"On the bed," I tell her, my voice a little strained.
I'm tempted to fuck her, but she's got me too damn intrigued now. What if this is all just a game? I should ask her.
I should end this madness.
Her eyes flick briefly to the weird sex swing thing Maverick insisted on hanging from my ceiling. The curiosity in her eyes as she bites her lip has me restraining a groan.
As she crawls on her hands and knees across the bed, moving to the front, my eyes stay on her ass.
I'll end this madness later. Definitely later.
I walk around as she turns around, sitting down and keeping her eyes warily on me. The cuffs that are chained to the bed seem like a damn good idea.
Harley all trussed up? Might as well live in the moment.
She doesn't hesitate to give me her hand, and I secure the leather cuff in place, even though the chain that is hooked to it gives her plenty of slack to move her arm a great bit.
Silently, I move to the other side, and secure the other hand as well. I'm tempted to also secure her feet, but if I don't get out of here, I'm going to do a lot more than just tie her up.
"Don't call for me. Just stay here silently," I tell her, keeping that tone of authority I usually reserve for hardened business men who try to bulldoze me in negotiations.
"Yes, sir," she says again, and I swear my pants grow tighter.
Apparently this is some kind of fantasy for her, and as my eyes flick down her luscious, bare body while her hands are cuffed and chained to the bed …
Maybe I should have researched all this before tossing out the idea completely.
With a wince, I turn away and walk stiffly out of the room. My phone is right where I left it, and I pick it up, hearing Maverick curse his cat.
"I need your help," I tell him.
"My cat is currently bashing against the door in an effort to break in. She's a fucking crazy bitch!"
"I don't care about your damn cat," I hiss. "I need you to tell me what the hell a flogger is and what it does."
Silence. Again.
Same thing happened with Rain.
"You're kidding, right?" he finally asks over a feline war cry in the background.
"Yeah. I called to joke about the specifics of a motherfucking flogger because I'm full of random funnies like that."
"Random funnies?"
"Maverick, so help me … "
"I'm not fucking educating you on how to use a flogger on Harley. What the actual fuck? She's agreeing to this shit?" he sounds amused, annoyed, and surprised all at once. "Bananas, I will fucking give you to animal control if you don't leave me alone!"
"Stop talking to your cat and tell me what to do! You got me into this; now you help me get out."
He grunts, curses, and then I hear silence in the background. "I'm perfectly fine with helping you get out of this. I'm not fine with helping you get off. Which is what you're really asking me to do. Even I have boundaries, Dale. And one of those boundaries is walking you through a kinky orgasm."
I groan, scrubbing my hand over my face. I've fallen so low.
"Either you tell me how to deal with this, or I swear, I will tell Rain you masturbated in her bed."
"But I didn't!"
"Doesn't matter. I'm an excellent liar, as you observed."
He grows quiet for a minute. "I've underestimated you, jackass. I always thought you were the good Sterling."
My lips twitch.
"The flogger, Maverick. What the hell is it and how do I use it?"
"Sending you a link. Watch it. And with the Dom thing, remember you're in control. Ask her for a safe word, make it all about her pleasure, and have fun with it. You don't have the training to use pain to your advantage, so take it easy. Don't go overboard. It's more about delayed gratification than any one goal. And always, always keep her in line when role playing. Otherwise, she'll see right through you."
"Thanks," I say uncomfortably.
"Excuse me. I need a shower now. And no longer do I need to lock out the hellcat since you've ruined my hand time."
"More information than I needed," I remind him.
"Says the fucker who just asked me how to … You know what. Fuck you very much and good night."
Before I hang up, I hear him muttering, "Always the quiet ones."
My phone buzzes instantly with a text, and I find the link he just sent, and watch it … with rapt attention. It's possibly the most erotic thing I've ever seen.
Maybe I was being a little too straight-laced by avoiding porn all these years, thinking there was nothing in that exaggerated bullshit, because I might have been learning a few things.
I tilt my head, gauging each and every detail, committing them to memory so I can recreate them later.
Okay. Right. So I need to do this before she falls asleep waiting for me.
Tossing my phone down, I go ahead and shed out of my shirt, brimming with an edge of anticipation that surprises me. As soon as I walk into the room, Harley sucks in a sharp breath, her eyes going directly to my shirtless body.
They stay there, almost as though she's always wanted to see and can't look away. It's a damn good feeling.
"Tattoos," she says softly, her brow pinching in confusion as she looks up. "You have tattoos?"
My lips twitch. I like seeing the surprise in her eyes. In fact, I only got them because it was the one unpredictable factor about me. My one act of rebellion. And a pathetic act of rebellion it was.
"On your knees," I tell her, ignoring her question.
She licks her lips before hurriedly complying, and I stifle a groan when her ass greets me.
The chains on the cuffs are long enough to allow her to change positions, but it forces her arms to cross with her elbows on the bed.
"Are you comfortable?" I ask her.
When she peers over her shoulder, I try to remember I'm a man and not an animal.
"Yes," she says with breathy need.
I move toward the wall, eyeing the plaited leather floggers-now that I know what the fuck they are.
"Which one?" I ask her, running my hand across the options.
Her eyes widen again, and she clears her throat. "Whichever is your favorite," she tells me.
How am I going to do this without shooting off in my jeans like a kid?
I pick a random one-since I don't have a favorite, obviously. This one will be my favorite after tonight.
The video was erotic and sensual-nothing like I expected. I expected a lot of flapping aimlessly and slapping around. I was prepared to feel like a novice. Not an idiot.
My eyes slide back over to the ass that is perched in the air, giving me an unobstructed view of everything I want to put my hands on. But I remember I'm playing a role. A role I'm surprisingly eager to play.
I flip open the button on my jeans, and I slowly unzip them, while the leather flogger idles in my hand.
It's like she hears the small sound and goosebumps pebble across her skin. Easy, Dale. This shit is more about foreplay than the endgame. Delayed gratification.
And I decide something crucial as I run my hand over her ass, eliciting a full-body shudder from her. I'm not going to fuck her tonight.
My dick and balls will plan a mutiny, but I like the idea of delayed gratification. Like the idea of the control it'll take.
And really like the idea of seeing Harley again all trussed up like this.
"Dale?"
Right. Be in control!
"I said quiet." I slam the flogger down on the side of her ass, and she yelps while surging forward.
My eyes widen in panic, and I blurt out, "Sorry!" No, damn it! I'm not supposed to apologize. I groan and clear my throat before adding in a deeper tone, "But you need to be silent. Or it'll be two licks next time."
She peers over her shoulder, eyes wide and yet completely excited, as though she finds my every move riveting.
My hand rubs over her ass again, soothing away the sting of the flogger before I squeeze it, hearing her sharp intake of air and the way her body trembles again.
For the first time ever, I feel like having a little fun.
Chapter 17
HARLEY
I'm acutely aware of every sound in the room. Of every short breath I take and how shaky the exhale is. Of every rustle of the bed. Of every fractional movement Dale makes.
Each sound he makes leaves me with an anticipatory thrill shooting up my spine. I'm vulnerable, completely naked with my ass in the air for him to toy with.
Never has a little ass petting seemed so erotic. I'm almost embarrassed by how wet I am from something so simple.
His hand moves away, and immediate disappointment settles into my bones. I've always been a rush-to-the-finish line kind of girl, because I'm busy. Sex is just a release.
But with Dale, I can tell there won't be any rushing, and my blood pumps faster just thinking of what all we'll do.
"In here, there are no lies," he says calmly. "No secrets. You need to give me everything, and in return, I'll give you exactly what you want."
Ass in the air isn't usually the way I have meaningful conversations. I open my mouth to speak, then promptly clamp my lips shut again, remembering the sting I received from my earlier slip of the tongue.
He leans over me, his feet still on the ground, and I close my eyes to absorb his scent as his breath fans against my ear, sending all those delicious chills straight to my middle so they can gather.
"Good girl," he says softly. "Speak."