I tense as he cups my cheek. Glancing up at him, suddenly I feel like I’m looking at a stranger again, just like the very first night. My mind floods with thoughts, mostly doubts. I’ve only really know Damien for what—a week?
“And you’ve done this before?”
His face tenses. “With Rhonda—I started to experiment. After her, though—I backed away from everything I was doing. It got too intense. I was afraid of who I might become. I bought this leather tie-and-collar set when I got back from Boca del Toro, but after that just put it in a box and never used it. I quit my job as a stripper for bachelorette parties, and used the money I’d made to get into real estate. I never thought I’d have the desire—or the trust—to want to give this lifestyle a go again.”
“Baby,” I whisper between short breaths. “Why didn’t you just tell me?” I run my hand through Damien’s thick hair, and bring it down to caress his bare shoulders. I take the leather set out of his hand and examine it more closely.
He lowers his eyes. “I trust you a lot—more than anyone I’ve met. I thought, maybe it’s too soon to have this conversation. And I worried because of how violent Nick seemed, that maybe I shouldn’t go there with you.”
“But you want to go there.”
He raises his eyes until they meet mine. “Yes,” he growls. “I do.”
His hand slides to my hip, and my body tingles all over. “What if I told you I want you to?”
“Want me to what?” he says his voice gravelly.
“Tie me up, Damien,” I say, handing it back to him. “I want you to tie me up.”
He draws his body closer into me. “You trust me?”
“Of course I do,” I mutter. “More than anyone I’ve ever met.”
“I’m going to make you mine, Krista.” His voice is low and leaves no room for argument. Taking my hand, he leads me to the bedroom.
For some reason, my mind flashes back to Damien going after Nick. He’s a physically powerful man who could do damage if he wanted to. Truthfully though, I trust him with my life.
I turn to face him.
“You ready for the fun and games to begin, Princess?”
20
Damien
My heartbeat speeds up, adrenaline and the chemicals of love crashing through me. As I lead Krista to the bedroom, I’m so damn turned on by her it’s ridiculous. Her scent is hot, sexy, and tropical.
This isn’t how I pictured this going down, necessarily.
I wanted more time with Krista before we went down this path. This isn’t a side of me I’m accustomed to showing after such a short time.
And here we are after barely five of the ten nights we agreed to.
Holding her hand, I guide her to the bed and she sits on top of the covers, hesitant. Anxiety is written all over her face. She cocks her head a little, and I notice her fidgeting with her hands.
“Nervous?” I ask.
She nods, her eyes drifting to the leather straps I’m holding in my hand.
I thread my hand through her hair, then tip her chin up toward me. I didn’t want to get to this point so quickly. The timing really couldn’t have been any worse.
If I had known what a sick fuck Nick had the potential to be, I would have never taken this little box out of my closet. What started out as a silly little game, a fun secret to reveal to Krista, became something bigger. Something menacing.
Something I suddenly became ashamed of.
I wanted more time with her before we delved into what the straps really meant and how we could use them, but Krista’s curiosity about the box, combined with our chance run-in with Rhonda, made waiting impossible.
I ducked and dodged her comments as best I could. Sure, we could spend the time on the island surfing, sunbathing, and having a good time. But then what? If our relationship was built on an underlying lie by omission, what good was all of our fun and shared experiences?
“You can trust me,” I say in a low voice.
“What are we doing exactly?” she says with a forced smile, and it pains me to see how hesitant she is. That’s not what I want to see. “When you say fun and games...what do you mean?”
“We won’t do anything you don’t want to do,” I say firmly. “This is about trust. And exploring limits. Pick a safe word.”
“Like a word I can say that will stop the action?”
“Right,” I say, massaging her shoulder.
“That feels good.” She puts her hand on top of mine. “Don’t stop.”
“Your safe word is ‘don’t stop?’” I chide.
She rolls her eyes, and I’m relieved to see a natural smile spread across her face again.
“No. How about Pineapple.”
“You’re the boss. Pineapple it is.”
I fall to the bed, and we make out for a few minutes on top of the covers. I lightly caress her body over her dress, and eventually my hand reaches to her thigh, drawing my fingers slowly along her leg.
Her tequila soaked lips taste amazing.
I pull back and thread my fingers through her thick hair.
“You ready?” I ask.
She nods. I help her slip off her dress.
“You’re so beautiful,” I whisper, and she turns a ruddy shade of red.
There are a million more things I want to say to her in this moment. I stare at her intensely, and when her eyes return to mine she parts her lips at the intensity of my stare.
“What are you thinking about?” she whispers, running her hand along my tattooed forearm and shoulder.
“You really want to know?”
She nods.
“Fine. I want to tell you how I believe you are an angel sent to me. I’ve been going through my own shit this fall and somehow, this past week, it’s all moved to the back of my consciousness. All I can think about is you.”
Her chest heaves, her nipples hardening. Hovering above her, my hand on her hip, I continue.
“I want to ask you a million questions. I want to get to the bottom of what happened between you and Nick. I want to know what he did that messed you up so badly. I want to move slow with you. I want to laze around with you on the beach all day drinking rum and cokes, and then I want to bring you back here and screw you so hard…”
“Stop,” she moans bending her head back and exposing her neck to me. “We still can’t have sex. The ten days. You can’t talk like that.”
“Why not? You don’t want to hear about how good and hard I’m going to fuck you when we finally make it through the ten nights?” I ask.
“If you keep talking like that I’m not going to make it.”
“Oh, you’re going to make it,” I grin evilly. “If I have to do this…”
I grab hold of the leather straps. Fastening each of her wrists, I extend them over her head.
She watches, fascinated. Her eyes focused on me, a nervous smile flicks across her face.
“So what are you going to do with me now? Just tie me up and leave me here?”
Kneeling next to her on the bed, I run a hand over the soft skin of her cheek.
“Are you worried?”
“No,” she whispers.
I put my hand to the skin of her heart. I put my ear to her heart and listen. The flesh of her chest is hot to the touch as it brushes my face.
“Ooh,” she moans. “Your beard tickles.”
“And your boobs are hot.”
“You’ve said that before, I’m pretty sure.”
I throw my head back in laughter. “Yeah, I’m sure I have. But now, I mean like, literally. They have a hot temperature. You okay?”
“I’m nervous,” she admits.
I clench and unclench my fist, taking a deep breath. “On a one to ten scale, how nervous are you?”
"I'm a six."
"Well I'm a nine. Do you want to…” I trailed off, giving her time to get the joke. “Just kidding."
She smiles again, and I love the fact that I'm getting pretty good at making her do that.
"I do feel like I'm at your mercy right now. I'm totally vulnerable."
"Yes you are. Besides your legs."
Stretching across her body, I grab the pillow case from one of the pillows that we'd tossed aside.
"What are you..." she mumbles as I reposition my body, sliding behind her so my chest touches her back.
"Ow," she says when the zipper of my khakis touches her soft skin.
"Shit, I'd better remove those," I say, and waste no time sliding them off so I've only got my briefs on. I slip my body back behind her, wrapping my legs around her.
"Better?" I ask, and she nods.
We're not going to have sex. I have no plans to get off right now. But as Krista gently writhes against me, this is the most erotic experience I've ever had in my life. My thick cock presses against the cloth of my briefs, aching with need for Krista. Begging for release.
But this isn't about me right now. It's about her.
She wiggles her ass into me as I wrap the cloth around her face.
"Mmm what are you..."
She has her answer when I fix the cloth around her eyes.
"Oh that’s what you’re doing. I can't see anything. "
"What do you feel, though?" I say as I wiggle my hips into her, trying to get comfortable.
“Your hands on my stomach. Mmm that feels good,” she moans as I bring them down her torso.
She giggles.
“What’s so funny?” I ask accusatorily, scrunching up my face as I nibble on her ear.
A slow smile spreads across her face. “I can feel your cock pushing into my back. You’re...really hard aren’t you?”
“Yeah. You’re exactly right. You make me hard. Shocking, I know.”
Grinning, I get out from behind her and reposition my body in front of her so I’m on my stomach. “You know, you’re cute when you’re nervous,” I add, sprinkling kisses on her thighs.
“I’m not nervous,” she swallows, and I see her body shaking. “I swear.”
Just then, I hear a knock on the door. “Who the fuck could that be?” I wonder.
“Just get it,” Krista says. “I want to keep playing this game. I bet it’s the bellhop or something. Tell him to go away, and put the do not disturb sign on our door. And don’t worry, I’ll be here when you get back.”
I get a chuckle out of that one, and head to the door to see who it is.
“Well, this is a surprise,” I say, a smile on my face.
21
Krista
“Holy shit,” I hear Damien exclaim after opening the door.
My eyes still covered, my hearing is hypersensitive, along with my touch. I hear two male voices talking at a low volume, though I can’t make out what they’re saying.
My skin runs hot all of the sudden, the absence of clothes makes me realize I’m totally naked and exposed.
I’m powerless.
As much as I trust Damien, what if it’s someone odd at the door, someone who could threaten us. Nick?
Shoot. Why does my mind go right to him. We’re in freaking Panama. There’s no way Nick could have found us. Isn’t he still badly injured, anyway?
What if Nick has the video, and he’s showing Damien? Would Damien let it go? Things I don’t want to think about.
I twist my wrists against the leather straps, suddenly wishing I was some kind of a Houdini escape artist. Wouldn’t that be something. My mind wanders to Damien and what else he wanted to do with me. This was what he was so ashamed of? Playing some tie-me-up game? It seems like there must be more to this story.
Just how far does this game go?
My chest heaves, the time passing in slow motion, suddenly. I don’t like being this vulnerable and not having him next to me. I need his presence to feel at ease. But damn, what kind of neediness is that? Francine at the hospital texts her boyfriend every hour on the hour. Is that the kind of reassurance I need?
A breeze wafts through our main dining room and it sends a chill down my spine. My nipples harden, and I squirm, twisting my legs back and forth.
I’m wet. I ache for release. Damien was on the brink of giving it to me. I burn with anticipation, dripping with just the thought of him running his tongue on my clit.
His expert tongue. God he’s good at that.
I quiver and let out the softest of moans as I press my legs together needing an orgasmic release. This isn’t fair. He can’t build me up like that and then suddenly ignore me. What kind of man does that?
But I’m too turned on to hate him, and my sudden ire only serves to make me needier. I pull the leather straps taut and wish I had superwoman strength to break them and touch myself.
Heavy footsteps on the wooden floor, coming this way. Is it one man or two? I can’t tell.
I arch my head back in anticipation as the door creaks open.
“Krista, I—”
What does he see? Does he note how badly I want him to have his way with me? How stressed this tie-up game made me in lieu of my recent traumatic experience?
And how much my body aches with need for his mouth and his cock?
“Baby, you look so tense,” He growls, and I hear the door creak shut.
“I am tense,” I respond, breathing a little hard.
I feel the bed cave in a little bit as he kneels next to me. His serene but strong fingers run across my cheek.
“Who was at the door?” I ask.
HIs fingers move slowly and methodically down my jawline to my neck. My breast. “Stop teasing me,” I beg.
“Baby, it was Axel,” Damiens says in a lowered voice. “He’s here with Amelia. They have the next cabana down from us on the water. We want to go get some lunch.”
“Is he waiting out there?”
“No.” He slips his hand down my torso to my ass, and wraps his hand around me. “I told him we would head over in a few minutes.”
“Okay,” I say, my hips gyrating forward.
“I told him we would eat a little bit here first.”
“We don’t have any food here, though?”
“Maybe not for you,” he growls, and I can picture the cocky smirk on his face even though I can’t see it.
“Oh God, Damien…” He works kisses down my stomach, my hips, and kisses my clit. I feel the bed caving in between my legs.
“You’re still tense,” he adds. “Relax. This is all about relaxing.”
I bite the pillows so I don’t scream and alert the whole damn resort.
“You fuckin knocked him out,” Axel says as he takes a big bite of a chicken leg. “That’s insane. You’re a mad man.”
Damien scoots his chair closer to me. He glances at me as though just the thought of fighting for me makes him need to check on me again. Then he shrugs.
“I did it. I’d do it again.”
Amelia finishes chewing a bit of her salad and shakes her head. “I can’t get over how you took a bat to the head and you’re basically fine.”
Damien winks. “My mom always told me I have a thick skull. Probably all of those times I got knocked out fighting in high school.”
I tense up at hearing that. “You know, I’m not even going to ask.”
For a minute, we eat in silence. The bright afternoon sunlight streams into the dining hall, amplified by the white walls on all sides. A huge window next to us overlooks the water.
“We should head to the falls today,” Axel suggests, watching our faces for interest.
I nod. “I’d be into that.”
“Which falls?” I ask.
“Boca Falls is about an hour hike from the resort. Worth it though. At the end of the path, there’s a waterfall right next to a hot spring. It’s like a hot tub.”
“Amazing,” Axel adds.
Amelia and I look at each other and give a sounds-good-to-me nod.
After lunch we take off down the trail. Amelia and I follow behind the tattooed, muscular frames of Damien and Axel, who are enthusiastically retelling stories about the first time they were here.
“This is literally the most picturesque place I’ve ever been,” Axel says, turning over his shoulder. The way the fresh air breezes against our faces, and the big tropical tree branches hang overhead, I can only imagine what the addition of a waterfall would do to add to that panorama.
Damien gets a curious look on his face and turns to Ax, his voice lowered. “Should we tell them about the tea?”
Axel’s eyes widen. “Holy shit, I forgot about the tea. I don’t know, man.”
“What tea?” Amelia demands, and I second her curiosity.
Axel lets out a huff of air. “The last time we came here, this villager offered us tea when we were on this path. He said it would aid with ‘enjoyment of the ions of the waterfall.’”
“Ions? What do ions have to do with anything?” I retort.
Ax shrugs. “Honestly, I don’t even know what an ion is. But we drank the tea and...wow. Back me up, Dame.”
Damien nods. “Let’s just say it was the most relaxing couple of hours we’ve ever had.”
I scrunch up my face, a little suspicious. “So what exactly was in this tea? Pot? Alcohol?”
Ax shakes his head. “Neither of those. To be honest, I don’t know. Some indigenous plant is what the guy said who sold it to us.”
Amelia drops her jaw, a little indignant. “You just drank tea from some random guy? What if it was poison?”
Ax and Damien laugh. “Why would someone poison two random guys? It seemed a bit far fetched,” Damien shrugs. “We just went with it. And enjoyed the ride.”
I shake my head. “I think I know too much about medications because of my background. There are so many ways it could kill you!”
Damien and Ax nod thoughtfully. Looking at their bodies glistening in the sun with their shirts off and slung over their shoulders, I can see why guys like them would think they’re invincible. I don’t know Ax very well, but he and Damien seem like two peas in a pod. I can see why they didn’t fear trying some random indigenous concoction.
“Aren’t there like, undiscovered plants in the rain forest that can cure cancer though?” Damien finally asks.
Amelia and I chuckle. I wipe the sweat from my my brow and nod. “Supposedly.”
-->