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Tori looked at his sisters and got a nod from each. “Oh no,” she sounded horrified. “Please don’t. I’m sure they just put that there so they would look good to their clients.”

“I’m serious here. No interfering this time. If Tori wants to contact them, Tori will contact them. If Tori wants your help, she will ask for it. Until she does, I expect all of you to mind your own business and butt out. I want you to give me your word that you won’t go behind her back, no matter how helpful you think you’re being.”

“Ladies,” Guy’s father growled when none of them spoke. As soon as he did, they each promised not to get involved unless Tori specifically invited them to.

For the next few hours, Tori lounged in the kitchen, constantly surrounded by Guy’s strong arms. She watched the ebb and flow of family interaction as members drifted in and out of the room. She joined in a few conversations but spent more time observing without participating. Guy kissed her frequently. At first, she was afraid of what the others would think but soon found that his inability to restrain himself was highly amusing and inspired constant teasing. Guy’s reaction was to laugh and kiss her again. His unwavering attention and the kind acceptance from his family relaxed Tori so much she was surprised when someone announced it was almost midnight.

The entire group counted down the last few seconds to the new year. Guy repositioned Tori into a full embrace and kissed her thoroughly, abandoning the teasing pecks he’d been giving her.

“Happy New Year,” he whispered against her mouth.

“Happy New Year,” she replied, laughing and crying at the same time.

“This is only the beginning,” he promised. “It’ll only get better from here.”

“I believe you,” she whispered. “I really believe you.”

Without warning, Guy snatched her from the counter and tossed her over his shoulder, laughing at the reaction he got. “Much as we’ve been enjoying ourselves and would love to stay, I’m afraid we have to be going now.”

“Put me down,” Tori demanded unsuccessfully.

He crossed the living room and someone handed him their coats as they all wished them the best.

Todd held the door and caught them just outside. He stood so Tori could see him and gave her a huge smile. “You won’t ever regret the choice you made tonight,” he assured her happily. “Everyone loves you already so don’t let this exit bother you. Guy’s just trying to set the tone for tomorrow. He wants us to tease him about sex instead of letting his sisters pry into your life. I’ll talk to the guys and we’ll do what we can too.”

“Say goodnight, Todd,” Guy commanded when he felt Tori flinch.

“Goodnight,” Todd complied. “If you manage to sleep at all, sleep well.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

In the elevator, Tori stood in front of Guy. She moved her hands behind her back, intending to continue the torment that had been going on all day. As she cupped his erection, she felt cold steel close over both wrists. With the bellhop beside them, Tori couldn’t question his actions. Instead, she had to settle for flashing Guy a curious look over her shoulder. When she did, she saw that his face still wore the same pleasant smile it had while they waited for the elevator. She tugged against the cuffs and heard the clink of metal against metal. Guy met her eyes with a slight shake of his head. Apparently, he was willing to cuff her in the close proximity of a stranger but not to make it public knowledge.

The bellhop led the way to their room. Guy kept Tori directly in front of him by holding on to the chain that linked the cuffs. He guided her into the room and stood her with her back to the windows. He spent several minutes asking the young man for his restaurant recommendations before handing him his tip and escorting him to the door.

When they were alone, Guy deliberately ignored her. He hung up their coats and went into the bathroom to freshen up. He returned to the room, lifted a suitcase to the stand in the closet and flipped it open.

“All right, you win. I’ll ask since that’s what you’re obviously waiting for. Care to explain why the hell you just handcuffed me in the elevator when we weren’t alone?”

“I’m sure you can answer most of that yourself. Why don’t you give it a try?”

“Yes, why don’t I?” Tori asked sarcastically. “I assume you chose that particular moment because, with someone else there, I couldn’t yell once I realized what you were up to.”

He chuckled. “Correct. You know me so well.”

“Yeah, right,” she snorted. “If I did, I’d know the rest of the answer and I have no idea why I was in handcuffs before we got to the room. I am still completely dressed here so I really don’t get it.”

“That’s easy to fix.” Guy reached into the suitcase and pulled out some scissors.

Tori looked at him, down at her clothes and back to him. “Are you serious?”

“Honestly, I haven’t decided yet,” he admitted.

Adding to the suspense, Guy suddenly took an interest in the contents of the minibar. He was still poking around when there was a knock at the door. He opened it to admit a waiter with a bucket of champagne, glasses and a covered tray. Again, Guy chatted before ushering the man out.

Tori watched Guy open the bottle and pour one glass. “You going to drink that all by yourself?”

“No.” He had a taste. “We only need one glass since you can’t hold one anyway.” Guy approached and let her take a sip.

“Thanks. Ready to tell me what this is about yet?”

“I suppose,” he paused for them to drink. “Consider this payback for your behavior this morning.”

“Payback? For what?” Tori demanded even though she knew exactly what he meant.

“Such a brave little tiger.” Guy traced her jaw and held the glass for her again. “Fierce as ever even though you’re already trapped,” he whispered against her neck, caressing her skin with his warm breath. “But since you asked, I guess it won’t hurt to humor you.” He paused to run the back of his hand along the outside of her breast. “As you well know, you started misbehaving not five minutes after we left home. You ignored my repeated requests that you stop. You spent the entire three-hour trip amusing yourself at my expense.”

“Oh, get real.” Tori rolled her eyes. “Like you couldn’t have made me stop if you really wanted me to. And you know damn well I wanted to take care of you so don’t even try to blame your lack of satisfaction on me.”

“Hmm, you do have a valid point there.” He grinned wickedly and began to unbutton her shirt. “Although we honestly could have become a dangerous traffic hazard if I’d given in to you.”

“Again, why is it my fault if you can’t come and drive at the same time? Aren’t cops supposed to be able to do all sorts of things while they’re driving?”

“Yes, we are and yes, I can but trust me, they didn’t teach us how to avoid slamming into the back of a tractor-trailer while getting our cocks sucked at the police academy.”

“It seemed like you were doing a decent job of it to me. I think you’re just acting tough now to hide the fact that you liked having my head in your lap the whole way.”

“You think so?” He went to one knee to untie her shoes, lifting each foot in turn to remove them.

“Yeah, I do. As I already told you, we both know you could have made me stop licking your cock anytime you wanted to. You didn’t have to let me play with your balls either. You could have handcuffed me to my door as soon as I reached for your fly. No, I think you enjoyed being my lollipop all the way here.” Tori shivered in anticipation when Guy slid her jeans and panties from her body. She still had on her bra and shirt but both were open, leaving her chest exposed.

“Perhaps. But that’s not the point.”

“So just what is this point of yours?”

Guy delayed by refilling their glass and bringing the tray to the table at the window. He let Tori drink before he removed the cover. With deliberate slowness, Guy selected a plump strawberry dipped in chocolate and brought it to her mouth for a taste. He ate the other half, following the fruit with more champagne.

“My point,” he brushed the back of his finger lightly over her nipple, “is you spent three hours teasing my cock. Licking, stroking, sucking, biting. The same for my balls. As I see it, you deserve the same.”

Tori gasped. “You’re going to play with me for hours and-and…”

“And not let you come? Exactly.” He offered her another berry and more champagne.

“But that’s not fair. You’re the one who kept pushing me off whenever you got close. You know I wanted you to.”

Guy considered her statements as he rummaged in the suitcase. He returned to her side with a bag in his hand. “Yes, I suppose I can’t deny that.”

“Thank you. Now uncuff me already.”

“No.”

“No? What do you mean, no? You just admitted that I don’t deserve to be tormented.”

“That’s true but the answer is still no.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve decided that I want to play with your body.”

“You can do that without handcuffs.”

“Yes, but I like the idea of having you at my mercy. Don’t tell me you didn’t expect this sooner or later. After all, Tori, you’ve had me cuffed to the bed on several occasions.”

“Well, yeah, I know,” she muttered, dropping her chin.

“Hey.” Guy was concerned. “What is it?”

“Nothing. It’s just… I mean…”

Guy tipped her face up and searched her eyes. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

“Do you believe I would never hurt you?”

“Yes.”

“Are you afraid?”

“A little.”

Guy sat in a nearby chair and studied her. “Of me or the situation?”

“Oh no, Guy, it’s not you. I’m not really afraid of this either.” She tugged her wrists. “It’s just that I never did anything like this before and, well, what if I can’t handle it?”

“Exactly what you already know. You say you want to stop and I release you instantly. Tori, my intention is to give you the freedom to experience all you can without feeling the need to reciprocate at some point. As much as I love the way you do that and I know you do know that, there have been times when I wished you had indulged me longer than you did. Not that whatever replaced what I had been doing wasn’t equally enjoyable.”

“Oh, I get it,” Tori stated. “It’s just like when I handcuffed you. Duh, what a jerk!”

“Hey! My wife is not a jerk. I’m much bigger and stronger than you are so I don’t have the same trouble as you do when I want a little solo exploration time. But that doesn’t mean I can do everything I have in mind. Not when I have to hold on to you with one hand.”

“I should have known that. I probably would have if you hadn’t shocked the hell out of me in the elevator like that.”

“Oh, I’m positive. If I’d waited until we were tucked away in here you would have treated this as a game and played along without any hesitation. All I did was get us started on a different level. Or was I wrong to think you were excited as soon as you realized you were caught?”

She nodded. “After you stopped me from making any noise.”

“Just because I want you helpless and at my mercy don’t think that I’d let some horny kid see it and turn you into his favorite fantasy. There wasn’t any real risk of us being found out. It was all an illusion.”

“Again, something I should have known without needing to think about it. You may torment me in front of people we know but you’re much too possessive to flaunt that part of our relationship in public. I’m sorry I forget sometimes and get insecure over nothing.”

“Tori, Tori, Tori, when are you going to learn that you don’t have to apologize for being yourself? I love you, insecurities and all. Don’t you realize that I know you well enough to understand your reactions even better than you do?”

“Oh. Yeah. Hey, at least I didn’t have a brain cloud in the middle of the ceremony yesterday.”

“Actually, I half expected you to. I’m not entirely certain you wouldn’t have balked at something or other if Terese hadn’t been in labor.”

“Mm. But I still don’t get why that doesn’t bother you.”

“It might if I didn’t understand you so well. You throw me curves and try to turn me in the wrong direction whenever things get overwhelming and start to close in on you. I’ve learned the best way to get you back on track is to stay consistent. If you had come up with something in the middle of the ceremony yesterday, I would have asked everyone to sit tight and taken you off alone and talked you down from the ledge you crawled out on until you were ready to finish marrying me.”

“Either that or you would have ripped off my panties and fucked me like a maniac.”

“Ah, yes, there is always that possibility,” he chuckled. “Bottom line, we’re in this together every step of the way.”

“There’s no one I’d rather be with.” Tori blushed. “Can we get back to what you had planned before please?”

“That mean we’re done with the serious discussion for now and my wife is ready for me to play with her?”

“Yes. What’s in the bag?”

Guy grinned and picked up the bag. “This bag?”

“Yes, that bag. Let me see.”

“Patience. You be a good girl for me first and then I’ll show you.”

“What do I have to do?”

“I changed my mind about cutting off your clothes this time. I’d like to remove the cuffs so you can slip out of your shirt but I don’t want to wrestle with you to get them back on. If you struggle, I’ll have to rethink what I intended to do with you and that would disappoint me because I think we’ll both like what I have in mind.”

“I’m sure we’d both like anything that you do, with or without a struggle but I’m curious so okay, I’ll hold still.”

Guy stripped her and refastened the cuffs. He poured more champagne and fed her several chocolate-covered strawberries. Soon, he added kisses and caresses between the treats he gave her.

“Are you wet, Tori?” Guy asked suddenly in a husky voice.

“Yes.” She arched toward the hand hovering near her mound in a silent plea.

“Are you very wet?”

“Yes. Why don’t you see for yourself?”

Guy stroked her as she suggested. “Oh yeah. Spread your legs wider.”

“What are you doing?” she asked when he dipped a strawberry into her moisture.

“Improving the flavor,” he stated, swirling it around her opening. “Mm, so good,” he declared after popping it into his mouth. He picked up another berry and repeated the process. “Here, you taste.”