Taking Chances (13 page)

Her heart thundered yes. She turned and examined him
and found caution, but she needed to be honest. She’d tell him the truth, ask
for what she needed, and if he couldn’t give it to her, she’d walk away, before
any more damage could be done.

“When I finally got to the club only to find out
you’d left with Anne.” She took a deep breath. “I made assumptions and left.
I’m sorry I didn’t trust you.” Her throat felt thick with her apology.

He brought up his knuckles and caressed her cheek.

“I do want us to move forward, but with just you and
me.
No one else, Jake.
I need to know you’ve made a
commitment.”

His lips pressed together, and he avoided her
scrutinizing gaze. He looked like a scared little boy.

“Look, Jake, if I’m going to move forward as your
sub, I will be your only sub.”

Still no response.
Her
heart missed a beat, and she backed away. She was finally willing to love
again, to put herself out there, and once more, it wasn't enough. She turned to
the fallen tree, unable to look at him.

Anguish swarmed over, and she wavered slightly on
her feet. She figured the quicker she let the feelings roll through, the
quicker she could go back to her cold dark shadow. Her arms instinctively
wrapped around herself. Monday morning, she’d still have a broken heart, but
she’d get back to her normal existence. Tears splashed her forearms. Her cold
place no longer held the comfort she needed. She didn’t want to go back there.

“Why did I pick you on Monday? I had a whole team to
pick from, and it had to be you, a woman capable of making me challenge all my
rules. I didn’t expect you, Lydia. I didn’t expect to want you so damn much.”

He pressed his body along the back of hers. She
leaned into him and laid the back of her head on his chest.

“Tell
me something you know for sure?” she licked her lips, cautious of the hope
fluttering in her belly.

He stopped her from turning around. “I know you’ve
earned another punishment, but I think I’ll save that for another night. It’s
nice out here, and I think you have too many clothes on. They’re a barrier
between us.”

“What—”

“You know what I want. Take them off, now.”

Should she, even if this would be their last night
together? The Lydia from last week would simply say no and walk away. She knew
submitting to him another second would only make the hurt last longer, but she no
longer cared. She needed to feel his control over her. She craved his control,
needed what he could give her.

One item at a
time,
and within
minutes she was bare to him.

His hand caressed her hip, and his approval warmed
her naked body. He slipped around her and laid a blanket along the wide fallen
tree. The spot was perfect for their ending. On Monday, they’d started their
week looking out here. It fit, like a bookend, nice and neat. He reached out to
her, and she ambled to him.

“Tonight, you’re mine.”

“Yes, Sir.”

His smile held the promise of wonderful wicked
things to come, causing a truth to tuck into her heart. She would always be
his. When she went back to her fantasy land she would have real experiences to take
with her.

His hands reached up and cupped her face. She looked
up into his eyes. This strong man wanted her on this night. Even if he couldn’t
handle the commitment, he wanted her tonight. His desire was inescapable. A
trap she freely accepted.

Strong lips took hers in a searing kiss. His lips
left hers to nibble on her
earlobe,
suck on her neck, and
finally her breast. Her body went up in flames, intense heat licked between her
legs. He looked into her eyes as his fingers dragged along her pussy. He raised
his hand exposing the evidence.

“You want to know what I know for
sure?
I know you like my touch.”

“I crave it, Sir.”

“Now, see what you do to me.”

Her hand eagerly sought out the front of his pants.
The large bulge pulsed hard in her hand, and excitement filled her. She stroked
him with the palm of her hand.

He grabbed her hand. “Return to your earlier
position on the tree.”

Not wanting to delay any longer, she returned to the
tree, straddled it and lay back on the thick blanket. She wondered if anyone
could be in their building now and looking out here. Nervous tickles licked at her
excitement. In all of her day dreams of this spot, none of them played out like
this. Reality was better than fantasy. A twinge of pain picked at her heart.

He stood over her, his gaze dragging across her bare
flesh and leaving heat in its wake. His hand snaked out and stroked from her
neck down the sides of her arms, pulling both her hands above her head. In a
quick move, he fastened her wrists with rope and knotted it to something
strong. His finger caressed her skin under the rope. It wasn’t tight, but she
couldn’t move. A tingle of excitement rushed through her veins.

He pulled back and stood there watching her. Vulnerability
at its sweetest claimed her breath.
This moment, this feeling
of anticipation, intoxicated her.
She drank him in as he stripped
himself bare and sheathed his hard cock in a condom.

“You look beautiful, sweetheart. Are you comfortable?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Do you remember your safe word?”

“Yes, Sir, red.”

“Excellent.”

He straddled the tree and raised her legs enough to
drape them over his thighs. He watched her as he pinched along her pussy lips,
raising their sensitivity. Next, his fingers rubbed her wetness all over her
pussy and down to her rosette.
The whole time his gaze held
her captive.
Sensation ran wild through her body. He’d be waiting a long
time if he expected her to protest. Her body was his.

Her heart ached for what it wanted and couldn’t
have. She shook her head in an attempt to clear out the pained thoughts. One
finger entered her pussy, stroking from the spot inside and out to her nub.
Another finger ran from her pussy down to her back entrance. He rubbed slow
circles and pushed past the tight barrier ring, pushing past her quivering
resistance.

His control over her stole her breath, causing her
heart to beat erratically.

“Keep your sights on me. You will not shy away from
me tonight, sweetheart. You will not hide. Not from me.”

She let her gaze sink back into his depths and found
understanding. He saw her wanting to retreat into her head. Even here, naked and
bound to this tree, she was tempted to hide from him.

Love is a strange and beautiful thing with smooth and
rugged edges. No longer would she rob herself of its splendor. She would follow.
She wouldn’t let him go without first giving him everything. She was falling in
love with this man, and she would let him see. Love had been hidden from her, and
she wouldn’t do that to another. No more hiding her feelings, not from those
she loved.

The nakedness of the moment intensified. Her body and
mind were stripped bare.

She would honor her love by giving all to him on this
night. A new power rushed through her veins. She could give the love she so
eagerly sought. There was no reason to hold back. Not even the heartbreak would
stop her from showing this man her true feelings. The heartbreak would come, but
first she would share herself. She would let her emotions run free tonight, and
tomorrow she’d pick herself up.

It occurred to her, the beauty in submitting to a Dominant
is infinite. She’d seen how natural it was to her this week, and now she felt
it fill her. Not only was she falling in love with this man, but she loved who
he allowed her to be, which was nothing but who she was. A strong determined
woman who goes after what she wants.

His domination ripped her free of her unneeded
walls. When she pulled away from the shadows, she could stand unencumbered and go
after what she wanted. Pleasure spread through her as the last of her shadows
drifted away from this safe place.

She lengthened her body and spread her thighs to
open further to him.

“You feel it now, don’t you?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“You are mine.”

“I am yours.”

He lowered over her. His left hand braced himself
above her shoulder. He hooked her leg over his hip and placed his cock at her
entrance.

“What else are you hiding from me?”

“Nothing.”
His
cocked head pulsed at her entrance.

“If you don’t tell me, you are hiding.” He pushed in
another inch and stopped. “I’ll go first, then, sweetheart … you will tell me.”
The back of his free hand caressed her face. “My intention this week had been
not to scare you, not to touch you, and by all means not to commit to you. I
know I failed at two, but I’m curious about the third.”

“Oh, Jake, I need you. Not just your touch and your
domination, but how we are together. We are a team. You opened my eyes to so
many things, and I can’t imagine them with anyone else.”

A dark smile seeped into his features. “Are you
telling me I didn’t scare you this week?”

“Scare, me? No, no way.”

He pushed his hard cock all the way back to her
cervix, filling her. “You want more of this?”

“Oh, yes, Jake. Please, yes, more.” Her hot pussy melted
around his intrusion, holding him. He had failed at two. If he had touched her and
had been curious if he scared her, then that meant he had committed to her.
“Jake?”

“The way I see it, I don’t break my rules for just
anyone.” He pulled out slowly and slammed back into her.

She moaned and took a series of quick breaths.
“Rules?”

“If you want me to break my rules, then you’re going
to have to give in.” He pulled out again and waited.

“Jake, please. I’m not hiding anymore.”

“I see that, sweetheart, but what are you expecting
in return?”

“Nothing.
My
heart and body are yours. What else could you want?”

“You don’t want anything in return? I find that hard
to believe. I think you’ve found a new cover. What are you so afraid of?” He
pulsed
his cock head in and out of her entrance.

“Oh, Jake, you’re going to break my heart, and that’s
okay, really. I’ve recovered before. I can do it again. Let’s not mar the
evening. Can’t we just enjoy this night together?”

“All right, have it your way. I’m going to break
your heart. Now, what if I don’t? What if you break mine?”

“I would never.” She wanted to laugh. His suggestion
was absurd, but after what had happened today it wasn’t. The idea frightened
her.

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure. You are damn well
capable of breaking my heart.”

She shook her head.

“You’ll expect nothing from me.”

“That’s right.”

“No expectations?” He continued the pulses at her
entrance.

“Yes.” She tried to control her breath as his
strokes drove her higher. “I won’t set any expectations. I won’t pick or nag
either.”

“I don’t want a doll. I want you, Lydia, all of you.
I want your submission when we are together like this, but I’m not looking for
your submission anywhere else. I want you to challenge me like you have this
week. I’m not picking and choosing which parts of you I love.” He pushed into
her a bit further.

“Oh, Jake.”
A
moan tumble from her lips, and her heart opened to the possibilities he was her
one. She’d been so wrong in her assumptions. The idea of her and Jake together
had lost its ridiculousness over the course of the week. A desperate need to
have him and love him always wrapped around her.

“In return, I will give you everything. I want you
to want all of me, too. Sweetheart, you woke me from my rules this week. My
heart is … yours. I’m falling in love with you, Lydia. I want you and only you
to be mine.”

“I’m falling for you, too.” He felt the same way she
did. The power of the moment with the love between them burned bright from her
head out to her toes. “No more hiding. I’ll share my feelings, and I’ll no
longer assume to know yours. I am yours, all yours, and you, Jake, are mine.”

He slammed his cock back into her tight sheath,
pumping in and out, over and over, binding them as one. She exploded first, and
his seed burst from his cock at a mighty speed. The white hot pleasure sealed
their paths.

Together they would move forward, demanding what
they wanted. Together they would share life and let the love shine through.

Epilogue

Three months
later

Jake settled on the couch in the club. He was ready
for the night’s event. The only question now was when would the
submissives
be ready?