by Lynda Aicher
Better.
Allie closed the screen then turned her phone completely off. She never did that. But right now, she didn’t want the outside world intruding.
She was reaching around to set her phone on the end table when Seth returned. He strode through the door, pausing to look her over before closing it behind him. Her whole body went hot from his scorching survey alone.
He set his bag and laptop on the kitchen counter before coming over to her. He lifted her legs up then sat on the couch with a heavy sigh as he lowered her legs back to his lap.
“Everything okay?” she asked. There was tired sag to his shoulders and face that she understood too well.
He rubbed his eyes before he lifted his head from the back of the couch to smile at her. “Yeah. Tyler still sleeping?”
She glanced toward the bedroom. “I think so.”
“Good. He needs it.” He rubbed a hand up her bare leg. Seth had given her one of his T-shirts to wear after her shower. His appreciative grin was reward enough for going along with his not-so-subtle suggestion. “How about you? Doing okay?”
Her heart did a flip when his fingers teased under the hem of the shirt to caress her upper thigh. He really was too damn sexy. “I’m good,” she managed to answer then plowed on, giving him the full truth. “I’m a little shaken, but it’s not bad.”
He shifted to face her more. “Regrets?” He lifted a brow.
“None.” Not even a little.
“I wasn’t sure you’d still be here.” His fingers were tracing small designs on her thigh as they edged upward.
She tried to suppress a giggle when he found a ticklish spot. It didn’t work. She grabbed his hand. “That tickles.”
His smile erased the lingering fatigue on his face and replaced it with the commanding Dom who still intimidated her just a touch. She’d finally admitted that to herself. His touch changed, becoming firmer as he spread his palm over her abdomen, her hand remaining on his over the shirt.
“Why’d you come back?” The heat from his touch seemed to go straight through her skin to reach her core.
She wet her lips, his steady gaze compelling her to be honest. “I couldn’t stay away.” Her words were soft and exposing. She flashed him a wide grin and lowered her lashes. “I’d be stupid to turn down a chance with two sexy men.”
The pause that followed succeeded in unnerving her. She looked away.
“Do you trust me yet?” The sharp edge of authority was tempered by the gentleness of his voice.
How did she respond? There were so many layers to trust. She studied her toes, the burgundy polish gleaming back at her. “I believe that you’re not out to harm or take advantage of Tyler.”
His hand inched down, his fingers teasing her pubic hair. “I don’t think you ever truly believed that, did you?”
Her toes wiggled. “Maybe some. At first. But not really, no.” The admission burned and blended deep in her stomach with the heat from his hand.
“What are you afraid of, Allie?”
The bark of laughter that burst out of her chest was pure reflex. “You.” The word hung between them. She closed her eyes as she absorbed what she’d given him. Power.
“Me or what I am?”
“Both.” It was the Dom who threw her at first. But now, she equally feared the tender, caring man who proved to be even more dangerous. To her heart.
“What scares you?” His voice held no anger, only curiosity tinged with concern.
She met his gaze. The only way to conquer any fear was to meet it head on. “You’re everything I shouldn’t want. My upbringing—my life—didn’t prepare me for you.”
“So you want me?” He wiggled his brows.
Laughing, she thumped him in the chest with her knee. “Jerk.”
His chuckle was deep, full and reached in to calm her rising nerves. He removed his hand to grab her leg and the air swooped in to cool her stomach. “Seriously though, what about me is so terrifying?”
“Well, that’s a bit strong.” She nudged him with the knee he still held captive. “The Dungeon stuff freaked me out some.”
“But only some?” He searched her eyes and there was no need for her to answer. “What else?”
She blew out a breath, going for broke. “You were obviously attracted to Tyler. Possessive of him from the second I arrived.” She shrugged. “I didn’t think you’d be interested in me if you were into him.”
“Jealous?”
He was way too perceptive. “Envious, maybe?” The half grin she gave him was met with one of his own.
“Are you past that now?”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, obviously or I wouldn’t be here.”
“Good. And what about this?” He slid his hand down to run a finger through her wet pussy. She gasped and her legs jerked at the intimate touch. “Why’d you leave your panties off?”
He circled his finger around her opening before rubbing over her clit. He had her. She bit her lip until he lifted the pressure and she could think to answer. “Because you told me to.” It’d been decadent and something she’d never done before.
“And you listened.” He tilted her chin around with his free hand until she looked at him. “Why?”
“You’re the Dom,” she tossed back. “You tell me.”
He slipped his fingers into her channel, his thumb on her clit matching the slow stroking motion. She squirmed, the leather flexing under her foot. It was almost impossible to focus on the conversation when he was doing that to her. “You want to be dominated. Sexually. You long for the freedom but fear it too.”
She jerked her chin away from his grip, her lips thinning. “I won’t be weak.”
In the next instant, she was lifted up and straddling his lap. He cupped her face and took advantage of her open mouth to kiss her with that controlling command that turned her to jelly. His tongue took over, circling around hers before thrusting deep to pull her in. He nipped, sucked then nipped again until her nipples tingled and her pussy clenched with the urge to be filled.
He eased back, and she would have followed if his hold hadn’t held her back. She opened her eyes, her breath panting to find him staring at her. His eyes were that rich golden-brown that she recognized from last night.
“Giving yourself to us, submitting to me or Tyler does not make you weak.” There was an intensity to his voice that made her shiver.
Did she dare to believe him? “If I give you all of the control and power, then by definition, I am defenseless and weak.”
He shook his head. “Not with us. Not with this. Submitting to another takes huge amounts of control and strength, which you have.” He kissed her lightly, his lips grazing hers in a tender touch. “But most importantly, it requires complete trust. BDSM is about more than pain, whips and chains.”
“I know that,” she whispered. “But I still don’t understand it.”
“It takes more courage to willing give yourself to a Dom than it does for the Dom to tie you down.” He searched her face, his eyes going distant before they focused on hers. “But as a Dom, I’ll cherish everything you give me. Your trust is precious and I would never hurt you with it. I can only have what you give me. In that way, you control me.”
Her breath caught at the depth of emotion displayed in Seth’s eyes. She might be able to brush off his words, but she couldn’t deny what she saw. He meant what he said. Completely. She had no idea how to respond.
He smiled. “You enjoyed last night, right?”
“Yes.” He grinned at her emphatic response. The heat rose over her face, but she held his gaze. “A lot.”
He slid his hands under the hem of her shirt then pushed it up, his palms smoothing up her sides. “Lift.”
She swallowed then complied. A second later she was naked. His jeans were coarse against her bare bottom, his shirt soft under her hands. Her nipples puckered, waiting for his touch. She leaned in to kiss him, but he shook his head and she stilled.
“You’re bea
utiful.” His voice was pitched low and sultry, which matched the growing heat of the room. Yet he only touched her with his gaze that raked down and back up. “I’ve been enthralled by you since I saw you enter The Den in that sexy red Mardi Gras dress. Your face might have been hidden, but your desires and fears were on display even then.” He ran a finger down the line of her jaw. “You don’t know how many Doms Jake and I chased off that night. There was no way anyone was going to have you but me.”
Her throat was dry and she hunted for a witty comeback but came up blank. He’d wanted her then, had known just from seeing her that she longed to submit. To him. “But you didn’t do or say anything.”
“You weren’t ready. Not then.” The need that smoldered in his eyes had her pulse thumping a rapid beat. “Will you trust me here? Now?”
Yes, but... She glanced toward the bedroom. “What about Tyler?”
“This is between us. We’ll talk to him. He’ll understand.”
“How do you know?” How did three people interact with each other? Would Tyler be jealous or feel left out?
“Have faith in the three of us. No one is here to hurt the other.”
He was right. She was still uneasy about it, but it didn’t feel wrong either. “Okay,” she breathed. “I trust you.”
The flash of approval that lit up his eyes reached out to wrap around her chest. A shiver of apprehension and thrill shuddered down her spine.
“Grasp your hands behind your head and hook your feet around my calves.” The firm command was given in a tone just a few octaves deeper and richer than his normal voice. And like last night, it reached into her and flipped that unknown switch that had her obeying.
The new position forced her breasts out and spread her knees wide. She was completely exposed on his lap. Her gaze shot behind him to scan the empty roof of the next building outside his windows. It was the middle of a weekday afternoon and she didn’t want any witnesses besides Seth.
“Good.” He kissed a trail down her neck before lifting her hair so it lay down her back. “Hold that pose. Keep her elbows back and open to me. Don’t move unless I tell you to.”
She blew out a long breath of desire. “Yes, Seth.”
He leaned over and fished an ice cube out of her forgotten glass of water. A gleam of mischief lightened his eyes. “Remember, don’t move.”
Even though she anticipated what he was going to do, it was impossible not to arch away when he ran the ice cube between the valley of her breasts. It was freezing against her heated skin.
Instantly, his other hand was at her back, forcing her spine straight. “Hold the pose, Allie. This is where your control comes in. Use your strength to give me what I want.”
A cold river of melted ice rolled down her stomach and around her belly button before it was trapped by her pubic hair. It would be nearly impossible not to move, but that was the point. The challenge. She smiled. “Yes, Seth.”
Seth grabbed the glass off the end table and proceeded to trace icy patterns across her chest, over her abdomen and down her arms. The strain of holding still against the biting cold slowly faded into a hazy fog as her focus shifted. Seth took his time covering every inch of her front from her neck to her knees. Everything except her nipples. The omission stood out until she could think of nothing but having the ice there.
“Please,” she whimpered. Her arms and thighs ached and her shoulder blades protested the unaccustomed position. But she wasn’t begging to be released.
“Tell me. What do you want?” He blew a steamy trail of air directly on one of her neglected nipples. The contrast of blazing heat surrounded by the lingering chill made her whimper.
“There, please.” She sucked in a breath. “I need ice there.”
“Where?” He breathed another hot breath over her other nipple. The warmth spread inward to pool in her core and her thighs trembled.
“My nipples,” she gasped. “Please.”
Seth fished the last cube out of the glass and set it aside. She cried out at the first touch of the ice against her nipple. It seared into her chest and her muscles tensed as she absorbed the shock that set her on fire.
“Don’t come,” Seth snapped. “That’s mine. You don’t come until I say.”
The ice landed on her other nipple at the same time that Seth sucked the cold one into his mouth. Hot and cold, pain but not. He grazed then bit the newly chilled nub and her world became nothing more than his mouth on her breast. Cold versus heat and the lingering prickles that shot from the oversensitive tips straight to her wet pussy.
The intensity was dizzying by itself. Combined with the effort it took to maintain the ridge position, and she was lost. The sob that burst out couldn’t communicate the emotions that swamped her.
“Easy, Allie,” he soothed. He grabbed her wrists and lowered her arms to circle them around his neck. He tapped her ankles. “Release.”
She unhooked her feet and sank against him. “Oh, my God,” she panted into his neck. Her nipples were on fire—even the soft cotton of his shirt made them ache. But she wanted nothing more than to rub into the material until the throbbing stopped.
He lifted her and she found herself being spread out on the soft rug in front of the couch. “I’ll be right back.”
She closed her eyes and everything became magnified. Her breath still heaved, her heart pounded, her thigh and shoulder muscles uncoiled. And those were all secondary to the yearning that pulsed in her breasts and core. She’d never been so aware of her own body.
Her fingers curled into the plush pile of the rug when the rustle of ice and the clink of cubes hitting a glass foretold Seth’s intent. She opened her eyes to see him return with a glass of ice in one hand, a pair of cuffs in the other. His hair shone glossy and soft in the sunlight where it rested on his bare shoulders. He’d removed his shirt and her gaze lingered on the strong chest and small trail of hair that disappeared into the waistband of his jeans. She could come just looking at him.
But she couldn’t, not until he said. The challenge of meeting that demand set her mind and body aflame. The fact that he got that about her had her stomach twisting in knots.
He didn’t say anything more as he cuffed her wrists then lifted her arms over her head and attached the other ends to the couch leg. He spread her hair out then shifted her hips down until her arms were straight. Last, he bent her knees and spread her legs wide. Everywhere he touch left a smoldering mark on her skin.
The thought of how she must look sparked a flash of panic. She sucked in a breath and tugged on the restraints.
“You’re stunning, Allie.” The hot rush of his breath hit her stomach before his tongue circled her belly button. “You’re safe with me.”
She was. “Yes, Seth.”
His rumble of approval vibrated against her abdomen before he moved between her legs. His jeans chafed her inner thighs as his chest pressed to hers. The weight of him was heavenly. “Open your eyes.”
She did. She hadn’t realized she’d closed them again.
He kissed her brow. “No hiding. Use your safe word if you need to, but don’t close me out. I want see every reaction.”
“Okay.” Her reply came out in a rasp that was consumed by his passionate kiss. He released her mouth to nibble his way down her body. He stopped to lavish her breasts in another round of heated attention filled with nips and sucks before continuing on. The exposed piping on the black ceiling became her focal point, but her attention was solely on Seth.
He placed his hands on her raised knees. “Keep them spread.” Then he set the short rocks glass filled with ice on her lower abdomen. Her muscles contracted immediately from the cold. “You’re going to hold this glass right here while I play.” He flashed a wicked grin. “Don’t let it fall.”
The chill was already sinking into her skin. Could she do it, given what she thought was coming next? “Yes.”
Everything became about keeping that glass still. It was the only thing she had to do and she w
ouldn’t disappoint Seth. Somehow it grounded her.
He ran the first cold trail of ice in a slow stroke from her clit, circled her vagina, then down to anus. A breath hissed through her teeth, but she held still against the burning sensation that was contrary to what she expected. It was a different kind of pain and she struggled to process it. Not exactly hurting, yet uncomfortable enough to cause her to wince. It was shocking with its sharp intensity then oddly soothing as the cold quickly faded.
He held a cube to her clit until she cried out against the numbing cold. “I can’t.” She lifted her head and saw the glass wobble. No! She could.
Seth didn’t respond, but he waited until she dropped her head to the ground and exhaled. He stroked a hand down the inside of her thigh and the blazing heat of his mouth consumed her pussy. His tongue flicked over her icy clit until it prickled with heat. His fingers drove into her channel at the same time he sucked hard on her nub.
Sound was her only release point and it poured out of her mouth in a series of noises she couldn’t classify. From guttural to whimpers, they all flowed freely as everything narrowed to two things—keeping the glass still and Seth.
The circle of skin under the glass had gone numb and she centered on that. Her hands were clenched into fists, every muscle pulled taut against the rising urge to thrash upon the rug and come.
“Here.”
Her eyelids fluttered, and his strong face came into focus. She opened her mouth automatically. He traced the ice cube over her lips before placing it on her tongue. She took a long, hard suck and swished it around her mouth, savoring the refreshing liquid in her parched throat.
He removed the glass and straddled her chest, his erection bobbing proudly before him. She didn’t know when he’d removed his pants, but she was grateful. She wanted his dick with an urgency that had her begging. “Please.”
His lids lowered, the look one of burning desire. “Please, what?”
“Let me suck your dick.” She’d never asked for that. It burned a trail of decadence straight to her pussy. She swallowed the last of the ice cube right before he pushed his cock into her mouth. He groaned and she sucked on the velvety skin that was like flames within her frigid mouth.
