Restrained and Willing (17 page)

No teasing foreplay and very little conversation interrupted
the meal as they both dug in and gave their empty stomachs the nutrition they
craved. What had he done to fill the three hours she’d slept? Taken a nap?
Somehow she doubted it. The man had more stamina than a breeding bull set loose
in a full pen of heifers in heat.

She shot a sideways look at him through lowered lashes.
After he fulfilled his body’s need for food, would he fulfill his need to have
sex? He seemed forever ready.

In need of a little stamina building of her own, she scooped
another scrumptious hunk of veggie omelet onto her fork and slid it into her
watering mouth.
Ummm. The man could easily have his own network cooking
show.
One she’d be more than happy to market for him. Yeah, right. As if he’d
have time to spare between the construction company he co-owned with her
brothers and his extracurricular sexual activities. No way would he give either
up. It was apparent he loved them both. Not that she was complaining about the
latter since she was currently reaping the mind-blowing benefits.

When not a scrap of food was left on either of their plates,
they cleared the table, during which time he’d kissed and touched her
affectionately, but made no sexual advances. What was up with that? Sure, she was
still a bit sore, but another easy round of sex wasn’t out of the realm of
possibility. Despite the occasional accidental rub up against him, he ignored
any hints she initiated, be it come-hither looks, verbal prompts or physical
contact.

“I thought a dip in the pool would be nice. Just hanging out
in the shallow end. Talking.”

She slanted him a searching look. “Any topic in particular?”

“Yep. I was thinking this’d be a good time to answer any
questions you might have. Then some general chitchat. A short lounge.”

Still no mention of sex.
She frowned. Had a hard time
believing she’d get such a long sabbatical. Surely he’d take her once more. In
bed, perhaps, or anywhere, for that matter.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll meet you outside.”

When she stepped out onto the patio a few minutes later
after clearing the table, Pierce was nowhere in sight, so she made her way over
to the pool, sat on the edge and dangled her legs in the water.
Heavenly.

Pierce walked out of the house and stilled at the sight of
Heather at the side of the pool, body arched and supported by her palms. Naked,
she was a sinful vision. Totally unreserved, her beautiful eyes were currently
closed. Not that he needed a visual reminder of their glorious brown depths,
since he could recall them in an instant…along with every other tiny little
aspect of her lush body.

Head thrown back, the vulnerable line of her throat was
exposed as were the jutting creamy mounds of her firm breasts, capped by
deep-pink gumdrop points he couldn’t wait to capture in his mouth. A couple of
good hard sucks should be all it took to make those diamond-hard peaks all but
begging to be clamped. An event he already had planned for tonight.

He walked over and sat down beside her. Reached down to
scoop a small amount of water and drizzled a line down her throat to just below
her navel. When her soft, slightly rounded stomach retracted, he smiled.

“Do you have any idea how tempting you are? How much I want
to lay you back and fuck you right now?”

The lazy swishing motion of her dangling legs ceased and her
eyelids eased open. “What’s stopping you?”

He bent over her and kissed her cheek, and tracing the water
trail he’d laid, ran a subtle fingertip from the tip of her chin, through the
valley of her breast, over her lightly quivering stomach, past her bellybutton
to the top of her pubis. “The plans I have for tonight.” He gave her mound a
light fingertip smack.

On a quick inhalation, her dark eyes gleamed. “What—”

“Save your breath, sweets. I’m a
show
not
tell
man.”

She released a pouty breath.

He hid a grin. Her lack of patience would require some major
work on both their parts. “We’re here to talk. So if you have any questions,
reservations, anything else you’d like to discuss at this point, I’m happy to
answer. Tonight, I’m going to seriously push you. Test some of your limits, and
the only sounds I’ll expect from this lovely mouth of yours,” he rubbed the pad
of his finger across her lower lip, “will be sounds of pleasure and any verbal
response I require from you.”

“I want this, Pierce. I do.” Her lashes fluttered down a
moment before they rose. “But what if I…” She captured her bottom lip between
her teeth.

Knowing exactly what was on her mind, he said, “Your ability
to call a stop to anything, at any time, is and always will be on the table. An
irrevocable fact I want to make clear here and now so you’ll never have to ask
again.”

She drew a deep breath and nodded.

“But I don’t expect you’ll need to use it. I’ve done some
thinking and although somewhat surprised, given the newness of all this to you,
I’m more than pleased by your responses so far. You’ve progressed much further
in this short period of time than I thought you would. I admit to having doubts
at the onset. Now I believe you’re fully capable of handling this sort of relationship.”

Her face lit from his praise. “Thank you. Coming from you,
that means a lot.”

“You’re welcome.” He winked and leaned back on his elbows,
initiating a game of toesies with her beneath the water. A fairly safe contact
he hoped would feed his need to touch her without ramping up his desire for
deeper, more intimate contact. An ever-increasing need that was becoming more
and more difficult to control. “Any questions? Clarification you need from me?”
he asked, needing to set his mind on a different course.

A thoughtful frown lightly creased the area between her
plucked and delicately arched eyebrows. “I can’t think of anything at the
moment. Will this be my last opportunity to ask?” Her expression turned
worried.

He reached over and smoothed the deepening furrow between
her eyes. “Relax.” He smiled to reassure her. “For tonight, yes, this is your
last opportunity. But there will be others throughout the week, the frequency
of which depends on how things play out. A large part of your training, especially
in the beginning of our relationship, will be a constant reassessment on my
part of your reactions. The biggest hurdle…placing complete and total trust in
me. Having indisputable faith that I will never cause you harm, either mentally
or physically. Nor will I humiliate you in any way.”

Her features eased, her gaze unwavering. “Then, no. I don’t
need any answers or clarifications. Tonight, you command. I comply. It’s as
simple as that.”

Simple! Far from it. Complicated as all fucking hell. Other
women had professed total faith. A statement he’d relegated to their need to
submit to a stronger power and his skill set to make them realize it. The
profound vow sliding past Heather’s full pink lips speared right to a section
of his heart previously untouched. Her total, freely given faith humbled him,
creating a tiny crack in the foundation of his firm beliefs on commitment and
love, dragging him another centimeter closer to rethinking his stand on a
fickle mass illusion he’d spurned for as long as he could remember.

He slid into the pool and shimmied his way between her
limber thighs and encompassed her waist in an easy grip. “Time for a dip.”

She lightly placed her hands on his shoulders, the heat of
her palms warming more than the small space they covered.

Needing to cool down his thoughts as well as his body,
Pierce studiously ignored the mist of disappointment that passed over her eyes
a second before the tips of her luscious lips tilted upward.

He lifted her into the water, careful not to bring her flush
against his raging body. Specifically, his straining cock beneath the swim
trunks he’d donned before leaving the house.

“How sore is that tight little hole between your cheeks?”
The water aided in an easy glide of his finger through the crack of her backside
so he could press gently against the tight ring of muscle.

Her gaze shot to his with a flash of surprise.

He didn’t blame her. He’d tossed out the question without
forewarning.

“F…fine.”

“Good. Among other things, I’ve scheduled some ass play for
tonight. I want you able to take every inch of my cock up that fine ass of
yours.”

“Okay.”

He raised an expectant brow.

It took a moment for the reason to register. “Pierce,” she
hurried to add.

“Consider this your last warning. You’ve been careless in
the way you address me. I’ve allowed it until
now
. Starting tonight,
I’ll be keeping track. For every slip, you’ll earn two swats. Twice in a
row…will merit six.”

Her expressive eyes saucered, reminding Pierce of one of
those goofy cartoon cats he’d watched as a kid.

“So it’d be in your ass’s best interest to remember how to
reply to my commands for the remainder of our time here.”

She nodded.

“We’ll spend the rest of the day leisurely. Maybe watch a
movie. I’ll even let you pick. I had thought to take you to the waterfall out
back, but it’s a little late in the day for that.”

“You have a real waterfall? I’d love to see it. Please, can
we go?” Her entire countenance lit up, much like a child’s upon hearing the
first chiming, musical strains from an ice-cream truck.

“Maybe tomorrow.”

Her expression transformed from excited to pouty in the
blink of an eye.

Had he been a weaker man, no doubt like the ones she’d
manipulated in the past, Pierce would’ve fallen all over his feet to give her
what she wanted. Instead, he chucked her under the chin. “Save the pout,
city
girl
. I always have a solid reason for my decisions. The mosquitoes out
here can be brutal and I don’t want all that lovely unblemished skin of yours
peppered with the little monsters’ bites. The only red marks on your body
tonight will be the ones I leave.”

Her delicate eyebrow arched as a combination of trepidation
and intrigue slithered across her eyes before she blinked and wiped them clear.
Had he been less attuned to her, he might’ve missed those subtle signs.

Starting tonight, those little arches of rebellion would
cost her. Tack another swat on to any punishment she accumulated from that
point on. She was too strong-willed to give herself over to him one hundred
percent. A trait he was counting on. “At nine o’clock, I’ll expect to find you
in the family room in the proper submissive pose, awaiting my pleasure.”

“Yes, Pierce.” She lowered her lashes.

It was said so sweetly meek he wanted to laugh out loud. The
tone. The look. Both politically correct. He wasn’t fooled in the least. She
was showboating. Seeing what she could get away with. He’d let her play her
little game for now. He’d be playing his later. The only difference, sensual
discipline wasn’t a game to him. A lesson she’d come to terms with sooner than
later.

He lowered his head next to hers. Indulged in a deep breath,
filling his lungs with her pleasant earthy scent. “I can’t wait for nine
o’clock to get here.” He infused both threat and promise into the whispered
statement before latching his teeth on to her delicate earlobe. Nipped.

“Mmmm.” Her body swayed toward him.

He drew back.

He’d said they’d spend a leisurely afternoon, but by no
means would it be purely platonic. Whenever the mood struck, he’d every
intention of indulging in a little touchy-feely to keep her ramped up and on
edge for the upcoming evening.

That he’d be torturing himself as well was an unavoidable
consequence. A side effect of his byplay he was equipped for. He dialed in to
his Dom mindset, and reaching out, skimmed the back of his hand down her
downy-soft cheek, the side of her neck. His final destination, her plump
breast. Which he firmly cupped before leaning in for a firm suck and not so
light nibble.

An airy chirp of pleasure breezed past his ear, ruffling his
hair, begging him to do more.

He damned the added effort it took to turn a deaf ear to the
honeyed nonverbal plea.

Sonuvabitch. He needed to get a grip. Not once, no matter
how appealing the female, had he ever needed to exert such strong force over
his willpower. It left a bitter taste in his mouth. But not as bitter as the
lingering thought that he was training Heather for some other jerk’s ultimate
pleasure down the road when Pierce inevitably set her free.

With that acid notion searing his brain, he gave her hand a
small tug to follow as he set out for the lush green lagoon landscape on the
opposite side of pool.

Better he focus on the more immediate future. Heather was
here with him, and for the time they were together, she belonged solely to him.
And tonight he’d make sure that fact was imprinted on her brain and emblazoned
on her gorgeous ass.

* * * * *

Seven minutes before nine, according to the rustic clock
amidst the fireplace stones.
Heather took a fortifying breath and placed
her hand over her bare stomach in a futile attempt to still the hundreds of
hummingbirds that seemed to have taken flight behind her tense abdominal
muscles. Her jitters stemmed from giddiness, not fear. Well, maybe a little
apprehension of the unknown. It was just she wanted to please Pierce so damn
much. She’d arrived a little early on purpose, wanting time to prepare, present
herself flawlessly.

She licked suddenly dry lips and sank to her knees in the
middle of the expansive family room onto a well-cushioned beige mat she assumed
was placed there for her comfort. The well-lit atmosphere a far cry from the
dungeon venues she’d seen and read about. Opting for the
Present
position, another tidbit of information on submissive lifestyle she’d found
during her BDSM research, among a variety of other positions, she lowered her
ass to her heels, spread her thighs apart, rested her hands, palms up, on top
of them and cast her eyes demurely to the wood floor. After a quick mental
assessment, she made minor adjustments to her posture, removing any slouch from
her shoulders, making sure her back was straight, not too stiff, and thrust her
breasts proudly to best advantage. Confident she was presenting herself in the
most positive light, she mentally relaxed.