She didn’t get an answer, and that made her frown. She was already on edge. She had thought it would be interesting to surprise him, but her appointment at the hairdresser’s had made her late. Surprising him no longer seemed a great idea. What if he hated her hair? She should have consulted with him, but they were in agreement that outside the bedroom, she was her own woman, and she didn’t want to do anything to imply otherwise.
Snowball, however, had run to greet her, and she bent down and gave her cat a scratch behind the ears. Cal, Jeremy’s standard poodle, came right after, nuzzling against her for equal attention.
A few seconds later, though, the melody resolved, and the music stopped. “Welcome home,” Jeremy called out. He had been waiting to finish. Usually he called out without missing a beat, because he still had half the piece to do. She apologized to Snowball and Cal and straightened. She walked through the dining room to the living room and into his arms.
“You’ve gone back to pink,” he remarked, his eyes crinkling. She wasn’t sure whether that was amusement or appreciation.
“Well,” she said. “Since my job didn’t mind.” She bit her lip and then asked the important question, because it did matter to her, a great deal. It had nothing to do with him being the boss in the bedroom and everything to do with wanting to please him. “Do you like it okay?”
“It’s beautiful.” He ran his long fingers through it. “You’re still growing it out too.”
“Um, careful, you might get pink on your hands. It’ll be better after a few washes that way.” Probably it wasn’t getting on his hands. The pink wasn’t as bad as some red she’d had once, and salon colors were better than the ones she’d used to do her own at home.
“I was thinking I might make your bottom pink to match.”
“When?”
“Now. If I can entice you into the bedroom.”
“Not after dinner?”
“No. It will hurt to sit down.”
“Are we eating standing up?”
“No, I thought we’d go out and eat. I’m willing to negotiate where. My only insistence is that it be someplace with nice hard chairs. Other than that, you can pick.”
Amanda wasn’t sure whether to grin or grimace. “You evil, evil man.” Just because he was in charge only in the bedroom and when they went to Excess didn’t mean she couldn’t feel what they’d done afterward. Nor did it stop her from thinking about what he might do to her every time she had a spare moment. It was with her all the time, even when there was balance between them. Maybe, someday, she could give that up. Maybe she couldn’t. He’d assured her he was fine with the way things were. In fact, she got the impression he preferred her being her own woman most of the time.
“Well.” He grinned and held his two fingers close together. “A little bit evil.”
“A nice sadistic coating, and a chewy coconut crème center.”
“Whereas you, my brat, are a lovely pink marshmallow peep.”
“Too sweet?” she asked, her eyes twinkling.
“Too tempting.”
“Bad for your diet?”
“Not as long as I have just the one.”
He always seemed to have the perfect reply. “Correct answer,” she said.
He looked at her for a long moment and then laughed. “You know, if Cheri had told me that, I’d have put her over my knee. And if I hadn’t, she’d have wondered if my control was slipping.”
“And you liked that?”
“I did. It was wonderful. This is different. And also wonderful.”
Amanda grinned. “It’s fucking amazing.” Being put over his knee sounded good. As long as it wasn’t because he was angry or because she didn’t measure up to Cheri. It was easy, sometimes, to think of Cheri as a perfection she couldn’t possibly compete with. But his experience with Cheri had made him what he was, and perhaps in a way it enabled him to want a different kind of relationship with her. She wasn’t sure. She knew, however, that she felt at home in his home, and she’d given up hope that she’d ever feel that way about a man.
“I’m going to go to your bedroom now,” she announced. She slipped under his arm and walked toward the room where she had slept and been fucked for the last two weeks, knowing he’d follow her. She appreciated having that certainty, that bit of control. She loved that he took it all away from her the moment she crossed the threshold into his room, and that anything could happen there.
“Our bedroom. Amanda?” His voice brought her up short, as well as the fact that he wasn’t following. She turned around, worried.
“Yes?”
“I wanted to say something before we got to the bedroom. It’s been on my mind all day. Well, for a while.”
Uh-oh.
“I love you,” he said.
Her heart felt instantly lighter. She flew back into his arms. “I love you too.” It was a relief to finally say the words. To feel his arms wrapped around her and know that she was loved and cherished, and something a whole lot more than just fun to play with.
He squeezed her tightly, his hard chest squishing her breasts. Their lips met, and he seemed to devour her with a kiss. Her whole body responded to his presence. Her nipples tingled; her pussy moistened. He must have sensed something too, because his cock hardened against her.
“So this loving me thing—do I still get spanked?” she asked when they finally let their lips part.
He laughed. “It gives me more energy to spank you with, brat.” He pulled his hand back from her waist, as if he was about to spank her right then and there.
“Not unless we’re in the bedroom,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
She thought for a moment that he might spank her anyway, but he let her go instead. He stepped back and waited.
She ran to the bedroom as quickly as she could.
Loose Id Titles by Sindra van Yssel
A Haunted Romance
Blonde and Owner
Blue Desire
Brat and Master
Dom and Domme
In the Middle
Purple Passion
Red Lust
Secretary for Two
Submissive by Moonlight
The Barbarian and the Witch
* * * *
The BONDAGE RANCH Series
Roped In
Pushing Limits
Moving On
His Little Tart
Sindra van Yssel
I live in Northern Virginia with my partner, my teenage son, and a lot of fish. For many years I was active in our local BDSM community. Yes, people really do the things people do in my books!
By day I work in a public library, where I get to meet all kinds of readers. I've a soft spot for happy endings and characters who learn more about themselves, but I enjoy torturing my characters along the way, too. Hopefully you'll enjoy watching them squirm as much as I do.
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