The Velvet Ribbon

by Christie Adams

  Alex took so much care with her bonds, far more than she anticipated. He didn’t just clip the cuffs to eyebolts on the cross—he made a thorough examination of the contact with her tender skin, ensuring that there would be no chafing and that her circulation wouldn’t be compromised, and all the while he murmured distracting, sexy nothings close to her ear. With her back to him, she was especially vulnerable. Secured in position, she could do nothing to stop the delicious sensation of his hands roaming freely over her body, stroking her flesh.

  Or the crack of the open-handed slap on her bottom, followed by the soothing stroke of that same hand. The sharp contact made her flinch, but then warm waves of pleasure crashed through her. How many times over the last few years had she fantasised about this?

  “Ah, Beth, we both know you like that, don’t we?” He placed an open-mouthed kiss on the side of her neck while playing with her breast. For a fanciful moment she imagined herself being ravished by a vampire, the romantic anti-hero image enhanced by the outfit he was wearing. “In view of the fact that you’ve kept your submissive tendencies hidden from me all this time, I think I need to introduce you to something with a little more sting to it.”

  Moving around so that he could see her face, Alex produced a length of chain. “These are called tweezer clamps—ideal for someone new to the scene. I can vary how much pressure they apply to your nipples. Hold yourself away from the cross.”

  The pinch of the clamps on her nipples made her gasp.

  “Because you’re new to this, I’m going to ask you how this feels—in future, though, I will decide how much pressure is applied. Tell me.”

  “Thank you, Alex. Green. It feels good.”

  She started again at the touch of his hand between her legs.

  “I can tell. Your pussy’s dripping with need right now.” He tapped her clit twice; her knees buckled when he followed that with a relentless pressure. ”And now that we have your delicious nipples nicely adorned, it’s time to reacquaint you with the flogger.”

  If such an implement could be said to be beautiful, then this one was a work of art. The sensation of the tails, fashioned from red suede, teasing her flesh as Alex draped them over her shoulder, was exquisite; when he used it in a sequence of figure of eight movements across her upper back, it felt divine. The rhythm matched the pulse of blood through her veins, while the impact made her skin feel alive.

  “My darling Beth, I wish you could see what I see.”

  He dropped the flogger to one side and moved to stand close, his chest pressed against her back, arms lined up with hers. She let herself lean back against him, relying on his strength to hold both of them up. He was whispering close to her ear again, words she could barely hear but they thrilled her all the same, sensual promises of all the things he wanted to do to her.

  His hands stroked down the sensitive skin of her sides. When he reached her hips, he pulled her back hard against him, leaving her in no doubt about his state of arousal when he ground his pelvis against her bottom. “You feel what you do to me, sub?” he growled into the side of her neck.

  The impersonal mode of address still made her shiver. His hands wandered further, around to her breasts, where his fingers caught hold of the chain linking the nipple clamps. When he tugged gently, she whimpered with pleasure-pain, letting herself lean more heavily against his body, anchored now by the arm that had moved around her waist.

  With her Dom’s strength to rely on, Beth knew that she was where she was always supposed to be, with the man she was always supposed to be with. Every nerve ending she possessed buzzed with vitality at his closeness, she felt him in every cell in her body.

  The heat of his body left hers, disturbing the haze that was enveloping her. Her breathing shallow, she awaited his return, and was rewarded a few moments later with the touch of something light and soft tracing the line of her spine.

  “D/s isn’t all about chains and whips and pain, my love.” His velvet voice wrapped itself around her senses. “I can use pleasure to drive you out of your mind; I can torture you with feathers, and hold you captive in nothing more than silk and lace.”

  It wouldn’t even take that, Beth recognised. That voice could hold her captive; a disapproving look in his eyes could torture her. He was holding her again, anchoring her against his heat and strength, so she had no chance of wriggling away from the feather that he was stroking across the delicate skin of her abdomen. She moaned softly, turning her head away from the exquisitely agonising sensation, only to feel the sharp spike of the clamps on her tender nipples.

  How long the sheer torment of it all went on for, Beth had no idea. Each new implement drove her closer to a climax, only for Alex to draw back and choose something else with which to torment her all over again. Each time, a voice that wasn’t hers but had to be hers begged him for release and each time he denied her. Neither would he give her time to recover before stimulating her anew. Sweat dewed her body and her heart was racing in preparation for the orgasm that never came.

  “Please…Alex…Sir…” She moaned when his hand went between her legs again, to stroke her folds and lightly scratch his nail over her hypersensitive clit. The world beyond her body had ceased to exist—apart from the man who controlled every sensation inflicted upon her trembling flesh.

  “You need to come, don’t you, my love?” he murmured as he moved from one side to the other. His hand stroked her inner thigh, where the moisture that flooded her pussy now betrayed her raging arousal.

  “Please…”

  “You need my dick, don’t you? Just here.”

  Two fingers scissored inside her. Beth moaned again, let her head fall back as her back arched in an attempt to force those fingers deeper inside her. She ached…oh, how she ached for him to fill her body as he filled her heart, to have Alex take her hard and fast and let her come while he was inside her.

  Wet. Empty. Need. The words whirled around in her mind. She was barely aware of Alex bending to release her ankles, the rasp of his zip or the sound of him opening a foil packet, but then he was lifting her, and when she felt his cock drive deep inside her she cried out, unable to contain the detonation of sensation, an explosion that went on and on with each rhythmic thrust into her body. And when finally she came, so did he, with a guttural cry of fulfilment moments after she screamed her release and all but collapsed against him.

  A few seconds later, she was freed from the cross. Alex had her in his arms and was carrying her to the huge bed, where he laid her down and attended to the nipple clamps. The sensation of blood rushing back to the tormented flesh had her arching against his mouth, and then his fingers replaced that sweet agony.

  “Please, may I speak, Sir?” she whispered, loving him with her eyes.

  He stroked the damp hair off her forehead. “You may, Beth. The scene’s over now, it’s just you and me.”

  “Thank you.” She turned her face to rest her cheek against his palm. “That was…it just was…”

  He was smiling down at her, a smile that spoke of a special intimacy that came along once in a lifetime. “I know. You’re mine now, Beth. Let me be your guide and your protector –”

  “Will you be my lover, too?”

  He bent to kiss her forehead. “I already am, sweetheart.” He frowned as she gave a little shiver. “Time to get you into bed, I think—you need to rest.”

  Beth giggled a little drunkenly, still high from the session. “I’m already in bed, Alex.”

  “Not this bed—our bed.”

  As if she were a fragile work of art, he carried her from the playroom to his bedroom. Once she was safely tucked in, he stripped off his own clothes—Beth watched him greedily, drinking in every perfect line of his body, the way his muscles flowed with his economical movements. He disappeared briefly, returning a few moments later with a bottle of water and a glass.

  “You need to have a drink before we sleep,” he said, filling the glass. “All of it.” He
remained by her side while she finished the water.

  “Thank you, Alex.”

  “Beth, you don’t need to keep thanking me.”

  “I do it because I want to do it, and because it feels right to do it.” She sighed, the sigh turning into a yawn she tried to stifle. “I feel so tired.”

  “Then there’s just one more thing I need to do.”

  Her neck felt too bare without the collar, and when she asked about the gold necklace, Alex shook his head. “Tomorrow, sweetheart. I want you to relax tonight, and I think you’ll find it easier to rest without the chain.”

  Beth felt strangely bereft—it felt wrong to be without the mark of Alex’s ownership. “Then, please, may I have the ribbon back?”

  “No.” His response was immediate. “You have your real collar now, Beth, and you are not going back to a bloody ribbon. It’s not open for discussion.”

  He gave her a look that plainly said he knew best.

  Beth knew she should be happier about that, but she wasn’t going to argue the point now. She watched her Dom move around the bed, and when he joined her she turned into his embrace as if she’d always belonged there.

  Her last thought, before sleep claimed her, was that at last she could be the woman she was always meant to be.

  11

  Beth woke up alone.

  It was early, not yet 6 a.m., and everywhere was in darkness. The other half of the bed was cold; wherever Alex had gone, it must have been a while ago. Given the lack of a note, it wasn’t unreasonable to assume he’d be back soon.

  A shower followed by breakfast seemed to be the best idea after such a good night’s sleep. The session in the playroom hadn’t been enough for Alex—when they’d finally headed for the bedroom late last night, he’d let her sleep for a while. When she woke again, after maybe a couple of hours, it was to find him watching her, his gaze intense enough to infect her with the same lust that rode him. He’d made her climax hard and often before finally letting her fall asleep again. He’d certainly excelled in his pursuit of ensuring she had multiple orgasms. A hot shower might help to ease some of the unfamiliar aches.

  While the coffee machine was working its magic, Beth rummaged in the American-style fridge-freezer. It was well-stocked, so there had to be something in there suitable for a cooked breakfast. She was just reaching for the packet of bacon when all of a sudden the kitchen door behind her burst open, revealing Alex as she’d never seen him before. And boy, did the sight of him send her hormones into a frenzy. She blinked slowly, just to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating…or fantasising. A quick lick of the lips ensured she wasn’t drooling either, because…hellfire, he looked so droolworthy.

  The camouflage gear and chunky boots harked back to his time in the military. Beth hadn’t known him back then, but if he looked this hot in something close to battle dress, what must he have looked like in his dress uniform? That thought alone would have been enough to melt the knickers that, like a good sub, she wasn’t wearing. Even the flex of his powerful shoulders as he shrugged off the heavy-looking pack was enough to get her thinking thoughts that didn’t belong in a kitchen.

  “Good morning, love. I hope I didn’t disturb you.”

  In his arms, the last thing Beth cared about was the stubble that graced his jaw and the sweat that resulted from the run it was now obvious he’d taken. Strands of dark hair clung to his damp forehead. She resisted the urge to comb them into some sort of order with her fingers—a little boy in need of tidying up, he was not. There was nothing little about this man.

  “Only by not being there when I woke up. I’d forgotten you’d said you were going for a run. Come to think of it,” she added with a mischievous grin, “it was all I could do to remember my name when I woke up this morning.”

  He returned her grin, although there was something very male and very smug about it. Then he looked thoughtful. “If you could still remember your name, maybe I need to brush up on my technique.”

  Beth swatted his arm. “You brush up on your technique any more, and I’ll have permanent amnesia! So…how did it go?”

  His expression sobered. “Could have been better. God, it wasn’t this difficult twenty years ago!”

  Beth realised she was still holding onto the bacon. She deposited it on the kitchen counter so she could wrap her arms around the man she loved and focus her attention on him.

  “Hey, what’s this for?”

  “Just because. So…I want details. How far did you get?” She looked up at Alex’s face; even unshaven and glistening with sweat, he was still the man she craved beyond all others. She was addicted to him.

  “Ten miles, and it took me too bloody long. Fifteen years ago, a performance like that would have had me drummed out of the Regiment.”

  A strange feeling rippled through Beth. Now that she knew the truth about Alex’s past, as opposed to the gossip that periodically scuttled through the office, she could look at him with fresh eyes. She saw the man of action who’d put his life on the line countless times without a thought for his own safety. The things he must have done in the service of his country, things that would never make TV news reports and probably didn’t even have an official record of their existence, made her blood run cold.

  “Hey, come back to me, Beth. Where did you go just then?”

  His genuine concern snapped her out of her dark thoughts and back to the present. “Nowhere.” She smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Why don’t you get a shower and a shave, and I’ll make breakfast?”

  “Sounds good to me, sweetheart. Make it a good one—we have a lot to do today.”

  And with a playful slap to her behind, he disappeared.

  Beth busied herself with putting together a gourmet cooked breakfast—eggs, bacon, sausages, tomatoes, the works. Once everything was cooking, she went to move the backpack from where Alex had dropped it, only to find that she could barely drag it, never mind lift it. He’d run ten miles with that on his back? What did he have in it? She opened it up, half-expecting to find a load of bricks.

  She wasn’t far wrong; it looked like half a quarry. What amazed her most was that he’d arrived back barely out of breath—that spoke volumes about his existing level of fitness. And he thought he was out of shape? No way!

  He had perfect timing as well; she was just putting the finishing touches to his breakfast when he ambled back into the kitchen, his hair slick and damp from the shower. She looked up with a grin, only for her face to fall when she caught his disapproving look at the single plate.

  “Beth, have you already eaten?”

  “No, I thought I’d wait for you.”

  “Then where the hell’s your breakfast?”

  Beth looked from him to the plate, then back at him—and raised her eyebrows. Her glasses had slipped down her nose slightly, so she ended up looking at him over the top of the frames. She pointed to the grill. “If I have the same as you, it’ll end up welded to my hips and I’ll need a new wardrobe every three months! There are four rashers of bacon under there—I’m having a bacon sandwich. Now, go and sit down, and I’ll be right with you.”

  Beth carried the groaning plate over to the informal dining table by the French windows, joining him in the seat opposite when her breakfast was ready. She shot him a look and pointed at the proof of what she’d told him.

  Alex stopped with a laden fork halfway to his mouth, glanced at the sandwich…then put the fork down again, picked up the sandwich and helped himself to a bite—a big one. His eyebrows rose in appreciation as he chewed slowly, savouring the taste, and after he swallowed, he delivered his opinion. “That’s good.”

  “Oh, I’m so glad you approve.” Beth slowly folded her arms, with what she hoped was an appropriate degree of indignant menace. “I know it is. I make a mean bacon butty. How’s your breakfast?”

  “Excellent.” The laden fork resumed its interrupted mission.

  “So what was all the fuss abo
ut? You didn’t think I was going to wait for permission…did you?”

  He shrugged. “It’s been known. Some Doms—the minority, thank God—demand it. At the risk of stating what I hope is the obvious, I’m not one of them.”

  Beth put her sandwich down, so that she could give her full attention to the man in front of her. “I never thought for one instant that you were.” Then she leaned across the table and gently kissed his cheek.

  The moment passed; the look Alex gave her filled her with love for him all over again, but just for a moment, before he ruined it by speaking. “Anyway, you never told me you could cook. You make great coffee, but somehow I’ve always laboured under the impression you could burn water.”

  Beth’s eyes narrowed; she knew he was just teasing her, but she could give as good as she got, up to and including kicking his ankle under the table if necessary. Maybe she’d keep that in her arsenal for another time. “You never specified cooking as an essential skill on the job advert, nor do I remember ever having to cook as part of my office duties.”

  “Touché.” Alex grinned. “My, we are grumpy this morning.”

  “I wasn’t grumpy until someone helped himself to my breakfast. Just for that, I’m not cooking the steaks I found in the fridge for dinner tonight.” She took a purposely dainty bite of her sandwich, relishing the taste of the crisp grilled bacon between the slices of wholegrain bread.

  Alex didn’t even look up from his plate when he spoke. “That’s okay; it’ll save you turning them into a burnt offering to the gods of gastronomy.”

  Oh, that kick was so tempting. However, Beth responded with nothing more lethal than an irate glare, which was promptly defused by the roguish grin he gave her. His eyes were shining with humour.

  She’d show him. Mustering all her dignity, she sat up straight and stuck her tongue out at him, before taking another bite of food.

  “You know you just earned yourself a spanking.”

  “What?” Beth nearly choked. “But we’re not…this is the kitchen!”