“Hope I’m not prying here, but is he always on edge like that?” I asked as I portioned out the coffee.
Noah snorted. “Yes. We aren’t old money. We built our business from the ground up together. It’s been our baby for the past ten years. Well, his baby. I’m just along for the ride. Come to think of it, I don’t think Ethan has taken a vacation in all that time. Incidentally he also doesn’t believe in days off. If that man could work in his sleep he would do it. Knowing him, he probably has.”
That made me feel sort of bad. For the both of them. Here Noah was, no doubt the more social of the brothers, trying to find some measure of human companionship amidst the fervor of running a tumultuous, however successful, business. And there Ethan was, a hard-headed man with narrow vision of what the measure of success meant to him who was doing the only thing he probably knew how to. Anyone, even the strongest among the people I knew, could only endure that sort of strain on their shoulders for a short time before it buckled them and brought them to their knees.
“I don’t believe him, Sir,” I tried to reassure him. “I don’t believe that you would throw me away like that. Not after everything we talked about.”
Noah slipped the skillet into the sink, then came back to me. He ran his hands over my shoulders and down my biceps in a subtle way of reassuring me this time. “Good because I am not planning on it. This does mean, however, that I have to leave for a while.”
My stomach knotted in on itself. “How long will you be gone?”
“I have to go to Paris for this contract. For three weeks. I would have told Ethan to take a long walk off a short pier, but he doesn’t speak French so I’m kind of obligated.”
Between breakfast and his sudden trip to Paris I was beginning to see a building theme for the day.
“You speak French?”
He brushed his lips against mine. “Oui, mon cher.”
Selfish as it was, I didn’t want him to go. I would have gladly given up all normalcy in my life to be with him twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Life, though, was crashing back in around us after our insane, wild, beautiful weekend together. I had to hold onto it for a little longer before he slipped away for the better part of a month.
“Would it be too forward of me to ask to stay another night then?”
He smiled. “I have a better idea, my pet. Come with me.”
My eyes bulged. “What? To Paris?”
“Have you ever been?”
I shook my head.
“It’s glorious. You’ll love it.”
Yes! Absolutely! But just as I thought it, reality set in. Fuck reality. Reality is a cold-hearted whore. This was the fantasy-land I wanted to reside in forever. I groaned a little and lowered my gaze. “I wish I could, Sir, but finals are in two weeks. I have to be there. I’m so sorry.”
“Graduating with a Master’s degree is more important than being whisked away by me for my own self-centered reasons, isn’t it? Still,” he sighed and wrapped his arms around me in a caring embrace. “Three whole weeks without my newly acquired and most prized possession… I guess that just means I’ll have to torment you mercilessly today and leave you waiting for my return.”
I really, really liked the sound of that. I could already feel myself getting turned on just from his voice. “Then I’m eager to see what you have in store for me, Sir.”
***
Over breakfast, we talked about our list of Nevers. We would have to reschedule Paris until I wrapped up my Master’s degree. In fact, everything would have to wait until then so that we would both be in the same city.
Because I was by no means an invalid or a beggar, I all but demanded that I put forth my fair share of the cost for the trips. Not only was my savings account in the best shape of my life, but I’d been guaranteed a position at the observatory once I graduated. Assuming that the latest grants from Wellington International and a more recent second company, ExecTeck, pulled through then I’d be able to afford it as long as I could slip in the time off.
The grants were a problem for Future Piper. I had no control over them. All I could do was make the best presentation possible and pray I put it in layman’s terms well enough that they understood it.
“Here,” Noah said. He passed me a notepad and a pen, his own little notebook in his other hand. As he moved to sit near me on the couch, he added, “Start writing. If the list is going to be extensive, we need a plan and not just a varied array of ideas.”
I stared at the blank pink and blue lines for what seemed like ages trying to think of all the places I wanted to go, events I wanted to participate in, and people I just had to see before I died. All I could think about was that never had I ever grabbed an electric fence. This certainly felt like the moment right before I was about to.
He glanced over at me. “You’re not writing.”
“No. I—wait.” The sudden sobriety of life hit me as if emerging with a little bit of clarity from the fog of early morning. I didn’t want this to be a dream, I just couldn’t help thinking there was a catch. “When does the other shoe drop?”
“Pardon?”
“Come on, really?”
Noah clicked his pen. “I’m not asking you to run away with me, Piper. It’s not like we won’t come back.”
“It’s just that you kind of are. You’re asking me to travel the world with you and I don’t know anything about you. It’s a little intimidating.”
“Yes, but you trust me.”
“Here, yes, I do.”
“Why does that change out there?” He motioned towards the open expanse of the city through the massive windows of his living room.
Did it? Maybe. The difference between the sense of protection of the city I knew so well and, well, one I didn’t was vast.
I gave him a sideways and rather reserved smile. “Humor me?”
He took a deep breath, reclined against the couch, and put one arm up against the back as he stared at me. “I’m an open book. What would you like to know?”
“About, you know, you.”
“You met my brother, my only sibling. We grew up here in California in a fairly middle class sort of world. My parents were doting and kind, though not without their vices.”
I waved my hand in a kill gesture. “No, no, no. Those are just facts.”
He shrugged. “What else is there?”
“You,” I pressed. “What makes Sir Noah tick?”
A goofy, real smile which lit him up accompanied his laugh. “I like that.”
“You’re dodging the question.”
After placing his notepad on the coffee table and setting the pen atop it, he rested his forearms against his thighs and threaded his fingers together. “Okay, I’ll bite.” He eyed me and shook his head in what appeared to be disbelief that he was divulging anything more about himself. “I was an incredibly awkward teenager. Spent more of my time breaking and fixing computers than I should ever admit to in a public forum. I loathe reality TV. My favorite superhero is Deadpool for his amazing comedic timing in breaking the fourth wall. Favorite word is terpsichorean.”
“Terpsichore?” I sat back against the couch as I mulled the word over. “That’s… the name of a Muse, isn’t it?”
“And I’m not telling you which one.”
I’d look it up later. “Go on.”
“I lost my virginity at seventeen to a girl who later told me I was a pity fuck, which is probably why I dove headlong into sex the way I’ve had it ever since. Now that I think about it, I should track her down and thank her for that wake-up call. And, the last thing you’re getting out of me today, is that I am deathly afraid of not finishing what I start.”
They were still facts, but at least they were facts about him and not facts about his family. “Is that a subtle hint you want to finish these lists?”
He nodded once, slowly. “And then fulfill them.”
“Thank you. I appreciate the bit of insight.”
I clicked my pen open and
began my list.
We created two lists; one of them contained a list of socially acceptable Nevers and the other contained Nevers that only we would know about. The sexy ones.
Our collective list of Clean Nevers wound up including, but was not by any means limited to: Climb a volcano, dye my hair a wild color, sleep out under the stars, catch fireflies, visit as many states and countries as we possibly could, go white water rafting, launch a sky lantern, learn archery, sail, drive a Formula 1 race car, watch a live rocket launch, shake hands with the Dali Lama, get a piercing someplace other than my ears, get a tattoo, hit a bull’s-eye on a dartboard, discover and name a new celestial body, be part of a flash mob, and see the Aurora Borealis.
The list of Nevers which contained all of our sexual escapades was significantly longer than our list of Clean Nevers, and Noah did most of the writing on it, more or less hiding it from me so that it would remain a surprise. I glimpsed words like “Suspension” and “Public”, but nothing that would give me much of a clue as to the extent of what he wanted to plan.
By the time the lists were compiled it was mid afternoon. We migrated from the sofa to kitchen and back into the living room again to lounge on the sofa, discussing every topic from where we wanted to go first to the places we wanted to take each other but had already been ourselves.
“I think we ought to take a camping trip when you get back, Sir,” I suggested. I curled my legs up onto the couch and leaned my head against his shoulder. “We could knock out at least five of the bullet points right there if we played our cards right.”
“That’s not a bad thought. It’s a first step sort of start to get the ball rolling. I like it.”
I smiled at the approval. “Three weeks are all we have to wait, then it’s off to insane adventure tucked between work and our passions.”
Noah repositioned himself on the couch so that he was facing me. “You’re going to be okay while I’m gone, right?”
I nodded. “I’ll miss the hell out of you, but I think I can survive three weeks. Besides, you’re quite the distraction. I don’t know how much studying I’d get done with you around. And I mean that in the best way possible.”
“Good.”
“Wow, you actually take my word for it. I’m rather surprised you’re not doing something insane like sticking a security detail on me or other nonsense.”
Noah made a self-deprecating noise in the back of his throat. “Please. You’re a big girl. You can take care of yourself. Hell, you would probably kick the security detail’s ass if I tried to. No, Piper, I chose you because you’re a strong woman, not a damsel in distress. No body guards required, no paperwork, and no headache for me.”
I laughed. “I’m pleased to hear it, Sir.”
“Now,” he said, the tone of his voice drifting into something a little sterner. He reached for the belt around my robe. One tug later and the bow slipped away and the fabric tilted off my shoulders. “I have roughly six hours to utterly ravage you. Where shall I begin?”
{CHAPTER SEVEN}
There was not a reason in the world to be nervous. So far the sex had been hot and edgy; nothing at all like what I experienced prior to meeting him. Making love was fine before. It felt great. This, though, was on a whole new level of pleasure. This took the notion of making love and ratcheted it up ten-fold. I wanted to be good for him, to make sure he came back from his three weeks away and wanted me again. Because it sure as hell was good for me, and I was certain that when he returned my mind wouldn’t have changed. So, I was shaking. It was a subtle shake, but it was there.
I was kneeling on the bed again. Naked, of course. This time, a wide towel had been placed beneath me. I was unsure of what the significance of that was, and it did sort of scare me a little.
“As far as we have come in this short time, you’re still unsure about this,” Noah remarked. He stood at the foot of the bed and pulled at the loop of a chain of red wine colored rope so that it straightened out into his hands.
I averted my gaze. “Yes, Sir.”
“No, don’t look away, look at me,” he said. He stopped working at the rope and slipped a finger underneath my chin. He guided my head up and brushed his thumb across my lips. “Clear your mind, dear one. Listen to my voice. Nothing else exists beyond the both of us right now. We are the only two people in the world. Keep your head held high and proud. You should never be ashamed of what you are or who you belong to. You are a fine woman in need of someone else to take the control away from you and bring out the sensual slut that you really are. In that surrender, you will find further strength in yourself. Do you understand?”
It meant that I no longer had to be on guard. It meant that I could let myself go with no consequences and allow him to guide me. Noah may have grasped the general concept of what the words meant, but he couldn’t have known the depth of freedom I felt rise up off my soul when he said them.
“I do understand, Sir.”
“This is not a thing I am forcing on you. You are giving it freely. You have nothing to fear from me. Do you trust me?”
I did trust him; implicitly, in fact. “With every iota of my existence.”
He smiled. “Don’t worry; there won’t be near as much pain tonight as there was last night. Last night I wanted to see what your threshold was.”
At least that would give my body the reprieve it needed.
“Put your arms out, wrists slightly apart.”
I did just as he finished folding the rope over itself so that the tips were touching. Wordlessly, he laid the rope over my hands and wrapped it loosely around my wrists until only a small section remained. When he finished, he threaded the rope between my hands and synched them together. It was secured with an overhand knot.
“Good girl,” he said.
Noah pressed the tips of his fingers below my collar bone and pushed. I fell back onto the bed. After retrieving several more lengths of rope from the chest in the corner, he moved to the right side of the bed. He bent my right leg and pulled it up so my foot was on the bed for just long enough to secure a slightly longer length of rope around my thigh and my calf and keep it bent. The same was then done to my left leg. Once that was complete, he parted my legs until they were flush against the bed, the soles of my feet touching one another as if in some awkwardly comfortable yoga position.
There were two lengths of rope left. The first he tied off to the rope on my left leg. He threw it under the bed with enough force to make it slide clear to the other end. He found it on the other side, pulled it taut, and attached it to the rope on my right leg. With the final piece of rope, he connected the bindings on my wrists to a slat in the headboard directly above me. Even if I struggled I wouldn’t be going anywhere.
He ran his hand down the length of rope from the top of the headboard, over my hands and down my arms. I took a deep breath, immersing myself in his touch, all but whimpering when he pulled away from me.
“Someone’s a little anxious to be used tonight,” Noah laughed.
I couldn’t answer him. He was right, of course. I had no idea what was in store for me, but I longed to discover it, whatever it was. And I didn’t have to wait long. Noah went back to the chest to pluck from it a red pillar candle. His hand dove into the pocket of his plaid pajama bottoms—he never changed out of them the whole day—and he pulled out a lighter.
“Wax is underutilized these days, I think,” he began to explain. “Nobody really gives it as much attention as it deserves but it remains one of my favorite tools in the bedroom. And I think you have the nerve to take it, pet.”
The candle was lit. I watched, mesmerized by the flickering fire on the wick while it melted away the wax. He brought it closer to me, the candle hovering a foot above my chest. My eyes were wide with excitement and reservation.
He held it over me, tilting it ever so slightly. He teased me, moving from one side of my body to the other while he decided where he would drip it first. All the while it pooled in the crevasse of hi
gh wax walls that barely kept it at bay. I just wanted him to pour it out on me. I wanted to feel the sting of it and the warmth cascade through me with the prickling of heat.
No sooner did I think that than did the wax fall. It dripped in a short string in the valley of my breasts and rolled several inches down my skin until it cooled to a stop. The heat turned to warmth, but never fully dissipated, just lingered where it fell in an echo of a memory. I clenched my hands into fists as the next target, my left breast, was splashed in red. He kept the candle tilted so the melting wax would constantly drip across my skin while he guided it to my hard nipple. He continued over to my right breast. The wax ran like water off my skin and onto the towel below me.
Noah flicked some of the dried wax from my chest. “Not too much for you, I hope.”
“No, it feels incredible.”
I was answered with another ribbon of wax being poured onto my stomach. I arched my back in reflex which caused it to slide further down my belly as it cooled. The wax was circled around my navel, then trickled slowly down across my thighs. My body reacted with an involuntary twitch here or a jerk there. The thought process behind tying me down became more evident with each drop on the more sensitive areas of my skin.
“I love the way your body responds to me,” he said. Before I had the chance to reply the candle was turned again and the waiting wax spilled onto my clit. My breath caught in my throat. A cough transitioned into a moan and I tensed at the sensations. Noah added, “Just like that,” as it dripped hot and fast onto my outer lips.
It snaked its way between the folds of my pussy until, after several minutes of drop after drop falling from a foot above me, the wax incased the whole of my sex in its heat. Wax wasn’t so much a tool of torture as it was a tool of pleasure. The pain was not pain at all even by normal standards. It was a sting of glee that made me so very wet.
Then, as quickly as the candle was lit, it was snuffed. Noah placed it on the bedside table. While the wax on my body hardened, he turned to address me. His face was harsh and serious.
Never Have I Ever Page 10
