cross.”
“What the hell, Liz?” Gareth tried to yank his hands out of the cuffs, but the Velcro held fast. “Let me go.”
“Not until you promise me that you’re going to keep playing by my rules. You gave me control tonight. Me. I’m the one looking after you, making sure everything is fine. I thought you trusted me to do that?”
I would never have admitted it to him, but if Gareth said he didn’t trust me the way I trusted him, I was going to let him off the cross and ask him to leave. Then I’d lose his phone number in my deleted items folder. Great sex is awesome, but I wanted a relationship and I wouldn’t settle than anything less than a mutually satisfying one.
Deep down, I knew he wouldn’t let that happen. The sex was one thing, but our time together was something else. My side adventure to IKEA tonight proved that much. We’d had fun . I haven’t seen him smile that much in a long while. And more than once I thought he might actually hold my hand.
But this would only work if he met me halfway.
There must have been something in my expression that told him I wasn’t screwing around. Gareth turned his face away from me and let out a huff. “I trust you, Liz. More than I think you realize.”
Well. Good. “And are you going to let me stay in charge? Because we can stop right now if you want.”
“No.” He rolled his head so his cheek rested on his biceps. “You’re the boss, Mistress.”
It really was impressive the power one little word held.
Rather than go back to his wrists, I bent down and freed his feet. I had to force my concentration back into the being in charge Liz , because it really wasn’t my normal state. Not with Gareth at any rate. This time when I returned to work on his wrists, he didn’t struggle, though he didn’t do anything to help either.
I nearly forgot to take his arms down one at a time, making sure to give his shoulders and arms a rub as I went. Even though he hadn’t been up there for long, sometimes it didn’t take much for that dull ache to set into your muscles.
Through the whole thing, Gareth said nothing. I kept sneaking glances at him, but his gaze was fixed somewhere on the floor. I knew that expression—I’d seen it enough in the mirror. The bastard was thinking again.
“I want you to lie faceup on the bed. Make sure you grab hold of my headboard and stretch out as far as you can.”
Not for the first time I was thankful I’d purchased the wrought iron frame when I’d first graduated from school. I intently watched as he climbed along the length of my mattress to stretch out onto his back. Tight muscles flexed as he shifted and adjusted into place. He still wasn’t looking at me, which was beyond odd for him. Normally Gareth can’t take his eyes off me.
No, that wasn’t conceit.
I understood the appeal of simply being able to stare at an attractive naked body. There was something raw about it, as if you were able to see more than the bare flesh. I wanted to find a way to imprint myself on him, somewhere he’d never be able to get rid of. Maybe a place in his heart close to where his late wife was.
The leather and silk I was wearing had suddenly grown uncomfortable. I’d often wondered why Gareth never bothered to dress up the way Stephen did. But now I got it. The clothing was only a mask. The real control, the place where the dominant part of him lived, didn’t need the barrier to slip in and out of existence. It was a distraction from what was really important.
I sat down on the side of the bed and unzipped my boots. Okay, that felt a hundred times better. I set them to the side before going to work on my corset. The muscles in Gareth’s arms tensed and relaxed as I stripped, but he still wouldn’t look at me. I didn’t bother doing anything with the clothing, letting it fall to the floor in a silent heap.
My knees pressed into the bed, causing his body to shift as I got into position. I leaned over him and placed a kiss to
“What the hell, Liz?” Gareth tried to yank his hands out of the cuffs, but the Velcro held fast. “Let me go.”
“Not until you promise me that you’re going to keep playing by my rules. You gave me control tonight. Me. I’m the one looking after you, making sure everything is fine. I thought you trusted me to do that?”
I would never have admitted it to him, but if Gareth said he didn’t trust me the way I trusted him, I was going to let him off the cross and ask him to leave. Then I’d lose his phone number in my deleted items folder. Great sex is awesome, but I wanted a relationship and I wouldn’t settle than anything less than a mutually satisfying one.
Deep down, I knew he wouldn’t let that happen. The sex was one thing, but our time together was something else. My side adventure to IKEA tonight proved that much. We’d had fun . I haven’t seen him smile that much in a long while. And more than once I thought he might actually hold my hand.
But this would only work if he met me halfway.
There must have been something in my expression that told him I wasn’t screwing around. Gareth turned his face away from me and let out a huff. “I trust you, Liz. More than I think you realize.”
Well. Good. “And are you going to let me stay in charge? Because we can stop right now if you want.”
“No.” He rolled his head so his cheek rested on his biceps. “You’re the boss, Mistress.”
It really was impressive the power one little word held.
Rather than go back to his wrists, I bent down and freed his feet. I had to force my concentration back into the being in charge Liz , because it really wasn’t my normal state. Not with Gareth at any rate. This time when I returned to work on his wrists, he didn’t struggle, though he didn’t do anything to help either.
I nearly forgot to take his arms down one at a time, making sure to give his shoulders and arms a rub as I went. Even though he hadn’t been up there for long, sometimes it didn’t take much for that dull ache to set into your muscles.
Through the whole thing, Gareth said nothing. I kept sneaking glances at him, but his gaze was fixed somewhere on the floor. I knew that expression—I’d seen it enough in the mirror. The bastard was thinking again.
“I want you to lie faceup on the bed. Make sure you grab hold of my headboard and stretch out as far as you can.”
Not for the first time I was thankful I’d purchased the wrought iron frame when I’d first graduated from school. I intently watched as he climbed along the length of my mattress to stretch out onto his back. Tight muscles flexed as he shifted and adjusted into place. He still wasn’t looking at me, which was beyond odd for him. Normally Gareth can’t take his eyes off me.
No, that wasn’t conceit.
I understood the appeal of simply being able to stare at an attractive naked body. There was something raw about it, as if you were able to see more than the bare flesh. I wanted to find a way to imprint myself on him, somewhere he’d never be able to get rid of. Maybe a place in his heart close to where his late wife was.
The leather and silk I was wearing had suddenly grown uncomfortable. I’d often wondered why Gareth never bothered to dress up the way Stephen did. But now I got it. The clothing was only a mask. The real control, the place where the dominant part of him lived, didn’t need the barrier to slip in and out of existence. It was a distraction from what was really important.
I sat down on the side of the bed and unzipped my boots. Okay, that felt a hundred times better. I set them to the side before going to work on my corset. The muscles in Gareth’s arms tensed and relaxed as I stripped, but he still wouldn’t look at me. I didn’t bother doing anything with the clothing, letting it fall to the floor in a silent heap.
My knees pressed into the bed, causing his body to shift as I got into position. I leaned over him and placed a kiss to
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