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Her blush deepened. “Yes.”

He studied her eyes. “In the nightstand drawer. I get to hold the key but I swear I won’t use it unless the alarm is triggered. I trust you but I can’t prove it by giving you complete control this time. I can’t risk your safety no matter how much I want you to know that trust.” Tori’s expression told him she understood his need. “Better grab one of the remotes too. It needs to be right by the bed so I hear it. You’re going to be so distracting that I doubt I’d notice if it went off in the next room.”

Tori continued to stare in amazement. She stared so long that Guy finally flexed his thigh. “You change your mind, tiger?”

Instantly, she bounced off the bed and scooted to his room. She returned and put the alarm unit on the nightstand. Her blush returned full force when she offered him the key.

Guy slipped the ring over the tip of his little finger, pushing it on just until it fit snugly. He didn’t want it to get stuck if he needed it but he didn’t want it to fall off if he clenched his hands as he expected to. At her hesitation, Guy shifted until he was angled so his hands were near the cutout at the edge of the headboard. The rest was solid so she would have to loop the cuffs around the post at the corner.

“I trust you,” he stated as he waited with his arms over his head. “Not too tight,” he urged. “I need to be able to maneuver if I have to use the key.” When she clicked the second closed, he tugged his hands to show her he couldn’t escape. “Please don’t hurt me too much. If it gets real bad, I’ll fight the cuffs and you’ll be the one explaining the bruises to Todd tomorrow.”

“Oh my God!” She looked horrified. “You think I’m going to hurt you but you let me do this anyway.”

“I trust you, Tori. I don’t think you’re doing this to hurt me but I don’t know how this is going to make you react or how exactly you plan on exploring. I won’t be at all surprised if you do some of the same things to me that I did to you and I’m pretty sure I can handle that but I’ve never tried this before so who knows.”

“You never had a woman touch you like that or you haven’t been handcuffed to a bed before?”

“Neither.”

“Holy shit! Why the hell would you ever pick me to be the first? You really are insane!”

“No, I’m not. And I picked you because one, I trust you and two, I want to experience everything with you. Come on, tiger. Touch me before the suspense kills me. You have me at your mercy and can do anything you want. Don’t make me start begging so soon.”

Tori briefly linked their hands and gave his a squeeze. Slowly, she stroked his arms, pausing to rub her thumbs over the inside of his elbows.

“Christ,” Guy groaned as his body responded to her innocent caress.

“Wow.” She noticed instantly and sat back to look.

“Please don’t stop already.”

“Oh, sorry.” Tori blushed again and moved her hands back to his arms. She resumed her path, tracing his collarbones to his neck before running her fingers along his jaw and across his cheekbones. Next, she drew her thumb over his lower lip just as Guy had done several times to hers. She gasped when he caught it between his lips and sucked it into his mouth. Guy used his tongue to push it almost out before sucking it back it several times until he ended by twirling his tongue around her whole thumb.

“Hey.” Tori shook herself from his spell and pulled her hand away. “I didn’t say you could do that.”

“You didn’t say I couldn’t,” he pointed out.

“Well, you can’t. When I want something inside your mouth I’ll put it there.”

“I can’t wait. What’s first?”

“Keep that up and you’ll be spending the night alone.”

“No. Please don’t leave me. I’ll behave. I promise I won’t do anything unless you tell me to.”

“Hmm, okay.” Tori bit back a giggle but knew Guy caught it as he coughed to cover a chuckle of his own. “Maybe, if you hold really still, I’ll let you suck on all my fingers.”

“I’ll try my best.”

“Good.” She drew on his chest with her fingertips, carefully avoiding his nipples. Eventually she realized he was struggling to stay quiet. “I want you to tell me how it feels while I’m touching you. It’s all right if you say you want me to do things as long as you understand that what you say won’t make one bit of difference to what I do next.”

He groaned, raising his chest toward her hand. “Don’t tease me. Touch me.”

She tapped him with one fingertip. “Un-un-un.” Suddenly her grin disappeared. Her hand landed firmly over his heart. “Are you okay? Your heart’s pounding so hard.”

Guy sputtered to speak through his laughter. “Unbelievable. You’re too cute for words, tiger. I’m helpless, cuffed to a bed, bare-ass naked. There’s an extremely sexy woman next to me wearing nothing but a skimpy pair of shorts loose enough that I get a flash of her incredible ass every time she moves.” He exaggerated a deep breath. “I can smell her arousal and am so close to begging for her to sit on my face and let me taste her I can’t think straight. She locked me up here so she could satisfy her curiosity about my body which has my mind overflowing with all sorts of possibilities and she’s wondering why my heart’s about to burst out of my chest.”

“Oh yeah.” Tori blushed and looked him over from head to toe. “Wow,” she whispered, staring at his engorged cock. “No way in hell will all that fit.” Her jaw dropped when it grew under her scrutiny.

“Uh, Tor, it does. Perfectly if my opinion counts for anything. You do remember last night, right?”

Her blush spread. “Hmm, now that you mention it, I do sort of remember something about that.” Tori giggled slightly before going back to staring at his body. “How tall are you?”

“Six three.”

“That’s amazing.” She slid her hand under his leg and urged him to bend his knee so she could lean against it.

“Not really.” Guy seemed confused when she got comfortable as if she intended to stay there. “Six three isn’t that tall.”

“That’s not what I meant. I think it’s incredible the way you’re so well proportioned. Lots of guys who are tall have something that’s off. You know, their bodies are too long or their hands and arms don’t fit or their bellybuttons are in the wrong place. You’re just right.”

“Thank you.”

“I mean it, Guy. Look at you! Your shoulders are broad but not too wide. You have the right size neck. Your chest is divided up like it should be. Your waist isn’t too small and you have a great ass. Your legs are defined but not gross. Your feet aren’t too big and you don’t have those extra-long toes that are too creepy to look at but once you see them you can’t stop. Hell, you even have the right amount of hair.”

“Again, thank you. I’m glad you approve so far. Aren’t you forgetting something?”

She blinked as she realized what he was referring to. “Hmm, no, not that I can think of just now. You look like a swimmer only more solid. There’s not an ounce of fat on you, is there? Do you work out or are you one of the lucky one?”

“I’d say it’s about ninety percent genetic and ten percent effort. I try to watch what I eat and I take steps instead of elevators. You’re very perceptive though. I was on the swim team in high school and college.”

“Oh man,” Tori gasped. “No wonder you’re so experienced. One look at you in a Speedo and I bet all the girls were falling at your feet. Did you have to dunk that,” she nodded toward his cock, “in ice so you could tuck it in?”

Guy snorted. “This is the most bizarre conversation I ever had.”

“Why? I didn’t mean to pry but what’s so bad about what I asked? You’re huge and every Speedo I’ve ever seen was tiny. I can’t help picturing you diving into the pool with it poking out from somewhere.”

“Sorry, tiger, it’s not what we’re talking about. It’s the fact that the conversation is going on with my hard-on in between us. I can feel your warm breath when you talk. It’s driving me insane but you don’t seem to notice what you’re doing to me.”

“Oh, I noticed, Guy. I’m just a little intimidated.”

“You? If anyone should be intimidated here, it’s me. Seriously,” he added when she looked skeptical. “You’re fairly innocent and you already took me to new heights. Think what you’ll do once you gain a little self-confidence. You scare the hell out of me.”

“Oh, ha, ha. Just shut up already. You’re scared. Yeah, right. You, the epitome of Alpha male, afraid of me. No way do I believe that one.” She shivered and closed her eyes.

“Tori, we don’t have to do this tonight. We’ve had a long day and you must be even more tired after your dream so why don’t you turn me loose and we’ll get some sleep?”

“Um, okay. I guess I should.”

“Wait. I only suggested that because you seem uncomfortable. I didn’t mean to sound like I want you to quit if you’re not ready to.”

“I don’t want to but I don’t know what to do with you,” she mumbled against his knee. “You’re too much for me and I can’t handle you.”

“Bullshit! I’m too much for you? You’re the only one capable of making me this vulnerable. You can’t handle me? You sure didn’t have any trouble pushing me for more last night. Stop thinking. Isn’t that what you told me? Don’t have any great debates about what you what to do just do it. I’m defenseless and at your disposal. You said you wanted to touch me so touch me.”

“Where?”

“Everywhere. Run your soft little hands all over me.” She still didn’t move. “You were teasing my chest hair but you stopped before you did any exploring. I know you’re curious. I know you like the way I look. Find out if you like the way I feel. Slide your palms up and down my chest until you memorize every inch of it. Dig your fingers into me and see what it does to me. Stroke me softly. Don’t ignore my nipples. Touch them. Pinch them. Tug them out until you can roll them between your fingers. Twist me hard. Lick me. Suck me. Probe me with your tongue. Bite me and then kiss me and make me better. I never minded when someone gave me a little attention there before but I never asked for it either. But I’m begging you, Tori. I want you to do the same things I did to you last night. I want to know if I’m as sensitive to you as you are to me. My skin is on fire and I need you to put it out. Please don’t torture me anymore. Please touch me. Anywhere, just please touch me,” Guy continued to plead until Tori released his leg and inched toward his chest.

Watching his eyes, Tori leaned across him and rested her hands on his waist. Slowly, she slid them up and down his sides. Her tentative touch soon had him squirming.

“More. Please, Tori. I need you.”

His encouragement boosted her courage and Tori shifted to the front of his body. “Ooh yeah. You’re as solid as you look.” She stroked him thoroughly. “So strong. When I waitressed there were these guys who would come in and strut around like they were something. What a bunch of wannabes. You’re the real thing but the only time you let it show is when we’ve been alone together.”

“Don’t let that fool you,” Guy advised seriously. “I won’t deny that you bring out the Alpha in me almost constantly but there have been plenty of situations at work where I didn’t hesitate to flex my muscles.”

“I’m sure you did but it’s not the same thing. At the truck stop, those guys were flaunting. You wouldn’t do that just to draw attention to yourself. Not with me and especially not at work.”

“No, you’re right. I don’t flaunt while I’m working because I only get tough when I have to. But if I’m not trying to get your attention what am I doing when I go Alpha with you?”

“Well, you’re the one who keeps saying you’re staking your claim. Marking your territory as the head stallion and protecting your much-weaker mate from the rest of the herd.”

“Interesting analogy but I don’t see you as a broodmare. You’re much more the tiger type.”

“I noticed you call me that sometimes. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know why.”

“It fits you but I must confess I consider you more of a tiger cub than a full-grown tigress. Don’t look at me like that. I don’t mean it in a derogatory way. I’m probably full of shit but you still seem to be figuring out how you fit in your own skin. You’re inquisitive one moment and playful the next. And then you turn all fierce, like you’re about to unsheathe your claws and take a swipe at me just before you retreat to somewhere safe.” He shrugged as best he could. “Hey, I watched a really cool special on one of those nature channels one night and it stuck with me.”

“I’ll have to think about that one.” Tori curled her fingers and scraped his chest with her nails.

“Holy Christ, I can’t wait to feel you do that on my back when I have you screaming beneath me.”

“You sure I’m going to be the one screaming?” she asked sweetly. Before he could respond, Tori caught a nipple with her teeth and gave it a sharp tug. With a wicked chuckle, she moved on to the other side. When she raised her head to look at Guy, he was watching intently. She could see the lust in his eyes and fought her surprise that she inspired it. Without a word, she lowered her mouth and tickled his reddened flesh with the tip of her tongue.

“Tori,” Guy moaned, tugging at the handcuffs.

“Stop doing that,” she commanded. “If you keep pulling, you’ll have bruises and I don’t want that. Be a good boy and hold still or I’ll have to stop.”

“Okay, okay. Anything you say, just please don’t stop.”

She laughed softly. “Begging, Guy? What would the wannabes say about the true Alpha now?”

“Not a damn thing. If you were doing the same to them, they’d all be dead by now.”

“Good thing you’re so tough then.” Tori proceeded to treat his hard points as he had hers. She kept it up until he was almost incoherent. “Seems to me that you’re pretty sensitive yourself. I wonder what it would take to make you come just by stimulating you here.” She gave him a quick peek as he groaned. “Maybe I could do this again sometime so we can find out.”

Guy managed to raise an eyebrow in question. “I’m sure that can be arranged. You look ready to pounce, tiger. What’s on your mind?”

“I’m curious about something I read once.”

“Ask me anything and I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“Thanks, that’s so nice of you. I would be extremely surprised if you couldn’t answer this question but I think I’d rather find out on my own than ask.” She swiped his lips with her tongue but didn’t kiss him. Instead, she spun around and stretched out next to him. Knowing exactly what he expected, she caressed his hip to tease him. When his muscles tensed, she gave him a wink and crawled to the foot of the bed.