She gasped. “Permission to speak, Sir?”
“Yes.”
“That was hot.”
“Glad you approve.” He’d suspected having her as his sub for a week would be good. He hadn’t known how good. He reluctantly let go of her wrist and said, “You may release your nipple, Shelby, then your breast.”
She did, then allowed her arms to dangle at her sides.
“You wanted to feel my belt?”
“Yes, Sir,” she whispered, as if it were a deep, dark secret.
And maybe, he realized, to her, it was. If David hadn’t pushed her, chances were she still had a lot of unexplored territory. He looked forward to uncovering it with her. “Remove it from me.”
Her hands were shaking as she fumbled with the buckle. Finally she managed to get it apart, and she pulled it through the denim loops. “I look forward to you becoming more proficient at that.”
She offered the length of leather to him.
“Kiss it,” he told her.
She gulped, but she did as he instructed. If she continued to be so obedient, he’d have to leave the room and jack off. It had been a long time since he’d been so aroused by being with a woman.
After several seconds, he accepted the belt from her. He held the buckle in one hand and allowed the leather to dangle from his grip.
She remained where she was, and she twisted her hands in front of her while her gaze seemed riveted on the belt.
“In the absence of other instruction, always clasp your hands behind your back.” When she did, he said, “Nice. I like the way that forces your breasts out.” He saw that telltale blush again. “Do you have a safe word?”
“Tangerine.”
“Tangerine? You’ll actually remember it during a scene?”
“I hate tangerines,” she said. “I never forget them during a scene.”
He laughed. “You don’t get to use the word just because you hate something.”
“Oh.”
“You know that, right?”
“I… Uhm. No. That hasn’t been the way it’s worked in the past.”
“Master David allowed you to stop a scene anytime you wanted?”
“Of course.”
“Never pushed your boundaries?”
“Not unless we talked about it beforehand.”
“I see.” Each dom had his own style, but even given that, the man was too relaxed. No wonder she’d been all over the place in the poker room. “Master David is the only one you’ve explored BDSM with?”
“Everything else was strictly vanilla. Strictly boring.”
“You obviously didn’t like that.”
“My job can be intense,” she said. She hesitated, as if contemplating how much to reveal before continuing. “I’m a mediator. I walk, I run, go to the gym, swim, try to avoid too much alcohol. But nothing takes away my stress like sex. Good sex.”
“Define good sex.”
“It’s where I can let go and surrender. There’s…” She exhaled. “Pain involved.”
“You’re a masochist.”
“Maybe a little.”
“But you still like to be in charge.”
“I don’t really see it that way.”
Of course she didn’t; she was a born negotiator. “You want to choose the implement, the time, the place, and, if I don’t miss my guess, decide when you go home.”
“Yes.”
“That’s being in charge,” he said. Slowly he wrapped the belt around his wrist, making sure her gaze was on it. “Telling your dom how to dominate you isn’t supposed to be how it works. And you know that too, otherwise you’d have taken the out when Master Xavier offered it.” Trevor studied her. When he spoke, he dropped his voice. “That’s what you want. That’s why you haven’t bolted, isn’t it? You don’t want to be in charge. You already know I’m not the kind of man who will tolerate any nonsense from you. Things that are definitely outside your comfort zone, we will discuss. And know this, Shelby, I will push your boundaries; I’ll push them hard. And my guess is, you’ll like it.” He looked her in the eye. “Overuse your safe word and I’ll put you on a plane myself. Do you understand?”
Her eyes were wide. She glanced, not at all subtly, over her shoulder at the door.
“Run, little sub. Run like your life depends on it, and run now. Either that or stand up, walk over to that horse, and get on it like a good girl. I want you at the end, not the middle. I want your hot ass sticking up and out. Then ask me to tie you to it.” She’d confessed to being a little bit of a pain slut. He suspected she liked to be told what to do and how to do it, until she balked. Having her ask him, beg him, to punish her was likely out of her comfort zone…a place, as he’d told her, that he intended to keep her.
He left his belt on a small table and grabbed restraints from the wall while she hesitated.
She looked from the door to the horse. She stood slowly.
If he was sure of one thing, it was that she wouldn’t run. She was scared all right, but as he’d said, she knew, deep down, that she didn’t want to be in charge.
“Uhm…do you want me to remove the boots and chaps, Sir?”
“Hell no. The chaps make your ass stick out.”
“For punishment,” she said.
“Because it looks hot,” he corrected. “You’ve got a nice ass, Shelby. And those chaps frame it perfectly. And you know it.”
She climbed up onto the punishment horse and placed a leg on either side of the bar, in kneeling position. She slowly lowered herself onto her belly. Her breasts were loose, which he wanted. Her arms dangled at the sides.
“Scoot back a little,” he told her. “I want your ass more accessible.”
She took so long he wasn’t sure she was going to comply.
“It seems obscene,” she said.
“It is.”
Despite her small protest, she did as he requested.
He looked at her for a moment. Her position was obscene. And sexy as hell. He crossed to her. He fingered her cunt, finding her moist. Slowly he rubbed a finger back and forth over her clit, and she moaned as she became more and more lubricated.
He placed a hand on each of her generous butt cheeks and spread her ass. She gasped, and she squirmed, but she didn’t try to get away. “Are you an anal virgin?”
“Except for one time when I was in college. I was dating a guy who stuck a finger up there. I hated it, and I told him never to do it again.”
“You’ve never worn a plug?”
“It’s on my ‘no’ list.”
“Was on your ‘no’ list,” he corrected.
She shuddered.
“Not immediately,” he said. “I won’t make you wear a plug tonight, but soon.”
“I…I want to talk about my list.”
“Of course.” He kept his hand on her and leaned in a little closer. “Do you want to talk about it now? Do you want to try and control this scene, or do you want to let go and enjoy this? Do you want to see where it goes?”
Seconds stretched into at least a minute.
She was a tough one. She’d require patience and perseverance in equal measures.
Finally, quietly, she said, “Please, Sir, tie me to the horse.”
“My pleasure, sub.” He wrapped one of the fabric strips around her right ankle, outside her boot. He secured her to one of the hooks.
Without being prompted, she tested the bond.
He’d adjusted the length of the strap so that she’d have a little slack. The bond wasn’t tight enough to cause her a muscle cramp, but she wasn’t going far.
Moving to the other side of the horse, he secured her left ankle. “How are you doing?” he asked when she pulled against the tethers.
“Okay, Sir,” she said.