She moaned and pressed tighter to him.
The hand against the lower part of her spine flexed and he held her to him, feeling every dip and valley of her body aligned with his. In such a position, it was impossible for him to hide his response to her, his erection. His cock was hard and fully extended.
He groaned and pulled away from her enticing mouth. Even with nighttime falling around them, they were not in a private place. He had to reign in his sexual need and his dominant side. If he allowed the kiss to go on, he would have had her pressed against her car, her arms locked at her back by one of his hands while his other was beneath her conservative skirt, bringing her to an orgasm. He wanted to hear her scream with pleasure.
This was not the place.
Staring down into her upturned face, her lips swollen from his kisses, he watched her lids slowly rise. Her brown eyes were dark with passion.
He didn’t doubt that if he suggested they adjourn this moment to the closest bed, she would follow him unresisting. However, this thing between them was more than just about sex. Kindle was a beautiful woman and she could find hundreds of men out there that would willingly spend the night with her between the sheets if she offered. Just the thought of another man touching her had his gut boiling with anger.
Regardless, none of them could give her what she really needed—peace and true release. The kind he would show her beneath his flogger.
“Masaun—”
Slipping his hand from her neck to the side of her face, he ran his thumb over her bottom lip, silencing her. A man, even a Dom, only had so much willpower and control. If she invited him back to her place, he would go.
Stepping back, he released her and pulled open her door. “Drive safe, Kindle. Let me know when you get home.”
She didn’t move for a moment, she just stood there staring at him. He could see the bewilderment clouding her features. Taking a breath, she clutched her purse tight, licked her lips then moved and slipped behind the wheel.
After her seatbelt was secure, he shut the door. Seconds later, he waved her off as she backed out of the parking spot.
Moving to his car, one lane over, he used the walk to take several deep breaths and get himself under control. In less than twenty-four hours, Kindle would be at his house and he needed to be focused and ready.
For the first time since becoming a Dom, he recognized the small ball of apprehension in his core. Not because he feared executing sessions with Kindle, but because he feared the emotions already growing for her. That trepidation, he’d never experienced with another submissive, not even with his girlfriend—his last sub—warned him that Kindle could be the one. If he didn’t handle this situation correctly and she walked away, she’d be the one to destroy his soul.
CHAPTER six
A quivering mess, that’s what she was. Kindle drove along the interstate headed home and she felt as if she wanted to jump out of her skin. With fear and desire. Both emotions were doing an Argentine Tango inside her stomach—battling for ascendancy.
“What the hell am I doing?” she wondered out loud for what seemed like the eighth time.
Tonight had not gone at all as she’d planned on multiple levels. She had intended to meet Masaun at the restaurant and kindly explain to him she hadn’t time for him in her life; thanks, but no thanks. That didn’t happen.
Before talking to him, she’d been adamantly against anything to do with a Dominant and submissive type relationship. However, she’d given in to that.
Finally, at no point did she even conceive of him having her insides tied up in so many sexual knots that she struggled to focus, to breathe. She shouldn’t have let him kiss her. Even now her lips tingled and felt swollen and tender. Every beat of her heart was felt in the pulsing of her lips and in the aching of her sex.
Squirming in the bucket seat of her car, she tried to reduce the throbbing of her clit. Unsuccessfully. She’d begun creaming her panties when he took her hand across the table. Even as he revealed the truth about her secret, stroked the old and new scars on her palm, she desired him. The shame of her concentration measures was not enough to keep the spark that ignited beneath his gentle caress on her tender palm and raced up her arms in a blaze causing an inferno of longing to consume her. It had taken so much of her inner strength to hide the yearning from him behind a mask of indifference.
It had been too long. Too long since she’d had sex and intimate male companionship; that was the only reason her nipples had drawn up so tight while they danced. Even as she fought against her urges, she pressed her breasts to him needing to subdue the aching. However, the slow movement of their dance had only intensified the throbbing in her nipples and the pulsing of her sex.
But, she knew she wasn’t the only one feeling the effects of their attraction. She had not missed the pressure of the hard shaft at the juncture of her thighs. In heels, she had been close to his height, making their bodies align perfectly when they danced and during the hot, spine-tingling kiss in the parking lot.
Regardless of their attraction for each other, it still rankled her mind why she’d agreed to meet with him. To allow him to do things to her that she didn’t understand, in a situation where she’d have no control.
Without looking at her palms, she knew. She was unraveling at the seams, one thread at a time. Even as she hid it from others. Even as she fought against it. Even as she took on the biggest case in her career, she was coming undone beneath the strain. She didn’t doubt her ability to handle the case. If she had to give every ounce of herself to ensure she was at peak performance every day, she’d sacrifice both kidneys to see it done. What would remain of her after this case was concluded was what worried her.
For that reason alone, she was willing to give her trust to the man that had seen through all her masks, shields and defenses and saw her. And wanted her.
~YH~
“What do I wear?”
“Excuse me?” Emmalee questioned, her voice laced with confusion.
Kindle paced her living room with her phone pressed to her ear. She had waited a full two agonizing minutes while Randolph took the phone to Emmalee who had apparently been in the kitchen cooking her Sunday meal. When her friend was finally on the line, Kindle felt frazzled and at her wit’s end.
“What do I wear? What do you wear? No…no, don’t give me that, it is probably something way too extreme for my taste,” Kindle rushed on.
“Whoa, my friend, slow down.”
She stopped pacing. Glancing at the digital display of the cable box under her television, Kindle saw the time: 3:23. She was supposed to meet him at five, but he had yet to text her the address to his house. Maybe he decided this wasn’t something he wanted. She wasn’t something he wanted. The thought made her body tense.
Inhaling loudly through her nose so her friend could hear it, Kindle exhaled twice as loud. “Good enough?”
“Sure. Now, what gives?”
“I don’t know what to wear.” Kindle marched down the hall to her room and didn’t stop until she was before her closet.
“Where are you going?” Emmalee asked.
“Nowhere. Well, to Masaun’s house, but that’s all.”
“Masaun? Um, have I missed something?” There was the sound of something sizzling in the background.
“Yes, but I don’t have time right now to explain it. I don’t want to be late.”
“With Dom Hawk, you don’t. It is a pet peeve of his, trust me,” Emmalee declared.
“You’re telling me.”
The green-eyed snake of jealousy slithered through Kindle’s core. She knew Emmalee and Masaun had worked together in the past; he was some kind of BDSM trainer, but hearing that whatever he planned to do to her he had already performed on her best friend didn’t sit well with Kindle. She pushed that sour emotion to the side, not having time to analyze it, especially since she didn’t have any particular ties to the commanding man.
“So, if you all have arranged for you to meet him
then why are you asking me what to wear?”
What? Did Emmalee think that I should just know? “Because this is your thing…not mine. I never thought to ask you very many questions.” For that, Kindle felt slightly ashamed of herself. The bondage lifestyle was something that was important to her best friend and Kindle had ignored it for the most part and not discussed anything about it with Emmalee.
Some friend I am. Emmalee and she had shared almost everything since they had met as preteens, but when Emmalee made her journey into BDSM, Kindle had disapproved of it and chosen to stay far away from the conversation because she didn’t want to offend her friend’s choices for her life. Besides it and Randolph seemed to make Emmalee extremely happy, that was all that was important.
“What did Dom Hawk tell you to wear?” Emmalee asked.
“Nothing. Nothing. I haven’t even heard from him since last night when we had dinner and I agreed to…this.” She still was unsure how to classify what she and Masaun had. “He was supposed to text me with his address and I’ve checked my phone repeatedly throughout the day and there’s been nothing.” Kindle groaned.
“Wow. This is not you at all.” There was a note of gaiety in her friend’s voice.
“You better not be laughing at me, Emmalee Eugene Eagleton,” Kindle enunciated between clenched teeth.
Emmalee’s laughter erupted through the phone. “I wouldn’t dream of it. Using my whole silly name is real cold, Kindle.”
Kindle had to smile. Even in her nervous state she could see a glimmer of the humor in the situation.
Finally calm, Emmalee said, “Okay. Maybe he wants to see what you’re going to do. I don’t know. If you’re going to his place and you’re all anxious, I’m going to assume that you’ve decided to let him do some scenes with you…work with you.”
“Yes, yes.” Kindle ran her hands over her hair, frustrated. “So, you know him and this…this lifestyle thing, what should I wear?” Kindle stepped into her walk-in closet and looked from left to right then from right to left, moving in a full circle in the center of the small area. All she saw was professional attire no matter where she looked. Even though she’d worn it yesterday to attempt to make a point to him, tonight it just didn’t seem important. Better yet it didn’t seem appropriate.
“I know you, Kin. Anything that I or others wear at the dungeon probably would not feel comfortable to you. Not so early in this set up… whatever it is supposed to be. Mind you, I am expecting a full explanation soon…real soon.”
“Lunch one day this week. But, you will have to be flexible and meet at my house for sandwiches or something. You know, with the case and all, I wouldn’t have time to be very far away from the courthouse.” Kindle reached out and examined one outfit after another, pulling them out to view them then discard it for one reason or another just to do the same to the next.
“Understandable,” Emmalee said. “Okay. What you wear over there isn’t as important as what you’re willing to take off.”
That made her hands still. “Take off?” Kindle inquired. Maybe she should have asked more questions of Masaun before she agreed to put herself under his hands. “Why do I need to remove my clothes?”
“I don’t know what he plans to do with you, or what you all negotiated, but if there is any spanking, flogging, caning or any hundreds of things people do in scenes, you will need to be naked. Dom Hawk, just as any other Dominant or Master, needs to see the form of their submissive without obstruction. Make sure they’re not too hard or have other problems. Also to ensure the strike hits you in just the right place and the right way.”
Kindle buried her face in her hand and gripped the phone tighter. Oh, damn, I really should have researched this. I investigate everything that has to do with my career, why didn’t I do the same with this? I knew what Emmalee was into. Well, at least a general idea. However, I walked into that restaurant practically blind.
She’d never even been physically disciplined as a child by her father or been in a fight and had anyone hit her. Her anxiety spiked higher and she considered calling him.
“Maybe I should just cancel.” Making her way back into the bedroom, she went to her bed and sat down.
“Don’t do that.” Emmalee sighed. “Look, Kin, you’ve already agreed to see him. Knowing him the way I do, he will not do anything without explaining it to you first. If you get over there and decide you can’t go through with it after you hear him out, then say so and it will be done. Your choice to submit is always your choice.”
This time Kindle inhaled slower and let it seep from her parted lips softly. “Okay. I still have a problem of what to wear.”
“Something comfortable.” Emmalee stopped talking as the sound of a food processor whirled in the background, halting her speech for a moment.
Kindle waited.
When it was quiet again, she continued. “If you two actually do a session tonight, you will not want anything constricting against your skin. Yoga pants and a t-shirt.”
It seemed so casual, too casual for Kindle’s liking. She didn’t really own a lot of ‘dress down’ items and when she wore fitness gear, it was only to the gym. Rising from the bed, she went to her dresser, taking her friend’s experienced advice, Kindle agreed. “All right, I’ll trust you on this.”
“Smart woman,” Emmalee teased.
At that moment, Kindle’s cell phone vibrated against her face letting her know a text message was coming through. Pulling the phone away from her face, she read the name in the indicator bubble—Masaun Hawkes.
“Emmalee, I have to go.” Kindle pulled her bottom drawer open and removed one of her college t-shirts and a pair of cotton pants.
“No problem. I need to get dinner on the table anyway. Love ya.”
“Same here. I’ll call you next week.” Kindle hung up then pressed the message icon with her thumb.
Her heart lifted when she saw Masaun’s address then instantly it plummeted when she saw the words at the end—HAT. GLOVES. SCARF. SHOES. TRENCHCOAT. NOTHING ELSE.
So, much for yoga pants and shirt. There was no easing into this.
She swore this man got off on pushing her to the extreme of her tolerance. Evidently, her association with Masaun was going to take her through her long list of Nevers.
Never let a man control the relationship.
Never been struck.
Never gone out to meet a man nude beneath a long coat. Not even any of her ex-boyfriends had gotten that sort of surprise at their door.
Can I do this?
She could risk showing up in jeans and a turtleneck and see how he’d respond. Most likely send her packing.
Do I dare do this for Masaun?
Yes, was the small, whispered response from somewhere deep in her core. Listening to that voice, not evaluating it was pure lunacy, but she went back into her closet and started pulling out the articles.
After a quick shower where she washed and shaved, she toweled off then applied lotion everywhere. If the possibility was there that Masaun would see her completely nude, she wanted to take the extra minutes to prepare herself right. Done, she brushed her hair and put it back into a ponytail like it had been while she cleaned her home. Not wanting to prolong the time, she dressed then straightened up her room. She refused to have it in complete disarray as it had been last night while she was out meeting with him.
All too soon she was walking in the crisp fall night air to her car. She was thankful it wasn’t too chilly yet at night. In a little over a month, it would be Halloween and at that time the temperature in the Tidewater costal area would drop significantly; it never failed.
The traffic was light around town and twenty-three minutes later, she pulled up to Masaun’s house. A large two-story home that appeared conservative and classic with its wide front porch, brick structure, ivory trimmed shutters and manicured lawn. Even the mailperson would deliver items and never be the wiser of what went on in the house in such a middle class suburban neighborhood. She was sh
aking almost uncontrollably, but she refused to wimp out. Parking along the curb before his house, she got out and went to the door. She stood there for two minutes then exactly at four fifty nine she pressed the doorbell.
She didn’t have time to take a single breath before the door opened immediately while the last chime gonged.
~YH~
She was petrified. That was the first thing that Masaun noticed about the woman standing on his doorstep. Kindle stood there all bundled and cinched tight in her coat and winter garments. The expression on her face was what drew him in; her features were a calm mask, but her lips and eyes revealed the truth. Her lips were pressed tight, but curved up slightly in the corners and her golden-brown gaze was wide as a doe’s, however, trusting.
Giving her a smile, he said, “It’s good to see you, Kindle. Come in, please.”
Like entering a vampire’s lair, like a helpless woman he had beguiled and seduced to step outside her comfort zone, Kindle crossed the threshold into Masaun’s home.
Stop being so melodramatic, Kindle, she chided herself. Emmalee and Randolph’s home was a bright cheery place, yet they lived such a lifestyle as Masaun twenty-four seven.
“I’ll take your—”
He must have noticed her clutching her coat lapels. If he asked her to drop her covering now, she didn’t think she could do it.
Smiling, his eyes were bright with wickedness. “I’m only asking for your hat, gloves and scarf. I can’t have you passing out.”
“Oh.” Licking her lips, she tried to smile, but felt her lips quiver and wasn’t sure how much of a grin she actually pulled off. Removing the items and handing them to him, she could not believe how nervous she was. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d felt so out of sorts and uncomfortable.
“To your right is the living room. Take a seat on the couch.” He began folding her scarf and setting her things on the table beside the door, neatly.
There was no bite to his voice, but she understood a command when she heard one. Before her was a set of stairs that led to the second floor. There was an archway to her right and she could see into his home office. Moving forward, her riding boots tapping on the hardwood floor of the short, wide vestibule, she went to the right and entered the living room onto plush carpet.
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