It’s incredibly romantic, and Dev’s taking the opportunity to lay it on thick. He hasn’t taken his hands or eyes off me all night, dropping sexy compliments here and there just to see me blush.
He has a deep, dark, sensual side I’ve only seen glimpses of when we’re alone. The way he’ll hold me down when it’s just him and me. His take-charge attitude. The dominance of his tone.
Tonight, it feels as if he wants to expose more of that side.
He’s done nothing but stare at me as if he’s starving, a salacious twinkle in his electric-blue eyes. He’s acting different, and it both scares me and excites me.
The waiter places our entrées in front of us. He’s a studious man dressed in a black suit and wonderfully gay. The minute he opened his mouth to speak, I was smitten.
“Two filet Oscars with roasted asparagus and truffle mashed potatoes,” he announces proudly, as if he cooked the meals himself.
“Thank you,” Dev and I echo as two perfectly-round steaks sit covered in crab meat before us. Holy shit. If it smells this good, I can’t even imagine how it tastes. We both cut into our meat and the expression of divinity we share after we take our first bite says it all.
“Oh my God.” I can barely contain it. “I think this is the best thing I’ve ever tasted.” I cover my half-full mouth, chewing slowly.
“There’s one thing that tastes better.” He winks suggestively.
I can’t keep from rolling my eyes. Everything comes back to sex with him.
“I mean it.” He places his fork on the table then slides his hand across the white tablecloth to hold mine.
“I know you do.” We lace our fingers together. We share a moment of heavy silence as Dev drinks me in. I know I look different tonight. My hair is pulled up in a tight bun, I have a ton of makeup on, and I’m wearing the sexiest pair of heels I own. I sort of feel like a dolled-up ballerina.
“Good. Do you also know how much I love you?”
“Yes,” I answer him honestly, sweetly.
“How much do you trust me?”
That’s a peculiar question.
“Entirely.” And it’s the truth. “Why?”
“Because what I want to do when we get home will take all your trust. And I need to know I have it.”
“What exactly do you want to do when we get home?”
“I want to open our relationship up. I want to expose you to a part of my life I haven’t shared with many people.”
I press my lips together to conceal my thoughts. This should be a shock to me, but it’s not. I’ve heard rumors about Dev’s tastes. And the fact that he shares me with his brother is a testament to his predilection. “I also need you to keep an open mind.”
My imagination races. “Are you going to, at least, clue me in to what I should expect?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t want to give anything away. I want your first time to be a completely new experience with no preconceived notions.”
“Can you at least tell me if pain is going to be involved?”
I don’t know much, but I’ve read books and seen movies where BDSM is involved. There always seems to be lots of spanking. Not that I’m opposed to the idea, I just never saw myself partaking in sexual acts of that nature.
“No, baby. No pain. I’m not really into that. But I’d try it if you wanted.”
“I think we can forgo the pain part.” I laugh.
“So is that a firm yes?”
I nod.
“Say it.”
“Yes.” My thighs actually clench at the idea of Dev having his kinky way with me.
His face lights up with carnal elation.
“Eat,” he orders, and I know this night just took a dark, dangerous, and explicit turn.
“Thank you.” I lean over and kiss Dev on the cheek once we’re seated in his car.
“For what?” He punches the ignition, and the Mustang rumbles to life.
“Dinner. Duh.”
“Oh. That.” He smirks, placing his hand on my inner thigh, skimming it upward under the hem of my skirt. “I hope it’s the first of many.”
“Me too.” I jump as he tickles my clit. “Dev!” I scold him.
“Dev, what?”
“You just can’t keep your hands to yourself.”
“Nope. And why would I want to? Look at the woman sitting next to me. I’m a lucky man.” The stupid idiot actually makes me blush. “And I plan to thank her for being mine in multiple ways.”
And so it begins. Is it suddenly hot in here? I blow on my cleavage discreetly to cool myself.
The hour ride back home is quiet but thick with tension. The closer we get to Dev’s house, the more apprehensive I become. I may be in a relationship with two men, but I have always felt in control. Tonight, Dev is asking me to hand over that control, and that’s a terrifying thing. I try to reason with myself. This man loves me. He would never hurt me or humiliate me, but the fear of the unknown is clawing at my chest, making it hard to breathe.
We walk briskly through the cold January air into the house. The lights are off and an electrical charge zaps me as I walk over the threshold. It’s all brand new, like I’m entering Dev’s home for the very first time.
He leads me into the kitchen, only flicking on the singular recessed light over the sink.
I stand there out of place as I watch him pour a glass of water.
“Drink this.” He hands me the pint glass. “Don’t come upstairs until you finish it.”
I take the glass from him tentatively. “Okay?”
He smiles but says nothing more as he kisses my forehead before vacating the kitchen, leaving me alone with just the glass.
I stare at the water, a small part of me wishing it was wine.
I start to drink it down, swallowing my apprehension one gulp at a time. When I’m finally finished, I set the glass down on the counter and make my way upstairs. Dev’s house isn’t huge, but it is comfortable. There are three bedrooms on the second floor, a master and two spares. He rearranged the rooms when he moved in last year, retiring from his childhood room and claiming the master as his own. It’s large and spacious with an en suite bathroom. Comfortable enough for three. As I walk through the double doors, soft candlelight and the smell of sandalwood engulf my senses. But what grabs my full attention is the bed.
The comforter is pulled down, exposing the black cotton sheets. And dangling from the iron canopy is a pair of leather cuffs.
I wobble on my feet as I approach the mattress, mesmerized by the chain links glistening in the candlelight.
“Scared?” Dev sneaks up on me.
“A little,” I admit, smiling to myself, recalling a conversation I had with Sam. The morning she looked like hell and told me fear was sometimes a good thing. That it made you remember you were alive. Well, I can honestly say I’m living now.
“Don’t be.” He kisses my neck, removing my coat. “Just relax and follow my lead.”
I close my eyes and lean my head back, absorbing the soft kisses he’s trailing across my collarbone. As he moves over my shoulder, he takes the thin strap of my dress with him. The material isn’t hard to manipulate. The spandex hugging my curves peels readily off my body. Soon, I’m standing in just a strapless bra, heels, and a thong.
“Get on the bed and kneel beneath the cuffs,” Dev murmurs in my ear, and my eyes snap open. It’s the moment of truth. Can I do this? My morbid fascination with the unknown answers for me as I climb onto the bed and position myself under the dangling cuffs. Dev moves with me, settling behind me on the mattress. There are no words, only silent directions. He lifts my hands above my head, kissing my upper arms as he does. He fastens one wrist swiftly, and then the other just as fast. My heart speeds up as my limbs are elongated, tethered by the stiff cuffs.
“Damn.” Dev encircles me with his arms, groping both breasts while sucking on the base of my neck. I feel completely helpless, barely able to move.
“I’m going to make you feel so goo
d, butterfly.” He unhooks the front clasp of my bra, continuing to fondle me. Dev’s hands are miraculous. His touch is like no other. It’s always purposeful, provocative, and eliciting. He takes in a way that is so artful, you don’t even realize he’s stealing until it’s too late.
“Pick a safe word.” He runs the tips of his fingers up and down my sides. I break out into chills as I try to rack my brain.
“Chassis.”
Dev freezes. “For real?”
“Is that a bad one?”
“No, just a new one.” He chuckles. “I was expecting red.” He tickles me, and I jump.
“Dev!” I’m helpless to his assault. “Dev, please!”
“Mmm . . . That’s only the first of many times I’m going to make you scream those words.” His devilish threat is palpable, leaving no question he means every single syllable.
Dev shifts on the bed, me unable to see him behind me.
“It’s about to go dark, butterfly.” He covers my eyes with a satin mask, stealing my eyesight.
My remaining senses immediately heighten, making me highly aware of my surroundings all of a sudden. The smell of the candles, the heat from the flames, the sound of Dev’s footsteps moving around the room.
My bare skin is the most sensitive of all, picking up the lightest draft from the air vents.
“Chilly, butterfly?” Dev sucks one of my hard nipples into his mouth.
“A little,” I sigh.
“You won’t be for long. I promise.”
After that statement, there’s nothing. No sound or words or interaction. I just hang there waiting. Waiting, waiting, waiting … for what?
“Dev?” I finally whimper, the deprivation weighing on me.
“I’m right here.” His smooth voice tickles my ear. How long has he been that close?
Something else then tickles me. I jolt as a soft sensation runs down the front of my body. The light touch somehow feeling like a ten-pound stone.
“What is that?” I tense as he changes directions, brushing it across my torso before moving it up to my aching breasts.
“Ostrich feather.” Dev’s voice is deep—highly aroused. He circles the tip of each nipple, causing me to sharply draw in air, tingles vibrating through every limb.
“Oh!” It feels so strange, and erotic and illicit. I’m strung up, helpless, at the mercy of a feather and an irresistible man. I stretch my body and drop my head, relinquishing to the foreign affects.
“So pretty.” Dev kisses my jaw as he slides down my thong, leaving it stretched around my thighs. Even though I can’t see him, I can pick up on his heavy, hungry breathing.
“Why do you like this?” I ask, curiously.
“What’s not to like?” He tickles my clit with the feather, and I quiver. “You at my mercy to do with what I please. The power. The responsibility. The pleasure. The ultimate control. There’s no bigger turn-on for me.” He tickles me again, ruthlessly this time, and I struggle.
“Okay, okay!” I laugh through choked tears.
“Uncle?” He laughs.
“Yes.”
“Not quite,” he disagrees, sucking my aching clit between his teeth.
“Oh!” I spasm as he indulges in my vulnerable state.
“It’s going to get a little more intense,” he warns, as he runs the tip of his tongue along my swollen folds. “What’s your safe word, butterfly?”
“Chassis,” I reiterate.
“Good.”
There’s a sudden pinch on my skin. “Holy!” It rolls all the way up my stomach and between my breasts, leaving a prickling sensation in its wake. I erupt in another wave of chills, my clit unexpectedly pulsating.
“Dev!” I yank on the chains.
“Easy, Kayla.”
“What is that?” I heave.
“It’s a Wartenberg pinwheel.” He skims it over one nipple, the point of the spike doing inexplicable things.
“Oh my God.” My entire body constricts as he reverses it over the same nipple again.
“Dev! Dev!” I pant hysterically.
“So fucking sexy.” He drags it down the center of my body in a steady flow, stopping right at the apex of my thighs. He hesitates for an elongated second, knowing the delay leaves me teetering on a razor-sharp edge.
The first bite of spikes over my clit knocks the wind out of me. I’ve never felt anything like it, the prickly sensation playing a mind game. On one hand, I’m terrified of it piercing the fragile flesh; on the other, the sensations it brings forth are ferociously arousing.
“Holy fuck!” I wheeze, my body shivering as he rolls it back and forth. I’m literally crying from the blast of excitability. “Dev, please! Dev, please!” I’m not even sure what I’m begging for--I just know I need something. For him to stop? For him to press harder? I’m a chaotic mess of scattered sensation, and I just need him.
Dev must sense my unraveling, because a sudden shift occurs before the pinwheel is yanked away and my legs are ripped wide open, the material of my thong tearing apart. Mutely, he lifts me off the bed and impales me on his straining cock. My body splitting in two.
We both rebound a wail of desperation, of raging lust and fiery need.
“Fuck, Kayla!” Dev’s hips punch strenuously, his cock like a hydraulic press pounding into me mercilessly.
“Please! Please! Make me come!” I scream as my muscles clench and my core burns. “Make me come!” I hang from the chains helplessly.
Of all the times I’ve been with Dev or Reese, together or alone, it has never been like this. Never been so brutal or bloodthirsty.
We grind and grunt and hump and maul each other until it hurts, until we explode in a fury of pleasure. My elbows lock and my back breaks as I come all over Dev’s throbbing cock, a warm, wet flood of arousal making a mess of us both.
The two of us sag with exhaustion as the tremors take their time to pass, a draining feeling zapping my consciousness. Dev just holds me, still tethered and blindfolded, straddled over his lap as we float in a sea of satisfaction.
I didn’t think it was possible, after everything I’ve experienced with these two men, I could be changed on another elemental level. But Dev proved me wrong because I am no longer the woman who walked blindly into this room.
I’m reborn.
I wake up to the soft brushes of Dev’s lips against my cheek.
“Morning, butterfly,” he moans softly as I lethargically come around.
“Already?” I smirk drowsily. “What time is it?”
“Yes,” he muses. “It’s nearly ten.” I flutter my eyes open and meet Dev’s vibrant blue ones. “I thought you could use a bath to loosen up those stiff muscles.”
I gaze up at him curiously. Stiff? I shift on the mattress. “Oh,” I wince as parts of my body I didn’t know could hurt throb. Last night was . . . I don’t even think I have words to describe it … the most extreme, heart-pounding sexual experience of my life. And all I want is more. More of Dev’s lips and tongue and dark erotic desires.
The sound of the running water drifting from the bathroom beckons me awake.
“I’m in.” I smile indulgently.
“Did you think you actually had a choice?” Dev asks as he gingerly pulls me up. Damn, my body really does hurt. You’d think someone who works out as much as I do could endure the punishing I took last night, but that’s apparently not the case, because as I get closer and closer to the filling tub, my sore muscles bellow for the relief they know the hot water can provide.
Dev turns the handles to cut the running water, then helps me into the tub. He climbs in after me, pulling me against his body so my back is pressed against his front. Then he works magic, massaging the perfect place between my shoulder blades, where the knots are the tightest.
“Holy hell.” My eyes roll into the back of my head as he circles his thumbs, kneading away the pain. “Your hands . . .” My sentence is swallowed up as he presses a little harder, and my body sings in joyous hymns.
; “My hands?” He kisses the curve of my neck sweetly.
“Your hands . . .” I can only moan.
“My hands love your body.” He finishes my sentence.
“Clearly. You showed me how much last night.”
“Yes, I did,” he agrees proudly.
“I can’t wait to find out what else they can do.” I sigh, relaxing against him.
“A few old tricks and maybe some new ones.”
“Well, I’m looking forward to both.” I pull his arm tighter around me and trace the cursive writing spiraling around his forearm. I know every word to the song etched underneath the ripped skin by heart.
“Enjoy yourself last night?” his voice rises in interest.
“I think my multiple orgasms can answer that question.”
“Yes, they can.” I feel his smile against the nape of my neck. “And I enjoyed every one.”
“So did I,” I purr, watching out the window over the tub as snow falls lightly from the gray sky.
“So can I take your enthusiasm as an open invitation to explore some more?”
“I think my multiple orgasms can answer that question, too.”
“Wiseass.” He bites my neck playfully, fastening his arms securely around me. I squeal, squirming, as he nibbles up and down. The water splashing over the side of the tub. It’s larger than a builder grade but smaller than a whirlpool, the white container fitting our two bodies just comfortably enough.
Once Dev finishes torturing me, we settle in, snuggling up in the steaming water. I play with his hand, turning it this way and that, pressing our palms together, measuring how much longer his fingers are than mine.
“Why did you become a doctor?” I ask.
“I always liked biology.” He playfully runs his hands down my sides. “And the study of the human anatomy.”
“I bet.” I giggle. “Really, though? Did you always want to be a cardiologist?” I attempt to be serious. Funny, as long as we’ve known each other, and as intimate as we are, that simple question seems to have been evaded.
“I always wanted to help people,” he says reflectively. “My original concentration was sports medicine. I wanted to work with pro athletes.”
Keep This Promise Page 158
