by Nikki Wild
But Rafe Lowell was not an ordinary werebear.
Instead, he finished mixing our drinks and came back from around the mahogany bar. I had never met anyone who had a bar in his house before, but then again, I had never met anyone, human or shifter, like Rafe before.
Rafe placed his foot on the sofa next to me and leaned his elbow on his knee. "Selena, correct?" He extended the rocks glass to me. His hand was massive and I caught the sight of a thickly muscled wrist under his crisp white dress shirt.
"Correct," I smiled winningly.
"You were named for the moon?"
I blushed slightly under his penetrating gaze, but I had to stick to my story. "That's right."
"It's pretty."
"Thank you."
"But it's not your real name."
I looked at him sharply.
He reached out a long finger and tugged lightly on an escaped lock. "But I give you credit. It suits you more than 'Lindsay.'"
I swallowed to hear my real name. No one had called me that in years. Not since I left the country and moved to a city with a large population of wolf and bear shifters. I’d changed my name to fit in, but that wasn’t the only reason…
"You thought it would make you feel powerful when you were with my kind, didn't you?"
I still wasn't speaking, but it was like he was pulling my thoughts out of my brain and lazily examining them in the firelight. I shifted again. Was this part of his game?
"You of course know that we no longer depend on the phases of the moon for our shifts. Some humans still believe those fairy tales, but they aren't true. We overcame that handicap centuries ago." He bent forward, and the air around him seemed to vibrate as he spoke, his voice deepening into a low, menacing growl. "We...evolved," he snarled.
And then his face was no longer human. His stunning, chiseled features swam and blurred in front of me, the beast within his flesh showing its nature as his amber eyes turned upward. He bared a mouth full of sharp, angry teeth, the bear maw curved upward, changing once again until I was staring at his grinning human face once more.
Fear was flashing in my veins and my mouth was flooding with the bright, coppery taste of terror. Shifters rarely showed their form around anyone who wasn’t among their kind. Sure, we’d all seen the videos of transformations floating around on the internet, but to see it up close… To see how much control Rafe had over the process…
He growled a low, bass sound, so low that I felt it more than heard it. I felt my limbs relax and I was suffused with the feeling of immense relaxation as he held me in his gaze. It didn't make sense. At any moment I knew he could shift back, bringing his bear form from beneath his calm appearance. All I could do was smile. I felt myself move in spite of myself, grasping his proffered drink and lifting it to my lips.
"Cheers, Selena," he growled, his human voice still hoarse from his change. He pulled up and clinked our glasses together, extending the rocks glass to me and clinking it together.
The amber liquid tasted like moss and earth and burned like lava as it slid down my throat. "Cheers," I coughed, trying to suppress the watering of my eyes while clearing my head of the powerful spell I was under. I felt drunk with desire. I had never wanted anything more than I wanted to be under this beast's power.
"Did you have any more questions?"
I felt my heart flutter, here it comes.
"One night, yes?"
Rafe leaned down further and I shied away involuntarily. I wasn't naked...yet...but his gaze made me feel that way nonetheless.
"Our agreement is for one night, yes. One night where you are completely mine, and you must do whatever I say."
"And after that?"
His amber eyes darkened slightly. I couldn't tell if it was a trick of the light. "Let's not jump the gun here. This is a trial run to see if this suits both of our needs, Selena. Tomorrow we will reassess."
I swallowed again. "And all I have to do...."
"All you have to do," he interrupted, his voice low "is do exactly what I say."
I took a small sip of the burning liquid, hoping the motion would mask the burning color in my cheeks. Why had I agreed to come here?
It was because Rafe had asked for me.
Rafe Lowell was not like our other clients. He had no need to frequent The Cave in the first place. Certainly he wasn’t lacking for options outside of our little forbidden world. I had never seen a man who looked like Rafe in person. His dark hair fell into his eyes in a way that was both careless and studied, like he had bent it to his will just like he was now bending me. His finely structured face was perfectly balanced between rugged and refined. He looked like he would be equally at home in a boardroom and a log cabin. There was nothing this man was lacking, and if he did lack it, he had the unlimited funds to purchase it immediately.
Just like he was now purchasing me.
I needed the money, it was true, but I also was curious. The other girls said Rafe was different. That his tastes ran darker than our normal requests. That he was looking for someone to share his secrets...
And that was what had brought me to his mansion. That is why he asked for me. He could see the darkness inside me as clear as polished glass…
He stood back up from where he was leaning, drawing himself up to his full height. I imagined he had to be close to six foot four. I could fit neatly under his chin, and I am one of the tallest girls I know. But beyond his height, there was the power in every motion he made. It was evident in the way his shoulders bunched under his tailored suit. I imagined him naked in front of me and blushed.
That was coming soon.
And I couldn't wait.
If ever there was a man who looked like he knew his way around dark desires, it was Rafe.
"Whatever you say..." I echoed, arching a suggestive eyebrow. "I think I can handle that." I licked my lips slowly and suggestively, giving him the start of the show. I was going to prove I was worth my price.
I wasn't going to tell him I would have done it for free.
He nodded and extended his hand. My own hand disappeared into his vise-like grip.
"I want you to go upstairs now, Selena. Third door from the left." He held me in his gaze for a moment and I felt some of my confidence falter.
I nodded, shaking like a leaf. He was massive, he looked like he could use me as a toy. Somehow I hadn't realized how big he was until I stood here face to face with him. I had to tip my chin upward to meet his eyes.
"What do you want me to do once I get there?"
He tipped my chin upwards. It was the first time he had touched my skin aside from our formal handshake and his fingers sent bolts of electricity directly to my core. I felt my stomach clench and then drop and then a sudden wetness surged in between my legs. I squirmed, knowing for certain that he was aware of what his touch had just done to me.
"I want you to wait for me," he said in a voice so low it was almost inaudible. But I recognized it as a command nonetheless. Rafe Lowell didn't need to shout to make his wishes known.
I turned and left the dark wood elegance of the den and squinted my eyes. The marble foyer of the grand entrance was flooded with light from a huge crystal chandelier that hung from the high, cathedral ceiling. A grand staircase swooped down from the upstairs balcony in a graceful curve. Third doorway from the left, he had told me.
I slowly mounted the staircase, feeling his amber eyes bore into my back. When I got to the top, I looked back down at him, wondering why he was not following. But he merely stood there with his arms folded, watching me, his mouth inscrutable.
My heart hammered in my throat and I started wondering if this was part of the game. Get me all jumpy, make me feel like I had to be on my toes.
I turned to the left at the landing and pushed open the third door. I tensed, ready for something to jump out at me, but all the room contained was a huge, fluffy, white four-poster bed.
I blinked at it. This certainly was not what I was expecting.
It was huge and cloudlike and looked incredibly comfortable. I was suddenly reminded of how I hadn't slept last night, how I had spent it tossing and turning, imagining Rafe's hands on my body and his lips at my throat.
I sat nervously at the edge of the bed. Should I strip? He hadn't told me to take off my clothes. I shifted uncomfortably, the boned corset I was wearing underneath the slinky black cocktail dress digging in to me. It was impossible to relax in this beautiful room. I was too focused on what would happen to me next.
The room was in shadow. The high windows glowed faintly in the moonight and all was silent in the cavernous house. The only sound was that of my heart as it pounded wildly in my chest.
I kicked my legs nervously; imagining that I was hearing sounds emanating all around me. I tried to listen harder, wondering if Rafe had come up the stairs or not. My stomach growled and I tugged on my corset distractedly.
Where the hell was he?
I jumped up from the bed and began to pace the room. He was keeping me waiting deliberately. He was demonstrating his power, demonstrating that I had no choice but to wait for him. The night would start on his terms, when he was ready. All I could do was hope he was ready soon.
I took a few deep breaths and stretched my arms over my head. I filled my lungs and then swooped downward to touch my toes. Exercise always calmed me in the past, but it seemed I would have to run a marathon before this nervous energy dissipated. I stood again, reached for the sky and then stretched downward again.
I heard a soft sound. Through my legs, I spied a gleaming black shoe.
I stood up with a gasp. Rafe had appeared in the room and I hadn't even noticed.
"Don't let me stop you, Selena." His low voice floated out and around me, covering me like a blanket. "Your skin gets so nice and pink when you're nervous. I can hear your heartbeat... I can smell your arousal…"
I stood up quickly, my cheeks flaming.
Rafe's eyes darkened. "I said, don't stop," he snarled.
I took a deep breath and slowly drew my arms upward. Then I bent nearly double, placing my palms flat on the floor. I felt my dress hike up and a cool breeze blew across my exposed pussy. My whole body blushed.
"Very nice," he intoned. "Now stand up again."
I stood.
"Now over once more, please." I moved to shift my skirt down. "No, leave it," he barked and I whipped my hands away. My skirt had bunched high up on my hips, leaving my whole mound visible. But yet his eyes remained fixed on mine. "Down you go."
I bent double again, my skirt inching still higher. I was completely naked from the waist down now.
"Yes, keep doing that. You do look so lovely when you're exerting yourself."
He spoke like a scientist curious about cause and effect.
I stretched as hard as I could. I felt my thigh muscles quivering slightly and a soft grunt escaped my lips. Rafe made a small noise of his own, barely audible, and I felt a small smile spread across my lips. I was getting to him.
"Stand up, Selena."
I stood quickly and then yelped as he ripped my dress over my head. My hair snagged in the slinky fabric and my eyes burned as several strands were pulled from my scalp.
I had to compose myself quickly though. Rafe placed his hands on my shoulders. He twirled my fallen hair idly as he spoke.
"It is time to start," he said. "Lie down on the bed, face up."
I shuddered under his touch and immediately complied. The white down comforter pooled around me.
"Oh," he remarked, once I was in position. "You're going to need to take that corset off."
"Don't you want to do that?" I smiled.
His face darkened. "Did I say you could talk?"
I bit my lip and shook my head no. Quickly I undid the numerous hooks and eyes, my fingers shaking. When I had chosen this, my best piece of lingerie, I had imagined his excitement at unfastening it himself. It was humiliating to be forced to remove it on my own. Angrily, I flung it away. I was now completely naked while he remained clad in his suit.
It startled me how much I liked it this way.
I lay back down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Rafe turned his broad back to me and rummaged quietly in a drawer.
"Eyes closed now, Selena, until I tell you to open them."
I closed my eyes. Without sight, my other senses grew terribly acute. I smelled Rafe's ruggedly sophisticated scent waft towards me and felt the puff of air in his wake. He was walking around to the other side of the bed; I could hear his tread on the floorboards, the soft squeak of the leather in his designer shoes.
And then I felt his hand close around my wrist and lift it upward.
My eyes almost flew open of their own accord. It wasn't until the last possible moment that I mastered myself and squeezed them tighter. I felt something encircle my wrist and then a bite of leather as it was drawn tight.
He moved quickly. Wrist, ankle, ankle, wrist, and then it was over. My eyes were still closed, unable to see, and now my body was bound to the bed, unable to move.
My heart thumped wildly. Whatever came next, there would be nothing I could do about it. I was completely at his mercy. It occurred to me once more that no matter how gorgeous he looked in a suit, that he was not human. He was a werebear… Something so much more powerful than any ordinary man…
And I was his prey.
I heard a soft exhalation and then the sigh of fabric on fabric. A clink of metal and then nothing.
"Open your eyes now, Selena."
I opened them wide and gingerly glanced at my bonds. I was trussed up, spread-eagled on the bed, each limb held down in supple leather restraints.
Rafe appeared at my side. He had removed his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his crisp, white dress shirt.
He raised his hand to cup my exposed breast appraisingly. I felt like a piece of meat at the butcher shop, but his touch inflamed me in spite of my shame. "Selena, I know what you're thinking now. You're wondering what happens next. Before we start, I must tell you that there is a safe word. If at any time you wish me to stop, you must only say the word red… Do you trust me, Selena?"
I nodded my head, not daring to speak without his permission.
"Then we may start... You are now an object, nothing more. Do you understand?”
I nodded softly again, my body aching with desire.
“You exist for my pleasure and tonight, I shall use you as I see fit. Whatever pleasure you get from what happens to you is because of my grace. You do not ask for pleasure and you do not take it without my permission."
I nodded my response, unable to look away from his devastating eyes.
"The only sound out of your mouth from here on in, will be 'yes sir.'"
I nodded.
"Speak, Selena."
"Yes, sir."
"Good girl." He cupped my breast firmly, lifting his hand upward as he tweaked the peak, gently rolling it under his thumb and forefinger until it hardened and puckered under his touch. It felt so good that I squirmed, but I knew that I couldn't show it. I bit into my lip harder, unable to hold back the small cry of pleasure. When it escaped my mouth, I instantly wished I could take it back.
"Ah, see now, already you are breaking the rules," Rafe tutted. His eyes twinkled with malice as he turned back with a smile. I heard that clink of metal again and this time is sounded ominous.
When he came back to the edge of the bed, he was holding something. In his hands lay a length of glinting silver chain. I pressed my lips tighter to hold back the gasp. The metal flowed like liquid through his fingers as he held it out for me to see. Four separate chains linked together in the center, each end tipped with a vicious looking clamp. I bit my lip.
Rafe's amber eyes twinkled as he ran the length along his hands. "Silver," he said, "it's pure silver. And it does nothing to me… Do you see that? Yet another fairy tale humans still tell themselves to imagine they are safe. Silver can not hurt me," he grinned, showing me his pearly white teeth, sh
arp and hungry. "But it will probably hurt you."
Rafe's eyes twinkled gaily like this was nothing more than a delightful game. "So Selena," he breathed softly in that sinuous voice. "Let's see if you can follow directions a little more accurately from now on."
He opened one of the silver clamps, and then let it snap shut, making sure I could see the power of its grip. Then he extended it to my foot.
I couldn't help it, I shuffled and kicked. I pulled my foot as far away from him as the leather strap would allow. "Selena, now, now," he murmured. "You're disappointing me. I was sure you were made of stronger stuff. Come now, it's just a little pinch."