She laughed, liking the glimpse of Julien and their friendship. “To me, he’s always been a Silicon Valley legend.”
“I have trouble picturing him as anything other than the friend who stayed up half the night with me dreaming up ideas. We had no idea that we couldn’t take over the world.”
“It looks as if you’re making some strides.”
“So I think, until I interact with Molly. She humbles me.”
The music segued into something a little more seductive, and he took the opportunity to draw her in. Willingly, without resistance, she went. She appreciated his strength, the way he naturally took charge. It should have frightened her. Instead, it ensnared her. “I’m curious.”
“Go on,” he encouraged.
She’d wanted to ask at dinner, but this way, not looking directly into his eyes, was easier. “How would you introduce someone to your BDSM world?”
“I already have.”
Adrenaline skittered through her.
He placed a hand on her derrière and brought her against him. Then she felt his fingertips skim the bottom of her skirt. His touch on her legs was intimate and it made her hungry for more. Desperately, she wanted him to lift the material out of the way. She felt breathless, anxious.
Without missing a beat, he moved his other hand behind her and closed it in her hair, then gently tugged so that she was forced to look at him.
This man, clearly, didn’t let women hide.
“And for a more complete answer, if I brought it up and she knew something about it, I’d encourage her to talk about her experiences, share her opinions, what she’d liked and hadn’t liked, what she’d tried, what she’d like to try. If she knew nothing about it, I’d keep it cerebral for a bit. After all, a woman gets turned-on in her brain first. I’d want her to feel emotionally safe before I ever touched her physically. I’d like her to know what to expect if she wanted to take the first step.”
Despite her trepidation, she wanted to hear more. “You want her trust.”
“That’s not something I would demand. I’d encourage it, but I know that it’s a set of building blocks, something I have to earn step by step. I’d start with a kiss before moving on, to a touch, easy-to-follow commands then restraints or a gentle spanking.”
“When does the good, old-fashioned sex happen?” she asked.
“All along. When a sub scenes with a Dom, she—or he—is offering not just their body, but their heart and emotional wellbeing. There is no greater gift, and therefore, no weightier obligation to the Dom. He or she—and in this case, me—needs to be aware of that significance and respect it.”
Each of his statements made an image form in her mind, and she hungered for the experience, even the spanking, although she hadn’t liked it with her first real boyfriend.
“I cherish the women who submit to me.”
“Cherish isn’t the word I expected to hear in this context.”
“To be fair, it isn’t for some people. There are couples where the sub is a masochist. Every relationship is unique, but I believe expectations need to be clear so there’s no confusion. I’m not talking about anyone but you and me. I want to kiss you, Aria.”
Her step faltered, but he was there, supporting her as they swayed to a stop. “Yes,” she said. “I want it, too.”
He released his grip on her hair and cupped her head with his palm. “I’ve been thinking about this.” He stroked the column of her throat, up and down, pausing to feel her pulse. “So have you.”
“How could I not?” she admitted.
“Open your mouth.”
Grant eased his thumb across her lower lip. Then, when she responded, he moved in. He brushed her lips with his, once, twice.
“Yeah,” he said.
The moment their tongues touched, a jolt of electricity went through her. He retreated for a second, making her long for him, then he touched her again, swirling his tongue around hers.
Within seconds, she opened her mouth wider in invitation.
Obviously Grant needed no further encouragement. What had been gentle now ratcheted into something carnal, weakening her knees and taking her resistance with it.
He tasted of the wine, and more, of possession. Suddenly, she knew that whatever he was offering, she wanted it.
Grant pressed one hand to the small of her back for support then he eased her backward a little, making it clear he was in charge.
Grant turned a kiss into an art form. He teased, tantalized, took, plundered.
It went on forever, and ended too soon, leaving her breathless. Her lips felt swollen, and arousal careened through her, demanding satiation.
Her knees were a little weak, and he helped her to stand back up.
“That was—”
“Only the beginning.” He pulled up the hem of her sweater, baring her midriff.
Part of her thought they were moving too fast. The naughtier side of her insisted he get on with it.
She raised her hands over her head so he could tug the garment all the way off, and he tossed it onto the couch.
“Keep your hands where they are,” he instructed, voice soft, reassuring, demanding.
Everything about his words and actions seemed carefully calculated to bring her to greater levels of arousal.
“You’re gorgeous.”
He traced his thumbs along the lacy tops of her bra cups, then rested a fingertip on the dainty red bow between her breasts. Unless she was staying in for the day, she always wore nice lingerie. Now she was glad for the little indulgence.
“Turn around for me.”
Slowly, she did, stopping with her back to him, anticipating that he’d unhook her bra.
“Keep going,” he encouraged.
Wordlessly, she did. Aria finished her pivot and tipped back her head. Odd, she was still mostly dressed, and yet she felt as if he’d seen more of her than any other man ever had.
“I’d like you to show me your breasts.”
At this point in a seduction, she was accustomed to a prospective lover helping her along. But he remained in place, and in fact, crossed his arms over his chest. Her mouth dried at his commanding stance.
She unfastened the hooks and shrugged so that the straps fell from her shoulders. Very much aware of the heat that blazed in his eyes, she pulled off the bra and allowed it to dangle from her index finger.
He took the lingerie from her and tossed it on top of her sweater.
Again, he defied expectation. She expected him to touch, to squeeze, to press her breasts together, but he didn’t.
“Molly, turn the fireplace on high.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Different music, as well? I Want Your Sex, perhaps?”
He shook his head, and Aria tried to smother a laugh.
“Turn up the heater and set yourself to standby.”
“You ruin all my fun.” Molly sounded petulant.
“That interaction blows me away,” Aria admitted.
“Julien’s coding,” he said. “He’s messing with us. He anticipated a few of my requests to the system and programmed in responses. He’s not spying on us.”
“Promise?”
“If you wanted to play in public, I’d take you to a club. But otherwise, I assume you want privacy, especially from the boss.”
“You’re right about that.”
“Where were we?” He’d dropped his voice a couple of octaves, weaving his invisible spell again. “Oh, yes. I was admiring your beautiful breasts.”
Standing there was a little disconcerting. But she was already learning he did things at his pace.
“Cup them, lift them, draw them together.”
“Is this a striptease?”
“Yeah. You strip. I tease.”
“I don’t think I like your rules.”
His eyes seemed to smolder. She’d never been looked at with this sort of appreciation.
“Show me,” he reminded her.
Feeling a bit self-conscious, she did as he
’d instructed, putting her hands beneath her breasts then lifting them, pressing them together.
“May I touch?” he asked.
“I thought you’d never ask.” In her experience, men rarely did.
“Keep them together,” he instructed.
He traced each nipple, so lightly that she wondered if she’d only imagined the touch. Her body seemed to hum with energy. Never had a man’s touch aroused her so much.
He circled the areolae then abraded her nipples with his thumbnails. Each thing he did heightened her arousal.
“Do you like to have them pinched?”
“I’m a little sensitive.”
“Mind if I gauge?”
She met his gaze. “Go ahead.”
He rolled her right nipple between his thumb and forefinger, and she leaned toward him. “You like that.” It wasn’t a question.
He repeated the action on her left nipple.
This time, she moaned.
“More?”
“I think you might have spent the day figuring out ways to torture me,” she confessed.
“You’re right.” He placed a gentle kiss on top of her head. “Since I saw your reaction to the woman in the painting, I’ve been imagining this.”
His jaw was set, and she wanted to reach out to connect with him. “I can’t relate to her,” she said. “I’m too impatient. If that’s what you expect, you might need to find someone else to interact with.”
“You’re doing fine.”
This time, he squeezed both nipples at the same time.
She gasped and closed her eyes. It was a lot—but not too much. More than she’d had. Not as much as she wanted.
In turn, he sucked each into his mouth, licking away the tiny hurt.
Her toes curled as she sought for balance. It wasn’t just his touch or his mouth, but his skill and mastery over her body. With his words, he was working his way inside her brain, as well.
Even though the house was warm, her damp nipples puckered into tiny beads when he stepped back.
“You’re more perfect than I could have imagined,” he said. “Come back into my arms.”
Since she was naked from the waist up, she thought this might feel unnatural. Rather, it felt right.
He wrapped her up in his arms, and she laid her head on his shoulder in unspoken gratitude for a gradual introduction that fed her hunger.
“I like to touch your skin,” he said against her ear as he trailed his fingers down her spine. “You’re velvet and silk, both at the same time.”
Nerve endings fired, sending awareness of him through her. She wanted more.
He stepped a little farther away from her, brushed hair back from her face, then traced the outline of her jaw.
“Grant…”
“I know. You’ve already informed me that you’re impatient.”
“And?” She exhaled.
“Relax and let me lead, like you did when we were dancing.”
“But you want to do a waltz. I want to do a rhumba. So move it, mister.”
He grinned and put his thumb beneath her chin. He tipped back her head a little, holding her prisoner. “I’m going to have you naked, Aria, and it’s going to be in the next five minutes. Then I’m going to give you an orgasm.”
“This isn’t the way I’m used to doing things,” she admitted. She was a modern woman who knew what pleased her and wasn’t afraid of helping things along. Honestly, the sooner she could get it over with, the sooner she’d be able to stop wondering about it. She reached for his crotch and curled her hand around his cock.
He was hard and felt impressive. He was as ready as she was.
“Put your hands behind your back, Aria.”
“I…”
“Enjoy the experience,” he reminded her.
“I’d enjoy having your dick in me.”
“Don’t worry. I intend to fuck you. On my timing, not yours.”
“We’re grown-ups here.”
“Do you really not enjoy foreplay? The anticipation?”
“I open all my gifts before Christmas and tape them back up.”
“I believe that about you. I know that it might be difficult, but you’re not going to make me move quicker. Play by my rules tonight. And tomorrow, if you didn’t like it, I’ll rip your clothes off and fuck you until you can’t remember your name.”
His words rocked her back on her heels, so when she answered, she tried to keep it light, rather than let him know how much he affected her. “I can already tell you. I like my way better.”
“We’ll have a critical analysis of my performance over breakfast.”
The reminder that she’d still be here in the morning added another pulse of excitement.
“Agreed?”
She resisted the impulse to fondle his balls. The idea of him taking her hard and fast appealed on so many levels.
“Hands behind your back,” he reminded her. “Do as I say.”
The edge in his voice was different from anything she’d heard from him. It shocked her a little, as if there were two sides to his personality. Just because he said he cherished a woman evidently didn’t mean he would tolerate her deviating from his plan.
“From here on, I expect you to do everything I say, without argument.”
“That makes me nervous.”
“I’m going to prove to you that nothing will happen that you don’t like or approve of. If anything is too scary, say the word yellow and we’ll slow down or stop. We’ll discuss it, or maybe move onto something else. It’s my intention to take you to the edge, but not over it.”
“Are you a mind reader?”
“I’ll be watching every one of your reactions. Tell me how your nipples feel.”
“They ache for your touch.” He’d strung her tight, already. Although a fresh flood of nerves made her mouth dry, she forced out a breath and put her hands behind her back.
“Put your shoulders back, Aria. Offer your whole body to me.”
Her nipples were still damp and hard. She realized she’d never really been seduced before. Simon, her fiancé, had moved straight from kissing to heavy petting. She’d done some touching in return. Before long, they’d ended up in the bedroom. Sex was good, most of the time, but he’d never just looked at her body, talked to her, told her what he intended to do, forced her to wait.
“Keep your hands where they are.”
He swept her from her feet and carried her to the couch to place her on the edge of it. Then he knelt in front of her to pull off her boots.
“I can do that,” she protested.
“I hear that from you a lot,” he said easily. “If I wanted you to, I’d ask you. Relax. Let me.”
Damn, he looked so freaking hot, kneeling there, and she had the sudden, vivid image of him putting his mouth on her pussy. Despite his orders and her own intention to let him set the pace, she dug her feet into the floor and lifted her hips.
He ignored her silent protest, which drove her a little more insane. After tugging off each boot, he helped her to stand.
“I want to look at your body,” he said, “inch by inch, as I bare it.”
“You’re a confounding man.”
“Who might go looking for a gag.”
She gasped. “You wouldn’t!”
“Oh, Aria, yes I would.”
Uncertainty made her shut up.
He reached behind her to lower the zipper on her skirt. Then he tugged the material down. It pooled to the floor, but she didn’t step out of it or attempt to move.
“You…are damn perfect.” Next he hooked his thumbs in the waistband of her tights and lowered them.
Already she knew better than to offer to help. Instinct made her tighten her muscles. That didn’t deter him. Rather, he continued what he was doing, crouching as he went on.
Then she was standing and he was on his knees before her.
“Lift each foot.”
She did and he removed the tights.
“Yo
ur body is so womanly.”
By any standards, she wasn’t perfect. Her hips were curvy, and her stomach was not flat despite constant working out. But he made her feel as if she were a pin-up model.
“Play with your nipples. I want you pinching, tugging, squeezing. Are you wet, yet?”
“I have been for a while.”
He drew her panties down and she stepped out of them.
She felt his warm breath on her lower belly.
Then he placed a finger between her legs and slid back and forth between her labia.
“Damn,” she said.
He slid a finger into her pussy and she jerked.
“Keep playing with your nipples.”
“They’re a little tender.”
“Spread your legs as far apart as you can comfortably keep them.”
“I…” She wasn’t sure what she was really saying, but sensation burned through her as he continued to fuck her with his finger.
He pinched her right thigh.
She yelped.
“I said legs apart, Aria.”
She did as he’d said and was immediately rewarded when he licked her pussy. “Oh, God.”
Aria wished she could see his reaction. But all she could see was the top of his head. She’d had men eat her out before, but never while she was standing.
She wanted to grip his shoulders. The experience of him pleasing her without her reciprocating was foreign, and she wasn’t sure she liked it.
He brought one hand behind and spread his finger across her buttocks to keep her in place before he tongued her pussy. She cried out and her knees turned wobbly.
He was relentless—nipping, sucking, licking. Then he slipped a second finger inside her.
“Damn. Damn, damn, damn. Fuck. I want…”
“You taste so damn good.”
He moved a finger until he touched her G-spot.
“I…” She moaned. He had her on the edge and wouldn’t let her go over it. “I can’t take this.” Her words were wrapped in a whimper.
“Say yellow if you need me to slow down,” he reminded her. “Otherwise I’m going to finger fuck you till you can’t stand, little Aria.” He pistoned them into her, but licked her gently at the same time, the juxtaposition making her mind and body misfire as she came.
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