Reluctant Surrender (27 page)

“No.” Her lip started to quiver and she could barely see through her shimmer of tears. “This isn’t right. I don’t want that.”

“You do.”

The feel of him. The heat. The scent. “No!” She pushed back. Panicking. Not sure what she wanted anymore. “No, I don’t.”

His full weight landed against her. Pinning her as he captured her arms and slowly drew them up over her head. “I say you do. I say you’re going to love what I do to you. You’re going to beg for it. Cry for it because you’ll want me so much it’ll hurt.”

She pushed back against him. Wiggling. Straining. And when he held her wrists firmly in one hand and brought the other down to slide between her hip and the wall, she did cry out. She jerked and bucked and tried to angle away from him, but he wouldn’t allow it. Too soon his hand landed between her legs. Cupping her pussy and pressing against it, hard and firm, in a rhythm that stole her breath and incited the shame inside her to riot. She fought harder.

“Good. Get the fight all out of you. Come on.” He went right for her pants, tugging at the button and then working the zipper. “You can do better than this. Use your legs. Push against me.”

Stupid though it was to take his direction, she did, and was shocked when it got her nowhere. Stunned as she realized how powerless she was at the moment. She couldn’t give up this easily. She wouldn’t. With renewed courage she called on her reserve strength, hoping she’d be able to challenge his steady power.

“That’s it, baby. Get mad. Use all your energy now so you’ll be putty in my hands later. Come on. Scream. Let me hear you.”

“I’m not going to. I’m not. You can—”

“Shh.” He yanked on the right side of her pants. They came down to just below her butt cheek. “You don’t want to go telling me what I can do to you. You might give me more ideas than I already have.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“Now,” he leaned in hard, “why would I want to do that when I have you to fuck?”

That set off her outrage. She hissed, growled, grunted and snarled, trying to get some space between him or between herself and the wall. Anything other than being pinned by him when he was being so superior, but it was no use. With her heart hammering and her breath rasping she fully collapsed against the wall.

“There,” he let out in a breath across her cheek. The warmth of it stole over a tear, which caused her to shiver. “Your ass is mine now,” he told her and gave one of her bare cheeks a squeeze.

Maybe it was the exhaustion or the knowledge she didn’t have the strength to stop him no matter what he had in mind to do to her that gave the littlest voice inside her a platform to be heard. A tiny whisper that said it was okay to give in. Okay to give up because he was stronger and he’d win in the end no matter what she did. Did he feel her resistance ebbing?

“I’m going to let go of your wrists, little girl. I want your arms up like they are now, put your palms flat on the wall. That’s good. Just like that. Very good.” He gave her some room. The cool air that swept across her bottom after he moved aside was a heady reminder that her pants were bunched on the tops of her thighs and the most intimate parts of her were naked and exposed. “I want to look at you,” he said. “Get that ass out. More,” he directed, grasping one of her hips as he pulled.

After a few adjustments, apparently he was satisfied, because he let go of her. The silence. The stillness that followed was electric somehow. Firing her up and making her burn. Knowing that he was behind her, examining her with her pants down while she was forced to hold a stance as if she were being frisked was darkly titillating.

Seconds ticked by into a minute and when he finally put his hands back on her, her knees nearly folded. One hand captured her hip and the other dove between her legs. “Let’s see how much you’re enjoying this. You may lie to me, but your traitorous body can’t. It gives up all your secrets with…” He sucked in a breath, right by her ear and hearing it, her heart skittered and raced because she knew. She knew what he’d found. “You’re drenched, little girl. Wet and swollen. Tell me again, you don’t want this.”

He pressed two fingers against her clit and the pressure drove a fissure of lust-fueled fire through her veins, causing her to moan.

“Tell me.”

“No.”

“Don’t lie to me, I can feel it. You’re nice and wet for me.” He huskily spoke right next to ear. “I can hear it too. In your breathing. You’re hot and panting for me.”

“No.” This time the denial sounded weak and ineffective. Breathless.

“Oh yeah.”

That made her shiver. “No, please…” His fingers circled around her swollen clit. Over and over until her legs trembled. “Please don’t. Please…”

“You want me to stop?”

She nodded and bit her lip.

“Why? I’m not hurting anything, little girl, except for your pride.”

He increased the pressure on her aching flesh. Steady and firm. Sliding and gliding until she did the unthinkable. She flexed against his fingers. Seeking. Begging. Just as he’d promised she would.

“That’s right. Now, tell me,” he repeated. Only this time he whispered that order against her neck, licking the delicate flesh on her earlobe. Kissing the soft and sensitive skin just below it before he demanded, “Tell me you want this. Say it.”

“I—”

He went after her with a vengeance. Stroking and teasing her as if he were going to slip his fingers inside her. “Say it.”

“I-I want this. I do,” she admitted in a half sigh, half cry as the last of her resolve crumbled and she let go of her pride.

“Beautiful.”

She expected him to take advantage of her. To do what she’d just said she’d wanted. So when he stepped back and pulled up her pants she was stunned. It took a moment, but finally she asked, “W-what are you doing?”

He gently brought her arms down to her sides and took hold of her by the waist, turning her around to face him. Without a word he did up her jeans and gave her t-shirt a tug for good measure.

“Ethan?”

“You’re free to go.”

She blinked. “Go? Where?”

He pointed to the door. “Home, princess. I made my point. You’re no better than the rest of us.”

It was then that it came back to her that this wasn’t real. This was another BDSM tapas lesson. She’d been sucked in again. Taking a deep breath, she held it for a second and let it out slowly. Without a word she scooted around him and walked on shaky legs to the door. Her only conscious thought? Real or not, the ache between her legs was a terrible bitch to deal with.

Ethan stood where he was until she was gone and the door was tightly closed. Once alone, he swung around and slapped both hands on the wall, slamming his eyes closed. Fuck. The feel of her naked ass nestled against him, the scent of her combined with her eventual acquiesce had almost pushed him over the edge. His head dropped between his shoulders and he stared at the floor. He’d nearly done it. He’d been so close to losing control it was a fucking miracle he didn’t and it was all because…

Colin Reneaux was perfect for him in every way imaginable. He’d suspected as much last night when he’d reacted to her so strongly. When he couldn’t even think about another Dom getting his hands on her, but today? Just now when she’d given in? Let go of her pride and spread her treasure for him?

He groaned.

It was more than that. Much more. She’d trusted him absolutely and the moment she had, he’d felt it. It was a tangible thing. A joining or connection of soul that went beyond anything he’d ever shared with anyone else. And he knew why. She was a natural submissive. A strong and intelligent woman who made the experience all the richer because she could handle it. She had enough control over her intellect to seek out her needs without shame or pride getting in the way. Damn, nothing was sexier than that.

He gave himself a few moments to get his shit together. To calm his revved-up nerves and let the blood drain out of his dick. He couldn’t ever remember a time he wanted a woman as much as he wanted her. Only two more tapas lessons to go and then she was all his. That gave him comfort.

He found her in the hall, pacing. “Are you all right?”

She stopped and turned on him. “No. Is this some kind of twisted game you like to play with the BDSM-challenged or what?”

He wanted to smile because he figured he knew exactly what she was feeling but he wanted to be sure.

“Come here.” He opened his arms and half expected her to refuse his invitation, but she didn’t. Instead she dove into his embrace and hugged him tight. When she settled, he asked, “What’s the matter?”

“You’re not going to make me say it. Please don’t make me say it,” she grumbled against his chest.

And he knew. “You’re horny.”

She buried her face between his torso and arm. “Bad.”

“Colin? You do know that if we weren’t doing tapas, I would have moved forward in that scene. I would have taken whatever I wanted from you despite your protests. The only thing that would have stopped me was if I heard you say your safe word.”

“I know.”

“Good. This is really good. Let’s move on. This is the best one.”

And, just like he knew it would, that got her attention. “Really?”

He nodded and peeled her off him. “Yes.” Leading her to the second to last door down the hall, he explained, “This one we’re doing together.”

“It’s the dungeon, right?”

“Um-hmm.” He turned and plucked up one of her curls, rubbing it between his fingers. “I don’t want you to be scared. There might be things in here that look daunting to you now, but that’s only because they’re unfamiliar.” He dropped the strands. “Colin?”

“Yes.”

“I want you to be comfortable. Ask any questions you want about anything you see or don’t see.”

Her blue eyes went wide and curious as she wondered. “Don’t see?”

“I know you did your research before you came to me. I don’t want you to be disappointed if we haven’t stocked the things that may have intrigued you. Some of the stuff touted on the internet for people in the lifestyle is nothing more than glorified infomercial items.”

“I thought so. Who would make a woman wear a spiked collar?”

“I might.” She did a double take, but he ignored it. “I was speaking more about fur-lined cuffs or silky blindfolds. You’re not going to find anything like that here, okay?”

“You’d really put a woman in a dog collar?”

“If she wanted me to, I might. I prefer metal over leather though, so we’d have to discuss it. Which do you prefer?” He unlocked the door and waited for her answer.

“I never really thought about it.”

“That’s understandable.” He pushed the heavy door open. “You can get back to me on it.”

He gave her a minute to take it all in. If she didn’t run he figured they were in good shape. It was hard to pinpoint what she was thinking. Her gaze roamed over the various cages, wall-mounted crosses, a hulking bondage table, several spanking horses and the ever-popular bondage chair and he bit back a grin. She was trying to be blasé, but her blush and owl-eyes gave her away. She was having a meltdown. Especially when those eyes fell on “the wall”. At least that’s how he referred to it, because it had numerous leather restraints, several different types of paddles, crops and a plethora of belts, all with different lengths and widths hanging on it.

“Questions?”

“I didn’t expect it to be so bright in here.”

He reached for one of the dimmer switches and adjusted it. “Better?”

She nodded and went right to the bondage table. Fingering one of the heavy-duty attachment points, she angled a look at him. “I take it these are used in conjunction with the restraints?”

“Yes.”

“Do you ever get tied on here?”

He waited until he had her full attention. “No. Never.”

With the light dimmed and casting the room in a hazy glow, he was primed. Standing there watching her hand absently brush back and forth across the leather top of the table did it for him. All he could see was her writhing against those restraints as he tormented her.

“What about that?”

She pointed to the bolted slats on a side wall, which was high-polished shellacked wood stacked like a wide ladder from floor level to eight feet up. “It’s a flogging station.”

“And this?”

“That,” he said, coming up right behind her, “is a spanking horse.”

She tilted her head right then left. “I don’t get it. What are those things on the side?”

He reached around to show her. “These are rails. Hands go here and depending on which position you want your sub in, the sub’s knees would either go here, here, or,” he pushed the top of the unit forward, “here.”

“Really? Why the change in positions? They don’t look much different to me.”

“They are.”

She gave the horse the once-over and looked up at him. “I don’t see it.”

“Would you like me to show you? We could do a practical experiment.”

“Sure.”

He shouldn’t have been surprised by her answer. Obviously she explored the unknown the same way she attacked a chess game. Recklessly. “Up you get.”

When she didn’t move, he waited. Clearly she was having second thoughts.

“Come on, Colin. Be a brave girl. It will be fun.”

“Fun?”

He nodded.

She took a deep breath and climbed on. “Like this?”

“Yes. Now pick a color out of these three. Black, brown or pink?”

He was trying to distract himself from the gorgeous picture she presented up on that horse with her ass presented, her shoulders angled downward and her hair cascading to one side of her while she rested her cheek on the horse-spine. The only thing to make this better would be her naked.

“That’s easy. Pink.”

“Hmm.” He went to the wall and took down the weighty pink belt. “I probably should have mentioned this before, but it’s always a safe bet, when you’re given a choice of colors, to go with the standard black or brown. Think special order. If we go through the trouble of ordering a custom color for a belt,” he snapped it so it made a sharp
whap
, “we’re going to want to get something for our money.”

It was an innocent I-need-to-get-comfortable wiggle, but when he saw her do it the breath was knocked out of him. He’d never wanted to play with a woman as badly as he wanted to play with her right now.