Love Beat

by Flora Dain

  Cade gives her a warm smile and I felt a tiny spike of jealousy. I hide it with an unnecessary sip of nettle wine. I’ve had plenty, more than I should. Truth to tell, I’m nervous.

  After a while, it tastes delicious.

  “Thanks, Aria. We might do just that. The jewelry was partly why I brought her here. She loves the harness.” He turns to me with a casual smile. “Tell them how it feels.”

  Whoa—way too personal. But I smile round at the group. “It’s very…stimulating.”

  Aria raises an eyebrow. “You’re telling me. It’s shaping up to be our biggest seller. There’s quite a waiting list.” She tips her head toward Cade and shakes her head with a smile. “He’s a bad boy…with a wicked imagination.” She moves away, sweeping me with a knowing look. “See you tomorrow then. Maybe we’ll fix you up with some more.”

  At the other side of the room someone is idly picking out a tune on a guitar. A singer joins in and soon a group gathers to listen. I feel Cade’s hand on my arm and his warm breath on my hair.

  “Nearly midnight. Seal time.”

  Back in our room, he throws me a sweater. I shrug it on over my skimpy top and jeans while he leans on the doorframe, his look sending tremors through me.

  “How’s the plug?”

  I pause in the act of tying up my hair. I’d almost forgotten it. Now I blush. What can I say? “Okay, I think.”

  He cups my tight, jean-clad rear with his hand, his clasp intimate and fond. “Good. We’ll leave it in a little while longer. And wear some trainers. The path can be rough.”

  * * * *

  “Cade, they’re beautiful. I’ve never seen seals swimming before.” I give a deep, contented sigh as I gaze out over the moonlit sea. Far below us, at the foot of the cliff, glossy, bobbing heads are playing in the water.

  It’s late now, the night calm. The cliff edge is only feet away but I’m tightly clasped in Cade’s arms. To my surprise, even though we’re so high up, I feel almost safe.

  Moonlight etches his jaw in silver and glitters in his eyes, turning him into some pagan god, timeless and cruel. He seems to fit in with this strange, primitive place.

  “Do you trust me, Tunis?”

  He’s lured me up here, knowing I relish a challenge, once more forcing me to face the unknown and reach a new limit. Tethered in a dungeon, it might bring startling new pleasures. Out here it means I must confront yet another fear.

  But I understand instinctively that he’ll never knowingly hurt me.

  I do trust him.

  As the seals splash again, I shiver. He leans close, his lips moving against my ear. “Chilly? We’ll go back now.”

  At the sound of our voices, the seals dart away and we walk back hand-in-hand. He talks about the people I’ve met and the workshops they run. It seems they’re all expert craftsmen, specialists in their field. Even bearded Barney is an engineer. He works on the planes.

  “And Aria? She knows you well?” What I really mean is how well do you know her? She’s very attractive and she designs his bondage jewelry?

  Jealousy prickles.

  He glances at me, his look opaque. “Most of the people here know me well.”

  “She seems a bit…familiar, that’s all.”

  “She’s always measuring people up for jewelry. She’s one of our best designers.”

  “That’s not what I meant. You try out all your ideas on her?” My tone’s sharp for good reason. I’ve worn some of it. I know exactly what it does.

  He gives my hand a squeeze. “Hey, relax. I know what you’re thinking, but she’s Izzy’s girl.”

  Chastened and relieved, I squeeze him back as we reach the foot of the steep rise up to the house. From here we can just see the croft and its outline of low, rambling roofs. The soft light from the candles in its windows is easily outshone by the brilliance of the moonlight, flooding us with silver.

  I hesitate, pulling on his hand as he moves toward the steps. He turns back with a smile. “What? You want to stay out here a while longer?”

  “Cade, where were you that night? Why does Mel think it’s such a big deal?”

  His jaw stiffens and all at once his look turns to ice. “Why?”

  I frown. “That’s no answer. It’s a simple question.”

  In the shadow his eyes glitter. “Sure it is. Questions are always simple for rookie presenters with nosey friends. Shall we go in?”

  I stare at him, taken aback at his tone. Why can’t he give me a straight answer?

  He lets go of my hand and takes the steps at a bound, leaving me to climb up after him. From inside the croft at the top of the steep climb, music and laughter filter out into the night, mingling with the soft murmur of the sea and the cries of the gulls.

  At the top he’s waiting for me to catch up, his expression grim.

  What have I said? And why does this matter so much? A tiny part of me salutes Mel’s unerring instinct for a story. She’s clearly on to something.

  Another part of me wishes she’d back off.

  In our room he closes the door softly behind me as I walk in. “I’m not sure you get what this week is about.” He pulls off his jacket, slings it over a chair and reaches over to the side table for a beer.

  I shake my head as he offers one to me. He takes a long swig of his own.

  “You’re mine for the week. That was the arrangement. You stay with me at all times, and you strive to please me at all times. Even when you’re away from the Hall, you’re bound by your agreements and your contracts. You must understand that I’m taking you into the heart of my family and for the next few days, you’ll be in a position of absolute trust. Is that clear?”

  I stare at him. “Of course it’s clear. What do you take me for? I’ve signed everything, I’ve accepted all your crazy terms.” I also recall the vast sum of money he paid for me. “I’m all yours, if that’s what you want.”

  His mouth is set into a grim line. “It is what I want. Take off your jeans.”

  I reach for my zipper but with an impatient gleam, he pushes my hands away and peels my jeans down my thighs. “Bend over.”

  “Again? Cade, I’m still—”

  He fondles me briefly. “Tender? I know.” He kisses me softly on my right flank. “The plug’s coming out.” He eases it out, drops it in the sink and washes his hands. “I’ll show you how to clean it later.”

  He folds me in his arms, tilts up my chin and kisses me full on the mouth, his kiss long and deep. When he pulls away, he strokes the wind-blown hair out of my eyes and smiles. “They like you. Don’t be fooled by all the hippy talk and the woollies. They love meeting celebs. Now we’ve got things to do.”

  They keep us busy for quite a while.

  * * * *

  The following morning I wake to the sight of sunlight glowing through a glass of orange juice and the feel of his arms pinning me down as he sits on the bed. “You look beautiful this morning, like you do every morning. Kiss me.”

  For the next few moments the room spins away as he invades my mouth. I stretch out lazily beneath him, but soon he pulls away.

  “Up you get. We’re touring the workshops this morning with Barney. But first, there’s something I have to do.”

  Lazy and warm I ease myself out of the covers and stand before him, still flushed with sleep. He sweeps me with a look, the heat in his eyes sending a shimmer though me.

  “Delicious. Put your arms out straight, legs spread wide.” He walks around me, running his hands over me, lingering on my breasts and the curves of my bottom. “Bend over.”

  I bend low as he caresses me slowly, his fingers lingering near my tiny opening. I whimper as he eases inside a little way.

  “Relax. Feel good?”

  What a question. I gasp. But as his hand lingers, my outrage dies away and I lean into his touch. It feels weird but oddly disturbing and now I start to pulse gently. I smile up at him, coloring a little.

  He gives me a knowing smile and pats me on the rump. “I tol
d you it might be fun. Now for something new. Stay where you are.”

  I hear him wash his hands then he takes something out of a drawer.

  I tense. “What are you doing?”

  When he comes back, he’s holding up a long coil of soft, thick rope. The gleam in his eyes warns me once more I’m in unknown territory.

  “We’re going to try out some rope bondage.”

  He’s an expert at this, like at so much else. I watch spellbound in the mirror as the rope passes back and forth over my body, around my ribcage, between my legs, forcing open the cheeks of my bottom, thrusting my breasts forward, and hauling at either side of my pulsing center.

  As the cruel cobweb takes shape, he glances up from time to time with a grin. “Surprising how useful a youth spent in boats and climbing rocks can be for someone with my tastes. I became an expert at knots very early on. Now for the money shot.”

  With a few flicks of his long fingers, he fashions a large, elaborate knot and positions it precisely between my legs, finishing off the tie with a flourish at the back of my waist.

  I’m tightly trussed, the ropes spaced apart so they make the shape of a swimsuit, but with my every intimate place fully displayed. As I flex, my legs the final knot tightens at the very peak of my slit, making me throb.

  He eyes me with a gleam. He can hardly keep his hands off me. “One day we might try some suspension. Here a few simple knots will have to do. Move around the room. Tell me if anything hurts or chafes.”

  I move about, bending and stretching then do a couple of arabesques. “It feels tight,” I report, being honest but selective. I feel a whole lot of things about this, most of them confusing, all of them hot. “It’s very controlling. Oddly, it feels safe.” I stare at him, bewildered. “Is it supposed to?”

  It’s also extremely arousing, but I keep that part to myself. He probably knows.

  His voice drops to a silky murmur. “Get dressed. Let’s hope your jeans stretch over the ropes. If not, try a skirt. No underwear. A sexy top would be nice. Better cover up with the sweater. When we take it off we’ll see how far the wind can raise your nipples.”

  * * * *

  I follow him into the breakfast area feeling tightly trussed and acutely self-conscious, but under Cade’s borrowed sweater, nothing much shows. Soon the rope corset feels normal.

  The only snag is the persistent, maddening pressure between my legs. It’s vividly arousing. I hope our walk will be short.

  We eat alone. The others are already at work. Afterward he fondles my rear with a knowing grin and we go outside.

  Barney, bluff and hearty this morning, drives us back along the rough track I saw from the plane. He and Cade talk about orders and shipments and after a while, we come to a collection of outbuildings. Each one is a separate workshop and surprisingly busy. Last night’s laid-back hippies are hard at work and clearly skilled craftsmen. Everyone seems glad to see us, and they talk willingly about what they’re doing.

  Barney shows us round the smithy where the jewelry is forged then a workroom with a precision lathe where the pieces are finished. We wave to Aria, who is sitting at a vast drawing board set up at one end of the long room, poring over an elaborate design for a new piece.

  After the clatter of the metalworkers, we find quieter rooms full of weavers, women knitting traditional fishermen’s sweaters and even lace-makers.

  Past the workshops is a collection of music studios where last night’s band is busy working on a song. I learn Izzy’s hoping for a new hit.

  I should find all this really exciting. Mel wanted me to take notes. We never waste a chance of a good story.

  But the rope’s too distracting.

  Cade glances at me from time to time, a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips. “Hard to concentrate? Good. Let’s walk along the beach.”

  He turns to Barney. “We’ll walk back. See you later.”

  “Sure.” Barney eyes us with a grin. He sees us out and calls after us. “Izzy’s flying in after lunch.”

  * * * *

  The beach is deserted. We splash and run about, chasing each other and throwing skipping stones like children. It’s glorious.

  Every so often Cade pulls me into his arms as the surf froths around our knees and sand hisses between our toes. He leads me along the foot of the cliffs a little way until he comes to a deep gash in the rocks. As he draws me inside, I peer round.

  After the chill wind along the shore, the heat in the cavern is a shock. The rocky overhang makes it as sheltered as a cave, but it’s really a cleft in the cliff face. Sunlight streams in from the west.

  The surf roars just a few feet away but inside here the rocks are dry and the sand is hot and soft. The sun has been shining here all morning and the rocks are hot to the touch. Light flickers over the sheer cliff face, reflected from the sun-splashed wavelets thundering up the beach. Set into the rock I see two rusty metal rings at about head height.

  “This is an old fisherman’s cave. They store boats in here in the winter.” Gently he turns me round to face him and lifts my trainers, strung together by their laces, away from my neck where I’d taken them off to paddle.

  “We’ll lose these. Strip.”

  I unfasten my jeans and slowly peel away my top. He walks around me, caressing my tightly trussed body. Pressure from the ropes already has me tingling with arousal after our walk as the money-knot works its magic. Now his touch almost sends me over the edge.

  “Beautiful. I’ve been waiting to get a good look at you all morning.” He pushes me back against the warm rock. “Now grab hold of those rings. You’re going to keep hold of them till I tell you to let go. Keep still.”

  Wonderingly I reach up and grasp them while he pushes my feet wide apart. Hot sand spills over my toes. His eyes darken as he looks me over, his expression remote and absorbed then he starts to kiss me.

  As the sun beats down and the waves whisper softly farther down the beach, his lips touch me with tiny kisses all down one side of my body then all down the other, lingering on my splayed thighs, my tightly bound breasts and my tight, erect nipples.

  It’s like worship, disturbing and intensely moving. It’s increasingly hard to keep still.

  As he leans up again, he places his hands on the rock on either side of me, his look strangely intense. “You look like Ariadne chained to the rocks, waiting for the monster.” He kisses me on the forehead. “And you think I am a monster, don’t you, Tunis?” He kisses me again. “I hoped you’d never find out I was the Panther. Ever since that night, I’ve longed to see you like this, but I dreaded you knowing. And now I hate myself.” He closes his eyes and leans his forehead against mine. His breathing is ragged, his face anguished.

  What? I stand very still, alarmed now. “What’s wrong?

  “Help me, Tunis. I don’t want to be a monster. But the more I do this with you, the more I—” He breaks off, like he daren’t finish his thought.

  Slowly I let go of the rings and reach up my arms. “Look, Cade, no hands. I’m not chained up. I’m free.”

  To prove it, I wind my arms around his neck and lay my cheek close to his, my low murmur echoing off the hot, silent rocks. “I’m here because I want to be here. I’m here of my own free will. If you’re a monster, then so am I.”

  His mouth fastens on mine, his kiss deep and long. At last he pulls away. “You mean that? Really?”

  I drop a light, reverent kiss on his breastbone and lay my forehead against his chest. “Yes, I mean it. Really.”

  I breathe again as a smile dawns in his face like sunrise and the anguish fades.

  He gives my nipple a friendly tweak. “Better get dressed now. Time to go back.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Tonight Izzy’s expected back for supper and all the workers and craftsmen will be coming over to party. Until then we have the afternoon to ourselves. Without really meaning to, we spend most of it in our room.

  Something between us has changed. Maybe n
ot for long, but it affects us both. Our lunch lies neglected on a table at the side. We have eyes only for each other.

  With sunlight slanting through the windows, Cade finally unwinds my rope during long, slow sex that sends me to the brink time and again. Finally I find release at the precise point that he finds his own and afterward we lie together, limp and content, him thoughtful, me sleepy and sated with pleasure.

  After a while he insists I play table for his late lunch. When he teases me with morsels of food in hidden places that he seeks and captures with his tongue, I giggle and writhe. Then I take my revenge by spreading chocolate mousse all over his erection, topping it with a cherry and licking it off very slowly, savoring every mouthful. “Now, for dessert.”

  He eyes the wreck of our meal with a sardonic flicker. “You just had it.”

  “I’m still hungry,” I say softly. I lean over him, kissing along his breastbone, licking his sharp little nipples with long, lustful sweeps of my tongue. Slowly I head south over his abdomen toward his strong, muscular thighs. There I find his erection, still wet and a little sticky with traces of missed dessert and now swollen to a hard, silky purple from all my attention. It twitches as it lies along his stomach.

  “You’re breaking one of the first rules.” His soft murmur makes me smile, but his expression is stern.

  I feel a twinge of dismay. “You’re kidding, right?”

  I touch the head of his bulging erection with the softest brush of my lips. He tastes delicious…

  “You take charge only when I tell you.” He’s eyeing me steadily, a soft gleam in his eyes.

  It’s a warning. Will I never learn?

  I grin playfully and decide to ignore it. “Not this time.”

  His eyes glitter dangerously and he lowers his voice. “Every time.”

  Boldly I lean up to kiss his beautiful mouth. “Wait till I’m done. Maybe you’ll want it too.”

  I return to my task and kiss him again, licking gently along his twitching shaft until I reach the root, deep between his legs, all hot hair and soft, crumpled skin, growing smooth where his balls swell into hard mounds. He tastes of salt and earth, his hairy skin rough on my tongue.