you over my knees and spank you like a naughty schoolgirl. I want to drip wax over your thighs and belly while vibrating eggs, deep inside your holes, drive you mad. I want… I want so much.”

She was trembling and her pulse had quickened. She was breathing out of her mouth in short, ragged breaths. If he cupped her pussy, he’d find heat, find that the orgasm would shiver through her at the slightest touch. After two weeks, he could still bring her to the brink. After two weeks and how he’d left her, she would still come apart in his arms, she would still trust him, just as she had been doing these past minutes.

“But I can’t. I shouldn’t have come today. I tried. I tried to stay away. Everything about you isn’t for me, everything you make me feel, make me want isn’t for me. I…I’m sorry.”

And, for the second time in as many weeks, he ran.

Chapter Five

“Thank you for seeing me, sir.”

Aidn smiled and held out his hand to her. She was a pretty young thing, someone he might have taken home, or at least taken on the desk, but there was not an ounce of attraction or arousal. He didn’t like that. “Please, Misty, call me Aidn.”

Her eyes flitted back and forth between his face and his hand, finally taking it lightly and giving it a brief shake. “Oh no, sir, I couldn’t do that. Master says I am to speak respectfully at all times. I am not to use a man’s given name.”

Aidn raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to take a seat. He slid his hip on the edge of the desk, looking her over. “Very well, but for future reference when someone asks you to call them by name, and you do so, you’re not being disrespectful.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you for the lesson, sir.”

He was torn between a smirk and grinding his teeth into dust, his jaw was locked so tight. Better get down to business and get her on her way. “Robert said you needed some help with a contract.”

“Oh yes, sir. Your friend said it would be a good idea to have you look over the contract my master wants me to sign and that you were always willing to help out others…in the lifestyle.”

She spoke with such earnest excitement and Aidn’s stomach clenched in dread. Gullible was a good word for her, as well as innocent, unassuming. Unfortunately, the perfect prey.

“Your master? Really? Does he know you’re talking to me?” he asked, though he already knew the answer.

“Oh no, sir. I didn’t talk to him last night. Besides he would not be happy with me if he knew.”

“Why would he be upset? You’re just trying to—”

“He said I should trust him to know what’s best for me.”

“Right, of course.” Blind trust. “Here, let me see what you’ve got.”

She reached into her bag and handed him a piece of paper. It required the date and her signature. Glancing at it, nothing struck him as being out of sorts. It was simple and straightforward. A general contract that he had seen a dozen times before. The man had probably printed it off the Internet.

“I feel kind of silly showing it to you.”

“No need. As Robert said, this is part of what I do. I try to help ensure that everyone involved in the relationship is protected.”

“I understand, sir. But, I really don’t need it. Master would never hurt me. He looks out for me. And besides, I can read it and understand it.”

“Of course you can.” He handed the paper back to her. “So, tell me. How did you meet your master?”

She blushed. “Online. One of those, you know, personal sites for…kinky people.”

Her voice had dropped to a dramatic whisper as though she expected the kink police to jump out of thin air. How amusing.

“Yes, I know. And how long have the two of you been talking?”

“Oh a long time, sir. I knew immediately that I wanted to be with him.”

“Really. That’s great. How long is a long time? A few months? A year?”

She actually laughed. “Oh no, sir. A few weeks.”

“A few weeks? And he’s giving you a contract? He’s wanting to collar you?” The nausea was nearly overwhelming.

“Oh yes, as soon as I sign it and send it back. I am going to live with him after he receives it.”

If he threw up would she notice through the haze of her euphoria? “You’ve met him, then?”

Again, the blush. “Not yet.”

Not yet? Oh yeah, he was going to be ill. Did he have any Pepto in the office anywhere? Shit, what he wouldn’t give for a whole box of the chewables. “Phone calls?”

“A few. But he’s seen me on webcam a lot.”

“I’ll just bet he has,” Aidn murmured.

“Sir? Are you okay? You look a little pale, like you’re sick.”

He swallowed and tamped down the urge to take her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. “I’m fine. Misty, signing the contract gives him control of you until the date stated, at which you can ask to be released. It’s not legally binding in a court of law, but…”

“Oh, I won’t be doing that. Master’s other girls are very happy living with him. I’m sure that I will be, too.”

“Other girls?” Maybe two boxes of Pepto.

“Yes, master owns two other girls. We’ll be as close as sisters. I don’t have sisters, sir.”

There was a wistful longing in her eyes. She was lonely. Shit. “Have you talked to these girls?”

“No, sir. Master says there will be time enough for that when I get there and get settled. He said these weeks were just for us to get to know each other.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-one, sir.”

He grimaced. He couldn’t help it. It was like a boulder had just settled in his stomach. “What do your parents think?”

“They think I’m going back to college.” She looked down at the floor. “My parents wouldn’t understand. No one understands.”

The sympathy her words could have evoked was tainted by the childish pout of her lips. He wanted to reach down and shake her until the cotton candy in her brain transformed into a solid mass of tissue capable of rational thought. He wanted to yell that she didn’t have a fucking clue what she was doing and that if she came home she was likely to be so mentally and emotionally damaged, so physically abused that… God, Aidn didn’t even want to think about some of the truly evil things he’d seen bastards like her so-called “master” do to girls as blind and naïve as she.

“Misty. Is there anything I can do to talk you out of this? To give it more time, to give yourself more time to get to know him? To talk to the other girls? To meet him a few times?”

“You don’t think I know what I’m doing either.”

“I think you’re very young and very innocent and very lonely.”

“Well, sir, that just goes to show how much you know. Thank you for your time, but I need to go.”

“Misty, I’m only concerned that you could get hurt.” Maybe he could tie her to the chair until he could get in touch with her master.

“You’re just like the rest. Master said that people would try to talk me out of it.”

“And he’s right.” He reached across the desk and took one of his business cards from the small metal holder. He held it out to her and when she didn’t take it, he picked up her hand and placed the card in her palm. “Call me if you ever need anything.”

“I won’t need anything. Master will take care of me. He is all I need.”

Aidn sighed and rubbed at the knot in his stomach. He couldn’t get rid of the feeling of dread surrounding her. He needed… oh fuck, he needed Bailey. He needed to lose himself in her body, in her presence.

“Very well. I guess we’re done.”

“Yes, sir, we are.”

He watched her. She got up from the chair and walked toward the door. She really was cute and he really was scared for her, even if she wasn’t bright enough to see he was only trying to help.

“How did you and Robert meet?”

Her hand was on the doorknob but she stopped before opening it. Her voice was low and he strained to hear it, but her words were clear.

“Master likes pictures of me sucking men off. It’s okay you see, because he tells me to do it. He likes to see their come on my face. Robert was one of those men. He was nice to me.”

She walked out and Aidn just shook his head, his eyes closed and his stomach in knots. He hated feeling helpless, powerless to help someone see when they were making a big mistake. A little voice inside told him he ought to look at the mistakes he’d made with Bailey, but he refused to listen, refused to think of his having left her as a mistake. It was for their own good, his and hers. He couldn’t commit, couldn’t trust, and she deserved no less than that.

The office phone ringing caught him mid-thought and he reached for it, glad for the distraction. “Aidn Greer.”

“Up for dinner tonight?”

“No. By the way, that girl you sent me, Misty? She’s a piece of work, Robert. You do realize she’s young and walking into a situation that could destroy her, right?”

“Yeah, which is why I wanted her to see you. I was hoping you’d be able to talk some sense into her.”

“Well, she didn’t want to listen and now she’s gone off to live with her ‘master’.” Aidn spat out the word as though it were poison on his tongue. “And what the hell were you doing with your dick in a glory hole? That is how you met her, right?”

“Hey, I don’t judge you, so don’t you judge me. What the hell were you doing fucking that girl all afternoon then running out on her?”

Shit. Robert had him there. His cock ached just thinking about her and he’d had a hard-on for the last two weeks. He would give anything be everything she needed and show her that she was everything he’d been hungering for. Fuck. He had to stop thinking like that. Seeing her earlier had been a huge mistake, but as he’d told her, he couldn’t stay away. Now, he wanted to go back and never leave. No matter what he did, he was fucked.

“Why did you do that, Aidn?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is it because you’re a shallow son of a bitch?”

Aidn snorted. Was it that? Did her size have anything to do with it? He had big hands and he liked when they could span the waist of a girl. He liked being able to pick a girl up and carry her in his arms when he was fucking her. He liked when they didn’t look at him like she did, when they didn’t dream about him, when they didn’t want him for more than fun. He didn’t like a girl with expectations and given the chance, expectations would have been written all over her beautiful face.

“Maybe.” Not a chance in hell was it shallowness. He didn’t have an issue with her body. He didn’t really even have an issue with the way she looked at him as though he were the answer to all her submissive needs. It was his own paralyzing fear of trust.

“Abyss this weekend?”

“Nah, I don’t think so. I think I’ll just relax with a couple beers and a game.”

“No, man, come on. We’ll go for a little while and just maybe find a girl or two for you that you know, ‘fits’ you. A girl that’s more your style.”

It was said in fun, but was no less true. And yeah, maybe he could find someone that would wash the memory of Bailey out of his mind, but he doubted it. He just wasn’t cut out for more than casual relationships and casual would never be able to take the place of the one afternoon he’d spent fucking her.

Shit. “Yeah, I’ll go.”

*

Bailey stood outside Aidn’s office door. The small, historic downtown street looked like a picture out of a magazine. All the old storefronts had been restored and new businesses had moved in, revitalizing the old Southern town. Should she knock or just walk right in? It was near closing time for most all the businesses, but his Jeep was still parked outside on the street.

She didn’t even know what she was going to say yet, but she needed to think of something before people started to stare and ask questions. When she opened the door, a little bell jingled like the one in her shop and she stopped, cringing. Looking around, there was no secretary and no noise from anywhere inside the large space. Straight back from the front entrance were a few rooms and a light on in the one at the far end of the hall.

With hesitant steps, Bailey made her way to the back of the building. Aidn was sitting at a large, dark wooden desk bent over some papers. In the corner behind the office door was a television turned on to a reality show that she never had the patience to watch.

Drawing in a deep breath, she let it out slowly. “Hi, Aidn.”

To say that he was surprised was an understatement and she had to bite back the smile that threatened to show. His pencil dropped from his hand and his eyes widened.

“Bailey. Hi.”

His mouth split into the most handsome grin and the warmth that flooded his gaze nearly broke her as he stood and started to walk toward her. Damn man.

“You left. Why?”

“What?” He stopped in the middle of the room.

“That’s all I want to know. Why did you leave?”

“Wow. I… Come in and sit down.”

Aidn gestured to the chairs in front of his desk, but Bailey stayed rooted to the spot in the doorway and gave a shake of her head. If she went anywhere near him, she’d melt. She was weak where he was concerned and her resolve was faltering fast. She wanted to be tossed across his desk and fucked. She wanted to drop to her knees and unzip his pants and suck his cock into her mouth until he came down her throat. She wanted his kisses, his hands on her, his need, his hunger, his control. She wanted everything she could never have from him, and so she would settle for what she could get—an explanation.

“I really do just want to know why you left. Then I’ll go and we don’t have to meet again. I’m sure that’s what you thought too, though, right? That if you left, you’d not have to see me again.” He looked uncomfortable as she talked. That wasn’t her purpose, but, she was glad nonetheless that he was not exactly feeling good about it.

“That’s not it at all. I just…I got scared. Happy?”

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his tailored dress pants and sighed. She couldn’t start to feel bad about showing up when he’d obviously never expected her to. She had to remain strong, get what she came for, and then run like hell.

“No, not really. I don’t see you as the getting scared type. You asked me to…to fuck you. The least you could have done was say good-bye when you were done.”

“I could have, but I didn’t.”

She closed her eyes and counted to ten, then counted to ten again. When she opened them, he was standing right there, his chest just inches from hers and she had to grab the doorframe to keep from falling over backwards.

He reached up and stroked her cheek with such tenderness she wanted to cry. Coming to see him was a really big mistake. Why didn’t she just call him? Why didn’t she send him an e-mail or something? She had his business card. Not that he’d answer or reply, but still…why did she think she just had to see him?

When he’d come to the bakery earlier in the day, she’d been so thrilled to see him. When he’d held her, caressed her, kissed her and told her all the things he wanted to do to her, she’d had the word yes on the tip of her tongue. He left though, walked out. He’d taken another piece of her with him and she was damned if she wasn’t going to try and get some answers.

“Look, I don’t have a reason that’s going to sound right or sound intelligent or even sound grown-up. I don’t have an answer that’s going to satisfy you. I just left.”

“You’re right, that doesn’t satisfy me. It’s nothing but crap, Aidn. You saying you were scared sounded better. Why can’t a man just say he’s done and he’s leaving?”

“Come on now, Bailey. You’re making a bit of a generalization, don’t you think?”

“No, I don’t. You did it. It’s been done before, too, to me. Not by anyone like you. Not by anyone that I would give a second thought to really, but that’s beside the point. I just want to understand why you left, what I did wrong.”

“I don’t know how to make you understand that you did nothing wrong. It’s me.”

Bailey laughed. She couldn’t help it. “The old ‘it’s me not you’ argument. Right.” She sounded desperate and it was a low point she’d never hit before. She’d never intended to lash out or humiliate either of them. He made her feel so much, brought to life parts of her she hadn’t expected to come alive after just a few encounters with him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Aidn grabbed her arm, pulled her tight against him and backed up into the office enough so that he could close the door behind them. She tried to wrench her arm free, but he wouldn’t let go and before she could catch her breath, he had her pinned against the wood of the door. He held her in place until she ceased to struggle. She couldn’t fight his hold on her, physical or emotional. Damn.

She started to speak, but his lips swallowed anything that she might have been about to say. His tongue invaded her mouth and his hands pressed her shoulders into the door, his fingers digging into her. She was lost in the kiss, in the pressure of his body against hers, in the realization that his hard cock pressed against her, urging her to spread her legs a little more. Despite his words, he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

He lifted his head and looked down at her, confusion swirling in the dark blue depths. “I can’t give you what you want or what you deserve.” He took a step back and let go of her. “Now, you get to be the one that leaves. And believe me, Bailey, it’s better this way.”

*

The club was packed. The music thumped and bumped and it echoed in her blood. Bailey glanced around as the hostess stamped her hand. She loved the open sexuality, the exhibitionism of the women. Most walked around in g-strings with pasties covering their nipples. The two dancers on stage were dressed no differently, though one was barefoot with a sparkling anklet and the other had on bright red, patent leather fuck-me heels. They were so lost in their movements and Bailey suspected they were lost in being watched, admired, being wanted. And she had no doubt that they were wanted, lusted after. What would it be like, to be up there, dancing and moving, lost in the beat of the music, lost in the eyes that followed every move? Could she ever be brave enough?

Her cheeks warmed and she turned away, following Jen farther into the building. Couples, trios and groups in all variations of dress and undress swarmed the balcony, hovering around the play stations and the bar.

“Let’s get your name on the list first thing so you can get that flogging you’ve been dying for.”

“No, Jen.”

“Yes. You’ve seen him work every time we’ve been here and he’s offered for you more than once. Come on, B.”

“No, I don’t want to be watched in public like this.” Which was such utter bullshit. She might have told Aidn that she wasn’t an exhibitionist, but that wasn’t true. At least she didn’t want it to be. She wanted to be up on stage dancing, wearing next to nothing. She wanted to be hoisted up on the chains in the center of the building, tied carefully and artfully, then swung back and forth for all to admire. She wanted to be seen, to be wanted, to be hungered for. And yes, she wanted to be bound to the St. Andrew’s cross and flogged.

Jen rolled her eyes. “Right.”

“Fine, just not tonight, Jen. Please. I’m not up for it. I really just want to go home.”

“You aren’t still bummed, are you? B, come on. He’s just a guy. There will be others like him and others better than him that will want you for more.”

“Not like him, Jen. And he does want me. That’s what gets me. He wants me. It’s in his eyes, in his touch.”

“But evidently not enough. So let’s go. We’re getting you signed up. We’re getting this guy flogged out of your system.”

“No, I mean it. Not tonight. Maybe some other time.”

“Yes, tonight. Right now.”

Jen took her hand and pulled her toward the man with the flogger. Bailey’s heart thudded with nervous excitement and her pussy began to ache. She really did want this, and she really did love watching him, always imagining what it might feel like. The flogger looked like an extension of his arm, as though it were part of him and it never did anything he didn’t want it to do. He was in control of it and she wanted him to be in control of it on her.

He looked up when they stopped outside the ropes of his station and smiled, winking at Bailey. “Gonna try me tonight?”

She answered his teasing grin with one of her own. It was infectious and she couldn’t help it. The man was gorgeous with a broad, solid body and his long hair in a loose braid down his back. They never spoke except for these little bits. She’d watched him over the months and he was the one she wanted to deliver the first strike. She frowned. No, that wasn’t true any longer because there was another she would rather bare her body for, another that she would… No, she wouldn’t think about him tonight. She wouldn’t let thoughts of him and his rejection of her ruin her night.

“M—”

“Yes, she is,” Jen interjected, cutting off anything that Bailey might have been about to say.

“Really?”

He looked so happy, so excited that Bailey… Wow. “Yes, really.”

“Come, then.”

He held out his hand and for the briefest moment she hesitated, but then put her hand in his. His strength seeped into her skin and steadied her nerves. He would take care of her.

Positioning her against the smooth wood of the X-shaped cross, he ran his hands down her arms and across her waist. His fingers squeezed her before sliding farther down over her hips. “My name is Thor and I’ve been wanting to do this since the first night you stopped outside my station.”

“You have? Why?”

“You’re beautiful and your body is great, so full, so glorious. The tails will love you. But mostly, it’s the hunger that I see in your eyes and the need I see on your face when you watch.” His voice dropped low and his lips just touched the edge of her ear. “And I love that you watch me.”

“Oh.” Bailey couldn’t believe what he was saying, couldn’t help the smile that filled her from the inside out.

“Do you want to take your shirt off or leave it on?”

Bailey looked helplessly over at Jen, who looked helplessly back at her, shrugging her shoulders. She had no answer for him. “Without. Take it off. You can’t begin to imagine the feeling.”

Bailey nodded and began to unhook the eyelet closures on her top. The black corset-style blouse hugged her breasts and nipped in at her waist and she’d bought it specifically for tonight, wanting to look sexy even if she didn’t feel like it.

What the hell was she doing?

Second thoughts clouded her mind and she was just about to change it when out of the corner of her eye she saw Thor pick up a flogger. She turned her head slightly and watched as the tails danced in the air when he moved his hand. She was again caught up in the way he handled the instrument, the tender way he caressed it against skin.

Sliding the shirt down her arms, she was suddenly cold in the humid heat of the club. Jen took the shirt and Bailey let Thor position her against the cross. He skimmed his hand up her back, causing her to shiver, and unhooked the catches on her bra. It fell open and hung against her sides when she lifted her arms up to the cuffs.

Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, Thor spoke softly. “Forget everything and everyone. Close your eyes and just feel it flow through you. I’m here. Your safe word is Red. If at any time it becomes too much, just say it and I’ll stop.”

Taking a deep breath then letting it out slowly, she whispered, “Okay.”

Chapter Six

“That little blonde has been eyeing you all night.”

“I know,” came the weary reply.

“You should go introduce yourself.”

Aidn looked over at Robert and rolled his eyes. “Yes, what a brilliant idea because the last time I did that, I ended up fucking the girl until she was murmuring my name in her sleep.”

“True, but we’re here to have fun, to enjoy the sights, and maybe even take a couple of them home.”

“I don’t think I’ll be taking any of them home with me, but feel free to take as many home as you’d like.”

“They wouldn’t all fit in the car. You know, I could always…”

“No. Thanks. I’m good.” Truth was, he was bored. The little blonde, the little brunette, the redheaded knockout…he wasn’t interested. He wanted to leave, to go home, open a beer, flip through channels and numb his mind. He wanted to stop thinking about how Bailey fit against him, about how her lips tasted when he kissed her. He wanted all the crazy ideas and desires to go away and leave him in peace. He wanted her bound and naked, writhing in his bed. He wanted to lose himself in her, be with her as she discovered more of herself and this lifestyle that drew them both. He wanted to keep her.

The sound of a flogger connecting with bare skin brought his head up and around. A crowd surrounded Thor’s play station as always. Aidn smiled. He’d taught the man everything he knew a few years back and was proud that the younger man had made a name for himself. He was giving and conducting workshops on his own now.

As he started to look away, the crowd shifted and Aidn was able to get a look at the flogger’s current lover. “Bailey.”

“What?”

He closed his eyes, certain he was seeing things, but when he opened them again, she was still there, bound to the X. “Bailey. What the hell is she doing?”

“Well, it looks like she’s…well, that she’s…”

“She loves it. The few times I’ve been with her, she had that same look whenever I touched her. She was so lost in everything I was doing to her. She can’t mask it, can’t hide it, and she can’t fake it. The need to serve, the hunger to give of herself and her body is something she craves.”

“Aidn…”

“This is so fucking wrong. She’s…” He stalked off in her direction without finishing his comment. He was floored, so taken aback by the fact that she was there in the first place. It really shouldn’t surprise him, she’d been there many times before and he wasn’t sure why it hadn’t dawned on him that she would be there tonight. It was more the fact that she was not only there but half-naked and being flogged. Thor looked as lost in it as Bailey did.

That’s when the jealousy hit him. Fuck.

Stepping through the crowd of people, he stopped directly in front of her line of vision so that when she opened her eyes, his face would be the first thing that registered.

Possessiveness hummed through his blood. He was so…not a possessive man. This girl brought out so much in him that he wasn’t used to feeling, thinking, and he was really getting tired of it. He just didn’t know how or what to do about it. At least that’s what his head said. His gut and his dick were saying something completely different. They were saying mine.

He needed to calm down. If she were to look at him right now, she’d likely be scared that he’d drag her out of there like a caveman. Aidn smirked. Not a bad idea actually.

“What are you going to do?” Robert whispered from behind him.

“Whatever I need to do.”

Aidn watched Thor’s hands caress the light, insistent marks on her pale skin left by the flogger. It was beautiful on her, the contrast. He could almost imagine the heat coming off her. She was wet, too. He didn’t have to touch her to know that between her legs she was soaking, fucking wet.

Another round of flogger meeting flesh commenced. Her back arched into the tails and her fingers curled into fists. Her lips thinned, compressed together, but she didn’t cry out. Thor’s wrist twisted in a side-to-side motion that brought the flogger down in a swish across her shoulders and back, ass and thighs in a constant barrage. She wiggled against the cross, tugged at her bindings and when Thor rubbed her back, massaged the tension from her muscles, she calmed instantly.

She smiled when Thor whispered something against her hair and she slowly opened her eyes. Aidn stepped closer and it took less than a second for the haze to clear. Bingo.

Bailey’s eyes widened. Inside those bright green orbs he spied fear, embarrassment…lust. But it was the fear that pulled him. What did she fear? Him? No, he was fairly certain of that. What then? Fear of being vulnerable with him there? If that were the case, he didn’t blame her. While their last meeting a few days ago clearly gave the impression that nothing could continue between them, something about seeing her bound, helpless, teetering on the edge of bliss, brought it all home to him. She was his match. It was something he’d sensed in her long before their meeting on the sidewalk. She had that innate submissive need that answered his dominant urges. She wasn’t quick to join the fray, she wasn’t interested in one-time play with anyone and everyone. She was the challenge he wanted, the submissive for him. Plain and simple. He was just going to have to suck it up and face it head-on.

His dick was hard, his heart was thumping and there was an irrational knot twisting inside his soul, driving him to mark her as his own. How could she dare to take her shirt off in so public a place and put herself in so vulnerable a position as to be cuffed for a flogging? At the same time, he’d never seen a more beautiful sight as her giving over and letting go.

“Get her down,” Aidn bit out through barely moving lips, not bothering to glance at Thor.

“Aidn. I—”

Thor interrupted her, concern lacing his voice. “Are you okay, girl?”

“Yes, just do as he says, please.”

“Sure.”

There was hesitation in his voice, and reluctance in his movements, but Thor slid his hands up her arms to her wrists and unsnapped the leather cuffs. Regret nudged at Aidn for the way he’d spoken to the other man, but he couldn’t let it influence him or his actions. Thor wouldn’t challenge him. People were starting to stare and whisper, and while he should care, he didn’t. All he cared about was Bailey. She was beautiful up on that cross, beautiful all flushed and dreamy, beautiful and all his.

Aidn’s tone of voice brooked no argument and he made sure that his eyes communicated that to Thor.

Thor was a smart man, hooked Bailey’s bra around her back and started to help her down, but Aidn stepped in, taking her arm in a firm hold.

“Aidn, I didn’t know…” Thor started to say.

“She didn’t either. She will before the night’s over, though. And, Thor? You’re still one of the best with tails. It’s beautiful on her. Thank you. Let’s go, Bailey.”

“Aidn, please, she said.“Bailey?”

“Is she your friend?” Aidn asked, nodding in the other woman’s direction.

“Yes, she is. Her name is Jen.”

Aidn held out his hand to the small fireball that looked ready to kill him. “I’m Aidn. She needs her shirt back.”

“Excuse me?” Venom dripped from her lips and he had to smile at that. “I’m not letting her go anywhere with you.”

“You don’t have a say in this.”

“Who the hell do you think you are? Bailey, are you really going to go with him?”

“It’s okay, Jen. He’ll take me home.”

“Yes, I will. She’ll call you tomorrow. The shirt, please.” The girl reluctantly handed the shirt over, still glaring daggers at him. He wanted to laugh. “Jen, my friend Robert here needs a ride home. Could you please take him?” Aidn didn’t wait for an answer, knowing full well that Robert would have no trouble getting a ride with someone else if the girl wouldn’t take him. He steered Bailey through the crowd, hating the spectacle he’d just made, but reasoned with himself that it couldn’t be helped.

Lust and anger warred within. Now, if he could only figure out why he was angry. The lust he understood, but the anger? The jealousy? Those words and emotions were not in his vocabulary when it came to women. Until Bailey.

“I…I need my shirt,” Bailey said as they descended the stairs to the first floor. At the landing, Aidn backed her against the wall off to the side.

His voice was low in her ear. “Not until we get outside. You were happy enough to take it off upstairs, you can be happy enough to walk through the club without it. And, keep your arms lowered because it’s a little late for modesty. I’d strip the bra off you, too, and make you walk completely topless if it weren’t club policy that you have something covering your sweet, delicious nipples. Not that anyone would stop or question me.”

“This is ridiculous, Aidn,” she hissed.

“Ridiculous? Really?” His grip on her tightened. “Maybe I should make you crawl behind me. There’s a vendor selling leads here tonight.”

Bailey tried to free herself, but he only squeezed his fingers into her arm harder. Damn woman.

“Don’t. Don’t say things like that anymore. You don’t want me, so why not just let me go?” She yanked at her arm one more time and he finally released her. “See, that wasn’t so hard.”

He wanted to spank her for the petulant tone in her voice. Shit. He wanted to spank her because he wanted to feel the heat coming off her ass as she was bent over his knee. “Don’t want you? Don’t want you? My God, you couldn’t be more wrong. The scene we just left upstairs told everyone in here in no uncertain terms that I want you, that I claim you as mine.”

“You were very quick to point it out in your office that we were better off this way…that way.” She sighed. They were both so flustered, so needy, and he’d give anything to be able to take her right here, right now just to knock the edge off until they could get someplace more private. “In your office, you said so. Please. Let me go.”

Aidn shook his head and took her hand, pulling her behind him across the crowded dance floor. He could feel the stares more than see them. Most people knew his face, knew that he didn’t leave the club with women, especially half-naked ones. Perhaps it was time to change some things, change some perceptions.

Her steps never faltered and she kept up. At the door, he stopped and turned around. His eyes were drawn to her chest as she took deep, rapid breaths. He wanted her tits out. Soon, he promised himself. Very, very soon.

Holding her shirt out to her, he told her to put it on and fasten it only in the middle. Her mouth opened and closed, and even though nothing came out, there were questions in her eyes. He resisted the urge to smirk.

“You are taking me home, right?” she asked, following him out of the building. They stopped at the sidewalk and waited to cross the street.

“Yes, I’m taking you home.” He took her arm again and hurried her to the parking lot. Glancing around and seeing no one, fairly certain that no one could see them, he pressed her up against the side of his Jeep.

“Wh—”

“Hush.” He unhooked her shirt and stripped it from her, then reached around and unhooked her bra, letting it fall to the ground. “Here. You can put it on, but don’t fasten it.” He held out the shirt and she took it, putting it on again. “You’ll sit like this the whole way. I want your tits bared to anyone that we pass on the road.”

“You can’t be serious!” Bailey tried to pull the garment closed, but his hands held her wrists and stilled her movements.

“Push me a little more, sweetheart. You’re lucky I’m letting you keep the shirt on at all.”

“Aidn, please.”

He smiled, wicked and predatory. “I love when you beg. Do it some more, baby girl, and you’ll ride home completely naked with my come leaking out of your sweet cunt.” When she shut her mouth tight, another retort right on her lips, he feigned a disappointed pout. “Awww damn. And I wanted to fuck you right here, right now.”

In the moonlight he could see the shifts and changes in her eyes. She wanted him. That hadn’t changed and a relief unlike anything he’d ever felt before flooded him. She might be pissed at him, but she still wanted him. Lust was present in both of them, and so was something else, but he’d ignore that for now and concentrate on getting them home and into bed.

Reaching between them, he unsnapped and unzipped her curve-hugging faded jeans. In her heels, the top of her head reached his upper lip.

“What are you doing?”

“Inside.” He punctuated his words by opening the passenger door and helping her in. He’d never been this rough with a submissive before, but quite honestly no one had affected him like this, add to that the knowledge that she wanted him, desired him… She brought out the man, the dom, the animal all at the same time. He wasn’t sure which way was up anymore.

He fastened the seatbelt across her body, making sure that it wouldn’t rub her raw, then closed the door and walked to the driver’s side. Once fastened in with the engine on, he glanced at her. She was sitting quietly, stoically, and she was beautiful.

“Are you wet, Bailey?”

She inhaled sharply and he waited. She closed her eyes and he waited. She licked her lips and let out a shuddering breath and still he waited for her answer.

“Yes.”

He reached out and tugged gently on one of the soft curls around her face. “Did the flogging make you want to come?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Spread your legs, slide your hand inside your pants and play with that pretty pussy for me.”

He leaned close just as she turned her head to face him. He licked at her lips and she sighed.

“Yes.”

“Where are you taking me? This isn’t the way to my house.”

“No.”

“You said you would take me home.” Where was the panic in her voice? She was half-naked in his Jeep, riding through downtown streets, her fingers toying between her legs, and they weren’t headed toward her side of town.

“I am.”

“But…” Why was she still so wet?

“I didn’t say whose home though.”

“I—” She shut her mouth. He had her there, damn man.

Silence ensued and she laid her head back against the headrest, turned slightly toward him, watching his face, the square set of his jaw and his hands, the way they gripped the steering wheel, flexing and relaxing against the leather. She could look at him every day and never tire of it. Something about his good-looking, boy-next-door-hiding-a-deep-dark-kinky-secret flustered her and set her body on fire. A man who should have never been interested in her under normal circumstances wanted her for all the primal and primitive reasons she longed for. His dominance and her submission.

She continued to stroke herself as she watched him. The flogging still echoed through her and that Aidn had witnessed at least part of it turned her on even more. Passing her finger over her clit, she gasped and drew her bottom lip between her teeth. She did it again and tilted her hips up. She wanted to spread her legs wider, dig down deeper inside her pussy. She wanted to close her eyes against the pleasure, but she didn’t want to lose sight of him.

He reached over and touched her then, tweaking her nipple, eliciting a moan as she arched her back in the seat. As though she were a puppet and he the puppet master, she reached for more.

“Good girl.” Her stomach fluttered at his approval and her clit ached for attention, which she gladly gave.

Shifting in the seat, his fingers still teasing her nipple, Bailey fucked her hand, her fingers, until she was straining and lifting up off the seat, the visibility and public display long forgotten in the need to come.

His head turned and his eyes connected with hers and that was all it took. Her groan echoed around the closed confines of the SUV and her hand stilled between her legs, the pulsing of her blood drowning out everything but him.

She didn’t want to be mad at him. She didn’t want to be hurt. She just wanted to enjoy him, enjoy being with him. Hell, she wanted so much with him, but she couldn’t tell him that, afraid that she’d scare him off.

He took her by the wrist and pulled her hand from inside her pants, lifting it to his mouth, sucking and licking at the cream on her fingers in silent approval. “Good girl, Bailey. Very good girl.”

His pleasure in her, his pride in her following his orders flowed through her. She basked in it, hungered for it in ways she couldn’t explain. Before long they were driving down a darkened street and pulling into the parking lot of a trendy condominium complex. “You live here?”

“Yes. I bought one of the first ones, but I have to say, after seeing your townhouse, with your business on the bottom floor and your home above, I’m considering a move.”

“Oh. Are we going to be neighbors?” She tried so hard to sound lighthearted and teasing, but, wasn’t sure she carried it off.

“More than neighbors, my girl.” He pulled the vehicle into a space and turned it off. Turning his head to look at her, he touched her chin and drew his finger down her neck to her chest, sliding his hand across to cup a breast. Bailey shuddered. “I will not be leaving you tonight and I will make sure you utter my name more than in your dreams when you come.”

“Wh…” Bailey just stared at him as he dropped his hand and got out of the car. Uttering his name in dreams? Oh God. Mortification flooded her. Her door opened and he held his hand out for her. She hastily pulled her shirt closed and scrambled out on her own, quickly zipping her jeans. “Is that why you left? I was dreaming and the orgasm woke me up. I was dreaming about you and I must have whispered your name.”

“No.”

He took her hand and tried to tug her toward him, but she just stood there, pressed against the solid steel. “I want you to take me home. Please.”

“No.”

“I want to go home, Aidn.”

“No. What you want to do is get in my bed, naked. You want to writhe on the sheets with your legs spread and your ass in my hands. You want to be bound and spanked until your whole body trembles and you’re begging. You want me to make you come. What you don’t want is to go home.”

She deflated. He was right and she couldn’t argue, his words sliding across her like velvet. He stepped closer and pressed his body to hers.

“I could take you out here in the parking lot. No one would know as we’re shadowed enough. I could strip you and bend you over the seat and fuck you from behind, couldn’t I, Bailey?”

Oh yes. Please! She couldn’t form the words so she simply nodded her head.

“I wanted to back at the club. I wanted to fuck you when we got to the parking lot. I wanted to fuck you inside the club while you were bound to the cross. I swear, I’ve wanted to fuck you every day for the last two hellish weeks. And I could have, couldn’t I, Bailey? I could have had you anywhere, anytime, any way I wanted. I could have had you in the bakery the other day, too. I could have taken you there on the counter or bent over your work table.”

Again, she nodded, unable to speak. If he spoke again, she would come a second time. He didn’t say anything else though. Instead, his lips settled on hers in a fiery kiss. His tongue slid into her mouth and his hands covered hers between them and pried her fingers from her shirt.

She whimpered when he opened it and twisted her nipples. She loved kissing him, the way his mouth covered hers, and the way he tasted on her tongue. If she wasn’t careful…

Luckily, he broke the kiss before her thoughts could slide further down that dangerous road. He let go of her hand and stripped her shirt off her shoulders and down her arms until he held it in his hands and she stood there naked from the waist up. The thing had been put on and taken off so many times since the night began, that she might have been better off having left it at home and simply worn a jacket to the club over her bra. He stepped back. “Come on. If we don’t go upstairs now, I will take you.”

Never had she imagined standing in a parking lot topless with a man like him. With any man for that matter. He was so far removed in personality and temperament from her ex-husband that she wasn’t sure anymore what she could or couldn’t imagine doing. She made a feeble attempt to grab her shirt from him, but he laughed and put it behind his back.

“Try that again and I’ll paddle your ass and make you scream loud enough that everyone will be looking out their windows.”

She stopped walking and looked at him with wide eyes, questions flooding her mind. Paddle her? Out here in the parking lot? He couldn’t be serious, could he?

Well, of course he could, the voice inside her head whispered. He had you ride all the way from the club with your shirt open and your hand down your pants. You think he won’t give it a second thought to spank you outside?

“Like that? Want to try it?” He raised an eyebrow and studied her for a moment. “I can read you, Bailey. It’s what you want, isn’t it? To be guided and controlled? You want to be used, taken, owned body and soul.”

Goose bumps covered her body, whether from the cool night air against her bare flesh or from his whispered words, she wasn’t sure, but the effect the man had on her was unmistakable.

The walk to the elevator was uneventful and the ride up to his condo was silent. What was he thinking? The elevator doors opened on the top floor and Aidn drew her out behind him. She noticed a wall of windows to her right that overlooked a lake, and in the distance, the bright lights of the downtown area that they had just left. She watched the reflection in the glass of their forms walking down the hallway.

“You’re lagging.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“Do you like the way we look together?” he asked from behind her. His hands came around her and cupped her breasts in his hands.

“Yes.”

Her eyes were riveted on their reflection in the window. The top of her head didn’t even reach his shoulder, but there was something about them together that she couldn’t turn her gaze away from.

He steered her around and they walked another few feet before he stopped and unlocked the door with the number thirteen on it. Was it a sign? Thirteen was her favorite number.

“Inside, Bailey.”

She slipped in ahead of him. The foyer was dark save for one small lamp, and straight ahead were windows that overlooked the same landscape as the ones in the hall. She walked over to them, stopping when she was right against the glass, close enough she could feel coolness radiating off it, and her nipples formed tight little buds.

“You’re beautiful like that. Your breasts bared,” he said from across the room.

Her cheeks grew hot, but she made no move to cover herself or turn around. Instead, she looked at him through the reflection in the glass. “It doesn’t bother you, does it? That I was shirtless in the club, that I’m standing here now against the window, exposed.”

“No, it doesn’t. It wouldn’t bother me to strip you naked and fuck you in front of the windows or in front of all the patrons of the club. I don’t care if others see you. What I do care about is how it affects you, how you feel about it, how you react, and how you obey.”

“Obey?”

“Don’t. Don’t pretend you have no idea what I’m talking about. I know you have experience, that you’ve been educated. I know he had a submissive and that you haven’t had a dominant of your own. I don’t know exactly what or how much you’ve been taught, but any dom worth his salt would have had you on your knees obeying him. Submission comes natural to you.”

He wasn’t telling her anything that she didn’t already know. She wasn’t a pushover or a doormat submissive, she wouldn’t follow blindly, but submission and surrender were at the very core of her being. It wasn’t something she did, it was who she was. She’d tried to get her husband to accept her that way, to at least talk with her about the things she was discovering about herself. He never would, however. And though her mentor would have kept teaching and guiding her, Bailey needed to find a dominant that was going to be hers, not one that she was simply borrowing from time to time.

“Other than tonight, have you had any experience playing publicly? I know over coffee you said you prefer to play in private, however I get the feeling that there’s more to it and that tonight wasn’t the first time in view of others.”

“All have been private encounters with my friend’s dom or with other friends I have in the lifestyle. I have participated at private parties where there were multiple players, but never in a scene like tonight.”

“Come, I want to show you something.”

Bailey turned from the windows and followed him farther into the condo. Through the foyer was a hallway and with doors on either side that must be bedrooms and likely a bathroom. He opened one of the doors and stepped in. She stopped just inside the doorway, her mouth agape, her eyes wide. “Oh my.”

On the far wall was a large, black, X-shaped cross, much like the one she had been bound to earlier. On the left side of the room stood a single cabinet made of mahogany. On the right side of the room was a black padded spanking bench on a frame of chain links, an elegant wrought-iron cage with dildo impalers and a smaller cabinet. Her pussy quivered and flooded at the thought of being put in the cage and filled with the steel phalluses.

“The large armoire holds paddles, floggers, whips, crops and cat o’ nines. The small chest of drawers holds dildos, plugs, clamps, collars, leashes and all kinds of vibrating toys.”

She walked farther into the room. The walls were painted a neutral color, not tan, not beige, and not white. She wasn’t sure how to describe it other than soothing, calming. Behind the door on the same wall as the large armoire was a desk. The only thing on top of it was a telephone.

He must have seen the questions lurking on her face because he laughed when she looked at him.

“At one time I had planned on using this as a home office and giving up the one downtown, but once I started acquiring the toys and furniture, I changed my mind and never moved the desk out. Now I use this room for the private parties and training sessions I host.

“But if you were here…” He reached out and touched her cheek, slid a hand behind her neck and tugged her closer. Her breath caught in her throat as her nipples grazed across the fabric of his shirt. “Can you imagine being tied to the bench, naked, with a gag in your mouth and a plug in your ass, waiting patiently for my attention while I work? Maybe we’ll try that tomorrow.”

She could imagine a hell of a lot. Tomorrow? Did he say tomorrow?

Her gaze traveled across the room to the spanking bench. It truly was a beautiful work of art. The black chains gleamed in the light and the leather where she would place her knees and arms looked soft, supple, welcoming. Yes, she could imagine being bound to it, waiting for him to take his pleasure from her body and she hoped they would indeed try it tomorrow.

“But for now, get the rest of your clothes off.”

Chapter Seven

Bailey didn’t hesitate. Aidn smiled and followed the movement of her fingers as she unbuttoned and unzipped her pants. The faded denim slid down her legs followed by her panties.

He pulled his shirt off over his head, then pulled at the buttons on his jeans. He couldn’t wait to be inside her, fucking both their brains out. “I was going to take you in the bed, but I can’t wait for that. Kneel on the bench and hold on tight.”

She stared at the spanking bench for a moment before moving toward it. Slowly, she knelt on the black padded knee rests and leaned forward, resting her arms on the arm rests. She wrapped her hands around the chains and waited. He had never seen anything quite so erotic. Her curves teased him and he wrapped his hand around his dick, stroking.

Stepping up behind her, he slid his cock against her pussy, opening the outer lips, feeling wetness caress him. He groaned before he could stop the sound, but didn’t care. He didn’t care anymore if she knew how much he wanted her. In fact, he needed her to know, needed her to feel it.

When he slid inside her, all the way to his balls… “So fucking hot, Bailey. You’re so hot inside.”

Her answering grunt was all the answer he got. Slowly, he stroked in and out of her.

“Now, about that paddling…” He punctuated his statement with a swat on her bare ass.

“Ooohhh.”

“Like that, do you?”

“Oh yes, but…why?”

Aidn held still while he spanked her other ass cheek. “Because I can. And because I know you want it.”

Another few slaps and he started moving again, steadily speeding up the pace. “Your face in the club…you were so beautiful, so lost in the physical sensations of the flogger. You were dropping into subspace. You would have let him do anything to you, said yes to anything. Up on that cross, you were his.”

“Yes.”

“But you’re not his. You’re mine. I will use everything on you. I will see stripes on your skin from every tool I own and then I will get more and try new ones. You need the physical release, the physical use and I need to give it.”

“Mmm. Yes. Anything.”

In and out, he fucked her, used her as he’d been dreaming about doing since he first met her at the club, since he’d seen her outside the bath shop, since he’d taken her back to her place, since he let her walk out of his office. He couldn’t hold back the lust that flowed through him and he hoped she sensed it, craved it as much as he did. Lust was powerful for him, deeply rooted and embedded in his veins. It hummed through his blood and this woman made it sing.

He gripped her hair in his fingers and leaned down against her back. His lips kissed her shoulder and his teeth nipped at her neck. Faster and harder, his thrusts pounded her and within seconds he was pouring into her.

His mouth was at her ear and he moaned her name into it. She relaxed and her cheek drew up as she smiled. Just his voice touched and moved her. She squeezed her muscles around him, held him tight inside and his cock responded with a small jolt. She giggled and turned her head toward him.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He was gasping for air and she was giggling? She needed a paddling for a whole different reason next time. “For?”

“This. Tonight. For knowing me.”

“It’s more than knowing, girl. It’s a part of you just as it’s a part of me. You can’t run from it and though I’ve tried, been trying for years, I know I can’t run from it anymore either.”

He kissed her lips as he pulled out of her. Sliding one hand down her back and over her ass, he dipped a finger inside her soaked pussy and brought it to her lips. Eyes locked, she took it on her tongue, licking the creamy offering from him.

Aidn smiled and stood, helping her to stand as well. Looking down, he watched as some of his come leaked down her thigh. It was in that moment his heart kicked. He was part of her and she part of him. She carried him inside her belly, inside the most womanly part of her.

“Aidn? What’s wrong?”

“I…I just need a shower is all.” He turned and left her standing there.

Bailey glanced around. What the hell just happened? Didn’t he say he had to stop running? She walked out of the room and down the hall to what must be his bedroom. Dark wood furniture sparsely populated the large room. A four-poster bed stood front and center and images floated through her mind of being bound to all corners, of a whip stripping the clothes from her body, of Aidn’s cock sinking into her ass as his hands rubbed at the marks left behind.

She mentally nudged herself out of the daydream. The shower was running in the adjoining bathroom and she went in. She stilled when she opened the shower door. He stood under the spray of water like some ancient God rising from the sea. He was every wet dream she’d ever had, hotter than any Hollywood actor or rock star. The lust crush was turning into so much more. He was the devil, wicked and unholy.

“Bailey, close the door. I’ll be out in a minute and then we can talk.”

“No, dammit. We’re going to talk now.” With that said, and in spite of his stunned look, she bullied her way into the shower stall with him, closing the door firmly behind her. It wasn’t a very submissive move, but… Her thoughts were only of him, of pleasing him, and something was keeping him from letting her in, even though he demanded that she open up to him.

“There’s not enough room in here for the both of us.”

“Then you shouldn’t have walked away.” He sighed and looked a little miserable. Should she give him the time and space he wanted? Nah. “Why did you run? Why do you always run?”

“It’s too personal, this thing between us.”

“Oh. Hmm…and?”

“This isn’t easy for me. I’m not used to it.”

“No, that’s no excuse, Aidn. I can’t keep doing this. I want you, I want to be trained and owned. I’ve wanted it ever since I found the lifestyle and it’s why I had to leave my husband. It’s what I crave and dream about, that submission, giving up control, being on my knees. I’ve been through emotional hell since you walked out that one afternoon. One afternoon is all it took for me to know I want this with you. I know I probably shouldn’t have been so bothered by it, even told myself not to fall, but…” She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Best laid plans and all that.”

“It was wrong of me. I get it.”

“You get it? Good. Then help me get it. You want me, then you don’t want me… You drag me out of a club, making a public spectacle of us both. You bring me here, show me your toys, fuck me, give me a pretty speech about not running anymore and then what do you do? You run.”

“I never wanted another submissive, Bailey. I never again wanted the responsibility, the attachment, the goddamned vulnerability. With you, I can’t say that anymore, though. I can’t say I don’t want it because I do. I want you in ways I can’t even begin to describe or imagine without it stopping the breath in my body. It scares the fuckin’ shit out of me.”

“You want me? Like that? As yours?”

“Yes.”

She watched as he tilted his head back and let the water slide down over his face. She didn’t know what to say. And while she wasn’t sure exactly what to do in a situation where the man of your dreams just admits, albeit reluctantly, how much he wants you, she stepped back against the shower wall and knelt on the tiles. Clasping her hands together behind her back, she used her tongue to draw his cock between her lips and inside her mouth. He might be fighting his want of her, but he wouldn’t be able to say she didn’t try to show him through obedience and selfless acts of pleasure that she was worth it, worth being vulnerable for. With the flat of her tongue, she licked around the head and down the length of him, thrilled when he started to grow hard.

One of his hands touched the top of her head and her lashes lifted to find his eyes fixed on her face. He pressed her tight against him, his balls rubbing against her chin, the crown of his cock filling the back of her mouth.

“Oh, Bailey girl,” he murmured.

His eyes closed then, but she didn’t look away. She watched the play of emotions on his face; the way his lips tightened when she used her teeth lightly, the way his eyes squeezed and his brows knit together when she slid her mouth off him and swallowed him whole again.

He was right. Her submission was a part of her. Nothing that she could turn off, nothing that she could run from. She needed it. It was why she went to the club. It was why she went to private play parties. She hungered for it, to be near it, to be part of it, to be who she was meant to be.

Her husband had never understood, had never tried to. Her friends thought it was fun and kinky. But, Aidn? Aidn got it. Aidn got what it was like to need it with every fiber of your being. Aidn understood what it meant to hold the very life and trust of a girl in the palm of his hand and God, she yearned to be that girl.

Her tongue wrapped around him and she slid her lips to the tip of his cock and suckled before working her way back down to the base and settling there, working her throat against the tight, sensitive skin.

“Stop. C’mon, Bailey.”

Bailey shook her head without letting go. His plea for her to stop only served to make her more determined. He needed to know, he needed to believe she was worth the effort of his dominance, worth the responsibility. He needed to know he could trust her with the small, ritualistic things like her kneeling with his cock in her mouth and his come down her throat. If she could show him her trust with the basics of sexual submission and service, surely he could learn to trust her with his faith and his heart.

She had no idea where the confidence came from, the determination, the audacity and contradiction to defy him when all she really wanted was to surrender to him. She’d never fought for a man before, but Aidn was special and there was no way she was going to give him up that easily. Even if it meant she had to fight him for him.

He fisted his fingers in her hair and held her head still as he pulled his cock from her mouth. “Aidn, please. Please, let me.”

“You want it?” he ground out.

“Yes, sir.”

“Open your mouth.”

He let go of her head with one hand and wrapped it around his cock. She watched him stroke it in short, steady bursts. His come hit her chin, then her tongue. He brought her mouth toward him and slid the head between her lips, his hand still pumping semen from it.

For the second time that night, he emptied himself inside her. She swallowed. It was hot and thick and smooth going down. It wasn’t bitter or sweet, it was just… Aidn. When the last drop was swallowed, she licked him clean until he was once again soft. When she was done, she unclasped her hands and he helped her to stand. He wiped her chin with his fingers and fed the sticky remnants to her before kissing her forcefully; a hard, bruising kiss of lips, tongue and teeth.

It was the hottest kiss she’d ever shared with a man. No one had ever kissed her after they’d come down her throat, and it turned her on far more than she expected it would. He wasn’t afraid of it, wasn’t scared of the taste of his own pleasure. When he lifted his mouth from hers, he reached back and turned the water off. They got out and toweled off in silence.

Naked and cold, she wrapped a towel around her body only to have it taken from her and tossed on the floor.

“Do you want me to take you home?”

Take her home? Did she really have a choice? Looking into his eyes, she had her answer. Yes, she did have a choice. He would take her home and let her go. “No.”

“If you stay…”

“Yes.”

Fire lit his eyes and his lips quirked. Bailey nibbled her bottom lip afraid of having spoken too soon, being too eager and aggressive with her response.

“On your hands and knees then, sweet sub girl, and crawl to the side of the bed.”

“Wha—?”

“You heard me. Now.”

She hesitated for just a second, and then dropped to her knees, lowering her hands in front of her. Embarrassment edged the chill from her skin, and she crawled, trying not to imagine what she must look like from behind. She’d never crawled naked before, never had the…pleasure. Yes, that’s what it was. She found pleasure in it. The notion surprised her and she smiled, almost giddy with the realization that she’d wanted this and was now getting it. She wanted submission, wanted dominance, and she was getting it. And him, she was getting Aidn.

At the side of the bed, she simply knelt and waited. When he didn’t say anything, she looked back over her shoulder at him. He was still standing in the bathroom, naked, and had his arms crossed over his chest. He was watching her, a serious expression on his face.

“In the bed, Bailey.”

She climbed up onto the bed and pulled the covers back. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to lie down or kneel or what. She took a chance and lay down, leaving the sheet at her feet.

Again, she looked over at him.

“The first night I noticed you at the club months ago, I wanted you. When I watched you in the bath shop, sniffing that lotion, I wanted you. Every day since, I have wanted you, thought about you.”

He came to her and sat on the side of the bed, pulling the sheet up, covering her body. Smoothing her damp hair away from her face, he lightly traced her features. She melted under his tenderness. As much as she craved his unrelenting possession of her body, her soul craved his fierce care and protection.

“I’ve trained submissives and mentored dominants. I played in the scene for many years before that, but as I said earlier, I never wanted another girl of my own. Until, you…you I want all to myself and when I saw you in the club tonight all I could think about was, ‘that’s MY girl’.”

“Aidn…”

He took a deep breath, shook his head, and that’s when the shadows crossed through his eyes.

“She took her collar off. The girl I owned long ago. She took her collar off. You see, she had fantasies of being given, shared with other men for their use, to serve their sexual needs. I didn’t mind it and together, we set up boundaries for that part of our relationship. She enjoyed it, it made her happy, and to be honest, it was a turn on for me, knowing that my girl got them off, pleasured them beyond their wildest dreams. Up until this one particular night, I had always been there when she was serving them. I had always been there to watch over her, to bring her home, to bathe her, to take her to our bed and remind us both to whom she belonged.”

“What happened?” What would it be like to be shared like that while Aidn watched? The idea aroused and excited her, but given his past experience with it, she didn’t think she’d be asking to try it.

He was looking at her, or rather, looking through her, back to the past. The pain in his eyes was harsh, cold, and she shivered, drawing his attention back to her. He tucked the sheet around her and she was glad for the warmth of his touch.

“One of the doms who had used her on a previous occasion called our home. I was still working that night… Her transgression was two-fold. She went without me, thinking it was okay to leave me a message telling me what she was doing. When I got there, she was on her knees with his dick in her mouth. Her collar wasn’t around her neck.”

“Oh, Aidn.”

“I could have dealt with her going to him without me. The punishment she would have endured wouldn’t have allowed her to sit for a long, long time, but we could have worked through it. Taking her collar off…”

“Did she say why?”

Aidn did look at her then. His eyes were clear, no longer haunted, and he was focused on her. “It didn’t matter why. All that mattered was that she did it. I walked out his door and went home, packed up most of my stuff and left.”

“I’m… Did she ever try to contact you, try to explain?

“Yes, but I didn’t care. There is such a thing as respect in this lifestyle. I know many people don’t understand what we do or why we do it. I know they don’t understand it’s who we are and that we need this. She knew, though. She knew about trust and respect and the bond between dominant and submissive. She knew, or rather I thought she knew that her collar was the symbol of that bond. Taking it off, broke us, destroyed the trust and the respect we had built together.”

Heaviness settled in her chest for the heartache he’d suffered. She wanted to soothe him, show him that she was different, that she wouldn’t do that, couldn’t do that. He deserved unconditional submission. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. For now, just get some sleep. You’re not her and I’m tired of not having what I want because I couldn’t let it go. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead before getting up and leaving the room without another word. She watched until he disappeared down the hall. How was she supposed to sleep after all he’d just said, all that was implicated in his words? Not to mention the fact that she was in his home, naked in his bed.

Would he be sleeping with her? She didn’t know the answer and that was the real problem. She didn’t know any answers about what was going on. On the other hand, perhaps he needed to think, to figure out what he wanted to do.

Bailey turned over and pulled the other pillow on the bed close to her, wrapping herself around its softness. She closed her eyes and tried not to think about what she would do if the outcome tomorrow wasn’t what she wanted and hoped for and wished that it would be.

Aidn stood in the kitchen doorway. It was just after three a.m. and Bailey was in her own little world, moving around with silent efficiency, unaware of his presence. He’d never had a woman in his kitchen that wasn’t related to him in some way. He liked her there, making herself at home.

“What are you doing?” He asked it on purpose just as she put her finger in her mouth with a large gob of pink stuff on the tip. She was blushing when she turned to him with wide eyes that suddenly looked guilty.

“Oh, I um…I couldn’t sleep.”

“I see that. What are you making?”

“Frosting. Swiss buttercream.”

The flush on her cheeks deepened. He walked toward her, stopping close enough that she had to tilt her head back to look at him. Her hair was mussed and she wore one of his T-shirts. For a bigger girl, she wore it better than he did. It was white, stretched tight across her breasts and he could see her areolas through the thin cotton. He’d have to punish her for rummaging through this things without permission. Damn, she was going to be fun.

“Where did you get all the stuff to make frosting?”

“It doesn’t take much, really. You had sugar and butter and eggs. I found some vanilla stashed way in the back of the cabinet. I was going to make a cake, too, but you didn’t have flour. You at least had a whisk and a good bowl, so…”

“Right. And the pink color?”

“You’re going to laugh. I um…carry a small jar of petal pink coloring.”

Aidn debated asking why, but didn’t. Maybe it was just a baker thing. “Interesting. So, do you always play in the kitchen in the middle of the night in your underwear?”

“If I were at home, I’d be in pajamas and sometimes I do bake in the middle of the night when things bother me or I just can’t sleep.”

He studied her for so long that she began to fidget with the hem of the shirt, twisting it in her fingers. She drew her bottom lip between her teeth and lowered her eyes. He couldn’t even begin to describe the peace that settled around him, inside him. “You wearing my shirt turns me on.”

She looked up then, her eyes flashing, a small, then very big grin lighting up her face. “I think you stay turned on.”

“So I do. Most especially when it comes to you.”

“I didn’t mean…”

“I know exactly what you meant, but I’m telling you that when it comes to you, I stay horny and hard.” He glanced to the bowl on the counter then back at her mouth. “Now, about this frosting… May I have a taste?”

“Oh um…yeah, sure.”

She stepped back while he dipped a finger in the bowl. He started to raise it to his mouth, but stopped.

“Lift up the shirt.”

“Aidn, really…”

“Are you going to start arguing with me about everything I tell you to do? If so, girl, you’re going to have one very red and very tender ass the majority of the time. Now. Lift. Up. The. Shirt.”

Bailey did as he told her, heat again touching her cheeks. He placed his frosting-coated finger against her nipple until it was completely covered. With his hand in the center of her chest, he pressed her back against the counter and lowered his head, taking her nipple in his mouth, his tongue swirling around the tip, licking it clean.

Looking up, he lowered the shirt back down and licked his lips. “It’s very good. Not many people know this, but I have an incredible sweet tooth. I guess my dentist will be getting a lot more business from me now.” He winked at her.

“Th-thank you.”

“I know you’re strong, Bailey. I know you’re independent. I don’t want to take that away from you, I don’t want to change you. I want to enhance those qualities in you, I want to add to them. You’re a submissive, not just sexually, but completely. It’s in you. I see it, I feel it. It calls to me and yet, you’re not afraid to fight me.”

“You keep pushing me away, Aidn. You only let me in sexually. If I am more than just a fuck, I need to know. I need to know where I stand with you.”

He dipped his finger in the frosting bowl again and nodded. “Yes. Those questions will end here. What do you think? Is that acceptable?” He pressed his finger against her lips until she opened them and licked the frosting off the tip. “Will it taste as good from my skin as it does from yours? Should we find out?”

He smiled because all she did was stare at him with wide, questioning eyes. He really did have to get over it. He was going to have to trust her as much as he needed her to trust him. He was going to have to collar her, keep her, and for the second time in his very private, very personal life, take responsibility for someone other than himself.

“Aidn? Do you remember my kitchen counters?”

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget them.”

“There’s not enough room on yours.”

She lifted the shirt off over her head and stood naked in front of him. He looked around. She was right; his counters weren’t open or deep enough. The floor looked promising, but this wasn’t one of those fuck-on-the-floor moments. “Come with me.” He took her hand and led her out of the kitchen, but not before picking up the bowl of frosting.

He settled her on the dining room table, bending her knees up, and then spreading her legs wide. Her body trembled. “Relax. Enjoy. Trust me. We both want this.” His hands drifted across her body as cravings for all the dark and deviant pleasures of the lifestyle began filling every pore of his being. “You’re the first woman to spend the night here, you know.”

A self-satisfied look lit her eyes and a smile threatened to break through. She would be a tough one to crack, open one minute, confusing the next, but the delight she brought to him surpassed anything he’d imagined finding after so long.

He dipped four of his fingers into the bowl of frosting and grinned when her eyes widened. With a small dollop of frosting deposited on her clit and on each nipple, the fourth finger smeared the decadence in her belly button, she looked like a sweet treat. And he was starving.

“Now, do not move or I will have to tie you down.” Lowering his head, he sucked her clit between his lips and she writhed. Hiding his smile, he looked up without lifting his mouth. When she stilled, he again sucked at her clit, and again she writhed under him.

His mouth lifted. “I warned you.”

“I know, but I can’t help it. It feels so…”

“I know. However, I told you what would happen if you moved. You have got to do what I tell you. And I told you to stay still.”

“Yes, Aidn.”

“Sir.”

“Yes, sir.”

Aidn stood and walked away. He had rope in his office, cuffs, scarves, straps, all kinds of things that could be used to tie someone down. As he rummaged around, he noticed that his mood was lighter, and though he was horny again, it wasn’t the kind of horny that drove a person nuts if they didn’t get relief. He had been through that over the past few weeks. No, this horny was hot and insistent, bubbling just below the surface, but patient, knowing it would be sated, knowing the outlet it had been craving was there within reach, and not leaving.

Pulling a pale pink scarf from the drawer along with four strips of black leather, he went back to her with a smile on his face “Now, let’s get you tied down.”

He walked around the table, tying first one wrist to a table leg, then tying the other. As he worked, he talked to her, as openly as possible for a man that hadn’t shared his feelings with a woman in so long. “You are more than just a fuck to me, Bailey. You are, I believe, the submissive I’m meant to own. I don’t believe in fate and meant to, but I do believe in you. That’s good enough for me.” He moved onto her legs, wrapping the bindings around her ankles and knotting them to the remaining table legs. Standing at the end of the table, her pussy open and glistening, beckoning him to touch her, he picked up the bowl of frosting. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to make more later. I’m not going to be able to get enough of it, and I’m not going to be able to get enough of you.”

About the Author

To learn more about Lissa Matthews, please visit www.lissamatthews.com. Send an e-mail to Lissa Matthews at lissa@lissamatthews.com.

Hell hath no fury like a scorned woman—with toys.

On His Knees

© 2009 Beth Williamson

Private Lives, Book 1

Renny Johnson has no idea why her ex-husband broke into her house in the middle of the night. She plans to find out—right after he wakes up from a close encounter with his own baseball bat. As long as she’s got him tied up, she might as well make him answer every unanswered question about their divorce.

Nicholas sneaked into the house, hoping to retrieve his precious autographed bat without having to face Renny’s wrath. He didn’t expect her to knock him out with it. Then again, who can blame her? He left her to take a walk on the wild side, to search for that missing something he thought he couldn’t find in his marriage.

Now that he’s completely at her mercy, he’s about to find out how merciless—and how incredibly sexy—his ex can be. The night becomes a wild roller coaster ride of amazing sex, dominance and submission, and maybe the beginning of a brand new chapter in their lives.

Unless the flames burn out of control…

Warning: This title contains a dominant woman, a sexy submissive man, and lots of nekkid, smokin’ hot sex.

Enjoy the following excerpt for On His Knees:

A surge of excitement danced across Nicholas’s skin. Renny was different…stronger, firmer, more in control. The very things he hadn’t even recognized he needed until he visited Nirvana. Now he knew he was a sub by nature. A sub in need of a Dom, and he hoped like hell Renny was open to the idea. He wouldn’t give her too much detail up front, just enough to have a taste of what could be between them.

She picked up the scissors and, to his utter surprise, started cutting his clothes off. Now that was something he’d never expected. The cold steel of the scissors slowly slid up his overheated skin, and he shuddered with longing. Who knew his mousy ex-wife would end up being the woman he wanted so badly his teeth ached? His heart had known all along, had refused to give up on her. Perhaps it wasn’t too late.

“What are you doing?”

Renny glanced at him. “Making you naked.”

“Why don’t you just take my clothes off instead of cutting them off?” His breath caught on the last word when the scissors flicked one nipple.

She stopped immediately. “Did I hurt you?”

“No.” He was in danger of blowing another load in his pants though.

She pulled the remnants of his shirt off, then leaned down and bit his hardened nipples. “Mmm, much better.”

Nicholas let out a shaky breath, hoping like hell this wasn’t just punishment. He wanted so much more, craved more, needed more.

Shifting down his body, Renny let her breasts press into his thigh. He couldn’t stop the moan from escaping. He swore he heard her chuckle.

The scissors started again on his pants and he didn’t stop her. Didn’t say a damn word or even move. Instead he lay there, getting harder by the minute.

Snip, snip, snip.

Working her way up his pant leg, Renny nibbled and scraped her teeth on the exposed skin. It was the weirdest yet most sensual experience of his life. By the time she’d shredded his pants, he shook with need. Her eyebrows shot up when she discovered he’d gone commando.

“No panties, Nicky?” she mocked him.

A slow flush crept up his cheeks. “It’s more comfortable.”

She stared at his erection and licked her lips. “I like it.” As she settled her wet cunt against his cock, he hissed along with her. After a moment of the skin-against-skin sizzle, she placed her hands against his chest and stared into his eyes. “Tell me about the club. Don’t make me tie you up again.”

One eyebrow rose. “Maybe later.”

A flash of surprise preceded a vixenish grin. “Is that something you learned at Nirvana?”

“Yes.”

She leaned closer and her newly cropped hair brushed his jaw. “What else did you learn?”

“May I touch you?”

She blinked then nodded. “You may.”

He reached up to cup her ample breasts, the nipples diamond-hard against his hands. His mouth longed to pleasure them, but one step at a time. One small step at a time, even if it killed him.

“That feels good,” she breathed. “Pinch them.”

His heart skipped a beat at the command. God, to hear the love of his life speaking in that tone of voice was a dream come true. Nicholas parted the folds of the bathrobe and placed his hands on her heated skin. He couldn’t stop the shiver that traveled straight down his arms to his balls. Rolling the nipples between his fingers, he gently thrust his hips upward, pressing hardness into softness, cock to pussy.

She caught his rhythm and pushed down against him. When he flicked one nipple with his nails, she slapped his hand.

“No. Naughty boy.” She waggled her finger at him.

He was surprised, yet pleased she reacted as she did. Renny certainly showed signs of being a natural dominant.

“May I lick them?”

“No, you may not.”

A test. Definitely a test. He continued pinching and teasing her, never stopping or changing his position. Renny was catching on. Thank God.

“I’m not sure I quite understand what’s happening, but it damn sure feels good,” she said huskily.

Nicholas smiled. “You’re taking control. Do you like it?”

She pushed her breasts against his hands and looked down into his eyes. “The question is, do you?”

A million questions flew through his mind, followed by one answer.

“Yes.”

Renny felt like she was in a different dimension, one where she and Nicholas had never separated, never gone to bed without kissing each other good night, and never ended their relationship with a whimper.

Surges of pure Grade-A arousal raced through her, making every hair on her body stand at attention. Her heart thumped hard and fast, making her a bit lightheaded. This wasn’t the languid arousal that affected her when she used her new sex toys. It was more like turning music on really loud and shocking body and brain into action at once.

Her arousal grew strong and heavy, unlike anything she’d ever experienced. It had to do with the way Nicholas was giving her control, letting her tell him what to do. She felt powerful, sexy and incredibly feminine. At the same time, she felt out of control because she didn’t know what to do. She followed her instincts and his gentle prodding.

As it was, she was on the verge of an orgasm from simply having him touch her breasts.

“What’s next…Mistress?”

The name skipped across her skin like a caress. Mistress.

“Why did you call me that?” She sat back, forcing herself to pull her breasts from his amazing hands.

He stared hard at her ripe nipples before meeting her gaze. “I wanted to. Do you think you can be a Mistress?”

“What does it mean to be a Mistress?” She sure liked the sound of power. It turned her on like she couldn’t believe. Curiosity, arousal and downright naughtiness swirled around inside her.

His hands twitched on her legs, as if he couldn’t sit still, as if he wanted to put them back on her breasts but didn’t want to without permission.

“It means you tell me what to do, what to feel, how to pleasure you. And I obey.”

Obey.

“You do what I tell you to do?”

“Yes.”

“You do nothing without me telling you to do it?”

“Yes.”

“I am Mistress.”

“I am yours.”

A shiver worked its way down her body to land squarely in her pussy, which throbbed and clenched with excitement. She’d never known the very thought of having a man be at her command would engender the most intense feelings of longing she’d ever had.

“Good. Then you may touch my breasts again and this time, use your mouth.”

The eagerness in his eyes almost undid her. He pulled the robe off her shoulders, a soft caress of silk on her overheated body. Fingertips lightly traced a path down her arms to circle her nipples. She held her breath until she grew lightheaded. When his fingers finally reached the sensitive tips, she moaned.

“Does that feel good, Mistress?”

“Mmmmm, yes.” She leaned forward, eager for the next step.

He didn’t disappoint her. The first touch of his hot tongue felt like fire on her skin. Then there was a storm of wicked laving, followed by sucking that echoed through her body. Sweet, wet pleasure. She wanted more though. Much more.

His training didn’t cover how to win back a woman’s trust…

Rude Awakening

© 2009 Veronica Chadwick

Jaimee Turner spent most of her life trying to be an unassuming pillar of virtue and submissive wife to a man who demanded nothing of her—especially physically. A year after his unexpected death, she’s finally finding her own footing, only to find herself thrown completely off balance by Lucas, a man who awakens desires she never knew she had.

FBI agent Lucas Grayson is relentless in his quest to bring down those who prey on the innocent. The Turner case is unlike anything he’s dealt with before, and so is the widow Turner. One thing’s for sure: Brent Turner was blind to think he could outsmart the Collective. And blind to the fact Jaimee was a gift he threw away.

The Collective has dirty fingers in all sorts of bad pies, and the FBI suspects Brent’s “accident” was anything but. Jaimee knows more than she thinks she does. Lucas would sell his soul to extract that information and keep her safe. But he can’t save her from the devastating betrayal she’ll have to face.

Warning: Some mild violence, a very sarcastic best friend, sneaky massages, inappropriate use of caramel and some occasional back door lovin’.

Enjoy the following excerpt for Rude Awakening:

Thursdays were just a tease. Fridays were too long and tiring, this one especially. Since that sickening scene with her mom she hadn’t heard from Lucas. Jaimee sighed as she stirred the melting caramel. Making caramel apples was supposed to distract her from worrying about it. She sighed again and squeezed her eyes shut, denying the thought that crawled through her mind that her mom was right. Even though she was half tempted to set the whole mess aside and take her horny self down the street and beg him to do his thing. Damn. She really was out of control.

Thankfully no work was looming over her this weekend and she was so looking forward to it. Hanging with Maxine would be good for her. She blew her hair out of her face and turned on the radio mounted above the cabinet before moving on to the apples. The DJ enthusiastically announced the next song was “Kiss You All Over” by Exile.

Jaimee snickered and shook her head. “How apropos,” she murmured to herself as she pushed the wooden sticks into the top of the apples. “So show me, show me everything you do…” she sang along, swaying with the music as she lifted the double boiler to move it to the island to work on dipping the apples. “’Cause baby no one does it quite like you… Love you…need you…oh baby…I wanna kiss you all over…”

“Here I am, knock yourself out.”

Startled, Jaimee jumped, nearly upending the double boiler filled with hot caramel and burning her thumb in the process.

“Ow crap! Damn it! You’re a menace, do you know that?” she snapped and sucked on her thumb. A strange mixture of annoyance and delight washed over her at same time. Good Lord the man had her all messed up.

Lucas leaned casually against the doorframe, his hair tied back, arms crossed over his broad chest, watching her. The white shirt he wore open at the throat, sleeves rolled up, looked incredible against his dark skin and his black pants fit snug over his hips and thighs. All he needed was a sword at his hip to complete the look…and maybe an eye patch.

How long had he been there? She involuntarily took a step back as her gaze clashed with his. His eyes were dark, his mouth set and the muscle in his jaw twitched as his gaze traveled from her bare feet to her baggy, lime terry cloth shorts and lingered at her chest.

Damn, she wasn’t wearing a bra, which meant her uninhibited breasts were swaying freely underneath her oversized yellow T-shirt with every breath, every move she made. On top of that, thanks to Mr. Sexy and her previous train of thought, her nipples were standing at full and eager attention. Too irritated to be embarrassed at how ridiculous she looked, she went to the sink to cool her burnt thumb under cold water.

“I could have been your worst nightmare,” he said lazily. There was power in that voice. Dark, wicked power that captured her attention and sent heated shivers dancing over her already sensitive body.

Gathering her resolve, she gave him a snotty look. “Who says you aren’t?”

Who the hell did he think he was anyway? Just barging in without knocking or alerting her of his presence. Did he think because she’d slept with him he had a right to come and go as he pleased? Well, dammit, he had another think coming.

That realization had heat crawling up her throat to burn her cheeks. Oh great, now she was red faced. He had a bad habit of just doing whatever he pleased, whenever. The man had no manners whatsoever. He tilted his head, stepping toward her. It was disconcerting and kind of rude. Okay, fine, it was seriously sexy, but it made her damned uncomfortable. It seemed as though he was analyzing her, seeing deep inside, much more than she wanted him to see.

“Would you rather it have been Ronald Marshall who just walked through your unlocked door?” He wasn’t smiling; as a matter of fact he looked slightly pissed off. He walked purposefully toward her, ignoring the fact that, with every step, she retreated.

“No.” She wrinkled her nose.

“Or worse?” He reached out to shut off the faucet with a quick twist of his wrist.

Did he just growl? She gasped as she found herself backed up against the counter. That sounded like a growl, the vibrations rumbled through her, awakening every cell of her body.

“Let me see.”

“It’s fine.” She ignored the hand he held out to her.

If he touched her she’d go up in flames. Spontaneously combust from the restrained lust she kept trying to tamp down since he imposed himself into her sedate, boring life. With an exasperated sigh his fingers wrapped around her wrist, tugged her closer and lifted her hand to examine her burn. The burn he caused. Damn him. She concentrated on keeping her breathing even as his thumb brushed over her pulse point. His gaze held hers, his eyes smoldering with temper and maybe something more.

“Do you always have to be so damn bullheaded?” his voice rumbled, setting off little tremors in her tummy as he lowered his gaze to study the burn.

“Do you always have to be so…so…” She forgot what she was saying as he blew on her damp thumb. Holy crap.

He lifted his eyes from the small red welt rising on her thumb to watch her, his brow lifting slowly. “Right?”

“No.” She wrinkled her nose at him again and tugged her hand, trying to free herself. “I was thinking overbearing, dogmatic, aggressive, arrogant…bossy.”

He smelled so good she wanted to whimper. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, press her body against him, rest her head on his solid chest and absorb the feel of him, his scent, his security.

“Yes, I am. Isn’t that what you want, James?”

Before she had a chance to respond he wound her ponytail around his hand and pulled her head back so she had no choice but to look up at him. The action was savage but she wasn’t afraid. Instead, her body reacted with ferocity and instinctively she pressed her breasts against him, her lips parting on a shaky gasp. His lips brushed against hers as he spoke, just as his words seem to brush against her womb.

“A badass, tough, rugged…forceful?”

Her “yes” was somewhere between a groan and a whisper. It sounded animalistic and needy but God help her, this was what she wanted. It was what she’d been craving for years, someone stronger than her, someone with an all-consuming passion and need for her. A man who didn’t wait on her to initiate every damn thing but took control and dominated.

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