by Opal Carew
She nodded. "It certainly feels that way." She looked up into his eyes and yes, there was the feeling of discovery and adventure about the whole thing, even the sudden involvement with him. It was like a holiday affair.
When it came their turn to climb into the capsule Lucas held her hand and found them a place to stand. He rested one hand on the grab rail that ran around the inside of the capsule and drew her in against him so her back was against his chest. Then he wrapped his free arm around her waist and kissed her, indicating this was where he intended to stay. Naomi liked the intimacy.
They shared the capsule with several families, one of them including the grandparents. The kids were excited. One of the little girls squealed with delight the higher they got then ran to her Dad to be cuddled and hide her face.
"You're not afraid of heights?" Lucas whispered in her ear.
"Now you ask. Do you think I could've survived your ridiculous jogging machine of yours if I'd been afraid of heights?" She felt his laughter in his chest and she laughed too. "What on earth made you put the thing right on the edge of the world like that?" She glanced back at him
"I like the challenge," he whispered, looking at her with heavy lidded eyes. "When I get up to speed it feels almost like flying."
There was his intensity again, the thing that made him ambitious and driven. He was a man after heightened experience, and she witnessed it last night when they had sex. No quick wham-bam-shag-you-ma'am for Mr. Lucas Eaglestone, no way. He wanted them both to experience the most intense anticipation – and the most intense mutual sexual fulfilment that they could.
She looked out across the city. They'd reached the highest point and the view was incredible. She glanced back at him. "Can we see your office from here?"
He nodded, but he was looking at her. When she half turned to him, he ducked down and kissed her.
Naomi melted. Turning to face him fully she looped her arms around his neck and leaned into him. She was in the sky, being kissed by a gorgeous man who didn't care who saw.
"Honeymooners," a woman's voice said nearby, "they must be. They're oblivious to the rest of us and the view."
Laughter ensued all around.
Naomi pulled away. When she looked at Lucas she saw he was amused by the remark. That was a relief. Most men would be freaked out to be called a honeymooner on a first date.
"Show me where it is, your office," she said, "my sense of direction is terrible."
Lucas obliged and then pointed out the route across town she would have travelled to get to the building.
After they disembarked they strolled along the South Bank as they chatted. It was a perfect day. They could see the river, the Houses of Parliament and they were enjoying the last of the summer sunshine on the tree-lined promenade. As ever, the area was abuzz with market stalls and musicians, families and couples and tourists all enjoying the Sunday morning sunshine.
"I used to come here with my friends on a Sunday morning when I was an impoverished student."
"How did you get the finance to get started, a business loan?"
"I'd secured one, yes, but then I had an unexpected inheritance. My Mum died and my Dad insisted I put her savings into my business instead of dealing with the bank. She was always supportive of my work, and he insisted. It was tough decision, to be honest, but I think it's made me work even harder, in her memory."
"If it's given you a deeper cause, that's positive, and it's a powerful memoriam."
"If it's successful, big if."
"That's true. But I don't see you failing. You're committed, you're talented, and you have total belief in your designs."
It was the most he'd said about her business, and she was just about to try to elicit more commentary from him when his phone bleeped.
"Sorry," he said when he looked at the screen. "I'll have to take this. I'll keep it short."
Naomi nodded and smiled, then wandered on ahead to give him privacy. Throughout the course of their time together that day he'd checked his email hourly and made several business phone calls, sometimes asking the caller if he could get back in touch with them on Monday, other times answering quick queries. His job really was twenty-four/seven, just as he'd said. She rested her hands on a wall and looked out across the river, thinking about it. She felt a bit overwhelmed that he'd set it all aside the evening before to spend time with her.
"Shall we grab something to eat?" Lucas asked when he caught her up.
Naomi gestured at the nearby street cafés and their pavement tables and chairs. "Is alfresco acceptable, or is it a bit too much like take-out for you?"
He raised an eyebrow. "You can be quite the cheeky madam when you want to, Ms. Kildare."
"I'm only teasing. I'd hate to see you out of your depth trying to order a hot dog, not knowing the drill."
He pulled her close against him, trapping her against the wall at her side. He had one hand between her shoulder blades. The other was pressed between them. His fingers closed on her breast, pinching her nipple through her bra and clothing. "Anybody would think you were looking for a bit of public punishment."
"Do you think that's what it is?" She chuckled.
His expression turned serious, and he didn't remove his hand from her breast. "How much do you enjoy the pain?"
"Now that's a deep question," she responded, but it didn't feel deep as much as intimate. "It's all wrapped up in the sex for me, I suppose. When you spanked me last night it really turned me on. It was a combination of things, the embarrassment, the pain and the heat your hand gave me. It flipped me into overdrive."
He nodded, and stared deep into her eyes. Naomi felt as if he was reading her soul, seeking out some truth. What was he wanted to know?
"I'm not heavily into pain, if that's your asking me. I mean, I haven't gone further than a bit of playful spanking, and to be honest it was initiated by me—."
"I don't want to know your sexual history," he interrupted, placing one finger on her lips to stall her. "Boundaries are important, that's what I'm getting at. Stimulating your libido with a bit of pain is acceptable, but you must always say if anything's beyond your personal boundaries."
Naomi nodded.
"Don't ever let a man hurt you just because you want to please him."
She felt breathless and strange, like he was creating some sort of manifesto. What's going on here?
It almost felt like a relationship. They were discussing sexual boundaries and spending time together. It was kind of mixed up with the whole dinner after a business meeting to begin with, but this felt like something else. She didn't want to ask what was behind his comments in case it spoiled the moment. Instead she closed her hand over his large one where it was on her chest, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him. When she pulled back, the serious look had gone from his face.
He nodded his head back at the food stalls and eateries along the embankment. "Come on then, let's go eat."
They opted for North African Mediterranean cuisine. She had a falafel and hummus wrap stuffed with salad. Lucas ate kofta on pita bread. They both chose freshly squeezed lemon juice spritzed with sparkling mineral water. It was served over crushed ice and fresh mint.
After they'd eaten they continued to wander alongside the river, hand in hand, until the sun began to go down. She saw other people sometimes turn to look at them, and tried to imagine what they thought. Did they look like a couple who knew each other well? She'd put money on it. Definitely more than twenty-four hours. But that's all it had been. Glancing up at him, she wondered if he were thinking the same.
His distinctive profile was outlined by the setting sun.
Naomi felt engrossed by him. Yet the questions were never far away, edging into her consciousness, threatening to undermine the immense pleasure she felt being with Lucas. What had happened? Where had the business meeting gone? It was as if she had fallen into another world the moment she stepped into the Eaglestone Agency reception on Friday afternoon. He was a handsome and powerful
man, and he knew what he wanted.
Being in his company and under his spell was a truly magical experience, and she didn't want to break that spell. Not yet.
Chapter Five
On Saturday night they lay naked on his bed, legs entwined, looking at one another in the lamplight. After a whole day spent living each and every moment together the evening had been filled with sexual exploration, and they weren't done yet.
It was close to midnight and Naomi planned to fight sleep for as long as she could. She didn't want to miss a second of this time with him, and Lucas didn't seem to need sleep. On Monday she would be on the train back to Scotland and he'd be dealing with his client list full time. The reality tapped at her consciousness, making her feel regret about the ticking clock. During the day it had been easier to push the doubts away and enjoy, but in those intimate moments post lovemaking when she never wanted it to end, the questions resurfaced.
"This is surreal," she whispered, while she ran her fingertips along the solid line of his jaw. "One minute I'm on a train to London for an important meeting about my career, and the next I feel as if I've been railroaded into another life."
Lucas studied her, his eyes dark with secret thoughts. "Something has shifted, and fast, that's for sure. It's exciting when life happens this way, don't you think?"
Naomi didn't answer immediately. She'd never met a man like him before so she didn't have anything to compare it to. "Life has never done anything quite like this to me before."
"What, no impetuous affairs?"
"Oh, I've had flings before. I'm no blushing virgin, don't think that. This is something else though."
He nodded.
Never had she felt bold enough to stare into a man's eyes this way, while they were naked and had so recently exposed their primitive urges to each other. "I ought to hook up with Sam tomorrow, the friend I was supposed to be visiting with this weekend."
"Ah yes, poor Sam, having to do without you because of me. I should feel bad, shouldn't I?"
When he smiled his lips looked so incredibly sensuous, she wanted to kiss him again. She leaned close enough to brush his mouth with hers. Tapping him on the chest with one finger she agreed. "Yes, you should feel bad."
"However, Sam has had the pleasure of your company before. I haven't, so my need is greater. I rest my case."
She gave him a faux chastising look, but it pleased her to know he wanted every moment too. Was it just that – one action packed weekend? Would she ever hear from him again after she left London? "Do you seduce a different woman every weekend?"
He put his fist to his chest, acting hurt.
She shrugged one shoulder. "Just a question."
"No. I don't do this every weekend." He shifted position, propping up on one elbow alongside her. With gentle fingers, he untangled her hair while he spoke. "I've been single for around ten months. I was married before that, for eight years. I wasn't unfaithful during the marriage. I've had a few one night stands after the split, but you're the first woman who made me want more."
Naomi stared at him. It wasn't what she was expecting to hear. She'd been braced for anything from blatant bragging to vague murmurs of reassurance, but not this – not something that was so obviously the raw truth. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried."
"Don't be. It obviously needed saying." He stroked her hair back from her face then moved his hand down to her waist, holding her. "I'm guessing you haven't had a relationship like this before."
She stared up at him, startled at the renewed challenge she found in his eyes. Of course she hadn't had a relationship like this before. Lucas Eaglestone was a one-off. But she wasn't going to make herself look gauche in the process of admitting it. "A relationship like this? What…sex with a man?"
He laughed softly. "I meant you haven't let yourself be this submissive with a man before."
Feeling a touch defensive, she glanced away. "What makes you think that?"
He stroked the outline of her cheek. "The sense of discovery I find in your eyes when you give yourself completely into my hands, when you trust me to take care of you, in every way."
Was it so obvious she was an ingénue when it came to this kind of game? She didn't worry about it for long though, because the deep pleasure she saw in his expression made her forget. That, and the sexual desire. His eyes were alight with it.
He drew a line down her breastbone with one finger. It was a deliberate, sensual act, and her body arched and lifted under his touch.
The look in his eyes was fiercely possessive. It stirred strange and foreign emotions to have a man like Lucas Eaglestone be so passionate about her, and she found her inhibitions lowering again. Was it right to let that happen? Shouldn't she thinking of her business instead of cavorting with the head of the agency?
She wanted to tell him how she felt, about it all.
"It is new to me," she admitted, "most of this…and I'm not sure I should even be doing it. I came to London for my work, for my business, not for a wild weekend fling."
His eyes searched hers for several long moments then he hauled her against him, handling her roughly, kissing her passionately. She melted, her lips parting under his. His lips were firm and sensual, offering her the deepest intimacy. She met his mouth anxiously, greedy for every kiss. He invaded her mouth – opening her up, arousing her anew – and at the very same time he danced fingertips over her back, teasing her with his touch on her bare skin.
It felt so good to be physically wanted this way – like it had to be, or else the world would stop. Lucas obviously did nothing in small measures, but once he turned his attention to something else that thing – or person – would be the sole object of his attentions, not the woman currently in his bed.
She put her hands up against his chest, breaking the kiss. "Lucas, you've totally side-tracked me from my business with your agency."
He shook his head, his smile secretive while he ran his hands over her outline and looked at her as if she were his and his alone.
Her hands trembled as she tried to resist, pushing her palms against his shoulders, but all the while she burned for him to make love to her again. "You're not even listening to me, are you?"
"Of course I am. I can't help admiring you, and it just so happens that you look even more beautiful when you're outraged."
She pressed her lips together. Even though she wanted this discussion, she didn't want him to think she was a drama queen. "I'm not outraged exactly, I'm just wondering what the hell happened here."
The sound of his gruff laugh instantly made her tension dissipate. He was such an intense, full-on man, seeing his eyes filled with humor always pleased her.
"I'll tell you what happened." He swept his hand over her breasts, eliciting a moan of pleasure from her. How easily he could play her. The easy confidence he possessed took her breath away.
Being forthright and dominant was natural for him, and being the woman under his command was a unique experience. Naomi didn't want to deny herself that. She couldn't, not while he was looming over her with that look in his eyes.
"It had to be. Some things simply have to be." He kissed her below her ear then whispered to her. "Have you any objection to being bound while I fuck you again?"
His breath was warm in her ear, his message heating her in a different way. A shiver ran through her. "Bound? I'm not sure I understand you."
She knew what he meant, but she wanted to hear him say it aloud. It seemed easy enough for him to talk about this kind of relationship.
"You're beautiful in your submission. It adds a true symbiosis to the sexual relationship, we compliment each other well. Bondage is – to me – the ultimate symbol of trust. By letting me take away your last vestige of control you're offering yourself to me and putting your trust in me." As he spoke he stroked her wrists and drew them together, as if readying her.
"That makes me want to reward you with the ultimate sexual pleasure. It empowers me. It makes the sex even better…for both of
us, I believe." Rising, he knelt on the bed beside her and stroked the length of the body, his hand closing around her ankles.
Naomi felt as if her breath was locked in her lungs, and her heart beat erratically while he whispered dark promises. It was such a turn on. He spoke so eloquently about something she'd only ever giggled about with girlfriends. Of course she wanted to know what it would be like. She'd only ever worn a pair of handcuffs on a hen party as a joke. She was already under his sexual spell and wanted him to make love to her again. There was no denying that. It was beyond sexual desire now though, and her curiosity begged to be introduced to more of his secrets.
"I'm willing. I know you will keep me safe." Her voice sounded very small and quiet, but a moment later he rose from the bed and walked to a nearby cabinet. Does he have a whole arsenal of equipment over there? she wondered, her body alight with sexual tension.
A moment later he returned.
In the low lamplight she could see he carried a couple of belts and a tie. "These will have to do. What I'd really like is to choose some bespoke bondage items together."
"You do that with your lover?" She could see his eyes glinting in the lamplight. She couldn't see a smile, but she knew it was there because she sensed it in the atmosphere.
"Handcuffs can be as significant as a wedding band, if the match between the couple is right."
Naomi silently repeated what he'd said, marvelling at it. It was so unexpected and so unlike anything she'd ever heard a man say before – especially given that he had a massive erection and was about to have kinky sex with her.
"The ideal D/s relationship can be almost sacred," he whispered, as he sat down on the bed again.
She nodded. "It does feel like a ritual."
"It does."
She was still laying on her side and when she felt him place his hand around the curve of her bottom lust spiralled through her. He squeezed her flesh in the palm of his hand, reminding her of the way he'd sensitized her the night before.
The grip of his hand sent a powerful message beneath her skin and into her groin, where her pulse pounded demandingly and her clit hummed with need. She rolled her hips against the bed. Whimpering, she turned to face him. "I want you, Lucas."
