His Absolute Proposal: An Illicit Billionaire Love Story (Elise, #3) (10 page)

"Alright," I said.  "I'll do it, but please if you see anyone let me know because I'd rather not make a spectacle of myself out in the open like this."

"Oh, I'm going to make a spectacle of this," Lucent said.  "You can be certain of that.  Rest assured, it shall be a spectacle with only one viewer, though.  You have nothing to worry about."

"You act as if you know," I said, laughing.  "There could be someone hiding in a bush and watching us right now."

Lucent let me go again, and I returned my hands to the tree, leaning forward to give him easy access to my behind.  Before stepping away, he bent forward and kissed my cheek.

"Perhaps, Miss Tanner.  Though it's doubtful.  There's very few bushes nearby.  If anything, they'd be hiding behind a tree."

"As if that's any better!" I said.

"You remember what I said before, correct?" he asked.  "No moving, Miss Tanner.  Promise me."

This sounded dangerous, though I wasn't sure why at first.  "I... yes, I promise, Lucent.  I won't move."

"Are you sure?" he asked.  His fingers touched the bare skin of my hips, caressing downwards towards my thighs, with one hand moving to cup my bare ass, while the other slipped forward to tease against the outermost edge of my sex.

Belatedly, I realized something more than horrifying.  My panties.  I didn't have them.  They were still in Lucent's pocket.  I was standing in the middle of a dirt path, hands pressed against a tree, pants lowered to my knees, with Lucent groping me, revealing my ass and my sex to any nearby viewer.

"Um..." I said, uncertain.  I hesitated, still completely unsure of why I was about to agree to this.  But I did, I agreed.  "Yes."

Lucent moved into position.  He smoothed the palm of one hand across my bare backside before swatting me playfully.  "One," he said.

"We're only doing five, right?" I asked, speaking fast, nervous.

"If you don't calm down and remain quiet, I'll increase it to ten."

Well, fuck.  I didn't want to be entirely unladylike right then, but I only thought it, so that was fine, right?  Well, fuck, Lucent!  I'm practically naked here!  I didn't know if he realized this or not, except, no, he obviously did.  I refused to turn around and look at him, to give him the satisfaction of seeing my faltering eyes, but I was almost certain he was grinning at me with intense amusement.

He spanked me again, harder this time.  I buckled forward slightly, distracted and not fully expecting the smack of his palm.  It didn't exactly hurt, but it surprised me.  And another came soon after, followed by one more.  Smack smack!  He moved from one cheek to the other, his practiced hand making quick, red work of my bare behind.

"One more, Miss Tanner.  I do hope you're enjoying this as much as me."

Unfortunately, yes, I was.  I didn't know why.  It was such a strange thing to me, to think that I'd, um... I'd like this?  I remembered when I first met Lucent, and I thought it was strange then, too.  Abusive?  Why would you spank someone?  That wasn't nice!  It was like hitting them or slapping them, wasn't it?  A man shouldn't hit a woman, of course, and...

No, that wasn't it.  I mean, technically speaking I supposed it was, but...

It was more, too.  It was exciting and exhilarating in a way I couldn't really begin to explain or understand.  It was the concept of being naughty, and then being punished, except the punishment was just as naughty.  It was like the punishment was an excuse to be naughtier still, and Lucent and I reveled in our naughtiness.

The slap of his hand sent a thrilling sting through my skin in a way that was both alluring and somewhat frightening.  Not frightening in a bad way, but it was the sudden revelation that I was so aroused by this situation that I shouldn't be aroused by, a reluctant acceptance, a giddy turning of my stomach.  I wanted it, I wanted more, but this wasn't exactly something I should want, now was it?

Lucent spanked me one final time, but that wasn't it.  He gripped my ass hard, squeezing it in his hand.  His fingers curved towards my hips, holding me tight, and he pressed himself against me.  I felt the smooth fabric of his pants tight against my bare ass and the backs of my thighs.  He pressed his other hand against my stomach, then thrust upwards, grabbing one of my breasts.  Pulling me away from the tree, he squeezed me tight against him, crushing my body to his, my back to his front.

His lips crashed against my neck, kissing and sucking hard.  I gasped and squirmed, but I didn't try to get away.  Oh, no, I moved closer to him.  Where were we?  I knew exactly where we were, and honestly I didn't even care.  I wanted him to spank me more.  I wanted him to be rough with me.  I wanted to...

"I want you," Lucent said.  "Can you feel that, Miss Tanner?" he asked, grinding his hips against mine, forcing me to feel the bulge in the front of his pants.

"Yes," I whimpered.  "I can feel it."

"That's what you do to me," he said.  "That's what you've always done to me.  You, Miss Tanner.  No one else.  And that is why you are mine, do you understand?"

I nodded and tried to speak, but before I could, he swiftly moved his hand upwards, releasing my breast so he could press two fingers into my mouth.  He kept his thumb beneath my chin, holding me.

"You are mine," he said.  "And because of that, I will never let anything happen to you.  I will protect you, Miss Tanner.  Forever.  That is not only a promise, it is a fact.  You are not mine just because you are attractive.  You are not mine just because I enjoy watching you squirm and writhe whenever we partake in my BDSM things, as you so often refer to them.  You are not mine because I want you to be mine, Miss Tanner.  You are mine because I need you to be mine.  I would never hurt you.  I will never let anyone else hurt you, either."

I melted in his arms.  My body, my soul, my entire existence.  Lucent kissed my neck softly and I tilted my chin towards him.  He removed his fingers from my mouth, kissing up towards my cheek.  I moved more, and he kissed further, until our lips met.  Yes, perhaps we were um... well, I was standing out in the open on a dirt path with no panties on and my pants lowered to my knees, but it didn't really matter right now.  We kissed like that, soft and sweet and kind and loving.

Lucent slipped away from me, bending low to grab the waist of my pants.  He pulled them up and zipped and buttoned them for me.  I spun around, staring at him with wide, glistening eyes.  Then I pounced him.  I jumped up and he caught me and I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.  He held me like that, lifting me higher, hands beneath my butt.  I kissed his forehead, then his nose, both his eyes, his cheeks, his lips...

What we were doing?  We were escaping, of course.  We were running.  From the police.  From life.  From everything.  We were fleeing like criminals, planning on going on the run internationally, hiding on an exotic island.  Yes, we were doing that, but right now we were also kissing, and I thought that was the most important thing.

I pressed my nose to Lucent's during a slight break between our lips pressing together.  I smiled, and he smiled, too.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked.

"Do you really want to know?" he said.

"Yes," I answered, nodding.  My nose moved up and down against his, and it made me laugh.

"There's a playground right over there," he said.

He pointed with his eyes and I instinctively turned around to look.  Oh, yes, there was a playground, wasn't there?  It wasn't much, really.  A swingset, and some slides, plus one of those domed jungle gyms.

"Is someone there?" I asked.  I hoped not!  I didn't want someone to see us.

"No," Lucent said.  "It's just us.  But..."  He trailed off intentionally, grinning at me.

I looked back at him, confused.  "But what?"

"I would like nothing more than to rest for a moment with you on the swings."

"Together?" I asked, scrunching up my brow.  "On the same swing, or different swings?"

"What would you prefer?" he asked.

"Same swing," I said, matter-of-fact.  "I will sit in your lap."

He laughed.  "Shall we, then?"

"I don't think this is a good idea, though," I said.  "We're supposed to be running away, you know?"

"Yes, but this is the best spot, isn't it?  No one will ever think to look for us here."

In a completely illogical sort of way, he made a lot of sense.  I doubted anyone would think to look for us on the swings in a small playground in the middle of the city.  It wasn't exactly an ideal hiding spot, which possibly made it the best hiding spot?  I wasn't entirely sure how that worked.

"I'm not getting down, though," I said.  "You're going to have to carry me over there like this."

"Oh am I?" he asked.  "Are you defying me again, Miss Tanner?"

"No," I said.  "I'm not.  I'm not defying you, because you want to do it.  I know you do."

He smirked, amused.  "You're lucky you know me well, Miss Tanner."

"I am lucky," I said.  "You're lucky, too, though.  We're both lucky."

"Indeed," he said, giving me a quick kiss.  "I agree with you completely."

L
ucent carried me like that, both of us face to face, down the small dirt path.  When we reached the clearing with the playground, he stepped off our weathered and beaten trail, walking through a pair of trees on either side of us, and onto the grass leading to the swings.  I clung to him tight, my cheek to his shoulders, feeling his warmth and his strength.

I loved when Lucent held me.  I liked when he picked me up and carried me off.  Usually we just did this in private, and generally speaking it ended with, um... well, we ended up naked more often than not, and on a bed, or the floor, or...

I liked when he squeezed me.  My arms or my wrists, even my thighs.  I liked when he pried my legs apart even when I pretended to resist him.  No, this currently wasn't that, but it reminded me of those situations a little bit.  Not exactly, because we weren't about to do anything sexual, but the comfort and safety continued to exist, no matter what.  The protectiveness, and obsession, the need and lust, and also the love.  There was all of that right now, whether this situation was sexual or not, and I wanted to relish in the sensation of it.

We arrived at the swings.  Lucent turned to sit in one, still holding me up.  I lifted my legs to fit between his sides and the chains of the swing.  It was somewhat of a tight squeeze, especially considering these weren't exactly made for adults, but we seemed to do alright.  Lucent pushed off with his legs and sent us on our way, swinging back and forth.

"This is silly," I said to him.

"Yes, possibly," he answered with a smile.  "Sometimes it's good to relax and do something silly.  Life doesn't always have to be serious, now does it?"

"No," I said.  "I know."

Lucent kicked with his feet again, keeping us moving.  It was somewhat difficult to swing regularly like this, but we managed to maintain a nice and steady pace.  Calm and relaxing, back and forth, almost hypnotizing in a way, like a magician and his pocket watch.  I breathed in deep, then sighed, nuzzling into his neck.

"Let's just stay here," I said.  "Let's swing forever."

He laughed.  "Forever?  That's quite a long time."

"You'd think so, but I don't think it is.  I can't imagine doing anything with you for forever, Lucent.  It doesn't seem like a long enough amount of time."

He laughed again.  "I think you're exaggerating a little bit, Miss Tanner."

"I might be," I said.  "What are we going to do when we're in Aruba?"

"I'm partial to laying on the beach," Lucent said.  "I also enjoy swimming.  The ocean is nice and warm all throughout the year.  There's a calm breeze covering the island constantly, too.  It's never too hot, nor too cold."

"Like a bowl of porridge," I added, partly interrupting him.

"If anywhere was a fairytale, I'd say Aruba had a good chance of it," Lucent said with a grin.  "It's pleasant, anyways.  It's my ideal vacation spot."

"Is that why you haven't told anyone about going there before?" I asked.

"Possibly," he said.  "I appreciate the privacy it affords me.  I enjoy being able to relax and forget about my day to day affairs on occasion."

"You always seem so stiff and serious, though," I said.  "I... um... I didn't mean that in a bad way.  I mean, I know it sounds bad, but I meant at work.  Did you know people find you intimidating?"

He smirked.  "I daresay, Miss Tanner, you're one of the first who hasn't."

"That can't be true."

"I suppose it's not entirely true, but you do tend to ignore my more rugged and gruff aspects."

"It's because you can't hide who you are from me, Lucent.  You can't and I won't let you."

"Quite domineering now, aren't you?" he asked.  We were slowing to a stop, but he pushed us onwards again, sending us swinging back and forth once more.

"I spanked Elle," I said, suddenly confessing it to him.  "I used a riding crop on her, too."

I imagined Lucent blinking, disturbed, but I didn't have a chance to see if he did that, or see any of what he looked like.  Embarrassed, and more than a bit mortified, I buried my face in his neck, hiding.

"You... what?" he asked, sounding conflicted.

"I don't know," I said.  "I did BDSM things to her, like you do to me."  Oh God, that sounded horrible, didn't it?  "Not, um... we didn't have sex or anything."

"So you're saying," Lucent said, "you decided to discipline one of my former submissives in a way she likely found quite pleasant, and you're telling me this... why?"

"I just thought you should know!" I said, huffy.  "I didn't want to hide it from you.  I wanted to be open.  I was very angry at you, and also at her, and I... I don't know if it was BDSM, Lucent.  I'm not sure what I was doing.  I wanted to hurt her.  I didn't, or I don't think I did.  I tried to stay calm, like how you always seem so calm.  Is that how it is?  Do you feel like hurting people?  Is that why you enjoy it?"

"No," he said promptly.  "Of course not.  It's not about hurting someone, Miss Tanner.  I believe you of all people should understand that."