by Gwyn McNamee
I didn’t think it would work, throwing myself at her feet and begging for her forgiveness. But she’s here, and she doesn’t even seem mad at me anymore. In fact, she’s eyeing me like I’m some sick, abused puppy she’s just rescued from the pound.
And I’m not entirely certain what to do with that. The Dom in me wants to tie her up and continue to apologize to her with every dirty trick I know, to show her how much she means to me, but the human in me, what little is left, knows after what’s happened, I’ll be lucky to get Nora to even climb into bed to snuggle with me tonight.
The fact she was even willing to come over after her shift is more than I ever expected or deserve.
“Are you sober?”
Her question comes out of left field, and it takes me a second to process it. “What? Yes, of course.”
Why would she even ask that?
“Have you ever been high when we were together…physically?”
I shake my head and take her hands in mine, squeezing them gently. “No. Never. That’s a line I would never cross. It wouldn’t be safe, for either of us. I would never put you in that position. I told you, it was just an occasional thing. One that got a little too frequent lately, but I’m done.”
She sucks her bottom lip between her teeth, and her eyes drop down to the floor momentarily before returning to mine. “Okay.”
When she tugs her hands from mine, I’m expecting her to head for the door. Instead, she moves toward the stairs and pauses to look back at me.
“You coming?”
My heart may have just stopped in my chest. Maybe the snuggling isn’t out of the question.
I follow her slowly and when we reach my bedroom, she stops in the center of the room and turns to face me. She tugs her shirt off over her head and tosses it on the floor behind her. Absolutely fucking perfect breasts sway gently with her movements.
No. Damn. Bra.
Any ability to form words has fled.
What is she doing?
The tiny shorts and itty bitty thong follow her shirt, leaving her naked before me. My cock stands at attention, but I’m still not sure what’s happening here.
She came over after her shift, presumably to finish the conversation we started at TWO, but this, this is so far out of the realm of what I pictured happening, I’m not even sure what to do.
“Nora, what are you doing?”
Her shoulder raises in a slight shrug. “Giving you what you need.”
Giving me what I need?
“I don't understand.”
She steps toward me and cups my cheek in her palm. “Stone, you’re a wreck. I don't know what's going on with you—“
I open my mouth to interrupt her, but she holds her hand up, silencing me. “And you don't need to tell me right now, okay. But whatever it is…it’s eating you up inside, that much is obvious. You feel out of control. Maybe you are out of control, you certainly were the other night.”
Ouch.
I cringe.
“Either way, what you need is to have some semblance of control back. So, I'm giving you what you need.”
Well, shit.
Not only does Nora know me well enough to read me like a fucking book, she's also selfless enough to offer herself up to me like this even after everything I put her through.
“Christ, Nora.” I drop my forehead against hers. “I don't fucking deserve you.”
Her response is barely audible, just above a whisper. “I know.”
But she doesn't.
She doesn't know.
She doesn't know the half of it.
My gut churns. Having to reveal the truth to her is going to be the hardest thing I’ve done in my life, even harder than trying to forget what I did to her father. But at least I have tonight…one last night with her. It may make me a dick to want her one last time, but no one ever said I was selfless. She can soothe my soul. I need it.
I'm going to make the most of it.
I kiss her firmly and squeeze her ass in my palms. “Are you sure you're ready for this?”
She answers me with a look of absolute determination. “Yes, sir.”
I don’t know how she can’t see how strong and fucking determined she is. She’s let one thing, one horrible choice, ruin her self-confidence so much, she can’t even recognize her own strength.
If I were her, I’d be shaking in my fucking boots, or high heels as it were.
Her fingers trail across my cheek and down my neck, sending flutters of heat through my body. “What are you gonna do?”
What aren’t I going to do?
I move behind her and tilt her chin up just like the first time she was in my room. “I'm going to put you up there.” The eye hooks gleam in the moonlight streaming in the windows.
An audible gasp slips from her lips, making me chuckle against her warm neck. “Don't worry, baby girl, I know what I'm doing.
“I trust you.” Her whispered words go straight to my cock. They’re the sweetest words I could ever hear from her. Who the fuck knows why she trusts me. I really haven't given her much reason to, but I know she does, nonetheless. “What do I have to do?”
I grin and turn her head back so she can see me. “All you need to do is relax and continue to be the most fucking beautiful woman on the planet.”
Her soft laughter makes her chest vibrate under my forearm currently pressed there.
“You don't have to sweet-talk me, Stone. I'm a foregone conclusion.”
“I wasn't sweet-talking you, honey. That was just stating a fact.” I smack her ass, relishing the way the tight globes jiggle in the faint light. “Now go stand in the middle of the room directly under the eye hooks.”
She follows my command, and when she reaches the center of the room and pauses, she tosses a grin over her shoulder at me.
Fuck, this woman truly is perfect in every fucking way.
And I have to let her go.
The cabinet door creaks slightly as I open it. I study the lineup of ropes available but I don't really need to. I've known exactly what I was gonna use on her since the first time I saw her on that pole.
The pure white nylon ropes are exactly what I need for this binding. I grab them and walk over to stand in front of her. She eyes them but there's no trepidation in her gaze this time.
“I'm going to do a new binding on you. You need to let me know if it gets too uncomfortable. I can have you out of it in a few seconds. And you can always use your safe word.”
“Yes, sir. I understand.”
I kiss her gently and then brush my thumb over her wet lip. “Good girl. Put your arms behind your back, palms together, with your elbows pointed out.”
She complies without hesitation, and I move behind her.
I hold her wrists together and bind them tightly. She flinches slightly when I jerk on them, but then she settles back, straightening her shoulders.
“Get as comfortable as you can. You won’t be able to move your arms after this.” After a slight shift of her shoulders, she nods, giving me the go-ahead to continue.
Over one arm and across to the other…
Back and forth…
Up and down…
Around her shoulders and across her chest in the front, creating a harness that will bear the weight when I suspend her.
Her breathing hitches when I tighten the chest harness; I wrap my arms around her from behind and brush the back of her ear with my lips. “Just breathe.”
She nods and a whispered, “yes, sir,” floats through the air.
When the last tie has been made, I step back and examine my work.
Fuck.
The basket weave pattern resembles angel wings on her back…and it’s precisely how I’ve always pictured it in my head.
“I'm going to loop another rope through this binding in the front and up through the eye hooks so I can suspend you.”
A tiny gasp escapes from her mouth, but she remains silent.
“Did you hear me, Nora?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Are you okay with this?”
I've been waiting fucking months to see her strung up like this, and my cock is so hard right now, I swear to God, I now fully understand the saying hard enough to pound nails.
“Yes, sir. Are you gonna…you know…when I'm up there?”
I chuckle behind her. She still can’t bring herself to say fuck.
We’ll change that tonight. I’d bet my car on that, and I fucking love that thing.
I reach up and loop the ropes to the eye hooks, ensuring they’re secure before finally turning to face her. Pink tinges her cheeks, and her eyes are half-hooded already.
Christ, I bet she’s even fucking wet.
And I don’t have the will-power not to check.
Holding her eyes locked with mine, I slide my free hand down between her legs and cup her pussy. Wet. So damn fucking wet.
My cock jumps and throbs against my pants. I would strip, but I don’t trust myself not to fuck her brains out right now instead of waiting to complete my masterpiece.
“Jesus, Nora. You are so ready for me, aren’t you?”
She whimpers, and I run a single finger through her wet slit.
“Soon, love.”
I press a quick kiss to her trembling lips and then loop the ropes through the chest harness.
“You ready, darling?”
“Yes, sir.”
I pull on the rope, gently and slowly easing her up and taking the weight off her legs until her toes don’t even brush the floor anymore. Her chest points toward the ceiling and her head and legs dangle down on either side of the harness. She sucks in a breath, and I pause. “Does that hurt?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “Just…it just…feels weird, I guess.”
Reassured she’s fine, I resume raising her until she's finally suspended three feet off the floor by her chest. Her legs dangle below her, and her pseudo-wings splay back behind her as if she's ascending up to Heaven.
It couldn't be more fucking perfect.
Because Nora truly is my angel.
The one sure, clean, pure, untainted thing in my life.
I've been dreaming of this moment for so long, but actually seeing her like this…
Shit.
The image I created in my own mind didn’t come close.
The ethereal look on her face, with her eyes closed and her mouth slightly parted, only adds to the vision before me.
I know I won't be able to leave her there for long like this, but I can't stop staring at her.
As much as I want to be inside her, I want to ingrain and burn this image into my head for the rest of my life even more.
This is gonna be the last time I see Nora Eriksson. Or at least, the last time I see her where she's going to talk to me…let alone let me touch her. I need to savor it while I can.
Because once she's gone, my whole world will go back to being a dark, empty, meaningless abyss.
Being suspended from Stone’s ceiling is surreal. I thought it would hurt, but it doesn’t. The pressure just reminds me of the intricate way Stone built the harness and bound me in what is no-doubt a beautiful piece of rope art. It hugs my body as if his arms were around me, securing me and assuring I’m safe.
The fact that he’s standing back, admiring me, instead of banging me like the giant bulge in his pants assures me he wants to, speaks volumes.
Seeing this, taking it in, is more important to him right now than sex.
And for Stone Hawke, that’s saying something.
I let myself drift in the weightlessness Stone’s created. The only sensations breaking through my daze are the slight tugging of the ropes and cool air of the room against my naked skin.
After what feels like hours, but is likely only a few minutes, he steps up to me and takes my head in his hand, turning me to face him.
“You are divine.” The words float through the foggy bliss and into my heart.
Well, dang…
I wasn’t expecting that. I’m not even sure what it means really, but I’m pretty confident it’s as close to saying he loves me as is possible for a guy like Stone.
He presses his lips to mine gently, and then briefly rests his forehead to mine before pushing away and moving to where the ropes are secured.
Slowly, I move downward until my feet brush the floor. I try to stand, but I wobble and strong arms wrap around me, holding me steady.
“I got you.”
Yes, he most certainly does.
I sag into his arms, letting him support my weight.
“Let’s get you out of this.”
He sets me to my feet and waits until I’m able to somewhat support my own weight by leaning against him. Then he starts the tedious process of undoing the intricate work. Rope falls to the floor around me, and he bends down and lifts me up, holding me against his body closely.
The soft sheets feel like Heaven on my heated skin. The mattress dips, and I expect to feel Stone’s warm body pressed against mine. But instead, he hovers over me, assessing me with dark, stormy eyes.
“Sleep. I’ve got something else planned, and you’re going to need some energy.”
Energy?
I should probably question it…ask what he has in mind. But frankly, I don’t care. The exhaustion is suddenly too much to fight. Between our fight the other night, no sleep, my confrontation with Nick, work today, and the emotional drain of it all, I can barely keep my eyes open.
A soft kiss lands on my forehead before I sense him shift away from me and off the bed.
Mmm…
God, that feels incredible.
Warm lips skim across my skin. Hands grope and probe and my hips arch of their own accord.
“Mmm, Stone…”
“Yeah, baby. Sorry I had to wake you, but I can’t wait any longer.”
Wake me?
My eyes drift open slowly. The room is still dark, the only light a faint glow from the window. “I fell asleep?”
He nods and resumes his exploration with his mouth. “For two hours.”
His hot breath across my sensitive skin makes me shiver.
“But it’s time to get up now. I have something special planned.”
The glint in his eyes sends a shiver through me. That’s the look…the one that promises all kinds of debauched and depraved things…the one I tried so dang hard to ignore for so long.
He pulls back and slides off the edge of the bed. His naked skin glimmers in the moonlight, and his straining cock juts out at me. “Come on.” His proffered hand hovers near mine, and as soon as I place mine in it, he tugs me up and off the bed.
That’s when my eyes catch a flash of something metal sitting on the foot of the bed.
Holy mother of God…
It’s the meat hook ball thingy, and it’s attached to a rope, and lying next to another coil.
What the ever-loving heck is he planning on doing with that?
His warm breath tickles my ear, and his hand trails down until it’s cupping my butt cheek. “I told you I had something planned.” He squeezes it and chuckles against my skin before placing a gentle kiss behind my ear.
Good Lord, this…this is…just…
He pulls my hair back and secures it with something. “You’re going to want this up.”
A tug on my hand has me following him around the bed to center of the room again. I look up at the eye hooks.
Okay, Nora, you can do this.
When my eyes travel back down and meet his, he grins. “Don’t worry, babe, you’ll enjoy this.”
Something tells me his definition of “enjoy” and mine are quite different. But at this point, I’m willing to let him do whatever he needs to do to regain his sense of normalcy and control.
Even if it means sacrificing my poor behind’s virginity.
I trust Stone…and so far I’ve never not enjoyed what he’s done to me. When he was playing around back there before, I can’t lie and say I didn’t love it. He
knows what I will like.
Worst case scenario, there’s always cupcake.
Although, I kind of think that would break his heart right now and probably push him even deeper in on himself.
Which is the last thing I want.
Still…
Why does it have to be the butt?
A chuckle slips out at that thought, and Stone raises an eyebrow at me. “What’s so funny?”
I press my lips together firmly, silencing myself. “Nothing, sir.”
“Are you laughing at me, Nora?”
Oh, heck no!
I shake my head so vigorously, I almost make myself dizzy. “No, sir.” He grabs my left hand and winds rope around it, then tugs it up above my head and loops the rope through the eye hook. He repeats the process on my other hand, raising it up over my head and securing it.
This isn’t so bad, I’m not even suspended, my feet are still flat on the floor.
Which makes me confident something else is coming.
When he steps in front of me, the Lucifer hook is in his hand gleams the same way his eyes do.
“This is going in your ass, Nora. It will be uncomfortable working it in, but I promise, once it’s there, you’ll understand why I love this so much, and I think you will too.”
Uncomfortable.
Right.
Having a metal ball shoved up my butt is going to be more than uncomfortable.
“Just remember to relax and breathe.”
Easy for him to say.
He moves behind me and goes silent. The only sounds in the room are our mingled breaths. A wall of heat presses into my back. I sag into him, as much as the ropes will allow, which isn’t much. Stone naked is a decadence I’ll never get enough of. The feel of his hot, hard body against mine, anticipating what’s coming next, makes my core clench in need and my clit throb.
His cock presses between my cheeks and up my lower back, assuring me it won’t be long until I have him inside me, and I can help him forget whatever’s been weighing on him so heavily.
Wet lips press against the back of my neck and work their way down my spine.
Kiss.
Lick.
Suck.
He pauses briefly at the spot right above the split of my cheeks and brushes his thumbs across my lower back.
“These little back dimples are sexy as fuck, you know that?”