Bleeding Heart

by AM Hartnett

  ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ she said, then bit her lip to think about what could be said. ‘I’ve had four boyfriends, one serious – well, serious as you can get at eighteen. We broke up when he said he wanted to have an open relationship.’

  ‘Ah, one of those. I love how “I want to fuck around” has even got its own politically correct term. What was his story?’

  ‘Hardcore liberal arts student. Hated pop culture, computers, digital books, and clothes that didn’t come from a thrift store – though even then he hated the big ones. He called himself a libertine.’

  ‘Sounds like an all-round asshole. I must be the biggest drink of water after that.’

  ‘Oh, there were a couple after him.’

  He lifted a brow. ‘Don’t tell me he was the first?’

  ‘Unfortunately.’ She laughed, though the question made her blush. His expression didn’t change, and she gave him a kick under the table. ‘I was still in high school and he was in college. I was in awe of the arts scene. I thought he was romantic – though I have grown out of it. Obviously. My tastes are a little more…’

  Seth lifted his glass. ‘Loaded nachos and a dirty mouth?’

  ‘Amen.’

  She clinked her glass with his again, and as she drank she warmed, remembering just how dirty that mouth could be.

  ‘So…’ she started, then bit back her question as it reached her tongue.

  ‘So?’

  She cringed, but he was looking at her with such amusement that she had to let it out. ‘So, this date. Is it a real date, or is this just you trying to butter me up after that whole “I’ll pay” thing?’

  It was his turn to cringe. ‘Is there any way I can just make that go away?’

  ‘The nachos are a good touch, but that does bring me back to my question.’

  ‘And it’s a fair one,’ he conceded. He sucked in a deep breath and leaned forward to cup his glass. ‘I guess it is a date. I asked you out, you accepted, we have food, we’re getting to know one another…That’s a date, right? Why? Am I doing it wrong?’

  ‘No, but if you recall I’m the kind of girl who likes clarification.’

  ‘Between?’

  ‘Getting to know one another and just putting a respectable amount of time between the next…’

  Seth’s grin reappeared, as rascally as ever. ‘The next fuck?’

  At his words, April moaned beneath her breath. ‘I love the way you say that word.’

  ‘And I like saying it to you – not as much as I’m going to like doing it to you again later tonight.’

  The tip of his tongue peeked at the corner of his mouth, and her body reacted with the same heat as if that velvety tip was gliding around her clit.

  He shook himself and chuckled. ‘I better stop this talk. I’m getting hard.’

  The temptation to suggest he spirit her away once again struck, and it was more painful to banish it away than before, but banish it she did, through nachos and beer, then his steak and her chicken, and even through dessert.

  ‘Are you all right?’ she asked as they walked back to the public lot where he’d parked his car. He seemed a little uncomfortable, and she didn’t think it was because he had ordered the big slice of cheesecake for dessert.

  ‘I’m good.’

  But he didn’t look good, and as she tried to keep the conversation going she noticed him taking three deep but discreet breaths.

  And then he took her hand.

  It was the fight of her life to keep from melting into the sidewalk. As soon as he had done it, he looked so relieved and so pleased with himself.

  Here was a guy who had held her hair while he drove into her and made her beg for more, and he had struggled to just hold her hand.

  Her tiny hand, it felt in comparison to his. His palm was just a little damp and his grip was firm but possessive. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him glance at her, and to reassure him she curled her fingers around his.

  The silence ceased to be awkward, and as Seth moved closer until they were shoulder to shoulder, she wasn’t in such a hurry any longer. The sun had lost its suppertime glare and had started to dip behind the buildings downtown, leaving streaks of gold and lavender in the sky. Somewhere on a street corner not far from where they walked, or maybe coming from one of the other bars, someone played a saxophone. It was cosy and a little romantic, made even more so when they crossed the street and he used his body to bar her from stepping out until the cars had stopped on either side. She couldn’t remember any of her previous boyfriends doing something like that for her. There was no danger in that busy downtown street, but she still felt protected.

  Inside the garage, the truck chirped as he disarmed the alarm, and he backed her against the passenger door and lowered his mouth to hers.

  ‘Thus ends the G-rated portion of the evening. I’m done playing the gentleman. Time to get to the adult fun times,’ he murmured against her lips, big paws sliding down her backside.

  ‘Here?’ she whispered, a little mortified even as she thrilled at the thought of him lifting her up and burying deep right there in P4.

  ‘I could do that, but we’d probably get caught.’ Said like he didn’t care much as he locked his hips with hers, already getting hard through his jeans. ‘I’ve got a better idea, if you’re up for something different.’

  ‘Should I be nervous?’

  ‘A little. It’ll take some trust on your part. Do you think you can trust me?’

  April tilted her head back and teased his tongue with hers. He gave a hungry growl and his firm grip on her ass lifted her higher onto her toes. She laughed and curled her fingers around his collar. ‘I think I can trust you.’

  He kissed from the corner of her mouth to the ticklish slope beneath her ear and whispered in that delicious rasp of his, ‘I’m going to open the door and let you in, but first, take your panties off.’

  He stepped back and grasped the door handle, but April still reeled from his command and needed the truck to keep upright for another moment. She took a deep breath, but as his gaze moved down her body she lost it again in the furnace of arousal that surrounded her.

  She reached under her skirt and hooked her waistband with both thumbs, then pushed her cotton panties to her knees.

  ‘Those look a little damp,’ he teased, cocking his head as she stepped out of them.

  ‘I can’t imagine why.’

  Bunching the panties in one hand, she stepped away from the door, then tossed them inside once he opened the truck. She climbed in and sat primly, knees together and skirt smoothed over her thighs, and Seth kept his hands to himself as he drove out of the parking garage.

  ‘It’s a short drive,’ he said once they arrived at the first red light, ‘so I won’t be able to get you too worked up, but I at least want to get you excited.’

  ‘I’m already excited,’ she said breathlessly.

  Even in her proper pose, she had become desperately horny with the possibilities that filled her. Taking off the belt and turning onto her knees to lean over and suck him while he drove, her cunt exposed for any motorist with a vehicle high enough to peer into her window, was one she really wanted to explore.

  But when Seth’s hand came to rest upon her knee, she was ready to let him do the bossing around again.

  He tugged the hem of her skirt. ‘Relax. Open your legs.’

  April obeyed, but his hand didn’t stray to her offering. He pushed her skirt up all the way, bunching it at the tops of her thighs, and once more placed his hand on her knee – only this time he kept her open with a strong grip.

  That’s how she stayed as they motored on through the light late-evening traffic. The heat of his palm spread quickly from her knee upwards, to render her unspeakably hot where she was exposed.

  She squirmed, but only once. Just a little pressure put an end to that. She was to stay still, legs spread open, pussy growing wetter and wetter, for him.

  At the next red light, Seth slid his palm along the
inside of her thigh and looked at her.

  ‘What are you thinking?’

  It took her a moment to get her tongue to work. ‘I’m wondering what you’ve got in store for me once we get back to my place.’

  ‘We’re not going back to your place. We’re not going back to mine, either,’ he added with a smirk. ‘I was downstairs today and I noticed your storage cage was still empty.’

  Was he serious? The dark basement with the bare light bulb and all those cages crammed with junk?

  ‘Should I be nervous?’ she asked, though she knew she had nothing to be nervous about with him.

  ‘You ever been tied up, or down?’

  April wasn’t sure why she was shocked. Sure, he had discussed his adventurous sexual history the last time they were together, and indeed he had been brusque and bossy, but she didn’t think it was something that had applied, or would ever apply, to her, even if a bit of kink was all the rage these days.

  ‘You mean…tied to the cage?’

  ‘Maybe. I haven’t thought that far ahead, and I don’t know how comfortable you are with a bit of playtime.’ Even as his fingers brushed her fattening clit, his smile was encouraging. ‘I’m not trying to pressure you. If you want to go back to your place instead, I’d still fuck you senseless.’

  It was hard to think clearly as he crooked his fingers on either side of her clit with the sweetest pressure.

  Tied up. By Seth. It was the latter that held the most lure, not pushing boundaries or finding her inner whatever. Putting herself in his hands completely. Struggling against restraints, but not really wanting to escape.

  She rested her head back and gripped the handrail on the door as he silently worked his fingers around her clit. Slick flesh worked against flesh, and she closed her eyes and imagined her hands bound behind her back, actually bound with his belt or bungee cord or twine, or whatever else could be found in that storage area, as he teased her like he did now while he fucked slowly in and out of her.

  ‘Take me there,’ she said breathlessly, and pressed her feet against the floor to move with his fingers.

  No teasing and no taunting this time, just the friction. She closed her eyes and rode against him as the vehicle shuddered to a halt at yet another light. She kept her head bowed but didn’t care if the car alongside theirs guessed what was going on. On and on she rocked, until the streetlights turned to starlight behind her lids and the wicked pleasure of his fingertips brought on the deluge. She lifted her ass off the seat and placed her hand over his as those intense licks became too much, and though he slowed his fingers he didn’t stop, even after she closed her legs on him.

  ‘Oh, wow,’ she pushed out on a breath, then giggled as his fingertips crooked into her pussy.

  Seth answered her with a laugh and shook his head. ‘I’m about to burst through my zipper.’

  ‘Too bad we’re almost home.’ She released him from her thigh’s grip, pulled on her discarded panties and yanked her skirt down to spare his upholstery, but couldn’t keep her hands to herself. She scooted over and ran her hand over his groin.

  Like stone, and, judging by his quick intake of breath, ready to go off with just a little attention.

  She flicked his zipper. ‘When was the last time you had a handjob in the car?’

  ‘Decades, and we’re not breaking that streak now.’ He took her hand and looped his damp fingers with hers. ‘When you said, “Take me there…”’

  ‘I wasn’t talking fancy.’

  ‘Then, the cage?’

  ‘The cage,’ she said, and a thrill ran through her as they turned onto their street.

  Chapter Nine

  ‘Key?’ Seth asked.

  April was surprised that she wasn’t more freaked out. This whole scenario had horror movie written all over it, but even the hint of danger had entered her blood and mingled with her arousal, and now she was electric with it.

  She reached into her purse and handed over the key ring, then pressed close as he freed the padlock. The cage rattled as he swung it open and he led her inside.

  ‘Won’t someone come down?’ she asked.

  ‘This time of night, I doubt it, but even so I’ll take my chances.’ He turned and rested his hands on her waist. ‘So you never been tied up before.’

  ‘Why do you sound so surprised by that?’

  He ran his hands inward, then bunched her skirt up so the hem brushed her ass. ‘You seem like the type who loves to experiment.’

  ‘I’m picky. I wouldn’t give just anyone control like that,’ she explained.

  ‘Does that make me special?’

  ‘I haven’t said I was going to let you do it, either. I’m just open to the possibility,’ she teased.

  She toyed with the button at his collar but didn’t loosen it. She wanted him to lead. Oh, she was going to let him push her around a little, but she wanted to amp up to it.

  Seth grinned as he pulled her skirt up higher. ‘I bet you’re dripping just thinking about it. If I got on my knees, pulled your panties down, I’d find you’ve soaked right through them. What do you think about that?’

  She had a retort, but lost it as the mocking in his tone hit her. Instead she went weak in the knees, and as she held onto his collar Seth pushed his thigh between her legs.

  ‘Maybe you should give me a look,’ he went on in that same deep tone of voice. He released her skirt and it fell around his hands as he tugged at her panties. ‘I bet I can convince you to let me do really bad things to you.’

  ‘Like what?’ she whispered, hotter than she could ever remember being where his thigh rubbed against her.

  ‘There’s only one way to find out.’

  He released her and backed up. He kept on moving, until he reached the chainlink wall behind him. Leaning back against it, Seth folded his arms across his chest and smirked.

  ‘Strip.’

  April had to turn around so he wouldn’t see the elation on her face and prayed she wouldn’t shake too much as she did what he told her. She couldn’t help the goosebumps or the flush that set her cheeks and ears on fire.

  Off came her blouse and then the skirt, tossed into the corner of the cage. Her bra followed. When she hooked her fingers into her waistband, Seth stopped her.

  ‘Move ahead a little, right up to the other side of the cage. Good, like that,’ he said as she obliged. ‘Now, show me.’

  April didn’t need any further prompting. She pushed her panties down and kicked them aside, then grasped cold metal. She held on as she bowed lower and parted her legs.

  Seth didn’t say anything, but she felt his gaze moving over her. She endured it as long as she could, then twisted her head as far as she could.

  ‘Are you going to have a look?’

  ‘Oh, I can see from here. The insides of your thighs are so wet I can see it from here.’

  The cage jingled as he moved, and in a moment he came into view. For just a moment he disappeared into the shadows, then he emerged with a metal folding chair.

  ‘So I think I’ve got it figured out,’ he said as he returned to the cage. She could barely catch his movement as he unfolded the chair and took a seat. ‘I don’t think it’s that you’ve had limited experience, as you put it, or that you’re picky. I think you just haven’t been in the right place at the right time with the right person.’

  ‘For what?’

  ‘To really be treated like a real bad girl.’

  It wasn’t true, at least not on the surface. She’d never harboured any fantasies like that. Even though now that sort of kink was all the vogue, she thought it was overrated. A bit of power play between the sheets was one thing, and this was another.

  Yet as she stood there, naked and exposed in a goddamn cage with a man who looked and talked like Seth, with his next words she knew he was partly right, at least about being the right person.

  ‘Come on over here and sit on my lap, sweetheart. We’re gonna have ourselves a talk.’

  He held out his hand
and April went to him. In nothing but her shoes, she gave him her best strut and slipped her hand in his. She found her seat on his lap, and burned all over as he tucked his feet between hers and pushed, spreading her out.

  ‘Would you have something to say if I told you that I kept thinking about you like this when we were sitting in that restaurant?’

  ‘You mean opened up for everyone to see how wet you’ve got me?’

  Splaying one hand on her belly, Seth ran the other across her bare pubic mound. As he spread her with two fingers, he nuzzled close to her ear. ‘Play with yourself.’

  Turning her head so her cheek rested against his, April ran her hand along his forearm and down to where he held her open.

  ‘Then what?’ she asked as she swirled her middle finger around her swollen and slick clit.

  ‘Hmm?’

  ‘What are you going to do with me afterwards?’

  Low laugh rumbling in her ear, Seth slumped in the chair and took her with him. ‘You just worry about putting on a little show for me.’

  Looking down her body, April grew hot all over at the sight of her pink sex exposed like it was. She touched herself like doing so for the first time, exploring rather than pleasuring. Seth’s breath streamed hot over her cheek, picking up as against her back the poke within his fly grew.

  ‘Thinking about my tongue there?’ he asked as she made light half-moons on the underside of her clit.

  ‘If I say yes, is that what I get?’

  He didn’t reply, instead bit down on her shoulder enough to leave a sting. He was harder than ever beneath her and the cold metal of his zipper pressed into the small of her back, but all the focus was on her where she touched herself.

  April slipped her fingers down to where the wet heat dripped out of her. ‘I’m thinking about your cock here.’

  ‘You’ll get it,’ he said, and jiggled his fingers around her clit and held tight around her waist.