Playing for Real: Paolo's Playhouse, Book 5 (15 page)

After a moment she roused herself, pushed up so that she could look him in the face. His face was wet with the evidence of her satisfaction. She smiled and kissed him thoroughly.

“Don’t move,” she whispered. When she sat back up, his cock was jerking with need, bouncing against her ass. She reached over and grabbed a condom out of the drawer in the nightstand. She covered him quickly, then straddled him again, guiding him into her wet heat. She lowered herself, burying him deeply inside her.

Paolo groaned and looked up at this remarkable woman who, even when he gave her the chance to be in control, used that power to make sure she took care of him. The woman whose every emotion was clear on her face as she looked him in the eye. She rocked above him, riding him, the friction driving him quickly to the edge.

He cried her name as he came, his hands clutching her thighs, his eyes staring into hers. Paolo poured out more than his seed, he was certain every emotion he felt was clear on his face as well. He opened his arms and she settled into his embrace.

Her head rested on his shoulder. Her silky hair brushed his cheek and he kissed the top of her head. Emotions were overwhelming him. He didn’t remember ever feeling this much for a woman before, not even the one he’d married.

“Julianne?” he whispered. Her eyes were closed. Had she already fallen asleep?

“Hmm?” She opened her eyes and smiled up at him.

He kissed her forehead. “You can touch me whenever you want to.”

“What?” The confusion in her expression faded away as she studied him. Her expression lightened. “Okay. But I like bondage too.”

“I know,
cara
.” He cuffed her wrists with his fingers and drew her hand to his chest. “It does not have to be only one way or the other.” Richard was right. Paolo didn’t mind making compromises with Julianne. In fact, it didn’t even feel like a compromise. He’d do whatever he could to make her happy. “We will feel it out as we go along.”

She rested her hand on his cheek. “It’s late. Kiss me now before I can’t tell you what to do again.”

He was happy to oblige.

Chapter Seven

Paolo woke to the scent of coffee and bacon. He would have liked to have tied Julianne to the bed and breakfasted on her body first, but he couldn’t deny the smile he saw in the mirror after taking a quick shower.

The view that greeted him in the kitchen made him wish he hadn’t wasted even that small amount of time. Julianne stood at the counter. She must have grabbed one of his T-shirts but since she was tall, it just covered her luscious ass. Her long, bare legs seemed to stretch out for miles. She’d pulled her hair up in a ponytail and Paolo came up behind her, wound that mane of hair around his hand and pulled her head back for a quick kiss.

“Good morning,” he said. He nipped her ear. “You taste good enough to eat.”

She laughed and nudged his growing erection with her ass. “Thanks, but wouldn’t you rather save me for dessert? I can cook you some eggs first.”

“The eggs can wait,” he growled. “I want you now.”

“O-okay.”

He slid his hands down her arms until he could wrap his fingers around her wrists. “Hold on.” He pressed her hands down so she could grasp the edge of the counter. Then he pulled a condom from the pocket he’d slipped it in before he came out to find Julianne. He released his cock, covered it quickly. When he bent her over the counter, the shirt rode up, revealing the firm globes of her ass. He slid one hand between her thighs, found her wet and ready for him. He grabbed her hips and plunged into her with one smooth thrust.

This. This was what he needed. Where he belonged. Where
she
belonged. Julianne’s soft moans as he moved within her were sweet music. His thrusts were fast and rough. There was no way to be soft and gentle this morning. As soon as he saw her in his kitchen, cooking for him, caring for him, he’d had to have her, take her, keep her.

He reached one hand around to her mound and slid a finger down to find her clit. He continued to pound into her from behind, pressing her into the counter. A couple rough brushes of his finger over her swollen nub and she came apart in his arms. Her sweet flesh clenched around him and his climax followed within seconds.

Paolo wrapped his arms around her, held her close while he came. Once their breathing settled back to normal, he pulled out and helped Julianne to straighten up. He kissed the sweet spot where her neck met her shoulder. Before he turned away to take care of the condom, he said, “I like my eggs scrambled.”

Julianne had the table set and breakfast ready when he came back into the kitchen. She asked how he liked his coffee and brought him a cup at the table. He caught her hand before she could turn away and kissed her palm. “Thank you,
cara
.”

She smiled, then brought the breakfast over and sat in the chair beside him. They ate in silence for a few moments, then she looked at him almost shyly and said, “I have work to do. Would you be able to drive me back after breakfast?”

No. He couldn’t let her go. Not yet. He reached for her hand and squeezed her fingers. “It is Sunday. No work today.”

“But I have so much to do.”

“Stay here with me,
cara
,” he said, aware he was almost begging. He couldn’t seem to care. “Stay the day. Stay the night. I will take you home as early as you want tomorrow morning.”

She eased her hand out of his and picked up her coffee cup, probably trying to buy some time. Her gaze bounced around the room and he knew she was thinking too hard again.

“Are you hesitating because you don’t want to stay? Or because you don’t think you should?”

Julianne set the cup down and met his eye. “I want to. Too much.”

“Too much? No. There is no such thing. You need a day off. You need to relax.” He tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. “I can help you with that, yes?”

Finally she smiled. “Yes. All right.”

He relaxed back into his chair. “Tell me what you will be working on when you go back tomorrow.”

He listened to her chat about the house she was working on and the ideas she had for Ingrid’s shop. He loved hearing her enthusiasm, the smile in her voice. He hated the idea of her having to go back across town to work. He hated the idea of her going back to her apartment at all.

“
Cara
, I would like you to consider moving in with me.” There. A simple statement. No begging this time.

Her eyes widened. “Oh, wow, I don’t know.”

He leaned forward and cupped her cheek. “I would like you to be with me every day. Every night. I miss you when you are gone.”

“I miss you too.”

“But?”

Julianne took a deep breath and pushed away her empty plate. “A big part of me wants to say yes right now. A big part. But you have to understand what a huge step that would be for me. My mother let my dad do everything. She didn’t know how to make decisions, or pay the bills, or anything.” Julianne remembered how her mother fell apart when her father walked away from his family. “She didn’t know how to handle it when he left her. She couldn’t cope. I promised myself a long time ago that I’d never let a man have that much control over me.”

He could see the vulnerable young woman she used to be in the worried expression on her face. “You are a strong, capable woman. You would never fall apart, no matter what life threw your way. Just because you are submissive does not mean you are weak.”

She placed her hand over his. “I know but this has all happened really fast. I’ve always lived by myself. I’ve always taken care of myself.”

“I understand.” He caught her hand and kissed her fingers. “Still, I would like you to move in here with me. I will not pressure you. I only ask that you promise me you will think about it.”

“Yes. Okay. I’ll think about it.”

The relief that washed over him was overwhelming. He sat back as casually as he could and picked up his coffee cup. “Good.”

After a lovely lazy Sunday, Paolo drove Julianne back to her apartment Monday morning. She sat silent in the passenger seat, her mind whirling. Paolo wanted her to move in with him. He wanted to be with her. He missed her when she was gone.

But was that because he missed
her
? Or the submissive?

If they were going to continue their relationship, driving back and forth across town would get old really fast. It made sense for them to live closer to each other. Yes, even live with each other. But how could she be sure after only a few weeks? And what kind of relationship would it be? If she merely submitted to everything he wanted, how could she trust what she felt?

“Will you need to work later to catch up?” Paolo asked when they reached her apartment.

She unlocked the door, turned into his arms. “No. I’ll be ready on time.”

“Good. I will send Jack to pick you up. Pack a bag.”

She didn’t argue. She wanted to spend the night with him again. “Okay.”

A small smile, a slightly evil smile, lifted his lips. “Think about me today.”

As if she could do anything else. “I will.”

He brushed her hair back away from her face, then slid his hand around to collar her throat, and pressed her body against the wall. “Role playing tonight,
cara
.”

She swallowed, felt the pressure of his hand, felt the answering clenching between her legs. She nodded slowly.

“You will be captured sometime this evening. Bound with chains to a kidnapper’s bed.” His voice was low and dark. He slid his hand around to the back of her neck, pulled her in for a hard kiss. “So plan on struggling. And screaming. And perhaps you will even tell me no again.”

She trembled, nodded once more before he released her. When Julianne closed the door behind her, she knew she had a huge smile on her face. Perhaps right now it didn’t matter why they wanted to be together. It didn’t matter how long or short a time they’d known each other. The more she got to know Paolo, the more she liked him. As a Dom. As a man.

Maybe all that mattered was that they gave each other what they needed. Maybe that’s all a relationship really was.

Julianne spent the rest of the week at Paolo’s place when she wasn’t working. They seemed to settle easily into a routine. She loved to cook but had never wanted to spend the time cooking only for herself. She enjoyed preparing meals every night for Paolo and he helped her clean up.

They talked for hours. She told him more about her childhood and the challenge of taking her client’s desires and making them a reality. She loved hearing about his childhood in Italy and his transition when his family moved to this country when he was a teenager.

She was amazed to discover how many properties he owned, how many businesses he had invested in, helping many entrepreneurs get a start. Play dates were no longer limited to Monday and Wednesday. She’d been bound and spanked and clamped and fucked. They’d made love in every room of the apartment.

Friday evening after dinner, Paolo turned on an old black and white movie on the big screen TV and settled back on the roomy sofa. Julianne knew from experience that it was big enough for them both to stretch out on while they had sex. She brought them both a glass of wine. She handed Paolo’s to him, then sat on the floor at his feet. She curled her feet under her and leaned back against the front of the sofa.

“I have made reservations for dinner tomorrow night, to the restaurant where we had our first date,” he told her.

“It sounds like the perfect excuse to buy a new dress.” She couldn’t remember the last time she’d bought a new outfit. “I’m working down in Ingrid’s shop tomorrow afternoon, so I should have time for some shopping in the morning.” She turned to look up at him. His dark eyes were warm. “Did you have something particular you’d like me to look for or would you like to come with me to help me pick it out?” She was surprised at the eagerness in her voice.

“I would love to come with you,
cara
.”

“Good.” She turned back around and took a sip of wine.

“Have you seen this movie before?” Paolo asked.

She had no idea what movie it was. “I don’t think so. I haven’t watched many old movies.”

“No? My mother loves movies and we were often forced to sit and watch old movies with her in the evenings.” He reached out to run his fingers through her hair and she hummed with pleasure. “But I will tell you a secret. I would pretend that it was torture to have to sit there and watch old movies that were not even in color, but I enjoyed every moment. Not just the movies, but the time I spent with my mother and sister.”

“Like when you looked at the stars with your father.”

“Exactly.”

“I wish I had some happy memories like that of my parents. They usually ignored each other. They usually ignored me. Looking back, I think they were both so unhappy, they didn’t know what to do.”

He continued to stroke her hair. It was soothing. “It left you with a very lonely childhood.”

“I guess so.” She shrugged and took another sip of wine while she composed her thoughts. “But I learned to be self-sufficient. To take care of myself.”

“At a time when your parents should have been taking care of you.”