“Or do you want me to drag you to the very edge of orgasm?” I clamped softly around a nipple I knew no man had ever touched before and squeezed it tightly. “Only to drag you back? To stop and leave you helpless?”

“That…,” she breathed, her lips wet from my kiss. “I want to be yours, to only feel pleasure when you allow it, to be chastised when I do wrong.”

“I think we’ll take it slow tonight, Stephanie.” That didn’t mean she would be the same when I finished with her, but it would be safe. “Give me your hands.”

I took another strip of silk from the drawer and tied her hands to the headboard. She’d be able to move them a little, but not far. She didn’t protest; she just let herself fall to the pillows and followed my lead. Her hands were over her head now, and her breasts were a temptation I found hard to ignore, even in her gown.

I liked the idea of leaving it on, the contrast of it against her skin, the innocence of it I was about to besmirch. Like some duke of the regency era, I thought with a silent snicker. She was my virginal toy, and I was about to ravish her. Kind of. She had set a limit of no penetration. I’d see how long that lasted.

10

EMILY

I t was only when he had me tied to the bed that it all became real.

Until that point, I’d taken it all in stride; I could back out, but this wasn’t so bad. He’d promised to take me where I wanted to go in the large bedroom with walls decorated with hooks. He’d promised he’d stop if I said red, and he’d slow down if I said yellow. It was all safe, legit, and cool.

Until he tied me down. That was when I almost panicked and almost screamed red. It was because of the blindfold. I didn’t know if he was looking at me, if he was sending a text; he could be doing anything. And there was nothing I could do about it. I told myself to relax. I tried to talk myself down, but I couldn’t. I needed to sit up. I needed another minute.

Mr. Dark, as I’d insisted he not tell me his name, placed a hand on the outside of my hip, and calm washed over me suddenly. “It’s alright, Stephanie. I know you want to stop, but just give it a moment. Relax into it. It’s become real, suddenly, and a little scary, but the fear will pass.”

He was right, or maybe it was that intimate touch, not sexual, just intimate, against my hip. Either way, calm came over me, and I was able to focus again.

“Are you claustrophobic?”

“No, it was just a moment. It’s gone now. You were right. Thank you.” I licked my dry lips and wondered if I should call him master. I thought that might be a line too far into cliché land, but if he wanted me to…

“Good. Now. I’m going to touch you, Stephanie, and I want you to lie very

still; do you understand? I don’t want you to move or wiggle around, just lie

very still.” His body slid down mine, until his face was around my hips.

I waited, breath held, until he told me to breathe with a soft laugh that relaxed me. I stayed there like that and concentrated on not moving a muscle. He rested his head against my hip and let me get used to that before his hand moved to my knee. He pushed my knees apart until my thighs began to spread. His finger spun tight circles around the inside of each knee, until he moved up a little.

Softly, slowly, he circled his way up my thighs, until his hand found the edge of my panties. They were nude colored, and I’d spent a long time in the bathroom as I wavered over whether to leave them off or on. I’d wished I’d taken them off now.

My excitement grew within me as he circled his way up my silky, smooth thighs. What was an invasive touch at first had now become exciting, and the apprehension flared into a need to move, to urge him to do more. I wanted to groan in disbelief when his fingers moved to the bare space of my hip, until his fingers met resistance again. I’d wanted him to tear the panties away, to slide beneath them; whatever it took to make it bearable.

He pushed the nightgown up then and explored the edge of the panties, his

fingers a skim on my stomach. I breathed through it all, but I was also concentrating hard on not moving. Don’t move, I repeated in my head, even though I wanted to. Don’t move, or he’ll stop and make the most incredible thing you’ve ever felt stop. Don’t move, or he won’t make you feel even more.

I didn’t want it to end, especially when his right hand moved up my left side, a swift movement that brought him to my ribcage, just below my breasts. I held my breath again but let it out when his finger traced the bottom curve of the skin that had never seen sunlight. At least, not outside it hadn’t. No man had ever touched me, not there, and it was a moment of discovery for me. I liked to be touched there.

“Tell me what you want, Stephanie,” he whispered against my hip.

“I want you to touch me.” Simple enough, right?

“Where?” he asked, a hint of impatience this time.

“There.” His finger had stopped its course up my breast, stilled now on the

inside curve, just across from my nipple, tighter than it had ever been before.

“Where there?” No impatience this time, just resignation. I didn’t like that disappointment there, and I wanted to make it go away. He was supposed to be pleased with me; I was supposed to please him, but I’d failed already.

“On my nipple. Please. You’re the only man who’s ever touched me there, and it feels so good when you do.”

“Who could turn down such a pretty request?” His finger slid over my skin,

pushed the gown up around my neck, until I was bare. His fingers closed over the sensitive skin, and I let out a breath of air when his fingers closed over it.

It was exquisite, not painful, but it made me want to move. I moaned softly as his finger squeezed tighter, and my hips twitched.

“Don’t move, Stephanie, or I’ll stop.” His lips, against my other hip, were a soft brush against my skin. His breath blew across the exposed skin of my hip.

I didn’t want to be disappointed in either of us when this was done, and if he would hold up his end of the deal, I’d try my best. “Yes, sir.”

“Mmm, a nice choice, Steph.” I felt a glow of pleasure for his praise. “It’s not necessary, but freely given it is a pleasure.”

I closed my eyes, happy that I’d done something right. I didn’t want to displease him, at all, not when his fingers felt so nice.

His face moved over the thin, silky fabric of my panties, until his mouth was just over my sex, his chin rested between my thighs, and I held my breath all over again.

“You know, if you spend the entire night holding your breath, you won’t enjoy this.”

I wanted to protest, to tell him I would, but I couldn’t concentrate on not moving and breathe properly when he teased me like that. Was he going to touch me down there? I’d seen it on videos, but was it really good? Did men really like it?

I mean, there was a smell there, not unpleasant, but different. Would he like the way I smelled? Tasted? He was experienced, so I was sure he knew the details of a woman’s body, but would I be right in that department?

His fingers squeezed even tighter, almost painful, just as he opened his

mouth over my panties. His teeth found that spot there, the one that ached the most, and I felt a buzz in my ears. His other hand came up to press his thumb there, and the buzz grew in intensity. “There, touch me there, please.”

It entered my head that I’d just begged a virtual stranger to touch my private parts, but I didn’t care. I wanted to know what it felt like when another human being touched me there, and he was about to show me. Even if it was through my panties. It still felt heavenly.

“Very good, Steph.” His fingers hooked into the panties for a moment, long

enough for his tongue to lick across the spot, and my hips moved. “But that’s not.”

“Don’t stop,” I begged, but he let the fabric go and replaced his tongue with his thumb.

“Lesson one. Don’t move.”

“But it felt…,”