He cleared his throat. “I didn’t even know you read romance books.”
“I started when I was traveling a lot.” She stared at the blanket, and if possible her face grew even redder. “They’re the really hot kind. Anyway, I started reading them because I missed you. I read them and imagined you were the hero. I know, crazy, but whatever.”
Cole sat there stunned. He’d begun the slide down the slippery slope of resentment toward these fictional men who stole her away for a few hours, only to be turned on his head. Again.
He didn’t know what she read, but the idea of her in a tent in the middle of nowhere thinking about him doing nine kinds of naughty things to her—it did something to him.
And he was willing to help fulfill a fantasy or two.
Chapter Four
Cole cleared his throat and struggled to get back on track.
“Uh, I see. So this bondage kit?”
“I cannot believe we’re having this conversation.” Tanya huffed out a breath, visibly collecting herself. She turned toward him, staring at the ceiling rather than him. “Okay, so I’ve been reading a lot of BDSM books. They’re—interesting. The characters have these deep, really close connections and I just—I just wanted to get back there. With you.” She swiped at her face and Cole felt his whole world shake.
“Hey, babe.” He slid to his knees and cupped her face. Wetness greeted his touch. “Tanya, please don’t cry.”
What kind of bastard was he that he made his wife cry? She hadn’t cried in years. Not since the funeral they’d attended for a fallen officer who’d been a close friend. How had they gotten to this point?
He gathered her up in his arms and held her. She muttered what sounded like apologies and hugged him back. Part of him was relieved she didn’t want a physical result out of the bondage kit. It was intimacy she craved.
Cole could work with this.
After a few moments Tanya pulled herself together and sat up. She wiped at her face and darted glances at him.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I didn’t honestly know what to think when I found the box.”
She nodded. “That was not how I wanted that to go. Ohmygod, you probably think I’m hiding kinky sexual fantasies from you, don’t you?”
“The thought did cross my mind. Won’t lie. I’m a little relieved you don’t want to call me Lord Master of the Universe or anything.”
Tanya sputtered in laughter and he cracked a grin.
Cole schooled his face into a stern expression, or as close to it as he could get. “You could stand to follow a few orders though.”
That silenced her, but from the wide-eyed hopeful look she was giving him, Cole was willing to bet he’d stumbled on to something.
Cole studied her, the flushed quality of her cheeks, lifted eyebrows, dilated eyes. “Is that what you want? To follow directions? Do what I tell you to?”
Tanya licked her lips and glanced at the bedroom door. “Maybe.”
“Hm.” Cole wasn’t a saint. He’d had a few fantasies himself that involved tying her up, but he’d never imagined they would become reality. “I read one of the cards. It said to try new things in bed. Tanya, I think this means I’m going to tie you up and make you scream.”
Tanya’s knees were pressed tight together and her mouth formed a little “O” he was learning to adore.
He slid his hand up the hem of her skirt and caressed her thigh. “What do you say, babe?”
“O-okay. If you want, I mean.”
Cole kissed the top of each knee. “Oh, I want. But, babe? This isn’t sweet lovemaking.”
She shivered and her gaze widened, but he didn’t see any fear there. No, she was aroused.
He forced his knee between hers and reached up to feel the crotch of her panties. The delicate fabric was damp.
“Is that what you want, babe?”
“Yes,” she said with more force than was necessary, as if she had to expel the answer from deep within.
“Okay, I want you to stand up.”
Cole pushed to his feet and backed up a few paces. Tanya sucked in a deep breath and stood on shaky legs. He directed her to stand in the middle of the open space between the bed and the bathroom.
He was glad he’d thought ahead.
“Wait here and don’t turn around,” Cole directed.
Tanya frowned but didn’t turn around. “What are you doing?”
He reached into the basket on top of his dresser and selected the leopard-print mask that had come as part of the Pandora’s Box set.
“I’m not telling you. Just go with it.” He stepped up behind her and placed the mask over her eyes.
Tanya’s hands flew to the mask. She didn’t say anything so he took her silence as permission to continue.
A thrill of excitement shot through him. Did she feel half as excited about this as he did? The reality of her doing exactly as he requested was a dose of power straight to his ego. Of course she could always say no or stop and he would, and that’s when it hit him.
The person tying up the other wasn’t the person in charge.
It was the person being tied up.
The revelation left him blinking over Tanya’s head at his reflection in the full-length mirror.
He shook himself. Now was not the time for theoretical revelations.
Cole lowered the zipper on her skirt and slid the tube of fabric off her hips. He grasped her elbows. “Step forward.”
She moved with him, stepping out of the skirt and stopping. He paused to admire the firm curve of her ass, and chuckled at the panties that read “Talk Derby to Me” across the butt. He patted her hip and came around to stand in front of her.
“Arms up.” He grasped the hem of her shirt and drew it up over her head.
Cole loved his wife’s body. She was athletic, yet her curves were soft, womanly. He kept physical contact with her, a finger down her arm, a hand on her back, tweaking her nose as he circled her a few times. Left in her bra, panties, wedge heels and the mask, she was his toy.
He unfastened the clasp to her bra and guided that bit of fabric to the floor. Standing behind her, he cupped both breasts. She arched her back and leaned her head against his shoulder. He plucked at the tight beads of her nipples.
Tanya’s palm rubbed against the length of his cock. He liked where this was going already.
Cole shoved her panties down, leaving her in the mask and heels. She shimmied and kicked out of her underwear, freeing him to grip her hips and grind against her ass. He groaned and gave her a little push toward the bed.
“We’ve got to get this show on the road,” he muttered.
Tanya giggled and shuffled toward the bed, letting him guide her as she went.
“Do I get to take my shoes off?” she asked.
He considered it for a moment. “This time, yes.”
“This time?” She leaned forward and slipped one shoe then the other off.
“There’s an awful lot of those cards to work our way through, babe. And that’s not even considering the book or whatever else is in that box.” He gently swatted her ass and she yelped.
“Oh!” Tanya sputtered and laughed, but didn’t move from her bent position at the edge of the bed.
“Did you like that?”
“I didn’t expect it.”
“Oh yeah?” He held her hip with one hand and swatted the other side of her ass. Not hard, just enough so it turned her skin a soft pink color. “Do they do this in your books?”
“Ohmygod.” She let her head hang forward and giggles shook her shoulders.
Cole leaned over her and massaged the abused skin. He had an idea, one that might backfire. “Do they?”
“Yes. Yes they do, okay?”
“Do you like it?” He wasn’t against getting more physical. He was getting pretty damn turned-on himself.
“I don’t know.” She squirmed against him.
Cole brushed his knuckles up and down her pussy. It
was as though they were teenagers all over again, when they’d been nothing but horny.
“We’ll have to figure that out. Maybe you should show me some of your favorite ‘hot’ parts, hm? See what you’re really interested in trying out?”
“Ohmygod.” She froze, her body going rigid.
What was in the books she read?
“Tanya?” He rubbed her back, offering the assurance of his presence.
“I don’t think you’d like everything in them,” she said in a rush. “It’s fantasy, not reality.”
Cole filed that information away to handle later. “Okay, so we’ll talk about it and you can show me parts later. Get up on the bed.”
Tanya climbed up into their bed and crawled to the middle. Cole blew out a breath and grabbed the box. He broke the seal and made quick work of pulling out the restraints. They were fairly straightforward nylon loops made to go around an attachment point with velvet ties on the other end. They wouldn’t seriously hold someone who wanted to get away. Hell, he’d break them if he sneezed, but it wasn’t about securing someone. It was about the experience.
Cole would give her the fantasy and more.
Tanya lay in the middle of the bed and listened to Cole moving around the room. He went from one side to the other. Little chimes, like metal striking metal, sounded every now and then. She didn’t know what he was going to do. Hell, she was still reeling from being in this situation.
“Roll over, Tanya.”
“What?”
“Get on your stomach.”
The low, dangerous note to his voice elicited a shiver and brought to mind a hundred different bondage scenes she’d read involving strong alpha types. The difference was that this time, she knew exactly how far she could push her man.
Not a single inch.
“O-okay.”
She twisted onto her stomach and tilted her head toward her husband. The bed dipped and she listened to him do something to the headboard.
“Actually, sit up and give me your hands.”
She got to her knees and extended her arms. Cole grasped her wrists and pulled her forward until her palms rested on the wooden frame. Velvet bands wrapped around and between her wrists. She could grip the headboard, but there wasn’t a lot of give to her bonds.
Holy shit!
She really was tied up.
Cole left her there on her knees. She listened to him moving around again.
Tanya could smell his cologne, the scent of fabric softener and the delicate aroma of the air freshener from the closet. They blended together to create the comforting fragrance she took for granted, but something about the moment, the blindfold, made her more aware of things she couldn’t see.
She could imagine what Cole was doing based on the sounds, but sometimes she had no idea what he was up to. Why was he rummaging around in a drawer? Was that thud him kicking off his shoes?
Her imagination ran wild with the possibilities.
Tanya yelped when something touched her hip.
“It’s just me,” Cole said, quick to comfort her.
She laughed and leaned forward. “You startled me.”
“Good.” He kissed her waist.
“Meanie.”
“You’ll change that tune. Spread ’em.”
Arousal sent a fresh wave of wetness to her pussy. She scooted her knees out.
“Wider.”
She scooted her knees out a little more.
“Keep going.”
“Cole, what are you doing?”
The room resounded with the crack of palm meeting flesh. She yelped and rocked forward against the headboard.
“Cole!”
“I told you to spread ’em.” She could hear the barely contained laugh in his voice.
Part of her wanted to tell him to go to hell, while the other half loved him playing into this fantasy of hers. She scooted her knees out a third time.
“There. Was that so hard?”
Velvet wrapped around her lower thigh, just above her knee. He repeated the same tie on the other side. She squirmed and tested the hold, but had only an inch or so of give.
This wasn’t the romantic idea of being restrained on her back, staring up at her lover. This was a carnal assault on her senses, anchoring her in place to take the power of him.
And she loved it.
Cole’s touch returned. His hands coasted over her back, down around her hips.
All the frustrated sexual tension from yesterday redoubled on her, and the only thing she wanted was Cole, deep inside.
“Oh please, fuck me,” she said, just as she’d read a hundred bound heroines say.
She felt the bed go still and could imagine her husband in coiled readiness, assessing the situation, his wondrous brain working a thousand miles a second, testing and discarding possible outcomes and scenarios.
The only one she cared about was with him. Inside her.
“Since you ask so nicely, very well.”
Tanya bit her lip at the first caress to her pussy. Cole’s fingers tested her readiness, and she knew how wet she was. She could feel it.
“Damn,” he muttered.
“Yeah.” She grinned and chuckled.
Cole spread her open and the next thing she felt was the head of his cock. She wiggled her hips and he flattened a hand against her stomach, positioning her just so. He slid in and kept going. They both groaned and the sound of their heavy breathing filled the room.
He recovered first and leaned forward to place a kiss on her shoulder. He flexed and slid the rest of the way until they were as joined as they could be.
Tanya’s head reeled. Without the ability to see, all she could do was feel the thick length of his cock inside her, caressing nerve endings and rubbing that hidden spot. His hands were rough against her sensitive skin and when he leaned down to touch his face against her, the stubble scraped across her shoulder.
“Ohmygod,” she panted, gripping the headboard.
Cole withdrew and her breathing stopped. He thrust and sensation rushed through her body like wildfire. He started a heavy, hard rhythm, and if it weren’t for the bonds tying her to the bed, she’d have slid forward.
Tanya dug her nails into the wood and moaned.
“Fuck yeah,” he muttered.
“Mm, keep going.”
“You like this?”
“Yes,” she wailed as he changed the angle and hit The Spot. “Ohmygodohmygod.”
His hands closed around her breasts, pinching her nipples and setting off a veritable score of fireworks all contained inside her body. She thought she might have screamed as the orgasm crashed into her and took her under to a whole new place she’d never seen before.
Cole continued to pump into her, his motions growing choppy, uneven until he surged forward, climax rippling through him. She heard his hand slap against the wood and felt his breath against her shoulder.
Ohmygod, her badass husband had just done her as though she were a romance heroine.
And she liked it!
* * * * *
Cole padded into the bedroom, two bottles of water and some sandwiches in hand. The lights were off but the afternoon sun filtered through the curtains, giving the room a warm glow.
Tanya lay curled up against the pillows, her hair piled up on top of her head in a messy bun, and a ridiculous smile on her face.
He was still processing what had happened. It was a lot to take in.
“Eat something.” He pushed the plate and a bottle of water at her.
They sat against the headboard and tucked into their food. It reminded him of their first apartment, which had been an efficiency. It was so small they’d practically lived in bed, since it was the only furniture they could afford.
“So…you like what we did?” Tanya asked hesitantly after a few moments of silence.
He didn’t reply immediately. Instead he took his time chewing his food and getting a drink of water. It was a question that could have long-lasting repercus
sions. He didn’t doubt it would change her expectations, depending on his answer. Tanya practically radiated tension, but this was something serious enough that it warranted thought.
Cole set his sandwich down and directed his full attention on her. “I like that you told me your fantasy. I did like being more physical with you. The velvet rope things were interesting. Would I do that again? Yeah, but I don’t want to always have to tie you up to have sex.”
“Oh, no way.” She shook her head violently. “No, I agree. That was hot. And I loved it, but I didn’t like being told what to do enough that I’d let you do that all the time. It’s a lot different reading it and trying it out for real.” Her cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink he decided not to mention.
He finished his sandwich and put the plate on the nightstand. His stomach had demanded the sustenance, but he had other things on his mind. Cole rolled to his side to give Tanya his full attention again.
“Good.” He placed his hand on her thigh for the physical anchor it gave him. “I’m glad you said that because it was a real concern for me. I read on that website a few scenarios that bothered me. I get that people are into things I don’t understand or I’m not comfortable with, and I’m okay with that, but I’ve made it my life to keep people safe. Please don’t ask me to put you in danger, even if it’s just to get your rocks off.”
“Oh honey.” She shoved her sandwich and plate onto the nightstand too and dove into his arms, clinging to his chest. “I would never want you to do that. I just, I don’t know, wanted to do something fun. That’s all. I would never ask you to go against your principles. I promise.”
Cole breathed a sigh of relief and tension he hadn’t realized he’d been holding eased across his shoulders. Sometimes it was hard to step away from being the cop. Maybe there was a part of him that would always be connected in some way to the force. And if he were honest with himself, he was okay with that. Having Tanya on the same side was the other piece to his puzzle fitted.
They settled deeper into the bed and he pulled the blankets around them. For a long time they lay there entwined.
This adventurous side of Tanya shouldn’t have been a surprise to him. If he’d paid attention he would have seen it. Should have been on that train a long time ago, even. They were each guilty of being adrenaline junkies in their own right.
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