“Okay, lips sealed.” Her lashes fluttered over the arch of her cheeks, but most importantly, she submitted to his control. Piper leaned against him, all resistance leaving her body.
He kissed the top of her head, released her hands, and wrapped his arms around her body. Closing his eyes, he took a few breaths to do nothing more than breathe her in and imprint this moment in his mind.
“You’ve seen me at my worst, but that’s not who I am. Before this goes any further between us, you need to understand the kind of man I was, the kind of man I am at heart. I’m aggressive and raw. I like control. In particular, I enjoy dominating women.”
Her breathing hitched.
“Do you know what that means? When I say that?”
If what he told her turned her off, he expected her to pull away. Instead, Piper snuggled deeper into his chest.
“I think so.”
“We’ll need to have a deeper conversation about what that means, but if this goes any further that’s where I’ll be leading us. I wasn’t making idle threats.”
“About the kiss?”
He huffed a laugh. “Not the kiss.”
She twisted in his arms, not to free herself, but rather to turn toward the ocean. Her tiny hands cupped his and drew them against her belly. She leaned against him, tipping her head back against his chest.
“Would you really do that to me?” Her voice might have trembled, but her fingers gripped his hands. She wasn’t acquiescing, but neither was she running.
“I crave control. With control come rules, limits, boundaries and the authority to enforce them. That’s what would happen if we continue.”
The waves pounded against the beach, roaring with their fury. He felt their power and their frustration. His heart needed Piper. There was no denying her place in his life, but if he had to bury his fundamental nature, dissatisfaction would rip them apart. His discontent, and the aggravation which would follow, meant failure before they even began, but that’s not what bothered him.
Something deeper pulled at him. The injury to his arm defeated him and derailed not only his career, but his life’s passion. He was a musician. Now? He didn’t know what he was.
He’d been forestalling fully coming to terms with his new reality, but failure stared him in the face, and denying it didn’t make it go away.
He was a cripple.
That was his new normal. Would Piper be able to accept a broken man as her lover? He railed against the futility of it all. Anger stirred in the pit of his stomach, but he tamped that down. The shortcomings faced by his arm were conversations for another time.
Which way would she jump? Would the girl run from the kink which defined him? Or would she embrace it?
She lifted his weak hand to her lips and brushed his knuckles against them. “Rules, limits, and boundaries don’t scare me, but I have one demand.”
Not scared? That was good. His cock twitched with her words. The rest of what she said, however, needed to be addressed.
“Demand?” He wouldn’t be accepting demands, and that conviction radiated in the timbre of his words.
“Consider it a condition, or a request if that sits better with you.”
He liked how easily she backed down. For someone who had been constantly at odds with him, picking arguments left and right, it was unusual for Piper to relent, but promised everything he hoped for could come true.
Was this really happening? Was Piper agreeing to the future he craved?
A Past
Bent
“What’s your request?”
Bent would allow Piper to ask whatever she wanted and would strive to make it come true. Pleasing her would bring him contentment. Rules, limits, boundaries, and punishments might define his kink, but so did rewards and limitless pleasure. He wished to drown her in pleasure and leave her wanting for nothing. He had the resources to do so. Piper could have whatever she wanted.
“If you want me to...um…”
“To submit,” he said, finishing her sentence. Her hesitation didn’t bother him. The first moments of acceptance weren’t to be rushed.
“It’s a big step, Bent.”
“I’m not rushing you. All we’re talking about now are my needs. You need to decide what yours are. Then we decide together what happens next. I’ll never force you, and like I said, you’re safe with me.”
“I need to tell you something.”
He disentangled his hand from hers and stroked her neck. She arched for him, exposing more of the gentle curve as he turned the light touch into a massage.
“That feels good.” She gave a breathy sigh.
“It’s my goal to always make you feel good.” He wrapped his fingers around her neck, tightening until her body tensed. “And this…” He tightened further, putting enough force behind his grip to make his point. “This doesn’t make you feel good. It triggers you.”
She gasped and her breath shuttered.
He went back to stroking her neck.
“I got sidetracked.” It was easy to do with Piper, and he needed to put everything on the table. “I didn’t know you were one of Forest’s rescues.”
“Oh, Bent…”
“Hush, and let me finish, because this is important and I need you to understand exactly what I’m saying. It’s the apology I owe you and a vow I will give.”
She twisted in his arms again and gripped the belt loops of his jeans. “You don’t have to—”
He gave a shake of his head, commanding her to silence. “Listen, Piper. Let me finish.” He arched a brow, waiting to see if she would comply. Only after she gave a slight nod did he continue.
“I knew choking was a limit before Forest said anything about your past. I knew because I’ve been trained to identify triggers in a scene. It’s how I knew about your submissive nature, and to be honest, that’s when everything changed. There’s always been an undercurrent stirring between us, an attraction buried beneath anger.”
Her eyes widened, and her mouth opened to say something, refute him perhaps, but she clamped her mouth shut and pressed her lips together. A sheen of tears filled her eyes and she blinked to keep them from falling.
Too late, she exposed her vulnerability.
That stirred his protective instincts and more. His cock demanded attention, but he tamped down that hungry beast.
“I knew choking was one of your triggers and uncovered your submissive tendencies before Forest and I spoke. I haven’t stopped thinking about the last time we were here. I knew it was a hard limit for you. I violated that when I kissed you in the hall. That never should’ve happened, and for that I’m sorry. Not because I kissed you. Not because of the aggression I displayed. Not for anything else, but I knowingly violated a hard limit of yours. I’m owning my mistake. I need you to understand two things.”
“What?”
“It was wrong and I vow it will never happen again. If you can accept my apology, and if you think you can trust me…” He paused to collect his thoughts. “I can’t stop thinking about you, but I know my nature. What drives me isn’t something I can walk away from. I’ll never violate that limit, but I do need to know if there are other things that might trigger you.”
Her lashes fluttered with the downward arc of her gaze. She took in a deep breath and pressed a hand against his chest. “I thought you knew about me and Forest.”
“I only knew he’d hired a new physical therapist, but nothing more.”
“Do you know what happened to Forest?”
“I do. To him and to Skye.”
“My experience was similar, but not as bad. I was forced to do things I didn’t want to do, and punished when I didn’t obey…”
“Oh shit!” That changed everything. “I’m sorry, Piper. I figured…look, let’s forget everything I said. We don’t have to…you don’t have to…”
He released her, spun around, and stomped a few feet away. Stabbing his fingers into his hair, he pulled at the roots. There was no way to proceed,
not with her admission. But hadn’t he suspected? A girl didn’t develop a trigger like that out of nowhere.
Seabirds called from overhead as they soared on the wind, riding thermals in their search for food. Their raucous cries seemed to be directed at him, calling him name after wretched name.
“Can I tell you my request now?” The softness of her voice wrapped around the crumbling of his heart.
“Of course.” He turned back, unable to deny her a chance to speak.
“Rules, limits, and the rest…”
“Look, I said we can forget that.”
She walked to him and reached for his hands. Bringing his palms together, she massaged the tired muscles of his right hand.
“It’s your turn to listen. My past is mine. I’m not defined by it. I made a choice a long time ago to let it lie. I’m stronger than those who hurt me, and I won’t live my life in fear. I refuse to give them that power. But it’s my past. I decide my future. Not them and not you. My choices belong to me, and I like you. As hard as that may have been to admit a few short days ago, I think I like you a lot.”
A lump formed in his throat. “That’s powerful. When I think I have you figured out, you surprise me. You only think it?”
“Maybe more,” she teased. “You interrupted me and got me off tract. Let me say what I need to say.”
His fiery pixie was back. He loved that.
“Okay.”
“Rules, limits, and boundaries don’t scare me. And if you want the ability to enforce your rules, I’m not opposed to what that might mean, but if I give you that authority over me, I have one request of you.”
His heart slammed against his chest with not only her words, but with the surety of her gaze when she spoke them. He’d agree to nearly anything if it meant she would be willing to surrender to him.
“Name it.”
“Physical therapy continues. During those hours, whatever personal agreement we have is suspended. You give me control. You do what I ask, without complaint or argument.”
“Piper…”
“Surrendering control isn’t easy. I know what you’re asking of me. All I’m asking is that for a few hours a day you give me the same.”
Would that really be so difficult? He tilted his face and let the heat of the sun warm his skin. “I can try.”
“I need more than try. I need you to meet me halfway. No questions. No arguing. Just trust me to know what you need.”
“I’m not exactly a switch.”
Her laughter bubbled through the air. “Oh no! That’s most definitely not what I’m asking. I don’t think I could…” More giggling erupted from her tiny frame. Her eyes sparked with mirth and she nearly bent over double.
For a minute, he thought she couldn’t breathe. He also couldn’t stop the grin spreading across his face, or the rumbly laughter building within his chest. The infectiousness of her laughter spread to him.
“Oh. My. God!” She huffed between laughs. “I didn’t mean to imply you…or that I would…oh my!” She slapped her thigh. “That’s an image that’s going to stick.”
“Be careful of how you imagine me in that head of yours, pixie. I might have to make that the first rule.”
She held up her hand, still giggling. “I’m sorry, I just imagined you on your knees, tied up…”
“Stop that right there.”
He came at her and silenced her the only way he knew how. His lips crashed against hers and every nerve in his body ignited with the taste of her. Beneath his kiss, her body surrendered, her laughter subsided, and needy moans took their place.
“We’re headed back to my rooms.” The lack of a certain foil packet couldn’t have come at a worse time, but he hadn’t expected sex on the beach, and his last condom…He didn’t want to think about what he’d been doing the past few days.
“And if I say no?” Her lashes fluttered over the arch of her sculpted cheekbones.
“Say no all you want. It won’t stop me. Red is your safeword. Speak that and everything ends. Have you ever been spanked before?”
She nodded. “Not like this.”
“But, you know about safewords?”
“Everybody with a pulse these days knows about safewords.”
He tugged her to his side and marched back to the gondola.
“Snarky comments can get you in trouble, pixie.”
“Really?” She giggled again.
He reached back with his hand and smacked her ass hard, lifting her up on tiptoe. The crack of his hand against her tight bottom hardened him immediately.
“Ouch!” She rubbed at her ass. “That hurt.”
“It wasn’t supposed to tickle.”
Piper craned her neck to look at him, a moment of consideration passed in her expression. “No, I suppose it wasn’t.”
“Any more smart ass remarks?” he asked.
“Tons.”
“Well?”
“Every one of them will get me in trouble, and as much fun as that might be, I’m not interested in getting spanked.”
“What are you interested in?”
Her green-eyed gaze dipped to the hard length of his erection straining against the zipper of his jeans.
“Something much more fun.”
“I don’t know, I’m thinking turning your ass a nice shade of crimson might be a whole lot of fun.”
Her eyes pinched. “Maybe, but you haven’t agreed to my terms. Until then…”
He swept her into his arms, enjoying her screech. “Don’t worry, Piper. We’re not going zero to sixty after one conversation. Leave it as our destination. There’s a whole lot of fun to be had working our way there.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“There’s a lot to discuss before delving into mutual kinks. Right now, I need to get you to my suite, strip off your clothes, and devour every inch of your body. If you’re really good, and I mean exceptionally good, I might let you come.”
Found the Girl
Piper
Piper snuggled against Bent’s chest as he headed back to the gondola house. He didn’t set her down, choosing instead to hold her tight in his arms. She remained encased in his protective embrace while he moved them inside the gondola and struggled to work the controls without dropping her. He held her tight during the long ride up.
“I love this view.” She nuzzled his throat. “Do you ever get tired of it?”
“When Forest came up with the crazy plan for the band to buy this place, I thought he was out of his mind. We’ve been here nearly a year, and I have to be honest, I can’t get enough of it. I think Noodles has something to do with that.”
She wrapped her arms around Bent’s neck and played with the dark curls sweeping his shoulder.
“How is that?”
“Noodles is very Zen. He’s taught me to enjoy the moment. Don’t wallow in the past and don’t depend on a future which might never come. I find some of his philosophy enlightening. Whenever I look out over the ocean, I think of his zest for life. He’s a free spirit. Nothing gets him down. He leads with his heart and follows with his soul. I wish I had that freedom.”
His pain filled the small space with an aching intensity for what he’d lost.
“That’s an interesting take on life, but I’m not sure I agree with it. I think the past is important.”
Piper tried to redirect. She didn’t want negative energy to spoil this moment. An intimacy surrounded them, infusing every breath with the potential to discover something new. The rawness of Bent’s pain shrouded him. He suffered, but it didn’t have to be that way. A vulnerability lie within him, but that wasn’t all. For the first time, she glimpsed something of the man he’d been before his accident, the power and virility of a male at his peak. He still was that man, but had buried it deep inside. She vowed to help him reclaim what he had lost, because she craved what he promised.
“That’s surprising. I wouldn’t think you’d care to remember your past.” His comment surprised her, but
she’d been deep in her thoughts.
It took a moment to remember what they’d been talking about.
“I remember it, but I don’t wallow in it. I’ve moved on.”
“I would think you’d want to distance yourself from anything to do with what happened, considering…”
“I thought about it, but what happened is a part of who I am. I derive strength from the memories of when I had been weak and unable to fight. I see that as a positive part of my life, not a negative.”
“Positive?” He tugged her close and kissed her lightly on the lips. “How can what happened to you be positive?”
The press of his lips left her wanting more.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to get too deep, or stir up bad memories.”
“I don’t mind. We’ve never really talked before.” She traced the seam of his lips. “As much as I’m loving your kisses, this is nice too.”
“Getting to know each other?” His lips lifted in a smirk, then he winked. “You mean before I fuck your brains out?”
His wink would be her undoing. She giggled, but the crassness of his words caused a rush of sensation to flood her body and settle in the juncture of her thighs with needy throbbing. She punched playfully at his arm.
“Maybe, but to answer your question, I choose to embrace what happened to me. My past doesn’t own me. I own it.”
“I don’t think everyone has the strength to do that. I admire that.”
She lay her head against his chest and gazed out to the horizon. An endless expanse of water stretched out before them. The Pacific was known as the calmest of all the oceans, and the smooth expanse of blue looked achingly peaceful, but she wasn’t fooled. The Pacific generated some of the fiercest storms. It might look calm and inviting, but turbulence seethed beneath the surface and waited for a passing breeze to whip the placid waters into a frenzy.
Her life might have started off rough, but that didn’t mean her future couldn’t be perfect. She needed to believe that, especially with what looked to be insurmountable obstacles defining her path.
Hearts Collide Page 12