The Final Twist Untwisted Series Book Five

by Raine, Alice

  ‘Come on, the water’s getting cool. Let’s get out.’

  I helped Stella stand up, then followed her from the tub and grabbed a fluffy towel to wrap around her body. Draping it around her shoulders, I retained my hold on the ends and used the towel to pull her closer as I gave her an amused glance. ‘You never fail to surprise me, Stella.’

  From her look of confusion, Stella didn’t have a clue what I was referring to, so I placed a brief kiss on the tip of her nose and explained. ‘Topping me like that, I hadn’t expected it.’

  Her cheeks flushed in that way I loved, and she briefly bit down on her lower lip. ‘Oh, that …’ She paused, darting her gaze to mine as if worried that she’d overstepped my boundaries. ‘It only worked because you let me get away with it.’

  That was one way of looking at it, I supposed. ‘Maybe.’

  Stella pouted briefly. ‘ I wasn’t very good at it, though, was I?’

  ‘On the contrary, it was surprisingly hot,’ I admitted, enjoying the way Stella’s eyes widened at my confession, but it was no word of a lie. Her little show before bath time where she’d demanded I remove my clothes had made me hard as granite within seconds.

  I wasn’t a switch, though, of that I was certain. Giving momentary control to Stella was one thing, but the need for control was too deeply engrained within me for me to ever really enjoy submitting to someone.

  The last person to truly control me had been my father. But the day I carried a half-dead Nicholas out of that house, I had vowed I would never let anyone control me ever again. I didn’t want to bring another downer on our evening, so I kept my thoughts to myself, instead simply letting her know where I stood. ‘ Not that we’ll be doing it again anytime soon, though.’

  Her shoulders visibly relaxed and my girl flashed me an adorable smile as her cheeks flushed. ‘Thank God for that. I don’t mind taking the lead when I’m at work, but with you …’ She gave a shrug. ‘It’s different … I like how we are. It’s perfect.’

  And it really was. We were like two jigsaw pieces; my need for control fitted completely with Stella’s need to submit.

  I placed a quick kiss on her lips. We then began to dry ourselves off and headed to the bedroom. As usual, we both remained naked as we climbed under the covers before snuggling closer.

  Stella and I still had the same high sex drives we’d had when we met. Often, we would make love before sleeping. Occasionally, we’d indulge in some form of kinky play, and on other days I’d simply lay a deep, passionate kiss on her that had her writhing in my arms, horny and aroused, and I’d whisper in her ear that I’d wake her up later by slipping inside her. I loved that game, but it was incredibly draining because it took all of my self-control to not take her immediately. I usually managed to last an hour or so, and wake her up sleepy and disorientated before following up on my promise.

  We hardly ever went to sleep without something sexual occurring, but tonight, after everything that had happened, it didn’t feel quite right. Just holding Stella felt perfect. She surrounded me with her arms, gently stroking my hair, as if she, too, just needed to feel me close.

  Sex could wait until the morning. In some ways, this was even more intimate, and I smiled contentedly as I held her tightly to me and drifted off in our new bed for the first time.

  Chapter Twenty Five – Stella

  Nathan was sound asleep when I woke up. He was normally the early riser out of the two of us, but after yesterday’s stresses I suspected he needed the rest, so I carefully slipped from the bed, miraculously managing not to wake him.

  After a shower, I spent twenty minutes wandering around the house again with a mile-wide grin stretching on my face. I could hardly believe that this place was now my home. Our home. It was incredible.

  Nathan’s designs were simply stunning. The house was somehow open and airy while still feeling cosy and homely. William would adore all the corridors to run around when he got a little older; not to mention the outside spaces, too.

  I grinned like a fool as I explored the new kitchen, opening drawers and cupboards and finding them to be stocked with food and filled with all the utensils we could ever need. Next, I set to work figuring out how to operate the new coffee maker, and after one failed attempt where I’d ended up with a mug of frothed milk, I was now sitting by the breakfast bar with an amazing cup of strong Columbian coffee, reading the news on my iPad.

  A rustle of fabric alerted me to Nathan’s arrival as he strode into the kitchen and paused by the windows. The news suddenly lost its interest when I looked across and saw that he was wearing my favourite navy blue suit. Well, the trousers and waistcoat, at least. He was jacketless, but wearing a pale blue shirt and a tie, which was, as always, knotted to perfection.

  He looked mighty fine, and I was glad I’d had a shower and put on some make-up so I didn’t feel like a complete dog when compared to his breath-taking perfection.

  I had to suppress a smile at his smartness. We had nowhere to go today, our main plan being spending the day getting settled in the new house, but he was still dressed as if going to the office. He really was funny about his suits. Not that I was complaining, because he looked super-hot in that waistcoat. He slid his hands into his trouser pockets and cocked his head as he stood there watching me. ‘Good morning. You got up without me.’

  His tone seemed to say more than his words implied. Sensing he wanted something, I shut down my iPad and gave him my full attention. ‘Morning. You looked peaceful so I left you to sleep. Everything OK?’ I asked carefully, not quite able to decipher the strange look on his face.

  ‘It is,’ he replied, his tone dropping to match his expression. With the deep, gravelly inflection in those two words it almost sounded like the voice he used when he was slipping into Dom mode, but it was barely eight-thirty in the morning, and I couldn’t for the life of me think what would have triggered that. I must be reading him wrongly.

  ‘After my … slip … yesterday, I feel the need to …’ He paused and rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a few seconds. ‘Let’s just say I’m feeling an urge to reassert my usual self.’ He reached behind him and seemed to fiddle with something in his back pocket.

  His slip?

  Was he referring to letting me take control yesterday? He’d admitted that had been a monumental moment for him. Or maybe he was referring to when he’d cried, because it wasn’t something I’d ever seen Nathan do before. Both were things he probably disliked showing me, because he would call them weaknesses, but I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t refer to them as a slip, either. We all needed to vent every now and then with a good old cry, and as for me topping him, I’d simply done what was necessary to get him talking.

  As I processed his words, I was about to say something reassuring when my mouth dropped open and stayed open. Nathan had rendered me speechless by smoothly producing our suede flogger and his favourite crop from behind his back, which he now carefully placed on the kitchen counter between us.

  Holy fuck.

  ‘Strip, and assume your ready position,’ he requested crisply, before adjusting his stance just enough to make it wide, cocksure, and sexy as hell.

  Ok-ay … So perhaps I hadn’t been reading him wrong earlier. Dominant Nathan was indeed in the room.

  Out of shock, I hesitated for a few seconds, which was apparently a few seconds too long for Nathan, because he narrowed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. ‘I hope you aren’t going to make me repeat myself, Stella, because you know how much I dislike that.’

  This was all really frigging surprising, but God, I loved it when he was like this. Jumping up, without any further delay I peeled my T-shirt over my head and dropped it on the floor in my hurry.

  Nathan pointedly glared at my discarded clothing then turned his stare upon me. ‘You’re messing up our new house, gorgeous. Fold it up.’

  A shudder of pure lust slithered through my body. I couldn’t explain why I got so turned on when he took control like this, but by God
I did. The fact that nowadays he added his fond endearments like “baby” or “gorgeous” only added to my desire, because there really was no greater feeling than knowing how much he desired me, and my submission.

  I scooped up the T-shirt, carefully folded it, and placed it on the counter, smiling to myself as I saw Nathan give an approving nod. ‘Jeans next, please.’ He’d only spoken a handful of words to me and already moisture flooded between my legs.

  When we’d first got together, Nathan had been unsure of me and our connection, and he’d frequently dropped back to his Dominant comfort zone for reassurance. He was still intense and controlling nowadays, but I wasn’t treated to these impressive displays nearly as much as I’d like.

  Thinking about it, it was probably why I was such a tease to him, because I knew my cheeky side both amused him and triggered his inherent need to try to control and tame me.

  My initial shock had faded now, and I was starting to get into the swing of things, so I took my time with my jeans. I kept my gaze firmly connected with his as I popped the top button and oh so slowly pulled the zip down. My effort didn’t go unnoticed, because I saw his pupils dilate, and a light flush break on his cheeks. It was all the encouragement I needed, so I then made a show of slightly turning away from him as I slid them down my legs, knowing that it would give him a prime view of my lace-clad arse.

  I never wore plain cotton knickers any more. Nathan had made sure of that by purchasing me an entire new set of underwear when we’d moved in together, but his most recent obsession were the French-style lace knickers, and I happened to be wearing a particularly nice black pair today.

  When I turned back and began to carefully fold my jeans, I saw that even though he hadn’t moved a muscle, Nathan’s cheeks definitely had a full flush to them now, and his eyes were lowered as he checked out my underwear. ‘Very nice, Stella.’ He unfolded his arms and held up one hand, pointed his finger up into the air and made a spinning motion, seemingly indicating that he wanted me to rotate on the spot.

  Checking out the goods, was he? It was just a shame that I was barefoot because I could have made this a whole lot sexier if I’d been wearing a pair of my killer high heels. Still, I’d make the best of it. Trying to imagine what would look the sexiest, I pulled my spine straight, thrust my chest out, placed one hand on my hip and the other by my side and very slowly turned on the spot for him.

  ‘Once more,’ he growled, clearly affected by my little show. So, with a pleased smile, I began to repeat my twirl. This time I only made it halfway around before he grabbed hold of my arse with one hand and splayed his other over my stomach to drag me back flush against his warm body.

  Within seconds, he had released my bra catch and it fell from my body as his hands roughly cupped my needy breasts. His head dropped into the crook of my neck and as he sought my nipples and began to tease them with his fingers, then I felt his rapid breathing fan across my neck and the solid heat of his erection digging into my back. It would seem my strip tease had had an instant impact.

  And this was all before breakfast.

  ‘So sexy, Stella.’ The hand on my arse gave a hard squeeze, causing me to roll onto my tiptoes as a gasp left my lips. Then Nathan was kissing my neck almost frantically. He lowered both of his hands to my bottom, and as he massaged the flesh he spoke just below my ear.

  ‘This isn’t about punishment, Stella. You are perfect, you’ve done nothing wrong. This is simply to slake a desire in me.’ Just like any good Dom should, Nathan would always, always, make sure I understood exactly what our scenes would involve, and why they were taking place. He wouldn’t dream of spanking me, or flogging me, without first explaining why.

  He dropped to his haunches to remove my knickers, placed a hot, open-mouthed kiss on the base of my spine, then stood up. Turning me to face him, he made a show of folding them and slipping them into his trouser pocket with a grin which was so filthy it made me flush.

  He lifted me up by my hips and sat me on the edge of the kitchen counter, then nudged his way in between my thighs until we were chest to chest. He lowered his head to mine as he kissed me and I twined my legs around his waist and dragged him as close as I could get him.

  Nathan was such a good kisser that I was moaning into his mouth within seconds, and squirming on the cool marble top, trying to find some relief from my pounding arousal. Lifting his head, Nathan gave me an intense look then glanced down between the two of us. ‘It would appear you are messing up our lovely new house again.’

  Glancing down, I felt my cheeks heat as I saw the obvious evidence of my desire glistening on the marble work surface between my legs. Oops.

  ‘Let me clean it up.’ I seriously thought that Nathan was about to get out a cloth and the anti-bac spray and perform an impromptu spring clean, but no. A second later, he dropped to his knees and buried his face between my spread thighs.

  Crikey. I rolled my eyes shut as Nathan rather thoroughly set about cleaning me up, ignoring the mess on the counter and instead licking and sucking at my clit and saturated folds until I was almost on the brink of an orgasm.

  He stood again and grinned at me, his lips glistening with my arousal. Then he winked. ‘If I had stayed down there much longer I’d have lost track of my main focus.’ He gave the crop and flogger a glance then looked back to me as his eyes darkened with pure wickedness. ‘So, I have selected these two options. Are they agreeable to you?’

  Looking at the crop and the flogger, I felt my core clench in anticipation and nodded, before quickly vocalising my consent. ‘Definitely, Sir.’

  Nathan gave an approving growl against my heated neck and helped me to stand from the counter, squeezing my bum again, hard enough to elicit another gasp from me. I might well have fingerprint-shaped bruises there tomorrow if he kept on doing that. As if reading my mind, he licked my earlobe and spoke again.

  ‘Do you want to be marked, or not? Neither answer is right nor wrong; this is simply your choice.’

  I would always pretend to grumble when he gave me a love bite, but we both knew that I actually loved wearing his mark. The fact that he craved me enough to claim me as his was a huge turn-on for me. After yesterday, where he’d felt weak and out of control, I suspected that I knew exactly what his preference would be today.

  ‘Marks, Sir. Claim me.’

  His hands tightened on my hips and the groan from behind me was the most erotic thing I’d ever heard. I tipped my head back onto his shoulder, already dizzy with lust.

  ‘Mine.’ He nuzzled my neck again as his lips kissed below my ear and his teeth locked on to the skin. It was enough to arouse me further and have me wriggling in his arms, but not enough to break the skin, and would leave a mark for no more a few minutes.

  Nathan kissed me into a frenzy, then gently urged me forwards so my feet were still on the floor but my upper body was now splayed across the cold marble. I sucked in a gasp as the iciness peaked my nipples into tiny pebbles, but then relaxed as his hands began to caress and calm me. Once my muscles had liquefied, Nathan swapped to the crop and used the small leather tab to continue his warm-up routine. Small, gentle flicks of his hand brought the leather tab into contact with my skin with just enough power that it warmed and aroused me, but didn’t hurt. Not a centimetre of my arse was left untouched, and by the time I felt one of his hands caress me again, I was completely relaxed on the counter and spaced out with longing.

  ‘I’m going to go harder, now, and leave some marks on this gorgeous arse. What’s your colour?’

  I was so horny and floaty that I could barely get my mouth to cooperate and speak, but finally I did, even if my two words came out as a slurred whisper. ‘Green, Sir.’

  The first swat to my bum was familiar to me, and I smiled lazily as I recognised the soft feel of my favourite suede flogger. He used it several more times on me and I found myself humming my approval. Even if used with power, it didn’t really hurt, the softness of the material limiting its impact to a tingling warmth.
Nathan loved how pink it made my skin, though, which was no doubt why he was using it now.

  ‘Good girl. This next part will be a little different to anything we’ve done before, so use your colours if you need to, OK?’

  Different? Rather than being worried, I found myself curious and excited. I trusted Nathan implicitly, so didn’t bother to enquire how it would be different. Instead, I just gave him the consent he was checking for. ‘OK, Sir.’

  I heard him putting down the flogger beside me, then there was a small swishing noise of the air being disturbed, followed by a sharp, stinging sensation across my arse.

  He was right, it was different, and hurt way more than the flogger had. A ragged gasp tore up my throat, followed by a burning sensation on my buttocks that was unlike anything I’d experienced before. It felt like I’d been hit with a ruler. What the hell had he used?

  ‘This crop has a longer shaft than most. With the shorter models the leather tab is best used, but with this one it can almost be used as a cane.’ OK, so that was why it had hurt more. Nathan had never caned me before, so this was definitely new.

  ‘Are you OK, Stella?’ I gripped at the counter, but as he began to caress my smarting skin with an almost silken touch my core flooded with moisture. The sensation was actually quite incredible. The pain and pleasure mix created a euphoric high in my system. My blood was pounding, not with fear or pain, but need. I needed it again.

  ‘Yes, Sir. Again, please.’

  Nathan was still caressing me with his hands, then he leaned down to place a heated kiss on my shoulder blade. ‘Good girl.’ I felt the leather tab of the crop trace down my spine and I raised my arse instinctively towards the touch, causing him to let out a satisfied moan.

  ‘Six strikes in total, I think. So, five more to go.’ There was barely a second of delay after his words, then my arse received its second blow. The same drugging rush of feelings swept over me, and I arched my back as I found myself automatically counting and thanking him as I usually would during a scene. ‘Two. Thank you, Sir.’