BLIND: A Mastermind Novel (30 page)

At the sound of a car pulling onto the drive, he stood and went to the door. Steve escorted her up the steps and he took her arm without greeting. Leading her inside he set about unbuttoning her coat.

Her lips were parted and her breathing shallow. “Good evening, Mr. Stone,
”
she whispered, her voice trembling.

Fuck, he was botching this. He needed to pull it together. “Good evening, Ms. Farrow.”

Her brow wrinkled, small divots showing above the lace of the blindfold. Her hand softly closed over his fingers working the last of the buttons. “Are you upset with me?”

He silently sighed and stepped back, needing to remove her touch before he got careless. “I’ve had a difficult week, but I’m happy you’re here.
”
Taking back the command of his actions, he stepped around her and removed her coat.

She shivered and he stilled. She was wearing the red wrap dress he’d gifted her. She looked incredible, the garment accentuating her figure in all the right places. Even the boots were perfect.

While her beauty threatened his composure, if he shut his eyes and breathed her in, a sense of calm settled over him. Her mere presence soothed him, yet her beauty intimidated him to a degree that was troubling. Sometimes he wished he were the blind one.

But he could not fault her for such things when the issue was his inability to process the sensory overload her mere proximity wrought in him. Tracing his fingers lightly over the pearl necklace, he whispered, “You look stunning, Ms. Farrow. Let’s sit and catch up.”

He ushered her to a chair and she sat. Her hands fidgeted then found a home in the lap of her dress. Her ankles crossed and uncrossed until finally she seemed to settle.

He surveyed her for several minutes, speculating what she was thinking. She surprised him by stating, “You’re not talking.”

“I’m watching you. Does the silence bother you?”

A flush tinged her flesh from the pearl necklace to her cheeks. “No.”

“What are you thinking, Ms. Farrow? You appear agitated.”

She began to fidget again and he considered offering her a glass of wine, but something had him holding back.

“I haven’t heard from you in seven days.”

And the time apart did nothing to quell his desires. “Does that upset you?”

Her lips compressed.

“Answer the question.”

“Yes.”

“What is upsetting about my absence?
”
He was honestly curious about her answer. Was it the attention she missed? Or perhaps the delight of being spoiled?

“I missed… you.”

Asher stilled. Could she have really missed him? No, she missed Mr. Stone. An odd quarrel took place in his mind, his alter ego seeming to steal his glory. “I see. And what exactly did you miss?”

“Your voice. Your nearness.”

He contemplated her answer. His voice was his, though he altered his tempo and tone when speaking as Mr. Stone. How much of what she craved actually had to do with—

“Can I ask you something?”

His shoulders tightened with reluctance. “Yes.”

Her blush intensified. “I
…
I’ve been thinking about us and I need to ask you something for my own peace of mind.”

He waited for her to go on, already having given her permission to ask what she needed and not trusting his voice at the moment. Her lips were a distracting temptation and she was currently nibbling them in a sign of nervousness.

“Are you healthy, Mr. Stone?”

“Pardon?”

“I don’t know where this is going and I like that you’re the one deciding. But the other day it crossed my mind how little I know about you as a person. Every time you contact me I debate less and less the risks of coming to you. It seems I have no will when it comes to following your requests and I’d be remiss not to inquire about your health, considering what happened last time we talked. But more than that, I care about you and I worry about you. I wanted to make sure you’re all right.”

I care about you and I worry about you…

Jaw slack, he slowly grinned, taken aback by her confession. It was quite telling of where she imagined this going, but more than that…she cared and worried about him. Such personal interest on her part was unexpected.

His throat contracted with unexpected emotion. “I assure you I’m quite healthy. The last time I was near a hospital I was a boy suffering from dehydration after a nasty bout of the flu. I have my blood work done regularly and have never heard any concerns from my doctor.”

She let out a deep breath she seemed to be holding for quite some time. This had obviously been weighing on her mind, which aided his confidence, touched a very vulnerable part of him. It might also confirm she’d considered crossing certain lines of intimacy, but he wasn’t sure.

The physical was second to the emotional in terms of how much her confession jarred him. Did she truly care about him? He focused on the more manageable implication. “For health to be brought into question, one would assume you’d been thinking about intimacy.”

She smirked. “I have. Ever since the hotel. I’ve decided to trust you and fully experience whatever it is you have to teach me.”

His shoulders shook as her confession left him speechless. She couldn’t possibly know what she was agreeing to. Even he couldn’t predict what such a thing might entail.

The startling confession pushed his desires ahead of his common sense. “Interesting. And what if I told you to remove an item of clothing? Be careful what you say, Ms. Farrow. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking of you this week.”

“You did?
”
She smiled, surprising him again. This female was slowly disproving every assumption he had about women.

He waited for her to address his question. Her breasts pressed against the front of her dress as her breath quickened.

Finally, when she realized he was still waiting, she asked, “What did you want me to remove?”

His mouth opened.
All of it.
What was happening here? Swallowing hard he stood and reached for her hand. Her fingers curled around his with acceptance. “Stand up, Ms. Farrow.”

Her jaw trembled as she was guided from the chair. Asher pulled her a step forward. Releasing her hand at her side, he appraised her. Two tight points formed under the thin material of the dress covering her chest. She was stunning.

His hands danced over her collarbone, tracing several of the tiny pearls, and her neck lengthened. Ghosting his fingers over the swell of her breast, he touched the loop of the tie that held the dress together. “May I?”

Her body shook with a delicate tremble. “Yes.
”
Her voice was a rasp.

His cock throbbed in his pants, pressing hard into the zipper. Carefully, he unknotted the belt, taking care to control his breathing. The sash went lax and she sucked in an audible breath.

“Tell me to stop and I will, Ms. Farrow.”

“Don’t stop.”

He stilled. Every fiber of his being wanted to kiss her in that moment, but he clamped his jaw tight and refused. Dropping the sash, the dress gaped. His fingers trembled as he reached for the silky fabric.

“Last chance,
”
he warned.

She made no objection, so he slowly parted the folds. His lungs burned as he breathed deep. Satin flesh, white as snow, flashed as the material parted. Her breasts were encased in a chocolate lace bra matching her panties.

“You’re exquisite,
”
he whispered, conscious he was giving himself away.

Her shoulders lifted as he slid the silk dress off of her frame and let it whisper to the floor. Seeing her standing there, in her bra and panties and those sexy heeled leather boots was incredibly titillating.

Goose bumps covered her arms as her hands fisted at her sides. The hair on his arms rose as well. His throat became bone dry as his unblinking eyes devoured her beauty. He recognized signs of nervousness in the way her muscles appeared to tense and her lips twitched.

“Do you have any idea how sexy you are, Scarlet?”

Her lips trembled. “Thank you. Only you see me that way.”

Bullshit. He wanted to worship at the altar of Scarlet Farrow, peel back those lace cups and gorge himself on the sharp nipples poking against her bra.

“You’re quite tempting.”

She sucked in a long breath and released it quickly. “You…you can touch me, Mr. Stone. If you want to.
”
Her lips pursed as she quietly admitted, “I want you to.”

His heart thundered as his hands trembled. It was nearly impossible to maintain his calm façade. “Do you now?”

This was quite a predicament. With her permission, he was given free range to pet and caress her as he pleased. But doing so might be his undoing. He’d be wise to proceed with caution.

“Do you like being told what to do, Ms. Farrow?”

“I like when you tell me what to do, becaus
e
…
”
She seemed to be as surprised by her words as he was.
“
I like how it feels.”

He chuckled. If she only knew all the things she made him feel, emotions outside of his vocabulary. “I’m very pleased.”

She licked her lips nervously as a slow smile curved her mouth.

“Are you aroused, Ms. Farrow?”

“Yes.”

“Are your panties wet?”

“Yes.”

And so was his cock, precome already seeping from the engorged tip. He took her hand. “Come with me.
”
Leading her to the center of the room, he turned her to face the chairs. “I want you to stand here while I pour us each a glass of wine and enjoy the view.”

Her motions were shaky, likely due to her arousal, but she nodded. As he walked slowly back to the chairs he adjusted himself, trying to find some measure of comfort.

Uncorking the wine, he enjoyed the echo of liquid trickling into the glasses. He turned, taking a seat, and sipped. “Spread your legs, Ms. Farrow.”

Her stance slowly widened. Yes. He liked having this sort of authority. The heady sense of having a woman he prized bend to his will was incomparable to all other sexual experiences. He’d never imagined anything beyond traditional coupling—
vanilla
was what the Internet seemed to call it. But with Scarlet, he always had the upper hand, guiding her slowly into a poetic state of arousal that seemed to trigger so many hidden peculiarities inside of him.

Sexual release never failed to satisfy a human need, but what they shared went beyond natural reflexes. It was a new level of endorphins, an untold secret creating so much more than simple gratification. The perplexity of their interactions radiated sexual tension
because
of the limits they created, and he felt the high every time she surrendered to his command.

“Do you feel it, Scarlet? Do you feel the way our needs compliment each other so completely?” She’d surrender and he’d take control, every time, fitting as concisely as music fit to air, filling the silence that didn’t seem lonely until one understood how incomplete it was without sound. She was the music that filled the hollowness inside of him.

Appraising her carefully, he focused on the apex of her thighs, fascinated by the darkened spot of fabric. “I can see where your arousal has seeped through the silk of your panties.”

Her throat worked as she swallowed. Her command of herself was truly impressive. What would make a woman relinquish such control? But she wasn’t really relinquishing it, was she? No, she was voluntarily entrusting him with all the authority.

“Let’s discuss your past relationships. Tell me about your longest relationship as an adult.”