TiedandTwisted (7 page)

The window hadn’t been dark long. Maybe forty-five minutes.
Prior to that, Jovanna had traveled from room to room in what appeared to be a
restless, aimless pattern. He’d lay money on her dissatisfaction with being
alone but he had to honor her insistence that he leave. She had an independent
streak as wide as the Hudson River was long. Her fierce bid for independence
seriously challenged his growing desire to protect her. Nothing at all wrong
with her. Everything wrong with him.

How had he gone from a man who preferred no-strings affairs
to a man who wanted so many strings, one of Jovanna’s customers could knit a
sweater with them? And was this a fleeting fascination or did he want something
that would last longer than a handful of days?

With a growl of frustration, he tripped the seat to recline
and glowered at the sun roof overhead. Did what he wanted even matter?

* * * * *

Sunday, 2:47 a.m.

Jovanna gave up trying to sleep and reached for her phone.

ARE
YOU AWAKE?

Probably not. Silly to think he’d be waiting for her text,
but knowing was better than not knowing. She could stop wondering whether he
was tossing and turning too, and maybe get some sleep.

Her phone vibrated to signal the incoming message.

I AM
NOW.

SORRY.

I’M
NOT.

Jovanna squeezed her eyes shut. Her house was quiet except
for the hum of appliances and the fan she ran for white noise no matter the
season. No threatening sounds or creaking boards prompted her to reach out for comfort.
She didn’t want contact with David because she wanted comfort. She wanted—

Another incoming message interrupted the thought.

WHAT
ARE YOU DOING?

TRYING
TO SLEEP.

WHAT
ARE YOU WEARING?

She chuckled.
ARE YOU SEXTING ME?

HOPING
FOR AN INVITATION TO CALL.

YOU
WON’T WAKE ANYBODY UP IF YOU DO.

Several minutes passed. Jovanna threw off her comforter,
slipped into the t-shirt she’d borrowed from him, and took her phone to the
bathroom for a sip of water. Down to the kitchen for a glass of wine. Back to
her bed. Nothing from David—not another text, not a call.

Whatever. He could call or not call. She still had the
matter of insomnia to deal with. Merlot at her elbow, she retrieved a knitting
work in progress and set herself to the task of following the five-stitch
pattern. Except the pattern was too easy and her mind was too preoccupied to
empty.

Paul. The UPS delivery guy. Her various suppliers. The
police officers whose names she’d have to retrieve from the reports. The man
who’d totaled her car and three others in the course of a drunken race on a
rainy night. Jovanna twined her indigo silk-wool blend around her fingers and
turned her incomplete sock for another round of instep work. The hit-and-run
was three years ago. Frowning, she pushed the sock aside and grabbed a notepad
from the drawer of her nightstand.

Her phone vibrated. Slightly annoyed by David’s delay, she
considered not answering. Only briefly. She wanted the sound of his voice.

“I figured you went back to sleep,” she said in lieu of a
traditional greeting.

“You’re not the only one of us who has reservations.”

Oh. That low, intimate rumble was worth the sacrifice of
pride. But the words behind them—Jovanna bit her lip. “So you’re off the sexy
and onto the serious?”

“No. My cock overrode my reservations.”

“Really.” She shuffled her knitting off the bed and relaxed
against the pile of pillows at her back. “So you’d say your body’s in control
of your actions.”

“I’d rather say I’m in control of your actions. Tell me what
you’re wearing.”

She closed her eyes with the sudden leap of her pulse.
Arousal thrummed through her veins, quick with its response to his gravelly
command. He waited on the line, silent save the deep, even rhythm of his
breathing.

Knowing he wouldn’t speak again until she replied, she
swallowed and obeyed. “The t-shirt you gave me earlier tonight.”

“Did you shower after I left?”

“Yes.”

“Too bad. I’d like you smelling like me. Is my shirt the
only thing you’re wearing?”

“Yes.” She pressed her thighs together. “Anything else would
be soaked right about now.”

He laughed quietly. “Wet already, sweetheart?”

“Do you want me to deny it?”

“No. But I’d like to see for myself. Having a lick would be
even better. On my terms this time. I wouldn’t let you come so fast.”

Her breath hitched and she slid down the pillows to lie on
her back. In the dark behind her closed eyes, she could imagine he was closer
than the other side of town. “I’m not really into orgasm denial,” she murmured.

“You’ll learn to appreciate anticipation.”

“You think I’m going to give you the chance to hold out?”

“I think you’re going to do whatever I say tonight and I say
you can’t come until I tell you to come. Do you have anything good in your
nightstand?”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t take a peek while you were here
today.”

“I don’t violate privacy, Jovanna.” The easy softness of his
tone hardened at the edges.

“I didn’t mean…I’m sorry. Yes. I have a few items of
interest.”

“Which are?”

“An anal plug. A Rabbit. Some erotica.”

“Clamps?”

“No. They’re not as enjoyable to play with solo.”

“I want to screw clamps onto your nipples and watch your
breasts bounce while I spank your pussy. Friday night.”

Her throat dried up, all the moisture in her body
redirected. “You like a little more than just control in your sex.”

“You like a little more than just kissing and stroking. Do
you have a problem with what I want?” He paused a beat and added, “I want you
in a public scene. Not hidden away in the Blue Suite.”

“I have rules,” she whispered, token protest because she
knew she was on the verge of agreeing to break them.

“Are they open to negotiation?”

“Not tonight. I can’t think clearly when I’m this turned-on.
What are you doing right now?”

“Talking to you. Mentally replaying the footage from this
evening. I cleaned the video feed for you. Your ass is pretty when you’re
riding my cock.”

She smiled in the dark. “I didn’t peg you for amateur porn.”

“It’s not usually my thing but I can make an exception for
you.” He hesitated before saying, “I seem to be making a lot of exceptions for
you.”

“Did you masturbate?” She shied away from the deeper layers
of their connection. Just sex.

“Yes. I’m going to again, now, while I listen to you fuck
yourself with the Rabbit. Get it out of the drawer.”

Jovanna rolled onto her side and turned off the lamp before
retrieving the wicked vibrator. Her pussy clenched in eager anticipation, ready
to be filled, ready to clutch the silicone sheath while she bucked for the
rabbit ears vibrating against her clit.

“Why do you want a public scene?” She returned to her back
and spread her legs, knees raised. The fan at the other end of her bedroom sent
a cool breeze along the hot flesh of her inner thighs and the hotter flesh of
her slit.

He didn’t respond. He was still there—she knew that, could
hear him breathing—but his silence prompted her to ask, “David?”

“Because I want to mark you. Does that scare you?”

“You want to do more than mark my skin. So yes, it does.”

“I don’t want to. I never want more than a mutually
satisfying fuck. This is more like need than want. Do you have your Rabbit?”

She swallowed and addressed the simplest part of that. “Yes.
Can I use it?”

“Keep my shirt on but push it up past your breasts. Have you
ever used a vibrator on your nipples?”

“No.” One hand curled around her phone, she rested the dildo
on her stomach and did as she was told. The fan’s low-speed breeze caressed her
ribs and instantly pushed her nipples into tight peaks.

“Spread your legs wide like you’re showing me your pussy and
use those Rabbit ears on your nipples.”

“You have a thing for my breasts.” But she set the vibe to a
low setting and teased her left nipple with the slender silicone ears. Nipple
play wasn’t something she sought very often. The teasing was too delicate and
she preferred deep, hard, hot and fast. Instant or near instant satisfaction.

“I have a thing for watching you. Someday I’m going to make
you stand in front of me licking and sucking while I jerk off.” His breath
caught.

Hers did too as the Rabbit ears sped across one tight peak
and she caught the image he created. Conjured up some images of her own. David
in the dark of his office, kicked back in a leather chair with his cock in his
hand—she moistened her lips and switched the vibrator to her other breast,
sinking into the sound of his breathing.

The mechanical hum smoothed out other noise from the
background. In the dark, she could pretend they were close, that he really was
standing at the foot of her bed watching. Spreading her knees wider and tucking
her heels close to her ass, she arched into the breeze from the fan. Wanted the
breeze to be his breath.

“David,” she murmured.

“Yeah?”

“I’m in the mood for you to be on top.” The silicone ears
tickled her skin as she switched to teasing her other nipple, which quickly
tightened to match its twin.

“On top or the top? We should have that discussion.”

“I told you, not tonight.”

“Yeah, not while you’re turned-on. So I’m going to stop
stroking my dick and you’re going to switch off that vibe and we’re going to
talk.”

Her fist tightened around the vibrator and refusal slid to the
tip of her tongue. But he was right. With a sigh, she flipped the switch and
dropped the vibe on the mattress. Still turned-on though, despite the removal
of stimulation. She didn’t seem to need much more than the rhythm of his
breathing to heat her up.

“Let’s talk,” she said. “What do you want to know?”

“I’m not a lifestyle Dom and I’m not looking for someone who
will walk around with lowered eyes and a chorus of meek ‘please’ and ‘thank
you’ lines. But I do want someone who isn’t going to shove me away and
challenge my right to open communication.”

Jovanna swallowed. “Sounds like you want more than a little
casual sex.”

“I don’t usually.” He exhaled, loud enough to carry over the
whir of her fan. “I make a point to not want more than casual sex.”

“But you want more than that with me.”

“You are a very dynamic woman, which kind of pisses me off.
You weren’t supposed to be dynamic. You were supposed to be a sweet ass
attached to great legs with a tempting attraction to a good flogging.”

She snorted softly. “Sorry.”

“What’s done is done,” he said.

She detected a smile behind the words despite his resigned
tone. Her lips curved in response. “Not done yet. We can both hang up and I can
find a different security company and we can go our separate ways. I don’t have
to keep going to Bondage.”

“I don’t want to back off.” No more hint of a smile.

“I was married for ten years.” She cringed at the
defensiveness in her words but couldn’t take it back. Decided not to apologize
for it.

He cursed beneath his breath, something short and
indistinct. “I’m not asking you to marry me. I’m asking you if you’re open to a
relationship that’s more than me spanking your ass in a club and cashing your
checks for security maintenance.”

Pressing her thighs together, she rolled onto her side and
stared at the street lamp glowing outside the window. “I didn’t think I wanted
anything else yet.”

“Didn’t? But now?”

Even though he couldn’t see the gesture, she shrugged. “I’m
trying to make sure I want to be near you because I want you, not because I
want somebody who will run to my rescue. I’m not sure this is a great time for
me to be making any kind of commitment. My emotional motivations are twisted
all around wanting you and being afraid of something I can’t fight.”

“All right. I can wait. Do you want me to back off until the
police come up with something?”

Her chest constricted at the prospect. “No.”

“Then what do you want me to do?”

“I want you to come back over here and sleep with me.”

“Sleep,” he repeated.

“Yeah. You know, the thing you do in bed until morning.” She
curled her toes in the tangle of linens at the foot of the bed and added, “The
thing you do after you screw me senseless.”

A soft thump sounded from his end of the connection and his
voice was more alert when he asked, “Do you really want me knocking on your
door tonight?”

Feeling small and weak and more than a little absurd for her
lack of backbone in the face of her own decisions, she nodded. “Yes.”

“You should go downstairs then.” He ended the call.

Outside, a car door slammed. Heart hammering in her ears,
Jovanna bolted upright. “You’ve got to be shitting me,” she mumbled as she
crossed to peek past the drapes.

Down in the community parking lot, a familiar masculine
figure prowled across a row of empty spaces in a path headed straight for her
front door. Behind him, she spotted the boxy shape of his SUV.

She muttered another colorful curse before racing down the
stairs. David didn’t knock but he was waiting, one shoulder braced against the
wall beside the door, when she looked out the narrow foyer window. Her
motion-sensor porch light spotlighted him from behind, leaving shadows along
the slope of his neck and beneath his jaw. Lower, the prominent ridge of his
erection sent up a responding flush of heat to her pussy. She hadn’t pushed
arousal very far away despite the serious turn their call had taken.