It that didn’t knock his socks off, the man would have to be dead. Anne smiled to herself as she applied the final touches to her makeup, adding a dab of lipstick across her lips and a light spray of perfume around her neck and hair. She’d picked out tigers eye adornments to grace her neck, with matching earrings and a coat of golden amber nail polish on her nails.
“Well I’ll be damned,” she hadn’t heard Charles enter the room, but he stood near the doorway, leaning against the wall as his eyes roved over her from a distance, “and you think I’m going to take you to a party dressed like that? You’ll be lucky if you leave this room…”
“Oh no,” she laughed lightly as she looked at him in the mirror, fixing her second earring before turning around to face him with a resolute, no-nonsense look, “I am going to this party, and you are taking me. Besides,” she smiled suggestively at him and winked, “you’ll get to see what I have on underneath if you wait.”
Laughing lightly at her, he shook his head as he stepped closer to her from across the room, “Now why would I wait when I can see what you have on underneath right now?”
“Charles!” she wailed plaintively as he laid his hands on her, eyeing her suggestively from behind and in the mirror; but he only laughed warmly, a deep rumble in his chest.
“Oh relax,” he leaned down from behind her, laying a gentle, sensual kiss on the delicate skin at the back of her neck, “I’m not going to do anything to you…” his teeth trailed over her skin, eliciting a soft sigh from her, and he spoke lowly in the shell of her ear, “yet. I make no promises about what happens to you at and after the party, however.”
A shiver ran down her spine as his hands trailed over her shoulders and down her arms to her hands, then around to her waist to hold her firmly against the hard length of his body. “I like this outfit of yours,” he complimented her, his hand trailing over the silken fabric, “what sort of costume is this?”
“I’m a lioness,” she picked up her mask, a delicately made, exquisite piece of craftsmanship bedecked with shining gemstones and gold filigree inlays. Attached to a handsome cherry wood stick, she held it up to her face with a smile and turned to look at Charles through it. “I don’t suppose you’ll be wearing a costume, eh?”
A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he shook his head, “You know me too well, my dear. I will change my shirt, however.”
“Ooh la la,” she teased, making a growling noise at him, “you best be careful or this lioness might maul you while you’re shirtless.”
He raised an eyebrow at her, replying in a deadpan tone, “I think you had best be careful, or I’m going to ruin your evening plans something awful, and I probably won’t hear the end of it for the rest of the year.”
Knowing that he was as serious as anyone could be, Anne flashed him a smile and went to get her coat and shoes from the closet. She’d chosen a faux fur piece in sleek golden tones to compliment her costume, and her strappy sandals boasted a thin, towering heel that, at almost 3 inches tall, bordered on a stiletto while still allowing her some ability to walk normally.
Charles watched her put her shoes on while he changed his shirt, adopting a loose black dress shirt, finely made and tailored to his frame but unadorned by any ornamentation. When he returned to the closet to retrieve his evening jacket, he was met by Anne’s heated gaze as she sat on the edge of the bed with her legs crossed, holding her jacket and waiting for him.
“Well, for not wearing a costume you still look pretty damn fine,” she teased him as she stood from the bed, stepping toward him to run her hands over his chest and toy with the button at the neck of his shirt, “almost good enough to skip the party.”
“Yes well,” he smirked lightly at her as he caught hold of her hands, clearly satisfied with himself, “I suggest you leave those buttons in place if you wish to attend this infernal party.”
***
It was nearing midnight when Anne finally withdrew from the dance floor to rest and enjoy a drink while Charles excused himself to get out of the hall for a few minutes. Rachel, one of Anne’s oldest friends and closest confidants, had rented out one of the local ballrooms for the night, and many of her old classmates were in attendance. Official unmasking was supposed to take place when the bell tolled midnight, but many of the attendees hadn’t worn masks or had already revealed their faces.
“So how was California this summer? I haven’t heard much from Jess since she moved,” Dawn had been part of their social group since she first moved to Washington from Britain when they were fourteen. Everyone else had known one another since grade school, but Dawn had been like a missing link in their group.
“It’s the hottest summer I’ve ever been through,” Anne smiled, shaking her head at the thought of how unbearable the heat had been before she’d sprung for an air conditioner. “Jessica love it though, she’s completely in her element down there, and they love her. I dunno if it’s for me in the long run, though; I missed all of you. Even missed the rain if you can believe it.”
Dawn nodded, the peacock feathers adorning her head bouncing as she did so. She had planned the party with Rachel, and her costume showed the care she’d taken. In her iridescent green and blue gown, with a full-face, beaked mask decorated in peacock feathers, there was no mistaking what she’d come as. In spite of that, Charles hadn’t hesitated to make clucking noises the moment he saw her, ribbing her humorously about dressing like a fancy chicken.
As though reading her mind, Dawn glanced around and asked, “So where’d you dispose of that git you call a boyfriend, anyway? I thought you had called time on that for a while.”
A light blush rose across her cheeks as she answered, “I did, actually, for a while. We ran into each other at a club down there and things kinda started up again over the summer.”
Her friend raised an eyebrow at her, shaking her head slightly, “That’s too bad; you know, I heard Troy was single again.”
“Oh?” Anne was surprised to hear such news about her high school boyfriend, “he’s been with Alana for years, I figured they were married by now…”
“Well,” Dawn’s voice adopted the light gossipy tone that Anne knew so well, and she leaned toward her friend, listening intently, “He caught her cheating on him.”
Anne’s eyebrows rose in surprise, but Dawn continued, “I heard she’d been sleeping around for a while, but he didn’t catch her until she started sleeping with one of his cousins two months ago. He threw her out so fast she didn’t even have time to pack her stuff, he just dumped it in the street during a three-day rainstorm; she was humiliated.”
“Wow,” she looked away, her eyes glancing over the hall and the people mingling and dancing as she looked for Charles; he was nowhere to be seen, though. It was almost midnight, and soon they’d officially unmask themselves; she looked back to Dawn, shaking her head as she replied, “I can’t believe she’d do something like that to him, it’s so low.”
“Yep,” Dawn nodded enthusiastically, “she really put him through the wringer, too. I heard he was suspicious for months, but she kept chewing his arse, accusing him of things every time he tried to confront her. When he finally caught them together, he nearly put his cousin in the hospital.”
“Who almost put his cousin in the hospital?” Dawn jumped visibly and Anne felt a thrill of excitement run down her spine at the sound of Charles’ voice. He’d managed to approach the girls from the shadows behind them, and he smirked in satisfaction when he succeeded in spooking Dawn, even as she rounded on him with a glare.
“Eavesdropping is rude, you know, or didn’t they ever teach you any manners in the pigsty?” Dawn demanded, but Anne couldn’t help smiling as she watched the feathers atop her friend’s head bob up and down as her head moved.
Ignoring her comment about eavesdropping, he responded smoothly, “Didn’t they ever teach you not to squawk in the henhouse, or were you just laying an egg?
Dawn’s glare intensified and her eyebrows knitted toget
her, forming a deep furrow as she prepared to burst forth with a tirade against Charles, but Anne interjected quickly, “Charles! Come on Dawn, ignore him,” she had to fight an amused grin to glare at her lover before continuing, “His life isn’t complete until he’s disparaged everyone I know, just ask Sarah.”
At that her friend had to grin slightly, shaking her head; Sarah had become akin to her younger sister over the years as well, and the two had been firmly united against Charles when Anne first began dating him. As time had passed, though, they’d come to more or less accept that he was part of Anne’s life and for her sake they made an effort to ignore his acerbic comments.
Anne didn’t get a chance to answer Charles’ original question, though, as the bell began to toll midnight just then and the music built to a crescendo. With the lights focusing in on the stage to the side of the dance floor, Dawn and Anne quickly stood up to watch Rachel as she took to the stage. She’d promised that she had a special announcement to make that night, and Charles decided to bide his time, taking a seat comfortably at the table and leaning back with his dark gaze resting silently on his lover.
When the last bell toll rang out, Rachel greeted everyone warmly, speaking through a handheld microphone, “Good evening everyone, and thank you all so much for coming out to celebrate Halloween with us here at the Pearl. It’s been a wonderful evening so far, and I hope you’ll all enjoy yourselves clear through the end of the night. In a few moments we’ll ask everyone to unmask and the DJ will start a fresh set of music to carry us through the night.
“Right now, my boyfriend and I would like to make a special announcement to all of you,” she smiled broadly, exuding a warmth and happiness as she was joined by her boyfriend on the stage. They’d worn matching costumes, with Rachel dressed as an elegant swan princess, replete with white feathers in her midnight black hair, and Robert her masked prince.
Taking his position beside her, Robert wrapped his arm warmly around her shoulders and smiled from behind his mask as she continued, “As most of you know, Robert and I have been together for almost five years now, ever since we first met in college. A lot has happened over the years since then, but we’ve stayed together through thick and thin.”
Anne had a feeling she knew what her longtime friend was about to announce, and she looked over her shoulder at Charles briefly. He was leaning back comfortably in his chair, feet propped on the edge of the table and a look of complete disinterest adorning his face. Rolling her eyes with a light sigh, she turned her attention back to her friend.
“Tonight we’re thrilled to announce that we’re expecting our first child together, and that we’ll be getting married in six weeks’ time. Invitations and details about the wedding will be mailed out within the next two weeks, so we look forward to seeing many of you at our wedding,” Rachel’s announcement was met with several whistles, shouted congratulations and a round of applause from their guests before the noise died down again and she announced the unmasking. As the guests unmasked themselves and many people laughed and called out to one another, complimenting each other on their costumes, the DJ started the music up again.
“Oh my god, congratulations Rachel!” Dawn was gushing before they even fully reached their friend, seizing her in an affectionate hug and jumping up and down slightly in excitement, “I can’t believe you kept this a secret from me, how long have you known?”
Their raven-headed friend blushed, looking to her newly-announced fiancé with a soft smile before answering, “We found out two weeks ago, but I had a feeling at the beginning of the month. The baby’s due early next summer, so we figured there was only one thing left to take care of. I was dying to tell you, but Robert swore me to secrecy until tonight.”
“Yes well,” he was still grinning broadly, clearly thrilled to have made the announcement to their friends, but he continued jokingly, “I’ve got a reputation to keep up y’know.”
“Well congratulations indeed,” Anne took it in turn to hug her longtime friend, “I guess this means I’ll have to fly up again, huh? And right before Christmas, too, what were you thinking?”
“You’ll have to talk to him about that,” Rachel gestured to her fiancé with a smile, “he insisted that no wife of his was going to waddle down the aisle as big as a beach balloon, and we didn’t want to wait until after the baby was born. So you’ll be able to make it?”
Anne gave her friend a look that said it all, but added, “Of course I’ll make it, what kind of question is that? And I’ll make sure to be here when the baby is born, otherwise what kind of friend would I be, huh?”
“Oh I know,” Rachel had to decency to look abashed before continuing, “I’ll have your bridesmaid dress made to measure, do you think you can make it up a few days early?”
“Of course,” Anne nodded enthusiastically, “we can do a fitting of the dress, and are you going to hold a recital?”
They discussed more of the wedding details for several minutes, with Anne nearly forgetting that she’d left Charles sitting back at the table. Dawn, as expected, was asked to serve as the maid of honor, and amidst a tearful embrace and laughter she had heartily accepted. Rachel had been the first person in their group to befriend Dawn, and they’d become best friends over the years, so it didn’t come as any surprise.
When Anne slipped away from her friends to go back to the table, she found Charles still posed with the heels of his shoes on the table. The ballroom had steadily warmed during the evening, so he’d unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt and Anne could see the soft skin of his throat and his Adams apple moving as he swallowed a drink from a beer he’d procured.
He leaned back when she came to a stop standing behind him, his eyes meeting hers as he tilted his head back to look up at her.
“So I suppose the bride will wear white at her shotgun wedding?” he asked, his tone and expression perfectly deadpan as he delivered the query. “Well nevermind that,” he immediately dismissed his own question, “I suppose it’d take getting knocked up for a man to marry her.”
“Charles!” Anne’s tone was sharp as she scolded him, smacking him lightly on the shoulder, “They’ve been wanting to start a family for a while, be nice.”
“I’m sure they were,” he nodded placatingly to her, pulling her down toward him to seal their lips together in a fierce kiss. His tongue tasted of the microbrew he’d been drinking, laced with alcohol and a hint of the spiced cider that had also been served, and Anne nearly lost her balance as she leaned into the sensual caress of his mouth.
When Charles dropped his heels from the table and stood to embrace her more fully, Anne felt a thrill in the pit of her stomach and she eagerly reciprocated his kiss, grateful for the low lighting and ample shadows in the ballroom. He’d been teasing her intermittently throughout the night, and although she was starting to feel fatigued from the long day and her bottom was still sore, she’d grown steadily hornier as the party progressed.
“Ooh, yes,” she groaned as his mouth left hers to trail across her cheek to her ear, then down along the pale column of her throat. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders for support, and one hand tangled in his hair, gripping him tightly as he kissed and nipped her sensitive flesh. Gasping softly when his teeth nipped her harder, she reminded him, “No marks, please,” she inhaled sharply, hot arousal coiling in her belly, “I have to go back to work soon.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” he laved the sensitive hollow of her throat with his tongue, his hot mouth trailing over her skin to her shoulder where he bit her lightly. It didn’t take long for him to convince her that they’d stayed long enough, and with a final farewell to her friends, Anne slipped out into the night with her lover.
***
With a broad smile of satisfaction, Charles let his eyes roam unabashedly over the bound and gagged form of his lover. She’d been particularly disobedient since they’d left the party, talking back unnecessarily to such an extent that he’d gagged her to reduce her noise production. No
w he stood behind her, his hands running over her pale flesh, lightly bruised in places from his switching the previous night and tender enough that she flinched from the contact when he smacked her lightly.
“You know,” his hands trailed lightly over her skin, tracing a pattern down the back of her thighs to her knees and then back up to her exposed buttocks and the crotch of her thong, “I should punish you for your insolence and insubordination.”
He’d left her lingerie on when he’d stripped her from her costume, delighting in the ensemble she’d adorned beneath her clothes. The corselet and thong were made of matching fabric, red and amber shades embroidered with gold thread, and her stockings were a sheer light gold color, complimenting and accentuating the lightly tanned skin of her legs.
Having also left her strappy heels in place, he’d bound her spread legs to the bedposts and forced her into a bent position over the bed, her wrists bound with a silken sash behind her back. With a small ball gag lodged firmly behind her teeth, there was little she could do but await his decision and the subsequent pain or pleasure he would inflict upon her. Anne felt her clit throbbing in response to her situation, completely aroused by her powerlessness.
Bound to be Punished: Part III (Bound to be Punished Series) Page 3
