“Lara, I’ve already told you I play to win.You’d do well to remember it.”In contradiction to his words, she saw a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
The crack in his hardened, careful veneer had a way of melting every bit of resolve.Unfortunately for her emotional well-being, it also drew her in closer.
“Have a drink of your wine.Relax a little, cut us both some slack.I didn’t pour you much because I want you of sound mind when we enter the playroom.”
Even though cool air whispered from the vents, she got very, very warm.“I thought what happened at my house sort of took the place of your plans for the afternoon.”
“It was only an appetizer.”
He left her alone, and it took all of her concentration to finish putting away her things.Her little bottles of shampoo and conditioner fit on one shelf inside the shower.But the soap she put in the dish near the bathtub.
After taking another sip of her drink, she went in search of him.
He was in the living room, sitting on the couch.“In our contract, we didn’t address birth control.”
She sank onto a chair.“I’m on the pill.”
“I always wear condoms, but since we’re going to be married, I expect we’ll want to forgo them sometime in the future.”
Lara nodded.
“And if you plan to get off the birth control pills, you’ll discuss it with me first?”
He’d said it so matter-of-factly that it was impossible to feel embarrassed.“Of course.”
“Good.Anything else you need to talk about before we go in the playroom?”
Her insides suddenly became molten.He was a master at using his voice and tone.He gave a slight emphasis to the word playroom, and he managed to change the subject from serious to sensual in only a few seconds.
“In that case, go in our bedroom and strip then join me in the playroom.Get in one of the positions I taught you earlier and wait patiently for my attention.”
Something in her responded to him completely.She nodded.
She walked down the hallway, her shoes echoing off the hardwood boards.And she was aware of his gaze the entire way.
In his closet—their closet—she hung up her dress and put her panties in a laundry bag that she’d brought along.Then she put her bra in a drawer with the rest of her lingerie.It was interesting, being with him.In just a few days, she’d become more adept at keeping her focus even while things seemed a little out of control.Perhaps she understood him better.Being methodical was a skill, one that could serve her well.At the least, the thought kept her calm while she smoothed her hair and went to rejoin him.
He was already in the playroom, but he looked totally different, astoundingly Dominant.
Even though he’d given her instructions, her step faltered, and it took all her control not to speak to him.
He’d removed his jacket and turned back his sleeves, leaving his forearms bare.She drank in the sight of him—lean, commanding.
His legs were spread wide and his thighs looked powerful.He had the whip coiled in one hand.
If she’d ever had a sexual fantasy about a man, he was it.
He gave an almost imperceptible nod toward the floor.
Galvanized, she crossed to the center of the room and knelt.She settled in, this time with her gaze cast down.Having her head back would make it all but impossible not to look at him.
She pulled her shoulders back and rested her hands, palms upturned, on her thighs.The entire time, he’d been silent, but she was conscious of him standing over her.
“Even better than I could have hoped,” he said.
Lara took a breath to school her thoughts.
He allowed the time and distance to stretch.And she took her cue from him.Her heart beat faster than normal, and her breaths were shallow, but she forced herself to wait.
