“I meant no offense,” Gabriel assured. “I’m concerned. There’s nothing unattractive about you. Nothing, got it?”
“Ah, I’ve heard of the Mohs procedure,” Avery supplied, her attention on Taylor. “I’m a PT and my boss is a fabulous surgeon. If you need medical advice for your dad or yourself, let me know. We’ll exchange phone numbers before the party’s over tonight.”
“I’d appreciate that,” Taylor replied. “No need to worry so much about me.”
“Why do I have the feeling you’re telling half-truths, Taylor?” Gabriel asked.
“If you’d like to talk to my plastic surgeon and dermatologist, I’ll be happy to send you their phone numbers.” Taylor’s response caused Gabriel to raise his brow. “Admittedly, my skin isn’t as smooth and perfectly tanned as your guests, Mr. Krystiyan. It’s the price I pay for childhood sunburn.”
“If I find out that there’s more to that scar than minor surgery, we’re going to have problems. Know this, you can trust me.” Gabriel glanced over at Avery. “Trevor’s waiting for you, beautiful. He said to tell you he has the key.”
Gabriel was a natural-born flirt. He was so unaware of it that it was endearing and harmless. But choosing that moment to use an endearment that he’d used several times with his dates caused Taylor to frown and back away.
“Your dates are waiting too, Mr. Krystiyan. When it’s time to leave, I’ll be waiting in the game room.”
“They’re just friends of mine,” he stated, even though Taylor was already heading off to the game room. “Wait! Don’t be mad.”
She stopped and looked back, shaking her head slightly. “I’m not so sure your dates think that, especially the shortest.”
“We’re not done talking, Taylor.”
“I am,” she declared. “Don’t worry so much. Go have fun with your friends.”
Taylor rushed onward, disappearing inside the game room.
Avery stayed with Gabriel for a minute. For his part, he looked tempted to chase, but relented.
“What did I say, Avery?”
“You called me beautiful,” Avery answered. “You also referred to your dates the same way.”
“It’s a habit around ladies. I find all women incredibly beautiful, regardless of shape and size. They should know it.”
“Just some advice, if a man calls every female around him beautiful except you, it stings. Taylor’s sensitive about her scar and she’s the only one you’ve not complimented here tonight.”
Avery doubted Gabriel was aware that he’d charmed the female servers during dinner. He had been the consummate gentleman with them, not once overstepping his bounds, but he’d made a concerted effort to put the servers at ease.
“I’ll have to remedy that on the drive home,” Gabriel declared.
“Be sure you do,” Avery advised. “You like her, don’t you, Gabriel?”
“Yes. She’s beyond beautiful,” he declared, turning to face Avery straight on. “Didn’t you get the sense that she’s hiding something?”
“If she is, she’s entitled to her secrets until she’s comfortable enough sharing them with you or not. Her father’s going in for surgery tomorrow. She’s worried, understandably so.”
“Tomorrow morning, she’s not going to have to wait at the hospital alone. I’ll be there with her, if she’ll let me.”
“You make her nervous, Gabriel. Hell, you made me nervous when I first met you. It’s not like you’re Joe Schmoe. Go slowly, okay?”
“I’m a nice guy.”
“Show her the guy you are with me right now, she’ll melt.”
Gabriel grinned. “Thank you, Avery.
“You’re welcome,” she said. “Although I feel like I’m playing matchmaker.”
“Think I may have found my match,” Gabriel confided, glancing off toward the game room before escorting Avery back to the great room.
No sooner than they returned, Gabriel’s dates intercepted him. Hazard stood up and approached Avery.
“Everything all right?” he asked. “You were gone for a while.”
“Everything’s fine. Gabriel wanted to apologize to Taylor.”
“He kept looking for her during dinner.”
“He likes her,” Avery commented.
“Yeah, it’s obvious. Amazing how fast it can hit you,” he said.
“How fast what can hit you?”
Hazard took Avery’s hand, raising it to his lips and bending low to kiss her knuckles. “Love,” he said, the heat in his amber eyes setting spark to the need within her that never went dormant. “What are you thinking about?”
“I think we need to use the key,” she answered.
“Would you like dessert first?”
“I’d rather eat you,” she confessed.
Hazard grinned as if he’d won something special. “Let’s go.”
He hesitated only to flag Jaxon, who nodded at them and continued conversing with Sawyer, Travis and their dates.
Chapter Ten
Hazard took Avery’s hand as he fitted the key into the lock of their chosen hideaway for a little while. As much as he’d like for the two of them to stay all night, they had to drive back to town.
He preferred not to think about later. Avery was his focus right now. He wanted to strike another fantasy off her bucket list.
Inside dungeon three, Hazard flipped on the lights and waited until Avery was inside before locking the door behind her.
“Whoa,” she gasped, awed.
Hazard stayed by the door as she walked around. “Surprised, baby?”
“To say the least,” she admitted. “I expected dark and scary. Not red.”
“There are plenty of dark and scary rooms in this house. I chose this one because it’s perfect for bondage play without being terrifying.”
“Red’s my favorite color,” Avery said. “But you figured that out all on your own.”
“Your red dress challenge was a big clue,” he replied.
Avery was right. Everything in the room was tricked out in red. A bondage chair, a table, a pillory, a wooden standing wall with a glory hole and a queen-size bondage bed were the primary devices, all in complementing shades of red.
He particularly liked the bed. The red hues of the covers were inviting, satiny smooth and it was fitted with a rigid bondage frame with all the bells and whistles needed for a good time without causing harm or damage to the person bound.
It was all about comfort during bondage and the best parts were the sex swing attachments that not only lifted the person bound off the bed, but was attached to bungee cords so that the thing bounced or swayed upon the giver’s and receiver’s choice.
“Hazard, can we change things up tonight?” She turned and looked right at him. Her face was flushed. Her eyes were vivid, her lips parted ever so slightly. She was turned-on.
“What do you have in mind, lover?”
“I’d really like to be in charge this time. I’m looking at that pillory and would very much enjoy having you at my mercy.”
Because she asked so nicely, he decided to grant her wish. “I’m not used to giving someone else that kind of control. For you, I’d be honored to.”
Walking up to her, Hazard went down on one knee. Thankfully, he’d managed to make his way to the hotel weight room to maintain the exercise regime during the week. He felt strong. No, superhuman, all because Avery stood there, her unwavering devotion a sight to see.
“Do what you will,” he granted, offering his hands to her in sacrifice.
Avery trembled visibly, touching the part of his heart he’d thought he’d locked away after his marriage.
“Rise and follow,” she instructed.
Hazard did as she said. At the pillory, she pointed and he walked up the short flight of steps to the base of the old-fashioned restraining device that he’d sent to Jaxon as a birthday present after he’d bought it at an auction during a visit to Williamsburg, Virginia.
The pillory was made of wood, with
veils of red satin wound around it that Jax added to match the theme of the rest of the room. Starting to place his wrists and head into the holes, he looked at Avery.
“Do you want me naked or clothed, Mistress Avery?”
She shook her head. “I’m not your mistress. Despite the fact that it is you who will be bound this night, we are equals.”
“It’s your call as to what I do with my clothes.”
“For now, loosen your pants, do not remove them.”
Hazard unfastened his belt and unbuttoned his pants, leaving the rest to Avery. She inclined her head in approval and pointed to the pillory.
Grateful that she’d let him keep his sweater on to avoid the weather-roughened wood of the pillory, he stepped up close when she lifted the top half and he trustingly put his hands through the armholes and his head at the center.
Avery carefully closed the top, securing it with a scarlet padlock with the key attached by a red ribbon. It was an authentic pillory, not one made for tourists or with large enough holes that one could easily slip out of.
Low in his groin and back, his need throbbed. His erection had thickened when they neared the room in the first place. Now he was at full-mast and almost desperate for Avery.
Oddly, something salty-sweet surrounded the pillory. It had once been used to hold sailors accountable for piracy or pillaging unsuspecting villages along the Chesapeake Bay and the scent reminded him of saltwater.
“Do you smell that, Hazard?” Avery asked, inspecting the restraint with avid interest. “It smells like the seashore in here.”
The scent became stronger, thicker. Not frightening in itself, it felt as if someone had stepped up onto the pillory platform with him. “I smell it too. Jax says this place is haunted.”
“Morgan would love to get Remy and his team in here to investigate. How much do you want to bet that if she touched this pillory, she’d know how many people were trapped here, past and present?”
“She’d know,” he said. “Jax loves ghost-hunter stuff. I’m just not sure he’d let anyone investigate who he didn’t unconditionally trust. There are secrets here dating back to the house’s original owner. There are those made since Jax took over.”
“Tell me he’s never hurt anyone.”
“How a client interprets pain varies and he knows how to bring out what a sub needs. That might require using whips or instruments that induce stings, electrical shocks by a violet wand, piercings and knife-play or something worse. What he’d never do is endanger another soul or cause permanent damage.”
“Then that seals it. I’m not interested in bringing whips and chains into our relationship. But I’m good on bondage.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m helpless and hard. I’d say that means I’m good with bondage as well.”
“I’ve noticed.” Avery’s voice took a seductive dip. The salt-laced air became stronger, sweeter, enticing both of them.
It sure as hell felt as though someone was watching. While it should have made him uneasy, being watched by something other than human was oddly sexy and safe. He sensed no danger or ill will to Avery, which allowed him to relax and accept his bonds.
Avery left the pillory platform, moved about the room like a dancer and found an iHome unit with a red-covered iPod in place. Avery fiddled with it momentarily, something slow, sexy and jazzy with a lot of saxophone began to play.
Satisfied, she lifted her head, turned and faced him head on. He wasn’t sure what to expect.
He didn’t expect her to begin swaying to the music, dancing as if she was imagining that he was in her arms. “Avery, come here,” he called out.
“Shh, honey, feel the music with me, let it flow through you,” she urged and kept dancing.
Before his eyes, she transformed into a seductress. One button at a time, she opened her blouse, removing it to reveal her sexy lace bra. Letting the blouse drop, she kicked off one shoe, then the next.
Slowly, seductively, she stripped, closing her eyes and letting the music dominate her movements until all she wore was the bra, garter belt and stockings. He couldn’t even be sure how she removed her panties so easily, but her nicely trimmed mons reflected the soft lighting overhead and he wasn’t going to ask.
At last, Avery came toward him. Her confidence and beauty were something to admire, to treasure. Not for a moment did he regret falling in love with her. Not for a moment did he regret taking her up on the red dress challenge on their first night together.
Aware that he had to find a way to keep this woman for the rest of his life, he waited until she came up to him, making her way onto the platform to dance inches from his face.
Desperate, he had to clench his hands, welcoming the bite of his nails into his palms to avoid breaking his promise to stay bound. As was the case in every device in every playroom or dungeon within Jaxon’s house, the pillory was fitted with a fail-safe that would allow the prisoner to escape if necessary.
He knew where it was. But this was Avery’s show and he loved watching the sense of empowerment come over her features. She was gorgeous.
“Are you going to break my heart, Trevor Osbourne?” she asked, surprising him.
“I’m not planning to. I might make mistakes, but deliberately hurting you is not something I’d ever do.”
“That’s all I can ask and promise in return.”
“You’re thinking about tomorrow,” he said.
“And the fact that you’re leaving, yes.”
“Don’t. There’s no reason to worry about tomorrow or what will happen when you return home. We will work out a way to be together. Trust that.”
“I trust you.”
“I love you, baby. Do you know how sexy you are right now?”
“The look in your eyes makes me feel like a woman. I’ve wanted to feel that way most of my adult life. It wasn’t until I saw you in the Truth or Dare Club that I realized you were the answer to my prayers.”
“I don’t know if I’m worthy of you, Avery Grant, but I sure plan to keep you in my life for as long as you want me.”
“That could very well be forever.”
“My comment stands,” he stated, offering a smile.
She smiled back. Her eyes were warm and filled with desire. To have that desire given to him freely was a gift and a responsibility he’d never take for granted.
“I love you too,” she said, swaying a little before waltzing around the pillory until she was momentarily out of his line of sight.
Suddenly, she was squeezing herself between him and the pole on the T-shaped pillory and shifting to her knees, using the pole as a brace for her back.
“Avery, what are you doing?”
“What do you think I’m about to do?” she answered, her hands skimming up his thighs to teasingly stroke his cock before withdrawing his belt. She flung it aside, the clunk momentarily startling him.
Then she parted the fabric of his fly, shoved down his underwear and let his cock fall free. Cool, salty air brushed between them, feeling as if an entity had joined her.
It was weird and exciting all at once. Lost in sensation, Hazard closed his eyes, letting her have control while hoping their visitor liked what they saw.
“Someone’s with us, kneeling next to me,” she said. “Do you feel it?”
“My gut says he’s a sailor. We’d need Morgan to confirm,” he answered.
“Are you scared?”
“Not at all, I’m in your capable hands. You’ll keep me safe.”
“Always,” she said.
Her warm hands cupped him, one smoothly caressing his balls, the other grasping the base of his cock, gripping hard enough to show she meant business. As she’d already learned that he preferred a strong hand rather than gentleness, she began pumping him in earnest.
Because he couldn’t really see what she was doing, he let his other senses take over, enjoying the clever stroke and caress of her hands and fingers. She wasn’t shy. He didn’t want that anyway.
Instead, she was bold, curious, dragging her hand up and down his rod with a smooth deliberateness that had him curling his toes inside his loafers. She knew exactly how to swipe her thumb around his ultrasensitive crown, especially the delicate underside where all the nerves remaining from his circumcision congregated.
Using only a pinkie, she tickled the bundle of nerves, setting off a chain reaction. He wanted to fuck and come, but the way she shifted her other hand to encircle the base of his cock stemmed the possibility.
“You want to come, don’t you?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Where?” she asked.
“All over you,” he answered.
“How about in me?”
“Are we talking sex without protection?”
“That’s the plan. Unless you think it’s too soon.”
“I can’t get you pregnant and I’m clean. I’d love to shuck the condom for good.”
“Then you shall be rewarded first,” she said.
“Please.”
“Silence,” she commanded, releasing her strong hold to cuddle him as she moved to blow hot air all over his cock.
“Fuck!”
“Not yet,” she denied.
Biting his lip to keep from seeking out that fail-safe, he waited. Finally, her lips brushed against his crown. Her mouth parted, taking him inside. Warmth, wetness and velvety softness surrounded his cock head, her tongue flicking expertly where he needed it the most.
Avery swallowed him deeper, sucking strongly, drawing back, sucking him deep, repeating the process so expertly, he would have fallen to his knees to beg if he weren’t pilloried.
Knowing she would soon release him to let him fuck her without a condom was heaven. That kind of trust required commitment. Days ago, he’d have refused. Now he couldn’t think of a reason why he should.
But thought went south, especially when she began sucking him with deliberate purpose. Adding in her hand, she stroked him while she sucked, keeping him rock hard and ready to blow.
Music still played. The lights above seemed far away and the smell of salt-laced air continued. Hoping their supernatural visitor, if there really was one with them, was entertained, Hazard could do little more than grunt and groan and shift his hips.
HazardsDare Page 23
