by Sherri Hayes
Richard strolled into the room. “I found that book I was telling you about, Brianna.” He handed it to her. I couldn’t read the name on the spine, but it looked old.
“Thank you.” She took the book from him and cradled it against her chest.
“You’re welcome.” Richard rocked back on his heels. “I might have a few others that would interest you, although most of my collection are medical journals.”
My gaze drifted to the clock on the wall. It was going to be getting dark soon. “We should be going.”
Diane gave Brianna a quick hug. “We’ll see you Wednesday.”
As we were leaving, I heard my uncle ask Diane what was happening Wednesday. Brianna apparently heard it as well. “Will he be mad that she made plans without asking him first?”
“Upset that you’re going to cook for him?” I chuckled as I opened Brianna’s door and waited for her to slide into the passenger seat. “No. He’s more likely rushing to mark his calendar so he can count down the days till he gets to enjoy your cooking.”
“It’s just lasagna.”
I shook my head and shut her door before making my way around the car to get behind the wheel. Brianna always underestimated herself. And her cooking.
Chapter 5
Brianna
It was dark by the time we got home. He carried the leftovers into the kitchen and placed them on the counter beside the refrigerator. “Why don’t you go write in your journal while I put these things away?”
With Logan and Lily visiting, we’d gotten out of our routine. Normally, I wrote in my journal throughout the day, and then Stephan would read it while I made dinner. That hadn’t been possible while we had company.
I went to the study where I kept my journal and sat in the window seat overlooking our backyard. The moon reflected off the water, casting a shadow over the surrounding area.
Opening my journal, I began to write. At first, I’d found it hard to put down my feelings on paper, but the more I did it, the easier it was. This was a safe place for me to express myself. No one read my journal but me and Stephan—and Stephan never judged me. I could be afraid, angry, confused and it was okay. We’d talk about it and figure it out. Together.
An hour had passed before I was done jotting down my thoughts. I knew Stephan was long finished putting the leftovers away. He was giving me time alone.
I took one long look outside the window, and then headed downstairs to find Stephan. He was in the laundry room, taking a load of clothes out of the dryer. He glanced up when he saw me, and then went back to what he was doing. “Finished writing in your journal?”
“Yes, Sir.”
He nodded. “Go ahead and get ready for bed. I’ll be in as soon as I finish up here.”
When I’d first started living with Stephan, we’d sit in his chair every night before bed and talk. We still talked every night, but it wasn’t always in his chair. Sometimes, like tonight, it would be cuddled in bed.
The first thing I did when I entered our room was walk over to his side of the bed and place my journal on his nightstand. He would most likely want to read it right away.
Then, I padded into the master bathroom and began getting ready. That meant I needed to get naked. Clothes were not permitted in bed except on rare occasions.
I brushed my teeth and ran a brush through my hair before heading back to the bedroom. Stephan was there putting clothes in one of the dressers. He spotted me right away and a slow smile pulled at his lips. “Get in bed. I’ll be there shortly.”
True to his word, he finished what he was doing, and then disappeared into the bathroom. A few minutes later, he strolled—undressed—into the bedroom holding a length of rope. Without comment, he placed it at the foot of the bed and climbed in beside me.
As expected, he propped himself up against the headboard, pulled me against him, and then reached for my journal. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of him against me, skin to skin. He balanced my journal on his lap with one hand and rested the other on my hip.
I’d written a lot, so it took him several minutes to get through it. Time had taught me to be patient. It had also taught me not to be worried he’d get mad at me for something I’d written.
That had been at the forefront of my mind when he’d first given me a journal. I was always terrified I’d get in trouble for saying how I really felt. Stephan wasn’t like that, though. He was the most understanding man I’d ever met.
When I heard him close the journal and shift to set it back on his nightstand, I opened my eyes. “You didn’t write about your conversation with Lily.”
“I wanted to think about it some more. And . . . and to talk to you.”
The hand on my hip began to move ever so slightly. It was comforting but distracting at the same time. Then again, he probably knew that. “Lily said there’s a difference between play spanking and what Logan did to her last night. I don’t understand how there could be a difference.”
“It has to do with preparation.”
“Preparation?”
He nodded and brought his free hand up to cup my breast. “If I play with your breasts, lick them, suck on them . . . prepare them, then when I give them a hard pinch it adds to your pleasure.” His thumb circled my nipple before giving hit a little tug between his thumb and forefinger. “But if I don’t prepare you and just give your nipple a hard pinch without warming you up first, there is only going to be pain.”
That made sense. Stephan always made sure I was ready for whatever we did together, but I’d experienced plenty of the other with Ian and his friends. “So, when Logan spanks her not for pleasure, he doesn’t prepare her first?”
“Correct.” He skimmed the back of his hand down the length of my torso to right below my belly button. “When you spank someone for pleasure, you warm them up. You rub their backside, maybe even give them some lighter swats. It warms up the flesh and turns it a slightly pink color.”
“That makes it more pleasurable?”
“It does.”
He continued to tease me by running his fingers right above the junction of my thighs. I wanted him to go lower, to touch me. My legs fell open, urging him to take what was his.
“Eager, my pet?” His nose brushed against my ear as his lips sent tingles down my spine as he placed barely there kisses on my neck.
“Yes, Sir.”
I felt him smile as he inched his fingers down a little lower. They were now right above my clit. “Are you wet?”
“Yes.”
“Show me.”
I knew what he wanted. Without a moment’s hesitation, I bent one leg and moved so my legs were spread, and I was completely open to him.
He slid down the bed, positioning himself between my legs, spreading me open farther. A satisfied humming sound came from deep in his throat a split second before his mouth made contact with my sex, sending my eyes rolling back in my head.
My head fell back against the headboard with a light thump, but I barely noticed. I was too focused on the sensation his tongue was creating. The next thing I knew, his mouth was gone, and I was being pulled down onto the bed, so I was lying flat on my back.
“Give me your wrists.”
I lifted my arms, presenting my wrists to him. Since he’d brought the rope to bed with him, I knew what was coming and I welcomed it. We’d done a lot of exploring with rope and it was something I’d come to love. It was as if the rope was an extension of Stephan, wrapping itself around me, holding me close, protecting me.
Stephan positioned my wrists palms together, so they were touching, and then wound the rope around them both before securing them in the middle. He tested to make sure the ropes weren’t too tight before pulling the loose end above my head. The rope tugged at my arms as he hovered above me, securing it to the headboard.
The weight of his body pressed into me, holding me to the bed. I opened my eyes to find him staring down at me.
“You are beautiful, my love. So beautiful. And all mi
ne.” He covered my lips with his as his hands began to explore.
My breasts ached as he played with them and I raised my hips, silently begging for more. Stephan responded by giving one of my nipples a hard pinch. I gasped as the pain radiated from my nipple straight to the part of me that ached to have him inside me.
“Patience,” he whispered in my ear before abandoning my mouth to work his way lower.
When he reached the nipple he’d pinched, he sucked it into his mouth, soothing it with his tongue. I couldn’t stop the moan that escaped my throat even if I wanted to. My body was an instrument and he knew exactly how to play it.
He gave each breast plenty of attention. By the time his mouth left them, they both felt heavy and ultra-sensitive. His chest brushing against my nipples had them pulsing.
I stared into his eyes as he spread my legs wide and positioned himself at my entrance. He captured my lips with his at the same time he thrust inside me.
The sensation of him surrounding me was almost overwhelming. All I could do was feel. Him. The ropes. The way my breasts brushed against his chest with every movement.
One hand held my head in place, his fingers digging into my scalp. The other was splayed across my hip, holding me exactly where he wanted me. He was hitting a spot deep inside me that had me spiraling toward an orgasm.
I held on, trying to focus on not coming. He hadn’t given me permission yet.
More time passed. I had no idea how long. I’d lost all notion of time, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. My legs began to shake, and I could feel my internal muscles tightening, ready to explode.
Just as I was about ready to lose control, permission or not, I heard Stephan say the words I’d been longing to hear. “Come for me.”
Stephan
Maybe having our nightly talk in our bed hadn’t been the best idea. It’s not as if we hadn’t done so before, but after spending the afternoon with her in the pool and having to keep my hands to myself for the most part, I couldn’t resist. I hadn’t wanted to.
After giving Brianna permission to come, she’d screamed out her climax. It would probably have scared the neighbors if we had any close by. And as often happened when Brianna and I had an intense session, she fell into this trance-like state, and had then fallen asleep cuddled in my arms.
I lay there until I was certain she was sound asleep before crawling out of bed, putting the rope away, and turning off the lights. There was a lot still to discuss regarding her journal entry. She’d talked a lot about Lily’s upcoming wedding and about our outing in town the day before. It had been a busy weekend with not a lot of down time. I wouldn’t be surprised if it took the entire week for us to discuss everything. And that didn’t take into consideration that tomorrow she had an appointment with her therapist. That was always guaranteed to bring up topics that needed to be discussed.
As gently as I could, I eased back into bed and pulled her against my chest. She released a soft sigh as she nestled her backside against my stomach. I pressed a kiss to the back of her head and closed my eyes, letting the sound of her breathing lull me to sleep.
The next thing I remember was the feel of lips pressing against my collarbone. I sucked in a deep breath and was rewarded by the sound of giggles.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked, keeping my eyes closed.
“Giving you kisses.”
Without warning, I grabbed hold of her hips and flipped our positions. She was now staring up at me with a huge smile on her face. It was so good to see her this happy.
“Good morning, Sir.”
I brushed the hair out of her face and gave her a proper kiss. “Good morning, Brianna.”
She ran her fingers through my hair and down my back. I felt my body responding, but I couldn’t give in this time. “What time is it?”
“Almost nine. You must have been tired.”
I felt a smile tug at the corner of my lips. “Someone wore me out last night.”
A pretty blush stained her cheeks.
After another swift kiss, I rolled over and started to get up. “As much as I’d love to spend the day in bed with you, I have some things I need to do this morning and you have an appointment with Dr. Katlin to prepare for.”
She nodded and followed me into the bathroom to get ready for the day.
An hour later I was sitting at my desk, drinking a cup of coffee, and scrolling through my emails. Logan’s friend had contacted me. He was eager to speak to me and wanted to arrange an in-person meeting to discuss the details. I quickly shot an email back informing him I’d be in Minneapolis on Friday and I could meet with him then. Brianna would be with Lily and it would give me something to do while they were fawning over dresses.
His response came less than five minutes later. We ended up exchanging a few more emails to nail down the time and place before I signed off and headed downstairs.
Brianna was curled up on the couch with the notebook she used for therapy. It was something Dr. Katlin had asked her to start using. Brianna had only been seeing her for a few weeks, so they were still getting used to each other.
The notebook was for her to write down any questions or issues that Brianna wished to discuss during their session. When I’d questioned her about it that first night, she’d explained that she was having trouble opening up to her therapist—that they’d spent almost the entire hour sitting there in silence. This method appeared to be working. From what Brianna had told me, last week’s session had gone well.
She looked up as I walked into the room.
“How’s the list coming along?”
Brianna scraped her teeth along her bottom lip. “Good, I think. I have three things written down so far that I want to talk about today.”
I nodded and sat down beside her. “I spoke to Logan’s friend. We’ve arranged to meet on Friday while you and Lily are dress shopping.”
“That makes sense.” She looked down at her paper and I could tell she was holding something back. “Tell me.”
She looked up at me with those blue eyes that made me want to give her the world. “Lily’s going to ask me about the dresses . . . what I think. I’m not good at that.”
I brushed the back of my hand along the side of her face. “You’ll do fine. Just be honest. Lily can take it.”
Brianna gave me the barest nod.
There was still something I wanted to do before lunch. “I’ll let you get back to your list. If you need me, I’ll be outside.” I leaned down and gave her a soft kiss.
“Okay,” she whispered as her eyes fluttered back open.
Our property consisted of ten acres, and the house was situated roughly an acre and a half from the road. The nearest house was on the other side of the river. We could see it in the distance, but we’d yet to meet the people who lived there. For all intents and purposes, we were rather isolated.
As I looked out at our side yard, I took some mental calculations as to where and how we should proceed with Brianna’s driving instruction. She hadn’t been behind the wheel in six years, not since before she was taken.
That wasn’t entirely true. She’d tried to drive once about two years ago. We’d been in the parking garage at my condo and she’d tried to back the car out of its space. She’d been taking her time, trying to get her bearings, when another car came up behind her and honked. It scared her and we ended up back in my condo with me rocking her until she calmed down.
Brianna couldn’t have that kind of reaction on the road and we both knew it. She’d come a long way since then, however, and I agreed that it was a good idea to try again. This time we were going to take it slow.
I ambled a fair distance away from the house to a rather flat area of ground. It wasn’t near the river, which was a plus, and thanks to the landscaper I’d hired, it was freshly mowed. It would give Brianna enough space to get comfortable behind the wheel again.
Pulling out my phone, I called the storage facility where the car I’d p
urchased for Brianna four years ago was being housed and arranged for them to deliver it the following day. I’d originally planned on selling it, and then buying her a new one when she was ready, but Brianna thought that was wasteful since there wasn’t anything wrong with the car I’d bought her.
At first, I didn’t understand her logic. What was the big deal if I sold one car and bought a new one when she was ready? Then I’d realized she liked the car I’d purchased for her and was hoping one day she’d be able to drive it.
With that done and a plan in place, I checked the time. It was almost eleven-thirty and we had to be at Brianna’s therapist’s office at one. There would be just enough time to have lunch and drive into town.
Brianna was one step ahead of me. Plates and glasses were already laid out on the kitchen island when I came through the door. She was digging the leftovers out of the refrigerator.
“Need some help?” I asked.
“No, Sir. I’ve almost got everything ready.
With the precision of someone who was comfortable in the kitchen, she moved with grace. I washed my hands and took a seat, allowing her to do her thing.
My gaze zeroed in on the way her hips swayed back and forth as she moved. The vision I had of her bent over, her ass in the air as I sank my cock into her had my body overheating. It was too bad I couldn’t act on it anytime soon.
Brianna slid onto the stool beside me and handed me a bowl with some of the pasta salad my aunt had made. I took it from her, focused on the task at hand, and willed my erection to go away. There’d be time for that later.
As I was scooping up a forkful into my mouth, I noticed a knowing grin tugging at Brianna’s lips. Something told me she knew exactly what I’d been thinking and that did nothing to help the problem in my pants.
Chapter 6
Brianna
Stephan sat beside me as I waited for Dr. Katlin to come get me. He’d brought a book with him to read while I was in my session. It would be good if he didn’t always have to bring me, if I could drive myself.
