Marc cleared his throat. “I’ll second that. Perfect name for the puppy, too.”
He heard several sniffles in the room, not sure if all of them were from the girls. Damián cleared his throat. “Marisol, we have a few other heroes in this room. Wilson, Grant, and Marc all saved my life in Fallujah.”
With a trembling lip, the little girl turned to each of them. “I want to be like you when I grow up. I want to be a Marine.”
Damián had to be proud of his little warrior, and scared shitless at the same time. Remembering how Marc had had to help Damián keep Marisol from going out to save her Maman left a lump in his throat too big to allow him to speak. She would do the Marine Corps proud.
But the only woman Marine in the room did respond. Grant entered the room, joining the group she often stayed aloof from. She walked over to Marisol before dropping down to one knee and meeting her eye to eye.
“You can be anything you want to be, Marisol. If you decide to be a Marine, you come to me any time you have a question or concern. Just be true to who you are and give it your best, no matter what.”
* * *
Luke leaned over at the table to whisper in Cassie’s ear. “Darlin’, if you really want me to try some Shibari ties on you, we can start tonight out at the studio after everyone either goes home or to bed.”
She grew serious. “Kitty explained to me why everyone was so surprised at my wanting to try it.”
Darn. If she knew it had anything to do with BDSM, she probably wouldn’t want to give it a chance.
Cassie smiled. “She also told me how free she felt when bound. So I would like to try it, if you will start slow. I really like that photo of the woman with her toes, feet, and ankles bound.”
Was that arousal in her dilated pupils? Hot damn! This party might go on for a few more hours, but as soon as they could be alone, he intended to follow through.
“My little lady continues to be full of surprises.”
“I do not wish for you to become bored with me.” She smiled, but he noticed some anxiety.
Luke leaned over to kiss her cheek and whispered, “I could never tire of you, Cassie.”
“How about a toast to the newlyweds?” Luke turned as Marc stood and held his glass of sweet tea in front of him before addressing those gathered around the table. They had set up some planks over sawhorses in the front yard for a table big enough to hold their entire extended family. The blue-checked tablecloth reminded him of the many times Momma had prepared picnics for him and Dad, sometimes at parks and other times right in the backyard.
“Luke and Cassie, I hope I’m quoting Lao Tzu correctly here. ‘To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.’ I have watched the two of you grow strong in each other’s love this summer and I know that as you go through life you will have the courage and conviction to face anything life throws at you.”
Everyone at the table raised a glass and shouted, “Hear, hear!”
He hoped they didn’t expect him to make a speech because getting up in front of people to convey such heartfelt emotions would be damned-near impossible no matter how much he loved and trusted them. Then Cassie stood.
“I wish to thank you all for enfolding me into your family—and for loving and supporting my husband over the years.”
Tears stung his eyes, and he reached for her hand to give it a squeeze.
“I have learned that, with Luke by my side, anything is possible because his patience and love will see me through whatever life throws at us.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes, too, and she bent to kiss him. Damn. He couldn’t sit here and stay quiet another minute.
He stood and held up his glass, as well. He had to clear the frog from his throat before he could speak. He looked at her, and her alone. “Cassie, darlin’, our lives collided in many unexpected ways, but I think we both know there have been a number of forces—seen and unseen—at work to help us reach this point.” He didn’t care how she came into his life, he was just thankful she had. “Thank you for letting me be the man you put your faith and trust in. If I ever do anything to shatter either, well, there is a table full of D—” Hell, don’t call them Doms! “—men here who will kick my ass six ways from Sunday.” He felt the tears roll down his face, but didn’t give a shit. One thing he’d learned was that life didn’t always go as planned. “They not only have my back, but they have yours, too. If anything ever happens to separate me from you in this life, you just know they are going to be there for you. You can trust every one of them.” Aw, hell. Why’d he go maudlin like that on their wedding celebration day?
Cassie wrapped her arms around him and sniffled. “Nothing can break this bond we share, not even death. You and I will be together forever. But Goddess has shared with me images of us on this plane old and gray with many great-grandchildren surrounding us. She might not have the location right—I definitely envisioned us up on the mountain where my cabin once stood—but I know She plans to let us make up for the many sorrows in our lives by allowing us many years to be together.
He cupped her chin and held her as he lowered his mouth to hers for the first of at least a gazillion more kisses he planned to share in this lifetime. When they ended the kiss, their friends broke out in cheers and applause.
“I’ll love you forever, Sweet Pea.”
* * *
By the time the party guests left and the chores were finished, it was nearly eight o’clock. Cassie had visited with Adam and Kitty a while in the house, but Luke had gone ahead of her to the studio. Chance was curled on the floor at Adam’s feet while Hero chewed at the leg of his jeans. They might want to try to break that habit. Perhaps Cassie could have a talk with the little guy and see what they might use as a substitute for Adam’s pants legs.
Anxious to join Luke, after helping to prepare the babies for bed while Kitty pumped her breasts, Cassie jumped at Kitty’s first yawn. “I’ll leave you all alone now, Kitty. Help yourself to anything you two need. Luke and I will be back in the morning to have breakfast with you.”
Kitty reached out and took her hand. “This has been the most fun we’ve had in months. Thanks for having us out here. This is such a wonderful place.”
Cassie nodded. “It is very special.”
“You and Luke make it that way. I can’t tell you how happy I am that you two found each other. Seeing you today was proof of how right you are for each other. I’m so happy for you, Cassie.”
She smiled. “Kitty, I did not think love was possible for me, but he did not give up. And now I think he has a surprise for me, so I should join him.”
“Oh, I like the sound of that! Go! We’ll be fine!”
After kissing Kitty on the cheek and saying goodnight to Adam, she left the house and nearly danced down the lane to the studio. Her heart was filled with both anticipation and excitement.
Inside, she found the only light shining on a worktable, spotlighting a bundle of bright yellow rope. Her heart skipped a beat. She remembered the photo in the book and hoped he was going to use that rope on her.
“I missed you.” She jumped at his voice and turned to find him standing shirtless near the bed. Shadows and light played off his pectorals and she could not resist walking over to him and placing a kiss to one, while playfully flicking her tongue against the hard peak.
He wrapped his arms around her waist. “Keep that up, and you’re not going to get tied up tonight.”
She smiled and met his gaze. “I was hoping that rope was for me. I am ready when you are!”
Luke took her hand and led her toward the table. “Remove your clothes. Everything.”
Her heart beat in double time. “I thought you were going to just bind my feet.”
“I am. But I like looking at you naked.” He grinned and winked.
She removed everything quickly, rather than doing a slow tease. She wanted to try this as soon as possible. Without warning, he placed his hands around her waist and lift
ed her to the table. “Sit there.”
The table was cold against her bottom, but she did as instructed and watched him return to the bed to retrieve several pillows. Laying them on the end of the table, he cupped the back of her head and neck and lowered her to them. “Now, tent your knees.”
She followed his instructions, placing her hand on her belly when it erupted in butterflies. Nerves. She did not know why she was nervous. Maybe excited was a more accurate term.
He lifted the bundle of rope and loosened it. It looked soft. He left her with no doubts as he rubbed the rope over her chest, her thighs, and stopped at her upturned knees before repeating the motions. She relaxed, feeling the silkiness of the rope on her skin. Goose bumps broke out over her entire body, even her scalp.
“Mmmm.”
She could let him do this all night. She closed her eyes and let him work his magic over her.
Magic fingers.
Magic hands.
Magic rope.
On his third pass over her body, he took the rope beyond her knees to her calves and then on to her ankles. He wrapped the rope loosely around her ankles and picked up her left foot. He kissed the instep and she shivered in anticipation. She loved when he played with her feet—and he seemed to enjoy it, too.
He kissed the back of each toe and then took his fingers and spread each toe open and closed several times, as if preparing her to accept the rope she knew would be threaded between them from the photo she had seen. Good thing she could control her body’s ticklish responses.
He rested that foot on his upper chest and picked up the other to perform the same tender motions. “Mmmm. That feels so good.”
He didn’t say anything, but placed another kiss on her instep before he put this foot on his shoulder and adjusted the other one to a similar height. She opened her eyes and found him staring at her sex. The spotlight must have revealed everything. She fought the urge to close herself off to him.
“Beautiful.”
“Thank you.” Her voice sounded breathless, not surprisingly. How else should she respond? She had never been so exposed to him before. Usually they played with each other or made love in dim lighting.
He reached out and spread her lips open, and her clitoris tingled as if he had touched her with more than his gaze.
“You just clenched. Made my cock throb remembering when you squeeze me inside you.”
She wanted him inside her. “Make love to me, Luke.”
He grinned. “I am.”
“No, I mean, I want you inside me again. I am now insatiable, I think.” She smiled.
“I sure can see how wet you are, but first, my lady asked me to tie her up.” He released her, closed her knees, and lowered her feet to the table. She felt disappointed until he picked up the rope again. She did want to feel the rope on her, too. Then they could make love.
She never wanted this night to end.
* * *
Tearing his gaze away from her fascinating core took self-control he didn’t know he possessed. That she had opened herself up to him and didn’t try to hide when he drank his fill told him she was comfortable in her own skin. Seeing how wet she was just from the feel of the rope and the way he had played with her feet promised a delightful session with her tonight.
“Keep your eyes closed, darlin’.”
Stroking her body with the linen rope had given him an erection that actually ached at the moment, but he wouldn’t be burying himself inside her just yet.
With everything going on today, he hadn’t had a chance to ask Adam about the rope tie she requested from his book on Shibari and macramé, but it looked more like the latter. Not that Luke cared. He just liked playing with rope. He’d try to replicate the tie as best he could from memory, but regardless he would make sure she enjoyed the hell out of her first rope session. First of many, he hoped. Man, he liked to play with rope.
Who would have thought only four months ago that they would be doing this now? Grinning, he caressed her thighs to her ankles before picking up the rope again. She hadn’t balked or squirmed when he spread her toes or ran his fingers between them a few minutes ago, so he figured she would be able to take having the rope there, too.
Fashioning a loop, he lassoed her pinky toe and she flexed her toes on both feet as if trying to give him better access.
“Lovely. Thank you.”
She giggled. Unable to prolong this any longer, he made quick work of lassoing each of her toes before doing a basket-weave pattern over the tops of her feet.
“How are you doing, baby girl?”
No response. He set her feet on the table and walked up to lean over her face. “Darlin’? Still with me?”
She opened her eyes and blinked in confusion. “I think I zoned out.” Her voice was husky and her pupils dilated.
He smiled. She must really be getting into it. At least she hadn’t been triggered. He bent and placed a kiss on her lips.
“Almost done,” he promised and went back to the end of the table.
“Do not rush on my account. I love the feel of the rope on my feet. I hope you have your camera out here. I want photos.”
“Don’t you worry.” Given how fascinated with his book, they might have to start their own private collection of photos.
He took the ends of the rope and finished pulling them through as he continued to weave a pattern over her joined feet. When finished, he wrapped the ends around her ankles similar to how he would do a hogtie.
But he didn’t plan to use that one tonight.
Luke ran his hands up her legs, over her knees, and down her thighs. Silky soft. He took a step back and surveyed the tie. Not like the photo, but beautiful nonetheless. The lighting seemed perfect to enable him to take photos without flash. He wanted the warm tone of her skin not to be washed out.
“I’m just going to snap a few shots to show you before we proceed.”
“Proceed? I thought you were finished.”
He chuckled. “Well, I’m finished with the tie, if that’s what you mean. But I have plans for other parts of your body tonight, too.”
“Oh.” The expectant tone in her voice made him anxious to move on, but first he would preserve the rope design.
The first few shots were taken from above her looking down, then one looking straight on, the curve of her ass on either side of her bound ankles. Hot, but tasteful. He put the camera down, not wanting to turn this into a porn shoot. But, damn, he needed to see her body.
“Draw your knees up to your chest, darlin’. The camera’s gone now. This is just for me to see.” She hadn’t even waited for him to explain his intent before lifting her legs.
She trusts me.
“I like when you look, amor. It excites me.”
He reached out and opened her to his gaze. “I can see that.” So wet. So ready.
“Having you playing with my feet and binding my ankles together excited me, too.”
Who was he kidding? Why stop at just looking? He needed to touch her, fill her. Luke came around to the side of the table and scooped her into his arms. She giggled.
As he carried her across the room, he asked, “What’s so funny.”
“I like my take-charge man.”
Jeezus.
“Good because we’re going to try a new position.”
“Another one?” She smiled.
“Remember the Kama Sutra. I don’t think we’ll run out of ideas for a long time.”
“Good.”
He laid her on the futon and went back to grab the pillows from the worktable. She raised herself up on her elbows to let him place them under her head.
“I hope you took lots of photos, but I’d like to see what it looks like before you take them off.”
“Who said anything about taking them off?”
Her mouth formed the cutest little O as she processed that information. But he remembered the mirror he had bought to back her artwork. “Stay put.”
“I am not going anywhere.�
�� She lifted her bound feet over her hips and took a look. The lighting wasn’t the best in the corner, but she could still get the idea.
He returned with the four-by-two foot mirror and positioned it at the bottom of the bed. “Now, tent your knees again.” She did so. “Lift your head and look down at your feet’s reflection in the mirror.”
When she did, she scrutinized it for a while. Maybe she didn’t like it as much as the one she had in her mind.
“I had to—”
“That is very erotic looking. While everything is hidden, seeing the sides of my hips and the beautiful rope work… I can’t wait to see the photos.”
“Me, too, but I think the image is already seared on my brain.” He set the mirror against the wall and unhooked his belt buckle. Her gaze on his crotch made him harder as he slowly unzipped his jeans and worked them, along with his boxers, off his hips. Her appreciative smile was all he needed as an invite and he joined her in the bed. “Roll onto your left side and pull your knees to your chest again.”
He ran his hands over her side, hip, and thigh several times. Her moan told him she was ready for him, but he wanted to work her up to a frenzy. His hand slid to her butt and down to the downy curls covering her treasure. So wet. His first finger went in so easily, he didn’t hesitate to drive a second one home. He curled them to stroke her G-spot.
“Oh, yes!” He brought her to the edge and rolled her onto her back.
Kneeling near the foot of the bed, he placed her bound feet against his chest, keeping her butt lifted off the mattress. After dipping himself inside her and hearing her groan of frustration and need, he pumped his cock deeper inside her.
“¡Siiiiii!”
Sounded like he hit the right spot so he withdrew and pounded into her again and again. She grabbed onto his thighs as if not wanting to let him go.
No worries, darlin’. I’m not going anywhere.
As her mewling cries reached a fever pitch, he was ready to explode and reached between them to stroke her clit and send her screaming over the edge as they both came. He didn’t think he would ever stop pumping his seed inside her.
Nobody's Dream (Rescue Me Saga #6) Page 69