Daniel’s bed.
Oh.
She rolled to her side and found him awake and watching her.
“Good morning,” he said with his charming smile.
“Morning.” She looked around the room, and the scattered clothing and tousled sheets brought back memories of the night before. Had he really spanked her? And then she spent the night at his house?
He pushed her hair back and kissed her cheek. “What has you looking so troubled so early in the morning?”
“I didn’t plan on staying last night.”
“Is there someone you need to call? Will they have the police out looking for me?”
“No, I don’t have a roommate, it’s just . . . I didn’t bring a change of clothes. And I don’t want to be an imposition.”
He pulled back and gave her what she was coming to recognize as his Dom stare. The one no smart person would argue with. “You aren’t an imposition. Don’t think of yourself like that. Besides, I’m glad you stayed last night.”
“You are?”
“Yes, now I get to fix you breakfast.”
“Can I help?”
He gave her a truly wicked grin. “Sure. Do you want to cook naked or should I see if there’s a spare T-shirt sitting around?”
She threw a pillow at him. “I’m not cooking naked.”
Before she could blink, she was on her back with him looming over her. “Careful now, you’re still in my bed. And you’re quite naked.”
Her butt still ached slightly from his spanking the night before and there was a delightful soreness between her legs. She knew she’d think about him just about every time she moved. And she wondered when they could do it again.
He nibbled her ear. “Is someone thinking naughty thoughts?”
“Yes, she is. You’re turning her into a wanton woman.”
“Just the way I like my woman to be.”
His woman. Is that what she was? She rather liked the sound of it. She had so many questions about submission, especially submission as it applied to him. But before she could decide which one to ask first, her stomach rumbled.
“Guess I better feed you before we go much farther on that wanton trail.” He gave her a quick kiss and then rolled out of bed. He strolled about the room, unconcerned with his nakedness. She scooted back up in bed so she could admire him better. His body would make a sculptor weep; his ass alone was enough to make her want to suggest they skip breakfast.
He slipped on a pair of sweatpants and brought her a long-sleeved tee. “I’m afraid the pants are too big.” He pointed to a door off to the side. “Bathroom’s in there. I’ll go start breakfast.”
Fifteen minutes later, she stepped into the kitchen, which already smelled of bacon. She wore his shirt, though she’d had to push up the sleeves and the hemline hung almost to her knees. She stepped beside Daniel and took over making scrambled eggs while he cooked the bacon.
He smiled. “Thanks.”
They worked in a comfortable silence. While freshening up in his bathroom, she’d feared breakfast would be strange. She’d wondered if it would be odd to sit at a table across from a man who’d turned her over his knee the night before. Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t.
He watched her closely as she sat down, but then lifted the juice pitcher and poured her a glass. He was on his second helping of bacon before he asked, “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Great. Never better,” she said, knowing it was damn near the truth.
“If you need anything, you’ll let me know?”
She nodded and buttered another piece of toast.
“Julie.”
His eyes were serious when she looked up.
“One of the most important things you need to know is a submissive must always be completely honest with her Dom.”
“Is that what we are?” She wasn’t sure she wanted a label yet. It had only been one night. Surely it took more than a night to make one a submissive.
He seemed to be examining her before he spoke. “There is no formal agreement between us, but I did serve as your Dom last night.”
His words made her insides quiver. Her Dom. Just thinking it made her shiver.
“Do you still have the paperwork from the meeting?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“If you want to explore submission more, I meant what I said, but I’ll need you to fill out the checklist. I’ll give you a copy of mine.”
She put her toast down, suddenly not hungry. “Makes it sound more like a business transaction than a relationship.”
He reached across the table and took her hand. “I like you, Julie, and I want to get to know you better. We can leave it at that for now. But”—he stroked her hand with his thumb—“if you’re interested in exploring what you’ve always wondered about, we need to do it right.”
She felt safe with him, felt secure in his hands. She’d enjoyed the previous night, and she had always wondered about BDSM. He was offering her a way to explore the part of herself she’d buried for so long.
“Do you have a blank checklist here?”
His gaze nearly burned her with its intensity. “I’ll print one off.”
Thirty minutes later she sat in his kitchen looking over a checklist, thinking to herself she had no business even attempting to fill one out. Daniel sat across from her, reading. He’d wanted to leave her alone while she completed the form, but she’d asked him to stay.
“Have you done all these things?” she asked.
“Not all, but I’ve done a lot.”
He said it matter-of-factly, like he was talking about riding a bike, rather than kinky sex practices. She glanced down at the list trying to picture him doing some of the things to her.
“There’s just, so much, you know?”
“Don’t let it overwhelm you, but whatever you do, don’t mark everything ‘Like to try.’ Everyone has limits. Establish yours.”
“Trust me, I have several hard limits marked.”
“No one should ever violate your hard limits. Discuss? Yes. Violate? Never.”
She set aside her pen for a moment. “That brings up a question—what happens if a Dom violates someone’s hard limit?”
“In our group, the individual in question would be forbidden to participate in anything we did and we’d inform others in the BDSM community as well. Depending on the offense, there might be other punishments inflicted.” His expression and tone of voice underscored how seriously he felt about the matter.
“I have a feeling you mean something more than being put over your knee.”
“By the time I finished with them, an over-the-knee spanking would be viewed as a reward.” The corners of his mouth lifted again. “Speaking of limits and spankings and knees, how’s the list coming?”
“Almost done.”
She went back to work, finishing up the remaining items and sliding the list across the table. Daniel took the piece of paper that had been sitting beside him and handed it to her.
“I wanted you to fill yours out without looking at mine. I didn’t want your list influenced by mine at all.”
She tentatively picked up his list and looked it over.
Holy shit, he hadn’t lied when he said he’d done a lot on the list.
Her eyes scanned the page for her hard limits to see how they matched up with his. “You have fire play listed as ‘likes a lot’?”
“Yes,” he said, reading over her list. “And I’m not surprised it’s a hard limit for you.”
“I know it’s not just lighting people on fire, I just—” She shivered. “No, thank you.”
He chuckled. “Keep in mind, limits can change. We can redo and revise as needed.” He spent a few more minutes reading over her list before speaking again. “If you’re still wanting to play and explore, I’ll look this over in more detail this week. You could come by next Saturday and we could play.”