Fever (32 page)

She slid her lips down his length, covering him inch by inch with her warm, wet mouth. The

pleasure was intense. Almost unbearable. So fucking exquisite.

“When I tell you to stop, you stop immediately, okay?” he said.

She glanced up, his dick sliding from her lips. She nodded.

“You feel fucking amazing, baby. But if I come now, it’s going to shoot my plans for the evening all

to hell. I’ll let you work me up until we get to my place. But then I’m taking you up to my bed and I’m

going to tie you up, hold you down, and fuck you until you scream my name.”

A shiver worked up her body. Her pupils flared and her lips parted in a quick gasp. Her pulse

accelerated against his fingers where he circled her wrists. He smiled at her reaction. It was

definitely time to take the gloves off. She was ready. He sure as hell was ready.

But still, he’d give her one last chance to opt out. To tell him if she wasn’t ready. He’d never do

anything to push her too hard, too fast.

“If you’re not ready for this, you need to tell me now, baby. You need to understand what’s going to

happen tonight. I’ve held back because I didn’t want to rush you. I didn’t want to overwhelm or

frighten you. Tonight, though, it’s going to be a different story. I’m going to use a crop on your pretty

ass. I’m going to mark you. I’m going to own you. I’m going to fuck you like you’ve never been

fucked. Do you understand? Can you accept that? Tonight you step into my world.”

She nodded slowly, her eyes wide.

“Be sure, Bethany. Be very sure of this. And at any point, if it’s no longer what you want, then you

tell me no. It’s that simple. You say no and it stops. Instantly.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

“Are you afraid?”

She shook her head.

“Is this what you want?”

She nodded.

“Baby, talk to me. You’re starting to worry me.”

She smiled then and his relief was crushing. She wasn’t afraid. She truly wanted this.

“I want you, Jace. The real you. I don’t want you to hold back. What you want excites me. I just

hope I won’t disappoint
you
.”

He groaned. “Jesus, baby, you have to stop with that shit. You aren’t going to disappoint me. The

fact that you’re giving yourself so sweetly to me. That you trust me. That you’ll allow me to do any

damn thing I want to. That’s a fucking dream. Hell no, you won’t disappoint me. It’s not possible.”

She leaned forward to kiss him, her hands curling around his erection once more.

“How much more time do we have now?” she murmured against his mouth.

chapter twenty-six

Bethany knelt on the rug in Jace’s bedroom, her entire body taut with anticipation. Jace stalked

around her, circling her like a predator would his prey. She felt deliciously hunted. She tingled from

head to toe over all the things Jace had said he would do to her tonight.

She had told Jace the truth when she’d said that she’d just about tried it all during her sex-as-

oblivion phase. Kink, no kink, she’d been open to anything. The overwhelming difference, however,

was that she’d never done any of those things with a person who truly cared about her and whose

priority was her well-being and pleasure.

She was positively itching to experience all of that at Jace’s hand. She loved his dominance, his

strength and his authority over her. Loved his firm hand. But she’d known he was holding back, not

giving her all of him. Finally, that would come to an end. Or at least she hoped it would.

Adrenaline buzzed through her veins, soaking her in a high like she’d never experienced. No pill or

drug had ever given her anything close to this. If only she could bottle it.

She jumped when the tip of a leather crop skimmed over her shoulder and down between her

breasts. She hadn’t even seen him get it out. Had been too lost in her excitement.

He was still dressed, and she was completely naked. His sleeves were rolled up. She reacted to

that image. He looked as though he were about to go to work. On her. She licked her lips, suddenly

nervous, terrified, excited as hell and unbelievably turned on.

He trailed the edge over the tips of her breasts in turn. Her nipples hardened as he stroked the

leather over them, coaxing them to further rigidity. Then he let the crop drift lower, to her belly, and

then lower still until it glided over her mound and then around the curve of her body to between her

legs.

She gasped when it slid between her folds, over her clit and into her wetness. And she was wet.

Very wet. He rubbed it lightly, going lower until it touched the mouth of her pussy and then he shifted

it higher to stroke her clit once more.

Her breathing sped up and she closed her eyes, helplessly arching upward, unable to control her

reaction to the featherlike brushes. The crop could be used for pleasure. Just as it could be used for

pain. The contrast fascinated her. Made her want to experience the opposite sensation. The snap of

the leather against her skin, marking her as he’d promised.

His marks. His stamp of possession. Proof that he owned her.

God, it sounded so barbaric. So unbelievably delicious and decadent. Owned.

Protected.

Cherished.

She moaned softly as he lifted the crop through her curls and back over her mound. Then he lifted

the tip to her mouth, her eyes widening when she guessed his intent.

“Lick it clean,” he said huskily. “Lick your juices from the leather, Bethany. Taste yourself. Taste

your desire.”

Hesitantly, she stuck the tip of her tongue out to the leather, her eyes glued to him, seeking his

approval. There was satisfaction in his eyes. No sign of disappointment.

Growing bolder, she pulled the crop farther into her mouth, never letting her gaze drop from his,

and she sucked lightly at it and then laved her tongue over the surface, catching the slight musk of her

moisture.

Without warning, he pulled the crop away and snapped it over the side of her breast, catching her

nipple and areola with the flat edge.

Fire—and surprise—caught her unaware and she gasped, rocking back on her heels. It was the

most perplexing sensation. Pain. Instant sharpness. But then a throbbing ache that slowly faded to a

warm hum. Strangely addictive because she wanted more. Wanted that burn because she knew what

would follow.

Her nipples were on fire. So very hard, puckered and rigid, straining outward as if begging for the

crop. Was she insane? She was practically begging him to hit her again.

He popped the other breast and fire exploded over that nipple. She closed her eyes and swayed,

drunk on the instant buzz that settled into her blood.

“You’d look fucking hot with nipple piercings,” Jace said in a silky voice.

Her eyes popped open in surprise. Jace did not look like a guy who appreciated body piercings in

the woman he was involved with.

“No one would ever see them but me,” he murmured. “Our little secret. And it would drive me

crazy knowing what was underneath your bra.”

It made her want to run out and find the nearest place to pierce them. Only, ouch. It sounded painful

and not in a good way.

“Get up on the bed,” he commanded. “On your hands and knees, ass out to the edge. Keep position,

no matter what I do. You aren’t to move. You do, however, have permission to make whatever sound

you like. I want to hear them. Want to hear each gasp, each cry, every moan when the crop strikes

your flesh.”

She reached down with her hands to push herself upward, knowing she didn’t have a prayer of

remaining steady. She was already so drunk on desire. She weaved unsteadily and he immediately

reached out to grasp her arm, ensuring she didn’t fall. When he was certain she was steady, he let her

go and she crawled onto the bed, positioning herself exactly as he’d commanded her.

“Now, lay your cheek on the mattress, ass up, head down. Put your arms above your head and lay

your palms flat on the bed. And keep them there.”

Slowly she lowered her head, her stomach clenching at the vulnerability of the position. She was

utterly helpless this way. No defense.

To her surprise, he stepped away but he returned just as quickly. He grasped one ankle, tugging

firmly, forcing her thighs wider apart so that her pussy was completely bared. Then to her shock, he

began to coil rope around her ankle. She felt it pull tight so she couldn’t even move it and she realized

he was tying the other end to the bedpost at the foot of the bed.

Holy shit. She really was going to be completely helpless!

When he was finished with that ankle, he moved to her other and secured it in an identical fashion

to the headboard. She was stretched wide, both ankles spread and tied securely.

She thought he was finished but then he walked around to the other side of the bed and from the

corner of her eye, she saw he held more rope.

Silently, he tugged at both her hands, drawing them above her head so her arms formed a
V
. Then

he coiled the rope around her wrists, securing them together. He pulled the rope down toward the

floor and tied it to the bed frame so she was stretched forward, her body pulled in several different

directions.

She was rendered immobile. She had no choice but to take whatever he chose to do. Her only

defense was the word
no
, and she was determined not to use it. “No” hadn’t even entered her mind.

She wanted this too much. Wanted the full power of Jace’s desire. No more holding back. No more

carefully orchestrated restraint.

She turned her head to the side, seeking him out, but she couldn’t find him with her gaze. But he

was there. Close. She could feel him. All that coiled tension seething for an outlet.

She flinched when the tip of the crop touched between her shoulder blades and then trailed a

seductive line down her spine to the cleft of her ass. It left her and she held her breath, but he didn’t

strike her right away. He waited until she was forced to exhale and then fire cracked over her

buttocks.

She gasped and tensed and then closed her eyes when the burn turned into euphoria, warm and

sinfully pleasurable. A heady buzz entered her bloodstream, invaded her mind, her very soul.

“Talk to me, Bethany. I want to know what you’re feeling. Every step of the way.”

Jace’s husky voice made her eyes open. She blinked, struggling to even find the words. How could

she?

Another blow, harder, more forceful this time. Her cry caught in her throat and before it could be

transmitted to one of pain, it morphed into a moan of pleasure, humming from the deepest part of

herself.

“Tell me,” he ordered again.

“It’s pain,” she said, a catch in her voice.

The crop left her ass where it rasped over sensitive, marked skin.

“Too much?”

There was worry in his voice. A promise that if she said the word, he’d stop.

“No!”

Her protest was immediate. A denial. She didn’t want him to stop.

“It’s pain and then it’s pleasure,” she whispered. “Beautiful, exquisite pleasure. Like nothing I’ve

ever felt. The pain is just pain. But the pleasure is indescribable. It makes me crave the pain because I

know what will follow.”

“And you want me to give you that? You want me to give you more?”

“Yes,” she breathed. “Please.
Please.
”

He leaned down to kiss the burning flesh over her ass. His lips pressed against the soft skin,

sending a shiver quaking through her body. Then he pulled away and the crop descended, giving her

what she wanted. Pain. Heat. Burning fire that reached underneath her skin and spread to every

muscle and joint.

She went weak as the heady rush of pleasure pulsed like wild fire. Unpredictable. Sudden.

Overwhelming.

“You like the pain,” he whispered. “I like giving you pain. But giving you pleasure, seeing you arch

for the kiss of the crop, is magical. I ache to give you more.”

She sighed, closing her eyes as she waited for the next wave of pleasure. He rewarded her with

another lash of the crop. Harder this time. Punishing and yet so very pleasurable.

“Let’s see how much you can take.”

His voice was unimaginably sexy, stoking the fires inside her higher. Until it was an inferno,

blowing wilder, brushing across her skin. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t escape. She was his captive.

His willing captive. And she gloried in every demonstration of his dominance.

He peppered her ass with varying lashes. Some harder, some softer. Never in the same place

twice. He brought her to a frenzy until she was panting, begging, pleading over and over, and she

wasn’t even sure what she begged for.

Pain had long since fled. There was only the sweetest of pleasure. Ecstasy like she’d never

imagined. No one had ever taken her on such an amazing journey.

Then strong hands cupped her ass, kneading over super-sensitized flesh. Parting, spreading. His