“Yes, sir.”
They shared a hot kiss then, one that Amy thought would melt more than her knees, then Ty lifted his head and growled. “Now. Take everything with you.”
“Yes, sir.”
In moments, Amy was perched on the smooth sheets of Ty’s bed. She eyed the windows.
“Tinted glass,” he said. “No one but me will see how wicked you are.”
“Good thing you have the perfect bed,” she said, admiring the steel-framed four-poster again.
“Must have had a premonition,” Ty said, then his voice hardened again. “Kneel and put your wrists together.”
Amy watched him tie the cuffs together with the blue rope, then she was urged to her back. The other hank of blue rope was cast over her waist, and she loved how it spilled loose around her. The rope binding her wrists went to the top of the mattress and was secured so that her hands were stretched over her head.
“You wanted to be stretched taut before,” Ty murmured and she saw him look over her in admiration. She knew by his expression that he’d noticed how her nipples were beaded.
“Yes.”
He tugged back the top sheet and duvet, casting them to the floor, then claimed one ankle. Once he’d tied the end of the blue rope to the shackle, he tugged it slowly to the lower corner of the bed on that side. Amy enjoyed the feel of sliding over the smooth sheet and the sense that she could struggle but not escape. Ty stretched her out before knotting that ankle down. She struggled, but she couldn’t break free.
She was already desperate for him.
“Time for your present,” he said softly. He placed that small box on the mattress. It did look a bit like a jewelry box, but Amy couldn’t figure out what might be inside it.
“I thought you needed your own set,” he murmured, then leaned over to open the box and show her.
Amy swallowed at the shiny pair of nipple clamps nestled inside. They glittered coldly, looking both mean and wonderful.
“Oh,” she whispered, her voice trembling a little.
“New arrivals,” Ty said. “They have fur inside.”
“Oh,” Amy whispered again, and felt her cheeks heat.
“I was thinking of how you wanted the other ones on when you were stretched taut.” He went around the bed and picked up the other end of the blue rope. It slid across Amy’s belly in a slow caress. “How about I make sure you can’t get away first?” He tied it to the other shackle, then tugged her foot toward that corner of the footboard.
She’d be spread wide when he was done.
Tied down.
Exposed.
Amy’s face heated. She’d be open and available to him, unable to move away. “Yes, please,” she whispered, so he had no doubt that she was loving this game. She had only an inch of leeway or so, enough to feel the limits of her bonds.
“I read that it’s more of a tease if you can move a little.”
“It’s perfect,” Amy admitted, thinking it was very good to have a partner who did his research.
Ty tugged off his T-shirt as he walked around the bed, just looking at her. She had a great view of him, and the chance to admire him again. He kicked off his shoes, then his jeans and briefs. Amy smiled at the evidence that he was enjoying their game as much as she was. “I thought you found this complicated.”
“You’ve converted me,” he said as he stretched out beside her. “But then, I told you before that there was nothing hotter than a partner who wanted you badly.”
“I do,” Amy whispered.
“I know. But let’s make you want me even more.” Ty’s thumb landed on her mouth, caressing her bottom lip in that possessive way that drove her wild. “You relax when you know you’re helpless,” he murmured, his gaze locked upon her. “It’s like you surrender to sensation.”
“To you,” Amy corrected.
“It’s very hot,” he said and slid his thumb across her mouth again.
“So’s that.”
Ty’s dimple made an appearance. “And I can do this in public.”
She groaned a little. “It’s bad enough that you put your hand on my back and move your thumb there.”
“You like that.”
“It makes me melt.”
“So, you’ve said. I’ll have to do it more often,” he mused and she knew he would. He ran his hand down the length of her, then circled her navel with his thumb. Amy squirmed and he speared his fingers into her pubic hair. He didn’t touch her, though, and she bucked her hips a little, impatient for the pleasure he could give. “Naughty, naughty.”
“You knew that ages ago.”
“True. It wasn’t the first surprise you gave me, though.” He smiled. “Hood or not? It’s your choice.”
Amy’s heart skipped. “Will you smooth it down with your hands?”
“You like that?”
Amy nodded again. “It makes me feel like a possession.” Ty slid the hood over her head and fitted her ponytail through the opening in the back. She was engulfed in darkness and felt as if every other sensation was heightened. She could smell his skin and feel the sheets, the fur in her shackles, the tightness of her bonds, the wetness of her sex. Amy inhaled deeply in pleasure when Ty’s hands bracketed her head, smoothing down the velvet. He gave the elastic at the back a little tug, ensuring that it was snug and she shivered with delight.
He rolled over her, crushing her a little bit, trapping her beneath the heat of his body from shoulder to knee. He kissed her then, one of his slow and potent kisses, the ones that made Amy’s heart race and she kissed him back hungrily, wanting only more. His hand landed on her breast and he rolled her nipple between his finger and thumb, teasing it so that it tightened even more. He pinched it a bit and Amy moaned, then he broke their kiss and took her nipple in his mouth. He tormented her even more, drawing his teeth over that tight peak and flicking his tongue across it, driving her crazy with need. Tender and tough.
She thought about those nipple clamps and wasn’t sure how she’d stand it.
She moaned Ty’s name and he lifted his head. She felt his weight move and knew he was getting the box. Her heart leaped as he rolled the nipple again, and she gasped when he gently fastened the clamp onto her nipple.
Amy froze. She choked. She felt heat surge through her veins and knew she was impossibly wet.
“Nothing like the satisfaction of a perfect gift,” Ty murmured. “Comes with a chain and some weights, too, but maybe we should work up to that.”
The idea made Amy dizzy. Weights?
“Maybe,” Amy managed to agree.
“Maybe you can wear them to the wedding,” he suggested and panic slipped through Amy. “It would be our little secret.”
Her lips parted but no sound came out.
He wouldn’t.
He couldn’t.
He might.
And she would adore it.
Meanwhile, Ty’s hand moved to her other breast and he braced his weight on his elbow to watch her. “You like this.”
“You’re getting really good at complicated.”
“I’m motivated. I’ve done my research.”
“Don’t we have to go somewhere today?” Amy whispered.
“Nowhere at all.” She inhaled as he teased the second nipple a little more roughly than the first. “Does that possibility of being trapped here worry you?”
“A little.”
“Should I stop?”
“No!” Amy gasped.
Ty continued to torment her as he talked. “You know, I was thinking about that Oscar Wilde quote and you might be right.”
It took Amy a minute to recall the quote he meant. That Ty took her nipple in his mouth didn’t help.
That he grazed it with the edge of his teeth, then flicked it with his tongue, really didn’t help.
“‘Everything in the world is about sex except sex,’” she managed to say. “‘Sex is about power.’”
“That’s the one.” He applied the second nipple clamp with care a
nd Amy had palpitations.
She squirmed a little, then struggled outright against her bonds, discovering that she couldn’t do anything about her situation. She was trapped in the most exquisite way, and would be for as long as Ty wanted her that way.
She hoped it was forever. She felt him move back and hoped he was looking at her.
Savoring her as his prize.
“But maybe sex isn’t always about power,” Ty mused. “Maybe when sex most appears to be about power, it’s actually about trust.”
The mattress dipped, as if he got up.
“You aren’t going to leave?”
“Of course not. I’m just going to look.” She heard his steps as he walked around the bed, as if considering her from every angle. Amy found herself arching her back a little and displayed herself to him. “What do you think?”
“About this? I like it.”
“About the quote.”
“I think you’re right.”
“What do you think I’m going to do next?”
Amy smiled. “I don’t know, but I trust you. I’m pretty sure I’ll like it.”
“I’m thinking we’ll both like it,” Ty murmured, then she felt his hands on her knees. “I’m going to practice my alphabet.”
Amy couldn’t make any sense of that.
“You’d better hang on until we get to z, Angel,” he growled in his Matteo voice. “Because we’re going to do the alphabet over and over until you get it right. And if you’re really naughty, we might miss work tomorrow.”
“Practice,” she whispered.
“Discipline,” he corrected.
Amy sighed when Ty’s mouth closed over her and pleasure flooded through her body. His hands were on her thighs, his shoulders against the inside of her knees. Then the tip of his tongue moved against her clitoris. The pattern wasn’t accidental although she was too excited to make sense of it right away.
The first leisurely stroke started at the top then eased down one side. It took a million years, give or take, and sent a thousand shivers through Amy by the time it was done.
The second stroke was even slower and much more agonizing. Ty traced a little circle, from that side across her clitoris and below it, to join the end of the first stroke.
Amy gasped aloud when she understood.
He’d drawn an ‘a’.
The alphabet.
She was already on fire and there were still twenty-five letters to go.
Maybe she’d call in sick all week.
* * *
It was a glorious week.
Amy couldn’t remember ever being so happy.
She had lunch with Ty each day and spent each night with him, either at her place or his. They read each other’s books and cooked for each other, and Ty began to explore her dad’s book collection. Fitzwilliam tolerated his presence. She teased Ty as he fielded calls from his mother, and accepted an invitation from her aunt Pauline to bring him to dinner. She taught him some Italian phrases and wasn’t surprised that he learned quickly.
He said he was motivated.
On Thursday, she knew from his expression when he came to lunch that something was up. “Dinner tonight?” he asked, and Amy knew her answer was more important than he was letting on. She agreed, and was surprised that evening when he guided her to F5.
She thought again about jumping his bones in the elevator, but Ty gave her a warning glance.
She could smell something delicious when they got off at his floor and immediately saw that the door to his apartment was open. He had his hand on the back of her waist when they entered and she caught her breath at the sight. Hundreds of candles had been lit, more of them clustered around the table and chairs by the windows beside the kitchen. The city sparkled, seemingly at their feet. The table had been set for two, with a long white tablecloth and gleaming china. A chef lit the candles on the table at their arrival and removed a casserole from the oven. Ty hung up Amy’s coat and checked the arrangements before the chef left.
“Smells like osso buco,” she said when they were alone.
Ty was removing the cork from a bottle of red wine. “I’m sure yours is better.”
“From your favorite restaurant,” she guessed.
“A perk of being a regular.”
“We could have just gone there again.”
“Not tonight,” Ty said. “I wanted this to be a dinner to remember.”
She had no chance to ask why because he turned to her and caught her hand in his. “Marry me, Amy,” he said and her heart stopped.
“Is that a question or a command?” she teased and Ty smiled.
His gaze was serious, though. “A request, because I love you.”
“Since when?”
“The first day, when you told me off,” he admitted. “We might have met because of a plan for a fake date, but I would have asked you out even if no one was getting married.”
Amy smiled. “Book, line, and sinker.”
“Colpo di fulmine.” His fingers trailed over her cheek. “I’m a sucker for a clever woman who defies expectation.”
“Will I defy it if I accept?”
“No, but I can live with that.”
“Good. Because I’d love to marry you, Tyler McKay.”
Ty kissed her sweetly then, with that mix of tenderness and force that she was finding addictive. When he lifted his head, Amy smiled at him. “When you came to the bookstore, I knew I was in trouble,” she whispered.
“Oh, you are in trouble, now, and will be for a long time.”
“That’s just the way I like it.”
“Good.” They shared a simmering glance, then Ty removed a small box from his pocket. “I hope you like it.”
Amy opened the box to find a ring with a large sparkling square-cut diamond. It was surrounded by little sapphires and was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. She offered her hand and swallowed as Ty slipped the ring onto her finger. “I think we should put that casserole back in the oven,” she whispered.
“Not hungry?”
“I want to celebrate in another way first,” she said, then pulled his head down for another hotter kiss. She backed him toward the bedroom and Ty didn’t fight her at all.
“Now, who’s bossy?” he teased, but then he couldn’t say anything for a very long time.
* * *
Ty was the luckiest man in the world.
There was no disputing it.
He sat with Amy with candles flickering all around them and served the dinner that would have been better an hour before. Neither of them cared much. She was wearing his bathrobe and her hair was loose. He thought she looked fabulous. Her eyes were sparkling and he knew that under the bathrobe, she wasn’t wearing anything except his ring.
That suited him just fine.
“I was thinking…” he began.
“I doubt that,” Amy replied. “You’ve been too busy to think.”
Ty grinned. He leaned over the table to run a fingertip down her cheek, liking how she glowed with satisfaction. “I’m thinking a good philosophy might be to do unto others before they do unto us.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You’ll be going to my sister’s wedding with that ring on your finger.”
“Your mother!” Amy whispered in understanding.
Ty grimaced. “As soon as Katelyn drives off into the sunset with Jared on Saturday, less than forty-eight hours from now…”
“Your mom will have a new project.” Amy nodded. “We need to make plans first, if we’re going to make the plans at all.”
“Exactly.” Ty flicked a finger across the end of her nose. “Brilliant and beautiful. I didn’t have a chance.”
“Any particular ideas?”
Ty sighed. “As much as I’d love to elope, I doubt we can really evade the big family wedding.”
“You can’t steal all the fun from your mom.”
“So a big wedding it is. Can we manage sooner rather than later?”
Amy nodded. “September is nice for a wedding.”
“And in October I’ve got a trip to Europe.” He filled her wine glass. “You could come along.”
“But my job…”
“Seriously? You don’t have time for that job anymore.” He gave her a stern look. “Don’t tell me it’s going to break your heart to quit it?”
“No, it’ll just be odd, not to have a pay check.”
“So, how about this? You take time off to plan the wedding, start the renovations on the house, and finish your book, then when we come home from Europe, you can decide what you want to do.”
“Do you always plan everything?” she asked, not looking very troubled about that at all.
“Preparation in a spirit of optimism,” he admitted and she smiled. He lifted his glass to her. “To September weddings, successful books…”
“And fake dates that lead to happily-ever-afters,” Amy concluded, raising her own glass. “Whether the participants are naughty or nice.”
“Maybe that’s what makes them simply irresistible,” Ty said, loving when Amy laughed.
Epilogue
Colleen’s worries about the weather proved to be unfounded and Lauren was glad about that. It was a glorious day and the ceremony had been held in the garden as planned. Katelyn was radiant and Jared was clearly smitten.
Lauren, though, found herself watching Ty and Amy instead.
She didn’t know how she’d ever thought that Amy and Ty didn’t belong together. The heat between the pair of them was enough to boil asphalt in their vicinity. When their gazes met across a crowded room, Lauren felt like a bolt of lightning flashed between them.
Watching them made her own toes curl.
But she couldn’t stop. It was intoxicating to see two people so wildly in love, especially her big brother. She’d always known that if and when Ty fell in love, he’d fall hard.
And she’d been right.
It should have made her happier than it did. The truth was it made Lauren realize how empty her own marriage was.
By the time dinner was served at the reception, Lauren was watching the pair outright. It wasn’t as if Mark was interested in anything she might say or do. She was at the family table, and Amy was seated across from her. Ty, as one of the groomsmen, was at the head table with the rest of the wedding party. Amy looked amazing, so much more confident and lovely than when they’d first met. She was wearing a beautiful dress and had a hat at the wedding service, a combination that made her look like a model. Ty had been right about her resemblance to Sophie Loren. She’d come to Lauren for a haircut the day before and it had been transformative. Lauren didn’t need to be told the power of a good cut, but she knew there was more responsible than that.
Simply Irresistible Page 30
