SAMPLE
There was nowhere that I felt more alive than in this room with this man. My heart was pounding, my skin tingling, my senses all heightened. I waited, each second absolute agony, to see what he would do next.
He started working on my pants, unbuttoning the fly and revealing an inch of skin at a time. His fingers were nimble, though he seemed to intentionally delay his progress as he pushed them down over my hips. It took a while, but the slow pace and his total focus made me that much warmer.
How he looked at me. How he touched me. It was almost impossible to remain still. I wasn’t breathing normally. Instead of slow, shallow and steady breaths, I was gasping.
When he had my pants off, he stepped back, smiled. “Perfect.”
“I’m so glad you like what you see.”
“I love what I see.”
Love. My heart skipped a beat or two. Maybe even three.
I felt my face heating up, my cheeks turning pink.
“Ah, there’s that pretty flush.” He caught the center of my bra with his index finger and tugged. “Hmmm. I should have taken this off before I cuffed your wrists, I suppose. Oh well.” Moving so close, I felt his body heat radiating over my chest, he focused his gaze on mine. His hands skimmed around my ribcage to my back, found the hooks and, in a snap, had them undone. My breath caught in my throat. “Look. That flush has spread.” His dark gaze wandered lower, to my chest. My ni**les pulled into hard, aching points.
I whimpered.
“Sshhh,” he whispered, looking wicked and sexy. He pushed the cups of my bra up, exposing my flesh to his eyes, his mouth, his hands. He took full advantage, as I knew he would. He pinched one nipple between his left thumb and index finger until the pain was as sharp as a blade, piercing my insides. Then he laved the other with his warm, smooth tongue.
Pain. Pleasure. They blended inside me, swirling round and round, stoking fires ignited deep inside.
How I loved his world. Dark. Dangerous. Sensual. In this place I could explore the forbidden. Without shame. Without guilt or doubt.
My fingers curled into tight fists. My knees softened. I was melting. Already. Losing myself in ecstasy.
“There are so many things I want to show you, to teach you. This is only the beginning.” He scraped his teeth across my nipple, and my spine arched. Oh God, it was delicious agony.
“Yes teach me. I want to please you.”
“You do. In every way.” He flicked his tongue down the center of my chest, between my br**sts. “The way you breathe pleases me.” His hands brushed down my sides, fingers spanning my ribcage. “The way you smell pleases me.” His tongue dipped into the shallow hollow of my belly button. “The way you tense beneath my touch pleases me.” Lower, he was moving lower, squatting before me. The tissues between my legs started to pulse with heat. “The way you writhe in ecstasy pleases me.” His hands curved over my hips, holding them in place. “Open your legs for me.”
I widened my stance.
“Wider.”
I shuffled my feet farther apart.
“Wider, Bristol. I need you open, wide open.”
I moved them even farther apart. My inner thigh muscles burned. My arms—still fastened at the wrists in the cuffs—stretched.
“Yes. Better.” His lips caressed my shaven mound. “Delicious.”
I quivered. His voice was low and husky. It vibrated through me like an electrical current. My insides clenched as he fastened one ankle then the other.
Bound. Both wrists. Both ankles. I was completely at his mercy now.
What would he do? What delightful pleasures would he introduce to me now?
One of his hands inched around to my wet center. The tip of one finger slipped between my nether lips to tease my clit. I would have crumpled to the ground if I hadn’t been shackled. My knees buckled, leaving all my weight to be supported by my cuffed arms. I straightened my legs right away.
“Ah, you’re going to have to stay strong, minx.” He flicked that wicked finger over my cl*t again, and I locked my knees to avoid falling again. “That’s better. Now, let’s take it to the next step.”
The next step. What might that be? The muscles in my thighs were twitching. My bones felt like mush already. And my insides…they were simmering. I was a mass of writhing desperation. I couldn’t be still, despite the chains.
He stood, his big, hard body mere inches from me but beyond my reach. I could smell him. I could see him. I could practically taste him. But I could not touch him. It was so cruel. And thrilling.
He stripped off his shirt. My gaze slithered down his flexing, muscular torso, bumped over his abs and stopped at the waist of his pants.
“Are you ready to see more?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You’ll have to earn it.”
Chapter 1
I need her. More than my next breath. More than life itself. I never wanted to need someone.
How did this happen? How did she break through my defenses?
A few short weeks. She’s been the center of my life for that long. Only that long. And yet in that short time she has turned my world on its side. Everything is different now.
Different and better.
Different and worse.
I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. I can’t work. I can’t do anything without thinking about her, wondering what she’s doing, aching to touch her, to hear her sweet voice. In just a few weeks she has become the center of my universe.
When I lose her--and I know I will because there isn’t a single person or thing I’ve loved that I haven’t lost--I will be destroyed.
* * * * *
“Miss Deatrich?”
That was me. Bristol Deatrich.
Unemployed Bristol Deatrich.
Hopefully soon-to-be newly-re-employed Bristol Deatrich.
Thinking positively, I stood and smiled.
The woman standing at the door gave me a once over. Her stern expression didn’t change. My positive attitude wilted a smidge. “This way, please,” the woman indicated the doorway behind her with the tip of her head.
Leaving my smile in place, I grabbed my tote-slash-briefcase and followed her. Her office was a typical barebones space. White walls, gray industrial carpet. Desk. Chair, File cabinet. Bookshelf. Framed Ansel Adams inspirational posters.
She sat in her chair behind the desk, and I took the one facing her. I tried not to hyperventilate as she flipped through the contents of the folder lying open on her desktop. “Do you have a copy of your resume?” she asked dully.
“I do.” I pulled out a fresh copy and set it on the desk. My hand shook a little. I placed it in my lap with the other one so she wouldn’t notice.