WrappedAroundYourFinger (8 page)

“You make a very valid and very sexy point,” he said,
reaching over and lightly slapping one of her ass cheeks. Already he missed
seeing his handprint on them.

She turned and narrowed her eyes playfully as she cleared
the rest of the table. “So, what are we going to do today?”

“Have you ever been to a play party?”

“No.”

“A friend of mine hosts one on the last Sunday of every
month. I want to take you.” He hadn’t been in a long while. The idea of
bringing her to Jared’s party as
his
submissive was just too tempting.
Yes, it was selfish and a little barbaric, but for some reason he felt the need
to publicly stake his claim. Aside from that, the party would be the perfect
venue for a scene he planned for her. Something explosive. Something emotional.
Something she wouldn’t easily forget.

“I’ve always been curious. I have friends at the agency that
are always trying to drag me along. Going without a Dominant never appealed to
me.”

“You won’t have to worry about that now will you?” He stood
and cornered her by the sink, leaned down and playfully bit her neck.

“I guess I don’t have to do a whole lot of worrying with you
around.”

“That’s the idea.”

* * * * *

Indie stood in front of the closet watching as Banner slid
into a pair of soft, black leather pants. “So what should I wear tonight? I
have this gorgeous corset—”

Banner shook his head.

“No? Well I can’t very well go naked can I?”

He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she froze.
Oh please,
don’t let him say I’m going naked.
Maybe the package that had arrived
earlier was something for her to wear to the party. A girl could hope.

“You’ll be going to the party as Indie the submissive, not
Indigo Hartley, the fetish model.”

“What do you mean by that?” Did he not like her style? Were
her clothes not good enough? She didn’t understand. She wanted to, but it
looked a hell of a lot like he wanted to change her. That wasn’t part of their
deal. This wasn’t supposed to be serious. He’d been steadily chipping away at
her idea of casual and she didn’t like it. Not at all.

“I love the way you dress. It’s fun. It’s unique and you are
stunning when you’re all made up. But you hide behind the image you’ve created.
It’s a shield you use to protect yourself. I don’t just want the tattooed,
blue-haired model who wears retro clothes, high heels and red lipstick. I want
the woman beneath all that too. I want the raw honesty, the brave trust and the
passionate soul that you show me when there is no place left for you to hide.”

Her throat suddenly felt painful and tight as she tried to
swallow down all the emotion he’d just dragged into the light.

“I don’t…hide.” It was a lie and she knew it as soon as the
words left her mouth.

He pulled on a fitted black t-shirt and approached her
calmly. He cupped her face in his hands. “Indie. It’s okay. We don’t have to
talk about this right now.”

He saw too much, read her too well. Part of her wanted to
pour out her heart, bare her soul, but she just couldn’t. Not right now. Maybe
not ever. Besides they had a party to get ready for. She should focus on that.

He walked over to a set of drawers toward the back of the
closet and opened one. When he turned he had a black leather collar and two
sets of cuffs in his hands.

“You’re going to restrain me with those?” Her mind quickly
shifted gears.

“I might,” he answered.

She waited, expecting him to elaborate, but he didn’t. “At
the party? In front of everyone?”

“Indigo, do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

“Then no more questions.”

She took a deep, cleansing breath and willed herself to
relax. Why did she always need to know every little detail? Maybe it was her
way of trying to hold on to a thread of control. Where, what, why…for fuck’s
sake, she couldn’t let go even for a minute. She could lie to herself and hide
behind the notion that she didn’t want to embarrass him with her lack of
knowledge. He was fully aware of her inexperience. If there was something he
felt she needed to know, he’d tell her. She was safe with him. He would look
after her. She needed to trust in that.

She should just…let go.

If only she could place herself in his care and let him
worry about the rest. Free. She would be—free—without care, without stress,
without anxiety. It hit her for the first time that this was what submission
was truly about.

“Lift your hair.”

She obeyed.

“Are you nervous?” he asked as he wrapped the thick collar
around her throat. The leather smelled earthy and comforting as the O ring
jingled from where it hung in the center. Banner buckled it into place and for
just a second, she wished it were hers, not just a play collar. She understood the
significance of it and how sacred it was in a Dominant/submissive relationship.

Part of her ached to belong to him and dreaded the fact
she’d be going back to her mundane life tomorrow. She shoved the thought down
where it belonged, buried with her fantasies. It was the last night of their
arrangement, she didn’t want to spend it wallowing over things she couldn’t
have.

“A little, but I’m in good hands.”

He flashed a devastating smile her way as he led her over to
the bed. “Yes you are. Jared’s parties are safe, sane and consensual. You can
expect that people will be engaged in all sorts of sordid, kinky things. Jared
doesn’t have many rules, but those he does have are strictly enforced. Treat
everyone with respect, subs and Doms alike. Never interrupt someone else’s
scene. No drugs. And safe words must always be honored. People who break the
rules don’t get invited back and invites are very hard to come by.”

“Sit,” he commanded and she did. The fleece on the inside of
the leather wrist cuffs was soft against her skin as he fastened them. After
they were buckled, he turned them so that the buckles were on the inside and
the D rings faced out. It seemed methodical, something he’d done many times
before. With a small bite of jealousy, she wondered how many subs had worn them
before her, and how many would wear them after she was gone.

He knelt before her and gingerly picked up one of her feet
as if it were a delicate piece of glass. His fingers were soft and light as he
fastened a cuff to her ankle. When he looked up at her, the warmth in his eyes
was too real, too honest. She dropped her gaze. They’d slept together, had sex,
he’d spanked her, but this…this small act seemed so intimate.

He seemed to sense her withdrawal and buckled the last cuff
into place with more efficiency, less care. Instantly she missed that small bit
of warmth. What would she miss tomorrow or in the weeks to come? The months?

When she looked at him again, the tenderness was gone, but
there was desire in its place. Still on his knees, he placed a hand on each of
her thighs and parted them slowly.

A shiver rolled through her as he ran his hands along her
skin until he reached her pussy. With his thumbs he massaged the sensitive
hollows where her thighs met her labia. Unconsciously she spread wider, but he
tightened his grip, pressing his fingers painfully into the flesh of her
thighs, reminding her who was in control.

“You move when I say.”

“Yes Sir.” She knew how this worked now. If she wanted him
to touch her, she had to obey and God, did she want him to touch her.

“Good girl.” He parted her lips with his thumbs, barely
brushing the sensitive nub of her clit. When he took her nipple between his
teeth, she whimpered. He alternated between teeth and tongue as he played. The
pleasure warred with the pain, then he sank a finger inside her pussy and she
willed herself to remain upright.

What she really wanted to do was lie back on the bed and beg
him to make her come. Instead she sat there and trembled. Slowly he strummed
her clit with his thumb as his finger pumped in and out of her. She wanted,
almost needed to thrust with him, but she held still. It was torture, a
pleasurable, blissful, torture. He brought her close, so very close to orgasm,
but to her disappointment, he backed away leaving her throbbing and needy and
frustrated.

“Don’t pout. You’ll get to come…eventually.”

* * * * *

It was absolutely insane how aroused Indie was at the
moment. Banner had brought her to the brink twice more before they left the
house. She was thankful he’d left her alone for the drive. Well not as thankful
as she’d be if he took mercy on her and gave her an orgasm. Apparently he
wasn’t in a very merciful mood. Frustrated, she shifted on the passenger seat
of Banner’s SUV.

Banner’s smile was all too smug as he pulled up to a gated
driveway. It would appear that he enjoyed watching her squirm. She clenched her
teeth and tried to ignore how damp her pussy was. It would serve him right if
she left a wet pot on his nice leather seat. He punched a series of numbers into
the keypad and it slowly opened, allowing them entrance.

If Banner’s house was modest and quaint, Jared’s was exactly
the opposite—grandiose, modern and located on a very affluent stretch of South
Beach. Banner parked among the other dozen or so cars and shut off the engine.
Anxious, she fiddled with the D ring attached to the cuff on her wrist.

Banner retrieved his toy bag from the back seat then came
around and helped her out of the vehicle. “God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered
before he kissed her.

She felt naked. She’d been right about the package that had
been delivered to the house earlier. Banner had chosen a kimono-style,
wrap-around dress for her to wear this evening. The wide sleeves of the elegant
ivory silk hung almost to her wrists. The hem just brushed the tops of her
thighs. A Japanese floral design had been hand painted on the back and over the
lapels. He’d allowed her no undergarments, minimal makeup and had her pull her
hair back in a chignon. Black strappy four-inch heels completed the outfit.

The man had incredible taste. The outfit was extraordinary,
but she felt off balance wearing it, as if she weren’t quite herself. Judging
from what she knew about Banner, the way she felt was intentional on his part.

She wondered if he intended to remove the dress or if he
just liked having her available to him. The prospect of being nude in front of
everyone at the party made her uneasy, however if that was what he wanted, then
she was prepared to give him that.

The front door opened before they reached it. Banner placed
a hand at the small of her back. The gesture was comforting, reassuring.

If Indie were to imagine what a Spartan Warrior would look
like, the man standing in the doorway would be it. Not only was he tall, but he
was stacked with muscle. His dark brown hair hung to his shoulders in waves. He
presented quite an intimidating picture as he stood there with his arms folded
across his chest, glowering at them.

“Well I’ll be damned.” The man’s deep timbre reverberated
through her and she shrank closer to Banner.

“Are you going to stand there and be rude or are you going
to let us in?” Banner asked with an arrogant grin.

“By all means,” the brute said as he stepped aside. He
clapped Banner on the back as his face split into a huge smile. “How the hell
have you been, Banner? And who is this tasty little morsel you’ve brought us?”

“Jared, I’d like you to meet Indigo Hartley. Don’t get your
hopes up. This one is mine.”

Jared stopped giving Indigo the once over and snapped his
attention back to Banner. “Did I hear that right?”

“Yes. Mine,” Banner said as he led her into a foyer that was
bigger than her entire house. A huge crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling
that stretched two floors up, marble floors gleamed and expensive art hung on
the walls. A staircase started up each side of the circular room and led to a
second floor balcony that wrapped around the perimeter. The decorative molding
alone had to cost more than she made in a year.

“Well, I think there will be more than a few broken hearts
over that one,” Jared said with a sly smile.

Indie’s curiosity must have registered on her face because
Jared gave her wink. “Subs have been vying for his collar for quite some time.
Isn’t that right, Banner?”

“Oh I think there’s another Dom around here that tops that
list. Pun completely intended.” Banner smirked.

“
Touché
, my friend. All joking aside, it’s good to
see you back in the scene. And very nice to meet you, Ms. Hartley.” Jared’s
smile was genuine as he gave her a polite nod.

“Please call me Indie and if you don’t mind my saying so,
you have such a beautiful home, Sir.”

“So formal. She’s beautiful, Banner. It’s a shame you don’t
share. I’m sure I won’t be the only one disappointed by that either. Almost
everyone is already here. You can join them in the main room or head to the
dungeon. I still have a few preparations to make, if you’ll excuse me,” Jared
said before he disappeared down the hallway.

Banner led her to a small coatroom off to the side where he
stored his toy bag then led her back through the foyer and into the main room.
Indie swallowed hard at the sight of so much leather and skin and latex. It was
almost like walking into a scene from one of the novels she read, only everyone
wasn’t young and perfect. There were some gorgeous hard bodies milling about,
but the rest just looked like everyday people, except they were dressed in
fetish wear. Compared to most, she was overdressed in her little kimono.

“Drink?” Banner asked her.

She thought about it briefly, but decided against it. She
didn’t want to dull her senses. No, she wanted her mind clear so she could
imprint every detail from tonight in her memory. “Actually, just a bottle of
water would be great.”

He gestured to one of the submissives standing near the
entrance to the room and she came rushing over. She was nude but for her red
collar, wrist and ankle cuffs. “How may I be of service, Master?” she asked
with a submissive bow.