Page 32 of Safe Word

The air in the room seemed to grow thicker as he fished out something small from the depths of the duffel bag – a small box, unassuming in size but heavy with implication. It fitted snugly in his palm, and when he flipped it open, I caught a glimpse of sleek metal glinting inside. He extracted a silver ring, slipping it onto his forefinger with ease. Then, tearing open a vacuum-sealed pouch, he pulled out another small and delicate object – something that looked like a clip or even a hairpin.

He raised his head, the mask tilting slightly to take in my reaction. And then he began to move towards me.

He held my gaze for a beat, silent, the question unspoken but heavy in the air.

I nodded, my breath faltering. ‘Green.’

Stopping just short of the foot of the bed, he loomed over me like a shadow made flesh. Lifting his hand, he brought the clasp close to my face.

It nestled between his middle and forefinger, cool and smooth – almost delicate, but there was something in the way he held it that made my stomach twist in anticipation.

Then he touched my lips with it. The metal brushed against my pebbling skin as he traced a slow, agonising path from my jawline to my neck, down to the collarbone. Then lower, circling over the sensitive bud of my breast – the faint pressure enough to coax a shudder out of me.

I watched him, wide-eyed, every nerve-ending alive with anticipation as his hand travelled lower, leaving trails of heat in its wake.

‘Safe word?’ he asked, voice frayed, gravelly. The heat in me flared, already coiled too tight. Right on the edge – barely caged.

Fuck… what happens when the leash snaps?

‘God, Ghost… Green,’ I gasped, the words tumbling out like a prayer.

When he finally reached the slick warmth between my thighs, my knees shook.

‘Oh… little angel,’ he rumbled. The vibrations seeping into me. ‘Where is the lace?’

A moan escaped my lips, unbidden and desperate.

In an instant, his other hand was at my throat, delicately keeping my chin angled so he could watch every reaction play across my features.

‘It was…’ I tried, failing to find my voice as he spread my folds, positioning the clip over the most sensitive part of me.

‘Hm?’ he murmured into my ear, the mask muffling the sound.

‘It was in the way.’

He chuckled low and slow.

The steel pressed harder against the delicate bundle of my nerves, startling me, and I gasped, my gaze snapping to his.

‘What…?’ The word quivered on my lips, my voice barely audible, my mind too scrambled to form a full sentence.

He didn’t answer. Just stepped back with an almost lazy grace, retreating to the chair I’d occupied last time. Sinking down, he sprawled like a predator at rest. Only then did he reach for his belt, sliding the leather free with aching slowness.

The button. The zip. Every sound a countdown.

And when he freed himself, I couldn’t stop my mouth from falling open. He was thick, rigid, unrestrained. The sight sparked a hunger that burned through me – but I wanted to mirror his control. So I held my breath.

‘I don’t want a sound from you,’ he commanded, lifting his ringed finger, the silver glint catching the low light as he pressed the button. For a moment, nothing happened, but then he swivelled the circular piece slightly, and I felt it – a soft, pulsing vibration between my legs that sent shockwaves through my body.

A broken gasp tore from my throat, my back arching involuntarily as the sensation intensified. My eyes snapped to his, wide and disbelieving, but his gaze was unreadable behind the mask.

He stroked himself as I whimpered and writhed against the chains, a rough sound breaking loose from him. The way his hand slid along his length matched every shift of my hips.

The metal cuffs bit into my wrists as I arched again, helpless under the rhythm he drew from us both.

His chin dipped slightly and I felt it – what drew his attention – the glistening trail running along the inside of my thigh.

A low sound dripped from him, something animalistic. He was watching every tremble, every twitch of muscle beneath my skin – memorising it, owning it.