“I’m not going to kill him.”Sadly. Stupid fucking conscience. “He saved you, and that counts for something. I’m just going to tell him you’re off-limits. No one messes with you. No one.”
“I need to be there for that too.” She pokes my back. “Duncan, are you listening to me?”
“I am. I also promised not to lie to you anymore.” Stepping into the second studio, I close the door behind us and turn on the light.
The room is as clean and as warm as the rest of the house. In the center of it, a tall, gilded frame hangs from the ceiling. Its freshly varnished molding glows under the lamplight.
Silk ropes fall from each corner, long and loose.
When I hung them up here, last night after she’d fallen asleep, I had Elowyn’s safety in mind. I wasn’t interested in wrenching her shoulders or hauling her arms overhead. I wanted her elbows bent, her body comfortable for when we put the frame to good use.
“Locking me up kind of falls under hiding things from me,” she grumbles, her thighs clenching as she shifts on my chest.
“I’m not shutting you out. I’m going to keep you here. Then, when I get back, I’ll reward you for being such a good girl. After that, I’ll tell you everything that happened between us. No hiding, no lies. Okay?”
“Okay.” Almost instantly, she sags against me. It’s the weight I could’ve had on top of me, in bed right now, if not for her fucking brother. “But… Please, you don’t have to face him on your own.”
“I do, and I will.” I lower Elowyn onto her feet, then capture her face in my palms. “He’s done messing with you. You’re staying home, away from that fucker.”
“I’m strong now.” She leans into one of my hands. “You’ve helped me become that person. He can’t hurt me.”
“You’ve always been strong.” My eyes flick to the frame. Back to Elowyn’s narrowed gaze. “That’s why you’ll let me handle this one. It’s my turn to take care of you. While I do just that, you’re going to wait for me inside the frame.”
Her hands are hot on my chest. “The frame?”
As soon as she starts to twist her head, I glide my hands down her neck to let her have a look.
When she turns to me again, her pupils are blown.
I’ll work hard to make sure she looks at me like that every day for the rest of our lives.
“Go on, little moon.” I take a step forward, forcing her back. “Stand inside the frame.”
“Take me with you,” she whispers.
I shake my head and keep walking her slowly backward. When her calves touch the base of the frame, she inhales sharply.
“I hate this.” She lifts her chin. “I hate that I’m so hot for this. That I’m willing to do anything you tell me to.”
Such a sweet liar.
“I hate…” I start, but can’t stop because fuck me, she’s stunning. Trembling, waiting. My own personal masterpiece. “That I have to leave you. Now, up you go.”
With my guidance, she steps up, the platform behind the frame wide enough to hold her while taking the strain from standing on a thin surface. Exactly how I intended.
Next are the ropes. The first touch of the silk at her wrist has her shivering.
It slides around her skin when I tie it up. Elowyn lets out the sweetest whimper. My cock pulses.
“I hate that I’ll be away from this beautiful artwork of mine.”
Another rope. She tests both binds, not to get away, because it turns her on.
Elowyn can’t hide anything from me. The fluttering pulse around her throat. The addictive scent of her arousal.
How she whispers, “Please, let me go with you,” without really meaning it anymore.
“I hate that I’ll know your pussy is dripping. Soaking your panties. Your jeans.”
