Zoe scratched the cat behind her ears. “She was a gift from you. I couldn’t part with her.” The cat sniffed the air, then jumped onto the floor. “Besides, she’s my best friend. She listens when no one else will and lets me cry on her. Most of the time anyway.”
“Still nosy.” The corner of Torin’s mouth kinked into a smile. “I wanted to call you so many times.”
Zoe clutched his hand. “You’re here now.”
Torin tapped his foot. For being such a badass on stage, in the presence of Zoe he felt like a dork. She appraised him with a smile and kept her hand in his. She claimed he never actually hurt her. His brain refused to process her words. Visions of the red marks on her ass came to mind.
“I want to hear all the gory details. Tell me why you left.”
“I did.” His back ached from sitting up straight. “I’m a monster.”
“Maybe on stage, but not in the way you think. You work the crowd like few performers I’ve seen. Trust me, in front of seventeen thousand screaming fans, you kill.” She released her grasp on him and opened the panel on the coffee table. She retrieved a book from beneath the table. “But us? That’s something altogether different. See this?” She pointed to the photographs on the first page. “What we shared was something beautiful.”
He stared at the couple in the image. The man held a crop and posed behind a woman decked out in a blindfold, a chain draping from the collar about her throat to the cuffs adorning her wrists. Torin shifted his hips and turned to hide his erection. Heat enveloped his body and he imagined Zoe in the photo instead of the woman. His mouth watered and he yearned to be the one holding the crop. God, he missed Zoe.
“They do that out of love for each other. I know. I took the picture.” She caressed the image. “Juniper and Jacoby are dear friends of mine.” She flipped to another picture, this one where the woman sat in a swing while the man kissed her foot. “It’s a power play like ours is.” Her voice caught. “Ours was. Yes, he’s the one with the crop and the key to the cuffs, but she’s the one who ultimately controls things. If she says no, then that’s it. The same went for us. I know when I told you to stop, you would. You respected me, even if you thought you were hurting me.” She smoothed her hand over his cheek. “I’ve always been different. I need a little pain to give me the most pleasure.”
“Is that so?” Torin leaned into her touch. “You know you can’t show me photographs like that and expect me not to want you.”
“I know.” The rosy hue on the apples of her cheeks spread down the column of her throat to the upper swell of her breasts. “Turns me on, too.”
Torin kissed her hand, tasting the salt on her skin. She still smelled like wild flowers and so addicting. “I want you.”
Her lips parted and fire burned in her eyes. “Yes, Sir.”
The part of him swearing he’d hurt her lost out to the part of him needing to take her. He pulled her across his lap and held her tight to his groin. He feasted on her mouth. Zoe writhed on the bulge in his jeans and whimpered.
He broke the connection and held the hem of her blouse in his hands. “Mine, Zoe. All mine.”
Chapter Three
His. She shivered. No matter how many times she convinced herself she didn’t need him, she knew down deep in her heart it was a lie. But she had to say something to break the tension.
“The shirt is yours? I suppose.” She bit back a grin.
“The woman in it is.” Heat smouldered in his eyes. “I want you.”
Thoughts swirled in her mind. Telling him he hadn’t hurt her wasn’t enough. She needed to show him. “Sir, I want to play a new game with you.”
“How so?” One brow rose. “What kind?”
“You worry you’re hurting me.” Her hands trembled. “What if I demonstrate on you what you do to me?”
He stared at her for what seemed like an eternity before he nodded. “Yes. Put me in my place.”
“Not out of spite. Never out of spite.”
“No, babe. Because it shows we’re equal.” He nudged her off his lap and stood. Torin removed his jacket and placed it across the back of the chair. He then whipped his shirt over his head and popped the button on his jeans. His boots and socks ended up side by side on the mat while his shirt and pants were placed in a neat stack on the floor.
Pride welled in her heart. He did all the things he expected from her. She snapped her fingers. “Take off the boxers.”
Torin stepped out of his boxers and dropped to his knees on the carpet. “What should I call you? Mistress?”
“Mistress works.” She snapped her fingers. “Head down and crawl to the bedroom.”
“Yes, Mistress.” He bowed his head. His ass swayed as he moved across the carpet. The muscle in his body bunched and twisted with every graceful step.
The tattoo of her name still decorated his shoulder blades. Zoe followed on his heels. “You kept the tat, I see.”
Torin stopped at her bedroom doorway. “I did, Mistress. Wasn’t ready to let go.”
“Good.” She swatted his ass, leaving a rosy print in her wake. “Go on. You’re not there yet.”
He started forward and she slapped his bottom again. “Excuse me?”
The tips of his ears tinged a bright red. “I’m sorry, Mistress. Forgive me. Thank you, Mistress.”
“Better.” She gave him one more slap for good measure. Her hand tingled. She enjoyed the power, but wanted to give it back to him. First, she needed the tools to bind him. Shit. Her handcuffs wouldn’t fit his wrists. She tapped her bottom lip. There was the blindfold.
Torin came to a stop at the foot of her bed. He remained on all fours. She patted his head, then rummaged through her lingerie drawer in the bureau. “I have something for you, Pet.” She slid the silk through her fingers and suppressed a shiver. “I haven’t used this in a long time.” Not since him anyway.
“Stand, Pet.”
“Yes, Mistress.” Torin rose to his full height. “What next?”
Zoe pinched one of his nipples. “I didn’t give you permission to speak.” She tossed the items on her bed, then sat down on the mattress. “Remove my boots.”
Torin knelt at her feet and tugged the zipper down her leg. His touch scorched her to her soul. The glint in his eyes matched the mirth on his lips. He caressed her sock-clad foot, then moved to the other boot. Again, he lingered on her insole and rubbed the tense muscle.
“Wow,” she moaned. “Magic fingers.” She’d forgotten his talent at working her body. “Enough.” Or she’d likely melt into a puddle of goo. “Stay put.”
Zoe presented him with the blindfold. “Remember this? And you may answer.”
“I bought it for you.” He touched the pink satin. “For our first time in a hotel.”
“Now it’s your turn to wear it.” She stretched the elastic, then paused. “You need a safe word.”
“Hummus.”
She blinked. “Hummus it is. Then what don’t you want to do? What are the boundaries?”
“Same as yours.” His gaze shifted to the floor. “All of them.”
She tipped his chin. “All of what?”
“I want you in my ass.” No fear, no hesitation.
“I don’t have a strap-on here. But we can later.”
“Thank you, Mistress.” He closed his eyes and leant forward.
Zoe placed the blindfold over his eyes, then scurried off the bed. She gathered his arms behind his back and wrapped the length of silk from her robe over his wrists. Torin tugged against the bindings, then stilled.
“Stand.” She grabbed his arm and helped him up and away from the bed. “You’re in my hands.”
“Thank you, Mistress,” came his reply.
Zoe strolled around her play toy, taking in every delicious inch of his body. Torin spent time at the gym, no doubt. She ran her fingers over the dips and ripples of his back. The scent of musk and pine curled around her. The tingles in her belly shot out to her limbs. He possessed the body of a Greek
God, albeit with a few tattoos sprinkled in for fun. She stopped again in front of him. His cock pointed to her and his sac sagged against his thigh. A barbell glittered from his right nipple.
Her mouth watered. Zoe scratched her nails over the bare nipple and took the pierced one between her teeth. Torin groaned and arched his back, giving her more of him. She flicked her tongue over the beaded skin. He moaned and shook his head. Trying to hold back? She wasn’t sure.
“Mistress.” He’d spoken out of turn.
Zoe released his nipple with a pop. She padded around him and opened her hand. Three cracks ricocheted around the room. “You spoke.”
“Yes, Mistress. I liked it.”
She swatted the top of his thigh beneath his ass. “But I didn’t give you permission.”
“I know.”
The cheek! She bit back a grin. He wanted the punishment. In his position, she’d have done the same thing. She dug her fingers into the flesh of his ass.
He groaned.
“I should punish you more, but I like the shade of your ass. Such a pretty pink.” She patted his hip. “More later.” Zoe sat on the edge of the bed and studied his erection. A thatch of black curls nestled at the base of his cock. She threaded her fingers into the curly strands. A bead of precum seeped from the blunt end of his dick.
“Thank you, Mistress.” His stomach muscles clenched and unclenched.
Zoe kissed the ripples of his abs and made her way down his body to his cock. She licked and nipped his inner thigh, making sure not to touch his erection. Torin whimpered and rocked his hips.
“I’m making you wait, Pet. Getting you nice and hot for me.” She traced the thick vein on the underside of his dick with the pad of her finger. Zoe smeared the cum over him, then ran her tongue through the mess. The salt exploded on her tongue and she took him all the way into her mouth. She glanced up at him. Her man. So strong and sexy and totally at her disposal.
“Fuck. Feels good.” He tilted his head back. “I want to touch you.”
She hummed, vibrating him. Him touching her sounded like heaven. And too damn quick. She should’ve made things last. Screw it. She massaged him with her tongue, then retreated.
“I’m untying you and removing the blindfold, but you’re still in my command.” She turned him around and worked the knot on the silk. “Mine.”
Torin stood still while she removed the blindfold. He blinked. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “I do belong to you.”
“Help me out of these pesky clothes.”
Torin eased the hem of her shirt up over her head. “May I kiss you?”
“I hope so.” She stared up into his eyes. “I want you to.”
Giving in to his request meant she’d given up more control, but she didn’t care. She preferred to have him run the show. Torin wrapped one arm around her shoulders and the other hand popped the button on her jeans. He licked the seam of her mouth. She opened to him and sucked on his tongue.
Torin broke the kiss first. “Fuck. I can’t wait.” He hooked his fingers into the belt loops of her jeans and tugged both the denim and her panties to the floor. He freed one of her legs from the pants, then placed her on the bed. “Mine.”
“Am I?” She braced herself for his response. “You’ve said it a lot, but I can’t make love to you if you’re not giving me everything. Do you love me?”
Chapter Four
Talk about a loaded question. Torin stared into her eyes. The gold flecks shone in the green depths. His heart shattered. Everything they’d done meant nothing if he didn’t love her. She hadn’t asked for much, just the one thing he never wanted to give away. Except he did the first day he met her. She held his heart in her hands the whole time. Now he had to prove himself to her.
“Torin?” Questions and hurt blurred in her eyes.
“Right here, love.” He drew a heart over her left breast. “I wrote ‘Love of My Life’ just for you. I might have tried to hide how I felt, but I never stopped loving you. You are the one woman to get me, warts and all. I love you so much it hurts to be away from you. If you’re willing to take my battered and bruised heart, it’s yours. Been yours all along.”
Her lips parted and she gasped. A tear slipped down her temple. “Love you, too.”
“Good.” He knelt between her thighs and breathed in her scent. Flowers and his woman - his drug of choice. Her cream slickened her pussy lips. Torin buried his face in her cunt and nipped at her labia. “Sweet Jesus, you taste like sin.”
Zoe writhed against him. “Feels like heaven.”
He palmed one of her breasts through the lace of her bra. Her legs trembled and she clasped him tight between her thighs.
“Don’t come yet, babe.” He nipped her clit, the parted her legs. “I want to lose myself in you.” Torin stroked himself. Hell. He’d finish the moment he sank into her. Next time he’d make the moment last.
Zoe opened her arms. “Come here.”
“Yes, babe.” Torin tapped his dick on her clit. “I belong to you.”
She clutched his arms and whimpered. He’d held back long enough. Torin pushed into her tight channel and groaned at the fit. Damn, she still grabbed him like a fist. Fuck. His balls tightened and he planted his hands on either side of her head.
Zoe ground her hips and massaged him from within. He couldn’t breathe. The fire in his loins filled his body. Electricity snapped in his veins. He pumped his hips.
“Mine, mine, mine,” he chanted, punctuating each thrust with another ‘mine’. Zoe clawed at his back, her nails leaving trails of heat over his skin.
“Torin.” She whimpered and arched her back. “So close.”
He nodded. “Come with me.” His restraint snapped and he gave into the waves of orgasm. His seed filled her womb. “Fuck.” He shivered from head to toe, wrung out by the climax. Torin feathered kisses to her lips, nose and cheeks. “Love you, little girl.”
For the first time since he’d met her and they’d played the domination games, he understood her part of the relationship. Yes, his ass hurt from the spanks, but not his ego. Being bound and blindfolded wasn’t denigration. He embraced the freedom and the new sensory experience. Moreover, he understood how bone deep his feelings for her ran.
A lazy smile curled her lips. “You’re thinking too hard.”
He sat back on his heels and laughter vibrated in his chest. “I am.”
She rose up on one elbow. “About what?”
“I’ll tell you once we shower. I’m sweaty and I want to hold you.” He stood and offered his hand. Zoe climbed off the bed, but the hint of hesitation filled her movements. She didn’t reach for him. She scooted out around him and dug through her dresser.
He eased up behind her. “Hey.”
Zoe wriggled from his grasp. She yanked the shirt over her head and strode away from him.
What the hell? Torin gritted his teeth. He deserved her anger. But damn it, he also deserved the chance to beg for her forgiveness. He stepped into his jeans and surged after her. Where the hell had she gone? He scoped out the kitchen, then the living room. No Zoe.
“Hell,” he muttered. Did she leave the apartment? He spotted a doorway on the far end of the living room. A balcony. Duh, each apartment had balconies to take in the view of the lake and city skyline.
Zoe rested against the railing. Her hair danced in the breeze and her shoulders shuddered. Shit. Torin hated to see her cry, especially if he’d made her upset. He bounded across the living space and pulled the sliding door open.
“What are you doing?” Torin touched her arm. “Please tell me you’re not planning on jumping.” His breath clogged in his throat. “Zoe?”
“I’m not.” She shoved a lock of inky hair from her eyes. “I’m watching the skyline and thinking about us.”
The hum of the traffic on the shore way filled his ears. Gulls swooped past the balcony and a single-engine plane buzzed by for a landing at Burke Lakefront. Planes, cars, stores, all within reach. Now all h
e needed was her. He thrust his fingers into his hair, then dropped his hands at his side. “Things get so fucked up and I don’t want to lose you, but I did because I’m an idiot. You scared me and…shit. I screwed up.”
“Sshh.” Zoe tugged his arms around her. “We met here. Cleveland is our town. How many people have relationships after having a quickie in the dressing rooms down at the stadium after a concert? I even loved our closet sized apartment on East 9th Street. It wasn’t much, but it was ours. Then you left and that tiny space was like living in no man’s land. It wasn’t the same.”
He rubbed his cheek on the top of her head. “I’m sorry.”
“I know you are. I also know you mean it when you tell me you love me.” She pointed off into the distance. “The colours are back. I’m not looking at the city in black and white. It’s ours again.”
Torin turned her around and cupped her jaw. “I’m not leaving you. Ever.”
“Don’t you have to tour?”
“I do, but there’s a catch. Well, a couple, but I’ve got a doozy for you.” Time to tell her his secret. “The meeting in the elevator wasn’t by accident.”
“No?”
“We got wind Razrs Edge is allowing other bands to record in the Atrius, so we booked a bunch of time.” He placed his finger on her lips to silence her reply. “I embraced the idea because I wanted to be here with you. If you told me to go hang, I would’ve. But I placed my bet on us - and I bought the building. I own a piece of Cleveland.”
Her eyes widened. “The Atrius?”
“No, this one. Pier Forty-Three belongs to Renegade Inc. The whole top floor is mine, or rather ours, if you’ll take my worthless ass back.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
Torin wiped the tears from her face with the pads of his thumbs. “Say you love me.” His heart pounded and his hands trembled. The longer she stared at him, the more his stomach tumbled.
“I love you very much, but I don’t know that I want to lose my apartment.”
Time for the final part of his plan. Torin dug in his pocket and palmed the tiny box. “Would you move onto the top floor,” he opened the box, “if you’re my wife?”
Smut in the City (Absolute Erotica) Page 14
