Naked Canvas (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (20 page)

“No, I’m not done with you,” I said, pointing a finger at him. “You said you were going to polish away my rough edges. You said you were going to break down the walls I’d built around myself and uncover the real me.”

He looked at me warily. “Yeah, so?”

“Well, you didn’t finish.”

“Because you left.”

“And now I’m back.” I clasped my hands behind me and began pacing around him. “All day you’ve been trying to teach me things while I modeled. You said I try too hard to control everything. You said the secret to life, love, and happiness was to let go. To let go of my fear, to let go of my past, and to let go of all my preconceived ideas about who I’m supposed to be. All of the scenarios you put me through, those were the lessons you were trying to teach me, right?”

“Yes,” he said, watching me with a guarded expression.

“I’ll admit, I was skeptical at first, but I did my best to follow your advice. I surrendered my control to you, and I let the day take me where it would. And you were right. Once I let go, a lot of things I’ve been wrestling with my whole life started making sense. But I think we need one more lesson.”

His brow furrowed. “Are you serious?”

“Absolutely.”

“I don’t understand,” he said. “There’s no more deal. There’s no more money. I’m not going to change my mind.”

I hurried over to the counter and returned with the cashier’s check. “This isn’t about the money,” I said and ripped the check up in front of his face. “This isn’t about our agreement. This is about finishing what we started. One more session. Are you in or out? Answer me now.”

He considered it for a moment. “I’m in.”

“Good,” I said. “So tell me, what was the last scenario you had planned for me?”

He tapped a finger to his lips. “I was going to bind you to the rack across the hall.”

“And what was that supposed to teach me?”

“It was supposed to be a combination of everything brought together all at once.”

I nodded. “I can work with that. Let’s do it.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. There’s just one thing. I’m not going to be bound to that rack. You are.”

His eyes widened in disbelief. “Are you out of your mind? That’s not going to happen.”

I crossed my arms. “Why not?”

He ran his hand through his hair and began pacing around nervously. “Because it’s the exact opposite of what I tried to teach you today. You’re supposed to let go of control, not demand more.”

“I disagree. This is me letting go of control.”

“How so?”

“Look, when I showed up here today, I had no interest in bondage or spanking or any of this stuff. But I followed your instructions. I gave up control, and I found out I liked it. It’s scary for me to admit, but there it is. Then when you gave me control over that bitch Gillian, I discovered something even scarier. That kind of control is a serious turn on for me. I didn’t want to enjoy it. I didn’t want to admit it, even to myself. I think that’s why I ran. But I’m not running anymore. I want to let go of who I thought I was and embrace who I really am, like you taught me. Which is why I want one more go at it with you.”

He frowned. “That’s an interesting idea, but I don’t think I can do it.”

“Let’s finish what we started. You wanted to break down my walls? You wanted to see what was hidden underneath? Well here I am. Don’t you want to see what you’ve created?”

“I can’t. I just can’t.”

“So you can tie me up, but I can’t do the same to you?”

“I don’t know. I guess not.”

“I trusted you all day. I let you dress me up, tie me up, and work me up. Now I’m asking you to trust me. Do you trust me?”

Dominic stared at me in silence. I could almost see the conflict behind his eyes. He could easily say no to me. He could tell me to get out and that he never wanted to see me again. If he did, I could accept that. But I hadn’t been lying to him.

After everything that had happened today, this felt like the culmination of all his lessons. I had given in to the fact that dominance turned me on sexually. It was a secret part of who I am. And now that I had admitted that to myself, I wanted to see it through and explore that facet of my personality.

But there was one thing I hadn’t told Dominic. One secret hidden agenda that I couldn’t tell him about. It had nothing to do with money or love. There was one more thing I desperately wanted to know, and I was sure this was the only way to find out.

“I trust you,” he said finally. “Tell me what to do.”

***

Dominic was strapped to the metal rack where Gillian had been suspended earlier in the day. He was still wearing his crisp white shirt and dark slacks. For a man restrained, he still maintained an air of command about him. He watched me proudly. Unbroken and unbent. I had to do something about that.

I had gone through the outfits I had worn throughout the day and chosen bits and pieces to wear. I could have worn anything or nothing, but I needed to look the part if I wanted to act the part. The black leather corset with the shiny silver buckles hugged my torso. It held my shoulders back and my breasts out.

It made me feel regal and alluring, like a sexy warrior queen of days long past. The black silk thong clung to my hips, hinting at the pleasures beneath without revealing them completely. Lastly, I wore tall stiletto heels that added a few inches to my height which brought me eye level to Dominic in his bound position.

I stood a few feet away from him, our eyes locked, each of us sizing the other up. There was laughter in his blue eyes and a slight smirk twisting his beautiful lips. He looked intrigued and amused, like he wasn’t taking me seriously. He watched me almost like you’d watch a child who was pretending to act like a grown up. He would find out soon enough that I wasn’t pretending.

The table of sex toys and other devices still sat beside the rack, offering up endless possibilities for pleasure and pain. I would get to them soon, but first I was going to use something altogether more ordinary. I had grabbed them from Dominic’s studio before I had tethered him to the rack. I ran my fingers over a pair of steel scissors that glimmered menacingly in the stark glare of the spotlight.

I snatched the scissors from the table and brandished them in front of Dominic’s face. He looked at them hesitantly, and for the first time, his sure smile faltered just a fraction. A wave of satisfaction swept over me.

I pressed the pointed steel tip to his stubbly cheek, pressing just hard enough to dimple the skin but not hard enough to actually hurt him. His eyes blinked in fear and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. I grinned evilly and slid the scissors down his skin. I let the blade linger at his throat. A thin sheen of sweat blossomed on his forehead.

With my free hand, I yanked his expensive shirt by the lapel and twisted it, pulling it taut around his neck. Starting at the collar, I sliced into the fine fabric of his shirt. The scissors cut easily down the shirtfront, revealing a widening line of his perfect flesh. I cut about halfway down and then ripped his shirt open the rest of the way.

I looked into his eyes to gauge his reaction. He grinned at me again, but the confidence no longer lit that smile. It was the expression of a man trying to convince himself that he was not afraid. It was better, but he wasn’t quite ready yet.

I circled behind him and sliced open the back of his shirt. It hung like wilted angel wings on either side of his powerful back. I ran my fingernails lightly down his skin, unable to restrain myself from touching him. The sensation elicited a satisfying tremor from him.

I attacked his pants next, shearing them from his legs in quick, efficient movements until only shreds remained clinging to his waist like a caveman’s loin cloth.

I crossed back in front of him and drank in the sight of him. He looked like a raggedy version of the powerful man I had met this morning when I first arrived at his studio. The polish was gone from his appearance, and he reminded me more of the man I’d met at the art class. Wild. Primal. Savage.

I made short work of his sleeves and what remained of his pants and boxers so that he stood naked and vulnerable before me. Stripped of his clothing, the chiseled lines of his muscles stood out sharply in the harsh glare of the light. His swagger was gone along with any traces of humor, but his eyes still burned with a fierce intensity. They stared at me with a silent but unmistakable challenge. They said, “I can’t be broken.”

I turned back to the table and searched for something that could.

Chapter 21

Of all the wicked looking things on the table, I chose a black silk glove.

It was smooth and sleek, and it glided onto my hand like it had been dipped in lotion. I could have chosen a whip or a riding crop or any of the other implements of pain, but Dominic had proven to me earlier that pleasure could be more effective than pain when it came to getting someone to surrender.

I wanted him to surrender to me. I needed to find out the truth about a few things, but I couldn’t just come out and ask him. A slow approach would be my best bet.

I turned to face him.

He spotted the glove and raised an eyebrow at me. “Interesting choice. Are you sure you know how this works?”

I ignored his jibe. “From here on out, I am in charge.” I stroked his face with my gloved hand. “You are under my control.”

He continued to look at me with a bemused grin. I grabbed his nipple with my bare hand and pinched it hard between my fingers. His jaw tensed up, but otherwise, he refused to let me see him in pain.

“Is that understood?” I asked, still applying pressure with my fingers.

“Yes,” he said begrudgingly.

“Excellent.”

I released him from my grip. I started pacing back and forth in front of him. “You ran me through the gauntlet today, and now it’s your turn. So tell me, do
you
enjoy the feeling of being bound?”

“Not particularly,” he said. “I like being able to use my hands.”

I nodded. “That’s because you like being in control all the time.”

“Is that right?”

“It is. You spent all day criticizing me for always wanting to be in control. I suppose you weren’t wrong, but have you ever stopped to consider that you also have control issues?”

He shrugged. “I’ve never really thought about it.”

“You orchestrated this whole day with scenarios where you would be in complete control of the situation. Where you would be in complete control of me. Doesn’t that sound like you’re a bit of a control freak?”

“It’s not that simple—”

I cut his statement off by slapping my palm against his bare chest. The blow stung my hand so I could only imagine what it felt like for him. A glowing red hand print burned on his skin. “Don’t argue with me or else you will be punished. Only speak when I tell you to speak. Understood?”

“Fine, yes. Whatever.”

I struck his chest again with my hand, harder this time. Then I shoved my face close to his. “Keep fighting and I’ll grab that riding crop off the table. I’m more than happy to do this the hard way. Or we can do this the fun way.”

I placed my gloved hand around his cock and stroked him. The smoothness of the glove’s fabric was almost like lubricant so my hand slid easily over him. He grunted in surprise and immediately sprang to life. I slid my fist along his length until he was fully erect.

“That’s better, isn’t it?” I asked softly.

“Much better.”

I yanked my hand away and laughed cruelly. He glared at me.

“Oh, would you like me to continue?” I asked.

He nodded, his eyes still burning into mine.

“Then I need you to behave. I need you to submit.”

He didn’t respond. I walked behind him, admiring the strong lines of his back and the firmness of his ass. He looked like a chained up god. Like something out of a Greek myth.

The sight of him standing there restrained and helpless awoke a powerful lust within me. I forced myself to calm down and remember why I was doing this. I could enjoy myself, yes, but this wasn’t just a game. The attraction I was feeling couldn’t get the best of me. Not yet.

I leaned in behind him. “To get what you want, you have to give me what I want,” I whispered into his ear. My bare breasts pressed against his back and I slid my hand around his hip to grasp his cock. He tensed up against me, and he inhaled sharply.