CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CLAY
“I know what I want,” Nicholas says, and bites down on his smile, his eyes charged.
It’s date night, one of the last ones we’ll have at my place. In the bedroom and stripped down to our underwear, he’s on his side next to me, and I’m sitting up, back to the headboard.
“For your birthday?”
He grins and sits up, too. “No. Tonight. But we can call it a birthday gift, if you want.”
I growl under my breath, glad we’re getting to more of his fantasies even though it’s killing me to think of this ending.
“Happy birthday to me, too,” I say, and Nicholas laughs.
“Let me tell you the fantasy first. And obviously, it’s totally okay if this doesn’t work for you. That’s fine. But I grabbed a few spools of lace from the shop, and…” He swallows, a little shy. “What’s your opinion of light bondage?”
Surprised, I lean back. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve never thought about it.”
He gives me a moment to think, and I try to gather myself together. “I’ve never tried anything like it,” I say. And I’ve got no inclination to do something like that to him. The way he’s free and uninhibited is always hot to me, especially during sex.
But then I think about him with lace around his wrists, not inhibited but indulging in something that he wants. The image of him, hard and horny, sends blood rushing to my crotch.
This is something I can give him, even if there are so many things I can’t.
“You want me to be a dom?” I ask.
Nicholas smile. “Using the proper vocabulary and everything,” he teases and sits up, kissing me lightly. “It’s not a dynamic I’m looking for all the time. But I trust you enough to hand some power over, and I think it might be fun.”
I take him in another kiss, feel his body quiver against mine.
I’m leaving soon, which means we’ll say goodbye. It’s killing me, but I have no idea what to do with the emotions that are storming through my heart. I don’t know what I want to say or how to say it, but when we’re together like this, I channel it all into every touch and kiss.
Try to show him what’s beating inside me.
“Okay,” I answer. “Let’s see what you look like in lace.”
The light that fills his expression is almost enough to break me.
“Sexy,” Nicholas coos as he kisses me again before pulling away. “Thanks for trusting me enough to try this.”
I nod. “Thanks for trusting me too.”
Nicholas turns with the strand of black lace fluttering in his hand, and my pulse kicks.
If someone told me when I first got to Buffalo that I’d end up here, I’d never believe them.
Nicholas joins me on the bed again, and I watch the lace whispering over his torso, teasing his hard, tan nipples. As soon as he touches me, pulling his body over mine, desire scorches my nerve endings.
He’ll be vulnerable with his hands tied, but I feel just as vulnerable to him.
I went through my whole life building walls around my heart, keeping myself safe, and now I’m here. Hard and aching in my bed, torn apart with how much I want him.
I’m walking right into heartbreak like a fool who doesn’t know better.
I kiss him again, and Nicholas murmurs encouragement and appreciation under his breath. He pulls his hands together, and I take the lace, gently wrapping it around his wrists.
“Too tight?” I ask.
