by Livia Grant
“You could be biting off more than you can chew here, Dani,” he warned. The way she was looking at him, he couldn’t think of a reason to deny her.
“Not with you, Gray.” She touched his cheek. “I don’t think you will ever give me more than I can handle.”
“And why’s that?” he asked, pushing a lock of hair from her face. He wanted to see her soft eyes.
“Because you love me.” She shrugged.
His heart swelled.
“Maybe not like a Dom loves a sub, at least not yet, but you love me like a friend loves a friend,” she quickly qualified. None was needed. She had it right the first time.
“Oh, baby, I’ve loved you like a man loves a woman for a long time now.”
“Me, too, Gray.” She squirmed on his lap until she straddled him and wrapped her hands around his neck. “So, Dom’s choice? And maybe after tonight, we—I mean, when we leave here—”
He put a hand over her mouth. “When we leave here, it will be with you in my car, going to my apartment. You’ll spend the night so I can be sure you’re safe and, after you get off to work tomorrow, we’re going out for dinner. And, sometime in the very near future, we’ll have a serious talk about how you’re going to start behaving with me, and what we expect from each other. But, right now”—he pushed harder against her mouth, shifting his hand upward to trap her nose with it—“right now, it’s my choice.”
Chapter 6
Gray released her mouth, letting her gulp some air. After being sure she was ready to continue, he pulled her up to her feet and walked her over to the table they’d left earlier, snagging his bag on the way.
The zapper had caught her off guard. She really hadn’t expected something like that from Gray. He was so matter-of-fact, so serious all the time, she figured the most he played with was impact play and some bondage. But, now she saw him through a new lens.
Once she gave over control and submitted to him, the force she’d felt between them, the blockade of energy disappeared. Her submission to him opened a door to a place they could both be exactly who they were without having to playact or build walls. She could just be Dani, and he could just be Gray.
“Hop up, beautiful.” He patted the table.
“Facedown?” she asked.
He laughed. “Now, how am I going to torture those gorgeous tits if you have them pressed to the table? No. Faceup, and tuck your hands under your head. I don’t want to have to tie them again, so you’d better be on your best behavior.”
She scooted onto the table and gave him a wink. “I’m always on my best behavior.”
“Hmmm. We’ll see, Dani. We’ll see. Lie back.” He gave her shoulder a little shove.
She situated herself, trying to ignore all the noises around them, and concentrate on him. What was he planning now? More zapping? She could stand that. It hurt, but not so badly she wouldn’t want to play with it again. Or maybe he was getting out some clothespins. She loved those. Especially the clamps with the teeth; those bit so wonderfully into her skin.
But no.
A cane.
More like a damn baton.
He held the implement over her face so she could see it.
“You wanted something else?” Humor laced his tone. Denying her would only give him more pleasure, so she shook her head. She could deny him just as well.
“Liars get bad spankings, Dani.” He leaned over, his mouth lingering just above her taut nipple. “Very bad spankings.” Gray bit down on her breast, encompassing her entire nipple and more flesh around it.
She squealed and arched off the table but kept her hands behind her head. When he released her, he gave a playful grin.
“Don’t like the cane?” he asked, once again presenting it to her.
“Not really, no.”
“Hmm. Bet you’re wishing you hadn’t chosen Dom’s choice then, instead of rolling for another activity.” With a wink, he straightened to his full height and balanced the short rod on her breasts. “Do not drop that.” He pointed at her and disappeared. She wouldn’t have pegged him as such a playful Dom, but she hadn’t expected to find herself playing his sadistic games, either.
When he returned, he showed her his left hand wore a soft rabbit-fur glove.
“I’m going to play, and you’re going to be my toy. When my toy is good, she gets rubbed with the fur; when my toy is naughty, she gets more of the cane.”
“More of the cane?” As though knowing it was being talked about, the cane rolled down her breasts and right into the crevice beneath her chin.
“Ah, now, you were naughty. But, first, I’ll answer your question. Yes. More. So, if you behave while I’m making my pretty marks on you, you’ll get some sweet attention. If you aren’t a good girl for me, then I’ll have to punish you.”
He slid the cane across her throat, letting her feel the sensation of rattan drag over her skin.
“I’ll be good,” she promised and closed her eyes.
“Easily said,” he whispered in her ear. “But first three for dropping my cane. I’ll let you decide, on your tits or your thighs?”
As though either were a good option! But at least he didn’t suggest the bottoms of her feet.
“Thighs,” she decided before he made the call for her. It occurred to her, after they left Black Light, things were going to change. He would be making more calls, and she’d have to obey them. He wouldn’t be the pushy friend of her big brother anymore. He’d be hers, and she’d be his. His to rule, to dominate and use. And, damn, if her pussy didn’t clench at the very idea.
“Ow!” she yelped and kicked her legs out when the first strike landed. She hadn’t been ready.
“Oh, there you are. You flew away for a second there. Good to see you’re still with me.”
Always the perfect observer.
“I was thinking,” she muttered, and wiggled on the table. He raised his hand, and she jammed her eyes shut. Maybe if she didn’t see it coming, it wouldn’t hurt so much.
Crack!
“Fuck!” she yelled outright and sat nearly straight up, her eyes opening wide.
“What were you thinking about?” he asked, walking around the table to stand on the other side.
“Us.”
The end of the cane dug into her thigh.
“And what about us?” He twisted the cane, like he was rubbing out a cigarette on her flesh.
“Just that things will change, won’t they?” Oh God. What if she had presumed, and he wasn’t interested? What if she’d read all the signs wrong, heard the words the way she wanted to hear them instead of how he said them.
The cane disappeared. Opening one eye, she searched for him. She turned to the other side just as the last strike of the cane landed on her right thigh.
“Ow, fuck! I hate that thing!” She laced her fingers behind her head to keep from giving in to the urge to rub away the burning line across her thigh. She’d be welted for days!
He responded by running the soft fur of his rabbit glove over the fire he’d caused.
“Good to know,” he said. “Now. About what happens when we leave. I thought we had talked about that already, but maybe you didn’t get it. I want you, Dani. Not for a night, not for a week. I just want you. You can call me your boyfriend, your Dominant, your whatever. So long as we are together, I really don’t give a fuck what label you put on it.”
She leaned up on her elbows. “I suppose we’ll see how you do for the rest of the night,” she teased, feeling good when she winked and his eyes widened. Better to keep him on his toes at least a little bit. She couldn’t let him go around thinking she wouldn’t ever push the boundary. Enough at least to make things interesting.
“Hmmm, yeah, we’ll see.” He reached over and shoved her to the table. “Hands over your head, and don’t even think of getting in my way, toy.” He hovered the cane over her breasts.
Maybe she’d bitten off a smidge more than she could chew.
The cane came down, across both
breasts but missing her nipples. She shouted, but held her position. Another strike and another, soft at first, but each lash grew in intensity. With each harder swat, the louder she became with her yelps and screams.
Before moving on, he ran the fur over her tits, muttering something about already spoiling her, only to move on to her belly then return to her thighs. Another moment of rubbing, and then the cane made its wicked way up her body back to her breasts.
By the time he finished, her muscles ached with tension, her breasts burned, her nipples had hardened, and her pussy wanted him so badly it hurt the most.
“Gray, please,” she begged him between strikes. He knew what he was about, she would give him that. No matter how hard one strike was, the next caught her off guard, but never, not a single one of them took her out of the warm trance he eased her into.
“What do you need, baby? What is it?” He leaned over her, licking her nipples. A new ache formed, and she moaned.
“You, Gray. Please.” Forgetting his dictate to stay still, she rolled to her side and reached for his jeans. He hadn’t put the belt on after the little spanking he’d given her at the beginning of the night, which made it much easier for her to open the button and get the zipper down.
He laughed. “Not here, Dani. Somewhere private.” He pushed her hands away. She sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the table.
He cradled her in his arms and hustled through the dungeon, dodging other couples at play and the onlookers until he found one of the semi-private rooms to use. Once inside, he tossed her on the table, practically ripping at his jeans.
She pushed the denim over his hips along with his boxers, taking an appreciative peek at his cock. Thick, and long. Already beading with pre-cum. She wrapped her hand around his warm staff, grinning when he moaned.
“See, it’s hell when you get a little bit of what you want, but not all of it,” she teased.
He pushed her hand away and kicked off his jeans, digging something out of his pocket first.
“Now would be a really bad time to get mouthy,” he warned, placing the foil packet beside her on the table. He trapped her face with his hands, holding her steady. In his eyes, she saw sincerity and desire. More than that. Love.
How had she not seen that before? How had she missed seeing the thing she wanted to see so badly? Her fear of being rejected had blocked out what had been sitting right in front of her the entire time.
“You were so upset at seeing me here tonight,” she whispered.
“I was scared you’d be paired with someone else.”
“You don’t get scared.” She tried to pull out of his hands, but he only gripped her tighter.
“Every time you went out to a dangerous spot, to an underground party or club, I was scared. Afraid something would happen to you, or you’d find someone.”
“I never found anyone.” At least no one worthy of more than a one-scene playtime. Every man she met she measured against Gray, and every one of them fell short.
His lips slid over hers briefly before he kissed her hard enough to steal her breath. She’d waited so long for this moment, for the uncontained passion to ignite between them. She needed him to let loose, to take what was his, what had always been his.
“Gray…”
He groaned, nipping her bottom lip then pressing soft kisses along her cheek, to her neck, over her shoulder, and along her collarbone.
“Gray, please. I waited so long already.” She whined, but she didn’t care. No one ever accused her of being too patient.
“I need you, too, baby, so much.” He kissed the top curve of her breast before laying a series of love bites across her chest. “Lie back.” His words were muffled against her skin. “Lie back,” he ordered again, tearing himself away from her body and swiping the condom from the table.
Figuring it would be a horrible time to disobey, she did as instructed. He grabbed her hips and yanked her until her ass hung over the edge of the table. He caressed the spot above her sex.
“A heart?” His eyes found hers.
“A little cliché, I guess.” She shrugged.
He lifted her legs, parting them and holding her so that his cock, stiff and jutting out in the perfect arc toward her cunt, pushed against her.
“You’re mine, Dani.” The possessiveness in his voice made him sound gruff and rumbly, and her pussy clenched.
“I’m yours. And you’re mine.” She reached between her thighs to brush her fingertips across his sculpted chest.
With a nod, as though about to stake his claim, he thrust himself inside her. The stretch and the burn filled her entire body, his cock was the perfect fit buried deep inside her. He kept his eyes locked on hers, like she would disappear beneath him if he wasn’t careful.
“I’m not going anywhere, Gray. I promise.” She grabbed his forearms and held him tight.
“I know, baby. I know.”
He alternated between hard and soft thrusts. His fingers toyed with the welts on her thighs, a soft flickering of sensation to add to the fullness and perfection of his cock buried so deep.
“Come for me, baby. Come all over my dick,” he ordered her, his gaze never breaking from hers.
Reaching between her legs, he found the bundle of nerves, and she moaned with the electric jolt running through her body. Nothing she fantasized about compared to the reality. They’d found themselves with each other. He gave and pushed, and she did the same. Their bodies mingled, finding the right beat.
His stare heated her through. She wouldn’t last much longer. Her nails dug into his chest. He hissed, bringing her even closer to the edge.
“Oh, fuck, Gray.”
“Now, Dani, now,” he urged, rubbing the fat of his thumb over her clit harder, and faster until nothing mattered, because her mind burst.
Stars. She saw stars as her body erupted beneath his touch. Nothing could feel so right, and so delicious, and so perfect. It had to be wrong to have so much goodness in one moment.
One more thrust then another, and he toppled into free fall with her.
He dropped her legs and collapsed on her chest, his face buried in her breasts. His hair tickled her chin as he gulped in air.
“Fuck, Dani,” he muttered. “I think you’ll be the death of me.” He pressed a kiss to the valley between her breasts then a soft peck to her chin. “But I’m good with it.”
She tousled his hair. “Me, too.”
Chapter 7
His intentions of taking things slow, of making her feel every touch and every caress before fucking her senseless had taken a hike the second she’d reached for his jeans.
He wouldn’t regret it, but he would make damn sure next time he went slower.
If she would let him.
He cleaned her up the best he could with the towels in the room. He helped her down and told her to rest while he cleaned off the table.
“Holy fuck, Gray.”
She stood in front of a narrow mirror on one of the walls. The cane had left beautiful marks all over her body, and she was seeing them for the first time.
“They’ll be gone in a week, maybe less,” he promised, putting the cleaner away and wrapping his arms around her. He’d put his jeans back on, but she was still naked. Good thing. He loved her naked and decided he’d keep her that way whenever possible.
Maybe not for Sunday dinner. Scott most likely wouldn’t approve of her being naked, anyway. He was going to flip his fucking lid when he found out Gray had finally confessed to his desire for Dani. But there was time for that later. He needed to get his girl cleaned up, dressed, and home.
He caught her gaze in the mirror. “It’s going to be okay, Dani.”
“Scott may not like this.”
“And since when did you start caring about anyone’s approval other than your own?” A trait that both pissed him off and made him admire her all the more.
“What if we fuck this up royally?” She wrapped a hand around his forearm. Such a light touch, remind
ing him how fragile she could be. She’d lost so much in her life already, of course she’d be mindful not to lose any more.
“What if we don’t try and keep going on like we have?” he countered. “Do you want to see me with another woman? I could bring her around for Sunday dinner, and you could bring around whatever asshat you picked up at some skanky-ass club. I’m sure we’d be real happy like that.”
“I can’t lose you and Scott, too,” she whispered.
He spun her around, capturing her face with his hands. He pressed his nose against hers. “You will never lose us. Scott isn’t going to say a fucking word against us. And we won’t fuck this up, Dani. We already know all the annoying shit about each other, and I think we’ve proven tonight that we mesh pretty well in the kink department.”
Shimmering tears built in her eyes, and, as one slipped out and spilled over her cheek, he pressed his lips to it, wiping it away.
“Now, I’m going to kiss you, and when I’m done kissing you, our playtime is over, and we begin. Got it?” He didn’t expect the turmoil to start rumbling in his stomach. She could back off. She could decide it wasn’t worth the risk—he wasn’t worth the risk.
“I got it, Gray. You and me. Got it.” The right side of her mouth quirked up in a smile, creating a shallow dimple. Fuck. This woman was damn near edible.
He brushed a brief kiss across her soft lips before pressing hard on her, wanting to devour her very essence. He couldn’t get enough of her, not in that moment, not ever. The woman had more strength than he could claim for himself, and now she was his. He ran his thumb along her jaw, licked her lower lip until she opened for him and let him in. Deepening the kiss, he could feel her all the way to his soul.
After placing several tender kisses on her mouth, he pulled away, dropping one more to the tip of her nose and grinned at her.
“We should go clean up our spot,” he whispered, afraid to break the spell between them.
“Yeah,” she agreed but didn’t make any move to get going.
“Red!” a voice yelled out from behind the curtain of the semi-private room. The club safe word jolted him from the fog of their kiss. He ran to the curtain, throwing it open to survey the dungeon. The Dungeon Monitors rushed to the scene, and the dungeon slowly began to get back into play.