Smut in the City (Absolute Erotica) (12 page)

But she evaded him in the elevator. He folded his arms. Zoe might have been the love of his life, but pushover never entered his mind. She had flaws, sure, but she refused to let him treat her with anything but honour. He’d come back to Cleveland to make amends and get her back. Then damn it, he’d get her back.

Chapter Two

“I never quite got him out of my life.” Zoe massaged her temples. Her cat, Flash, stared at her from across the room. “He’s back.” She knelt down and offered her hand. The cat jumped down from her perch and stretched, her tail curling in the air. Although she took her time, she crossed the living room and strolled under Zoe’s hand. The cat meowed and her purr vibrated Zoe’s skin.

“What am I going to do?” Zoe plopped onto her bottom. The buckles on her boots clicked on the foyer tiles. “I love him. Stupid, huh? To still love a man who walked away without a second glance. Am I crazy?”

Flash flicked her tail, then slunk away.

Zoe sighed. If she wanted to call him, she couldn’t. He never gave her his new cell number. She rubbed her forehead. He got on with his life...why couldn’t she?

The cat stared at the door, then burst out of the living room.

Zoe glanced over her shoulder. The apartment door remained closed. Had someone knocked? She stood and peeked through the spy hole in the door. The last person she expected to see in the hallway waited on the other side of the door.

“Torin?” Zoe flipped the lock and opened the door. “What are you doing here?”

“May I come in?”

She stole a glance out into the hallway. “I don’t understand.”

“Just me. No cameras, no press. They lost interest in me anyway.” He stuck his thumbs in his belt loops. “Besides, this is just between you and me.”

A private conversation? Fine. Zoe shrugged off a shiver and stepped out of the way. He deserved time to explain or whatever he had in mind. “Come in.”

Torin bowed his head and made his way into the apartment. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks.” She closed the door and folded her arms, unsure of what else to do. Torin held the power to bring her to her knees with one word. If he’d slip into his Master persona, she’d know where she stood with him. No, he had to use the damn pleasantries like head games.

“I bet you’re wondering why I’m back and what I’m thinking.” He kept his gaze low. “Can we talk?”

“I suppose. Would you like something to drink? I don’t have any wine. I gave up drinking a year ago, but I’m sure I can find something.” She bit the inside of her mouth. More information than he needed. “What will it be?”

“You.” Torin looked her straight in the eye. “I thought I could live without you.”

Talk about a curveball. Zoe wobbled on her feet and her stomach lurched. A twinge of hope sprouted in her mind and she tamped the thought down. No need to get excited.

“I see.” Not her best response, but at least she said something.

“Did you ever roll over in bed and expect someone to be there only to be alone?” He sat down on the arm of her chair and dropped his hands into his lap. “The familiarity you crave is gone and you can’t bring it back. You know?”

She did, all too well. Zoe threaded her fingers together. The legs of his jeans held snug against his legs, giving her a delicious view of his crotch and cock.

Torin shook his head. “I hurt you, didn’t I?”

“Really?” The emotions she’d held at bay burst forward before she could rein them in. “Hurt me? Oh, I don’t know. You walking out the door and not telling me why might have been it. Or was it seeing you with another woman the day afterwards? Better yet, going to see Renegade and hearing you say you were happily on the market. Yeah, you cut me deep.” Tears slipped down her cheeks. “You replaced me. Did you think I’d be okay? That I’d move on and cheer for you and whoever you ended up with? You ripped out my heart then tossed it on the ground. You were my Master, the only man I played with and you booted me. I haven’t taken another Master. I can’t. None of them are you. So blow that up your ass.”

“You haven’t taken another?” He forked his fingers into his hair. “All the apologies in the world don’t make up for what I did.” His shoulders sank. “Instead of following my heart, I followed what the band wanted. They said we’d sell more records if you and I were through.”

“You dumped me over record sales?” She threw her hands into the air. “Jesus. And here I thought it was because we played our sex games and you didn’t want everyone to know.”

“Zoe, that is true.” He surged to where she stood. He stooped to look into her eyes once more. “I scared myself with our games.”

“How?”

“When you screamed and whimpered, I convinced myself you weren’t doing it because it felt good. I believed I was hurting you. I scared myself thinking I’d go too far and actually bring you harm. What kind of man spanks his woman with a flogger hard enough he leaves marks? What kind of guy ties her up and fucks her? A guy who is fucked in the head and needs his ego inflated. I kept away from you so I wouldn’t hurt you and I made it worse.”

Zoe covered her mouth with both hands to buy time to think. Things made so much more sense. They’d never actually talked about the games they’d played. They just played until they dropped. He didn’t fully understand the reasons behind the actions.

“I told the guys I dumped you to get us out of a slump. I couldn’t tell them I felt like less of a man because I beat you.” He rose to his feet and waved his hands in the air. “I loved hearing you say Master, but fuck. I didn’t trust myself not to go too far.”

“You didn’t beat me.” She touched his arm, stopping his movements. “Torin, you spanked me, yes, and used rope, cuffs and a lot of other things but you never beat me in the nastiest sense of the word.” She threaded her arm around his and led him to the couch. “Sit with me.”

Torin perched on the edge of the cushion. Flash sauntered into the room and leapt onto his lap. “I see you still have her.”

Zoe scratched the cat behind her ears. “She was a gift from you. I couldn’t part with her.” The cat sniffed the air, then jumped onto the floor. “Besides, she’s my best friend. She listens when no one else will and lets me cry on her. Most of the time anyway.”

“Still nosy.” The corner of Torin’s mouth kinked into a smile. “I wanted to call you so many times.”

Zoe clutched his hand. “You’re here now.”

Torin tapped his foot. For being such a badass on stage, in the presence of Zoe he felt like a dork. She appraised him with a smile and kept her hand in his. She claimed he never actually hurt her. His brain refused to process her words. Visions of the red marks on her ass came to mind.

“I want to hear all the gory details. Tell me why you left.”

“I did.” His back ached from sitting up straight. “I’m a monster.”

“Maybe on stage, but not in the way you think. You work the crowd like few performers I’ve seen. Trust me, in front of seventeen thousand screaming fans, you kill.” She released her grasp on him and opened the panel on the coffee table. She retrieved a book from beneath the table. “But us? That’s something altogether different. See this?” She pointed to the photographs on the first page. “What we shared was something beautiful.”

He stared at the couple in the image. The man held a crop and posed behind a woman decked out in a blindfold, a chain draping from the collar about her throat to the cuffs adorning her wrists. Torin shifted his hips and turned to hide his erection. Heat enveloped his body and he imagined Zoe in the photo instead of the woman. His mouth watered and he yearned to be the one holding the crop. God, he missed Zoe.

“They do that out of love for each other. I know. I took the picture.” She caressed the image. “Juniper and Jacoby are dear friends of mine.” She flipped to another picture, this one where the woman sat in a swing while the man kissed her foot. “It’s a power play like ours is.” Her voice caught. “Ours was. Yes, he’s the one with the crop and the key to the cuffs, but she’s the one who ultimately controls things. If she says no, then that’s it. The same went for us. I know when I told you to stop, you would. You respected me, even if you thought you were hurting me.” She smoothed her hand over his cheek. “I’ve always been different. I need a little pain to give me the most pleasure.”

“Is that so?” Torin leaned into her touch. “You know you can’t show me photographs like that and expect me not to want you.”

“I know.” The rosy hue on the apples of her cheeks spread down the column of her throat to the upper swell of her breasts. “Turns me on, too.”

Torin kissed her hand, tasting the salt on her skin. She still smelled like wild flowers and so addicting. “I want you.”

Her lips parted and fire burned in her eyes. “Yes, Sir.”

The part of him swearing he’d hurt her lost out to the part of him needing to take her. He pulled her across his lap and held her tight to his groin. He feasted on her mouth. Zoe writhed on the bulge in his jeans and whimpered.

He broke the connection and held the hem of her blouse in his hands. “Mine, Zoe. All mine.”

Chapter Three

His. She shivered. No matter how many times she convinced herself she didn’t need him, she knew down deep in her heart it was a lie. But she had to say something to break the tension.

“The shirt is yours? I suppose.” She bit back a grin.

“The woman in it is.” Heat smouldered in his eyes. “I want you.”

Thoughts swirled in her mind. Telling him he hadn’t hurt her wasn’t enough. She needed to show him. “Sir, I want to play a new game with you.”

“How so?” One brow rose. “What kind?”

“You worry you’re hurting me.” Her hands trembled. “What if I demonstrate on you what you do to me?”

He stared at her for what seemed like an eternity before he nodded. “Yes. Put me in my place.”

“Not out of spite. Never out of spite.”

“No, babe. Because it shows we’re equal.” He nudged her off his lap and stood. Torin removed his jacket and placed it across the back of the chair. He then whipped his shirt over his head and popped the button on his jeans. His boots and socks ended up side by side on the mat while his shirt and pants were placed in a neat stack on the floor.

Pride welled in her heart. He did all the things he expected from her. She snapped her fingers. “Take off the boxers.”

Torin stepped out of his boxers and dropped to his knees on the carpet. “What should I call you? Mistress?”

“Mistress works.” She snapped her fingers. “Head down and crawl to the bedroom.”

“Yes, Mistress.” He bowed his head. His ass swayed as he moved across the carpet. The muscle in his body bunched and twisted with every graceful step.

The tattoo of her name still decorated his shoulder blades. Zoe followed on his heels. “You kept the tat, I see.”

Torin stopped at her bedroom doorway. “I did, Mistress. Wasn’t ready to let go.”

“Good.” She swatted his ass, leaving a rosy print in her wake. “Go on. You’re not there yet.”

He started forward and she slapped his bottom again. “Excuse me?”

The tips of his ears tinged a bright red. “I’m sorry, Mistress. Forgive me. Thank you, Mistress.”

“Better.” She gave him one more slap for good measure. Her hand tingled. She enjoyed the power, but wanted to give it back to him. First, she needed the tools to bind him. Shit. Her handcuffs wouldn’t fit his wrists. She tapped her bottom lip. There was the blindfold.

Torin came to a stop at the foot of her bed. He remained on all fours. She patted his head, then rummaged through her lingerie drawer in the bureau. “I have something for you, Pet.” She slid the silk through her fingers and suppressed a shiver. “I haven’t used this in a long time.” Not since him anyway.

“Stand, Pet.”

“Yes, Mistress.” Torin rose to his full height. “What next?”

Zoe pinched one of his nipples. “I didn’t give you permission to speak.” She tossed the items on her bed, then sat down on the mattress. “Remove my boots.”

Torin knelt at her feet and tugged the zipper down her leg. His touch scorched her to her soul. The glint in his eyes matched the mirth on his lips. He caressed her sock-clad foot, then moved to the other boot. Again, he lingered on her insole and rubbed the tense muscle.

“Wow,” she moaned. “Magic fingers.” She’d forgotten his talent at working her body. “Enough.” Or she’d likely melt into a puddle of goo. “Stay put.”

Zoe presented him with the blindfold. “Remember this? And you may answer.”

“I bought it for you.” He touched the pink satin. “For our first time in a hotel.”

“Now it’s your turn to wear it.” She stretched the elastic, then paused. “You need a safe word.”

“Hummus.”

She blinked. “Hummus it is. Then what don’t you want to do? What are the boundaries?”

“Same as yours.” His gaze shifted to the floor. “All of them.”

She tipped his chin. “All of what?”

“I want you in my ass.” No fear, no hesitation.

“I don’t have a strap-on here. But we can later.”

“Thank you, Mistress.” He closed his eyes and leant forward.

Zoe placed the blindfold over his eyes, then scurried off the bed. She gathered his arms behind his back and wrapped the length of silk from her robe over his wrists. Torin tugged against the bindings, then stilled.

“Stand.” She grabbed his arm and helped him up and away from the bed. “You’re in my hands.”

“Thank you, Mistress,” came his reply.

Zoe strolled around her play toy, taking in every delicious inch of his body. Torin spent time at the gym, no doubt. She ran her fingers over the dips and ripples of his back. The scent of musk and pine curled around her. The tingles in her belly shot out to her limbs. He possessed the body of a Greek God, albeit with a few tattoos sprinkled in for fun. She stopped again in front of him. His cock pointed to her and his sac sagged against his thigh. A barbell glittered from his right nipple.

Her mouth watered. Zoe scratched her nails over the bare nipple and took the pierced one between her teeth. Torin groaned and arched his back, giving her more of him. She flicked her tongue over the beaded skin. He moaned and shook his head. Trying to hold back? She wasn’t sure.

“Mistress.” He’d spoken out of turn.