“Stop looking at me like that,” Rafe said as he turned around to gaze at her from the bag he was packing. “There’s no other place I’d rather be right now.”
She watched him sort through his clothes on the floor and grab various items.
The officer and Rider stepped back into the room as he zipped the duffle. “Well, the good news is, he didn’t do the same to your condo. He must have known with certainty you weren’t staying there.” The man stepped back to let Rafe and Katy pass. “I’ll follow you to the hotel and make sure you’re secure, and then I’ll head back to the precinct. Someone will contact you in the morning.”
Rider told Rafe he’d call in the morning also, and then he left.
Rafe grabbed Katy’s suitcase while she gathered up her briefcase and computer. Neither item appeared to have been tampered with. Hopefully Crowder had rummaged through everything in an effort to scare her.
It worked.
She didn’t say a word as they drove to the hotel Rafe selected and leaned against the counter in a haze as he paid for a room. She tried to hand him her credit card when they arrived, but he glared at her.
By the time they were in their suite with the door locked and the officer gone, Katy was practically sleepwalking. She lifted her head and glanced around. The room was huge and there were two bedrooms off the main living area. The idea of sleeping alone didn’t appeal to her at all, but she wasn’t surprised. It wasn’t as though the two of them had been sleeping together up to this point.
Rafe led her into one of the bedrooms and pulled back the comforter. “You’re exhausted. Sleep. Things will look better in about eight hours.”
Katy kicked off her shoes and wiggled out of her jeans, not caring what Rafe saw of her. She climbed into the bed and curl onto her side. At that moment nothing mattered except rest.
•●•
Rafe sat in front of the television the next morning flipping through the channels and keeping the volume as low as possible. Katy still slept. He’d peeked into her room several times, but she was out cold.
He had slept hard himself, but not as many hours. He hadn’t been through as much as she had yesterday nor been as stressed to begin with.
Muting the sound, he set the remote down and leaned back on the couch, tipping his head toward the ceiling. He went over the events of last night time and again in his mind.
Katy hadn’t run screaming from the fight, and she hadn’t run screaming from the club. Those were good signs. He wasn’t exhaling yet because in the light of day she could very well decide he was loony and take off. But he thought he had a running chance after the way she’d reacted to the bondage scene.
A soft noise alerted him to her arrival and he twisted his neck to watch her pad over to where he sat. She climbed up on the couch next to him, curled herself into a ball and leaned against his chest. She still wore the same thing she’d gone to bed in, those damn black lace panties and the tiny camisole he knew covered the matching lace bra.
He wrapped an arm around her. She looked smaller all wadded up next to him. “Did you sleep?”
“Yes. Like a rock. Thank God.”
“Good. Your brain must be on overload.”
“Yes.” She lifted her face to him. “What happened last night?”
That was a loaded questions.
Which part?
Her eyes were wide. “At the club. Extreme?”
“You were enthralled by the scene.”
“Yeah. Does it mean anything? I can’t get it out of my mind.”
He smiled. “It means you do have submissive tendencies and maybe I have a chance with you.” He squeezed her tighter.
“Are you sure? I mean just because I was aroused watching doesn’t mean I want to participate.”
“But you did. You let me top you, and it made you aroused.”
“True.” She bit her lower lip. “But I’m so confused.”
“And that’s okay too. You don’t have to make life-altering decisions right this second, Katy. Sit on it a while. Think about it. I’m not going to push you or rush you. The last thing I would want would be for you to enter into an arrangement you aren’t sure about.”
“But you won’t sleep with me.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I won’t. It wouldn’t be fair. To either of us.” He had to give her space. Let her figure it out on her own. If he pressured her, she would never be sure of her motivations. If he slept with her, he would never be able to let her go.
Rafe’s phone rang and he reached for it on the coffee table. It was the officer from the night before. Rafe looked at Katy’s face as he listened. The conversation was brief. They still had no leads. No one had seen Crowder since his release except Katy and they were doing everything they could.
“Did you hear all that?” Rafe asked as he disconnected.
“Yes.” She sighed. “Damnit.”
“They’ll get him. We have to be patient.”
A moment later a second call came in. “It’s Rider,” Rafe said. “Hey,” he answered.
“Hey, yourself. You okay?”
“Yep. We’re are safely ensconced in this nice hotel awaiting word.”
“Well I can tell you that me and the other guys will be over at your place in about an hour installing a security system.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that. You guys are the best.”
“You know I think of you as a brother. How’s Katy?”
Rafe glanced down at her again. “She’s shook up, but she’ll be okay once they get this asshole off the streets.”
“Yeah. That shit sucks. I’ll let you know if I hear any rumblings at the station.”
“Thanks. And thanks again for everything you’re doing for us today.”
“No problem. Later.” Rider hung up.
“That’s nice of him. I don’t know that I have five friends who would gather together and come to my rescue like that,” Katy said.
“You have good hearing,” Rafe teased.
“Your officer friends are loud,” she shot back.
“I ordered breakfast. Continental. Didn’t know when you would wake up, but thought you might be hungry.”
“Thanks.” She didn’t move. “For everything.”
Rafe lifted her to standing. “Go put something on before I break my word.”
She glared at him with a twinkle in her eye. “Hmm. That’s too tempting.”
“Remember when I threatened to spank your sexy ass?”
She gasped, her mouth opening. “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.” He grinned. “You should know better after visiting the club last night that I wasn’t kidding. You want to feel my hand on your ass? I’ll gladly help you out. But that’s more than you’re ready for. And I’d rather not.”
Katy turned and fled the room.
That’s what I thought
.
Later that night Katy flipped over in her bed for the millionth time. She couldn’t shut her eyes, let alone sleep. Visions of the experience at the club had tortured her the entire day.
Rafe had distracted her with checkers and cards, and then they both tried to get some work done on their respective computers. But the truth was the many aspects of BDSM were never far from her mind.
When she finally excused herself to get away from his enticing scent and broad shoulders, Katy found herself pacing in her room. She’d flounced onto the bed half an hour ago, but every time she closed her eyes she saw nothing but that submissive from last night kneeling on the ground, her feet spread, her eyes covered, her hands lifted in the air.
The sub’s nipples had been permanently pebbled from arousal and she’d licked her lips repeatedly. When Katy imagined the Dom swiping his finger through the woman’s sex¸ she moaned in frustration.
Katy attempted to rub herself through her panties, the silk covering her pussy easing her finger over her clit. She closed her eyes and visualized that scene, repeating it over and over in her mind from beginning to end.
“Come,” the man had ordered.
Fuck. Katy’s frustration grew. She couldn’t get herself off. She squirmed out of her panties and thrust two fingers into her channel to rub over her G-spot. She lifted her hips off the bed, digging her heels into the mattress. Nothing. She couldn’t do it.
She longed for one of the vibrators she had left at home, wishing she hadn’t omitted such a vital piece of equipment in her original packing.
The only thing she wore now was the pale pink negligee that had ridden up her body. She pushed it the rest of the way over her breasts and pinched a nipple with one hand while she resumed stroking her clit with the other.
She twisted her nipple and flicked her clit for several minutes, alternating where she applied the pressure. Even in her most sensitive areas with the images of last night replaying in her head, she couldn’t get off.
She flopped her knees wider in frustration. “God damnit,” she muttered out loud.
She looked around the dimly lit room. The only light came from a small nightlight in the connected bathroom. Maybe if she could tie herself to the bed, she could create that feeling of heightened need only the bondage would provide.
She groaned. How the hell was she going to do that to herself? She worried she was ruined to all vanilla sex now that she’d seen what else was out there.
She wanted what that woman had experienced, and she wanted it now.
Katy stood, smoothed her lingerie over her body and padded out of the room.
The main area was dark. Rafe had also gone to his own room. Was he sleeping yet?
Katy eased the door open and found him sitting on the bed, a book in his hand, a small light illuminating the pages.
He smiled at her and set the book aside. “Can’t sleep?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to sleep again, actually.” She hesitated at the door, unsure what to say.
Rafe waited, putting the ball in her court and forcing her to admit defeat.
“I want what that woman had last night. I need to come so badly I can’t think straight.”
He watched her for a second. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Just yes?”
“Yes, Sir.” She straightened to her full height and lowered her gaze as he’d commanded last night. She assumed that was a standard position in his world. She’d do anything. She needed release so bad. “I’ll do whatever you want. Make me feel like I did last night. Make me feel what that woman felt at her master’s hand.”
“We can’t go backward. I need you to be sure. Once we cross this line, it can’t be uncrossed. It changes you. It changes
us
.”
“I know, Sir.”
“Come over here.” Rafe swung his legs from the bed and stood. He wore only boxers.
She didn’t look at him directly, but she could see that much from the top of her vision. She obeyed, shuffling toward him. Her entire body shook, but she was determined to see this through. Already her pussy was wetter than it had been at her own hand minutes ago.
“Kneel on the floor.”
Katy lowered herself to the ground.
“Put your hands behind your back and clasp them.”
She awkwardly followed his instructions.
“Good.” He circled her, unnerving her entirely the way he scrutinized her stance. “Pull your shoulders back farther.” He set his hands on her biceps and helped her achieve the desired position. “This is the first position of submission. I call it ‘kneel.’ You’ll do this any time I request it. If we agree to make this arrangement more permanent, you’ll spend a lot of time naked in this position.”
Tremors wracked her body as he spoke.
“I like this.” He thumbed the spaghetti straps of her nightie. “But I prefer naked most of the time.” He lowered himself and grasped the material at her thighs.
As he eased it slowly up her body, she lifted her arms to allow him to remove the skimpy fabric. She’d wanted to be naked with him for weeks, and now she was. Naked and completely at his mercy. She lowered her arms back to the position at the small of her back.
“Keep your shoulders back so your breasts lift,” he ordered. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Katy sucked in a quick breath. He was serious.
Suddenly he stepped in front of her and lifted both breasts with his hands. “So sexy. I’ve been dying to see them.” He thumbed her nipples. “Ah. Beautiful. I love how they respond to my touch.” He pinched them, shocking her.
She flinched.
“Stay still, baby.”
She tried, but her trembling increased. And she squirmed when she felt wetness trickle down her leg.
“Spread your knees wider.”
She walked them apart several more inches.
“Always keep them about shoulder width apart. Understand?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Do you want me to continue?”
“Yes, Sir.”
More than anything in the world
.
He grazed his hands across her shoulders and up to her chin. He lifted her face. “You can still back out. It’s never too late. I’d be disappointed and harder than hell, but I would never force you to do anything you aren’t ready for.”
She nodded in his grip.
“This isn’t a game for me. It’s a way of life. I promise I will make you feel things you’ve only dreamed, but I won’t go backward after we’ve had sex. I can’t.”
“Please.” She heard the pleading in her voice. An ached grew in the pit of her stomach as though her body were also begging for the release he promised.
“You won’t want to go back to vanilla after I’ve taken you. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sir.”
He released her face and circled behind her. “What about that scene made you so horny last night? Tell me the details.”
Oh God. Is he kidding?
Katy licked her lips.
“Go ahead.” He came back around front and leaned casually against the bed, crossing his legs nonchalantly in front of him as though they were in a business negotiation.
In a sense they were. She was demanding sex, and Rafe was bargaining for the best deal.
“I first noticed how she was, um, secured.”
“So the fact that she was restrained made you hot.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“What else?”
“The blindfold, Sir. It must be arousing not knowing what he’s going to do.” She swallowed. “Every touch made me flinch at the same time she did.”
“So blindfolds are something you’re willing to explore, as well as restraints.”