The only feminine apparel she found was a royal blue thong bikini. She clutched it in her hands as blinding anger gripped her. He’d been stringing her along while he sated himself with another woman? How dare he? Jealousy, hot and fierce, compounded the anger, quaking through her until she trembled with it.
Ready to tear the evidence to shreds, she focused on the skimpy suit and would have torn it apart if she hadn’t noticed that it was her size. And it was Blake’s favorite color for her. Relief washed over her, making her weak. She took a deep breath, feeling like a fool and feeling totally exhausted by the roller coaster of emotions she’d been riding all day.
She had to get a grip.
The thong was scandalously small. She’d never owned anything like it. Nor would she have considered wearing it in public. But she had plenty of privacy here and was ready to shed her rumpled clothes. Maybe a dip in the pool would take the edge off the tension and restless hunger she’d suffered since leaving Blake.
Stripping, Thea tossed aside her clothes, and then donned the skimpy bikini. The bra cups barely covered her nipples, exposing full, plump breasts. The thong fitted tightly in the crevice of her cheeks, tickling her until she got more accustomed to the feel. Had he hoped to keep her aroused even in his absence?
After pouring herself another glass of wine, she headed for the backyard, cooled herself with a few laps in the pool, and then stretched out on her stomach in a lounge chair.
* * *
She woke nearly an hour later to the feel of big, masculine hands caressing her naked buttocks. Long, strong fingers kneaded her sun-kissed flesh. It felt heavenly, and had her moaning with pleasure.
“Hi,” she mumbled, opening her eyes and tilting her head to see him better. She started to turn onto her back, but his hands stilled her movement.
“Don’t move,” he insisted as he continued his massage, his thumbs searching out all the hills and hollows of her flesh. He tugged at the thong, pulling it tight against her pubic lips and making her shift restlessly. Then his palms sculpted her flesh, and she flinched a little.
”Are you tender from my spanking?”
The question made her buttocks clench in involuntary contractions. Her flesh had gotten a little too much sun. That coupled with his earlier smacks, made her skin extra sensitive. She started to turn again, and Blake gave her another series of short, stinging slaps on her exposed behind.
“That’s for disobeying. I said don’t move.”
Thea’s breath hitched, and she moaned. She’d never been into pain, but the heat radiating from her bottom was igniting a deeper, stronger heat in her crotch.
Blake soothed her with more caresses. “I love this ass,” he insisted gruffly. “I want to set it on fire and heighten your pleasure. I don’t think you know the meaning of true satisfaction, but I’m going to teach you. ”
Thea thrilled at the word love, but had never expected it to be associated with such an imperfect part of her anatomy. She had to admit that his spankings stimulated unexpected responses throughout her body. She didn’t intend to admit it, though, and redirected the conversation to her bare, over-heated ass.
“It’s too fat,” she muttered.
“It’s perfect.”
Ripples of pleasure coursed over her as his slightly callused fingers pinched and caressed the burning flesh. He tugged at her thong, displacing the fabric with his hands. Cupping each cheek, he ran his thumbs between the fleshy mounds. She started to squirm as he targeted more sensitive flesh. When he placed hard, sucking kisses on each cheek, she nearly came off the chaise.
“Blake!” she gasped, twisting onto her side as he rose from his bent position.
He still had on dress pants and a shirt. She wanted him naked. Wanted to see all of him. Now that they had privacy, she wanted him to hold her in his arms and make love to her until neither of them could think straight. She wanted to ignite the passion that always seemed to simmer just out of her reach.
He turned slightly, shifting so that she could see the bulge between his legs. She wanted to cup him with her hand, but hesitated, wondering if he’d be shocked. He’d never encouraged her to explore, so her touch was tentative as she ran a finger down the length of zipper. The feel of his rock hard erection sent a shaft of excitement along her nerves. His sharply indrawn breath pleased her even more.
Then Blake surprised her again by loosening his slacks until his throbbing flesh sprung free. She stared, seeing it up close for the first time. The head was round and smooth, the skin bulging with blood-thickened veins. She’d never sucked one before, but she badly wanted to touch and taste his.
The urge to caress the smooth, straining flesh was so strong that her mouth watered. Grasping him with gentle fingers, she tugged him closer. When he didn’t offer any objections, she began to bathe him with her tongue, using long, slow strokes.
He went utterly still, hardly breathing, and she wondered if she’d gone too far. Would he be appalled by her boldness? He always wanted to be the one in control, always wanted to take the lead. She noticed his hands were clenching and unclenching at his side. Did that mean he was furious or aroused?
“You said you’ve never had oral sex,” he said, his tone roughly accusing.
“I didn’t say I wasn’t curious,” she argued. “And interested in learning.”
Then she slipped her lips over the throbbing head, slowly sucking on the satiny flesh. She couldn’t get more than a third of him into her mouth, but she worked it with her tongue and teeth, humming her praises against his tight skin.
A tremor shook him, and this time she knew it was from pleasure, not disgust. She wrapped a hand around one of his thighs to draw him closer and was amazed to feel his legs trembling. It gave her a heady feeling of feminine power, so she sucked a little harder.
If she’d had any idea how he’d react to this kind of seduction, she’d have tried it a lot sooner. His hands sunk into her hair, clutching her close while she tried to take more of him into her mouth.
With her hand wrapped around the base of his erection, she held him tightly, kissing and caressing until her efforts drew forth another strangled masculine groan. Then she grasped one of his testicles. It was full and tight. She rolled it gently in her fingers, and then gave the other one equal attention.
He groaned again, a deep, animal sound that caused a deeper reaction in her body. Her breasts swelled, nipples tingling, as heat and moisture surged between her legs. She shifted restlessly on the lounge, growing too aroused to stay still.
Then Blake was withdrawing his stiffened rod from her mouth. She pouted, but he leaned over and scooped her into his arms, pulling her against his chest. Now they’d make love. More moisture pooled between her legs at the thought.
She buried her face in the open front of his shirt. His flesh was hot, hard, and faintly salty. Splaying her hands beneath the shirt, she slid the fabric aside and found tight male nipples. She sucked them too, and felt his whole body shudder.
Heat shimmered all around them. He was a furnace, and she nuzzled closer, sucking harder as he began to move with her in his arms. She expected to leave the brilliant sunshine for the shadows of the cabin, but suddenly realized they were heading in the wrong direction.
In the next instant, she was gasping in shock as he literally threw her into the air. Her eyes opened wide as she went airborne and realized he’d tossed her toward the pool. She hit the frigid water with a wail of indignation. Gulping a mouth full of chlorinated water, she sunk to the bottom and bounced back up, coughing, spitting, and screeching.
“You bastard! You dirty, rotten, sonofabitch bastard! That was a totally vile thing to do!” she screamed, arms and legs thrashing until she’d regained her balance. Then she used both hands to hurl water at him in a fit of temper.
When she paused briefly to catch her breath, he had the audacity to grin at her. Thea gritted her teeth and redoubled her efforts. Hurt and frustration fueled her anger as she threw torrents of water at him.
She continued until she ran out of steam and his clothes were plastered to his body. Heaving in exertion, she needed what was left of her strength just to tread water. About the time she’d caught her breath, he stole it again by performing a slow, deliberate strip tease.
He was buff in every sense of the word—a broad chest covered with dark, whirling hair that arrowed down a narrow waist and super-flat stomach to his jutting erection. Her tortured lungs contracted again as she watched him in utter fascination. It amazed her that he could be so comfortable with his nudity. She wished she could be less self-conscious, less inhibited.
Despite the fact that he had her salivating after his body, she wasn’t ready to forgive him. The dowsing in the pool didn’t bother her so much, but his repeated rejections cut deeply. He wanted to draw her out, yet he kept retreating. They were back to blowing hot and cold. She’d been trying to shed some of her inhibitions, and his latest rebuff really hurt.
As soon as Blake dove cleanly in the water, she headed for the steps.
“Coward!” he taunted as he surfaced.
“Go to hell,” she snapped, climbing from the pool. “I’m not in the mood for games.”
His low chuckle infuriated her more.
“I brought your favorite pizza,” he said. “If you’re good, I might share.”
Thea didn’t comment. She’d been a good girl all her life and look what it had gotten her. An on-again, off-again love affair with a mean-spirited devil.
Knowing she had his full attention, she decided to give him back some of his own medicine. She’d always been modest in his presence, but anger spurred her to retaliation.
First, she leaned over at the waist to wring water from her hair. The bikini bra sagged, so she unclipped it and let it fall to the ground. She gave him plenty of time to appreciate the view, hoping his genitals would throb with the same ache that had taken up permanent residence in hers.
There were no towels, so she used her hands to slowly and carefully wipe the excess water from her breasts, hips and then legs, giving the chore more time and attention than necessary.
She repeated the process with her rear end and heard him utter a sound between a groan and a gurgle. Undeterred, she added an extra little swivel to her hips as she turned to leave.
Let him deal with that and his hard-on for a while!
Thea took her time in the shower, then towel-dried and combed the tangles from her hair. Since she had nothing clean to wear, she helped herself to one of his dress shirts. The sleeves had to be rolled up to her elbows and the hem fell to her knees, brushing bare, slightly sunburned flesh.
Blake was just entering the back door as she moved past it to the kitchen. Ignoring him, she opened the refrigerator, then removed the box of pizza and what was left of one bottle of wine.
“If you’ll stick that in the oven, I’ll be back by the time it’s warmed,” he said.
Thea didn’t comment. She was still seething, but that didn’t stop her from surreptitiously studying his backside as he headed toward the bathroom. He had a great set of buns; firm, taut, powerfully muscled. The more power to thrust with, she thought, getting all hot and bothered again.
Better have some more wine. The stupid little glass didn’t hold nearly enough to quench her thirst.
She’d drunk two more glassfuls by the time the pizza had heated and Blake returned to the kitchen. Freshly showered, his ebony hair glistened with moisture, both on his head and down his broad, bare chest. The damp curls enticed her to admire his flat stomach and lower.
He’d donned a pair of ragged cutoffs, but nothing else. The sight of him never failed to turn her on, and this was no exception. Thea wondered if he’d bothered with underwear, then abruptly halted that line of thought.
She was hot and extremely horny, but now he’d have to grovel before she’d surrender to temptation. She’d had it with his waffling and tormenting. The hell with blind obedience. Why was she the only one who had to show a little faith? She wanted his unconditional trust too, but he’d better show her some respect or she was outta here.
Blake poured himself some wine, tossed the bottle in the trash and pulled another one from the refrigerator. He refilled her glass while she dished up pizza.
Her bottom still stung from his spanking, so she gingerly sat down at the table. Heat prickled over her skin, making her squirm. Blake wisely didn’t comment, although the gleam in his eyes annoyed her. She just glared at him.
They ate in silence until their appetites had been appeased. Only then did he speak to her.
“A little ticked with me, Princess?”
She gave him her haughtiest stare. He knew she hated to be called Princess. He’d said it just to get a rise out of her, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Instead, she assumed the arrogant facade she knew he hated most. “Beyond ticked.”
“Ready to call it quits?”
“Call what quits?” she drawled coolly. “So far, I haven’t seen any game plan beyond humiliating me. Is your relationship strategy nothing more than a payback for what you consider my indiscretion?”
He dropped his gaze to his wine glass, frustrating her even more. She hated his absolute control over his emotions, and had no way of guessing what he might be thinking.
“It’s not about humiliation,” he finally said, still not looking at her. “I’m sorry if you’ve perceived it that way.”
“Then what is it about?”
“Openness and honesty. At least, that’s what I’m aiming for. I’d rather have you throwing an honest temper tantrum than have you retreating behind that cold social shell of yours.”
Thea sighed, downing her wine and reaching for a refill. She loved him so much that it actually hurt. Her chest tightened, making her feel weak and inadequate.
“I hate the indifference too, but I’m not the only one who hides behind it.”
He grew thoughtful. “Agreed.”
His gaze met hers. For once, neither of them erected the emotional barriers. Their expressions were equally wary and troubled, both searching for answers to the tough, unspoken questions.
Thea’s courage was spurred by unaccustomed amounts of alcohol. Her next words were a little slurred, deepening her frown. “Are you bored with me already?”
“Not even a little bit,” he assured her. His gaze never wavered from her face. “Are you bored with me?”
“Not even a little bit,” she swore just as adamantly.
“You aren’t feeling smothered?”
She couldn’t imagine why he would think that or why he seemed so concerned with her response.
“Just the opposite,” she said. “You’ve been avoiding me. I don’t understand.” Her tongue seemed to be tangling, but she managed the most dreaded question. “Do you want to save our relationship?”
He nodded. “If we can shake a few more inhibitions and get our priorities in order.”
“And if you can get over your little snit?” She didn’t think it a good idea to actually mention Ted’s name.
His features hardened immediately at the reminder. “I won’t be getting over that for a long time, but I can deal with it better if we come to an understanding.”
“What kind of un..der..stan..ding?” Her head felt fuzzy and her words kept getting harder to articulate.
Blake actually relaxed and smiled at her, a soft, deep smile that transformed his features and stole her breath. “A little too much wine?” he asked gently.
Flushed and flustered, her mind started playing tricks. For an instant, she thought she saw undisguised longing in his eyes. Maybe even adoration. Her heart fluttered. It had to be the wine. She didn’t handle alcohol well. A couple of drinks always put her under the table.
“I might be just a tad bit sleepy.”
His smile deepened. “Why don’t you go rest. I’ll clean up here.”
She nodded, rose from her chair and staggered to the bedroom. Sprawling on the bed, she dozed off to sleep as soon as her head
hit the pillow.
* * *
The room was bathed in soft evening sunlight when Thea next awoke. She lifted her eyelids slowly, orienting herself to the strange room and the play of shadows on the wall. Feeling refreshed after her nap, she started to stretch, and then realized she couldn’t move her arms.
Confused, she looked around her, twisting her head and trying to move her legs. Sheer feminine panic set in. She was tied to the bed! Spread eagle, her arms and legs were bound to the four bedposts, leaving her totally helpless. As she thrashed, the shirt rode up her thighs, exposing her crotch to the shock of cool air.
“Blake!” she screamed in terror, her panicked gaze searching the room.
“I’m right here.”
He materialized out of the shadows, looking big and dark and forbidding as he moved to the side of the bed and stared down at her. His expression was so intense and brooding that it made her even more frightened.
Thea struggled for a better grasp of the situation. “What’s going on? Why am I tied up?” She couldn’t control the underlying panic in her tone.
She trusted Blake. Totally. Didn’t she?
At least, she thought she did. The longer they were together, the less she felt she knew him. How furious was he about Ted? Could he want to exact more revenge?
“You’re tied in silk neckties with slip knots. They won’t hurt you, just don’t strain against them too much.”
She did exactly the opposite, tugging fiercely against the bonds. All the struggling accomplished was to hike his shirt higher, leaving her completely exposed and vulnerable, with her legs lewdly spread. More air wafted over her bare flesh, making her feminine muscles clench. The thrashing renewed the fire in her behind, and she gasped at the wildly differing sensations.
“Take them off! Right now! I don’t like this!”
Blake didn’t comment. Instead, he dipped his fingers in a wine glass on the bedside table. Then he began to bathe her lips with the sweet-tart liquid while silently demanding she look him in the eyes.
Blind Obedience Page 3