Authors: Maddie Taylor
“Reality shock is the real bitch.” That got a snort of disgust from her strained lips, which he ignored. “I try to prepare my students for it every day.”
“How did you deal with it when you started?”
“I didn’t internalize it like you do, babe. Plus, I ran, played basketball, swam laps. If I can’t convince you to change specialties, you need to find a way to discharge this negative energy before it tears you up inside.”
She glanced at him sharply and rolled off the other side of the bed. “Like what? I’ve tried yoga, like you suggested, and meditation, plus guided imagery, progressive relaxation and deep breathing. Jogging didn’t work because my boobs are too big and it hurt my knees, not to mention giving me shin splints. I suggested medical marijuana, which I hear is highly effective, but you vetoed that.”
“You still can’t get it legally yet, Lanie.”
“Too bad. Will you look the other way while I blaze up a joint?”
“Absolutely not,” he grumbled, glaring at her. He’d seen too many students ruin their lives turning to drugs to cope with stress. He had other ideas.
With a dismissive snort and an eye roll, she retorted, “I didn’t think so. For a college professor you sure are uptight. What’s next, Professor, green tea or aromatherapy?”
He crossed his arms and frowned at her across the wide expanse of their king size bed. “The sarcasm is not appreciated, nor the insolence. I do have another idea, if you’re willing to listen. It is lawful and may kill two birds with one stone.”
She studied him for a moment, clearly intrigued. A moment later her face paled, a look of regret crossing her lovely features, as he knew it would. “Oh, Ethan, I’m sorry. I can be a real bitch sometimes.”
As he looked on, her eyes became a bright liquid blue. Her hand rose to her throat, fingers rubbing while she swallowed convulsively, as if it had gone dry. She did this when she fought tears. So self-controlled and constrained, his Lanie. He wished she would just cry already.
When she continued, her voice trembled. “I’m wired and can’t settle, but I shouldn’t take it out on you. I’ll listen to your idea, honey. I promise. Because at this point, I’ll try anything before I explode.”
He nodded once, relieved she was receptive. Time would tell if she remained that way. Moving around to the foot of the bed, he crooked his finger at her. “Meet me halfway, Lanie.”
Without hesitation, she glided toward him. Her movements were fluid and graceful, as always. His eyes absorbed every nuance of her beauty and softness. The shiny fabric of her pale pink kimono hugged every dip and curve. He loved her in pinks and shades of rose, which brought a blush of color to her fair skin. Scanning the deep V of the wrap neckline to where it plunged between the delicious mounds of her breasts made his mouth water. The satiny silk belt, nipped in her small waist, enhancing the fullness of the hips his fingers itched to touch. His eyes absorbed her smooth shapely thighs that teased him with each step, the lace hem softly feminine, and tauntingly seductive at the same time. She was a sweet, cuddly kitten and a sexy siren, rolled into one. Damn, she made him burn with need.
Stopping in front of him, she stood close, so near that only a scant inch separated the silk covered tips of her breasts from his bare chest. Tipping his face forward, his cheek brushed the top of her head. He inhaled, breathing in her provocative scent. Although his intent was serious, and the discussion decidedly meaningful, he couldn’t resist touching her. With a firm tug on the end of her belt, the bow released and her robe fell open, revealing the satin and lace sheath she wore underneath. His hands slipped inside, sliding over the sleek fabric until they spanned her waist.
Ethan closed his eyes briefly as he struggled to contain his body’s demands. His cock, long since hard, was painfully constricted beneath the straining material of his pants, making it difficult for him to tamp down his urges, but he did, for now. He was determined to have this frank and earnest discussion with her before he lost control, threw her onto their bed and fucked her until she was mindless and screaming for more. He exhaled harshly, that line of thought was so not helping. Clearing his throat, his voice still came out husky with pent up need as he began to lay out his plan.
“What I have in mind is a rather radical approach. I need you to be open-minded about it. Otherwise, it’s destined for failure and I’ll come up with something else.” He waited, watching the parade of emotions pass over her face: doubt, skepticism, but foremost curiosity.
“What is it?”
“First, I want your promise of trust.”
“But I don’t know what it is.”
“That’s the point. I want you to trust me and put yourself in my hands, without any preconceived ideas of what I have in mind. For the next hour, I want you to do what I say and try out this new method. After the hour is up, if you don’t feel relaxed and less stressed, we’ll try something else. What do you say?”
“Um…” she hedged, her brow creased with uncertainty. Ethan could practically see her mind racing as she went through a host of different possibilities.
“After all these years, don’t you trust me to keep you safe and take care of you, baby?”
“Yes. Of course, I do!” she said without pause, which pleased him greatly.
“Then why the hesitation?”
She bit her lip, a habit she had when she was lost in thought, but only in private. He’d never seen it any other time and it showed him how truly vulnerable she was feeling, but also that she felt comfortable enough to let down her guard with him and show her real emotions. Part of his theory was that not showing emotion for a big portion of her day had her bottling it up inside, which was a big part of her problem. As it went on, unchecked, it had started to bleed over into her private life. Sure, she laughed, smiled and showed moderate emotions, but extremes like euphoria and sadness, when appropriate, were few and far between. She hadn’t cried at her father’s funeral, standing stoically by her mother instead. The Ice Queen, firmly in control. Unfortunately, cynicism and biting sarcasm weren’t included in the emotions she kept buried, damn his luck. However, he could deal with that with this new method as well.
“Okay, I’m yours for an hour,” she agreed with a definitive nod. “What are we going to do, a jigsaw puzzle or play one of your video games?”
Both were mindless activities he used to manage stress, that and physical exercise, which included sex with his gorgeous wife. But lately, because of her stress, their sex life had suffered. That was about to change. He sat on the cedar chest at the end of the bed and issued his first directive.
“It’s nine o’clock. The hour has begun.” Pointing to the floor in front of him, he ordered, “Stand here, Lanie.”
Hesitantly, she took a half-step, pausing at least a foot short of where she should be.
“Now.”
He purposefully made his voice low and commanding, and as he hoped, she responded. She moved until she stood between his feet. Not close enough for his liking, his hands rose to her hips and pulled her in between his spread thighs. When her fingers automatically rose to his head, gliding into his hair, he looked at her sharply. “Did I tell you to move?”
“Uh, no—”
“No, sir.” He instructed and watched as her eyes widened in surprise. Sex for them had always been playful, but in a spur-of-the-moment, unstructured kind of way. Never planned or negotiated, their roles were loosely defined. The only distinction was Ethan always took the lead, acting as the dominant partner instinctively, something to which Lanie had always responded. He’d noticed early on that she liked when he ordered, instead of asked, in the heat of passion. The times he’d pinned her hands beside her head or gotten a bit rough, she’d gone wild. Tonight, he was going to explore that further, taking it to the next level in order to gauge her reaction. If his assumption was correct, she would respond to his firm commands and stronger control, and it would give her the freedom to release her pent up emotions. He knew she needed it, although she refused to admit it.
“Answer me, Lanie.”
“Yes—sir.”
“Good girl.” He gave her ass a firm squeeze of approval, lips twitching slightly when she gasped in surprise. “I’m in charge for the next,”—he glanced at the clock—”fifty-eight minutes, no matter what. The only way you can stop what is happening is by using a safe word.”
Her brows rose at least an inch as her lips curved into a sly grin. “A safe word, how kinky, Ethan. That should make me de-stress fo-sho!”
“Yeah? What do you know about safe words?”
“I read Fifty Shades along with forty-five million other Americans, Ethan.”
“Is that so? What else did you learn?”
“That kinky sex can be hot. Beth and I are psyched for the movie.”
“That was fiction, I believe.”
“Yes.”
“I prefer non-fiction, Lanie. Remove your clothes and we’ll get started.”
Her smile faded a fraction at his order. Tilting her head, she gazed at him reflectively for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders and let the robe slide down her arms and onto the floor. To keep himself in check, he gripped his thighs, his fingers digging into his skin. The pain helped to curb the itch in his hands, and the overpowering need to touch her.
“All of it. I want you naked.”
Her hands rose to the thin straps of her gown and slipped them off her shoulders. It dipped down, his eyes following as it snagged on the hard peaks of her nipples. She squeaked in alarm and quickly tugged the material free baring her breasts to his gaze. She was perfect. Ethan loved the way she filled his hands to overflowing, the large tips pink and beautifully responsive. As the satin slid over her body, catching again at her hips, he stared at all that creamy skin inches away, his for the taking. With a great deal of control he resisted the driving urge to take her into his mouth as he wanted.
Pulling his eyes away from pure temptation wasn’t easy, but he did and watched the gown instead. She gave a little wiggle and the slippery material gave way, sliding over her hips, falling in a soft pool of silk and lace around her feet. Ethan’s eyes followed the gown’s path in reverse, skimming back up her shapely calves and smooth thighs, grazing but not lingering on the smooth tempting cleft in between and continuing along the tempting curves of her hips and her flat abdomen until they settled on her breasts once again. Hanging on by a thread, he stifled a groan as he leaned in and pressed his lips into the valley between them.
“I love you, baby, and I can’t bear to see you stressed out all the time. You hardly sleep and when you do, it’s broken. I hear you get up at night to review your notes or pour over your research.”
“I’m sorry. I try not to wake you.”
His hands slid around to her ass and squeezed. “That’s not my point. I’m worried about you. The stress is obviously affecting you and wearing on your body. You’ve lost weight; we can’t have that, because I love these curves.” He gave each cheek another squeeze before moving on to cup her breasts, his thumbs grazing her nipples. “The stress also makes you irritable and short tempered, which is unlike the Lanie that I know and love. For example, tonight you were snappish, foul-mouthed, and sharp with sarcasm. It’s hurtful and I won’t have that either.” Angling his head backward, he peered up at her soberly. “Do you understand?”
Her hand rose to his cheek. He allowed it as once again, tears threatened. She quickly blinked them away and he was oddly disappointed. Still, her words attested to her remorse and sincerity. “I never meant to hurt you, Ethan. I love you. You’re the only one I can talk to about these things. What can I do to make it up to you? I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Prophetic words, to be sure,” he murmured, and watched her brow furrow in confusion. “Do we have a deal? You’re mine for an hour?”
“I’m always yours, Ethan. But yes, we have a deal.”
He quirked an eyebrow at her, waiting to see if she would remember her first lesson.
“We have a deal, sir.” Her voice was softly submissive. Now they were getting somewhere.
“Come onto my lap, Lanie.”
She started to bend to sit on his thigh, but he shook his head. “Maybe I wasn’t clear,” he stated, clarifying his intent with action, as he guided her face down across his thighs.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting you in position for your spanking.”
She stiffened. “My what? Ethan, wait!”
He landed a swat, quick and sharp, right in the middle of her round bottom. “Lanie, you agreed. I’m in charge now. I’ll hear your safe word or nothing else.”
Chapter Three
Unable to believe he actually meant to spank her, she froze in place, the air trapped in her lungs as she lay bare assed and vulnerable over his thighs. Once or twice, in the heat of the moment, he’d given her a swat or two, but this was different. For one, it was real, and two; it stung really badly. His hand returned and instead of another swat, he gently rubbed where he’d spanked. The sting from his hard palm quickly subsided, changing to a tingling warmth that spread across her skin. After a moment, his hand extended its caress, his fingertips trailing over her curves in widening circles, brushing close to her center, smoothing down her thighs, his nails scratching her lightly in sensitive spots. When he at last touched her pussy, a shiver rushed through her body and she relaxed into the intoxicating blend of sensations.
“You’re drenched,” he commented, stating the obvious. Lanie had been wet since he’d called her ‘good girl.’ Those simple words had sent a blast of heat and moisture to her pussy. Then he’d ordered her over his lap and the rush of arousal inundating her system had robbed her of the ability to think. It left her mindlessly obeying her libido, the center of which lay between her already damp thighs, making her willing to do almost anything he asked. Ethan never failed to turn her on. It was always this way, even after all the years they’d been together. But tonight, it had increased exponentially.
Two swats followed his words, one on each cheek, both as stinging as the first. The rubbing came again soon after. She wiggled and squirmed as he maintained a firm hold on her waist. When his fingers slipped between her thighs, gliding along her wet folds and finding her clit, she froze for a moment before wantonly spreading her thighs in a wordless plea for more. She couldn’t remain silent as pure, unadulterated lust swamped her senses and unbidden, a moan escaped her lips.