Love Unbound (2 page)

“This is where you get out.”

“Anne, what are you talking about? You can’t
leave me here. Please, tell me what’s going on.” A note of panic
crept into Cat’s voice. “Please.”

Anne reached out and took her hand. “Do you
trust me?”

“Of course.” She didn’t have to think about
it. Anne was her dearest friend. They’d shared everything, taken
care of each other’s kids. Anne had been the one that stayed with
Cat when her mother was dying. Next to Owen, she trusted Anne more
than anyone else in the world. “I don’t understand, but I trust
you.”

“You know I wouldn’t let you do anything
dangerous or let you break your vows, right? I love Owen; you guys
are great together.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Cat
waited, but Anne stared at her, determination etching her face.

“Yes or no, Cat. You said you wanted this.
You can either get out of the car and have an adventure or stay in
it and we’ll go talk about having one.”

Cat stared at Anne, but it was clear her
friend wouldn’t explain. She also wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.
“Oh hell.” Cat unbuckled her seat belt and climbed out of the car.
When she reached for the back door handle to grab her carry-on,
Anne stopped her.

“You won’t need that.”

“Jesus Anne, you can’t leave me in the
warehouse district at night without anything.” There was a
difference between wanting an adventure and having a death
wish.

Anne rolled her eyes like one of Cat’s
teenage students. “Like I’d do that. Knock on the door of 1247.
It’s that one in the middle.” She motioned to one of the
refurbished buildings. “I’ll stay here and watch until you are
inside. Go. And for God’s sake, have fun!”

Cat closed the door on her friend. Taking an
unsteady breath, she turned and walked toward the lit door of
number 1247.

The brick warehouse had obviously been
remodeled. The concrete stairs were clean and free of debris and a
sign reading STUDIO 1247 hung over the green metal door. A single
gooseneck fixture lit the entrance. The solid door didn’t have
windows on the side and gave no clue to what was inside. The word
studio was the only hint of the building’s use.

Cat held on to the metal pipe handrail as she
climbed the steps. She was being silly; she knew she was. The women
had probably set her up as some kind of joke. It would be like Mary
to hire a stripper to prank her. It was harder to imagine Anne
going along with something like that. Anne wouldn’t let her do
anything dangerous, but what was that break your vows thing she
said? Nothing made sense and the dark combined with the unfamiliar
surroundings ratcheted up Cat’s anxiety. Her hand shook slightly as
she knocked on the door.

“Come in.” The door muffled the male
voice.

Cat glanced over her shoulder toward Anne’s
car. Her friend flashed the headlights and Cat turned the door
knob. As the door swung open she heard Anne’s car pull away.

Oh God, now she was stranded here.

“Come. In. Now.” He separated each word
emphasizing the command.

Now that they weren’t divided by the door,
the voice sounded familiar. But that didn’t make any sense. Owen
was out of town. Cat stepped inside, closing the door behind
her.

She stood in what looked like an artist
studio. The interior was unfinished open warehouse space with
concrete floors and an exposed brick and steel structure. Easels
holding covered canvases lined the walls of a space that looked
about thirty feet square. A light shone above where Cat stood,
Illuminating the entry. The only other light in the massive space
lit a bed in the center of the room. Cat’s eyes locked on the
unfamiliar red spread covering what looked like a box spring and
mattress, piled high with pillows and sitting on a stack of
scattered oriental rugs. The opulence of the patterned rugs and the
rich scarlet color of the bedding were at odds with the rough
industrial surroundings. This bed was better suited to a Bedouin’s
tent in a romance novel than a warehouse. Slightly worn oriental
runners ran from where she stood to the bed.

Cat took a step forward determined to find
the owner of the voice and figure out what the hell was going
on.

“Not yet, kitten,” the voice commanded.

Cat pulled her gaze away from the bed and
searched the shadows around the edges of the room. She could just
make out a man lounging in what looked like an arm chair. Even
though she was sure she knew who he was, she couldn’t see his
face.

“Take off your clothes and leave them by the
door. You won’t need them this weekend.”

Owen. It was Owen. A thrill ran through her,
but Cat couldn’t bring herself to strip naked in the middle of a
warehouse. She’d made her peace with her curves, and Owen never
made her feel fat. That didn’t mean she was comfortable taking her
clothes off in a strange place even though she was sure the man in
the shadows had already seen everything a thousand times over. The
snap of what sounded like leather hitting leather brought her back
to the present.

“Do it now, kitten.” Another snap. “Or I’ll
have to punish you.”

Cat’s mouth went dry. He wouldn’t, would he?
The next snap was louder and made her jump. She stepped quickly out
of her shoes, unfastening her jeans with shaky hands. She shimmied
out of them and her trembling fingers paused on the buttons of her
blouse. She hadn’t bothered with pretty underwear. She hadn’t
expected anyone to see them. She certainly hadn’t been expecting to
do a strip tease. She wore her serviceable but definitely not sexy
everyday bra and panties.

The leather snapped again, and she hurried to
undo the buttons on her blouse. Shrugging out of it, she stood in
the pool of light wearing nothing but her bra and panties, feeling
both vulnerable and excited.

Snap. The leather cracked louder this time.
“I’m losing my patience, kitten. I said all of it. Now.” Snap.

Cat slid down her panties and toed them off.
She unhooked her bra, tossing it to the floor. She’d never been
comfortable without a bra, and her generous breasts hung heavy on
her chest. Her nipples pebbled in the cool air and the temperature
combined with her nakedness made her tremble.

“Mmm, very nice.” She heard the appreciation
in his voice and strained her eyes for a glimpse of his face. She
couldn’t see him in the shadows.

“Now, kitten.” Snap. “I’ll be the only one
binding you this weekend.” Snap. “Take down your hair.” The crack
of leather against leather punctuated his seductive words, warning
or promising her of what was to come.

She raised her arms to pull her hair out of
the ponytail she’d fastened it in when she rushed out of the house
earlier. The movement thrust her breasts forward, and she paused
with her hands still on her hair. He’d put a lot of effort into
pulling this off. Her husband loved her breasts. Maybe there was a
way she could get him to show himself sooner.

Pretending to struggle with the tie, she
arched her back harder, thrusting her nipples toward the figure in
the shadows. She let her lips part and her eyes drift closed as she
tipped her head back and pretended to work on the tie. She heard a
low throaty chuckle and the snap of the leather.

“So, you like showing off, kitten. Or perhaps
you’ve decided to tease me.” Snap. God, what was that? A whip? A
crop? A belt? Cat’s pulse jumped in her throat. What would it feel
like on her skin? “But you don’t have to decide anything this
weekend. It’s my job to take care of you—to make sure you get what
you need.” Snap. “Now, take down your hair.”

Well, that hadn’t gone the way she wanted it
to, but his words sent a thrill rippling through her. She could
feel herself getting wet. Just the idea of not having to be in
control excited her. She pulled off the tie and shook out her dark
hair, hurrying to follow his instructions. It didn’t make sense,
but she wanted to please him.

“Good, kitten. Since you liked showing off,
spread your legs.”

“What? I…” Her words trailed off. She
couldn’t do that, could she? Stand naked in a warehouse with her
legs spread open. The leather snapped again and she took a shaky
step, opening her legs a few inches.

Snap. Snap.

She was going to break that damn crop or
whatever it was if he didn’t stop snapping it at her. The problem
was she was trembling and she didn’t think she could move.

Snap.

“Wider, kitten. I want to see the lips of
your pretty pussy. Spread your legs wide enough or I’ll have to
bind them open.”

Her first thought was that she couldn’t
imagine having her legs spread apart and tied. But she had imagined
it—imagined what it would be like to be bound and taken like that.
Part of her wanted to try it. Instead she took another step,
spreading her feet more than shoulder width apart. The cool air
assaulted her delicate wet sex, and she felt so exposed. He would
see how aroused she was.

“Good. Very pretty. Now, let’s see how wet we
can make you. Play with your nipples. I want them rosy and
stretched to peaks, ready to be sucked.”

She felt her face heat and knew she was
blushing. It was just the two of them. She shouldn’t feel so
vulnerable, but she did. Not being able to see or touch him and
knowing he was watching made her feel exposed and excited her.

She cupped her breasts with her hands,
tentatively brushing her thumbs over the tight buds of her
nipples.

“Tsk, tsk. You can do better than that.
Harder, kitten.”

Nervous and aroused, Cat closed her eyes and
started to roll her nipples between her fingers and thumbs. She
alternated between pinching the aching flesh and gently tugging.
After a few moments, she started to lose herself in the sensation
and gave into the pleasure. She could smell the musky scent of her
own arousal and feel the increasing wetness between her legs. She
felt wanton and embarrassed. It was a strange mix of emotions and
it kept her off-balance, frozen in place, touching herself.

“Keep your eyes closed.” The voice was soft
but she could tell he was closer. She squeezed her eyes shut and
stilled her hands. “Don’t stop.”

She felt him behind her, felt the warmth of
him along her naked back, not quite touching her. He smelled like
leather and man, his scent richer and spicier than the clean citrus
scent Owen usually wore. Leather gloved hands covered her own and
cupped her breasts, kneading gently. She arched, pressing her
breasts into their hands and letting her head fall back against his
chest. Using his gloved hand, he guided her fingers from her nipple
to between her legs. He pressed her hand against her mound and her
fingers slipped between her slick swollen lips.

With a firm steady pressure he used her
fingers to stroke her aching flesh. God, she was so wet and her
opening was so swollen. As he pushed her slender fingers inside
her, the leather of his gloves scraped deliciously against her
sensitive flesh. He rolled and tugged her nipple, pinching it
between his leather clad fingers. His touch strayed along the edge
of pleasure and pain, the leather both impersonal and completely
masculine.

Under his touch Cat felt delicate and
vulnerable. He stroked and tugged her nipple and she rode their
combined hands, rubbing her clit against the heel of her hand as
she plunged her fingers into her slick tight opening. She was at
his mercy; his hand controlled everything. The pleasure built and
her legs trembled. She didn’t think she could stay standing, but he
drove her on, stroking relentlessly. When the orgasm crashed over
her, she collapsed against him, and he held her up one arm wrapped
around her middle while his other hand cupped her mound.

As her trembling slowed, her eyelids
fluttered and started to open.

“Not yet, kitten. We are nowhere near done
yet.”

Holy fuck. He’d done it. He’d been working on
his plan since he read the book and found out what Cat fantasized
about. But if he was honest with himself, he hadn’t been sure he
could pull it off.

Borrowing the studio from Sam, an artist he’d
met through a friend at work, had been a key. Enlisting Anne’s help
was another. She loaned him some of the rugs and stuff and promised
to get Cat here. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to look her in
the eye again, but he couldn’t have managed without her. He’d
already promised to have what was sure to be an awkward
conversation with her husband after this was over. “So I hear you
wife wants to be tied up. Let me tell you what worked for mine.”
Yeah.

He shook his head. He couldn’t afford to lose
his focus. With her trembling under his hands, he’d barely kept his
control so far. He had too much planned to mess it up now.

Cat knew it was him. Anne would have had to
tell her enough to reassure her, or she never could have gotten her
here. He’d known that on some level Cat would know it was him, but
he thought she’d challenge him, force him to reveal himself.

Ultimately he hadn’t been sure she would do
what he told her to do.

God, the power was intoxicating. Watching her
strip and then touch herself was one of the most erotic things he’d
ever seen. He was so hard it hurt. Having her vulnerable and
exposed, it took everything he had to keep from bending her over
and sinking himself into her. She was so beautiful, soft and
delicate and his. He felt her tremble through the leather of his
gloves when he touched her. Her trust and vulnerability was such a
gift. It made him possessive and protective and more than anything
it made him want to give her pleasure.

He felt Cat’s trembling still as the
aftershocks of her orgasm faded. Everything he’d done had been
designed to keep her off balance. He had one more step to take
before she came back to her senses.

Grinning, he pulled a red silk scarf out of
his pocket.