Edge (Parker Reed #2) (10 page)

“I don’t know what exactly Parker has told you, but this will be a lesson for you both.” Colin pushed open the door.

We stepped into a wall of incense and musk. The spicy aroma filling my nostrils, making my aching and stressed out body relaxed.

“Have you heard of rope play, Keely?” Colin asked once he reached a stereo system on the far side of the room. The sound of slow, melodic music filled the room. It was deep, sensual, and it promised a high so great, it would be hard to come down from it.

“A little bit,” I said softly.

Colin nodded once. “Bring her to the center of the mat, Parker.”

Parker held my hand, squeezing it once in reassurance and did as he was instructed.

My heart gave a start, listening to him being told what to do was new for me. He always called the shots. I knew that Colin Vain was some sort of mentor for him but I had no idea how far that went.

We stepped onto black gym mats that covered the center of the room. The walls were a deep burgundy, with gold sconces hanging from them. Black candles melted slowly as orange and yellow flames danced in the air.

Colin turned off the lights to the room, the amber of the wax candles left as the only thing glowing around us. “How do you feel, Keely?”

“Nervous,” I answered honestly. My palms were sweaty and if I didn’t know any better, I could have sworn that the two large men could hear the racing of my heart.

“You should be.”

“What if I wasn’t?” I asked, snapping my mouth shut when Parker gave me a hard look. I cast my eyes down, silently apologizing at speaking out of turn.

Colin chuckled. “Eyes on me, pet.”

I looked up and was met with a warm gaze.

“You’re learning slowly and I’m impressed that Parker has had the time to teach you. I know there is shit going down. I get that. But what you both need right now is each other before things really get messy.” He sighed and fingered a length of rope that was attached to the wall on either side of the stereo system by a gold hook. “Hell’s Harlem is going to be here tomorrow. You won’t have time for each other after that.” He glanced back at us, looking between us both before his gaze landed on me. “Parker told me that you’ve been having nightmares.”

My eyes widened. “Really? Well, I have had some but not any recently. Have I?”

Parker nodded and cupped the back of my nape, kissing my hair. “I’m not surprised at all that you don’t remember but you had one last night.”

“Parker also tells me that you have a safe place,” Colin added.

I looked down at my feet. “I do.”

Warm fingers pinched my chin, tilting my head back. “Let’s get you back there.” Colin smiled.

I clutched my hands, my heart giving a start. I had no idea what he meant but I was very curious to find out.

“Parker, grab the other rope,” he instructed, indicating the long rope attached to the wall on the other side of the speaker.

Parker kissed my hair one last time before doing as he was told.

Both men looked at me, holding the rope in their hands, and slowly made their way back to me.

“Do you trust me?” Colin asked, his deep voice gentle.

“Yes, Sir. I do.”

“Good. Strip,” he demanded.

My eyes widened and I looked at Parker.

“Keely,” Colin barked.

Chewing my bottom lip, I glanced back at Colin. “Yes, Sir.”

“I will not hurt you. I will not do anything that you do not give consent to. And I will not touch you except to make sure that your bonds are not too tight. Once you are in the air, Parker will take over allowing you both to join and connect as one. Now, strip.”

My heart beat hard against my rib cage but I did as I was told. Throwing the robe to the side, I stood there naked before the two men.

Parker’s eyes heated but they remained glued on mine. Lust and passion swam through them, promising me hours of countless pleasure.

Colin didn’t take his gaze away from my face, giving me the respect and courtesy of a man who was only helping his friend. “Step forward.”

My feet moved of their own accord, my body trembling with anticipation of what was yet to come. A heated desire curled inside of me, spreading over my skin like a second layer.

“As we bind you, we will not speak unless we are guiding you. The only word you may say is your safeword if you feel the need to use it. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good girl.” Colin moved in front of me. “Make sure you breathe.”

I took a breath and waited. My eyes fluttered closed when I felt Parker move behind me. I didn’t have to see him to know that he would touch me first.

The thump of the rope falling to the floor, unbinding from itself, made my heart skip a beat with a nervous flutter. He grabbed my wrists, holding them in one hand behind my back and wrapped the rope around them in a sensual manner.

I felt the rope slide between my legs twice before securing underneath my rear. It fit tight against my skin and all I could picture was Parker’s smug smile at seeing something other than him wrapped around my lower body. Knowing he was the cause of the restriction and lack of movement, I imagined his grunt of approval. The rope slid along my skin, binding my abdomen before wrapping around my heavy breasts. It moved down the length of my back, heating my skin as it delved between my legs once again.

A breath left me on a sigh and I moaned when the rope rubbed at the center of my very being.

“Beautiful,” Parker whispered in my ear, sliding his fingers along my collarbone, bringing the length of the rope with it.

First my torso, then my lower half and my legs; I was completely bound for his pleasure and enjoyment.

In a slow move, my body lifted off the floor as I was suspended into the air. My eyes remaining closed, I breathed in the scent of his breath on my neck. My skin tingled. I could feel him looking at his work. His art. I was exposed, open for him. The rope bit into my skin, offering a slight discomfort but I found myself wanting to keep hold of that feeling. Of being completely bound. Restrained. Immobile.

Few words were said, his hands and the rope the only things that communicated his next move. He tugged on the rope, tightening its hold around me.

I moaned, my skin buzzing, an offering of my undoing and submission. Inhaling a breath, I waited.

“Breathe it out, angel,” he whispered in my ear.

A shiver traveled up my body and I exhaled deep and slow. Every fiber of my being, my bones and muscles, were screaming and alive. I tensed, allowing myself to ease into this new form of discomfort even as it took my breath away.

My eyes still closed, I felt pleasurable heat drip onto my rear, my back, my shoulders. I could feel the warmth dripping down the sides of my breasts before hardening. It increased the arousal that grew between my thighs and I found myself craving more.

“You are so beautiful,” Parker whispered. “Embrace the feel of the wax, angel.”

My heart raced when the liquid heat, the pleasurable high slicked over my opening to my clit. The wax burned, kissing my skin with tiny prickles of delight.

Parker grabbed my hair, forcing my head back, and brushed his fingers down my face. “Eyes on me, pet.”

My eyes slowly fluttered open, taking in my love. In my subspace haze, I saw that we were alone before my gaze finally settled on Parker. The lighting from the candles shimmered around him, giving him an unearthly glow.

“Bring me into your safe place.” He kissed me once and released me.

I allowed my eyes to shut and my body to feel as he walked around me.

His fingers pushed into the opening of my body while he poured the wax onto my tailbone. “Fly for me.”

Throwing my head back, I gave him my all as he brought forth the remnants of our mutual ecstasy. With his hand against my most intimate area, the other reached around to cup my neck. My body convulsed as he sank into me, a release shattering through me hard and fast.

Parker made love to me slow and deep, bringing me over the edge again and again. “Breathe it out, angel.”

But I didn’t want to. I wanted to remember this pain and pleasure, mixing as one. Calling it forth whenever I needed the reminder. Of that safe place. Of us being together as one in the most intimate and vulnerable way possible. I wanted to remember my submission, needed to remember my undoing. That ultimate freedom.

Past

T HAD been weeks since I saw Parker. Even longer since I held him and smelled his scent. It felt like a lifetime since I had a taste of him.

Although I knew that I was now the owner of Reed Enterprises, I never felt like it was mine. It didn’t belong to me. Not in the way a company like that should. Even if I slapped my name on it, it was and would always be Parker’s. Working from the ground up, he built a name for himself faster than anyone that I knew. At such a young age, he had more power, held more control than I ever could have imagined in my twenty-five years of existence. He lived and breathed the life of owning and controlling, dominating everything around him.

I never once wanted to run Reed Enterprises. I just figured it would run itself until Parker was able to come back, revealing himself to everyone that he was, in fact, very much alive. Not knowing what Parker’s true plans were in the beginning, I didn’t argue with his lawyer over me taking over the company. Not until the day I had to actually lead a meeting.

“You have to let them see that everything is fine,” his lawyer had told me the night before. “They need to know that they are still working for someone. You don’t want Parker’s hard work to go to shit, do you?”

Of course the guilt was laid on thick and I had no choice but to follow through with our plans.

So there I was, standing in front of Reed Enterprises, looking up at the building that I hadn’t stepped foot in in weeks. Probably even months. I had lost track of time and couldn’t tell one day from the next most mornings. Troy and Patrick were both happy that I would finally be getting out of the house when I’d rather mope and stew over everything that had happened.

With Jones parked a block away, the tremor of anxiety eased in my belly. Somewhat. I didn’t know a thing about leading a meeting with a room filled with men. Men who worked for Parker. Men who had watched Parker grow. They would no doubt wonder who the hell this woman was, trying to take over their boss’s company.

Taking a breath, I pushed open the glass door and headed into the cool lobby. Security sat to my left with reception straight ahead of me. I could feel eyes on me as I slowly walked to the elevators. Parker had made it so some people knew what I looked like, sending them out a mass email to make them aware that there would be a new person in charge. As the tabloids got wind of his death, my picture ended up making an appearance everywhere whether we liked it or not. He had tried his best to keep my identity on a down-lo but was not successful as he would have liked.

I was never an authoritative person. Hence the reason why I fell into Devin’s clutches so fast. I always had problems standing up for myself or channeling my strength. Parker told me that I was strong, that I could do anything. That I didn’t need his help. Maybe not. But I sure as hell wanted it.

Stepping into the elevator, memories of Parker and I fighting came into my mind. Us yelling at each other which then quickly turned into mind-blowing, knee-buckling sex. Even fighting with him turned into sex and it proved that I couldn’t control myself around him. Maybe that was why it was so easy to submit to him. To give him my all.

When the elevator doors dinged open, I was greeted by an older woman, smiling brightly at me.

“Hi,” she said, sticking out her hand.

“Hello.” I returned the handshake.

She stepped back, giving me room to leave the elevator and clapped her hands together. “Keely Price, it’s so nice to finally meet you.”

I frowned. “I’m sorry. You are…?”

“Oh.” She laughed. “Forgive me. I’m Donna Suthers. The current receptionist while Liz is on leave.”