Reaction Time

by Alannah Lynne

  As she struggled to switch gears and keep up with his bizarre train of thought, he grew serious and his grin disappeared. “If I’m doing anything you don’t like, or can’t handle, say ‘red’ and I’ll stop immediately. Do you understand?” When she gave a brief nod he said, “I don’t ever want to really hurt you. I want to bring you more pleasure than you’ve ever experienced, and I think I can, but I need you to always be honest with me and tell me what you’re thinking and feeling.”

  She studied his expression, absorbing his sincerity and…what? It wasn’t concern. It was more along the lines of…affection. He was looking at her like she was the most important thing in the world and her chest constricted to the point where breathing became impossible.

  “I want you to give me everything, Nikki.” The charged seriousness of his tone caused her to become even more alert to his touch and words. “I want you to share every fantasy and desire. Every fear. I want to fulfill those desires and make your fantasies reality. And I want to help you overcome your fears.

  “I’ve watched you on dates, and you walk all over those men. None of them have been tough enough to stand up to you. To give you what you crave. What you need. I can.” He cupped her jaw in his palm. “You fight to control every aspect of your life. But dammit, in this give me control.”

  She dropped her head and squeezed her eyes shut. He made it seem so easy. Like some fairy tale, let go and let him handle it. But when she let go of the reins bad things happened.

  If she’d still been in control of ordering and checking car parts, maybe her dad’s accident wouldn’t have happened. If she hadn’t let the guys on the crew talk her in to partying the night before, she might have been aware of what was happening with her own car last year. She might have been able to stop before the breather blew into a million shreds and took her out, as well as her competitor. And, of course, had she remained in control the night of her high school graduation, she wouldn’t have lost her virginity under such undesirable circumstances.

  Adam tipped up her chin and held her in place as he whispered, “Open your eyes. No hiding from me. Nothing. Ever.”

  Compelled by the commanding tenderness in his voice, she did as he asked.

  He kissed her cheek, the corners of her mouth, then lightly brushed his lips across hers. “I don’t want to control any other part of your life.” He chuckled. “I don’t know shit about racing.” He grew serious again. “But I do know you. Let me take care of you. Let me love you.”

  His last words were barely audible but she felt them like a punch to the gut. She drew in deep breaths, trying to get air into her lungs but the passageways seemed to be blocked. She felt the sizzling in her chest, a warning sign of the impending panic attack closing in on her. He seemed to be talking about more than this one weekend and something about his tone and the look in his eyes made her think this encompassed more than sex.

  But what exactly was he saying?

  Why her? Why now?

  Before she asked the torrent of questions running through her mind, or succumbed to the panic welling up inside her, he pressed his mouth to hers and kissed her long and hard. His lips were commanding. His tongue demanded entrance into her mouth and once granted, it set about claiming her completely.

  She was vaguely aware of him standing, her cradled in his arms, legs still wrapped around his waist, but she was too lost in the kiss to process him turning and laying her on the bed until she felt the cool satin comforter against her back. He rested the curve of her ass at the edge of the bed and knelt in front of her, hooking her knees over his shoulders.

  She shifted and squirmed, embarrassed to be spread open before him like a buffet and to have him looking at her like she was the dessert he didn’t get at dinner.

  He took a deep breath and his nostrils flared. “You are so fucking beautiful,” he said, his voice rough and ragged. “You have no idea how badly I want to rip these panties off you and sink my cock into you until I’m buried balls deep.”

  She groaned and involuntarily thrust her hips. There wasn’t any point in playing this game anymore, not even with herself. It was obvious she wanted him as much as he claimed to want her. Why not go for it and enjoy the experience? “If that’s the case, why aren’t you doing it?”

  “Because tonight isn’t about a quick, mindless fuck. It’s about making you understand what a relationship with me would be like.”

  She tried to process the word “relationship”, meaning more long-term than this weekend, but as she tried to get her mind around the idea, he slid his hands to the inside of her thighs and forced her legs even wider. Cool air rushing against her heated core, as well as knowing his mouth was mere inches away, caused further thought to become impossible. And unimportant.

  He nipped at the sensitive skin inside her knee then slid his tongue along her inner thigh, stopping short of the edge of her soaked panties. He slipped his fingers under the lace and pulled the fabric to one side, exposing her to his view and touch.

  She wiggled and squirmed, uncomfortable with the intimacy and wanting to edge away from him, but also craving his touch and wanting to scoot closer. He bent his elbow and readjusted his position, still holding her panties out of the way while his arm lay across her stomach, anchoring her in place. The fingers of his other hand flicked her swollen, sensitive clit, causing her to rock her hips and moan.

  In one quick motion, he thrust his tongue into her. Once. Twice. The sensation was so intense she practically flew off the bed. He curled his tongue and pulled it through her swollen lips to her clit, where he nipped harshly then stroked the sting away with a soft caress. As he gave one long draw on her clit, she bucked and arched and cried out. Nothing had ever felt this good.

  And then he stopped.

  “There’s one more thing we need to cover before I’ll let you come.”

  Thank God. Anything.

  “In the bedroom, you will do as I say without question. And you’ll call me Sir. Starting now.”

  Okay, anything, except that.

  “One word is all it’s going to take. Call me Sir and I’ll give you what you want.”

  “Never,” she growled, as she fought to dislodge him. With a quick yank, he disposed of her panties and began a full oral assault. He flicked his tongue across her swollen clit. He nipped and sucked and buried his tongue deep, leaving her breathless and quivering.

  She grabbed his head to hold him in place, determined to make him finish what he’d started. But before she knew what was happening, he was sitting over her, tying her wrists together with the remnants of her panties. He scooped her up, dropped her in the middle of the bed so her outstretched arms reached the headboard, and tied her to the frame.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” she gasped, shocked.

  Completely unfazed by her rant, he sat back and watched her struggle. Sweeping his boiling hot gaze down her body, he whispered, “My God. Bound to the bed like this, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” He stroked a finger between her breasts and down her stomach. “You’re struggling with yourself more than you are those bindings. Stop fighting, yourself and me, and let go.”

  The annoying small voice whispered in her ear, you know he’s right. But she didn’t want him to be right, and she sure didn’t want to be a weakling and submit.

  When she remained quiet but continued to struggle, although admittedly not terribly hard, he slid two fingers inside and went straight for her G-spot. She gasped and thrashed while her hips took up a natural pounding rhythm against his hand.

  “Say it, Nikki. Sir. That’s all it’s going to take and I’ll let you come.”

  She didn’t need him to let her come. She rocked her hips, making his hand hit where she wanted it most. She was close. So close. Almost there.

  His fingers stopped moving.

  Fury whipped through her and she tried to fight her way free again, only to have her legs restrained by his strong hands. Suddenly, he was kneeling between her legs agai
n, combining the magic of his tongue, teeth, lips and hands, taking her to the edge of what would surely be a cataclysmic orgasm. She stood, perched at the edge, ready to tumble over.

  And he stopped.

  She shrieked with frustration and thrashed her head from side to side. Desperate for release she finally stooped to pleading. “Please,” she begged. “Please, please make me come.”

  “You have all the control, Nikki.”

  She snarled and raised her head, wanting to look him in the eye when she told him to go to hell, but she stopped short when she saw the tender and sincere look on his face.

  “This is the mystical, magical part you need to understand. It takes a lot of courage to be a sub, more than it takes to be a Dom. And the great paradox is you have all the control.”

  She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut. What a bunch of horseshit. She was going to kill him. He was a walking dead man. He was just too stupid to realize it.

  As she jerked on the bindings again, feeling a slight tinge of panic, he made a slow, calming caress across her stomach, and said, “Look at me.”

  It was more of a glare than a look, but once she made eye contact he continued, “A sub always has the ultimate control. You can call game over at any time.” He stroked his fingers back inside at a pace that was slow and torturous while his thumb circled her clit. “Either call me Sir or use your safeword and we end everything. The choice is all yours.”

  Either way she lost. Be a wimp and safeword out of it, or submit. He was still kneeling between her legs, gaze locked on her face, wearing the tender and affectionate expression he’d worn earlier.

  Something deep within snapped. In that instant, it didn’t seem quite as important to win this game. She sensed how much he wanted this and for some inexplicable reason she wanted to make him happy.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and whispered, “Please let me come…” She swallowed hard and forced herself to say what he wanted to hear. “Sir.”

  He froze, apparently stunned by her acquiescence, but soon recovered. He thrust his fingers into her while massaging her clit. His breathing was harsh and ragged. “Come for me, sweetheart,” he rasped.

  At his command, she lost all control over her body. Screaming and bucking, she feared she might shatter into a thousand pieces. He replaced his fingers with his tongue and drew her orgasm out for what seemed an eternity. She had never experienced anything as intense or quite so satisfying.

  As she floated back to clear consciousness, he untied her from the headboard and wrapped her into the protective cocoon of his arms. Brushing the hair away from her face he whispered, “I’ve worked with a lot of subs, Nikki, but never in my life has that word sounded so sweet. Thank you for giving me that gift.”

  Ridiculously happy she’d been able to please him, warm fuzzies filled her entire being. She didn’t want to contemplate how she felt because if she did, she’d have to take into account everything that had happened. And she wasn’t ready to go there. Instead, she tucked her head further into the crook of his shoulder, inhaled his masculine scent and let sleep carry her away.

  Chapter Seven

  Nikki cracked one eye open and peeked at the other side of the bed, confirming she was as alone as she felt. At some point during the night Adam had untied her wrists and early this morning he’d slipped out of bed. Since he seemed to know everything else, he must have known she needed time and space to come to grips with all that had transpired last night.

  And in this case he’d be right.

  Physically, she’d never been more satisfied. Emotionally, she was a wreck. In the stark reality of daylight her begging and calling him Sir seemed incomprehensible. However, under the cover of darkness, the stroke of his touch, the lure of his words and the affection shining in his eyes, it all changed. The boundaries between submission and control—and why those boundaries even mattered—had been much less defined.

  She’d always been attracted to Adam but had tried to ignore the attraction and keep her distance, telling herself he was too uptight and too much of a rule follower. He wasn’t a rule follower, she thought, as hysterical laughter bubbled inside. He makes the damn rules. And expects them to be followed.

  A Dom. A real honest to God, you-will-do-as-I-say freakin’ Dom!

  But in fairness, after last night, she had to re-evaluate what that meant. He’d been honest about what he wanted and expected from her. He’d been firm and unyielding, but he’d countered it with compassion and tenderness. And she’d never seen anyone as affected as he seemed to be when she’d caved in and called him Sir. And fear hadn’t been an issue. Truth be known, her biggest fear had been he’d leave her, more aroused than she’d ever been in her life, and make her take care of the grand finale on her own.

  Oh, God! Had she actually begged?

  She threw a pillow over her head and pulled it tight. Maybe she’d save whoever was threatening her the effort and do herself in. The worst part was, she had no doubt she’d beg him again for another one of those mind-blowing orgasms, especially knowing she had a safe—

  She bolted straight up in bed.

  Did he say—?

  She sucked in an angry breath. He did say that.

  She flung the pillow aside and tossed the covers off as she shot out of bed. “I don’t like yellow, don’t wear that color, my ass,” she grumbled. She rifled through the dresser drawers, pulled out a bright yellow T-shirt and snapped it once, sending the wrinkles to Neverland. She always tried to wear black and white shirts with her sponsors’ logos, but today she’d make an exception.

  Because he was good with his mouth and hands, and the whole situation had been the most erotic experience of her life, it didn’t make him the master of her universe. Yeah, his words alone caused her nipples to tighten and everything feminine to ache. His touch was like velvet on exposed nerve endings, soothing yet arousing at the same time. But dammit, no one told her what to do and what not to do and she’d make sure that message was screamed—figuratively—loud and clear.

  After a quick shower she put on her pushup bra—never hurt to accentuate the positives—donned the yellow T-shirt and jeans—tight, of course—and pulled on her boots. After scarfing down a granola bar and chugging a glass of orange juice, she brushed her teeth, put her hair up into a ponytail, pulled on a ball cap featuring her main sponsor’s logo and headed to the garage.

  As she approached the garage, she took in the scene. Nate and the crew were hard at work on the car while Adam stood off to the side, eyes sharp and focused. The content of the threatening letters didn’t seem like someone truly wanted to harm her. It sounded more like they just wanted to scare her into not racing. Because of that, Nate and Adam had reluctantly agreed she was safe when the garage area was open only to drivers and crews. But later today sponsors and the press would be milling about, and one of the things Adam and Nate discussed last night was how to maintain a sense of normalcy yet keep her protected in crowds. Adam planned to stand off to the side, out of the way, and be the hawk watching everyone.

  She tried to act nonchalant as she approached the garage, but her self-assured strut hit a speed bump the second Adam’s gaze landed on her. She actually felt the heat of his stare boring into her and a flush crept up her neck while her stomach knotted into a ball. Determined to give the impression he had no effect on her whatsoever, she shifted her focus to the car and crew and beelined for Nate.

  After a short while of being in her normal surroundings and discussing familiar things like torque, calibration and gear ratio, she felt more in control and up to the challenge of facing Adam.

  He was leaning against one of the workbenches, legs crossed at the ankles, arms crossed over his impressive chest. He had the appearance of a man who didn’t have a care in the world but appearances were deceiving, because she was sure he actually had two.

  First, he was taking the threat against her seriously and had sworn to keep her safe. But she wondered who would protect her from him. Because c
oncern number two was the fact that she’d blatantly ignored his sensitivity to yellow and had dressed like Little Miss Sunshine.

  Funny thing was she didn’t particularly care for yellow either, but being told not to wear it had made it infinitely more appealing.

  As she stopped in front of him—a little more than an arm’s length away—his heated gaze took a leisurely stroll over her body. He obviously appreciated the package, if not the wrapping, and as he finished his visual perusal he erased all expression from his face and said, “You had to try it, didn’t ya, sweetheart?”

  She batted her eyelashes and looked as innocent as she was capable. It wouldn’t have worked with Nate, and she knew it wouldn’t work with him either, but she gave it a go. “What do you mean?”

  A big-bad-wolf smile spread across his face. “Step a little closer and we’ll discuss it.”

  The sounds of wrenches and air guns reverberated off the walls of the garage but she was sure he heard her heart pounding, even over all the mechanical noises. “Umm…no thanks. I’m fine right where I am.”

  “Bwack, bwack, bwack.”

  Bastard. She narrowed her eyes and glared. He knew she’d never back down from such a direct challenge so she took a small step closer. “Happy now?”

  “Not exactly.” His gaze roamed freely over her body, as if he owned her and had the right. “You know, I threw the part about not liking yellow in to make sure you were paying attention. We weren’t doing anything heavy enough last night that you would have needed them, but it’s important you know your safewords. I needed to be sure you understood what I was saying. I knew if you were, you’d do exactly this.” His eyes darkened and his smile turned ominous. “You know there’s going to be hell to pay for wearing that shirt and those jeans and being a cocktease.”

  Nikki chewed the inside of her cheek and processed Adam’s words. A silly, girly warmth rushed through her, knowing he cared and was concerned for her safety. She was slightly concerned about the future possibility of needing to know her safewords. And it would be foolish to say she wasn’t being a tease. The shirt and jeans were tight, showcased her curves well and she knew how men reacted when she wore them.