With Me In Seattle: Bundle Two (37 page)

I nod and stretch my legs out in front of me and rest them on her ottoman. “That’s right, you were rebellious.”

“What about you?” she asks.

“What about me?” I reply and grin at her. Which part of me are you asking about, baby?

“How did you become a cop?”

“Oh, that. I did two years in the Army.” I wince and shake my head. “Caleb was much more suited for the military.”

“Don’t like being told what to do, huh?” she asks me with a wink, making me chuckle.

“That wasn’t it, actually. I don’t want to move around all the time. I like it here. I want to be near my family. So, when my two years were up, I came home and worked my way through college and then applied to the academy.”

She closes the pizza box, sets it aside and lays her cheek against the back of the couch, a soft smile on her full lips. If I had the energy, I’d lean over and capture those lips under mine and kiss her mad.

Instead, I pull her feet into my lap and begin to rub the arches of her feet. She sighs and closes her eyes.

“God, that’s nice.”

“Just relax.”

“You should be the one relaxing. You worked all night and then worked all day in my shop.”

“Don’t worry about me,” I reply with just enough of an edge in my voice to make sure she knows I mean it.

“What about the other stuff?” she asks softly, and when I raise my eyes from her feet to her face, I see her watching me. I raise an eyebrow, and she snickers. “The ropes.”

“I responded to a domestic violence call in my second year on the force. It happened to be at a local BDSM club, which is actually very unusual, as I’ve come to find out since then.” I pause and check her to make sure that I haven’t already scared her off, but she’s just reclined comfortably, listening, so I continue. “While I was there, I saw someone I recognized and saw that he had tied this girl up in ropes, and I thought it was hot as hell, to be honest.”

She smiles, and for just a moment, I forget what I was saying.

I shake my head and pull her other foot into my lap.

“So, when I saw him a few days later, I asked him about it. It’s called Shibari. It’s an ancient form of Japanese bondage, and this friend is a master.”

“Had you tied girls up before?” she asks softly.

“I’d played with handcuffs before, sure. And restraining a woman was always fun, but once I started learning Shibari, I also learned that it comes with responsibility. Trust.”

“What about the dominant stuff?”

“Are you asking just because you’re curious, or have you decided to change your mind about our friendship status?” I ask quietly.

Her cheeks flush as she meets my gaze. “I’m not just curious.”

“I need you to say the words, little one.”

“I want to see where this might go,” she admits.

I release her feet and pull her into my lap, unable to keep from holding her any longer, and let’s face it, talking about this stuff is a huge turn-on for me. I settle her against me but arrange her so I can still look in her eyes while I talk.

This conversation could make or break us, and I am not going to fuck this up.

“What are you afraid of?” I ask gently.

She shrugs and looks down, but I catch her chin with the tip of my finger and tilt her head back up.

“Talk to me.”

“I don’t like losing control,” she whispers. “I have to have control of my business, my financial life, my health, everything, Matt.”

“Okay.” I nod and push my fingers through her soft, short, dark hair. “What about when we had sex before? Did you hate giving up the control of that to me?”

“No,” she answers, and I grin.

Jackpot.

“There are different kinds of Doms, Nic. Some Doms want a full-time sub. Some even have slaves.”

She gasps and covers her mouth, her eyes wide in terror.

“Not that kind of slave, little one. Everything is always consensual and sane.”

“So these women voluntarily allow someone to call them a slave?” Her brow is pursed in a frown, and she’s suddenly overcome her fear, and curiosity has set in.

“Not just women,” I reply and laugh when her jaw drops again. Oh, it’s going to be so fun introducing her to my world.

“Wow, I had no idea.”

“When you were at the erotic ball with your friend, was that the first time you’d been anywhere like that?”

“Yeah, she dragged me,” she replies.

“I’m sorry, baby.” I kiss her forehead and nuzzle her nose with mine. “If I’d known, I would have done things a little differently. I thought you were just shy.”

“I didn’t want you to do anything differently.” She frowns.

“So you enjoyed yourself?”

She nods and then bites her lip before saying, “I’m no one’s slave, Matt. Voluntarily or otherwise.”

“I’m not a slave master, Nic. That doesn’t interest me at all. As I was saying, some Doms are into the slave thing. Some are happy with a submissive in the bedroom, and ask that their sub obeys their rules out of the bedroom as well, especially in a club atmosphere.”

“What are the rules?” she asks.

“Good question,” I reply with a smile. “They vary with the couple, based on their desires and hard limits.”

She swallows and then nods. “Okay.”

“But then there are other Doms who are perfectly happy to be sexually dominant but have a normal vanilla relationship outside of the bedroom.” I grin down at her. “That’s the category I fall into. The restraints are my kink. I love that you’re a business owner and a strong-willed woman. But behind closed doors, I would like to pursue a relationship like the one you tasted a few weeks ago.”

I sit back and wait while she processes this information, chewing on her bottom lip. “So, you won’t try to tell me how to run my shop?”

“Why would I do that?” I ask with a raised brow. “The only thing I know about cupcakes is that they’re delicious.”

“You won’t choose my clothes for me?”

“No.” I shake my head. “That’s too much, in my opinion, but it works very well for other couples.”

She nods again, deep in thought.

“It’s a lot of information.” It’s not a question, and she blinks a few times before meeting my gaze.

“Yeah,” she agrees. “It is. Why no safe word?”

“In clubs, safe words are mandatory, so if we ever go to one together, your word will be ‘red.’ The second you say ‘red,’ everything stops, no questions asked. But, honestly, the way I feel about safe words is, you shouldn’t need one with me. It’s my job to learn what you can handle and what you can’t, and I’m a firm believer in ‘no means no.’”

“I beg to differ,” she interjects with a laugh.

I laugh with her and pinch her round ass, then smooth it with the flat of my hand. “Sassy girl.”

“I don’t have a problem saying ‘no.’”

“So I’ve learned, and I’m glad. It’s imperative that you always communicate with me. I’ll always be watching you for signs of any distress, but I can’t read your mind, so you have to be honest.”

“I can do that. Okay, another question.”

“Anything,” I reply and yawn.

“I can ask tomorrow. You’re so tired.” She rests her palm on my cheek.

I turn my face and press a kiss to her cool hand, enjoying her touch. “I’m okay, let’s get this all talked out so we can move on.”

“I noticed some girls called their Doms sir
or master
.
Do you want me to call you that?” Her eyes say,
Never in a million years, dude.

I offer her a smile and shake my head. “I’m not your father, and I won’t insist that you address me as sir or master. I’m Matt or any other sexy-as-hell nickname you might come up with for me. But if we
do
go to the club, you should know that I’m known as Master Matt there.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m a master in Shibari, and I’ve achieved Master Dom status within the club. So the subs address me as such.” She frowns, but I reassure her with, “It’s just the protocol, Nic. It’s respectful.”

“Will I have to kneel?”

“If we’re at the club, yes, but I don’t expect you to kneel when we’re alone.”

She exhales deeply and then turns tired eyes to me. “Is that it?”

I chuckle and drag my knuckles down her cheek. “Honestly, I’m shocked that we’re having this conversation so soon.”

“I was just curious,” she responds with wide eyes, but I stop her before she gets the wrong idea.

“I’m happy, Nic. I was going to suggest that we pursue this, but I thought I’d have to be a bit more persuasive.”

“Well, I am curious, and I do like you, Matt. But I need to be clear with you, this is new to me, and I’m not okay with being told how to live my life.”

“That’s fair.” I nod. “And this also needs to be said: I don’t share, Nic. Ever. I won’t let other Doms touch you. They may watch”—her eyes widen at that—“but they’ll never touch you.”

“I don’t share either,” she whispers.

“Good, then we’re on the same page.”

I stand with her in my arms. “Let’s go to the bedroom.”

“Wow, that was quick,” she replies sarcastically.

“We are both exhausted, baby. I’d like to curl up around you and sleep for about eight hours and then wake up and bury myself inside you for another eight.”

She checks her watch and grins. “I have to be at work in thirty-six hours.”

“You have tomorrow off?”

She nods happily.

“Then we’d better get started.”

She laughs and points in the direction of her bedroom.

I like her apartment. It’s small, but there’s little clutter. The furniture is updated but not too fancy.

But her bedroom pulls at my heart. It’s pure woman. The bed is a king-size four-poster with sheer curtains hanging at each corner.

“We’re going to have fun with this bed, sweetheart.”

She grins and lays her head on my shoulder as I look around the room. I was here before but admittedly was too busy looking at her to take in her bedroom. Her bedding has small pink roses on it. A vanity in one corner of the room is covered in makeup and hair stuff, and there is a pile of shoes in another corner.

“You don’t have enough storage space,” I comment.

“It’s an older building, so it doesn’t have much for closets.”

I set her on her feet and strip her down to her black panties, pull the ribbon out of her hair and lay it on the bedside table, and take a deep breath.

Fuck me, she’s gorgeous.

She has more ink, which I intend to fully explore later. Her body is petite. Thin, but not too thin. She has round breasts with dusky nipples that tighten as I continue to watch them.

A glimpse of silver winks at me from her navel.

“Matt…”

“Shh…I just want to look for a moment.”

Her skin is tanned. Her thighs are slim, but they still touch when she’s standing.

She’s a
real
woman, through and through.

I lick my lips and hold her gaze in mine. “You are amazingly beautiful.”

She fidgets, and I immediately pull her to me, kiss her softly and draw the linens back on the bed and lay her gently on the soft pink sheets. She watches with sleepy eyes as I also shed my clothing, leaving just my boxer-briefs on, and join her. I turn her back to me and tuck her against me, bury my face in her soft dark hair and inhale the warm scent of vanilla.

“Sleep, little one.”

“Sweet dreams,” she whispers.

Chapter Five

~Nic~

Someone is planting soft kisses on my right shoulder, over my tattoo. Fingertips drag lazily up and down my arm, sending shivers down my body, pulling me out of a deep, restful sleep. I wiggle back, tucking my ass even closer to Matt’s hips, enjoying the way his hardness feels against my back. He’s warm and hard,
everywhere.

“Good morning,” he whispers against my ear, then nuzzles it with his nose.

“Mornin’,” I reply softly.

His hand drifts down to my breast, and his fingers thrum gently over my nipple, making it pucker under his soft touch.

This is the most amazing way to wake up. Slow. Sexy.

He drags his nose down my neck and kisses my shoulder again.

“I’m going to spend the next hour or so exploring every inch of your delectable little body,” he warns me with a whisper, making me grin.

This does not sound like a bad deal at all.

“Is that a threat?” I whisper, teasing him.

“If you like,” he agrees. “But here’s how it’s going to work.”

His hand drifts down to my wrist, which he brings up to his lips. He kisses the sensitive skin on the inside of my wrist and then loops the red ribbon I use for my hair around it. He scoots back so I can roll onto my back, and I’m wide awake now, watching him curiously as he repeats the motion on the other wrist, then makes a series of loops and knots to tie them together.

He slips a finger under the satin to make sure that it’s snug but not cutting off my blood flow and then grins down at me with excitement shining in his gorgeous blue eyes.

“We’re going to start easy today, little one.” He kisses my cheek, not a quick peck, but plants his lips on my skin and inhales deeply, as if he’s pulling my scent inside him, memorizing me.

I have one hundred percent of his focus, and it’s completely intoxicating.

“Your hands are to stay over your head.” He guides my arms up, so they are lying comfortably bent on either side of my head, my wrists joined. He drags the backs of his fingers down my arm and to my breast, barely touching just the tip of my nipple, but the electricity shoots down my belly and my panties are already soaked.

“But I want to touch you,” I whisper.

He pinches my nipple, hard, making me squirm.

“I didn’t ask you.” He raises an eyebrow, reminding me that this is where I’m supposed to surrender to him, to let him do as he wishes.

No means no.

I offer him a half smile, and he kisses my lips sweetly. “That’s better.”

His lips travel down my jawline, to my neck and finally down to my breasts, where he licks and laps at my tender nipple then pulls back and blows on it, watching it pucker in the cool air.

“You’re so responsive,” he murmurs.

I begin to squirm, but he pins me in his gaze and says sternly, “Keep still.”