Bound to Please(15)

She laughed nervously. “That’s because you can’t see my face.”

He turned to her then, his gaze sharp. “I never want to hear you talk about yourself that way, Ruby. Understand?”

All she could do was nod.

Rooted to the floor, she stood stock-still as he approached her. Then he was kissing her again, with that gentle yet commanding way that turned her insides to mush. She barely noticed the firm hand on her shoulder, pushing her to her knees.

She closed her eyes, felt the wool of the Persian rug scratch the skin of her knees. The floor grounded her as she turned inward, mentally preparing herself for whatever he wanted to do to her.

For the millionth time she wondered how this was happening—how she’d let it happen. And yet, it felt powerful somehow. Mark said he would push her, but, more important, she was pushing herself to explore these fantasies she’d been hiding for so long.

“Are you ready?”

Her belly quivered with nerves and anticipation. “Yes.” She braced herself on the floor.

She heard his boots thudding as he circled her. “Can you follow instructions?”

“Yes.”

“Then why are you still wearing your panties?”

She speared him with a look.

Legs planted in a wide stance before her, he held his hands clasped before him. Despite his commanding posture, he smiled at her. “There will be rules. Such as, no dirty looks.”

She tried not to roll her eyes.

“Also. Don’t move unless I tell you to. Don’t speak unless spoken to. Unless of course, you want me to stop. If you want me to stop, you can say… Chihuahua.”

“Chihuahua?”

“You want me to stop already?”

“No… but Chihuahua?” She tried not to laugh.

He also seemed to be holding back his humor. “You just broke a rule. Such a bad girl, but I’ll enjoy punishing you for it.”

She bit her lip to keep from telling him to go fly a kite.

His smile faded, became more serious. “Now, are you ready, Ruby darling?”

Every muscle in her body seemed to tremble as she took a deep breath and met his stare. Last chance. She could still run away. Scream Chihuahua.

And always wonder what it would have been like.

She took a deep breath and straightened. “I’m ready.”

“Take off your dress.”

Her arms trembled as she lifted the hem of her skirt up over her thighs, her black panties, her back. He finished the job by raising the dress over her head, and then she was exposed except for her black lace panties and gold stilettos. She felt goose bumps trickle up her arms.

He took her hair in his hands and moved it aside, draping the heavy length over her shoulder. She felt a hot kiss at the back of her neck, right over the cherry blossoms tattooed at the nape.

His soft lips and warm breath calmed her shaky body. She closed her eyes, listening as he moved. She heard the clinking of brass as he unbuckled his belt. Then the sound of leather sliding across cloth reached her ears. Her breath caught in her throat.

Softly, so softly it was like a whisper, he took the strap of black leather and drew it over her skin. Around her neck, over her collarbone, across the back of her shoulders.

Ash had used only soft hemp rope. So much heavier, this leather. It scratched her skin like the music coming from the old vinyl scratched her ears, and there was something distantly comforting in the sensation.

As he caressed her skin with his belt, she absorbed its commanding weight, knew Mark held that exquisite power in his hands. The scent of buckskin would never seem innocent again, would always remind her of Mark.

He took both her arms until they were straight behind her back, rigid. She wore no bra, and her nipples tingled as she arched forward.

Binding her with his belt, he wrapped the leather around her arms from elbow to wrist, until she heard the final clink of him fastening the buckle. Then, she was as he’d wanted her. Bound. His.

Shaking, she waited to see what he’d do next. She heard his footsteps on the hardwood floor, but she dared not turn around to see what he was up to.

Then he was back, his hand resting gently on her head, caressing her. Calming her.

“The first thing I noticed about you was your hair. I had to keep my hands behind my back to keep myself from burying my fingers in it.”

She felt a brush oh-so-gently moving through the strands of her hair. It tingled her scalp and seemed intimate somehow. As he continued to brush her hair she felt her nerves calm down, just a little.

He continued for a moment before taking the boar bristles and lightly skimmed her ribs, down her spine and then her buttocks. The sensation was prickly and should have been unpleasant, but it wasn’t. In fact, the feeling became more lovely by the second as he scraped her ass, one side and then the other, running the brush over the edge of her panties. He increased pressure until the bristles scraped her skin, causing her to inhale sharply. It hurt, and yet the pain only made her more aware of how turned on she was. Her eyes closed, she felt his breath at her ear.