by Holley Trent
“I promise,” she said weakly. She wanted his finger working her again. She wanted a release.
“You’ll have to keep one of my keys.”
“If that’s what you want.”
“It is.” He pushed his finger back into her along with another and he just held them there.
The dominating invasion was just enough to keep her on edge along with his palm abrading her clit ever so slightly.
“I’d like to see what I’m playing with,” he said.
She wasn’t quite sure the statement was meant to be rhetorical, so she hedged her bets by staying quiet.
“The closet in my room downstairs has a mirrored door. If I put you on my lap there at the edge of the bed, I could see everything all at once. How wet your pussy is for me, how your hand keeps inching over as though you think I can’t see you doing it.”
She tugged her underwear a bit more away from her crotch and huffed quietly. She hated being called out.
“I’d like to see your face when I’m fingering you so I can watch every bit of turmoil and pleasure.” He pulled his hand away from her yet again, and this time slipped his fingers between his lips. “Hmm.”
Oh, God.
She’d had her doubts about country boys. Never again would she think they were as conservative as they often let on.
“Let go of your panties. I need to go steer the boat. You can wait here and get some sun. Or come down and keep me company. Maybe poke around and root through my drawers.”
Damn him.
She wanted to come but knew complaining about it wasn’t going to get her anywhere. He’d make her come whenever he felt like it, and she would have bet her car that when he did, it’d be mind-blowing. The frustrating part was being kept on the ledge. She knew he was going to get her off—she just didn’t know when.
She fixed her panties and pulled her legs together.
“What’s it gonna be?” he asked.
“I guess I’ll look around.”
“Well, we have to make a trade then. If you’re going to poke around in my private quarters and stumble into some of my secrets, you’ve got to show me some of yours.”
She wanted to know his secrets, but she didn’t think any of them would be found in a drawer.
He nudged down one of her dress straps and yanked the bodice away from her breast. The sharp tug of her nipple between his calloused fingers made her sit up straight and pulled a whimper from her lips.
“Keep me company or poke around?” He tucked his fingers beneath her other strap as he awaited her response.
If she hung out with him behind the boat controls, she might learn a little bit about his life, his personality. If she chose to assuage her curiosity and see what kind of toys a man like him kept in his drawers, she’d learn entirely different things about him. She wasn’t sure which mattered more at the moment but knew if she walked on the path toward sexual gratification, she’d get rewarded sooner. Her reward was going to be his big cock between her legs, and it was going to hurt so good.
“I…think I’ll look around.”
“So, I get to look, too.” He pulled the strap down and pushed the other side of her bodice past her ribs. His exhalation was long and ragged as he unfastened her strapless bra and did away with the device. “Do you like having them sucked?” He weighed them in his hands and skimmed his fingers lightly along the bottoms.
“Yes.”
“Nipples pinched?”
“Obviously.”
“Yes or no will do, pretty girl.”
“Yes, then.”
“Clamped?”
“Som—yes,” she quickly corrected, remembering his previous admonition. She didn’t always like the pressure of clamps, but she hoped he’d be the kind of dom who’d know when to back off.
“Do you like to be bitten?”
That was harder to answer, and she did have a bad habit of inviting more pain than she really wanted.
“I want you to trust me, Valerie. I’m asking because your pleasure will gratify me, just like your pain will sometimes. You can elaborate just this once if you need to.”
She covered her nipples and swallowed hard. “Not there.”
“Here?” He swirled his rough finger pads over the fleshy bottoms and sides of her breasts.
“Yes.”
“Thank you for telling me.” Gently, he nudged her chin toward him and laid a kiss on her lips. “I’d better go steer this thing before the Coast Guard decides to do it for me.”
She scrambled to her feet with his help, and as she started walking away, he grabbed her by the waist, turned her to face him, and worked her dress down a bit more to where the only thing holding it at her waist was the low zipper that was already halfway down.
“Hide what I’ve uncovered, and I’ll take it to mean you don’t want to play with me. You want to play with me, don’t you?” He pulled her wrists together behind her back and made her hold them.
Her breasts jutted out toward him. He bent, then pulled one nipple between his lips and sucked it hard enough to make her gasp, but just once.
Then he went downstairs.
She stood there for a while, a bit weak-kneed, wet-pantied, and disoriented and instinctively moved her arms to cover her partial nudity.
Then she stopped and remembered what’d he’d said.
She was so rusty at dominance and submission games, and even back when she’d been more active in the scene, she’d always been so uncertain. It wasn’t supposed to be that way—she knew that—but she hadn’t known any better.
There on the boat, she wasn’t uncertain about complying with Tim’s request. She was shocked that she wasn’t uncertain.
What an odd feeling.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Tim’s life probably would have been infinitely easier if all he’d wanted from Valerie was sex. He could turn her over onto her belly and give her the hard fuck she so obviously wanted, and they’d both be happy in the end—at least, at the end of the night. But the more time he spent with her, the more obvious it seemed to him that she could be so much more than that. She could be everything he wanted.
He only had a few days to test his theory. Fortunately, though, there was no one around to pry or interrupt, and she couldn’t run and hide—not easily, anyway. People often bonded after being in close quarters for a short period, and he was counting on that. Thanks to her wild little sister, he had maybe three, hopefully four, days to get to know the woman. That might be enough for him, but he was under no illusions that would be all it took for him to enchant her.
Darkness was creeping over the horizon by the time he got the boat crawling along on autopilot going a bit east-southeast with the proximity alarm set. He wanted to be in much deeper water by the time he stopped the vessel for the night. While he worried about location and anchoring, she could sleep, and he could think about things like long-distance relationships, fucked-up floor plans, and fatherhood.
He found her in his personal quarters on her knees and rooting through the contents of his lower dresser drawer. As he’d asked, her breasts were still uncovered, still so fucking enticing.
He knelt beside her and rolled one dark brown nipple between his fingers. “Enjoying yourself with my treasure drawer?”
She bit down on her bottom lip and he released the nipple. She pulled in a breath, then nodded tightly.
“See anything you like?”
“That…that’s a loaded question.”
“Hmm.” Maybe it was. He kept his toys and implements generally unsorted and lumped together because he was never quite sure what he’d be in the mood for, and a lot depended on his partner. He had a hunch what he’d use on Valerie first, though. She seemed like exactly the kind of woman who’d feel so safe when she was bound.
He held up a skein of soft, black rope and studied it. It was brand new. Everything in the drawer was brand new, actually. He’d never brought a partner onto the Good Neighbor before.
“I’m going
to have to trust you know what to do with that,” she said.
“It’s one of the things I’m best at.” He gestured toward the drawer. “Show me what you like in there.”
She drummed her fingers on the drawer front and stared into the deep compartment.
He wondered if perhaps she were overwhelmed and if he should take some of the choices away so she could make a decision, but then she pulled out a flogger and a paddle and looked at both. “I…I don’t know.”
“Tell me what I don’t know means.”
“It means ‘maybe but I’m not sure how I felt about the last time’.” She held up the flogger with its soft leather strands and comfortable handle. “Obviously, this would hurt less depending on who’s using it.”
“And where the strikes land.”
She nodded. “But…” She held up the paddle. “I might entertain the idea again.”
He filed that information away for later. He didn’t want to mark her skin. He liked it the way it was—though it could do with a bite here and there—but if she liked a little pain with her play, they could negotiate something.
“Okay.” He put both implements inside the drawer and got her to her feet. He pulled her body against his and kneaded her ass because it was his for as long as she was on that boat, and ignored her soft chuckle of amusement. “How about some dinner?”
“I could eat.”
“Did you see anything else that interested you while you were rooting around in my quarters?”
“Mm…maybe.”
“Are you being bratty or shy?”
“I’m neither of those things. I just don’t know if your idea of interesting is in sync with mine.”
“Well, you can tell me over dinner.” He gave her a little swat and watched her ass bounce just once before she clenched her cheeks.
Mmm. A habit to break.
He turned her and guided her out of the room, working her dress up over breasts as they went. “You’re distracting. Won’t be able to eat if I’m thinking about eating you.”
“And I bet you’re hungry.”
“You have no idea,” he muttered.
___
While Valerie got comfortable on the bench behind the table, he rooted around in the fridge and tried to decide what the first night’s menu should include. He’d swung by the deli and picked up his usual order before heading out to Shora. The fridge was fully stocked. He just wasn’t in the mood for anything heavy. He frowned at the bags of salad mix he’d gotten so used to buying when he was married to Heidi, but that he almost never ate.
“I’ve got Marshmallow Oaties and milk if you don’t want to wait,” he said jokingly.
Her laugh was quick and genuinely mirthful. “On busy days, I eat cereal for all three meals. Marshmallow Oaties one of my guilty secret stand-bys.”
“My kind of woman. And you don’t need to feel guilty about things that make you feel good.” Do as I say, not as I do. “You’re not hurting anyone, right?” He grabbed the jug of milk and bumped the fridge door closed with his hip.
“Probably just myself. I’ll end up with diabetes for my years of poor dietary choices.”
“It can’t be all that bad. I don’t buy it. You’ve got an amazing body, and every handful I’ve grabbed has been nice and firm in the places that are supposed to be.”
He slid an empty bowl in front of her and put one beside her, too.
Her cheeks were red and her laugh shaky. “I have good weeks and bad weeks, I guess.” She pulled the milk closer and worked off the cap as he loosened the flap of the new cereal box. “When I’m good, I’m really, really good. When I’m bad, I’m completely shameful.”
“Sounds like you need someone to take care of you.”
“I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time, Tim.” She shook cereal into her bowl and took the spoon he offered.
“That doesn’t mean you should have to. Human beings thrive on community.”
“That may be so, but you’ve got to trust your community, right? For a lot of years, it’s just been me, my sister, and my grandmother. Trust me when I say there weren’t a lot of folks coming out of the woodworks to give us a hand when we needed it.”
“I’m sorry.” He sat on the bench beside her and filled his bowl with cereal.
“Not your fault. It’s just what I’m used to.”
“You could get used to other things.”
“Nah, I’m not cut out for the pampered lifestyle.”
He’d been hoping that was the case because he couldn’t give her that. He had the money, sure, but not the leanings. He wouldn’t know where to begin. “You think I’m pampered?”
She grinned coyly and scooped a couple of marshmallow bits off the top of her cereal. “I’m sure you work very hard, but you’ve got people to do things for you, right? A housekeeper, probably a lawn guy.”
“I don’t have a lawn. I have a collection of weeds and invasive saplings. You saw the lot.”
“You get my point.”
He shrugged. “I delegate. I have to because I can’t be everywhere at once.”
He’d tried that for a lot of years and had ended up with a failed marriage and a kid who hated him no matter what Tim did.
I wonder how Heidi’s holding up…
They were probably still in close enough cellular range for him to send her a text message.
“And yet, you’re here,” Valerie said.
“Yeah. Here was somewhere I needed to be.”
“Why? Don’t tell me you felt that obligated to play the knight on a white horse because of my whiny voicemail.”
“You asked me for something I was willing to give you, and now you’re surprised I gave it to you?” he asked, incredulous.
“Like I said, I’m used to doing things for myself. Usually, when people do me favors, they expect them to be immediately repaid in some way.”
“If that’s the case, why’d you come?”
“Because I already know what you want.”
“Do you?” The two little words came out sounding so fucking growly, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t like where the conversation was going but knew it was a conversation they needed to have.
“Mm-hmm.”
“If you think shoving all that cereal into your mouth is going to make me excuse you from telling me, you’re mistaken.”
She rolled her eyes, chewed, then swallowed.
“What do I want, Valerie? Apparently, you don’t believe I’m capable of doing something out of the kindness of my heart.”
“You already told me what you wanted. Easy access.”
Oh.
That was true, but it wasn’t the whole truth. “I guess you weren’t so put off by the idea of being in the orbit of a bossy dom for a few days, then.”
“Not just any bossy dom, but you specifically. Like you said before, not all doms are created equally.”
“And you want to see just what kind of dom I am, huh?”
Her shrug was slow, shy. “I admit I’m curious.”
“What if you end up liking the kind of dom I am?”
She blew a breath through parted lips and widened her eyes briefly.
If she didn’t know, that was okay. He would have rather for her to have had no answer than for her to tell him outright that four days was all he’d ever have.
They ate in silence through one bowl of cereal each. Valerie reached for the box and poured a second.
“Pour me one, too,” he said. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go up on deck and send a message to—”
He bit down on the name as he slid out of the bench. Valerie didn’t know much about Heidi—as far as he knew—and he’d like to avoid that discussion for the time being. He couldn’t talk about Heidi without talking about Kevin…and he didn’t know what to say about him beyond basic facts: he’s my son, I love him, and I don’t know where I messed up.
Tim stepped out onto the deck and said a silent prayer of thanks that he was still within
his 4G zone.
He tapped out a message on his phone. I’m out on Good Neighbor with Valerie. Will be gone 3-4 days.
Heidi responded in under a minute.
Valerie? Is that her name? Is that the Valerie that Clay and some of the contractors from Shora are taking bets on about whether she’ll show up at the next event?
“For fuck’s sake,” he muttered. Why the hell had he gone and mentioned her name? He blamed the slip-up on stress and tapped out:
Probably the same Valerie. She’s got a sister coming into town for Clay’s thing, and she’s trying to give her a wide berth.
Ooooh, the plot thickens. Too bad I won’t be there.
He cringed. Heidi couldn’t go because Kevin needed to be watched like a toddler. Sorry, he said. I’m going to be out of range soon. I wanted to make sure everything was okay.
You’re so chivalrous. That’s why I’ll never regret marrying you.
“Gee, thanks,” he huffed.
Everything’s fine. Kevin doesn’t talk to me so much as grunt at me, and your father has already called tonight to give him a stern talking-to via speakerphone.
I imagine it didn’t do any good.
Well, Kevin turned down the television volume for the duration of it, so…there’s that.
We’ll figure something out when I get back. There’s gotta be something we can do.
Tim would try anything. Failure was not an option yet.
Hey, don’t stress about it, Heidi said. Be selfish for a few days and maybe it’ll do you some good.
Assuming Kevin doesn’t scare any potential prospect away.
Well, hey. If you find someone who isn’t cowed by his antics, you make sure you put a ring on her so fast it makes her head spin. Sweet-talk her down the aisle before she realizes she’s been lassoed.
He chuckled and imagined throwing Valerie over his shoulder and taking her to meet the magistrate, and then his grin ebbed.
He didn’t know if she wanted kids, or if she’d be willing to become a parent to someone else’s. She was a career-driven rolling stone and had a lifestyle that might have been somewhat incompatible with maternity.