She put her purse on the floor, tugged out her phone and then took my hand. I kept the contact light. Once we were inside…
I counted down the moments. Unlocking the door, I turned to the keypad next to the entrance and entered in a code. “I’ll give you your own for here. I only ask that you bring no one else.”
“Done.”
I paused as I closed the door, then reset the alarm before I glanced at her. In the dim light cast by the runners along the ceiling, her eyes took on the softness shape. Open, no guile or cunning to keep me out. Emotion filled those hazel eyes of hers. Like the chips of gold amongst the dark forest, she offered me something beyond precious.
“I will never willingly hurt you,” I promised. “But I am… raw and I need so much.”
“Then take it,” she said, flattening her hand against my chest and the contact burned even through the fabric of the shirt.
“If it’s too much,” I told her, and when she would have opened her mouth, I pressed a finger to her lips. “If you are uncomfortable or frightened or even just overwhelmed, you will tell me to stop. One word. One syllable, Lainey. Then it stops. Tell me you understand.”
This close, her pupils seemed to swell and drown out the color. Her nostrils flared, and her breath got a bit of a hitch to it. But not once did she pull away or look disturbed.
She pressed a kiss to my finger then whispered, “I understand. Take what you need.”
Closing my eyes, I sucked in a deep breath. I wanted to smell nothing that wasn’t her, feel nothing that wasn’t her… “I love you,” I whispered before I slid an arm around her waist and lifted her.
She hooked her thighs to my hips like she’d known what I was going to do. I stalked through the loft, ignoring the space as I carried her toward the riser where the bed was.
Every inch of this loft was mapped out in my mind. I knew where the chairs sat. How many steps to climb to bring me to the level where the bed sprawled. I knew where the silks and the ropes were stored.
More, I had the one woman who might be willing to indulge this side of me without question or reservation. A woman I trusted that I cared about more than I craved the release of losing myself in utterly.
At the bed, I dipped to lay her down. When she would have sat up, I pressed a hand to her chest. “Stay,” I ordered. I needed to be in control. She said she could give me that, so I allowed her a moment to decide.
When she went slack and settled against the black bed covers again, I nodded. I didn’t bother with lights, I didn’t need them. The low ones along the ceiling were enough. They came on automatically at dark and shut off a few hours later. Another security feature. The windows overlooking the city also added another layer of twinkling lights. The mirrored exterior kept anyone from looking in.
Her boots came off with a gentle tug. I was careful of the knives she had stored there. Then I peeled off her socks, her pants and panties came next.
I paused for a moment to check the scrap of silk. It was soaking wet and smelled only of her. I lifted it to take a cleansing breath. Then another.
The beast raging inside my skin settled, the clawing sensation relaxing. We had what we wanted right now. We had Lainey.
I had her.
It would soothe that primal side until we could extract the punishment owed in blood, pain, sweat, and tears. For now, I pushed all that away. None of that belonged here.
Setting aside her clothing, I stroked my hands up her legs to her bare pussy and pressed a kiss to the mound. Her arousal perfumed the air. As tempted as I was to lick, nibble, and taste, I would get distracted. There was so much more I wanted to do first.
“Sit up,” I commanded, taking her hands and helping her sit now. With care, I pushed off her jacket and she unbuckled the gun holster. I could have done that but I didn’t argue. Getting her naked was the goal.
At least, it was the first goal. I set the gun to the side, away from us and then helped her shed the shirt and finally her bra. When she wore nothing but her skin, I leaned in close to take another deep breath of her.
A shiver raced over her and her nipples went hard and peaked. How lovely they were and I had barely gotten started. Taking her stack of clothes I moved them to a chair, then I pulled out a mask from the nightstand drawer.
I had all the tools here, all the equipment. None of it was used. Everything I’d stocked here had been for her specifically. Before when I allowed myself to play, I’d always done it somewhere controlled where others could intervene if necessary.
Moving back to her, I dangled the mask before I teased it against her cheek. She tilted her head back, letting me see her throat.
“On your knees on the bed.”
She swung her legs up and moved gracefully to her knees. It brought her head level with my chest and I let out another sigh. The obedience sanded off the jagged and broken bits that threatened to stab and cut me.
When I covered her eyes, I kept my attention on her face as I secured the mask behind her hair. It would block out everything in her vision. I’d tried several until I found the perfect one.
This was cut from the softest silk, it wouldn’t chafe or leave marks. It would sit like a kiss over her eyes.
“Good?” I asked once it was in place.
She swallowed once then she took a deep breath, the sharpness of her inhale audible.
“Excited,” she admitted and I almost wondered if she’d flushed. She did that sometimes. For all her pragmatic spirit and daring nature, she was still new to many different things. I hadn’t forgotten her reactions at the club or the museum.
I’d never been more grateful for her openness than I was right now.
“Good,” I whispered, stroking her cheek with one finger then trailing it down her throat to her breasts. I didn’t quite connect with the nipples and when she swayed toward my finger, I gave that breast a little slap.
Nothing damaging, but the sharpness of the sting caught her off guard and she let out a hiss.
“Stay still,” I told her. “I get to touch. I get to decide. All you do is get to feel.”
Another small test. I had faith in her. She could do this. She said I could have whatever I wanted.
She was what I wanted.
Wetting her lips with a swipe of her tongue, she nodded once. “I’ll stay still…”
