Bondage Included (19 page)

“I’m so proud of you, Adriana. I hope you know that.”

She didn’t feel worthy of his praise. Maybe she should come clean. They were in relative privacy yet they were in public enough that he probably wouldn’t make a scene or storm off.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the waitress heading their way.

“Mr. Devereaux, it’s good to see you again.”

“Sandy, how have you been?” His smile seemed genuine, but he looked a bit tense.

“Just great, sir, thank you. What can I get for you today?” She blushed.

Adriana knew how she felt. André was a handsome man. She could just imagine what Sandy had in mind. For the first time, she wasn’t jealous. It was a rather nice change of pace.

“Adriana, have you had enough time to look over the menu?” He smiled at her. After scrutinizing her face, he seemed to relax a little.

“Why don’t you order for me? You know what I like.” She winked at him and watched his smile grow.

“Two crawfish etoufees, Sandy,” he ordered without taking his eyes off Adriana.

Crawfish?
Oh, she hoped it came with sides. She wasn’t sure she could eat that, but she wasn’t about to spoil his fun.

“Yes, sir.” Sandy turned and left the room.

“She has it bad for you,” Adriana teased him a bit.

He sighed heavily. “I don’t know what’s going on with her, but she blushes like a school girl every time I come here. Thank you for not letting it upset you.”

“She likes what she sees, I can’t fault her for that.” Maybe all those times he’d told her she mattered were finally sinking in… That and he’d finally admitted he loved her.
Yeah, that was definitely a game changer
.

He let go of her hand and stood up, reaching into his pocket. After pulling something out, he dropped to one knee beside her.

Adriana’s heart stumbled.
Oh, my God!

His hand shook a little as he opened the box revealing a gorgeous wedding ring of diamonds and sapphires.

Tears started to trickle down her cheeks.

“Adriana, I love you. I want to share the rest of my life with you. Since that first day at the munch, I’ve learned what a hollow existence I was living. You’ve changed all that. Each day with you is a gift I’ll never take for granted. I promise I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy and to be what you need. Please, Adriana, say you’ll be my wife.”

She wanted to say, yes. She wanted to jump into his lap and never leave the safety of his arms, but that wouldn’t be fair. Using the napkin, she dabbed the tears from her eyes then held tight to her tummy.

“Adriana”— his face fell—“what is it?”

“I’m pregnant.” She looked out of the window, too afraid to face him.

He pulled her chin back toward him. “What?” His eyes were searching hers.

“I’m going to have a baby. The doctor said the antibiotics reduced the efficacy of the pill and we haven’t exactly been abstinent. I swear I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t do this on purpose,” she answered in a rush.

André stood up and her heart clenched. He looked around the empty room then fell back down on his knees beside her. “I’m going to be a dad?”

“Only if you want to be. I’m not going to trap you into something you don’t want or can’t handle. I’m a big girl. I can do this alone if that’s the way you want it.”

He collapsed down onto his heels and shook his head. “No way in hell, bebe.” A smile crept across his face. “I’m going to be a dad.” He pulled her into his arms and struggled to his feet then spun her around. “Woo-hoo!” he shouted.

Sandy and the manager both rushed in to see what was wrong. He turned to them as the door swung shut. “I’m going to be a dad!” He looked down at Adriana. “And a husband?”

Heat flooded her face and she nodded shyly.

“Hot damn!” He turned back toward the manager. “Champagne all around except for you. My princess will have juice.”

Chapter Ten

André stood in front of his friends and new family feeling like the luckiest man in the world. His beautiful bride raised the piece of cake toward his face and the twinkle in her eye had him worried.

“Unless you want to be tied to the bed and edged for our entire honeymoon, that cake better go in my mouth and not on my face,” he whispered while giving her his best Dom glare.

She gave him a wink. “Do you trust me?”

“With my life.”

Adriana gently fed him a bite of their wedding cake and he returned the favor in kind.

She went up on her tippy toes. “I love you, André. You’re my happily ever after.”

He took her in his arms and held her tight. “You’re my world, Adriana.”

Toward the back of the hall, fists started flying. Adriana started giggling and shaking her head.

Mr. Parma came up beside him and stuck out his hand. “Welcome to the family, son.”

Also available from Totally Bound Publishing:

Desired Discipline: Bondage Seduction

Tori Carson

Excerpt

Chapter One

Meri looked in the mirror of the ladies locker room at DiscipliNation. Her dress had looked cute on the size two mannequin at the fet store. The black spandex mini-dress with strategically placed slashes had seemed like a good idea. It was daring but allowed all her truly private areas to remain private—and kept her from wearing a bra or panties. Damn it, if she pulled the dress down to keep it from showing the cheeks of her ass, the slits opened up like she’d been in a shredder accident.

Decision time. Turn around, go home and be satisfied to only read about other people fulfilling their fantasies, or pull off her big girl panties and give this a try. Hell, she’d already spent an enormous amount of money to join the club. What did she have to lose—except her modesty and boredom?

Taking a deep breath, then two. Okay, one more maybe… She bent over and removed her underwear. After stuffing it into her locker, she looked at the ceiling—anywhere but the mirror—and forced one foot in front of the other until she’d entered the great hall. The low, steady beat of music drew her farther into the room. She stayed as close to the walls and in the shadows as possible. Maybe if she could make it to the bar, she could melt into the scenery for a while and get her nerves under control.
Why was it way over there?

She caught herself pulling down her skirt then remembered how bad that looked and let it ride back up. Turning toward the locker room, she considered running out of the place before anyone noticed her.

“Welcome to DiscipliNation, I’m Master Ted.”

Meri froze, hearing the deep baritone voice behind her.
Too late.
She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could vanish. Meri tried to breathe. Short, shallow breaths were all she could manage. She plastered a smile on her face, opened her eyes, turned around and looked up. Way up.
Holy fucking shit!
What was he, six foot five?
Meri was tall, five foot twelve was how she usually phrased it. What a pleasant change to find a man actually taller than she was.

She extended her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Meri.”

She’d never met a more imposing, sexy man in her life. With his jet-black hair and striking blue eyes, he set her heart pounding. Normally, she wasn’t a fan of the goatee look, but on him, it worked. Thank God, she hadn’t run back into the locker room. Just meeting this man was worth the price of membership.

When he took her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles, she almost swooned.
Do women still swoon these days? Probably not. Most likely that went out with the vapors. Damn it, Meri, focus.

“If this is your first time here, let me show you around and answer any questions you might have.” He slid her hand around his biceps.

Oh hell, yeah.
“That’s very sweet of you. Thank you.”

“Have you filled out an interest inventory? If you let me see it, I could introduce you to likeminded people.”

“No.” Should she admit she was overwhelmed by it? She didn’t even know what half the things on there were. “This is my first time venturing into a club or exploring the lifestyle.” She met his gaze and basked in his warm smile. “I was a little confused by it all, actually.”

“I’ll be happy to talk you through it. Would you like to look around first?”

“I’d love to see more of the club.” Maybe she’d learn a bit and be able to speak more intelligently about the inventory.

They continued along the path Meri had been walking. The first piece of equipment they came across was a beautiful, dark wood table. It had a thin layer of padding along the middle with restraints at all four corners. There was a stack of sheets on a shelf underneath.

“Is this for wax play?” Meri whispered. No one was close by, but it seemed too naughty to talk about it out loud.

“Yes. Do you enjoy sensation play?” Ted was gazing down at her like a tiger hungry for a meal.

Meri raised her shoulders the slightest bit. “I have no idea. I’m afraid I haven’t experienced much outside the vanilla realm and probably toward the conservative side of that.” She gave a nervous chuckle.

The smile that slid across Ted’s face sent butterflies through her tummy. “Everyone in the lifestyle was a newbie at one point. How did you get attracted enough to seek out a club?”

“I love to read BDSM novels and I’m on several Internet discussion groups. The authors encouraged those of us that wished we could experience it in real life to find a club.”

“That’s smart. It’s a much safer environment to explore your kink in. Is there anything in particular that you’d like to see? During the week, it’s a bit quieter than on party nights. It’s a good way to get your feet wet without being overwhelmed.”

“Exactly my thoughts. Thank you for giving me a tour. If I ask too many questions, just tell me to shut up.” If he was offering to explain this stuff to her, she was going to take him up on it. Who knew when she’d get the chance again?

“I would never tell you to shut up. I’d be much more inclined to put a ball gag in that sexy mouth of yours than ever speak to you so crassly.”

Oh holy crap, he wasn’t kidding.
“A warning first that I’m exceeding my question quota would be appreciated.”

His deep, rich laughter curled her toes, or maybe it was the ball gag threat. Whatever the cause, sign her up for more please.

“Hmm, I’ll consider it. Hop up on the table. You can get an idea of what goes through a sub’s head before the play begins.”

Why does this feel like a test?
She wasn’t wearing any panties. If anyone walked past the table, they’d be able to see her…everything.
What if Master Ted walks to the end of the table?
The thought alone had wetness pooling where her underwear should have been. What was the point in coming here if she chickened out before trying anything?

“Should we put a sheet down first or is it okay without one?”
Oh hot damn, that’s one sexy smile he’s sporting.
Yes, coming here was a good decision indeed.

“If you want to enjoy wax play—yes, we would need to put a sheet down. You’ll also need to strip. If you want to just put your toes in the water, so to speak, and see what the anticipation feels like—no.”

“I didn’t bring my nose plugs or a towel, so I think I’d better stay out of the deep end tonight and just dip my toes in.”

“Oh, we have plenty of plugs, but they aren’t designed for your nose.”

She was beet red. Her face and the tips of her ears were blazing hot, but she enjoyed bantering with him. He was fun. Not at all like the men she worked with or normally dated. Meri turned around and placed her rear against the table. Before she could use her arms to lift her, Ted—Master Ted—picked her up and placed her in the center on the padding.

“Lie down flat, Meri.”

Scary, scary, scary.
She closed her eyes and lay back against the table.
Oh, dear Lord.
Her breasts had always been on the larger side and never had the perky ‘stay where they belonged’ quality she’d wished they’d had. With her lying on her back, they tried to slide over to the side and pop out of a badly placed slash in the material. Meri squeezed her eyes even tighter closed.

Okay, this wasn’t going to work. She couldn’t do this. She felt too vulnerable. Using her arms and tummy muscles, she pushed into a seating position—or tried to. Ted’s hand pressed firmly between her breasts. “I didn’t give you permission to sit up. You were told to lie down flat. Do not disobey me again.”

With one hand on her chest and his other at the back of her neck, she allowed him to guide her back down to the table. “Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir.” Good thing she’d ditched her panties or they’d have spontaneously combusted about now.

“What’s upsetting you, Meri?”

Her heart was hammering, he had to feel it. His hand was burning a hole through her dress.

“I’m fine,” she answered quickly.

“Good to know. Now answer my question, pet.”

Pet?
She wasn’t fond of that term, but her body’s reaction to him was intense. “This dress wasn’t a good choice.” For once in her life, she stopped there and didn’t expound on the topic. She crossed her arms under her boobs and brought them back to the front and center.

“I think you look sexy as hell, but feel free to remove it, if you’d be more comfortable.”

“Nope, I’m good,” she lied through her teeth. Naked and comfortable had never gone together for her.