I sighed, gazing at the neat garden outside our luxury townhouse hotel, a former Geisha house. The tea our butler prepared before leaving had an instant calming effect when I sipped it. The sweet, rich aroma lingered in my mouth for a while before fading away.
“Vera?” Alistair’s deep voice rumbled from behind me as I felt his lips touch the smooth curve of my neck.
“Can you believe Julian and Saph are getting married in less than two months?”
“Mmm, I’m thrilled for them,” Alistair murmured.
I breathed in his musk, feeling my heat rise. For him. Only him. His fingers traced the silk of my kimono-style gown, then untied the belt, letting the garment slip from my body. “Do you want to know something, sweetheart?” he asked.
“Tell me.” I turned to face my lover. He reminded me of a Spartan warrior, lean and muscular in his naked glory. Fresh from a shower, his fresh scent spiced the cool night air.
“I first saw you in aLester Harbor Dailyphoto before we met,” he confessed. “I may as well have been Orion, a night hunter captured by your Mona Lisa smile.”
“There was the moment I walked into The Church with?—”
“The two buffoons? Those playthings of yours?” Alistair laughed. “I asked Angelique to distract them from you.”
“I wasn’t ready to be played,” I admitted. “Still, you played me.”
“It takes a player to know a player,” he teased. His eyes craved mine with deep, passionate hunger as his brows furrowed. Then, slowly, he got down on one knee. “You are my Artemis. You’re the goddess of the moon, the hunt, and my heart. Vera Kathryn Richland, will you marry me?”
“Alistair!” I gasped as my eyes widened at the sight of an embossed Tiffany velvet box in his hand.
He flipped the lid open, revealing the sparkle of a brilliant round diamond at the center, gracefully woven in an eighteen-karat gold rope design. “Put it on,” he said.
Tears blurred the city lights as joy surged through me, too fierce to hold back. “Scotty, I’ve wanted to say yes for so long. I love you, and I’ll marry you.” I pulled him to me, sealing the promise with a fierce kiss, his lips warm and soft against mine, the taste of him flooding through me like home.
“I’ll never stop loving you, for as long as I breathe,” he vowed. He slipped the ring from its velvet nest and guided it onto my finger. It slid into place perfectly.
“How did you know my ring size?” I asked.
“I may have borrowed one of your rings,” he admitted, grinning sheepishly.
“We can call our families tomorrow to tell them about the wonderful news before we tell Bianca,” I gushed like a schoolgirl. “We promised her…”
“Don’t think about them tonight. Right now, it’s about us.”
Alistair set the heavy briefcase on the floor, snapped it open, and unfolded it into a bondage board.
“Oh, Daddy,” I flirted, now dressed in a sexy schoolgirl costume… a tight, white collared shirt, a tartan miniskirt, and apair of white knee-high socks. “I’ve been naughty again. Will you spank me?”
“No.” Alistair sighed, gazing at my long legs. “I’m not taking the lead tonight.”
“But…”
“Dominate me tonight. That’s my gift to you.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, remembering the trauma he survived in his youth.
He handed me a bamboo cane with a leather handle. “I trust you to take good care of me.”
I raised one eyebrow as he pursed his lips and nodded. “Get down on your hands and knees,” I ordered.
He climbed onto the board without hesitation. I fastened the straps at his wrists and ankles, adjusting each one until it held but didn’t bite. My fingers lingered a moment on his skin, a silent check that he was steady, and that the control was mine now.
“Have you been a good boy?” I asked, my fingers fisting in his hair.
“Yes, ma’am,” Alistair answered, his grin daring me.
