“Now.”
Ethan released his hold on her and watched silently as she made her way to the bed. He loved that she didn’t try to cover herself up in any way. Taryn’s shoulders were back and her breasts were exposed, showing him that she was proud of her body. He knew there would come a time that she would push to see how far she could go within the parameters of this new relationship and he couldn’t wait to have her over his knee and receiving a spanking. She would challenge him like no other woman on the face of this planet.
While Taryn got into the position that he’d requested, he took his time to remove his boots. Ethan left his jeans on, knowing that would be for the best and wanting this to be about her. He refused to have this go down any other way than with her complete satisfaction and desire for more. He glanced over to see that she was lying in the middle of the bed with her arms above her head. Her nipples were puckered and hard, just waiting to be tasted. The light color was just the right shade of rouge and his mouth watered at thinking of what she would taste like. Her eyes were glued to him, watching his every move. He made sure she saw him pick up the soft material of her belt before kneeling beside her on the bed.
“We need to make do with what we have.” Ethan deliberately took his time wrapping the fabric around Taryn’s wrists in such a way that if she were to pull on them they wouldn’t tighten or restrict her circulation. He let the longer side fall back behind the mattress and was quickly able to secure it to the frame. “You never asked me why I play at the club.”
“I would have thought that was self explanatory,” Taryn said, testing the restraints. He heard her quick inhalation when she didn’t get far and the sound traveled straight to his core. It was settling into her that this wasn’t a game. “This is a little more intense than I thought it would be. Maybe we should—”
“When Jax and Connor bought the club, I was intrigued.” Ethan used one finger to trace down her arm and under the curve of her breast. Her skin was so soft. “I’d always loved having control in the bedroom, but it wasn’t until then that I realized why.”
“Why?” Taryn practically breathed the question out as she watched his hand move to the other side of her body. She didn’t wait for his answer before it was apparent another wave of doubt crept inside of her. “Ethan, this isn’t—”
“Having a woman’s pleasure in the palm of my hand is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. To be the one to give or take is a honor that I prize above everything else.” Ethan continued to trace her lines and curves, ignoring her sensitive regions. This was about getting to know her and where her subtle responsive areas were. “You know me better than anyone else on this planet, yet you don’t know this side of me. There’s a distinct adrenaline rush that causes the endorphins to release, just as they do you when you’re bound. I crave it.”
“I think I’ve changed my mind,” Taryn whispered, her focus now on him instead of where his fingers were caressing her abdomen. He watched as a trail of goose bumps followed in his wake. “We can skip this part and just have sex.”
“Really?” Ethan chuckled as he rimmed the pink lace of her silk panties. “I can see your heart rate accelerate by the pulse in your neck. Your breasts are rising quicker than before as I take my time to know your body. If I’m not mistaken, you’re enjoying this immensely. Shall we see how much so?”
“Wait!”
Ethan trailed his fingers over her panties and down to where the dampness appeared from her cream. Taryn closed her legs tightly and would have moved away from his touch had he not stopped her. Now was the time to set the ground rules.
“No.” Ethan maneuvered himself lower onto the bed, able to hook his fingers under the lace of her panties and slowly pull them off of her. He made sure that their gazes stayed connected. “I want to see all of you, Taryn. You’re finally starting to understand me for who I really am. Let me show you the rest of me.”
Taryn held her breath and Ethan wondered if she’d relax her body enough so that he could finish exploring. They stayed the way they were as she took her time debating, but he never once wavered his touch as he continued to caress her thighs. He couldn’t afford to falter.
“Again, this is a side of me that you’re not familiar with,” Ethan said, wrapping his fingers around her ankles and slowly spreading them apart. “You’ve only watched scenes unfold at Masters and have never participated in one. I’ll take it slow, Taryn, but I want to explore what you’ve given me tonight. With that said, I want your legs to remain open while I discover your secrets.”
“And if I don’t?”
Taryn provoked him with a raised eyebrow and Ethan smiled, no longer worried that she was confused or guarded in what was about to happen. She would full on participate and more than likely enjoy the banter for control…only they both knew that he would come out on top. It’s what she needed, it’s what he wanted…and what he would give her.
“Do you really want to find that out at this particular moment?”
* * * *
Taryn had suppressed laughter numerous times throughout what any Dominant would call a scene. Ethan was right. She’d never participated in one and found it quite funny that he thought he could pull this off with her. Only now, witnessing the intensity and knowing that he wouldn’t allow her to get away with anything other than what he permitted was settling in…and from her body’s response she was thriving on it.
Did she want to have a spanking? Hell, yes. But not right now. Right this minute Taryn wanted to do what he said and take the pleasure that he wanted to give her. It felt odd that he was seeing her in this manner, but not as strange as she would have thought. It just felt warm, exciting in a new way as if discovering a forbidden secret.
Taryn relaxed her muscles as Ethan continued to spread her legs and found she liked the challenge of keeping them wide open for him. He had to have known that as well. She thrived on dares of any nature, but this promised to be something more than just the satisfaction of achieving one’s goal. It guaranteed her pleasure beyond what she’d ever experienced.
“Oh!”
Taryn hadn’t expected to feel his mouth on her ankle or the warmth of his tongue as he traced it up the side of her calf. Holy hell, that felt good. She went to bring her hands down to touch him, but the cloth held them in place. As his mouth inched closer to her pussy, she found it ever so difficult to keep still. She heard a sound emit around the room as he lightly bit her inner thigh. Had that sound come from her?
“Has anyone ever taken the time to kiss your entire body?” Ethan murmured, his body suddenly above hers. Taryn opened her eyes, not even realizing that she’d closed them, and met his. This wasn’t her friend. This man was now her lover and the thought terrified her. “Taryn? I asked you a question.”
“No,” Taryn replied, shaking her head.
“Good. I like that.”
As if they hadn’t even spoken, Ethan slowly dipped his head until his soft lips touched her neck. Taryn moved her head to the side, wanting more of the tingling sensation and ignoring the trepidation that tried to invade her senses. It felt better to give herself over to him than to allow her fears to get in the way. For what seemed like an eternity Ethan did exactly what he promised. There wasn’t an inch of her body that wasn’t kissed, licked, or nibbled…with the exception of her nipples and pussy. By the time he was done, it was all she could do
not
to wrap her legs around his waist and order him to take her.
“You’re such a good girl to not move your legs,” Ethan whispered against her ear, his breath teasing her senses. Why did those words make her wetter and more aware of her body? It felt like pinpricks were everywhere and he was the only one who could relieve her of this itch. “Now I want to explore the back of you.”
Taryn hadn’t realized that she’d fisted the strap that he had somehow tethered to the bedframe. Within seconds she was lying on her stomach and enjoyed the feel of the sheets on her nipples. It was practically killing her that Ethan hadn’t touched her there. He knew it too.
“Keep your legs spread,” Ethan said, right before his warm lips landed on the back of her neck. She could almost hear the rest of that sentence…
if you can
. Of course she could. She hummed in pleasure and pressed her head farther into the mattress, wanting more of what he was making her feel. “If I see your upper body move, I stop.”
Taryn bit her lip to suppress the groan that rose up in her chest. The son of a bitch knew that her nipples were aching in need and he didn’t want her to relieve the pressure. If he thought she couldn’t do it, he was sadly mistaken. She wasn’t sure what kind of women or subs he’d been with in the past, but she could handle anything he dished out.
As Ethan had done with her front, he spent what seemed an eternity licking, kissing, and nibbling every part of her backside until she felt ready to explode. How was it that when she took matters into her own hands she had never come close to feeling this aroused? One stroke on her clit would send her over the edge. She was having trouble breathing by the time he was done and he’d yet to touch her pussy. There had to be a wet spot on the sheets from where she was dripping her cream.
“I’m in awe of your restraint,” Ethan said softly, assisting her until she was once again on her back. She felt like she’d run a marathon and she was usually damn good at those. She held her breath when his hand lingered over her left breast. “Though the fact that I can bring your body to such heights without touching
all
of you confirms my belief that what we have is more than physical.”
Taryn was surprised when Ethan’s lips gently sealed over hers. It was so unexpected with how severely her body was straining for more pressure, more something. By no means did it bring down the temperature of her body, but he did display the sincerity in this undertaking they’d started. At least she thought they’d started. Why was he untying her hands?
“What are you doing?” Taryn asked, tearing her mouth away from his. She searched his eyes for an answer and when he closed them, it was obvious he wanted the same thing she did. So why stop? Her heart started racing at the thought of him changing his mind now that he’d convinced her to embark on this new path. “Ethan?”
“Tonight gave us exactly what we wanted.” Ethan pulled the strap of fabric away from her wrists and let it fall beside them. His words weren’t making any sense. “I took time to explore your body and now know what you like and don’t like. I know what causes you to moan, I recognize what causes you to whimper, and I sure as hell can discern what makes your arousal spike faster than any bullet fired from my Sig.”
“Then what the hell are you doing?” Taryn asked, sitting up. Ethan’s gaze went directly to her breasts, which didn’t surprise her. What did amaze her was his restraint. His hard-on could hammer nails if the bulge underneath his denim was any indication. Fuck it. She’d take matters into her own hands. “Take’em off.”
Taryn reached for his jeans with every intention of stripping the thick material off of his legs, but his hands caught hers instead. Ethan shook his head, a smirk on his face that made her want to smack him. She used her strength and weight to push him back onto the bed.
“You just don’t start something that you don’t intend to finish,” Taryn declared, straddling him and not caring that he could see every part of her. “What kind of Dominant are you?”
Taryn hadn’t even blinked before she was on her back, his covered hard-on situated directly over her clit. Her hips instantly bucked up and forward, straining for more of that sweet traction. Ethan had also taken hold of her wrists, which he held tightly beside her head. Now they were getting somewhere.
“Questioning my manhood isn’t winning you any points,” Ethan said, his lips inches from hers. She did notice that the green of his eyes sparked with hunger and she waited for the inferno that was inevitable, regardless of the words he was practically growling. “As I said, tonight was about me getting to know you. I did that. Now we’re going to order up some room service and go over what we’ve learned on the case today.”
“Are you fucking with me?” Taryn asked, not sure Ethan was being serious. Her body was slightly coming off the high he’d created but not near enough so that she could eat dinner and concentrate on the case. “We’re going to finish what we started.”
“Why do people keep asking me that?” Ethan grumbled before kissing her quickly one more time and lifting himself off of the bed. Taryn lay there in shock for a brief second before standing in front of him. “We are taking things slow, one day at a time. You said yourself that you were worried that my spontaneity would ruin our friendship. I’m proving to you that this isn’t an impulsive decision.”
“Fine,” Taryn said, throwing up her hands. “It’s proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Now, can we continue?”
“Continue?” Ethan once again closed the distance between them and leisurely kissed her, informing her of the fact that she was getting used to these intimate touches. “Taryn, from this point forward there is nothing stopping us except unfounded fear. I won’t let that happen. I want you just as much as you want me, but we’re waiting until I know the time is right. Until then I’ll continue to explore your body and there will be times I’ll allow you to do the same to me. But from this point forward, everything that goes on between us sexually I take responsibility for. You don’t need to worry about anything other than the case. I have your pleasure, mind, and heart in the palm of my hands. When you cut the strings to allow me to be the only one holding them, that’s when we’ll consummate this newfound relationship.”
Ethan’s words didn’t diminish what her body was feeling. Her sexual hunger hung in limbo. If anything, he aroused Taryn even further and she contemplated lying on the bed and taking matters into her own hands in front of him. A part of her was well aware that sexual pleasure wasn’t what this entire exchange was about, so she couldn’t garner the physical satisfaction yet. Whatever this was it was life-altering, and she knew enough when to let nature take its course. In this case, it was her handing over control to Ethan and she found that she liked it more than she would have thought possible. He’d been hiding many facets from her and she couldn’t wait to peel back the layers. She had finally…definitely met her match.