by Blue Kincaid
“Call your friend. I’d rather she didn’t go all Liam Neeson on me like you said last night.”
Drew had completely forgotten about her promise to contact Jeannie. Who could blame her, she’d spent the night having every thought but “Yes, please, more sexing!” excised from her brain.
She hesitated, glancing at Bas. “Um…how long am I staying? So…So I can tell her?”
Bas smiled, leaning in to nuzzle her mouth. She practically melted. He nodded to the phone. “However long you feel comfortable, tell her that.”
Drew didn’t know what to say. Did he really want her to decide how long she hung around his place? What if he got tired of her? What if she bored him or he wanted to go see one of the other women he must have? “Um…is for the day all right?” It was less than she wanted, but more than she normally would have dared. A decent compromise, she thought.
“For the day is good.” Then he sat up. “I’m going to go take a shower, give you some privacy to make your call. Maybe when you’re done, come join me.”
Drew watched him go, padding barefoot across the room without a stitch of clothing on, unable to even respond to his invitation. He stole her breath – all long limbs and golden skin and lean, hard muscles. Not the bulky kind, which she didn’t like, but the long, ropey sort, that spoke of yoga and running and outdoorsy stuff like rock climbing or that silly but fun-looking extreme Frisbee she sometimes saw college guys playing at the park near her apartment.
It wasn’t until the door swung mostly-shut that she was able to breathe and think again. Wow. She looked down at the phone. He’d left her alone with his phone in her hands. A person’s life was on their phone and he just blithely let her have it. Who was this man? He seemed so much more than just a stranger she met less than twelve hours before.
As tempted as she was, she didn’t rummage through the phone, just swiped it on and dialed Jeannie’s number. “It’s me.”
“Oh thank god, I was waiting for you to call!” Jeannie’s voice was doing that high-pitched only dogs can hear me thing it did when she was either excited or agitated. Drew couldn’t tell which was the case just then.
“Is everything okay?”
“Okay?? Is everything okay? My best friend hooks up with a total stranger last night and it’s now half past ten and that is way past the usual cutoff point for a one night stand…I need deets, lady. Lots of them. Wait…whose number is this?” Before Drew could answer, Jeannie sucked in a dramatic breath. “Oh my god. You’re still with him.”
Drew was glad Jeannie couldn’t see the blush heating her cheeks. She flopped back on the soft pillows with a sigh. “I think he’s got to be some kind of sociopathic killer because no guy is really this perfect. Halp.”
Jeannie giggled. “Oh my god, tell me everything. Where is he?”
“In the shower. Naked. Wet. Probably thinking of ways he could be even more perfect or, like, how he could recycle more or rescue puppies or something equally admirable. I swear to god, I have never met a guy like this.”
“And at a sex club, no less!”
“It’s not a sex club, I told you that.”
She could just imagine Jeannie’s dismissive wave. “Whatever. How’s the dick?”
Drew groaned, turning to bury her face in the pillow briefly before surfacing. “You’re so vulgar.” After a few second’s hesitation, she grinned. “It’s amazing.”
“I knew it!” Jeannie crowed. “Did he do all that kinky stuff your browser history is full of?”
Drew listened to the shower running, wondering if Bas could hear. Wondering what would happen if she did join him in there. She suddenly didn’t much want to be discussing details of her exploits with her best friend while said exploits were still happening. “I can’t really talk much more right now. I just wanted you to know I’m fine and…I’m staying for a while. Today for sure.”
“All day?” Jeannie sounded incredulous. “Oh my fucking god. Is he making you breakfast? Have you stumbled upon the extremely rare chick-flick hero in the wild?”
Drew laughed. “I love you. I’m hanging up now because there’s a Norse god in the shower waiting for me.”
“God yes, go, go! Get it, girl.”
She reached over to set the phone on the nightstand and let out a breath, glancing at the bathroom door. She could see a hint of steam, could hear the sound of him under the water…but for some reason, despite what she’d told Jeannie, she didn’t go to join him yet.
She didn’t know what was happening. Everything had gotten so turned upside down at the auction and now here she was in the bed of a man she didn’t know, a man who’d bought her, and she wasn’t sure what to do next. She’d had one night stands before, but this didn’t feel like one. She supposed now it wasn’t, since she’d agreed to stay today.
She slid out of the bed, letting the dress she’d put back on before Bas woke up fall to the floor as she headed for the bathroom. She didn’t know him…but she wanted to. What better time to start than right now? While naked?
She peeked around the corner of the open bathroom door. She’d snuck in to pee in the middle of the night, but it’d been dark and she hadn’t turned on the light so she didn’t wake Sebastian, so she wasn’t really prepared for how huge it was. It was nearly the size of her bedroom. Granted, she had a tiny bedroom, their apartment being in what was a converted old manor house on the edge of Adams Morgan, but still. She wondered suddenly what Bas did for a living. Whatever it was, he definitely made bank.
“Hi?”
The wavy glass door of the shower opened and Bas smiled, crooking one finger. “Come here.”
He didn’t have to ask twice. She joined him, sliding in past him and he shut the door again, enclosing them in the roomy, but intimate little shower room. Normally she’d feel like she was lost in a shower this big, but Bas took up a lot of space. As usual, her thoughts blurted out of her mouth. “Your bathroom is huge! But, then, so are you.”
And immediately wanted to kill herself.
Sebastian laughed, big hands sweeping her hair back from her face as it dampened in the hot mist. “You just say whatever comes to mind, don’t you?”
She was probably red as a lobster and she hoped he thought it was because of the heat in the bathroom. “It’s kind of a thing, I know. Sorry. I meant you’re tall. And…broad.” She winced. “Oh god, I’m going to shut up any minute now.”
Bas rescued her by tugging her into his arms with a warm laugh and bending to kiss her. Oh good, she couldn’t say mortifying things with his tongue in her mouth. She leaned against him, squeaking a little when he lifted her off her feet to reach her better. She grinned against his mouth and wound her arms around his neck, letting him take her weight as she kissed him back. When he broke the kiss and set her down, she was glad he didn’t let go abruptly or she might have fallen. The man made her dizzy like some swooning southern belle.
“Thanks.” If only he could follow her around all the time and kiss her to save her from her runaway mouth.
“My pleasure. How’d you sleep?”
Ah, deft subject change, bless him. “Like a rock.” She peer up at him and smiled. “Tends to happen when I’ve been, uh…” She waved her hand. “You know.”
“Happen often?”
Drew slid around him to get under the spray of one of the four nozzles on the walls. “Being nosy?” she teased.
“Absolutely. A man has to know his competition.”
Drew suddenly remembered Chad and felt a sting of guilt, even though she knew she had no reason for it. “Well, you met Chad…”
Bas snorted. “He’s not competition.”
Drew might normally think a guy who said something like that was overly cocky, but…well, look at him. He wasn’t lying. She felt like it’d be disloyal to agree outright with him, though, so she didn’t say anything.
Sebastian lifted his brows at her silence. “Or perhaps he is. Well, then I’m glad you’re staying.”
She glanced up a
t him. “Why?”
His arms slid around her again, drawing her closer. “Because I don’t think I like the idea of anyone standing between me and you.”
Drew had no idea what his intense fascination was with her, but unlike Chad’s focused interest, Bas’s didn’t make her feel suffocated. Just overwhelmed and really, really turned on. She slid her hands up his broad, soapy chest, leaning closer. “There’s nothing between us right now.” And she’d very much like to keep it that way for as long as possible. What had begun as one night was rapidly becoming something she didn’t want to end.
Bas’s smile turned hot, like the steam that surrounded them. She could just about feel the sizzle of his gaze on her skin. He took her breath away with just a look. And she knew what he could do with more, her insides quivering in anticipation of a repeat performance.
He reached over to shut the water off and Drew let him lead her out of the shower, blushing when he grabbed a towel and began to dry her off. It was incredibly intimate, this big, beautiful man crouched in front of her, sweeping the cloud-soft towel up her legs, over her ass, every bit of her before he wrapped a dry towel around her snugly and another around his own hips before he stood up again.
“Come with me.”
She bit her lip, nodding as Bas took her hand and led her out of the bathroom, through the bedroom, past the living room and to a closed door. A second bedroom, she assumed. Curious, she glanced up at him. He seemed to be expecting something. A reaction, maybe? Drew lifted her brows. “What?”
“Do you know what this room is?”
She shook her head. “No. A spare bedroom?” Ohh, was he going to ask her to spend the night again? Then why would he want her to sleep in another room? That made no sense.
Bas smiled. “You really are innocent, aren’t you?”
Drew frowned. “I am not. After last night?”
“I wasn’t talking about sexually, Drusilla.”
“What do you mean, then?”
“You signed up for that auction with the fantasy that a man – a Dom – would buy you.”
“Yes. And you did.” She smiled. She’d been so disappointed when she’d thought no one but Chad could buy her.
“Yes, but last night…well, I admit I might have gotten a bit carried away with how badly I wanted you. I didn’t exactly fulfill your submissive fantasies, did I?” His lips curved slowly. “I think it’s time I did.”
And that was when the light bulb went on. “Ohhh…that’s not a spare bedroom.”
Bas shook his head. “No. You remember I said my play could get loud and you asked how?”
Oh gosh. Yeah. “You said wait and find out…am I about to?” She could hardly breathe.
“Do you still want to?” That was something she hadn’t really expected. The regular checking in with her, making sure she was still okay with whatever was happening. It’d struck her last night, as well. She’d kind of thought that she’d say yes once and then just…things would happen. But this was nicer…it was more like she was a full participant, not just giving him whatever he wanted. He made sure she was getting what she wanted, too. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t anticipated that.
She nodded. “Yes. I do.”
She really didn’t know what to expect, but she had seen a few pictures of scary looking dungeon type rooms online, so when Bas swung the door open to reveal what at first looked like a very ordinary sort of room, she was a little disappointed. There was a bed against one wall – she supposed for those times when a scene got so hot one just couldn’t be bothered to make it all the way across the apartment. And then there was a sort of workshop looking table that was covered in skeins of rope in all kinds of colors and sizes and hung on the wall were more of the same, as well as metal thing-a-ma-bobs she assumed were for connecting the rope to…something.
It wasn’t until she looked up that she understood. The ceiling was littered with heavy-duty hooks and clasps and an elaborate pulley system. She was reminded of the night before and Bas’s skill with the rope and realized that must be his thing. His specialty. Her stomach flipped at the idea of being bound up and dangling from that vaulted ceiling, the strong beams supporting her weight while he…well, she wasn’t really sure what he’d be doing.
“So…you like tying people up.”
Bas chuckled. “That’s a bit simplistic, but…yes. Specifically, I practice Shibari. It’s also called Kinbaku and is a form of artistic rope bondage.”
Drew glanced around the room, spotting a series of hooks on the wall in a large circle. “What are those for?”
Bas crossed the room and reached out to lightly trace the upper arc of the large circle. “For webbing. I use these as anchors and weave a large web design, with you – I hope – bound in the center.”
It sounded pretty, she could visualize it easily and shivered. But… “Why? I mean, it sounds pretty, but…what do you do when you’re done?”
Bas shook his head, coming back over to her and taking her hands. “Shibari isn’t a precursor.” He drew her arms gently above her head, fingers splaying and trailing down slowly. “I don’t tie you up in order to then move on to the main event…the tying up is the main event. Shibari is its own reward.”
Drew blinked, shivers following the slow path of his fingers. “Do you leave me tied up?”
“Sometimes. It can be a form of punishment. It can be a form of reward. It can be a very special brand of torture or it can be the most sublime pleasure and ecstasy you’ve ever experienced.”
Rope could do all that? Then she recalled again how it’d felt last night when Bas had so intricately bound her wrists, taking time to not just knot a rope to hold her but making it beautiful…it’d been as intimate as a touch. How much more intense would it be if it weren’t just her wrists he bound, but more?
“Would you let me show you?”
The way he said it, a soft whisper, almost. Hopeful. Aroused. Just from talking about tying her up in this special way. Wow. Her throat was suddenly dry. “Yes, please.”
He kissed her then, all slow and soft and…reassuring. Like he knew how nervous she was. Of course he would know, she didn’t exactly have a great poker face. She liked that he wanted to ease her anxiety, though. It made her trust him even more than she did. Which was a lot already, even though they had only met the night before. That didn’t seem to matter. What mattered was how she felt inside with him – safe.
Bas broke the kiss then and led her across the room to sit on the edge of the bed. “Don’t worry, we’re going to start out easy and slow. Nothing overly ambitious. But first, I want you to think of a safeword. I’m very good at rope bondage and if at any time you want it to stop, you can say your safeword and I will have you out of the ropes within seconds, alright?”
Oh gosh, it made her heart race to be actually given a safeword. She’d heard about them and that she needed one now set Drew’s heart racing even faster. “Um…” she pondered it, and while she did, Bas drifted over to the table with all the rope and began to decide which to use. She watched his fingers trail along each different type, each color, and wondered what criteria he used when choosing. Would the rope he chose for her be different than what he’d choose for another girl? What made the decision for him?
“Green.”
Bas glanced back over his shoulder at her, brows lifting. “The green rope?” he asked, hand moving over to pick up a skein of deep, foresty green rope.
Drew shook her head. “No, green for my safeword.” She lifted one shoulder with a sheepish smile. “Last night you said you wished my stamp was green…so you’d have a shot. So…green.”
Bas’s lips curved slowly. “I like that. Green it is. But not for the rope. No, for you, I think…fuchsia.” He picked up the striking, vivid length. He crossed to stand in front of her and held the curve of the rope bundle up against her cheek with a grin. “To match your pretty blushes.”
Drew knew she must be pretty much that bright color right then, and glanced up at
him. “I don’t normally blush so much, you know.”
“Oh, so it’s my fault, is it?” Bas teased, unwinding the rope and running it through his fingers to relax any kinks.
“Maybe. I think so, yes.” She nodded firmly. “Definitely your fault.”
Bas only laughed. “Well, if anyone’s going to make you blush, sweetheart, I’m very glad it’s me.” He gestured to the center of the bed. “Go on, kneel for me just there.”
Instantly the teasing tone was gone in the air between them and Drew’s stomach pitched nervously as she shifted over to rise up on her knees in the middle of the bed. She raked her rapidly drying hair out of her face, wishing she had a hair tie. As if he heard her thoughts, Bas went back to the table and cut off a length of very thin rope and then climbed up onto the bed behind her. His big hands gently drew her hair back and up, securing it off her neck with the bit of rope. She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Thanks.”
He bent and brushed a kiss to her shoulder. “You’re welcome.” Then his hands caught the towel she still had wrapped around her and pulled it away, tossing it aside. His joined hers a second later and she shivered, holding her breath almost. “Are you ready?”
She nodded, breathless. “Yes.”
“What’s your safeword again?”
“Green.”
“Good girl. Now relax. Try not to focus on the rope so much as you do on me. The rope is an extension of me, not something between us. Embrace it. Embrace me.”
It all sounded very vague and she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to not focus on the rope when that was all she could think about. Her whole body trembled as Bas gently urged her arms behind her back, bent so each hand cupped the opposite elbow in its palm. It was a bit uncomfortable, but not that bad. Even so, when she felt the fuchsia rope begin to wind around one wrist, binding it to her opposite arm, her heart felt like it might gallop right out of her chest.
But before she could work herself up into a full blown panic, Bas’s lips feathered ever so lightly across her nape and the breath she held released, muscles relaxing along with the deep exhale. That lasted until her other wrist was similarly bound and now she couldn’t move her arms at all. The helpless feeling washed over her – equal parts arousing and terrifying – and she leaned back against him briefly, as if she could soak up his strength through touch alone.
