Submissive Seductions (11 page)

I kept my back to him, remembering all the times when he did that to me. The feeling of wanting his attention but knowing I’d never get it if I didn’t do exactly what he said. It was weird how important one person’s opinion could become when everything else had been stripped away.

The squeak of the closet door being pulled open, followed by a soft snort had me smiling. I was still holding the riding crop and had to rearrange a few things to make room for it.

“Before you ask, it’s Stephen’s personal St. Andrew’s Cross.” Did I mention I love Stephen as much as Connie? “I think you know how that thing works. Get yourself set up on it as best you can. I’ll do the rest.”

I forced myself to count to thirty in my head after he finally stopped moving. God, this was almost as good as opening a Christmas present! I couldn’t wait to turn around and see the look on his face, the flush on his skin. I grabbed the first thing I planned to use on him and stuffed it into my cleavage.

Making sure my eyes were actually open, I smiled as I turned to saunter toward him. “See, you’re getting better at following directions already.”

There was that glorious ass again. Gareth had stretched out along the cross, his hands coming up high enough he could cup the top of the wood. The restraints were simple Velcro cuffs attached to ropes. When Stephen first brought the homemade cross home, I couldn’t get my head wrapped around what they would use it for. Yeah, accidently walking in on your friends while they are playing will really enlighten you.

“I’m going to tighten you up.” I touched his shoulder before I made a grab for the cuff. Gareth would do that with me—touching to make sure I knew what was going to happen. Well, he did in the beginning until he broke me in. “I know we haven’t talked about limits yet. Is there anything I should know? Anything to stay away from?”

“Liz, I don’t think there is anything you could do to me that would push my boundaries.”

“Still, I need to know. You have to say the words.” Okay, so I knew he was right, but this was as much about reassuring him as it was setting limits. I needed him to know that I cared about him and what happened. Otherwise, this whole evening would lose its significance and meaning.

“No scat, golden showers, or blood. I don’t mind bruises, but not to my face. Everything else will be fine.”

“And what’s your safeword again?”

“Book.”

God, he was such a nerd.

I managed to get him secured without coming across as the amateur I was. The boots gave me the added height I needed to lean in without touching him. When everything was done, I walked around the cross so he could see my face. I must have had an odd expression on my face, because he was frowning again.

“Wondering what I’m going to do to you?” I didn’t bother to wait for him to answer, and reached between my breasts and pulled out the nipple clamps I’d shoved there.

“Shit,” he muttered, and closed his eyes.

“There’s an expression. Something about turnabout and fair play? Ever heard of it? No?”

He thumped his head on the side of the cross. “Yes, Mistress.”

“Now, if I remember correctly, I need to get you ready before I just clamp them on. How do I do this again? Right.” Leaning in, I sucked on the closest nipple, ignoring the way he tried to jerk away from me.

The nub grew hard beneath my tongue as I teased it with my tip. Even when I closed my eyes I could feel his muscles straining as he fought against my moist attack, wanting to pull away, but unable to. Only when I thought he wouldn’t be able to take another swipe did I pull back to admire my handiwork.

“That looks beautiful.”

The nipple clamps Connie had let me use were different from the normal ones Gareth used. I took a deep breath, wiped off the saliva that still lingered on his skin, and slipped the clamp in place. I didn’t have a lot of skin to work with, and honestly, I was a little freaked out that I’d do this wrong and hurt him in the not good way. But the BDSM gods must have been smiling down on me because I was able to slip the first one in place.

“How does that feel?”

“It fucking hurts.
Mistress
.”

I stood up straight and couldn’t stop the grin from coming. “Excellent. Time for number two.”

He groaned but couldn’t do anything to stop me from tormenting him again. The second clamp went on with no difficulty, partly due to my newfound confidence and partly because Gareth was smart enough to stop moving.

Payback. Thank you, universe.

“Ouch.” Gareth’s growl was almost cute.

Time for phase two.

“That first night we met, I was pretty naïve about a lot of things. I’d heard about nipple clamps, but I hadn’t used any. Hell, I’d barely dipped my toe into the kinky pool and you had me trussed up and clamped tight before I could say
whoa, Nelly
.”

I tried not to run back to my dresser to get the next item on my Gareth torture list, though I might have possibly skipped a bit. The paddle I’d picked out myself. It was one of my personal favorites that left a sting that melted into my muscles whenever he worked me over.

“I was so curious and more than a little nervous that it didn’t occur to me to be scared. You were a complete stranger and for all I knew you would tie me up and do things to me that I wouldn’t enjoy. I’d even paid for the pleasure.”

Once more behind him, I ran my hand down along the swell of his ass. The pink from earlier had gone, leaving the skin pale and unblemished. I was going to have to do something about that.

Gareth was breathing heavily and his chin had dropped to his chest. I knew he was fighting through the pain, trying to control the surge of sensations flooding him. It wasn’t going to work. Control wasn’t what he needed tonight. He had to relax into it, accept the pain for what it was and let it flow through him.

“You showed me things that I didn’t even know would turn me on. You taught my body that it was capable of more things, surviving more, enjoying sensations that I wouldn’t have thought pleasurable.”

I made sure I was standing in the right spot and that I was holding the paddle the way Stephen had showed me. It was heavier than I remembered it being, and my muscles in my biceps and shoulder pulled as I lined it up with his ass.

“You also helped me turn my brain off. I’m always thinking things ten steps ahead, worrying and wondering. I can’t do that when you have me bound and clamped. I don’t know, it’s as if when you’ve got me pinned down, my brain has permission to switch off for a bit. I want to give that to you, give you that gift so you can understand, too.”

I wasn’t really prepared for the vibrations up my arm when the paddle connected with his ass. The sound was impressive to say the least. I was so used to being the one to feel the effects that went along with that noise, my pussy had dampened. Pavlov was a jerk and really frigging smart.

Gareth groaned. Yeah, I recognized that noise, too. It’s the one I made when he’d pushed a bit too hard, too fast and I needed a few minutes to adjust. He never gave it to me.

I made sure the second slap landed in the same spot.

“Tell me what you’re feeling.” Oops, there was that Dom growl again from him. I made sure to land two smacks to his other ass cheek. “I don’t hear you talking.”

“It fucking hurts.”

“More.” Another smack.

“It burns. Really burns. I didn’t think it was that intense.”
Smack.
“Fuck! My dick and balls are tingling.”
Smack.
“Dammit, Liz.”

“Not Liz. Not tonight.”

I landed three more spanks with the paddle before tossing it aside so I could admire the result. Not too bad for an amateur—self high five. His skin was nice and red, without a trace of white to be found. Gareth was panting, leaning heavily on the cross. I could tell he was in that stunned awareness phase, where your brain is trying to catch up to all the sensations your body threw at you.

Embracing my newfound inner bitch, I raked my nails down his ass. “I think I understand why you enjoy spanking me so much.”

My hands shook, which threw me. Sure I was turned on seeing him in this position, but I didn’t think I would react so strongly. And shaking hands right now was bad because I wanted to try the flogger. The last thing I wanted was to miss my mark.

Ah, fuck it. I’d make it work.

The flogger I’d picked out wasn’t one that would cause a great deal of harm if I was careful. Honestly, it was one of my favorites for Gareth to use on me. It was only fair that I show him firsthand what the appeal of it was.

I walked around the front of the cross, needing to make sure he was still okay. A peek down to his nice hard cock told me everything I needed to know. Hands still warm? Yup. Gareth slowly becoming a drooling mess? Oh yeah.

All going according to The Plan.

I held up the flogger and tapped the end of his nose with it. “Exactly how horny are you right now?”

He looked up and I don’t think I could ever remember his eyes being that dark before. “I could fuck you through the floor.” He licked his lips. “Twice.”

“Excellent.” Hell yes, I was grinning. “No coming until I say you can. I’m going to flog you now.”

“You’re not being Mistress Elizabeth anymore. This is Liz I’m seeing.”

Of course he would pick up on that. “I believe Mistress Elizabeth can act however the hell she wants. If that means I get to be excited about being able to flog my man, then I’ll be excited.”

Gareth had the nerve to roll his eyes. “Yes, Mistress.”

I gave the chain linking his nipple clamps a solid tug before moving around behind him. “Don’t be a jerk or I’ll get out the butt plug.”

“You know, there will eventually be payback for this.”

“God, I hope so.”

I widened my stance and gave the flogger a few tentative swings to get the feel for it. I’d briefly practiced last night on a pillow, which was weird. Yes, I kept calling it a bad pillow as I beat it. Sue me.

With my first swing I connected the leather tendrils against his right shoulder blade. Barely a love tap, but enough to get both our heads into the game. Making a figure eight with my hand, I landed a second strike to his other shoulder blade, a little firmer than the first.

“You know how much I enjoy our times together, right? I mean, I have earth-shattering orgasms and my throat is sore from the screaming afterward, so I’d assumed you knew.” The next few swings were harder still, as I aimed for his ass. Gareth flinched, bucking his hips forward.

“Liz—”

“You’ve shown me so much in a short time. I don’t think you realize how awesome I feel after we’ve been together. I float for days and people actually comment on my mood. Nothing at work can bother me. I get myself off at the thought of you standing over me, flogger in hand, and that look in your eye.”

Gareth groaned and I could see light pink marks rising up along his back. Fuck, if I didn’t get off soon, I was going to explode right here.

No. The one thing I’d learned from Gareth early on was the need for patience. He never did anything to me solely for his own pleasure. He always gauged my needs, desires, calculating what he wanted to give to me, when. He made sure that we both walked away satisfied.

Except for the no fucking part.

The only way I would get off tonight was with his cock buried deep inside me. And the only way
that
would happen was if he finally gave in and told me it was what he wanted.

“Liz . . . God.”

Shit, this was too good. I dropped the flogger, moved around to the front of him, and dropped to my knees. His cock was hard and I could smell his arousal. At least tonight he couldn’t deny me this pleasure.

Leaning in, I placed a kiss to the head, licking the precome from the tip. That familiar taste sent warmth racing through my body to all the right spots. I opened my mouth wide and with no preamble sucked as much of his cock as I could.

Gareth groaned and his body vibrated. Once more he fought against the restraints, but I knew it wasn’t to get away from what I was doing to him. He wanted to grab my hair, fuck my face, and claim me for his. Yeah, this would be awesome.

I tightened my lips over my teeth as I drug myself back up his shaft. With his legs spread out, I had good access to his balls and ass again. Now that I knew how much he enjoyed that, there was no sense in holding back. I shifted my face so I could run my tongue over his perineum.

“Liz, I can’t take much more of this.”

Neither could I.

“Liz, please. Let me come.”

“No.” I nipped at his inner thigh.

“
Please.
”

I let myself fall to the floor so I could look up into his face. It was the weirdest thing, seeing that look of unrepressed desperate lust on his face. Gareth who was always so tight with his emotions. Gareth, the man who even when he laughed it was little more than a chuckle.

This man bound to the cross who was flushed, bright eyed, and panting barely resembled the Dom I knew. Sweat rolled down his face and his hair was plastered to his scalp. The thick cock I loved so much bobbed with the rhythm of his heartbeat, showing how fast his blood rushed through him.

“You want to come?” I ran my finger down the side of my neck to my cleavage.

“Yes.” The single word was little more than a whisper.

“What will you do if I let you down off that cross?”

“Anything.”

I grinned. “Perfect.”

CHAPTER 10

I got up and released his handcuffs, doing my best to keep steady on my feet. Between my shaking hands and his balled fists, the Velcro was initially uncooperative and I had to try several times to get it to cooperate even a little.

“I’ll do the other. Get on your bed.” His voice had gotten low, domineering. Not the pliant and submissive man I wanted him to be.

“No.” I stepped away, leaving him still fastened tight. “I’m in control tonight. You’ll do what I want or you’ll damn well stay secured to this cross.”

“What the hell, Liz?” Gareth tried to yank his hands out of the cuffs, but the Velcro held fast. “Let me go.”

“Not until you promise me that you’re going to keep playing by my rules. You gave me control tonight. Me. I’m the one looking after you making sure everything is fine. I thought you trusted me to do that?”

I would never have admitted it to him, but if Gareth said he didn’t trust me the way I trusted him, I would let him off the cross and ask him to leave. Then I’d lose his phone number in my Deleted Items folder. Great sex is awesome, but I wanted a relationship, and I wouldn’t settle for anything less than a mutually satisfying one.

Deep down, I knew he wouldn’t let that happen. The sex was one thing, but our time together was something else. My side adventure to IKEA tonight proved that much. We’d had
fun
. I haven’t seen him smile that much in a long while. More than once I thought he might actually hold my hand.

But this would only work if he met me halfway.

There must have been something in my expression that told him I wasn’t screwing around. Gareth turned his face from me and let out a huff. “I trust you, Liz. More than I think you realize.”

Well. Good. “Are you going to let me stay in charge? Because we can stop right now if you want.”

“No.” He rolled his head so his cheek rested on his biceps. “You’re the boss, Mistress.”

It really was impressive the power one little word held.

Rather than go back to his wrists, I bent down and freed his feet. I had to force my concentration back into the
being in charge Liz,
because it really wasn’t my normal state. Not with Gareth at any rate. This time when I returned to work on his wrists, he didn’t struggle, though he didn’t do anything to help either.

I nearly forgot to take his arms down one at a time, making sure to give his shoulders and biceps a rub as I went. Even though he hadn’t been up there for long, sometimes it didn’t take much for that dull ache to set into your muscles.

Through the whole thing, Gareth said nothing. I kept sneaking glances at him, but his gaze was fixed somewhere on the floor. I knew that expression—I’d seen it enough in the mirror. The bastard was thinking again.

“I want you to lie faceup on the bed. Make sure you grab hold of my headboard and stretch out as far as you can.”

Not for the first time I was thankful I’d purchased the wrought-iron frame when I’d first graduated from school. I intently watched as he climbed along the length of my mattress to stretch out onto his back. Tight muscles flexed as he shifted and adjusted into place. He still wasn’t looking at me, which was beyond odd for him. Normally Gareth couldn’t take his eyes off me.

No, that wasn’t conceit.

I understood the appeal of simply being able to stare at an attractive naked body. There was something raw about it, as though you were able to see more than the bare flesh. I wanted to find a way to imprint myself on him, somewhere he’d never be able to get rid of. Maybe a place in his heart close to where his late wife was.

The leather and silk I wore had suddenly grown uncomfortable. I’d often wondered why Gareth never bothered to dress up the way Stephen did. But now I understood. The clothing was only a mask. The real control, the place where the dominant part of him lived, didn’t need the barrier to slip in and out of existence. It was a distraction from what was really important.

I sat down on the side of the bed and unzipped my boots. Okay, that felt a hundred times better. I placed them to the side before going to work on my corset. The muscles in Gareth’s arms tensed and relaxed as I stripped, but he still wouldn’t look at me. I didn’t bother doing anything with the clothing, letting it fall to the floor in a silent heap.

My knees pressed into the bed, causing his body to shift as I got into position. I leaned over him and placed a kiss to his sternum.

“No matter what I do, don’t let go of the headboard.”

Oh, that got his internal hamster wheel spinning.

Gareth flexed his grip on the spindles and widened his legs. Still no words. God, we were going to have to work at this whole not talking thing.

“Gareth, how long have we known each other?”

Another tiny huff. “Two months.”

“Hard to believe it’s only been such a short time. I feel as if I’ve known you a lot longer.”

He swallowed hard, but no other comment.

I shifted my knees so they pressed against his side. A sheen of sweat covered both of us now. I should get up and turn on the fan, or at least open the window. I wouldn’t because either action would take me away from him.

Instead, I licked a slow path from one of his nipples to the other. “What did you think of me the first time you saw me?”

“That thank God you weren’t some crazy woman. I also wondered why the hell had you spent so much on me at that auction.”

That earned him a bite on the collarbone. “Smart-ass. I mean when you saw me in the crowd. When you were still standing behind the curtain.”

When he didn’t answer right away, I started to work my way down his body, nipping and licking every enticing bit of skin I saw. It wasn’t until I reached the side of his stomach that he tried to squirm away.

“I thought you looked a bit lost. Stop that!”

“No, I’m in control and this is what I want to do.” This time I licked across his belly button, pointedly ignoring his cock. “What do you mean I looked lost?”

Gareth bucked his hips. I shifted to lick down his thigh.

“Liz . . .”

“Gareth . . .”

“I mean, you looked as though you wanted what was being shown to you so badly, but you didn’t have the first clue how to ask for it. You looked as if you were waiting for someone to take you by the hand and show you how good your body could feel. You wanted someone in your life who understood you.”

Somewhere in his speech I’d stopped teasing him and simply looked. His face was flushed and his breathing had gone shallow and rapid. More importantly, he was looking at me.

Me.

I curled my fingers around the flesh of his leg. “Did you think . . .” I had to swallow. “Did you think you were the one? Who knew what I needed?”

He opened and closed his mouth a few times before nodding.

Now, I don’t know if it was because of all the teasing, or if I simply didn’t have the resolve to continue with the game anymore, but something in me simply broke. Without asking, I swung my leg over him and pressed my damp pussy to his stomach. I leaned my hands against his shoulders, forcing him to stay in place.

“Say it. Please, I really need you to say it.” A tremor started deep inside me and for a moment I wasn’t sure if it was from desire or emotion. Either way, I knew I was standing on the edge of something big.

I wanted to jump off the ledge, but I wouldn’t unless he came with me.

Gareth lifted his head off the pillow, closing the already short distance between us. I didn’t know where to look—his eyes, his mouth, the freckles that were only visible from close up. I found myself staring at his lips, wanting to be certain I understood the words when he actually spoke them.

“Yes.” His tongue peeked out from behind his lips, teasing as he spoke. “When I first saw you, I thought I could be the one to show you. It was the first time I’d thought anything close to that in a long time.”

My head spun.

He wanted me. He saw something inside of me that spoke to him.

I leaned in and sucked on his bottom lip as I pressed my cunt to his stomach. “Me?”

“Yes.”

The tip of his cock brushed against my ass, proving to me that I wasn’t the only one interested in this. It would be easy to shift backward and impale myself on him. I couldn’t do that, though. He’d been holding out on me for a long time and I couldn’t cross that line, abuse the trust he’d given me.

“Gareth, I want you. I want you to fuck me.” I paused, wanting to give my words a moment to sink in. “Really, I want more than that, but for now I’ll settle for riding your cock until we’re both screaming and begging. Can I do that?”

No girl wants to hear
no
in the bedroom, any more than any man does. But in that moment I would have been okay with it, if only because I understood. He’d been stuck in a rut for so long, scared to move forward and leave the past behind, so having to deal with some crazy woman he’d just met at a charity auction wasn’t the easiest thing to get one’s head around.

But now I knew we were both starting to see things in the same light. We were slowly converging onto the same path and if the fates were smiling down on me, we’d have each other for the journey.

However, when Gareth groaned and nodded his consent, I was ready to jump out of bed and do an actual Snoopy dance.

“Condoms?” His voice shocked me out of my mental jubilation. And of course he was grinning. He knew exactly what I’d been doing. “We need condoms, Liz.”

Right.

Safe sex.

I shoved my hand under my pillow, blindly searching for the strip I’d shoved there in my haste after Connie and Stephen had left. “I had them here somewhere. . . .”

He had to roll to the side and I had to lift up the pillow, but eventually I found them. Waving the strip of four in front of his nose, I grinned. “I had high hopes for tonight.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you. Now, am I allowed to let go of this headboard?”

“Oh, hell no!” I gave his hands a slap on principle. “I’m still in control.”

“Of course you are.” He winked at me. He actually winked.

“You are such a smart-ass.”

“It’s called topping from below. You should be familiar with the concept.”

“I’ll show you topping—”

I pushed myself so his cock scraped along the outside of my bare pussy. I was quite wet at this point and his head came back shiny. Always the curious one, I leaned down and sucked his head into my mouth, enjoying the taste of my arousal on him. His cock pulsed against my tongue. He wouldn’t be able to take much more of the teasing.

For once my hands were steady as I tore the condom package open. It had been a long time since I’d put one on a man. The lube was slick and made it a bit challenging to get the condom in place. Once I did, it was fun to roll it down the length of his shaft, teasing his balls when I hit the bottom.

“If you keep doing that, you’re not going to get your ride.”

Fuck that.

As soon as I grabbed the base of his shaft and lined myself up with his head, it suddenly became quite hard to breathe. This was it. After months of waiting, wondering, dreaming about it, I was finally going to get the one thing I wanted. I knew he was going to be amazing, because Gareth settled for nothing less. But what if he wasn’t satisfied with me? What if I was a colossal letdown and that was why he’d been putting off—

“Liz! Breathe.”

I sucked in a breath.

“It’s going to be amazing. I want you so bad, baby. Fuck me. Please.”

A part of me died a happy death.

I let my body lower, trying not to think of anything beyond the amazing sensations. Holy shit, he was so big. My muscles stretched to accommodate him, pulling him in as deep as I could take him. When my swollen clit brushed against his pubic hair, I nearly came undone.

I had to force myself not to move, taking several deep breaths so I wouldn’t come on the spot. This was it. Gareth was inside me. The smell of his arousal mixed with mine filled the room. It was different from the times we’d played. That was only the smell of sex.

This was something different.

Shifting my feet so I had leverage, I placed my hands on his shoulders and began to slowly ride him. Before Gareth, anytime I’d had sex with a man, I’d always had to have direct stimulation to my clit to be able to get me off. Now, as I rode him, I could feel every inch of his thick cock against the insides of my cunt. The tingle that filled me ran hot through my body. My nipples hardened and my clit pulsed.

On every down thrust I would grind myself. Gareth groaned a few times and I could feel his body shaking. I knew if I said the word he would grab my hips, flip me over, and pound me into the mattress. That really did sound fucking fantastic. Maybe next time.

“Hands still.” I slurred the last word as he slammed his hips up to meet mine, crushing my clit between us. “Do that again.”

Okay, so I could compromise.

Our rhythm started off steady. I made sure he was looking at me before I widened my legs and let my pussy slam against him with every thrust. There was something wonderful about seeing his eyes widen with every contact. The way his mouth would part and the saliva on his lips would dry, making the skin pucker.

It was weird, the way I was focused on all the tiny details. How his brown eyes seemed to change the more aroused he got. The irises looked golden, warm, as if a fire had been ignited somewhere deep inside him and only now was I able to see the blaze.

I was hyperaware of my body, too. The way sweat ran along the side of my breast, tickling the skin as it slipped beneath the mound. The way my nipples seemed to absorb the pleasure I felt every time my breasts swung forward. I wanted him to reach up and squeeze them, pinch my nipples, pull at them until I couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Gareth—”

I don’t know how he knew, but his hands were suddenly exactly where I wanted them. His palms were cold from the metal, sending a sharp twinge through the stiffened and sensitive peaks.