Bondage Anniversary (3 page)

Nick watched her squirm a little and glance at the floor. Did she expect them to fall out? Obviously, she had no idea how strong her kegel muscles were. His cock jumped in anticipation of those muscles milking him as he came.

Worry was not on the agenda this weekend. The thong he’d brought would alleviate her fears. He wanted her focused on her body. “These match your dress nicely. If you’re a good girl, I’ll let you keep them on during dinner.”

“Butt floss is a reward for good behavior?”

Laura hated thongs. The few times he’d asked her to try them, she’d given him quite an earful. “This won’t happen often, but I’m feeling generous. Your Master is granting you a choice.” He paused, letting the situation sink in. It wouldn’t be easy for Laura to give up control over her wardrobe. She used it as shielding to keep a firm barrier between her and the rest of the world. “Butt floss or bare? After you choose, use your manners and properly thank your Dom for his generosity.”

Her lips parted, her breathing shallowed. The harder he pushed, the more aroused she became. This was going to be a hell of a weekend.

Laura’s gaze slid to the floor and her body relaxed, accepting his dominance. “Thank you, Sir, for your kindness. If you’ll allow it, I’d like to wear the thong.”

His breath rushed from his body. Son of a bitch, how did she know the perfect pitch to bring him to his knees? Drawing air into his oxygen-deprived lungs, he tried to carry on. “Everything has been washed and sterilized. This is a worry-free weekend.”

“Thank you, Sir, I appreciate that.”

“Lift up your skirt.” He put the thong between his teeth so he could use both hands to unhook her stockings. Once they were free, he held the panties open for her to step into. She put her hands on his shoulders then maneuvered her high heels through the leg holes.

“Turn around.”

Laura obliged without comment or complaint.

“Damn, woman, I love your ass.” He fondled her cheeks and gave her a taunting smack before pulling her skirt down. He noticed the pink tint covering both sets of her cheeks. Yes, looking through her tablet had been the second best decision he’d ever made. “Quit tempting me, woman, we’re gonna be late for dinner. We have reservations at the pool side club.”

“I was thinking we would just call room service.” Her body was very telling. She tensed, waiting for his answer, signaling this was a test. He didn’t mind. Her responses so far had given him the answer sheet.

It was time to make it clear he had no intention of relinquishing the power she’d given him. “I considered that and dismissed the idea. We need to talk, not about specifics, we’ll get to that in private. We need to discuss how we got here and where we’re headed. I think a public, neutral setting is best. It removes the temptation to just dive in. The table I’ve reserved is secluded with a nice view. I think it’s best.”

“Yes, Sir.” Watching closely, he knew he’d scored an A plus.

“One more thing before we head out.” He twirled a small keychain around his finger. “We should test this first.” Nick knew her eyes were fixated on the device’s two buttons. He clicked the first button causing the eggs to dance inside her. As her knees quivered, Nick’s arm caught her about the waist. “That’s the lowest setting of five,” he informed her with satisfaction. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s a dangerous tool and I should keep it in my purse.” Nick knew the words were out before she could stop them. Her eyes widened, as she realized she’d overstepped her bounds.

He had to suppress a smile. Now that was the woman he’d married. So far, he’d been surprised by the demure, very un-CEO behavior from the woman who had juggled a full-time job, two kids and maintained a four-point-oh GPA for her entire college education. His cock strained against his slacks after he noticed her lower lip sucked into her beautiful mouth in exaggerated silence and her eyes cast toward the floor. “Wrong answer, Angel. I had intended to turn it off, but now I think we’ll increase it to the next intensity setting. You can enjoy that until our drinks are served.”

“Yes, Sir.” Laura’s jaw tensed as he clicked the button one more time. She stood perfectly still for several seconds, her entire body frozen, as if moving would cause her to shatter into a million pieces. When she began to breathe again, he knew she’d accepted the sensations and was slowly processing them. Her nipples were hard, begging to be played with. He forced his eyes to her face. If he got distracted, they’d never make it out of the room.

Loving the vulnerable look she gave him for a few precious moments before regaining her composure, he pushed her comfort zone a little further. “Some women wear these to work. Perhaps we’ll try that one day soon.”

With a smirk, he pocketed the remote and led Laura from the suite. Once the elevator door closed, granting them a few moments of privacy, he massaged her tense shoulders. “You make me proud, Angel. And hard as a rock.”

Her face was flushed. “I’m so glad, Nick. I want to please you.”

He whispered, “Remember to breathe and no coming without permission.”

Their eyes met, letting her know he meant business.

Her nostrils flared in aggravation. Suppressing his smile he reminded her, “The only weapons in my arsenal are the ones you give me, Angel.”

“What do you mean, Sir?”

“On your limits list, you marked ‘wanted to try’ for orgasm deprivation.”

“Damn it!” she muttered. “That’s because I’d never suffered through it.”

“You should thank your Dom for giving you a new experience.” Her mutinous expression made him chuckle.

“Thank you, Sir. I hope
you
get to experience a similar gift in the near future.” Her voice betrayed her struggle to maintain composure.

Laura’s brattiness made him laugh. Her fire and spunk were a treasure. He would demand her obedience in the bedroom, but the last thing he wanted was a mindless slave.

“What’s the latest with the merger? Are the feds still dragging their feet?”

“Merger?” Her voice broke getting the word out.

“Yes, Angel, the merger you’ve been killing yourself over for the last six months. Do you think it’ll be approved soon?” A fine sheen of sweat beaded on her brow. She needed a reprieve. Since he couldn’t change his physical expectations for her without appearing weak, he had to give her the tools to meet his challenge. By dragging her focus away from the stimulation, it would buy her some needed time.

Laura exhaled. A bit of the pent-up tension eased from her body. A small grateful smile touched her lips. “Yes, I believe so. It won’t interfere with our trip to the islands, regardless. I won’t let it.”

“I knew you’d work it out. You are amazing. You know that, right?” Without pausing he asked, “Have you decided which hotel you want to stay in?”

“I’m thinking we might split our time between both.” Her voice had taken on a breathless quality, making him glad she stood in front of him as they entered the restaurant to shield his very obvious hard-on.

“Almost there, baby. I’m so proud of you,” he whispered in her ear as they were seated. Her body was strung tight, breathing shallow, nipples standing at attention, yet she moved with fluid grace. Confident and sexy as fuck. He didn’t know how he was going to wait until they were back in the room.

As time stretched on, Nick found it harder to distract her. Laura probably had no idea she was biting her lip, rocking her feet from heel to toe and tapping her fingernail on the table.

She was making the waiter nervous. The poor kid’s hands were shaking. It took him two attempts to open the wine. Nick almost took pity on her and turned it off, but he knew she wouldn’t like it. It was a matter of pride. He’d set a challenge and she would see it through. He’d have to be careful what he asked of her.

As soon as her glass was placed in front of her, he hit the off button. He watched her body soften. She let out the breath she’d been holding. A second or two later, her fidgeting stopped and his poised CEO returned. She offered the waiter a small smile and a hushed, “Thank you.”

“Better?” he asked her quietly once the waiter had taken their order.

“Mostly.” She gave him a sideways smile.

“Need to come, Angel?” He smiled when she nodded quickly. “If you had controlled that pretty mouth of yours, you wouldn’t have needed this exercise in discipline. I’ll be honest with you, Laura, I’d rather reward you, but correcting your bad behavior is a huge turn-on.”

Nick continued to watch her closely. She was working through something. If he was reading her right, he’d discovered another trigger word. “What are you thinking, Laura?”

She shook her head. “Other than I need to be less animated?” she laughed.

He refused to let her sidestep a direct question. With two fingers he motioned for her to answer.

“You use the most patronizing phrases.” She used her hands expressively. “You throw out words like discipline and correcting. It should make me angry.” Her gaze dropped to the table and her voice softened, “But it makes me hot. What is wrong with me?”

“Nothing is wrong with you, my sweet Angel. You are my other half. I receive pleasure from dominating you. If submitting to me brings you happiness, we’re a perfect match. Two halves of the same whole.”

Her eyes searched his face. A slow, satisfied smile spread warmly across her lips. “You’re right, Sir. Thank you.”

He was a lucky man. He sent a silent thanks to the big guy upstairs. Nick knew a blessing when it was handed to him. “I have to know, Laura, how did you stumble upon BDSM?”

She cocked her head to one side, considering her answer. “Last year, the company acquired an e-publishing firm. I was surprised by the high sales from their erotica section. I checked out a few of their bestselling authors and got hooked.” She shifted positions, watching him intently. “Your card said you were pissed off.”

“Only that I wasn’t aware of your interest in it. I have no problem at all with the subject. But I think you know that now.”

“You seem to have taken to it quickly”—after a glance toward the remote she added, “Sir. I suspect my tablet wasn’t your first experience with the subject.”

He noticed the edge her voice took on with the last sentence. Laura had a jealous streak to rival the Grand Canyon. It was ridiculous. He had no interest in other women, or men for that matter. Still, he tried to respect it. “No, Laura, I’ve been acquainted with the subject for quite some time.” Where to begin? She wasn’t going to like it. “My stepfather had a rather large collection of porn. One summer, Bob and I discovered his stash.” He knew that prim and proper curled eyebrow look of hers. No, she wasn’t happy. “It was an enlightening summer.”

“I’m sure it was.” Her sarcasm brought a boyish smile to his face.

Time to let the other shoe drop
. He plodded on, “Then about five years ago, we took on DiscipliNation.” This was where he was putting his balls in danger. The waiter brought their food, granting him a few moments to choose his words carefully. He’d been thinking about his confession all afternoon. Technically, he hadn’t done anything wrong. At worst, it was a sin of omission.

“I remember that. They had some liability issues that worried you. You flew out and personally inspected each of their facilities.”

Damn, she would remember that.
Normally, they rearranged their schedules and went together if one of them had to fly out of town. It hadn’t worked out that time. She’d just been voted into her current position. The company had been in trouble. She’d had to move fast to bring about immediate changes before it was too late. Now they’d firmly re-established their place in the Fortune 500. The board was sitting back congratulating each other on their decision to hand over the reins to his wife.

“Yes. In addition to the erotic toy division, they own a chain of BDSM and fetish clubs across the country.”

Nick observed his wife closely. He noted her eyes grew wide, but it was her smile that clenched his gut. It wasn’t a pleasant smile. It wasn’t out and out evil either. It was an ‘I’m going to kill you’ smile. She took a sip of wine. For better or worse, her smile disappeared. She was nodding her head, obviously agreeing to some private thought swirling in her mind. Probably plotting his death.

“DiscipliNation is an erotic toy manufacturer and owns a BDSM club chain and you didn’t think I would be interested in that piece of information?” Without waiting for an answer, she continued on. “You spent a week touring fetish clubs all across the country and never bothered to clue me in? Yes, Nick, choosing a public restaurant for this conversation was the right choice. A brilliant move, really.”

“Laura, I know what it sounds like, and it looks bad. Hear me out before you come to the wrong conclusions. If you remember, I tried to get you to come with me. I objected to leaving you home. And before your mind goes there—I did
not
cheat on you. I would never do that and you know it.”

He tried to anticipate and address her concerns openly and honestly, but he refused to soften or placate his tone. He’d wanted her to come with him, had even offered to work around her schedule as much as possible. She had refused.

“I will concede you did ask me to come with you. If I remember correctly, you even offered to charter a private jet to make it easier for me. The timing was horrible. Mom had just entered hospice, the kids were in school”—she shook her head—“work was impossible.”

Her brittle tone betrayed the pain she tried to keep from him. He hated taking her back to such a rough period in her life. She still struggled with the loss of her mother. In true Laura fashion, she’d juggled it all beautifully, but he knew she didn’t see it that way. She felt like she’d let her mom down, that she could’ve done more. The timing of his business trip couldn’t have been worse.

Tears sprang to her eyes. She waved her hand dismissively. He knew she needed a few minutes to get control of her emotions. He just hoped she wouldn’t shut down. He knew from experience not to touch her. If he took her in his arms, like he ached to do, she would succumb to the tears. Causing her to cry in public was a sin she wouldn’t forgive easily. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. And waited. Patience was an acquired skill. One he wasn’t fond of, but it was effective.