by Anya Summers
And then Delilah's sweet voice joined him on the refrain.
"Until I met you
I didn't know what love was
Right from the start
You captured my heart
And with each breath I take
I promise to forsake all but you
Until I met you."
He added some chords as she sang the second verse solo.
"Now we take a chance to build a love that lasts
Once we were two but now we're one
In this time and in this space you are my saving grace."
"Until I met you
I didn't know what love was
Right from the start
You captured my heart
And with each breath I take
I promise to forsake all but you
Until I met you."
"With this ring I promise to you
That from this moment
And unto my death I will love you."
"Until I met you
I didn't know love
Right from the start
You captured my heart
And with each breath I take
I promise to forsake all but you
Until I met you."
By the time they crooned the last word, Bastian was mesmerized. She'd killed it on the first run through. He shot a glance at his band members, who all had this 'holy shit, is she for real?' expression on their faces. Good to know he wasn't the only one flummoxed by her voice. He'd worn a similar expression when they'd met.
"Mind if we run through that again? I just want to make sure I have it down," Delilah said, rather off the cuff as she studied the sheet music with a contemplative stare on her lovely face.
"Sure. Before we do, any thoughts?"
"Well, I do have one."
"Shoot. I'd like to hear it."
She nodded. "Okay, what if during the refrain, we didn't start it together, and I came in, say, two beats behind, shadowing you? Then we add the extra two beats at the end of the line 'I promise to forsake,' and then—"
"We sing the final line together. I like the sound of it. I'm game to try it that way. Guys, did you catch all that? Let's try it Dee's way."
Tap, tap, tap, tap, and Eric's drums sounded. They performed it with Delilah's suggestion and that did it, she had uncovered the missing piece that transformed the song from merely pretty into memorable. She had an excellent ear, not that he was surprised by her talent in the slightest.
As a group, they practiced until they had perfected it, which meant both he and Delilah could sing it without the sheet music present. It was a wholly unique experience for him. He'd never been with a woman both professionally and personally. All through his career, he'd been mindful not to mix the two together. He'd never allowed a woman to enter what he considered his sacred space. And yet, with Delilah, he had invited her in, practically laying out a welcoming mat for her to enter his sanctuary. And he'd be buggered if she didn't fit right in.
Her camaraderie with his band mates, who were all a little stunned and not a little infatuated with the busty beauty, warmed the cockles of his heart. He could envision how it could be between them, the shared understanding that each other's careers demanded.
He made himself a vow that before they left the manor, he would convince her to accept his cuffs, and more importantly, him.
Chapter Nine
There was a knock on her door, and Delilah's belly fluttered as she approached it. This was the last night the club would be open for business in a semi-normal fashion, since it had already been closed to guests outside those in attendance for the wedding. Tomorrow night, after the rehearsal dinner, Jared and the Doms of the DFC were hosting Declan's bachelor party there. So the rest of the owners had sent another email to club members with instructions that the facilities would be available for use for club members in attendance at the wedding. However, after tonight, patrons needed to be mindful and discreet in their attire. On the morrow there would be press people, members of Declan's various company boards, and other wedding guests not part of the lifestyle arriving, and secrecy was of the utmost importance for the DFC.
This was fine by Delilah, but Bastian had requested she wear something appropriate for tonight and she'd selected an outfit she'd not had the courage to wear before. With everything, the guilt at denying Bastian's request to accept his cuffs had eaten away at her all day. It had even diminished her pleasure at dinner that evening when she'd met Hunter Clarke, blockbuster movie star, and club member she'd not met before.
She opened the door and found Bastian leaning against the jamb looking especially bad-ass in black leather pants that rode low over his hips and laced at his crotch. He'd left his chest bare; all that acreage of muscle heading to his victory lines, displaying his tattoos and sculpted abs for her viewing pleasure. The full sleeve was a Celtic tribal piece of artwork that she'd traced intimately with her tongue last night. Then the half sleeve on the opposite arm had a tiger amidst the tribal design, and he'd proven to her that he certainly had the stamina of one.
Bastian made her ache in ways she hadn't thought possible.
Delilah didn't know what to do about him, about his desire for her to wear his cuffs. She knew a number of women who would bash her upside the head for even considering turning him down, let alone actually doing so. He'd made it on to People Magazine's Sexiest Men Alive issue for a few years running. Women would literally clobber her over the head, troll her social media and more, if it was discovered she'd said no in any fashion to Bastian Dean.
Except that wasn't what made her want to say yes. It was the way he looked at her, like she was the most beautiful woman and he only had eyes for her. That, with a single touch, she wanted to sink into his heat, his strength, and roll around in him. Ethan had certainly never done so or made her feel this way. No man had, if she were honest. And it was unfair of her to continue comparing Bastian to her ex. There was no comparison. Bastian put her ex in the dust, and didn't deserve that.
"Ready, beautiful?"
He held out his bare arm as if he were dressed in tails and they were about to ascend the stairs to the opera house, instead of heading to the Dungeon to perform an explicit scene. He didn't comment on her robe or question her appearance, but trusted that she was ready for the club. It was nice to be thought of like she was an intelligent, capable woman. Delilah was more than ready for the club. She'd chosen the itty bity honeycomb fishnet dress with the intent to wow Bastian, and she couldn't wait to see his reaction. The man seemed to love her body, curves and all, making her feel brave enough, confident enough, to wear the dress for the first time.
It amazed her just how, little by little, Bastian had begun soothing the destruction to her confidence and composure wrought by Ethan.
Without a backward glance at her room, she accepted his arm, sliding her fingers around his forearm, and let him lead the way.
"Ready," she replied, feeling more confident about herself on his arm. It shouldn't matter that he liked her body and found her attractive. But dammit, it did. After being told on a nigh relentless basis just how frumpy she looked, to have someone like Bastian lust after her body was an intoxicating experience.
They strolled toward the elevator; the hum of the always present electric currents between them sizzling. And Delilah was surprised at the emotion she felt. She was happy. When was the last time she'd caught herself being happy? It had been ages. That was what happened when you eliminated a toxic personality from your life. She hadn't been belittled or talked down to in more than a month. And while she'd been at the manor, her incessant inner critic had all but been silenced by Bastian's arrival in her life.
It left her wondering for the hundredth time if she weren't a few beers shy of a six-pack for not wearing his cuffs.
"Are you going to Zoey's bachelorette party tomorrow night?" he asked as he pressed the elevator call button.
"I don't know if I should. I'm not sure it's proper considering
I don't really know her." But she'd like to; she'd like to get to know all of the women in the wedding hoopla. It had been so long since she'd had a group of girlfriends.
"I think you should go. It will be good for you to mingle with some of the attached subs."
And that was part of the problem. Between Zoey, her glowing pregnant sister Ophelia, Kara, Lucy, and Elise, Delilah didn't know if mingling with them would be a good idea—not when everyone had weddings and 'till death do they part' on the brain. Sure, Amaya would be there, and Declan's distant cousin Veronica, who seemed nice, if a little shy, but weddings, baby showers, and bachelorette parties tended to make women go a little overboard crazy.
"I'll think about it," she replied. It was the best she could do. Most likely she wouldn't make her decision until the eleventh hour, anyhow.
In the elevator, after Bastian put in the code to take them down to the Dungeon level, Delilah slipped the black silk robe off her shoulders. Yes, she was risking running into one of the orchestra members, but they had all claimed to be heading to their rooms for the night after everyone had had dinner.
"You're killing me," Bastian groaned, and yanked her close. "It's a good thing I didn't know you were wearing this when I arrived at your room, because we never would have made it to the club," he murmured just as the doors slid open and thumping bass from some heavy metal band Delilah didn't know played from the hidden wall speakers.
Bastian pulled her into the club, heading directly toward the scene area instead of the bar. She had hoped to have a drink first, but Bastian seemed in a hurry to begin their scene and get his hands on her. She shivered involuntarily as her insides quaked in anticipation. The power of it, of what her body was capable of doing to him, the desire and need it created in him, notched her confidence up a few levels. The roped-off scene area they entered had a punishment bench.
Delilah's body shuddered as excitement flooded her system. Discipline was one of her favorite parts of the BDSM lifestyle, and a major turn-on for her. He knew that, and planned to capitalize on it in their first public scene together. She had to give the guy credit; he certainly had paid attention to her wants and needs. He didn't have to instruct her to disrobe, her hands were already at the hem of her dress.
When she was completely nude, Bastian helped her onto the bench. She knelt on the padded knee cushions. From this position, her legs were spread in an open, wide V, and it put her rear at waist height for Bastian. He lowered the center pole, adjusting it to accommodate her shorter height. Then she leaned forward until her forearms rested on smaller leather arm pads. The bench put her body into a doggy style position. Bastian fastened both her wrists and ankles into the attached cuffs, which made it impossible for her to move away.
"Comfortable, love?" He caressed her cheek.
"Yes, Sir."
Tingles of anticipation swept along her spine as Bastian shuffled around the space, pulling packages out of the armoire. Then he came and knelt in front of her so that his face was level with hers. He took her lips in a kiss that seared her soul. It was drugging, hypnotic; she would have agreed to anything in that moment. His hand toyed with her breasts, teasing the areolas until they hardened and swelled from his touch. Bastian broke the kiss, moved lower and tongued her peak until it pebbled into a hard point, then placed a black suction cup around the tip and twisted. Pleasure-pain zinged her system.
The device made it feel like his lips were sucking on her nipple with unrelenting pressure. Bastian did the same to her other breast, putting it into a suction twist. Her boobs throbbed, and pleasure coursed through her system.
He kissed her again briefly before standing and leaving her field of vision. She felt him moving around behind her. Her body was on a delicious edge of anticipation, but she didn't have to wait long to discover what he had planned. His fingers danced over her slit, rubbing over her entire crease.
She hissed out a breath as his mouth went directly to her clitoris, lashing the nub with his tongue. Spirals of pleasure filtered through her as the bud grew extended from his attentions. And then he affixed one of the suction cups to her swollen clit and twisted it. Lightning arced from her nub to her pussy, setting off showering sparks of ecstasy.
"Now, the rule of this little discipline session, love, is that no matter what, you are not to come until I tell you to. Understood?"
Delilah groaned internally and huffed out, "Yes, Sir."
"Good, now I am going to start with the flogger, then we will work our way up to the cane. Use your safeword 'red' if it gets too intense."
He was going to torture her. She loved being disciplined. Absolutely loved it. Bastian didn't begin with gentle strokes but started with an intensity that made her burn. The leather falls smacked against her rear with a crack. Delilah panted. Moisture seeped from her pussy as he delivered a series of stinging swats. The action made her nipples and clit, still confined in the suckers he'd affixed, pulse in time with every strike of the lash.
Her head swam as need engulfed her. Bastian laid blows all along her back and shoulder blades, but it was the ones he delivered to her ass that nearly sent her over the ledge each time. The supple leather struck against the sucker on her clitoris, sending gigawatts of pleasure straight to her pussy.
Bastian was turning her into one large nerve ending. Her release, this bright shiny summit he hurtled her body toward, was nearing with all the velocity of a sonic boom. Delilah fought against it, huffing and straining as Bastian switched from the flogger to the more intense cane. The snap of the cane seared against her butt, leaving a welt. She loved the cane, loved the way the impact would reverberate and remain longer than with the flogger.
Mewling sounds erupted from her lips as she fought back her climax. But Bastian didn't relent; he just kept applying the cane, the sharp crack of it against her rear filling her ears, with a relentless precision. Sweat beaded on her skin as she fought her body's natural need for release.
Bastian turned her body into a pulsing, mindless mass of passion. Delilah lost her sense of time and space. Her nipples and clit had swelled to nigh painful proportions in the suckers. The cane struck against the sucker on her clitoris, pushing her body to a taut ledge of desire so stark, it was painful. Delilah sensed her climax coming, knew she wouldn't be able to keep herself together that much longer as tremors wracked her frame.
"Please, Sir. I need to—" She whimpered as the cane struck against the pussy sucker again, and it took all of her energy not to let go into the climax that danced around her periphery.
She shook, she strained. Her only thought was that she needed to come.
Bastian moved behind her, and then his hand stroked over her labia. She moaned, feeling her orgasm barreling down on her body with hurricane force winds. If he didn't allow her release, and soon, her body was going to stop listening and take over.
His big body shrouded hers while his hand stilled on her sex.
"Come, love."
Bastian released the sucker on her clitoris, and her body splintered.
"Ahhh." Delilah wailed as wave upon wave crashed into her system and shook her very foundation. Her pussy clenched and quivered. Her nipples pulsed and swelled, and moisture ran down her thighs.
Then, before she had the chance to return to a semi-conscious state, Bastian slathered lubrication on her anus, pushing a digit inside to coat her rosette. To her utter surprise, when he lined his cock up with her back channel, she felt the smooth head of a dildo at her pussy.
Oh, sweet heavens!
He was going to double penetrate her with a dildo. And then she had no more thoughts when he rolled his hips forward. The dual sensations of his member stretching the walls of her anus, and rubbing against the sensitive tissues of her pussy as it was filled with the dildo, made her brainless. By the time he fully embedded his cock inside her ass, Delilah was a mumbling, keening mass of nerve endings.
Bastian thrust his pelvis and Delilah finally understood what heaven was. His plunges were slow and ste
ady as he pushed her body to acclimate to the double penetration. The way they penetrated her at the same time made her rather delirious. She'd seen these types of dildos before, they had a cock ring that fit around the man's penis, and the dildo rode alongside. It was wonderful. He held her hips, his fingers digging in for purchase as his strokes switched from lazy and unhurried, meant to drive her crazy, into this pumping rhythm meant to shove her body over the ledge.
She loved every minute of it. Her channels clenched around him and the dildo as he slammed his hips in increasingly violent thrusts as his own ardor rose. Bastian leaned over, still thrusting; his hands went to her breasts where, in a single twist, he released her nipples. Throbbing, aching pleasure arced straight to her core and set off a chain reaction.
"Ohhh." She screamed as her body came apart at the seams. She quaked and keened as the blaze scorched her from the inside out.
Bastian's plunges became more frenzied. His strokes grew more intense as he lost control and his own need took over. Delilah was awash in such pleasure; she didn't think it was possible for one person to feel such intensity. Bastian grunted as he hammered in such forceful strokes it blinded her. His thrusts increased as he pounded. His cock lengthened and swelled inside her rear.
He slammed inside her to the hilt and her body went supernova.
"Delilah," he roared as his body strained and jerked. His member spurted inside her ass in hot, streaming jets of cum. His hips pistoned and canted, continuing his thrusts until the final tremors of his orgasm diminished.
Delilah must have passed out after that because the next thing she knew, she woke up snuggled in bed within the security of Bastian's strong arms cradling her to his chest. She sighed, closing her eyes. She could get used to this kind of care.
And while her need for him—her pleasure at finding herself in his embrace after such an intense scene—should worry her into an ulcer, instead of listening to her inner doubt monster, she snuggled closer and drifted off.
Chapter Ten