Grant moans, resting his head on the couch cushion. “You’re killing me, Clare.”
I unbutton the first two buttons of the long sleeve blue plaid shirt Grant gave me when we first entered the suite.
His eyes pop open as I unfasten the next three.
“Clare,” he says in warning.
“Grant,” I match his tone. “I’m a lady and ladies are allowed to change their minds.”
“If we do this tonight, you won’t run out of here ashamed tomorrow morning?” he asks referencing how I left this exact room two months ago.
I finish with the buttons of his shirt revealing my white tank top underneath. He’s asking me to make a promise I’m not sure I can keep.
“I’m serious, Clare. We’re not going to do this if it will mess everything else up.”
“It will be fine.” I hope.
“I’m not kidding. I will tie you to the bed so you can’t wander off in the morning. I’m not going to spend another two months out of my mind wondering what you’re thinking and knowing it’s not good.”
It’s the most honest and deep answer Grant has ever given me, but I don’t have time to analyze it now. “You’re going to tie me up, huh?”
“Yup.” Grant repositions himself so he’s propped up on his knees as I work the white tank top over my head.
I undo the top button of the white shorts Aspen loaned me. “With what?”
“I’m a handy guy. I’ll make do,” he says smugly.
There is a snapping sound beside us and I whip my head in the direction of the sound. Grant rips the corded controller from the Super Nintendo console he keeps next to the newer Xbox. He wraps the long cord around his hand and then jerks the other free.
Earlier I questioned the older system, which he reassured me he needed because it had the best versions of Mario and the original NHL hockey game. There definitely wasn’t extra money in our budget for game systems growing up so I have no choice but to take his word for it.
“What are you going to do, tie me up with a controller?”
With the sweep of his hand he brushes the wireless Xbox controllers out of his way. “Precisely.”
“No, really?”
Grant closes half the distance between us on his knees. “Do you trust me?”
My first response is to say no. I don’t trust anyone. But I trust Grant.
“Sure.”
“Then take off your bra because you won’t be needing it anymore tonight.”
I reach back, unfasten the material and let the straps fall down my shoulders. Grant pulls it the rest of the way down my arms, exposing me to the room. With his direction I raise my hands above me, his fingertips sliding down and over my skin causing it to pebble. The two Nintendo controllers clack together with his movements.
“Oh, Clare, I am going to have so much fun with you.” Grant leans forward and pulls my hands down, placing a soft kiss in the middle of each palm before he holds them together and wraps a Nintendo cord around them.
When he finishes I test the strength. My hands barely part. The wrapping doesn’t hurt but it’s tight enough my hands are stuck.
“Lie back and keep your hands above your head or else I’ll stop.”
I do as he says, lifting my head once my back is against the floor. “Stop what?”
“You’ll see.” Grant’s fingertips are feather light as his hands work their way lower on my body, tickling and heating the exposed skin of my stomach. “I still have a controller left.”
He unwraps the second controller from his hand and leaves it in a pile on the floor next to my hips. My tummy clenches as his tongue circles around my belly button. His head lowers until he tugs on my zipper, the sound breaking the silence in the room.
