Dungeon Time (Play at Work) (6 page)

“Yes, fine.” What if he had suggested she swim without a suit? Would she have done it? Not usually, but on the day of her independence, with so many other extraordinary things happening, maybe.

While he ordered their dinner, she focused on the pool, imagining him in there, stroking back and forth with the moon shining on his skin, lighting his hair. Muscles low in her belly tightened and her panties dampened.

“Wine?” He reappeared at her side and handed her a heavy goblet. “I hope you like cabernet.”

Her cheeks heated “I’m surprised you trust me with it, after my behavior earlier.”

Edward rested a hand on her waist and turned her away from the window. “Oh, yes. Not a good policy, getting tipsy during the work day.” He took her arm and led her to one of the deep sofas, against the side wall. “You were a bad girl.”

Reckless with freedom, she giggled. “Yes, I was. Someone should take me in hand before I run completely amok.”

“I think I’d like to see what you’re like, running amok.” Drawing her down at his side in the deep cushions, Edward took the glass from her hand and set it on a side table.

“Wait, I didn’t have any yet.”

“Before you do, I want to taste you. Then you may have your wine back.”

She tipped her head back and licked her lips.
Taste me?
Edward smoothed her hair from her face and cupped her chin. He held her gaze, his eyes alight with a gleam that sent a thrill of fright and arousal right to her core.
I am so out of my depth with this man.
Coherence fled when his lips descended on hers. No softness, no giving, only taking. His tongue parted her lips and plundered her mouth, circling, dancing, and retreating, stroking against her own; rough velvet that left no part of her sane.

He dragged her onto his lap and pressed kisses on her face, her cheeks, her eyelids. He nipped at her neck and buried his mouth against her throat, sucking at the skin. She moaned, trapped in his sensual embrace. When he tugged at her top, she lifted her arms to help him take it off then reached for the back clasp of her bra, but he grasped her wrists, holding them behind her in one big, strong hand.

“Not yet, beauty. Let me set the pace.”

She shivered. “Yes…yes.”

Edward eased her across his lap with her head resting on a small pillow in the corner of the couch. Moonlight played across the shiny hardwood floor, but their part of the room lay in shadow, mysterious and dark. Anna fought to lie still, trembling with need. A need new to her.

Edward grazed her lace-covered breasts with the back of his hand. “I think we should talk about this afternoon.”

Lost in a fog, she struggled to make sense of his words. “Okay.”

“You were a naughty girl.” He unhooked her bra and tossed it aside. Molding her breasts in his big hands, he continued. “Weren’t you, Anna?”

“Yes.” She swallowed hard, his deep tone echoing in her head.

“I hope you don’t make a habit of drinking at lunch.”

She focused, or tried to. “No, I don’t. Or not more than one glass, at least. And not on workdays.”
Excellent coherence. He can’t know how dizzy I am—how dizzy he’s making me.

Edward lifted the glass and dribbled a little dark red wine over her breast. While she held her breath, he bent and lapped it away. “Wine is delightful. At the right place and time.” He poured a few drops on the other breast and sucked her nipple into his mouth, working it with his tongue and teeth. He lifted his head. “But not if it makes you irresponsible. Right?”

“Right.”
Just don’t stop touching me.

“What big nipples you have.” His mouth closed over one again, and she shuddered. She’d always thought they were too big, but if he liked them, she liked them. And she loved what he did to them.

He didn’t seem to require a response, so she squirmed in his lap while he stroked and pinched her breasts, bending to nibble every now and then.

“Will you promise me not to get tipsy at lunch again?”

Why did he care? But it wasn’t as if she’d ever done it before, so she saw no reason not to agree. “Okay, I promise.”

“That’s my good girl.”

His words sent a shiver down her spine to meet the heat coiling in her belly.

A deep chime broke the tension between them, and she jumped. Edward chuckled and rose, lifting her to her feet at the same time
as if she weighed no more than a feather. His strength weakened her knees.

“Dinner is here. I hope you’re hungry.”

Anna struggled to find her voice. “Yes…I am, a little.”

He snaked an arm around her waist and dragged her against his hard chest. “Only a little? I must be slipping.” Dropping a kiss on her nose, Edward set her aside and moved toward the door. A moment later, he returned with a pizza box and waved to her. “Let’s go down to the rec room and eat. Grab the wine.”

She put on her bra and shirt, hurried to the end table for the bottle and glasses, and followed him down a flight of stairs near the back wall. They emerged into an area bigger than she’d surmised, extending not only onto the beach but under the upper level into the bluff. A combination media/rec room with a big flat screen on one wall featured a pool table in the center of the floor space. French doors opened onto the pool deck.

“Wow, this is really nice. How long have you lived here?”

“Nearly ten years. I cashed out some stocks right before the market crashed. Best move I ever made.” Edward dropped the pizza on a round table and disappeared through an archway, returning with some plates and napkins. “Have a seat.” He opened the box and moaned. “Best pizza in the state, I believe.”

He handed her a plate and waved. “Help yourself. I’m anxious to hear your opinion.”

How could he wax so enthusiastic about pizza after the make out session upstairs? Anna’s knees were still rubbery, and her panties clung to her damp folds. She’d been ready to fling off her clothes and beg him to take her. But under his eager stare, she took a slice and sank her teeth into it.

“Ohhh.” She broke the piece of stretching mozzarella and took another bite, chewing slowly. “This is good. I need to know where you got it,
since I live in the neighborhood.”

“Gondola. Over on First Street near the pier. They also have killer lasagna. Maybe we can try that another time.”

“Sure. That would be nice.”
Better than nice. Wonderful.

They finished the pizza and the bottle of wine, chatting about inconsequential things. He told her about the remodel he planned, employing a contractor friend to add a small turret to the house—one more fairytale detail.
She shared her plan to one day open a boutique florist with flowers grown locally. By her, if possible. Roses and other heritage blooms so dear to her heart.

Once
the last slice was gone, Edward stood and stretched “I’d better take you home before it gets too late. You’ve had a long day.”

Anna’s wide-eyed expression would have been comical if he hadn’t been trying to ignore the insistent pulse of his cock. When they’d arrived downstairs, he’d realized his mistake. If she wanted to use the bathroom, she would have had to pass through his bedroom, still rigged from a recent play session. The suspension mechanism, hung from the ceiling, and an array of cuffs and shackles lay on his dresser. How could he have forgotten? Anna’s presence clouded his mind.

She dreamed of flowers and beauty.

If Edward wanted to court this special and innocent woman—and the more time he spent with her the more he wanted to make that a reality—he would have to prevent her from seeing his darker side. At least until she knew him well enough to accept him with all his flaws and quirks. If she saw the ropes and tackle, she’d consider him a pervert or, worse, a kidnapper. She’d run so fast, he’d never see her again.

He would take her home, kiss her goodnight, and leave. Her responses on the couch to the contrary, Anna was not a first date lay. And he wanted to sho
w her his respect.

She was silent on the way back to her place. He waited, wondering if she would share her thoughts.

“Would you like to come in for a…well, I don’t have anything to offer you. Would you like to come in for a few minutes?”

If he did, he’d have her bent over her Murphy bed, panties around her ankles, in two minutes flat. Would she go along with it? Her response to his kisses made him believe he could convince her. And he had gotten her top off. What base was that? He played a whole different kind of baseball.

But if he did coax her into bed, wouldn’t she hate him for it? Think him a beast? No, Anna was a good girl, and he was going to hold out, at least until the second date. Rock-hard cock be damned.

“I’d like to come in, but I think we both need our rest.” Unable to resist at least a small gesture, he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close—holding his hips and incriminating bulge away.

She leaned back against his forearm, and he bent to give her a kiss. A single, chaste kiss that quickly became consuming. After a long moment of struggle to maintain his good intentions, he shifted back and waited while she fumbled for her key and opened the door.

“Thank you for a lovely evening and for all of your help.” Her voice trembled. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.” Anna took a step inside but lingered in the doorway.

“The pleasure was mine.” He’d spent years developing control of his emotions, putting his sub’s needs first, but for once he wanted to let it all go, to follow this woman into her home and do what nature demanded.

Nature…very little of his tastes could be considered natural. He took the first flight down.

“Edward?” Her soft voice followed him, and he looked up to see her leaning over the balcony. “Won’t you please come in?”

He was a Dom, not a saint.

“Maybe just for a moment.”

But Edward didn’t mean that. He took the stairs two at a time again, followed her inside, and closed the door. She’d offered once too often.

“I don’t have any chairs.” She stood in front of him, hands twisting, her bravery at asking him used up. Her curvy form drew him like bears to honey. And he wanted to lick all the honey he could make her pour.

He smiled down at her. “You didn’t ask me back here to sit in a chair anyway, did you, Anna?”

She held her ground.
Admirable.
“No,” she whispered.

“Tell me why you called to me just now.” He stayed his approach, and she wobbled a little but did not retreat. Her flushed cheeks made him want to rip her top away to get to her breasts again. Suck and lick her plump nipples until she tore her own pants off. “Talk to me.”

“I…I wanted you to sleep over.”

Her innocence floored him. In fact, her choice of words concerned him enough to ask a question. “Anna, you have been with men before, haven’t you?”

She clenched her jaw and put her hands on her hips. Ah, her spirit was back. “Of course I have. I’m not a virgin. Why would you even ask that?”

Amused by the little chicken’s protests, he continued. “How many?”

“How many what?”

“How many men have you had ‘sleep over’?”

She turned her face away, but he used his thumb under her chin to bring it back. “Tell me, Anna.”

She bit her lip. “One. Only one, okay? But that doesn’t make me a virgin or naïve. If I want you to stay over, to…to sleep in my bed and make love to me, I can do that. Got it?” She jerked free of him and stood, legs planted apart, black curls falling over her eyes. “So stay or go, it’s up to you, but do not imply I am too inexperienced to ask.”

Fire gleamed in her eyes, and his lust roared with demand, sending his last good intentions packing. “Fine, but be careful what you ask for.”

She spun and flounced over to the wall concealing her bed. “I know what I want. The only question is if you can give it to me.”

He growled low in his throat. Years of obedient and frisky subs had ill prepared him for one lovely and untrained Italian girl. Yet, she pleased him, in ways not even the twins had. And while she might be inexperienced, with only one lover in her past, he couldn’t regret that either. The thought of any man’s hands on her so enraged him, he hoped never to encounter whoever the man had been for fear of wreaking mayhem on the bastard’s head. Not only had he touched her, if the tightness around her full lips was any indication, the asshole had hurt her.

I am usually such an excellent sharer.
But not with Anna, Not ever.

He took two steps and lifted her from her feet, moving her to the side so he could open the closet. “As you wish, but don’t say I didn’t try to save you.”

Edward pulled the bed down and lifted her again, tossing her onto the soft mattress. She lay smiling at him. The minx was not upset; she had tricked him into her bed. Sneaky. “Don’t be gentle with me. Take me apart and remake me as you would have me be. Make me yours, for tonight.”

He gaped. No woman in his nighttime world had ever said it so eloquently. Still, she had no idea what she asked. But
if she gave herself freely, he would accept.