by Sara Brookes
Ryan’s laughter filled the small room as he sat back in the chair, cocking it up on two legs to balance there. “Oh yeah. You really like him.”
She rushed on to explain. “There’s more.”
“Isn’t there always more?” His knowing grin made her scowl.
Ass.
“Before he went to rehab I went over to his house. Had dinner. Watched Die Hard and things got a little heated. Which was fine…”
“More than fine by the way you’re getting all flustered.”
At his unfaltering glare Elena looked away. He’d seen right through her. He’d seen what she hid in her soul and had never admitted to anyone. This was getting more embarrassing by the minute. Considering some of the things she’d done in her life, it took a lot for her to feel this way. Maybe coming here had been a mistake after all. “Everything was going well until he asked me if I needed anything.”
“Which is a perfectly acceptable question when two people are about to be intimate.”
“I’m not talking about condoms, Adam. He asked if I needed anything special. Most notably my leathers or a whip.”
“I get it.” The chair dropped hard to the aged wood and the sound reverberated off the stacked logs around her. “You’re afraid he only wants you to help him discover if he isn’t so vanilla at all? You think he wants you because of the BDSM. And you’re afraid of what happens if he finds out it’s not for him and wants you to be plain old vanilla for him.”
“Yes,” she admitted with a heavy sigh. The shattered remains of the night lay on the table in front of her, the shards still notching her soul.
“And would you? Go vanilla for him?”
“Never in a million years. I know it’s a part of me I can’t ignore.”
“Well.” Ryan finished the last of his beer, setting the bottle to the side as he leaned forward, hands folded together. “Nothing says you can’t stay impassive. Show him what you think he wants and then sever all ties.” Elena felt Ryan’s intense stare and she shifted in the uncomfortable chair. “You’re not confident you’ll be able to remove yourself from the situation. Is that it?”
“Be in the moment at all times in order to focus on the submissive. As I was trained.”
“Yes,” Ryan continued. “As you were trained. But there are times when you need to throw your training out the window. There aren’t rules in BDSM, Elena. Not about something like this. What works for one Dom and sub doesn’t necessarily work for another.”
Startled, Elena lifted her head and met Ryan’s gaze squarely. “Are you saying that as Ryan or the Dom who trained me?”
“There’s no difference.”
Her gaze fell away as he said exactly what her gut had already told her. She was a Domme down in the depths of her soul. It sat alongside the very marrow in her bones. “I know.”
“Then you’ve answered your own question. You’re fighting a war which doesn’t exist. You either remove yourself from the situation entirely or face him head-on. Only you can make the decision.”
“Where do I start?”
Ryan smiled as he pushed away from the table. “I find it hard to believe you don’t know the answer to that particular question. You’re going to have to drag those demons out of his soul and make him face some very painful memories. You may even have to confess your love for him along the way. Doing anything less wouldn’t be fair to either of you.” He disappeared behind her and when Elena turned, she saw a car pulling into the driveway.
Ryan opened the door of the sleek muscle car and offered a hand to the driver. A slender hand reached out and Ryan’s wife Beth appeared. He pulled her into his arms, sweeping her up into a passionate and consuming kiss. Elena swore she could feel the heat all the way in the house.
They parted, their foreheads touching and they both slid their hands over Beth’s expanding belly. Pregnancy had only made Beth more beautiful. Her friend waved as Elena stepped out onto the porch, pulling her keys from her pocket.
“What brings you out this way?”
“Just visiting. Ryan says you’re running into some issues with the new guy they’re training to help while you’re out on maternity leave.”
“I’ll whip him into shape. Don’t worry.”
Elena leaned forward and embraced her friend. “I’ll always worry about you.”
“We need to have a girl’s night before this one comes along.”
“Sounds fabulous.”
As Elena left she mulled over the conversation, feeling as if she didn’t have the answers she wanted after talking to Ryan. But she really couldn’t fault anyone but herself. He’d given her exactly the dose of medicine she needed.
The truth.
But as she drove back to Gatlin Falls she continued to gnaw on her lip as Ryan’s words echoed in her mind. She didn’t have any clear-cut answers and her chest ached because what she did know worried her. In order to give Alex what he wanted—no, needed—she’d have to bury her feelings for him.
She knew she possessed the strength to do what needed to be done, but for the rest of tonight she would go home, wallow in a hot bath, have a glass of wine and hate the very thing in her life she loved the most.
Alex leaned against his car in front of Sanctuary, jingling the key ring he’d stuffed into his pocket. Nervous energy filled his body. Crawling out of bed this morning to open the shop, he’d been smiling and joyous. Nothing could have brought his mood down out of the clouds lined with silver.
By midafternoon, the buzz had worn off.
Now he couldn’t stop thinking about the night ahead.
A thought that kept his dick rock-hard despite his nerves.
When the door to the warehouse opened, his heart slammed hard against his ribs. It tripped once, slammed again, reminding him he needed to breathe. The air burned his lungs has he inhaled and his heart settled into a normal rhythm.
Elena leaned against the casing, her red hair smooth and sleek as the tips curled under her chin. She’d left her bangs straight tonight so her hair framed her heart-shaped face. Her eyes shined brilliantly under the fringe, her full red lips curving up into a sensual smile.
He was so taken by the sinful curve of her mouth, it took him a few seconds to notice she wore a green corset. The very same one he’d lusted heavily over when she’d worn it during Tony and Genevieve’s engagement party last year. It had played a starring role in more than one masturbation fantasy during his recovery time.
At least after his sex drive had returned.
To further add to the hot lust curling through his system he noticed she hadn’t paired it with the men’s shirt. Instead her bare creamy ivory skin was pillowed at the edge, her breasts threatening to spill over if she moved.
And oh how he wished she would move.
As she stood there looking at him, his hands itched to feel the weight of her breasts against his palms, squeezing and shaping the succulent globes. He very much wanted to taste her nipples against the roof of his mouth as he suckled them.
“Nice to know my choice of attire still meets your approval.”
Startled by the husky quality of her voice, he blinked. “What?”
“Your eyes just went all dark and glazed.” She gestured toward him. “Pretty sure you’re sporting a nice hard-on right now too. Last time you saw me wearing this you had the same reaction.”
“You noticed?”
“Hard not to. I’ve always been fascinated watching a man admiring a woman. Not just because he wants to get his dick inside her. But because he really and truly appreciates her curves and the care she takes getting ready for him.”
“Wow. Guess I’m transparent too.”
“It’s not such a bad thing.” She pushed away from the door casing and held out her hand. “Ready?”
More confident now than he’d been all day he followed her. As he walked he noted she’d paired the corset with skintight pants that hugged her curves. The dark-green of her corset carried down to a pair of boots that encased
her strong calves before ending just above her knees.
Hard not to admire the vision she made.
Especially when everything about her screamed sex.
He forced himself to focus on the building instead of the woman. The warehouse was much different than the times he’d been through those doors on previous occasions. A wedding and an engagement party had called for an open floor plan, but now there seemed to be walls everywhere. He reached out and touched one of those walls, the surface smooth and cool against his palm.
“Looks a lot different.”
“That is the purpose of a highly functional space.” Elena gestured for him to pass, waiting to walk behind him. “Sanctuary can be whatever we need it to be. A place to celebrate love, loss, anniversaries and birthdays.”
“Sex too.”
“Yes. Quite a bit of sex.”
He stopped at the end of the entrance hallway, another long hallway angling to the right. Four doors, two on each side of the walkway, held the secrets hidden away inside separate rooms. Commercial-grade cipher locks were the only adornments on each of the doors.
“Heavy security for a small town.”
“I know. It’s a shame really. I don’t think any of us ever imagined we’d need something of this magnitude. We always thought this was a safe place. Somewhere we could relax and just enjoy. Until Beth was attacked. Allison pulled a few strings at Bull’s-eye and the new security system, locks and doors were installed before Ryan and Beth left on their honeymoon.”
His finger stroked over the smooth metal of the closest door in appreciation. “Bless my sister-in-law. Four doors for four rooms. One for each of you.”
“Correct.”
“Which room is yours?”
“You’re standing in front of it.”
He snatched his hand back, swallowing hard. “Oh.”
“Dade’s is directly behind you. Ryan’s is in the far corner next to his and your brother’s is—”
“Next to yours,” he whispered. The fact he’d once argued with Patrick about the very thing he was getting ready to participate in didn’t escape his notice. Hard to forget being so hypocritical.
“If you’re worried about him suddenly popping in, don’t.” She reached around him, entering a code that caused the lock to beep quietly. “The four of us have a deal not to disturb anyone when they’re here. Ryan, Dade and, yes, Patrick, only know I have the warehouse scheduled for tonight, not who I chose to keep company with. It’s not something we talk about.”
“The first rule of Fight Club is…”
“You do not talk about Fight Club,” she finished with a slight grin. “Same principle. Less beating each other to a bloody pulp though.”
“One hellaciously long access code you punched in there.”
“Seven six eight seven five eight seven six five six.” She shrugged. “Easy.”
“Maybe for a math whiz like you.”
“Numbers settle me. They give me comfort on cold winter nights. They don’t change. They’re resolute and I know I can count on them. And math has nothing to do with the combo. Given my love for movies I thought you would have figured it out. Next time you watch Pitch Black keep an eye out for it.” The door swung open, but she stepped in front of him to block his entrance. “I was very clear about something in regards to the warehouse. Do you remember what?”
“A safeword.”
“Correct. Before you walk through this door I need to know what you chose.”
He’d thought long and hard while he’d waited for Elena to contact him. When he’d first heard her request he thought it would be a simple enough process. But selecting the right word had proven to be more complicated than he’d expected. This word would be his lifeline. His key to sanity. Even though it wasn’t a word he intended to use he understood the importance.
“McClane.”
“Yippee ki-yay.”
He laughed, a warmth spreading through his body at the reminder of their shared love of the Die Hard movies. He hadn’t been convinced she’d make the connection or if she did, that she wouldn’t be offended by the choice because of what transpired the last time they’d watched the flick.
She stepped out of the way, giving him his first glimpse of the space. He paused before crossing the threshold. Breathed deep. Let it out. When he opened his eyes again, he noticed the colors were elegant and rich. Bold and demanding attention from anyone who stepped through the doors.
One hundred percent Elena.
A kitchen area sat off to the right with a tiny café table in front of a small bar. A full living room suite had been set up against the wall where they’d entered, a long, oversized couch lining the entire wall. A canopy bed stood on the other side of the room. Unlike the princess bed most little girls dreamed about growing up, Elena’s bed left no room for misinterpretation.
Dreams of a different sort happened there.
The heavy, dark wood had circles of metal the width of his fist attached at various points. Those circles could also be seen running along the sides and it didn’t take a whole lot of imagination to figure out their purpose.
Just what in the hell had he gotten himself into?
Tearing his gaze away, he noticed the wall off to his left had various pieces of equipment attached to it, most of which he’d seen while surfing the internet. A St. Andrew’s Cross, a bondage table, two sets of heavy-duty sawhorses and a suspension cage. Two steel rods had been embedded into the wall. He’d never come across anything like the last items in his research. As he started to wonder about their use his gaze landed on a large wooden chest positioned between those steel rods.
Big and bulky, the wood had been stained to match the color of the bed. They’d obviously been made as a pair. Given Ryan’s talent with wood Alex had no doubt who’d made the two pieces.
Hanging on the wall over the chest were an assortment of various colors and sizes of floggers. He eyed the one with metal coating the tips of the strands and felt his heart give a hard jolt.
Just because it was there didn’t mean she’d use it on him, right?
As he wondered about just what she had secreted away in the chest he noticed a large, square basin tucked into the back corner of the room. The small bathroom area could be closed away from the main room by a narrow pocket door that provided some privacy.
Other than the door the room was completely open.
Much as Elena had been since they’d met.
At least in regards to some things.
He’d never known she was interested in this kind of lifestyle. Then again he’d only recently discovered his own curiosity. He was just surprised she’d been able to keep this part of her life so secreted away. Proof he could know someone well and still not know everything about them.
It was a fact that both fascinated and petrified him.
Chapter Eight
Elena could tell Alex wasn’t nervous so much as he was unsure of what he’d agreed to. As always the reality was so much different from the fantasy. Which meant it was a perfect time for her to show this man just what he was made of.
“Give me a few minutes to set up.” She guided him to a stool in the far corner, the bare, unvarnished wood a sharp contrast to the lavish furniture in the room. A gentle push on his shoulder had him sitting. “Legs apart, hands behind you. Eyes down.”
When his brow furrowed in confusion she tapped the toe of her shoe in the space between his knees, nudging them apart until she was satisfied with the distance. She guided his arms behind him, linking his fingers together against his lower back then gently pushed his head down until his eyes dropped to the floor.
She smoothed her hand over his tense shoulders, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “Just like this. Are you uncomfortable?”
“No.”
She sensed he wanted to say more, but bit back his words because he didn’t know what to expect next. She left him there, tearing her gaze away from the grace of his body waiting patiently for whatever sh
e had in store for him.
Across the room she knelt and unlatched two steel bars from their recessed pockets in the wall. She had to stand on her tiptoes to lock them in place horizontally above her head. The two rods jutted out from the wall about five feet. She tugged on each one, testing to ensure they were truly held fast. Safety always. She expected Alex would pull hard on them before she was done with him for the night and she didn’t intend to put her first-aid skills to use.
Not this early in the game.
A hidden compartment at the end of the rods hid the end of the chains she also intended to use tonight. She pulled several feet free, letting the chains dangle in wait for the cuffs she would eventually lock around Alex’s wrists. After unlatching the chest she kept the majority of her portable equipment in she gathered a few items as she took a mental inventory. She immediately ruled out the soft strip of opaque silk she used for a blindfold.
The idea was for him to be in the here and now. A blindfold could be used to enhance those sensations, but she wanted to see his eyes and be able to hold his gaze if necessary. It would help cement the connection she would need tonight.
Happy with her choices she placed everything but a set of cuffs on the top of the chest. She dragged another stool in front of Alex, gracefully lowering herself onto it. His body visibly tensed at the sight of the metal-and-leather cuffs she set on the floor between them. Their thickness and weight had to be intimidating, but for someone with Alex’s build they would seem small on his body.
“Those aren’t very subtle.”
She nearly laughed at the dubious tone of his voice. “You sound surprised.”
“Only because I’m glad to see you shun average in regards to BDSM as well.” A smile curled up one side of his mouth. “Just like everything else you do with your life, Ms. I-design-sex-furniture-for-geeks.”
She bit her lip to keep from smirking. “If you expect subtle because you’re a newbie—”
“I don’t,” he said firmly. “I said I don’t want any special treatment. I meant it.”
“Good, because you won’t get any from me. Especially me.” She tapped a finger against the back of his hand. “Let’s see how these fit. If they don’t, what I have planned for the next few hours will be useless.”
