“Excellent. I can work your whole body that way.”
Her mouth dried as she waited for his decision. He reached into the bag and pulled out the dreaded small massager.
“This should be fun.”
Since he wouldn’t allow her to come until he was ready, he obviously intended to make her whimper as she lost control of her body.
“I want you to stand for this. Lace your fingers above your head.” Rafe returned to the bag for soft cuffs to wrap around her wrists.
“I don’t suppose it will do me any good to point out that you already picked a toy.”
“None at all,” he agreed, grabbing a second set of cuffs. He attached each to her elbows and used a strap to hold them together. “How’s that?”
“Fine. Thank you.” She supposed she could lower her arms with some contortions, but since it would displease Rafe, she would fight to hold the position. At home, they had hooks in the ceilings of a couple of rooms to prevent her escape.
He tested the vibrator to make sure all the settings worked. As he approached, she skittered back a couple of steps. “Believe me when I tell you that you don’t want to avoid me.”
“Sorry, Sir.” She was contrite, but damn, she didn’t want that terrible thing gyrating on her still-tormented clit.
He inserted three fingers in her pussy to hold her in place while he placed the toy and made sure the suction cup grabbed plenty of her flesh. He turned it on the lowest setting while he double-checked that it wouldn’t fall off.
Even that small amount of sensation was enough to make her squeeze her buttocks in a vain attempt to get away. “Oh, Rafe.”
“No coming until I say.”
The edging clawed at her, becoming a physical ache in her stomach. Realizing he was waiting for an answer, she gave a tight nod.
“I’m going to warm you up before the flogging begins.”
“Yes, Sir.”
He notched the vibrator up, just a bit. The annoying thing clamped down on her flesh. Then he left her there, bound and helpless.
An orgasm teased her, and she jerked. “Sir!”
“Already?” He tsked.
She wished he’d get on with it, so that she could escape the device.
He returned with the rubber flogger and he drew it across her body, down it, in sensual lines that left a trail of goose bumps. “I love the way your nipples get so big.”
Rafe worked his way around her with a little more force. It wasn’t yet enough to grab her complete attention or allow her to surrender.
Instead of thinking about the toy shuddering against her in relentless waves, she focused on the sensations of the dozens of strands of thin, flexible rubber.
Rafe circled her again, catching her nipples and the insides of her legs.
“You ready?”
Too overwhelmed to answer, she simply nodded.
He stroked down her jawline before stepping away. Flogger in hand, he stood tall and fierce, intimidating.
“You’re going to have to fight yourself to give me what I want.”
“You want me to wait,” she whispered.
He turned up the vibrator again. With a yelp, she danced around, trying to escape, but it was relentless. He didn’t attempt to make her stay still. Instead he used the flogger on her, between her legs, shifting the toy.
With artful motions, he flogged her front, catching her breasts and nipples, making her scoot away from him—not from pain but because the sting intensified the ache in her pussy.
She gulped for air as he blazed her ass. Nothing existed outside the awful sucking sensation, the sting of his whip, and the drug of his reassuring words.
Rafe! She wasn’t sure whether she’d begged aloud or whether the reverberation played in her head.
He went on, sizzling her thighs, her knees, then lower to the fleshy parts of her calves.
She was dizzy from the constant fall of the flogger, but he wasn’t done with her. He worked her sides, then her ass again.
Hope existed in a sensual fog, breathing deep, trying to please her Dom.
At some point, she realized he was no longer flogging her. And the lack of the distraction intensified the vibrator.
“You’re spectacular,” he said, turning the thing off.
She was drained of energy, and her body went limp.
“Take some deep breaths.” He made quick work of releasing her cuffs and rubbing her arms before removing the vibrator.
As he scooped her up and returned with her to the bedroom, she murmured her thanks over and over.
“You’re so very welcome.” He placed her on the bed, then crawled between her legs. “Hold your labia apart.”
She wasn’t sure she could.
“Hope!” He barked the word, garnering her instant compliance, even though her hand shook.
Rafe wet a finger and teased her clit, manipulating it.
She clenched her butt cheeks. His touch was beautiful and painful, leaving her teetering on the precipice that he’d forbidden.
“I’ll let you know when.”
Hope closed her eyes and began counting down from one thousand, trying to distract her mind by giving it something difficult to concentrate on. Rafe’s gentle teases were enough to crash through her defenses. She made tiny sounds of frustration, trying to hold on to her composure.
When she couldn’t endure another moment, and her slow word was crowding her mind, he moved his hand away. She exhaled and released her pussy lips.
“No.” Though his word was soft, steel underlaid it.
With a small whimper, she once again held herself open for him. She arched in shock when he placed his mouth over her pussy and began to lick and suck. “Oh, Rafe!” Normally she got lost in his oral skills, but tonight it was nothing short of pure misery.
“Do you want to come, little subbie?”
“I might die if I don’t.”
He chuckled, but the sound was more diabolical than a humorous one.
“Please, Sir.” She lifted her head to look at him. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”
“You may release your grip.”
Grateful, she collapsed against the pillow. Then she discovered he wasn’t done with her.
He continued to tongue her, then slide his fingers in and out of her pussy.
An eternity later, he moved his mouth from her and slid his heavy cock inside her. She exhaled a ragged breath as he filled her, and it shocked her that he was ready for her again so soon.
“Kiss me,” he said, squeezing her breasts, twisting her nipples, then capturing her mouth.
Her essence was on his lips, adding to her own passion. He kissed as intently as he fucked. He demanded her gaze. When she met it, she swam in the heady combination of lust and love radiating from his eyes.
“Anytime you’re ready,” he said, the words such a relief she almost sobbed.
Hope bit her lower lip as she surrendered to his powerful strokes. From his flogging as well as his belt, there wasn’t a part of her body that didn’t tingle.
Letting herself relax, Hope spread her legs wider, no longer fighting her own responses.
“That’s it,” he approved.
They moved together, and pure bliss unfurled. “I’m…”
In response, he thrust harder and held her wrists tighter. He knew her so well. She ground the pads of her feet into the mattress, so she could lift her hips a little higher to change the angle of his thrusts.
She screamed, spiraling as the orgasm engulfed her.
He murmured something she couldn’t make out. She wasn’t aware of him letting go of her wrists, but he was cradling her face when reality returned.
“How are you doing?”
“I could sleep for a week,” she admitted. “And I might.”
“You’ve earned it.” He began to move with slow, gentle thrusts. This time, her desperation was gone, replaced by fluid languidness that added to her lethargy.
Rafe pressed himself u
p onto his hands, and she enjoyed his strokes. The way he brushed her clit was pleasant, making her realize she wasn’t as sore as she’d thought. He knew how to lead her to the brink and keep her there. He had an uncanny instinct about her capabilities. Rafe had explained that he studied her responses, facial expressions, muscle tension, movements, her sounds. Thinking she couldn’t endure one more moment, she’d been tempted to shout out her safe word, but he’d changed his approach, making it unnecessary. After this evening, her trust in him was deeper than ever.
Without urgency, he came in her. Then he kissed her, expressing his appreciation for her before withdrawing to turn onto his side. He pulled her against him and drew her into the cocoon of his arms. She closed her eyes, drinking in the satiation.
“You’re an amazing partner. You were magnificent at the event tonight, more than I knew I wanted.”
She wriggled her buttocks back, and he groaned. Maybe she should edge him. The ridiculousness of the idea made her smile. As if he’d ever allow that.
“Be careful of what you start,” he warned. “Unless you’re ready for more?”
“You mean you could do that again?” She turned to face him. “After we’ve already done it twice?”
His cock surged against her. “Want to find out?”
“No, no.” Her response was instantaneous. “Tomorrow’s good.”
“That’s what I thought.” He reached behind her to slap her rear once, and that reignited the nerve endings inflamed from the earlier flogging. “Let’s get in the shower so we can get to bed.”
He was damn good at aftercare. In the enormous shower, he washed her, using copious amounts of lather. He rinsed her pussy, and his touch was perfunctory rather than sensual. After all he’d subjected her to, however, she was somewhat turned on.
When they exited into the steamy bathroom, he dried her and examined her body for any bruising. Satisfied, he carried her back to the bed.
“I’ll take care of the toys.”
She nodded and snuggled beneath the covers, but she couldn’t get comfortable without him. All his sounds seemed amplified, the crinkling of the package that held an alcohol swab, then the hum from the toy.
A tiny part of her couldn’t help but think about what implements he might want to take, if they went to the club. If…
He returned a couple of minutes later, carrying her designer gown.
“I can’t believe I forgot about it.”
“If you had been thinking about it, I would have been doing a bad job as your Dom.”
As he hung it in the closet, she couldn’t help but think about the purple dress that he’d packed for her. She pictured herself in it, and she wondered what it would be like to accompany him. “What would you wear?” she asked.
Gloriously naked, he turned to her.
“To the Quarter,” Hope clarified.
“Black trousers. White shirt.”
“Like a pirate?”
“If you like.” He grinned. “No eyepatch, though. Sorry if that disappoints you.”
Hope gave an exaggerated sigh. “I suppose I can live with it.”
“So you’re thinking about it?”
“I don’t know if I can get past my nerves,” she admitted.
He sat on the edge of the bed and faced her. “Are you ready to talk? To be honest?”
She grabbed the covers and pulled them higher for emotional support. “I…”
“We both know how important good communication is.”
Hope sighed. He knew almost everything about her, but her own doubts were so big, it was hard to know where to begin.
Rafe stayed where he was, allowing her a little distance between them to sort through her thoughts.
“There are women there that you’ve played with.”
A scowl trenched between his eyebrows as he absorbed what she’d said. Then, after a few moments of silence, he admitted, “I’m sorry, Hope. I don’t understand.”
“You don’t…?”
“I’m trying. We’re engaged. I can’t wait to marry you and knock you up.”
“That’s not it.” She clutched the sheet even tighter.
“Confide in me.”
Before she could lose her nerve, she said, “I won’t measure up.”
“Against what?” He frowned, as if perplexed.
How could such an astute man be so clueless? “Rafe, damn it. They’re submissives. They know what they’re doing, how to act. They’ve pleased you before, and I’m…” A knot of emotion formed in her throat, and she swallowed, trying to dislodge it before it spilled out in tears of humiliation.
“You’re what?”
With a deep, pained gasp in her words, she confessed, “Flawed.” New. Uncertain.
Shaking his head, he dragged away the sheet and gathered her against him.
“You’re not hearing me!” She beat on his chest, and she blinked, losing the battle to keep her fears locked away.
He captured her wrists, not hard, but preventing her from moving. “You’re not hearing me,” he countered. “It’s you I love. There’s nothing to measure up to. No one to measure up to.”
Refusing to meet his eyes, she lowered her head.
“You’re the sub I want, Hope. With others, it was about me giving them what they asked for. With us, it’s about both of us getting our needs met. Scening at a club is one thing, but I have you twenty-four hours a day. We have a relationship. We laugh, discuss business, sleep together, breathe together. We’re planning our future and talking about starting a family. No other woman could ever measure up to you.” He pulled back on her hair. “Tell me you hear me.”
“But they…”
“Go on, please,” he prompted when she trailed off.
“I’m sure they’re all confident. They know what they’re doing. How to act. The protocols… All of it.”
“They’re women, Hope.” He was scowling, as if still perplexed. “All gorgeous. Like you.”
She sniffled. “Was that supposed to help?”
“Did it?” There was a hopeful note in his voice.
“No.” Hope frowned up at him.
“Not everyone is experienced in the scene, and you will find the members to be gracious and inviting.”
She wasn’t convinced.
“It occurs to me I should tell you there is no nudity at the Quarter unless we have a private room.”
“And would we?”
“If you wanted to. But I’d suggest we walk around for a while, get familiar with the place. We can visit, with no expectations, if you wish. In a way, it’s not all that different from our evenings at Vieille Rivière.”
Before her first trip to the members-only restaurant on the banks of the Mississippi River, nerves had almost paralyzed her. But as the evening progressed, she’d grown more comfortable. Things that had shocked her when she walked in had become normal by her second visit.
“Shall I tell you more?”
She wanted to go because it mattered to Rafe, yet she needed to get past her hesitations.
Without waiting for a response, he continued, “In addition to your dress, you’d wear a thong.”
“Did you bring me any underwear?” She hadn’t packed any.
“Of course.”
He thought of everything.
“If your breasts are exposed, you’d need to wear pasties or tape to cover your nipples.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course.”
“I’ve seen more scandalous attire at Mardi Gras. And on a spring break vacation.” In fact, some dresses she’d seen in public were sheer enough to show an outline of a nipple.
“There you have it.”
“I suppose those are in your bag too.”
“Along with a couple of different pairs of stockings and a garter belt, if you would like to wear them.”
Although she almost always had bare legs, from time to time she enjoyed the sensuousness of fine lingerie. Since the South was experiencing an u
nusual cold snap, stockings might be welcome.
Again, he didn’t push for an answer, and she appreciated him for it. Instead, he moved them both, so they were lying beneath the covers. “Thank you for telling me.”
“You think I’m ridiculous.”
“No. I don’t,” he promised. “And I want you to be able to talk to me about anything.”
Though he wrapped himself around her and draped a possessive arm on her hipbone, she was enthralled with visions of what the club might be like and wondering if she had the confidence to submit to Rafe in public.
CHAPTER FIVE
As if she didn’t want to ever let go, Hope clenched her hand around his. That suited Rafe fine. More often, she was turning to him, strengthening their relationship each time. He squeezed her reassuringly. “We don’t have to stay if you’re uncomfortable,” he promised. “Ready?”
She nodded.
He extracted his hand to ring the bell located next to the unmarked green wood door. Then he glanced toward the security camera attached to the building.
When the lock snicked open, he turned the handle. “Ladies first.”
After a brief hesitation, she stepped through the entrance.
In New Orleans’s French Quarter, it wasn’t unusual to walk past a number of doors without noticing them. Some led to clubs, shops that didn’t advertise in the usual ways, and upstairs apartments. The club owner also operated a restaurant downstairs as well as a to-go bar serving world-famous hurricanes with lethal amounts of rum, which allowed them to keep the space above it for the kinkier crowd.
In front of him, Hope gripped the rail as she climbed to the second story on her high-as-sin heels. When they reached the top, she moved aside so he could precede her into the lobby. “Evening, Aviana,” he greeted the tall, willowy woman.
She came from behind the podium to give him a hug and to kiss his cheeks. “It’s been far too long, Rafe.”
“It’s a pleasure, as always.” Tonight, her waist-length hair was bright pink, and she wore a black sarong that skimmed the floor in the back but was cut high in the front, barely keeping her covered. He placed a reassuring hand on Hope’s spine. “Aviana is a Mistress and the owner of the club. Aviana, my pleasure to introduce my future wife, Hope Malloy.”
Billionaire's Christmas (Titans Book 3) Page 6
