The Darker Side of Pleasure

by Eden Bradley

  Cam pulled back.

  She squirmed on the bed, pulling against the ropes that held her so firmly, that held her spread apart. Cam moved around the room, but she couldn’t seem to care what he was doing. The only thing she knew was that he wasn’t touching her anymore.

  In a moment he returned to the bed, a pair of scissors in his hand. She gasped and tried to sit up. Of course she couldn’t.

  He smiled down on her, his eyes literally glowing. “I just need a little help getting rid of these pretty panties you wore for me.”

  With a quick snip they were gone.

  His hands were on her again as he knelt on the bed, stroking her thighs, encouraging the muscles there to relax. When he brushed his fingers back and forth across her clit, the fire there roared to a full blaze once more. And then he did something he’d never done before. It began with a gentle tapping of his fingers, but soon moved on to a rhythmic slapping against her mound. She was surprised at how good it felt, teasing her clit into a rock-hard nub. By the time the slapping became a little painful, she was too hot to care. The pain felt good, intensifying the pleasure, until it all melted together and became one sensation.

  Her sex throbbed, pounded beneath Cam’s hand, until she was right on the edge of coming. And then he reached a hand up and pinched her nipple, hard. And at the same time he pinched her clit between his strong fingers, and the pain and the pleasure shot through her at a hundred miles an hour.

  “Come for me, honey.” He pinched harder.

  Her body ignited, her sex went into a clenching, grabbing spasm and her mind emptied completely. Her orgasm rocketed through her, making her thighs tremble. The trembling turned into a shaking that spread through her body and she called out his name as she gasped for breath.

  “Cam!”

  As the wave subsided, she ended on a quiet sob. And suddenly her bonds were being released and her husband’s strong arms were around her. He kissed her face, whispering her name.

  “Jillian, honey, I’m right here.”

  “Oh, God, Cam…”

  “Shh. It’s alright now. You’re fine. You’re good.”

  And for the first time in a long time, she suspected he was right.

  Cam held Jillian tight, rocking her as he would a small child. Not that he thought of her as childlike, not at all. She was more a woman to him at this moment than she’d ever been before. But infinitely precious in a way that was new for him.

  He could feel the ripples of emotion coursing through her body as he held her, just as earlier he’d felt her waves of response. He had some idea of what she was experiencing. At least, he was trying to understand. It had been such a long time since she’d been able to reach orgasm, and she had never had one like this! Was he really doing anything that different? He was trying harder, but not in the usual goal-oriented way, that much he knew. He’d made a mission of it, of just pleasing her. His own body was still hard and humming with her pleasure as much as his own need. And it gave him a profound sense of accomplishment to have brought her to this point.

  He wanted to do it again. And again.

  He sensed when Jillian began to calm. The tears stopped, her limbs relaxed, and she lay soft and pliant against him. He still wanted her; his raging erection was a testament to that. But right now it felt good just to hold on to her, to know what he’d given her, and to feel close again.

  They sat for a long time before she stirred, tilting her face up to his. He kissed her pink mouth, savoring the familiar sweetness of her mixed with a few salty tears. His heart pounded in his chest. This was what they’d been missing—maybe more than they’d ever had to begin with. He felt his limbs loosen with the realization that he really had a good shot at making it all better. He had to, damn it. He was not going to allow things to fall apart. He couldn’t allow it. It was up to him to keep it together. To keep them together. And he would, no matter what it took.

  “Cam.” Her voice was a husky whisper.

  “Right here, baby.”

  “That was…”

  “Yeah. How do you feel?”

  “I feel…good. Lighter. Does that make sense?”

  “Yeah, it does.” He smiled down at her, pushed her tangle of honeyed hair away from her face. God, he loved her mane of hair. So soft and sexy, especially the way it was now, all tousled around her flushed face.

  She smiled back at him. Then, after a quiet moment, “I want more.”

  “So do I. And I want it now. Are you ready? Because I don’t think I can wait one more minute to be inside you.”

  “Yes, Cam!”

  It was all he needed to hear. Picking her up in his arms, he shifted her until she was laid out on the bed again. Quickly, he stripped off his slacks and his boxers. He lay on top of her, careful not to crush her. He needed to feel her silken skin against his. Her plush breasts pushed against his chest. He could feel the hard points of her nipples already. He wanted them in his mouth again, but first, he needed to kiss his wife.

  Her lips were plump and warm beneath his. Her mouth was hot and wet when he opened her lips and drove inside. It made him think about her tight, wet pussy. He knew how good it would feel around his shaft. He lowered his hand between their bodies, between her thighs. Found her slick opening and stroked. She moaned against his mouth. With his fingers, he played with the soft folds, pulling and pinching a little before dipping inside.

  She contracted around his finger, hot and tight and wet. He added another finger, then another while she gasped. God, she felt so damn good, he had to be inside her. But not yet.

  He pulled his fingers out and stroked her mound, finding her hard little nub and tugging at it, rolling it between his fingers and thumb. Her hips were moving against him, her pelvis rubbing hard against his straining cock, and he thought for a moment he was going to lose it. To come all over her stomach like a high-school kid.

  Hang on.

  He raised his hips. Using his hand to spread the lips of her sex wide, he carefully guided the head of his cock into her opening. Careful because he knew he was big and he didn’t want to hurt her. Not that way, at least. He paused there, meaning to catch his breath, but Jillian wrapped her smooth legs around him, and all he could do was plunge inside. Into that dark, moist heat, into that tight, pulsing tunnel. He pulled out, thrust again, all the way to the hilt. He was buried deep inside her, exactly where he needed to be, and it felt damn good.

  “Yes, honey, that’s it. You can take it all,” he ground out.

  Jillian met each thrust with her own, driving him on. He grabbed her firm ass cheeks in his hands, pulled her hips up higher, knowing at that angle he could grind against her clit with each thrust.

  She was gasping rhythmically now, bucking beneath him. His cock was heavy with blood and lust, burning with the need to come, but he held back, waiting for her. Her clenching pussy was driving him wild. Each plunge drove him higher, sent shards of pleasure lancing through him. He couldn’t hold on much longer.

  “I need to fuck you hard, baby.”

  “Do it, Cam!”

  “I need to fuck you, baby…”

  He thrust into her, into her hot, waiting sheath. She wrapped her legs around his back, pulling him in tighter. Her arms were around his neck, her face buried in his shoulder, biting, sucking. He loved it. His hands dug into the soft flesh of her ass as he sped up, pounding into her like a freight train now. In and out, harder, faster. His cock was ready to explode.

  Jillian let out a guttural cry and her velvet pussy convulsed around him, setting him off. He came hard and fast, like a rocket going off in his cock, reverberating through his belly, his whole body. He yelled something, he didn’t know what. Didn’t matter. Just keep coming. Coming so damn hard he couldn’t think of anything else. Just feel. Just feel this ripping-hard orgasm and Jillian shaking beneath him.

  He kissed her face all over, couldn’t seem to stop kissing her. God, she was fucking beautiful.

  “Love you, honey.”

  “Lov
e you, too.”

  When was the last time he’d felt this good? When was the last time he’d felt so close to her? This is what they’d needed. This would fix them. Maybe not all at once. But eventually. Meanwhile, even if the practice killed him, what a way to go!

  Jillian lay beneath the warmth of her husband’s big body. She felt wonderful. Her whole system was still buzzing with the aftershocks of two of the most powerful orgasms of her life. Her husband, the man she loved, was pressed against her still. And for the first time in far too long, she felt a hint of the happiness she’d been missing.

  Cam had been right, she thought. This was going to help them. It was going to help her. While she’d been in his arms, while he’d been tormenting her with pleasure, she hadn’t thought once about losing the baby.

  Damn!

  There it was, the memory that had kept her mind tied up in grief for almost a year. She squeezed her eyes shut.

  Not now.

  But it was too late. She pushed Cam off her, rolled onto her side.

  “Honey, what’s wrong?”

  He sounded truly confused. Well, he was a man. She couldn’t expect him to be psychic, especially only moments after sex.

  The tears started. She couldn’t help it. Maybe it was the powerful orgasms, or just the hour of closeness, but she felt all opened up inside. Cam’s hand slid over her shoulder, but she flinched away. Despite the closeness they’d just shared, she couldn’t stand his touch. She was too raw. It would send her over the edge, and she might never come back.

  “Jillian. Please.” He bent over her side, kissing her shoulder, trying to pull her against his body, but she couldn’t let him.

  She sat up, intending to flee to the bathroom, but he wouldn’t allow her to. He held her tight in his arms, pressing her into the warmth of his big, solid body. A sob escaped her.

  “I can’t do this, Cam.”

  “Yes, you can. And it’s about time. You have to share this part of yourself with me, too. Don’t you get it? If you don’t, it’ll always be there between us.”

  “It’s too hard!”

  “You have to do this. It’s the only way you’ll come back to me.”

  Was that a note of desperation in his voice? Cam, who was always so strong, who could handle anything? Her heart melted a little at the thought. She was hurting him. She’d known it before, in a distant kind of way. Now she began to understand that losing the baby had been hard on him, too.

  “Jillian, talk to me. I can’t lose you again, after just beginning to get you back. Come on, honey. We’ve lost too much already. Too much time, too much of each other.”

  “I know.” She sniffled, and Cam grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and put it into her hand. “I’m trying. And this was…wonderful. It was the first time in so long I’ve felt even vaguely good. Maybe it was too good.”

  “Too good?” She could hear the hurt in his voice.

  “I mean that it’s such a contrast to the way I’ve been feeling for so long, it’s a shock. To feel good. To feel close to you again.”

  The room was almost entirely dark now. The sun had set and the only light came from the candles burning on the dresser. She felt dark inside, too, yet the darkness of the room was welcoming, womblike. She couldn’t have faced Cam now, in the stark light of day.

  He was stroking her hair, kissing the top of her head, and she allowed herself to relax into his embrace. To feel the safety of him. This was her own fault, she knew. It was her body that hadn’t been able to hang on to their baby, and her selfish grief that had driven a wedge between them. It was time to try to make it all right. And she would try. She wasn’t as sure of her strength as Cam seemed to be. But she knew she could lean on him, on his strength. He was always there for her. She needed to appreciate that more. She was so damn lucky.

  “I love you, Cam. So much!”

  He paused, as though he was surprised at her words.

  “I love you, too, honey. You know I do. Come on. Lie down with me. Rest. I’ll be right here.”

  She snuggled into his strong arms. She wanted to learn to trust him again, to learn to trust herself. She didn’t know how long it would take. She only knew it would be hard. But here she was, with her wonderful husband: a man who loved her in a way she didn’t truly deserve. She tried to remember why, but her mind began to drift, and soon, she was fast asleep.

  Sometime in the night Jillian awoke. Cam’s arms were still wrapped around her as he spooned her from behind. His cock was hard again. His deep, even breathing told her that he slept. She tried to relax back into sleep, too, but she couldn’t. Her body was too aware of him. She pressed her buttocks back, pushing and rubbing against his thick erection. She wasn’t even sure he was awake when his hand snaked down between her aching thighs and he began to play gently with her. She moved her thighs apart to grant him better access. His hips thrust against her, his big cock seeking entrance. Moving her buttocks higher and her leg up, she arched against his hips until she could guide his cock into her already wet and ready sex. He pushed into her slowly. The pleasure was exquisite, yet it was all softer and sweeter than it had been earlier.

  Cam gave her a sleepy kiss on the top of her head as he began to move. His cock was thick and heavy inside her. His fingers glided over her swollen clit, sliding in the damp heat. Her whole body was filled with sensation. Sharp, electric. The dual sensations were incredible, taking her quickly toward the peak. She pushed back into him, onto his hot and throbbing shaft. His hand followed her movement, rubbing, rubbing on her tight, hard nub as he thrust harder into her.

  She felt his sharp intake of breath just as the first wave of orgasm hit her. He pounded into her, filling her to bursting, while his fingers pressed hard into her clit, and she came with a blast of fireworks going off in her head. She felt the hot spurt of his seed inside her as she spasmed around him, as they came together in a glorious burst of sensation.

  They were both breathing hard. His cock softened inside her, but he didn’t pull out. Even soft, Cam was always big. She didn’t want to think about anything else right now. He felt too good to her, her big husband with the wonderful cock and magical hands. Why hadn’t she remembered this about him? She was going to try very hard never to forget again.

  But for now, she was so tired. Once again, she slept.

  CHAPTER THREE

  THE NEXT DAY AT WORK PASSED IN A DREAMLIKE haze for Jillian. Sensual dreams that distracted her, making it hard to concentrate on anything. Her limbs were sore from straining against the ropes, yet she reveled in the sensation. Her skin was sensitive to the tiniest breeze, to the scant friction of her silk blouse when she moved.

  She sat at the enormous glass expanse of her desk at the F. D. Leighton Gallery, where she was the director. Images flashed through her mind: the intensity of Cam’s expression as he held himself over her, thrusting into her body. The sensation of the ropes twining her wrists and ankles. Imagining what else he might do to her.

  The ring of the phone startled her out of her reverie.

  “F. D. Leighton Gallery, Jillian Ross speaking.”

  “Jillian, it’s Briana. How’s it going there without me?”

  Briana Douglas was her assistant at the gallery, her right hand, and her best friend. She was currently at home recovering from a broken leg, the result of a skiing accident.

  “It’s fine…not the same without you here, Bri.”

  “Of course not.” There was laughter in her voice. “So, what’s happening? How’s the Madonna and Child installation going?”

  “Oh…it’s going fine.”

  “Jillian? Wanna tell me what’s wrong with you?”

  “Wrong? Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine. Really good, in fact. Yeah, really good.” She smiled, remembering the previous night. Had Cam ever played her body so expertly before?

  “Well, you seem pretty spaced out. What is up with you?”

  Jillian grinned to herself, and tapped her coffee mug with a pen. “Um…”

/>   How much to tell? Briana was her best friend, but she still couldn’t tell her she was as sexually sated as she’d ever been in her life because her husband had tied her up last night.

  “Things are really good with Cam and me right now, that’s all.”

  “You got laid, didn’t you?”

  Jillian was surprised to find herself blushing. “I, uh…yeah.”

  “Sounds like it was fabulous, too. With that gorgeous husband of yours! So, was it awesome? Please tell me it was. I haven’t been laid in weeks. It’s just been me and my little electronic toys since I broke my leg. I need to live vicariously through others.”

  “Too much information, Bri.”

  “Sorry. But, you see what bad shape I’m in?”

  Jillian felt a sudden need to change the subject, before her lust-dazed mind caused her to blurt out too much. “So, when are you coming back to work?”

  “My doctor says I can come back on Monday. That’s what I called about.”

  “That’s great news. We’ll try to make sure you don’t overdo it.”

  “So, I’ll see you Monday. Maybe your brain will be working again by then.”

  Jillian laughed. “And maybe not, if I’m lucky.”

  They hung up and Jillian went back to her earlier musings. Briana was right: Cam was gorgeous. And great in bed. How had she forgotten that for all those months? The things he could do with his hands and his mouth, not to mention that big, beautiful cock of his.

  Her sex began to heat up just thinking about him, and she suddenly wished she had one of Briana’s toys at work with her.

  Lord, she was never going to get any work done this way! She gave herself a stern mental shake, and opened the folder on her desk. Inside were photographs of paintings by a new artist, a woman who painted nudes in the neoclassical style. Normally it was not something a progressive gallery like Leighton’s would consider, but the subject matter in each piece set the series apart.

  In the first one, a woman sat on the edge of a bathtub, her auburn hair coiled high on her head, the line of her slender neck and shoulders lovely to look at. In her hands she held a small phallus. The colors were lush, yet subtle at the same time, the overall chiaroscuro giving it a hazy, dreamlike quality that was apparent in all of the paintings.