MisplacedLessons (3 page)

Andrew stood for several moments trying to figure out his
next move. The rest of the house was quiet, but part of him wondered if the
woman was here as a ruse, a distraction. Shit. He needed to lighten up on the
murder-mystery books. He’d read two stories in the past three days as he killed
time waiting in airports because of delayed flights.

He wasn’t even supposed to be here. The only people who knew
he was in Chicago were Mike and Tom.

The woman rolled from her side to her back, treating him to
an unhindered view of her left breast as the sheet drifted lower.

His cock responded, stealing much-needed blood from his
brain.

This woman had broken into his home. Somehow she’d known the
house was empty. He fought down his arousal and decided to take action, to get
some answers. He carefully put the bat down, leaning it against the nightstand
in case he needed to grab it again quickly.

Then he slowly reached behind the headboard, silently
searching for the straps he knew were there. He hadn’t brought a woman back to
the house in years out of respect for his sister, but he also hadn’t bothered
to remove the restraints he’d had installed when he was younger. Once the strap
was freed from its hiding place, he walked to the other side of the bed,
looking for the mate.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He wasn’t sure
exactly what was causing the sudden racing of his heart—the anticipation of a
fight or rock-hard, pulse-pounding arousal.

Moving ever so carefully, he reached for one of the woman’s
wrists, dragging it toward the first restraint. If he could fasten the straps
before she woke, it would make his job of questioning her easier.

Unfortunately, luck was not on his side. The woman’s eyes
snapped open at his touch. She started to scream, so Andrew covered her mouth
with his hand as she began to fight him in earnest. While he had to have her by
almost a hundred pounds, the petite woman waged one hell of a battle. She
scratched his face as he struggled to reclaim his grip on her hand. Despite her
naked state, she kicked off the covers, freeing her legs to pummel his thighs
with blows strong enough to leave bruises.

Forced to keep her mouth covered, lest she wake up the
neighborhood with her screaming, he tried to subdue her one-handed. When that
attempt failed, he released her mouth. The woman started to scream again, so he
quickly grabbed her blouse from the floor and stuffed some of the material into
her mouth, muffling her cries.

Her initial shock at being gagged gave him the precious
seconds he needed to snap a restraint around one of her wrists. When she
realized what he was doing, she doubled her efforts. With one of her hands out
of play, it was easier to capture and restrain the second.

For the first time, desperation and fear crept onto her
face.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” His words sounded ridiculous
even to himself. He’d gagged her and was now straddling her naked body, holding
her legs to the mattress with his own after tying her to the bed. Regardless of
who she was or why she was there, she’d be insane not to be afraid of his
intentions.

She twisted her head, trying to dislodge the shirt from her
mouth.

“If I take it out, do you promise not to scream?”

She blinked rapidly then nodded her assent.

He pulled the material away, ready to replace it if she
broke her vow.

“Untie me.”

“No.” Andrew reached up to touch his tender cheek, his
fingers finding the raised welts she’d put there with her long nails. “Who are
you?”

Her breathing was labored, coming in hard pants after their
fight. Even so, her gaze hardened and he knew she wouldn’t talk.

Something inside him cracked. He’d been traveling for days,
stealing only a couple hours sleep here and there. This woman had broken into
his
house. She had some nerve acting like he was the villain. By God, he’d
make
her talk.

“I’ll give you one more chance to answer my question. Tell
me who you are or you won’t like the consequences.”

She stilled beneath him, her intelligent gaze sizing him up.
He should climb off the bed and call the cops. If he was in his right mind,
that’s exactly what he’d do. Having her arrested would certainly be the kinder
response. As it was, he wasn’t in the mood to be merciful.

Instead of answering, she threw his question back at him.
“Who are
you
?”

“None of your business. Give me your name. Now.”

She bit her lip nervously. “I’m Amy.”

Amy? Mike’s Amy?

Andrew leaned back on his haunches, his mind whirling. Had
Mike set this up? Past experience had obviously convinced his friend he’d never
consent to a blind date. But would Mike actually go so far as to throw this
woman into his bed?

Andrew knew the answer. It was more than possible. It was
actually quite probable. Mike had the extra key to the house. He knew Harper
was away and Andrew was back in town.

Andrew recalled a lifetime of little surprises his best
friend had tossed his way. The high-class call girl who’d shown up at his door
on his twenty-fifth birthday. The so-called conference that had really turned
out to be an impromptu weekend trip to Vegas, complete with nonstop gambling
and a private show with five of the hottest strippers Andrew had ever seen. Or
this past year when Mike had managed to score tickets to the Super Bowl, but
told Andrew they were headed to Indianapolis for his cousin’s bachelor party.
He’d let Andrew bitch for three hours in the car about missing the big game,
only letting him in on the surprise when they’d reached the entrance to the
stadium.

Mike was the master of the unexpected, so it wasn’t
farfetched that his friend would go to this extreme in a hookup. It would also
explain his friend’s easy capitulation when he refused to go on a date with the
woman earlier. Mike didn’t push the issue because he knew Amy was already here.

He grinned as his annoyance lifted. Amy was beautiful and
feisty, with a hot accent. Australian, if he wasn’t mistaken, though he’d need
to hear her say more before he could be sure. His best friend knew he was a
sucker for a girl with an accent. For the second time in one night, it looked
like Mike was going to be able to say, “I told you so.”

And since Mike had gone to so much trouble, far be it from
Andrew to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Chapter Two

Amy frowned as the expression on the stranger’s face morphed
from anger to one of pure desire.

When she’d first woken up to discover the man in her room
she’d struck out without a thought to the fact she was completely naked. Now,
she was feeling far too exposed and vulnerable. If she couldn’t figure a way
out of this predicament, she was in trouble. Big trouble.

“I answered your question. Now answer mine. Who are you?”

The man no longer seemed quite as menacing as he had
earlier. In fact, his eyes had softened, giving him an almost friendly look.
“You know who I am. You and I have a mutual friend. One who’s fond of
surprises.”

Amy blinked rapidly. Surprises? She recalled Harper’s
comments on the phone earlier. Harper had promised her a surprise, but this?
What the hell was this?

The truth began to collapse in on her. It was her sexual
fantasy.

Sex with a stranger.

Oh my God. There was no way Harper would set up such a
thing. Was there?

Amy struggled to take a breath, her chest constricting with
fear. She’d told Harper about her desire to be captured and taken by a
stranger, but it was just something she dreamed about. Masturbated to while
imagining the scene in her mind. Not something she ever intended to do.

You’re in America, Amy. It’s your time to go wild.
Experience it all.

Of course, there was wild and then there was completely
batshit.

Is it mental? What about the trip to a sex club you
included on your Chicago itinerary?

She wished her inner voice would shut the hell up. She
wanted to have a proper panic attack, not deal in common sense, however
twisted.

“What are you planning to do?” She wasn’t stupid. Maybe her
love life had been stagnant lately, but she’d been around the block enough to
recognize lust when she saw it.

“I think that’s obvious, Amy.”

She swallowed heavily as his gaze drifted lower, taking a
leisurely tour of her body.

“You’re very beautiful.”

Reality tried to rear its ugly head, but she was running on
empty. She was so tired, she felt numb…and receptive. It had been a long time
since she’d been with a man. And she’d never, ever had sex with anyone remotely
as gorgeous as this stranger. She had to hand it to Harper. She’d managed to
set this surprise up when Amy’s resistance was low. Her friend had also managed
to find the hottest guy on the planet.

The man rose, leaving the bed, and for a foolish minute Amy
thought he’d changed his mind.

She barely managed to refrain from demanding he return. Her
mouth opened, then closed quickly. She’d gone crazy, lost her mind. A stranger
had snuck into her room, chained her to the bed and now she was all but begging
him to fuck her.

She cleared her throat, attempting to dislodge the lump that
had formed there. “Where are you going?” She needed time to get her bearings,
clear her mind and free herself from these straps.

The stranger studied her face. “I’m not leaving. I thought
you might need a second to catch your breath.”

At his suggestion, Amy sucked in some much needed air. Then
the man sat down on the edge of the mattress. Amy’s heart began to race. And
not exactly in a bad way.

He smiled as he reached up to brush a stray tendril of hair
away from her face. “We can slow down, but we’re not stopping. You wouldn’t be
here if you didn’t want this too.”

She wanted to contradict him, explain that she was here to
see Chicago, and that was it. But it was hard to deny his words when her body
had begun to flush with arousal, her nipples going tight despite her better
judgment. “This is going a little too fast for me.” She tugged against the
bonds once more. Maybe if she weren’t so defenseless. “Would you untie me?”

He shook his head. “No. I love the way you look right now.
Completely at my mercy. You know, breaking and entering is against the law. I
should punish you.”

There was something about the way he said the word
punish
that made Amy go completely wet. She squeezed her legs together and tried to
ignore the tingles in her pussy.

“I didn’t break in. I had a key.”

His grin grew at her admission. “Then maybe I should
reprimand you for fighting me.” He touched the scratches she’d left on his face
once more. She recalled the way his hard cock brushed against her hip as she
struggled for her freedom. He’d enjoyed the rough play.

“You scared me. I wasn’t expecting you.”

He smiled, ran his fingers along her cheek in a way that was
more friendly than sexual. “Yes, you were.”

Harper
had
warned her. Told her to expect it. She
just hadn’t anticipated the surprise would be something so…so…shocking.

Exciting.

Harper had urged her to keep an open mind. Obviously her
friend had known she’d balk. What sane woman wouldn’t?

She studied the stranger’s handsome face and her anxieties
melted away. He had kind eyes and somehow she felt he wouldn’t hurt her. Maybe
she was being an idiot of epic proportions, but something about his face seemed
almost familiar, though she knew she’d never met this man before in her life.
The tension in her body loosened and she smiled.

“Beautiful,” he whispered again. Leaning closer, he pressed
his cheek against hers, his breath hot in her ear. “I won’t hurt you, Amy. I
promise. Just relax and let it happen. We’ve got all night.”

Her eyes drifted closed when he kissed her. His lips
traveled over her sensitive places, her ears, her neck, leaving no part
untouched. As far as kisses went, her midnight stranger was a master.

He reached for her breasts as he continued to worship her
face. He hadn’t kissed her lips and she found herself wishing for a taste of
him. It was as if he’d been pulled from her dirtiest daydreams and she felt
helpless to resist.

“Kiss me.” She hadn’t intended to issue the request, but now
that the words were out, she wasn’t going to pretend she didn’t want him.

He lifted his head “No. You’re my captive. Tonight, I’m the
one who’ll be giving the commands. And you’re going to obey me. Completely.”

Her stomach flipped over. Jesus. Her stranger was playing
the dominant card. She didn’t consider herself submissive during the waking
hours, but there was a part of her that had always longed to be dominated in
bed. She struggled to remember if she’d admitted that desire to Harper. She
didn’t think so, but then again, she’d consumed a lot of wine prior to the sex
conversation. Perhaps she’d told her friend more than she thought.

“Just don’t expect me to start calling you Master,” she
said, purposely trying to tweak him. Test the waters.

He was silent for several breathless moments. “No. I won’t
be your Master, but you will call me whatever I tell you to, Amy.”

It was a powerful assertion, spoken with absolute certainty.
She briefly debated the wisdom in denying him then took the safer path. “What
do you want me to call you?”

“For tonight, you’ll simply refer to me as Sir.”

“Sir,” she whispered, trying it on for size. It was better
than thinking of him as her stranger, but infinitely more dangerous to her
libido.

“You know what a safe word is?”

Amy struggled to answer. Instead, she simply nodded.

His carefree smile faded. “I’m going to have sex with you.
We can make it as easy or as heavy as you prefer. I can keep this encounter
light, but…” He paused.

“But?” she prompted.

“I want more.”

Amy tried to wrap her head around everything that was
happening. She felt as though she was slogging through waist-deep mud in
uncharted territory. “How much more?”

“Have you ever been tied up in bed?”

She shook her head. Only in her dreams.

Her answer surprised him. “Why not?”

Amy didn’t reply. Didn’t know how.

When the silence persisted, he prodded. “You like bondage.
Your body is responding to it. I can see that. Why deny yourself something that
turns you on?”

“I don’t know. Where I’m from it’s not that easy to meet
blokes who want the same things I do.”

He considered her words. “You’re from Australia.”

She smiled. “What gave me away?”

He laughed, the expression transforming his face into
something that took her breath away. Bloody hell, she’d met her fair share of
sexy jackaroos, but she’d never,
ever
met a man who affected her quite
like this.

“Pick a safe word, Amy. We’re going to play.”

Her mind went completely blank. Once again, he filled the
silence.

“Oz. Your safe word is Oz. Say it and we’ll slow down, talk
a bit, give you time to adjust. Fair enough?”

Was she seriously consenting to this? The man was a complete
stranger. Sex was one thing, but he was offering a hell of a lot more than
that. Just last week, she’d spent nearly two nights perusing websites of sex
clubs in the Chicago area. She’d always wanted to visit one and experiment with
some previously unexplored parts of her sexuality. What was so different about
indulging in a night with this hot stranger versus one at a sex club?

About a million things—all of them having to do with your
safety.

She closed her eyes and tried to force her weary brain to
think, to overrule her wayward, reckless physical needs.

“Amy. Open your eyes.”

She obeyed.

“Stop thinking so hard. You can trust me. I promise.”

If Harper had handpicked this stranger to help Amy live out
her fantasy, then yes, she believed she could trust him. “Okay. My safe word is
Oz.”

His smile grew, setting Amy’s mind even more at ease. He
reached up and released the restraints at her wrists.

She frowned. “What are you doing?”

He pulled her arms down to rest by her sides and she winced
at the sharp pain. He didn’t miss the look.

“I thought we’d give your arms a rest for a little while.”

“Only for a little while?”

He gently massaged her tense shoulders, not bothering to
acknowledge her question. If given his way, she had no doubt he’d bind her to
the bed again before the night was out. However, he understood her reticence
and was willing to give her a chance to accept that bondage without fear. She
appreciated his kindness, his patience. Harper had outdone herself.

“We should establish some ground rules before we start. It’s
important that we understand each other’s limits.”

“You have limits?”

He snorted at her question. “I do. But I’d rather hear yours
first. Is there anything you don’t want to do tonight?”

She slowly sat up, wondering if he would try to stop her. He
didn’t. He watched with no reaction as she tugged the sheet over her bare body.
Something told her this conversation was going to be unlike any she’d ever
engaged in and she preferred to be covered.

“Is there a chance we could do this multiple-choice style?
It’s sort of hard to know how to answer considering I don’t have a clue what
you’re considering.”

He ran the backs of his fingers along the side of her neck,
stopping when he found her pulse point. “I think that’s a fair request. How
about if I list possible scenarios and you simply say yes or no.”

She nodded. “Okay. I can do that.”

“Bondage.”

She bit her lip, then let her body, her fantasies and her
overactive imagination give the answer. “Yes.”

“Spanking.”

She sucked in a deep breath. “Yes.”

“Flogger.”

The air didn’t reach her lungs despite her harsh gasp. “Um.
Yes?”

He tilted his head, studying her face. “We’ll revisit that
one. Anal.”

“Jesus. You just keep going for the jugular, don’t you?”

He didn’t reply, but his eyes crinkled, his laugh lines
appearing.

“Okay. Yeah. We could try that…with a lot of lube.”

“So noted. Nipple clamps.”

She glanced around. “Do you really have all this stuff with
you?”

“Don’t worry about the details. Just answer the question.”

Her nipples tightened, but Amy wasn’t sure if the response
was based on anticipation or fear. “Can we come back to that one too?”

His gaze narrowed, letting her know he preferred an answer.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have one to give. Suffering from a fuzzy head after
two days of travel, she sort of wished her brain would tell her body this
wasn’t a good time. Problem was her body was all systems go and fucking horny.

He rattled off the next items on the list, one right after
another with no pause. “Vibrator. Butt plug. Dildo.”

“Yes. Yes. Yes. So long as they’re new, not used.”

He chuckled again. “Agreed. And not a problem.”

“Wow. You’re a regular sex shop.”

His hands drifted to the sheet and he tugged it down. “Lay
down, Amy.”

So much for the get-to-know-you phase of the evening. She
started to assume the position, but froze. “Wait. You didn’t tell me
your
limits.”

“I lied. I don’t have any.”

Bloody hell. She gave herself until count of ten to
reconsider, silently saying the numbers in her head.

“Amy. I don’t like to repeat myself.”

His deep voice sent a sharp thrill through her. She hadn’t
mistaken her true desire for bondage and submission. She’d felt pulled to those
types of erotic romance novels for years, devouring the delicious graphic
details as she read page after page, book after book. Whenever she came across
something she didn’t understand, she’d head to the internet, her research
almost always leading to daydreams that turned into wild fantasies that kept
her vibrator busy, night after night.

Now here she was, a lonely Aussie schoolteacher, naked in
bed with a domineering stranger who was promising to teach her some very
naughty, very sexy lessons.

Who was she to refuse? For tonight, the teacher was going to
be the student. Bring it on.