After dropping off her things, Gabe had grabbed a bag from his office, and then they’d walked together to the horse pasture, hand in hand, listening to the night. Now they were seated on the bench, her head in Gabe’s lap.
“I really love it out here,” she said quietly, not wanting to break the fragile peace between them. “Soothing.”
Liv felt a small tug against her head and realized Gabe had twirled her hair around his finger. He let it go, then did it again. He played with her hair for a while, then stroked a finger across her cheek. When he reached the edge of her jaw, he scraped a nail down the column of her neck, placed his palm flat across her throat. He rubbed his thumb over her pulse and she shivered, aroused by the simple touches.
He was turned on, too. She could tell from the way the muscles in his thigh bunched and relaxed. He tightened his fingers, squeezing her neck in a primal, possessive way. It was caveman, but she loved it. This connection with him was what she’d mourned so much.
The moon was a mere sliver tonight, but because it was so small, she could see more stars than she’d ever seen up in the sky at one time. They were beautiful. The weather was perfect, too, warm enough she didn’t need a sweater. She had on the skimpy dress she’d planned to wear to the club. Gabe had taken one look at it hanging on her closet door and had ordered her to put it on. While he watched.
“It is calming,” he agreed, his voice nearly as soft as hers. “And after our last visit here together, it might be my favorite place on the property.”
She felt herself flush. He’d done some incredible things to her then. Would he do them again? Or would he come up with new ones?
He kissed her hair and helped her sit up. “On your feet, babe. Facing me.”
New ones. She stood, her legs unsteady beneath her.
“Safe words?”
She swallowed. “Red and yellow.”
He nodded. “I’m going to give you a heads-up right now so you don’t think I’m jerking you around. Tonight, we’re going no further than just a little bit of play. I’m tired, you’re tired, and neither one of us can do a full scene justice. But I need this, and I think you need it too.”
“Yes, Sir.” She appreciated him telling her he wasn’t going to take it far tonight, more than he could imagine. Someday, maybe, she could roll with the punches, but today wasn’t that day.
“Take off that pretty little dress, fold it, and hand it to me.”
Her heart sped up. She looked around, but they were alone. Even the horses had given them privacy. She’d loved this dress the minute she’d seen it. Sexy and maybe even a little slutty, she’d loved the fact that it was held closed only with two small fasteners. She released the first, and then the second, parting the dress. She slipped it off her shoulders, then folded it neatly as she’d been ordered, and handed it to him.
He placed it carefully on the bench beside him. “You look fucking beautiful, princess. Put your left foot on the bench. Hold on to my shoulders if you need to for balance.” He looked at her face and raised a brow. “Before you get all defensive, the ground is uneven and I’m asking you to stand on one foot. I would ask anyone else to do the same.”
She blew out a sigh. It was going to be hard for her to tone down her automatic “what the hell” responses, but he was worth it. He was trying, and she had to meet him halfway. “I’m sorry, Sir.” She set her foot next his leg and he rolled her stocking off, placing small kisses and taking small bites along the inside of her thigh. She grabbed his shoulders as he teased her. Bloody hell, it wasn’t the ground that had her unsteady. It was him.
He took off her shoe and removed the stocking, placing both on the bench near her dress. “Other foot.”
He repeated the same process on the other side, and by the time he was done, she was a quivering mass of nerve endings. It didn’t help her balance any when he leaned forward and kissed her stomach, his soft hair brushing against her flesh.
* * *
Gabe nuzzled Olivia’s silky skin, inhaling her unique scent. Christ, he’d missed her. Five fucking days away from her and he’d nearly lost his mind. Thank God she’d agreed to come home with him tonight, because kidnapping was a federal offense.
He pulled the bag he’d grabbed from his office onto his lap, unzipping it. “Hands out, palms up.”
She did as he ordered, and he placed his latest toy purchase across them. Her eyes widened and she stared at him, her cheeks flushed a charming shade of pink. She held it like it might explode, but the look in her eyes was pure curiosity, not revulsion.
“It’s a flogger, princess. An exceptionally soft one, with elk suede tails. I saw it and thought of you, so I bought it.”
She swallowed, dipped her eyes back to the flogger in her hand. “Thank you, Sir.”
Christ, she was killing him tonight. Such natural, honest, innocent submission. She had no idea she was doing it, which made it even sweeter. “You’re welcome, princess.”
She ran her fingers through the tails. “It feels so soft.”
“It is soft. I’d like to use it on you.” It was selfish, but he hoped she didn’t say no. He loved to flog a woman, especially one who was already at the edge of arousal. He usually went for floggers with more bite to them, but his princess didn’t need any more real pain in her life. Someday, maybe, but for now, he could fulfill his own desires and hers with a toy made more for sensation play. He held his breath.
With a shaky hand, she placed it on his outstretched palm.
“Good girl.” He placed the flogger on the bench. “I have another present for you.” He dangled a pair of bondage cuffs in front of her, and her eyes lit up. Picking up her hand, he kissed the inside of her velvety-smooth wrist. He fastened one of the cuffs around it, and then he gave her other wrist the same treatment. He left them unhooked, because he had other plans.
He set his now-empty bag of tricks on the bench and walked her over to the whipping post. He adjusted the crossbar on the post so it was no higher than her head. He didn’t want to strain her, but he wanted her immobile. “Put your hands here.”
She froze. He waited her out, letting her decide. She nibbled on her lip, searched his face, which he purposely kept blank, and then she did as he asked.
He felt like he’d won the fucking lottery. He curled his hands over hers, showing her how he wanted her to hold the bar. He clipped a connector from the O-ring on one of the restraints to the O-ring on the whipping post, and then he did the same with her other hand.
She tried to move her hands, but she was stuck. A small sound came from her mouth.
“You okay, princess?”
She licked her lips and then she nodded jerkily.
“Good. Let me know if it gets uncomfortable. You look so pretty, tied out here for me to play with.” He ran his hands down her arms, placing kisses along her spine as he crouched behind her. He bit her hip and slipped his fingers into the edge of her panties. She looked down at him, a flash of humor in her eyes. He was glad to see it, and he grinned up at her. “It’s tempting to add these to my collection, but I’ll let you keep them. For now, anyway.”
He stood, studying her surreptitiously. She was shivering, but he doubted she was cold. Nerves, he’d guess, although her face was fairly calm. Her cheeks were flushed pink, and her tongue darted out to lick her lips. His dick reacted, wanting in on that.
He considered what he wanted to do with her first. To her first.
He picked up the flogger from the bench and came to stand in front of her. Carefully, he draped it over her shoulder, letting the tails slither across the exposed top of her breast. Her nipple beaded. “I like you better without one, but that’s a sexy bra. I can see your nipples through it, and they’re tight. Do you like the way that feels?”
Her eyes were bright. “Yes, Sir.”
“Excellent.” He mo
ved the flogger to the other breast, then leaned forward and set his teeth against her collarbone.
She gasped, and her flesh puckered with goose bumps.
“I’m going to use this on you now,” he warned. “Lightly. It should feel as good as a caress.” He twisted his hand and brought the tails down over her chest in a long stroke, once, twice, three times. She shuddered. “You okay?” he asked, carefully checking her reactions.
“Y-yes, Sir. It feels...good.”
He let out a relieved sigh and stepped back. He moved his strokes lower, over her thighs, her hips, her chest again. She started leaning into them, making low, throaty sounds of pure pleasure. When he stopped, she protested.
“No, don’t stop,” she cried, twisting her hips. “Oh, please.”
He ran his knuckles down her cheek. She had the other side of her face resting against the whipping post, her eyes closed. “Not done yet, babe. Promise.”
He moved behind her, kissing his way up her spine until he leaned his whole body into hers. She made a distressed noise, and he sank his teeth into his favorite spot, nibbling and licking at the soft skin there. “Not your back, princess. I won’t touch your spine or your scars. You have my word. Do you want me to keep going?”
He felt her muscles relax. “Yes, Sir.”
He kissed her neck and stepped back, running the flogger tails through his fingers. Before he started, though, he wanted her in a better stance. “Feet apart. Here,” he said, moving one where he wanted it, then moving his attention to the other. “And here.” He put his hands on her hips, made sure she was in a good, stable position, and then began.
He got a slow, easy rhythm going, striking each cheek of her ass, the backs of her legs, down near her feet. He kept going, gently, lovingly, absorbing the sounds of her breathy sighs and the wind in the trees and the crickets and the horses nickering softly off on the other side of the pasture. Being out here under the stars, doing what he loved best, was one hell of an aphrodisiac. He was hard, harder than he’d been in a very long time, but tonight was a test, for him and for her. Could she handle taking what he gave out? And could he handle letting her be the one to decide if she should use her safe word without being the one to call it for her?
“Are you ready to stop?” He rubbed his hand across her bottom and then between her legs. She was wet, her panties drenched with her own slick arousal.
She shook her head almost violently and shifted on her feet so her body was pressed more tightly to his hand. “No.”
He laughed softly. “Just a little more for tonight. I don’t want you to be too sore.” He picked up the pace a little, used a heavier hand to give her a darker, deeper taste of pleasure, but it was tougher than he’d realized to keep himself from going too far.
The sounds that came from her were intoxicating. He took a chance, didn’t warn her what he was about to do, and with one hand on her hip, he used an underhand swing to tap the tails lightly between her legs. She gasped out loud and stood up on her toes. “You’re close to the edge. I can smell it on you, and I can feel it in the way your body is vibrating with desire. You’re nervous, but you like what I’m doing. And now I’m trying to decide if I should do it again so you come, screaming out your release for me, or if I want to make you wait until tomorrow.”
She froze but tried to hide it. He was so attuned to her right now, though, so in sync with her body he felt the slight movement through the hand on her hip. He squeezed his fingers. “Tell me what just made you freeze. What’s going on in that head of yours?”
She let out a distressed noise, sank back down onto the flat of her feet. “I...I can’t.”
Oh, hell no. They were talking through shit like this even if it killed him or embarrassed her. They had to if things were going to work. He squeezed again, gently but firmly. “Tell me, princess.”
“You’re going to think I’m weak,” she said, lightly banging her head against the whipping post.
“Never in a million years,” he countered, resting his cheek against hers. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. He felt her whole body shudder, and the chains that linked the cuffs to the whipping post rattled. “C’mon. Spill it.”
She spat the words out quickly as though it was that or never say them. “I haven’t had an orgasm since I had my accident. I’m afraid to.”
“I, uh...okay.” Christ. He’d never even considered that an orgasm would be a source of concern for her. Bindings, floggings, any kind of pain, yes. Pure pleasure, no. “What scares you about it? Tell me why you’re afraid, so I know what we’re dealing with here.”
She sniffled. “What if my back seizes up? What if I twist wrong and I pull something?”
The thought had never crossed his mind, but it had obviously crossed hers. “I don’t know if that will happen, but thank you for sharing it with me.” He reached up and unhooked one restraint from the post, and then the other, turning her to face him. “Let’s call this yellow for now, okay? Because that’s a valid concern, and I think it’d be better if we were back at the house for this.”
She buried her face against his chest. “God, this is humiliating. It makes me look wimpy, when I’m trying to convince you I’m not breakable.”
He bit the side of her neck, then licked it as she shivered. “Not in the least. And I’m not saying we’re stopping. We’re just...rescheduling.”
That startled a snort out of her, and he smiled against her skin. “We’re good, babe.” He grabbed her shoes off the bench and brought them over to her, squatting to help her get them on her feet. “Let’s head back.”
“Um, my dress?”
“Oh, I’ll hold onto that. It’s a warm night, and I’d like to look my fill.” He grinned up at her as her jaw dropped, and then he stood and smacked her ass. “Hey, at least I’m letting you keep your bra and panties on. Now get moving.”
It wasn’t so dark he couldn’t see the blush that started in her chest and moved up to her cheeks. There was enough light he could see the relief on her face that he was treating her as he had before she’d told him she was scared. He hadn’t been kidding. He wanted this to work, so, yeah. Whatever it took. And when she caught his eye and grinned back, he felt like king of the world.
“Yes, Sir.”
* * *
Something tickled Olivia’s face and she swatted at it, burrowing deeper into the covers. Whatever it was moved, touching her ear, drawing her from her half-asleep state. She sat up and swiped a hand by her ear, coming into contact with a feather.
A long, fluffy feather held by a tanned, masculine hand.
Gabe.
“What time is it?” she muttered, the words coming out garbled even to her own ear. “What are you doing?”
“Time to get up,” he ordered briskly, flipping the covers to the end of her bed. “Now.”
She glared at him.
He stared back at her, arms folded across his bare chest, his face impassive. “Out of bed. No speaking unless I ask you a question or you choose to use your safe word.”
She stared at him, gobsmacked. “Now?”
His stern face softened just slightly. “Now, princess.”
She yawned, blinked sleep from her eyes. He was trying to catch her off guard, and he had. He wore nothing but loose cotton pants and that dark, dangerous look that made her panties wet. She shoved her hair back and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. She looked down at herself and winced mentally as she stood. Boy short panties and a cami. Not so sexy.
When they’d gotten back to the house last night after she’d told him her stupid fear, he hadn’t taken things any further. He’d ordered her to get ready for bed, and then he’d left the room. Thinking he was done for the night, and worried she’d messed things up again, she’d put on what she usually wore. She’d been shocked to the tips of her orange-paint
ed toes when he’d come back not three minutes later, in a pair of pajama pants and a black T-shirt. He’d spent the night wrapped tightly around her, his hand splayed across her belly under her top, his erection pressing against her, snoring softly in her ear. Other than the few minutes she’d sat curled up at his feet in his office, she’d never felt so content. She’d slept better in his arms than she had in several months.
His face was still impassive, his voice level. “Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”
Her heart beat triple time as he wrapped restraints around her wrists, and then locked them together behind her. They felt like the ones he’d used on her last night, though she couldn’t be sure, and they didn’t budge when she tested them. She started to turn, but he stilled her with one tight hand on the back of her neck.
“Not yet.”
He moved her hair out of his way and sucked hard on her skin. God, he loved doing that, and she loved when he did it. Only she liked it better when he—
He bit her.
—did that. She shivered, and he laughed knowingly, low in his throat.
Something warm and soft brushed against her neck, and it felt just like the restraints wrapped around her wrists. He pulled it snug against her throat, and her pulse sped up.
“Shh. No worries,” Gabe murmured. “Trust me.”
Instantly, she felt calmer, but she couldn’t speak over the tightness in her throat. Not against her throat, because what he’d put there was snug but not tight. It was comforting, the way his hand felt when he rested it there, sometimes squeezing gently. In her throat, because she liked the feeling a lot. Maybe too much.
He turned her around and she gasped at the intense look on his face. Hard, predatory, possessive. His eyes were heated, so hot she felt singed by the look. All of those things, all at once, and all directed at her. Her heart contracted. “Sir?”
“Mine,” he growled. “You belong to me and I am not giving you up, not for any reason. You can be as stubborn as you like, but you are mine.”
Her breath caught. God, those words sounded like a vow to her, a forever kind of promise. Before she could say anything, his mouth was on hers, devouring her. It was a rough kiss, with tongue and teeth, and as hard as the passion written on his face. He held her head and took control, and her knees nearly buckled under her.
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