by Lexi Blake
“You do?”
“Yes,” he said gravely. “They did it because your past doesn’t matter. You were beautiful then and you’re beautiful now. You were mine then. You just didn’t know it yet.”
The first smack caught her by surprise. His hand struck the center of her ass, fingers smacking one cheek, palm landing on the other. A startled yelp escaped her, and a moment later she felt the heat spreading through her.
“Do you want me to count?” Ariel asked.
He caressed her ass. “No, because I’m going to spank you for as long as I want. I’m going to spank you until you can let go. I’ll do it until you understand you weren’t responsible for what happened today.”
His palm smacked against her ass for a second time, followed quickly by a third. She had no leverage, no way to control the spanking. All she could do was lie over Robert’s lap and accept what he was giving her.
Smack, smack.
The blows were harder now, making her flesh quiver, and heat was spreading through her. He kept going, steady and relentless, yet never striking the same spot twice in a row. His hand spanked her from the top of her thighs to the top of her ass.
Her chest worked, dragging oxygen into her lungs. The pain was now omnipresent, fading to a dull ache between blows but never entirely disappearing.
He smacked her left cheek, right on the sensitive sit spot. It was a harsh blow, and he held his hand there, trapping the heat against her skin. Ariel cried out as pain burned through her. The cold guilt that had gripped her all day was burned away by the heat.
She’d distanced. She’d put things in intellectual terms and come to a conclusion without ever considering the human emotions that had gone into every decision that had been made.
She’d pushed Robert away because she’d been afraid.
She hadn’t been willing to listen to his feelings because she’d feared loving him would mean losing him.
She’d wanted to believe none of the men she’d spent so much time with could possibly betray them. She’d wanted each of those men to find happiness, and that wasn’t going to happen.
It wasn’t her fault. That was what each smack of his hand stated plainly.
Another hard spank, another wave of heat sweeping through her. Ariel cried out, her feet beating against the bed. Robert held her down, his mastery of her body complete. She couldn’t get away—not that she wanted to—but she couldn’t. She had no choice but to feel. To accept.
And to let go of all the things she couldn’t have changed.
The first sob escaped when he once more smacked her burning ass. He paused, and she knew he was looking at her.
Ariel drew in a shuttering breath. “Please.”
Please don’t stop. Please don’t leave me. She needed him so much.
Robert raised his hand and spanked her again. Ariel thrashed in his hold, her feet drumming the bed as he spanked her with rapid hard smacks that peppered her cheeks.
The damn inside her broke and the sobs took over. She barely noticed when the spanking stopped and his hand was skimming over her sensitive flesh. He’d spanked her long and hard, and that meant that while the stinging pain had faded, the deep, aching heat remained.
Ariel knew she wasn’t crying prettily. The sobs came from her soul.
She couldn’t have stopped Dante. She wasn’t a superhero. The problems of the world didn’t fall on her shoulders. She wasn’t responsible for what Robert’s wife had done. He wouldn’t have wanted her to change a thing about how she’d handled that moment in the yard. Robert wanted her alive more than he wanted to know about his past.
She’d tried her hardest, and with every good intention, and she’d still failed. It was the way of the world sometimes, but she only lost if she didn’t get back up and try again.
She wanted so much to try again with this man.
She cried until there were no more tears, only dry, gasping breaths.
The world spun as Robert lifted her, turning to lay her on her side in the center of the bed. He lay on his side facing her. Ariel blinked tears from her eyes and looked at him. Her ass ached, her blood strumming through her system.
“Do you forgive me?” She needed to hear it though she knew what he was going to say.
He brushed back her hair, a look of infinite tenderness lighting his eyes. “There’s nothing to forgive. Not when it comes to your past. Now we should talk about the fact that you pushed me away the first time our going got tough.”
“We found out you were married.” She felt the need to argue her point. “It wasn’t some minor argument.”
“No, there was no argument at all. There was you shutting me out. There was you making decisions for me.” He put a finger on her lips when she was about to reply. “No. You did those things. You decided I needed time. I knew what I wanted all along. I could have gotten every single memory back and they wouldn’t erase the ones I’ve made with you. I told you nothing would change, and it hasn’t. I love you. I will always love you. I want you to remember that.”
He seemed almost grave as he rolled her onto her back, spreading her legs. Ariel hissed as her backside came into contact with the bed. She was so focused on the quick shock of pain—a sensation that made her pussy pulse and her nipples tight—that she didn’t notice him buckling the cuff around her right wrist until the deed was done. Warmth encased her wrist and she realized these cuffs were padded with some supersoft material.
When had he pulled out cuffs? He must have done it while she was on her hands and knees waiting for him.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Robert arched a brow. “You want to try that again?” That was his Dom voice.
“No, Sir.”
He brought her left arm up and out, sliding the cuff around her wrist and buckling it in place. She heard a little click and glanced up. There was a small lock on the cuffs.
“You don’t think the lock is a bit of overkill?” The cuffs would strap her in. She wouldn’t be able to get out.
He tied red nylon rope to the D-ring on the left cuff, then fed it around the back of the headboard and tied it to the other cuff, which also had a small padlock on it. Robert stepped back after pressing the lock in place, staring down at her.
“I like the way the locks look. Spread your legs,” he commanded.
Ariel felt lighter after her emotional release, but the heat was still present. She tipped her head back on the pillow, exposing the line of her throat, and arched her chest, offering her breasts to him.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he whispered.
He made her feel beautiful. And worthy.
Robert pulled his T-shirt off, tossing it to the side, baring that glorious chest. He put one knee on the bed, grabbed her right ankle and lifted it. He kissed her instep, her ankle, then propped her heel on his shoulder.
She moved her toes across to his sternum then slid her foot down the midline of his body, watching his muscles twitch and relax as she caressed him. She didn’t stop when she hit his belt but kept going, thrilled at the noise he made when her toes found his cock.
He was hard, hot even through the barrier of his slacks.
“I’m going to make you understand that there’s nothing you can do that will make me stop loving you. There’s nothing the world can do that will stop me,” Robert said. “If you quit and move away from The Garden, you better be prepared for me to follow you.”
He grabbed her ankle, lifted it away from his crotch. He nipped at her toes, then lay her leg on the bed before quickly shucking the rest of his clothes. She bent her knees, heels on the bed, and spread her legs, creating a place for him.
Robert didn’t hesitate. He climbed onto the bed, between her legs. She was so ready, so in need of his big hard body covering hers.
“Please,” she said. It was only a single word, but he knew what she needed.
Or maybe he needed the same thing. Needed to feel connected to her. Needed to remember what it felt like when
they became one.
He eased on top of her, his chest pressing against her breasts, his hips in the cradle of her thighs. His cock settled against her pussy, and when he flexed his hips the hard, veined underside slid along the valley of her labia, caressing her clit.
She wrapped her fingers around the ropes and arched up, trying to wiggle into place so she could allow his cock to sink inside her. Robert bent his head and nipped her right where her shoulder met her neck, a small punishment for trying to take control.
Then his tongue swept up her neck to her ear. He sucked her earlobe as he lifted his hips, his cock sliding into place. Ariel strained against her bonds, hugging his hips with her knees.
Robert was so deep inside her that for a moment she forgot everything but him. For a moment there was only Robert.
“Ari.” He breathed her name, the word hot against her neck.
He started to thrust, and she could do nothing but feel—feel his cock inside her, his chest rubbing her nipples. His breath on her face and neck, and the heat from where he’d spanked her.
“I want you to come for me. Together. I want it to be together,” he whispered.
He adjusted the angle of his hips, so that each time he thrust in his lower abdomen rubbed against the top of her pussy. Close. She was so close to where she needed to be.
The next time he thrust his pelvis bumped her clit. She wrapped her legs around his hips, heels digging into the flexed muscles of his ass. “Do that again.”
“That sounded like an order.”
“It was. Do that again.”
He chuckled and thrust in. Ariel’s whole body tensed.
“I’m close. Robert, I—”
“I love you,” Robert said. “I love you, Ariel.”
That was all she needed. The orgasm overtook her, pulling her up and over a soft, rolling wave. She clung to him with her legs as Robert thrust once, again, and then she felt him shudder as he found his own release.
Ariel sighed in pleasure as his weight bore her into the mattress. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, but she was stuck in his cuffs. She kissed his temple, where his silky hair was damp with sweat. A moment later he rolled off of her but didn’t go far. He lay beside her, his head pillowed on her breast, one big thigh across hers. The other hand came up, casually yet possessively cupping her other breast.
She closed her eyes. The moment couldn’t last. Soon enough reality would crash down around them, but they had this moment, and she would accept the peace he’d given her, accept it for the gift it was.
“So can we agree to put the idea of you quitting everything you know and love on hold?” Robert asked. He stretched like the big gorgeous predator he was. “I seem to remember this very smart lady telling me I shouldn’t make big life decisions when I was emotional.”
“And yet you tried to.”
He shook his head. “Nope. Being with you was a decision I made a long time ago. I was sticking to my decision. I recall offering to go anywhere with you. Deep down I knew something was wrong with Emily. She’s the reason I have those dreams. I think I’m remembering the night she had McDonald’s men come pick me up.”
Now she really wanted her arms around him. “Let me out of the cuffs. We should talk about this.” And make love again. They could do that all night. She would make love to him over and over until he could sleep. “I know how hard tomorrow is going to be for you.”
Because it would be difficult to leave the problem in Big Tag’s hands. It would be hard for him to leave Owen behind.
He wouldn’t leave Owen behind. God. How could she have thought for a second he would leave Owen behind?
She pulled at the cuffs. There had been no real reason to put her in them. And he’d put padlocks on them so she couldn’t use her teeth to work the straps and potentially get out. Those little locks would ensure no matter how flexible she was, she couldn’t get out.
“You have no idea. Tomorrow isn’t the problem. Tonight is going to be hell on me.” He kissed her cheek and rolled off the bed, walking toward the bathroom.
“Robert!” She shouted his name. Kim and Ezra were gone, dealing with the Emily situation. “Let me out.”
He couldn’t be doing what she thought he was doing. He couldn’t have made love to her and then restrained her so she couldn’t stop him from doing something phenomenally stupid like going after Dante and Levi on his own.
Except he wouldn’t be on his own. He would have Tucker and Owen.
They could all die together.
“But you look so pretty the way you are.” Robert’s voice floated out from the bathroom.
She managed to move enough that she could see he’d gathered up his clothes. He wasn’t washing up and getting ready for round two. He was getting ready to leave. “Please don’t do this. Please. Wait for Ezra to get back. We can talk about this.”
She was starting to panic.
“There’s nothing to talk about.” He stood in the doorway of the bathroom, and now she saw what she should have seen before. He was dressed in black from head to toe. He had on a T-shirt and tactical pants, his boots on his feet. This was the way he dressed when he thought things could go wrong.
“You can’t go after him by yourself.” She pulled at those stupid cuffs but the headboard held firm.
He crossed the space between them and covered her with a blanket. His eyes were gentle as he stared down at her. “You know Owen would do it if we were talking about you. He would never let me go in alone. He would move heaven and earth to help me get you back.”
“I promise you we won’t leave Rebecca behind.” He couldn’t walk out of here.
He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I hope you can forgive me. We have to do this tonight. We don’t have another choice.”
“Yes, you do. You can wait. Levi won’t kill Rebecca.” She kicked at the blanket, trying to move herself up.
Robert merely readjusted the blanket. He slid his hands between the cuffs and her wrists as though checking to make sure he didn’t have them too tight. “I can’t wait. We have to deal with this tonight. Are you thirsty? I can try to get a straw and some water, but I don’t want you to knock it over and be cold. Is the temperature okay?”
“No. It’s not. And yes, I’m thirsty and hungry and I need to use the bathroom.” If she could get out of the cuffs, she might have a chance to put him on his ass and stop this whole thing from happening.
“I love you.” He kissed her again. “I’ll be back if I can. If I don’t come back, know I don’t regret a thing. Not even what happened to me with McDonald. I wouldn’t change it because it made me the kind of man you might be able to love.”
“Rob, don’t do this.”
“Could you say it? Just once?”
She shook her head. “No. No. If you want to hear me say it, you get these cuffs off me.”
She wasn’t going to give him permission to walk into a trap. Tears had started to roll down her cheeks.
“Then I’ll have to love enough for both of us. I’m leaving the keys to your cuffs on the kitchen table. Good-bye, baby. I hope I see you soon. I love you. Never forget.”
He stood and walked out the door.
And she was left alone.
Chapter Sixteen
Robert watched from the shadows. The security guard was making his rounds, strolling through the parking garage, his feet slapping against the concrete and making a racket. For that guard it was just another night to get through. Nothing special. No great thrills except sneaking out here to take a cigarette break.
He was about to take a nice nap.
A figure dressed in all black rose like a shadow given substance from behind one of the company vans parked in the lower level of the garage. Sound echoed here, but the shadow was silent. Robert held a breath as the shadow wrapped an arm around the man and shoved something into his arm before dragging him behind the van again.
“He hasn’t lost a step,” Tucker said quietly.
“Does
he have the key card?” Owen’s voice was tight, but then he’d been nothing but a mass of anxiety since he’d regained consciousness. Though he was hiding it pretty well. Owen had woken up, punched him in the face, and gotten down to work.
Rob’s nose still ached. But it was nothing compared to how he felt when he thought about the way Ari had cursed him when he’d left her.
He felt hollowed out inside at the thought that he might not see her again, that those might be their final words to each other.
“He’ll get what we need,” Rob promised, shoving aside those dark thoughts. He had to concentrate on the job at hand.
The dark figure moved again, coming out from behind the bank of company vehicles. He crossed the space between them, pulled up his balaclava, and grinned. “You guys ready? I already put the security cameras on a time loop. That guy won’t be expected to check in with the security office for another forty minutes. Even then they’re pretty lax, from what I can tell. Still, we should get moving.”
Jax.
He’d hopped on a plane the minute he’d found out what had happened. When Robert had called him, he was already on his way to the airfield. He’d known damn well they wouldn’t be coming back to The Garden.
Robert moved, holding his hand out to his friend. “You can’t know how happy I am to see you. How was the flight?”
It was roughly a two-hour flight from London to Munich, but Jax had still been lucky to get into the city so quickly. He couldn’t simply fly commercial.
“Ungodly expensive,” Jax admitted. “I had to use a guy who typically works for the mob. Real mercenaries charge out the asshole, but I got here and I’m not in Interpol custody, so I’m calling it a win.”
“And River’s okay?” Owen asked.
Jax grew solemn, putting a hand on Owen’s shoulder. “River is safe at a friend’s country house with Buster. Damon thinks I’m there, too. He won’t for long. River knows if this all goes south, she’s supposed to head to Bliss and we’ll meet her there.”
