No Reservations (17 page)

He snorted in amusement. “I’m no one’s image of Superman.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Clark. You know, I do have some red and blue silk at my
apartment. I could whip you up a nice little costume—”

His laughter cut her short, the sound bouncing off the walls. “Thanks, but I don’t
think you’d ever be able to look at me without laughing after you see me in tights.”

Her eyebrows curved and there was that smart-ass grin again. “Oh, I don’t know about
that. Those tights don’t leave much to the imagination and, trust me, you’d fill them
out. Nicely.”

Damn, she managed to crank his lust even higher. His cock felt as stiff as a bat and
his balls ached for release. But he wasn’t finished with their conversation yet. And
he refused to be rushed.

It’s what made him a damn good businessman. Patience really was a virtue. In business
and pleasure.

“I don’t think there are many board chairmen who wear red tights under their suits.”

“But I think you’d fit right in on that board, Tyler. I guess what it comes down to
is this—do you really want the GoldenStar to go to someone who isn’t family? Could
you live with yourself? And if you can’t, can you find a way to do it all?”

That was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it?

Could he manage Haven and the spa and a multinational company comprising ten hotels?

Yes, he had Jared, and together they made a great team.

But the board had six other members, men his father had butted heads with over the
years. The chairman position came with more than its fair share of headaches.

And did he really want to add more responsibilities to his plate right now, when his
attention was fractured enough as it was? A lot of that due to the woman sitting close
enough that he could reach out and touch her.

“Right now, I only want to do you.”

Color rushed into her cheeks but she didn’t drop his gaze. “And how do you want to
do me?”

He watched her color deepen as he stared at her. “There’s a black leather bench in
the corner. I don’t know if you’ve noticed it before. You might not have. Jared had
it specially made to fit in with the rest of the room. If you don’t know what you’re
looking at, you wouldn’t realize what it’s used for.”

“And what is it used for?”

“Are you willing to let me show you?”

She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she continued to stare at him, as if searching
for answers. Before, when he’d asked her to trust him, she’d almost immediately agreed.

“I’m not sure I should be,” she finally said. “Willing, that is. It’s taken me years
to feel like I have control of my life. Growing up, my dad had an image of me that
I never quite fit into and it was . . . stressful trying to be that person he expected
me to be.”

Tyler could tell “stressful” didn’t exactly do the situation justice. He wanted to
push her for more, dig out her secrets, but managed to hold his tongue as she continued.

“And when you ask me to give up so much of my control to you, my brain automatically
says, ‘No.’ But there’s part of me that wants to.”

“We’re consenting adults,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with sex between consenting
adults.”

Her smile had a wicked edge to it. “I know that, Tyler. But . . .” She stopped and
her smile faded into a slight scowl.

“But?” he prompted.

“There’s still that little piece of me that keeps saying, ‘This is bad. You shouldn’t
want this.’ That we don’t really know each other that well yet. But there’s a bigger
piece egging me on.”

He liked the sound of that. “So where does that leave us?”

Finally, she sighed. “I want you to relax enough around me to stop asking me if I’m
willing. I want you to be comfortable with me.”

Frowning, he shook his head. “Why do you think I’m not comfortable around you?”

“Because you stop and ask my permission every time you want me to try something new.
I want you to stop treating me like I’m going to freak out every time you want to
introduce me to something new.”

He opened his mouth to say . . . something. “So if I tell you to take your clothes
off and kneel on that bench, you’ll do it?”

She gave him a considering look before turning toward the bench.

With a flick of her head, she tossed her hair over her shoulder. He loved watching
the fall of her hair down her back. It turned him on in ways he’d never known were
possible.

He wanted to see it brushing against her naked back, feel it wrapped around his hands
as he thrust into her from behind.

Which was exactly what he had planned for tonight.

Kate had reached the bench and stood beside it with her head cocked to the side.

As if she was dissecting it.

He was about to ask her if he could show her what they could do with the bench but
stopped before he opened his mouth.

She wanted to know how he truly responded in this situation?

Fine. Let the games begin.

He walked over to her, stopped next to her. He watched her gaze trace the padded hump
separating the benches, the three silver loops embedded on each side of the hump and
the loops on each side of the base of the four legs.

“So many possibilities.” He kept his tone deliberately level. “So many different positions.”

“Did you design this?” She didn’t turn to look a
t him, kept her gaze on the bench.

“I sketched out a basic design. Jared found a furniture maker to create it.”

“It’s simple. Elegant. Ingenious.”

“And versatile.”

She nodded, and he heard her take in a deep breath.

“Take off your dress and lay it over the chair. Leave your bra and panties.”

Eleven

Tyler’s demand poured over Kate like heat in a sauna, filling her with lust . . .
and tearing through her doubts.

God, she loved the hard command in his voice. She’d only caught a hint of it before,
the night he’d tied her up in her room. Now, she was pretty sure she was hearing the
true nature of the man.

It made her burn.

And brought up a host of other feelings she didn’t want intruding right now. Turning
off that train of thought was harder than she’d expected. She knew he wouldn’t hurt
her, but she also knew this went beyond play for him.

Could she handle giving over that much control to him?

She was damn sure going to try.

Turning to face Tyler, she looked up into his eyes and reached for the side zipper
on her dress. He held her gaze as she loosened the dress enough to shimmy it off her
shoulders and let it drop to the floor.

Stepping out of it, she bent to pick it up, remembering, barely, that he wanted her
to put it on the chair. When she turned back from laying out her dress, she lifted
her right foot to remove her shoe.

“Leave those on too.”

The heels weren’t her highest but they were black patent leather and went well with
the sheer stockings held up by a cream lace garter belt.

She watched his expression as his gaze dropped, noting the tic in his jaw as he took
in the strapless bra that matched the garter belt and the panties.

Her nipples pushed against the lace of the bra in stiff points and her panties were
already soaked through.

“Take off the panties and give them to me.”

His voice sent pulses of electricity through her body. Anticipation made all the oxygen
in the room disappear, and she took a deep breath because she wasn’t sure she’d remembered
to breathe recently.

Pushing the panties off her thighs, her hair fell over her shoulders, brushing against
her breasts, like whispers of silk. When she’d pulled them off, she held them out
to him by the side string.

He didn’t take them. “Put them in my pants pocket.”

She had to take a step closer to reach him. Her gaze dropped to follow her hand and
snagged on the thick ridge behind his zipper. Totally ruined the perfect cut of his
slacks.

And made her want to drop to her knees and release him so she could suck on him.

“Kate, put it in my pocket then kneel on the bench facing away from me.”

A smart-ass comment leaped to the tip of her tongue but she found the strength to
hold it back. Tonight, she’d give him what he wanted.

She did as he asked, using one hand to hold open the pocket and the other to slip
the silk inside. She made sure she brushed against his erection, smiling when it jerked
in response. Loving the way his jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed.

Testing Tyler’s control was fast becoming her favorite pastime.

She took her time withdrawing her hand before staring back up at him.

Her pussy felt slick and puffy and he hadn’t touched her yet.

Soon.

Finally, she turned toward the bench again.

And had the split-second urge to shake her head at the image she was about to present
to him.

Submission.

Who would have thought she’d get off on this? But she was. Totally.

First one knee and then the other.

Bracing her hands on the top of the hump, she leaned forward. The leather was cool
to the touch at first but she knew it would warm quickly.

Still, it was a shock, and her skin erupted in goose bumps as her stomach came into
contact with it.

“Lean over it, Kate. And spread your legs a little. I’m going to cuff your ankles.
Tight enough that you won’t be able to move your legs.” He paused and she knew he
was about to ask for her permission. Luckily, he didn’t. If he had, she wasn’t sure
she would have said yes.

She knew she could say no to anything, but she was determined to see this through.
She
wanted
to see this through.

With the position of the bench . . . horse, he’d called it a horse—she couldn’t see
what he was doing. She heard him moving around behind her, opening drawers and closing
them. The clink of chain.

Leaning on the horse, she tried to breathe normally, but that was an impossibility.
She was so turned on, she wanted to squeeze her thighs together to relieve some of
the ache.

When his fingers circled her ankle, she started, biting back a moan at the conflicting
rush of emotions.

“Easy, sweetheart. I’m not going to hurt you. And if I do, you can bet you’re going
to like it.”

Jesus, she might just have a heart attack before he fucked her.

Which now sounded like such a crude word for what they were engaged in. For her, it
went beyond just the act.

And if she were being truthful, it had from the beginning.

Closing her eyes, she just breathed.

And simply enjoyed the feel of his fingers on her skin. He stroked his fingertips
up her calf before returning to her ankle. Hooking one fur-lined cuff to her left
ankle, he pulled her legs farther apart so he could bind the other.

She felt more of a sense of exposure now than she had tied to her bed. Probably because
this wasn’t his bedroom. And the fact that anyone could walk in at any moment heightened
the sense that this was . . . wrong?

No, not wrong.

Bad. But in a good way.

She nearly choked on a gasp when he smacked her ass. Not hard. At least, not hard
enough to hurt. Just enough to send bolts of blinding sensation straight to her pussy,
followed by a heated caress.

“Do I need to bind your hands or will you be able to control yourself and hold on
to the horse?”

Truthfully? She wasn’t sure.

“Bind my hands.”

His hand stilled on her ass and she held her breath, waiting for another smack.

Then she felt his breath against her ear. “Good choice. I think you’ll like it. But
if you want out at any time, you only need to ask, Kate. And this is the only time
I’ll say that.”

She nodded, not sure she could form coherent sentences.

“Put your hands out in front of you.”

She did as he said, heart pounding a mile a minute. She felt the insane urge to laugh
at the situation, but she was so turned on, she almost felt like she was going to
cry.

Get a grip.

She didn’t want Tyler to think she couldn’t handle this.

And really, what was there to handle? He’d told her she could call it quits at any
time and he’d release her.

She didn’t want to be released.

Drawing in a shuddering breath, she looked up as Tyler appeared in front of her. He
held a length of thin silver chain with a large carabiner on one end and two black
leather cuffs on the other.

With an ease that only came from long practice—and didn’t that just make her totally
wet—he wrapped the cuffs around her wrists then connected the carabiner to a loop
below the opposite side of the bench.

The chain allowed for a bare minimum of movement as she tugged at it experimentally.

He ran his fingers along her jaw in a gentle caress before he disappeared behind her
again.

Staring straight ahead, her gaze fixed on the large, glass-front cabinet on the far
side of the room.

She couldn’t help but wonder if he was going to use any of the toys she’d seen in
there.

Then again, the man didn’t need any help.

“Oh, my
God.”

Her entire body tensed as he put his mouth on her pussy without any warning.

Using his lips and tongue to caress her sensitive flesh, he held her in place with
his hands on her hips. It grounded her as his tongue flicked against her clit, circling
the nub with lazy precision. Each wet flick drove her insane until he drew back to
swipe along her already slick lips.

He lapped at her, slow and steady, taking his time, when all she wanted was for him
to let loose, to make her writhe.

Instead he built her up with a slow, steady pace that made her fizzy and left her
shaken. Pressure built in her womb, tightening like a slow-winding winch.

His tongue rasped against her labia, against her clit, his hands sliding down to clench
her thighs, kneading her tight muscles.

If only he’d—

Yes.

She groaned, unable to form words as he forced his stiffened tongue into her slit
and fucked her with it.

It was enough to relieve some of the ache. To make her sheath grasp at it, try to
draw him in farther.

He refused to cooperate, moving at his own steady pace and working her into a state
of bliss.

She had no idea how long she hung on the sharp edge of desire, but when he finally
pushed her over with a gentle bite on her clit, she cried out his name as she came
so hard, she thought she might have pulled the cuffs free.

As her body shook with her climax, she drifted in heat and lethargy.

Until she felt him moving behind her.

Though she didn’t think she’d be able to be aroused again so quickly, her libido stirred
when she heard the sound of his zipper releasing.

Her teeth bit into her bottom lip as that sound echoed in the quiet room. Gulping
in breaths of air, she waited to feel his thick shaft plunge between her lips and
sink deep into her body.

Instead, she felt his hand, shockingly cool, cup her between her legs.

“You are so wet.” His voice caressed her in concert with his hand. “I can’t wait to
slide inside you and fuck you until I can’t hold on any longer.”

Leaning against her, she felt the brush of his silk shirt against her back and the
fine wool of his pants against her thighs.

She loved that he hadn’t wanted to take the time to remove his clothes, that he couldn’t
wait that long to have her.

It felt decadent. Like they were stealing this moment out of time.

And Jesus, did it make her hot.

She pressed back, rubbing her ass against the soft material covering his thighs, but
he grabbed her hips and held her still.

“You move at my discretion, Kate. And right now I want you to stay still.”

But she didn’t want to stay still. She wanted to move, to entice him into screwing
her like she needed. But she nodded and forced herself to freeze.

At least, as much as she could as he continued to stroke her.

Sliding his fingers between her folds, he rubbed the hardened knot of her clit. He
played with her, working her back into a state of heightened arousal that pushed her
close to the edge of orgasm. Pushed her to the point that she needed to come, needed
the release for her sanity.

In the next second, he had his fingers shoved inside her, stroking the walls of her
channel, hitting tantalizing new places of sensation that made her want to writhe.

She couldn’t keep still for long. And when she clenched around his fingers, he withdrew
them.

And smacked her ass. The burn made her moan.

“I see you can’t listen to orders.”

He’d leaned in close, his lips almost at her ear. She felt surrounded by him and wanted
to rub all over him like a cat. The fact that she couldn’t made her want it all the
more.

“Do you want me to leave you high and dry while I jerk off in front of you?” he continued.
“You won’t like that, trust me. But you’re so primed right now, you might be able
to come just from watching me.”

“No. No, I’ll stay still. Just fuck me.”

She barely recognized her voice, much less the words coming out of her mouth. She
never spoke like this to a man, had never wanted to.

Now, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

“Whatever you want, Kate.”

His hands landed on her hips and she pulled up against the chains binding her wrists
as his cock slipped between her legs.

She wanted to sob with relief as the head rubbed against her clit, providing more
stimulation. But not enough.

Trembling with the need to move, she bit down on her bottom lip, a moan gathering
in her chest.

“So beautiful. Such pale skin.”

He ran one hand up her naked back until he curved his fingers around her shoulder
and yanked her back. Her moan broke free as her ass flattened against his thighs and
his cock scraped along her clit.

“Dark hair.”

With his other hand, he gathered her hair together then let it slide through his fingers.

“Gorgeous ass.”

His hand smoothed over one cheek.

“One of these days I want that ass. Will you let me, Kate?”

“Yes.”

God, yes, though she’d never done it before. She wanted to. Wanted him to be her first.

“Not tonight. I don’t think I could be gentle enough tonight. Because I am so fucking
hot for you.”

He drew back and, in a split second, he’d thrust forward, split her open, and sank
so deep, she swore he couldn’t go any farther.

They both stilled then, Kate trying to adjust to the overwhelming sensation of being
filled and Tyler . . .

She assumed from his groan that he was soaking in the tight fit.