Her body hummed, going hot and tingly as images of him sliding that unrelenting velvet steel between her lips caused her to shiver. Would he order her to stay still? To keep her hands at her sides?

Fuck her mouth instead of allowing her to pleasure him? Several of the stories that turned her on involved just that, and envisioning Michael doing so made her skin prickle in anticipation as her sex tightened.

As she opened her eyes, she stepped toward the table in the center of the room. She touched the red leather, the pads of her fingers skimming across the smooth and unmarred surface. It was firm enough to be uncomfortable, yet cushioned so that it could be utilized for a lengthy stretch of time. She wondered exactly how it was used, since it was long enough to rest her entire body on and high enough to be bent over. Leaning against it, she pressed her pelvis into the wood and rocked her hips.

This place was so unlike what she imagined. It wasn’t dirty or raunchy but was more of a lover’s haven where you could play out your wildest fantasies. The décor was tasteful, the colors creating a feeling of security.

Michael’s arm wound around her waist and, although she gasped, it was due to surprise rather than shock. It had dawned on her shortly after she came down the stairs that the walls were probably soundproofed, making the noises of the shower impossible to hear. Deep down she knew a wild, shameless and uninhibited part of her wanted him to find her here, was curious as to what he would say or do.

She trembled when his lips brushed the outer shell of her ear, quivered as his breath caressed her skin. His voice was husky and deep, the sound that of sheer sexual enticement. “I have two questions, angel.”

“O-Okay,” she stammered, finding it challenging to breathe with him so close, his nearness effectively trapping her in place

“Why did you run that night at Haddie’s?”

It was a fair question but still had the power to mortify her. She’d been foolish listening to Candice, treating Michael like some kind of sexual pervert only to discover through her own exploration and research that the notion of submitting to him captivated and excited her. Hell, it was a part of the reason she’d accepted Scott’s interest in her in the first place, in a pretense of attempting to be normal.

Normal. Now that was pathetic in hindsight. Who was normal anyway?

“Candice told me about…she said that…”

“Go on.” He nuzzled her neck, making it difficult to think clearly. “Tell me.”

“When I found out about the BDSM stuff—” She tried to put her thoughts in order but it wasn’t easy with the inescapable presence of the man behind her. “I was shocked and confused. I didn’t know what to do or how to feel, so I left.”

“Good girl. Now for my second question.”

She nodded, knees weak, heart racing. His mouth made solid contact with her earlobe, his lips gently pressing along the surface, sending ripples of heat to her pussy. He nipped at her ear and soothed the diminutive sting with flicks of his tongue, causing her to moan.

“Do you want to run now?”

Michael waited for her answer, cock hard and balls drawn tight. From the moment Lacey entered his home, he’d decided to push her and see if she was as willing as her eyes, body and mannerisms indicated she was. He’d noticed her fleeting glances in the truck, had been fully aware of the way she’d wrung her hands each time he’d glanced over and caught her studying him with a recognizable fire in her eyes.

Picturing her while he stripped naked and washed away the filth of wreckage and snow had driven him crazy. He had so many images in his mind of the ways he’d love to play with her, bring her to climax and sate the longing he’d experienced the last few weeks. He had hoped she’d come to his playroom, had prayed that she would take a chance despite his veiled warning of what existed in the basement.

Her reactions in the foyer had told him she wanted him. Her eyes had been cloudy, her breathing shallow. He’d known she had wanted to kiss him. She’d given him plenty of time to close the distance and capture her lips in a way that would lead to something more. Despite the urge, he had left her needy and confused and rushed to the shower. He took longer than necessary once he’d been nestled inside the safety of the bathroom, wanting to give her more time to explore and consider this side of her sexuality. The fact that she hadn’t bolted the moment she walked into the room told him she was interested but he wasn’t certain if it was curiosity or something more that intrigued her.

“No,” she finally answered, her voice low and raspy. “I don’t want to run.”

He felt the slight shaking of her body via the arm wrapped snugly around her waist, the weight of her breasts tempting him to strip her bare and keep her that way. He had to rein in his own impulses as he closed his eyes and imagined himself ordering her to undress as he watched. He wanted her to reveal herself slowly, removing her clothing piece by piece, and watch her fingers tremble as she tested and overcame her inhibitions.

“Do you want to play, Lacey?” he murmured thickly. “Do you want to stay and see where the night takes us?”

“I don’t…I mean…I think…” She took a deep breath, as though his question was the hardest she’d ever answered. Poor thing. She was obviously twisted in knots. “Yes,” she finally whispered, “I want to stay.”

“Then there are a few things you need to know.” He opened his eyes and pressed into her bottom, allowing her to feel the hard outline of his cock through the flannel pants he’d slipped on when he left the shower. She gasped but didn’t tense, remaining soft and pliant in his arms. “If you want to stop and talk about anything we’re doing, say yellow. If you don’t like what we’re doing, if something hurts in a way it’s not intended, or you want to end everything all together, say red. Do you understand?”

He felt her chest go still, her heartbeat palpable against his arm. As much as he hated giving her the option to leave or a safe word, he knew he had to.

“You can leave right now if that’s what you want. No harm, no foul. I won’t hold it against you.

I can take you to town and we can forget this ever happened. The decision is entirely yours.”

“It’s just…it’s just that…I…”

He rubbed his jaw along her cheek. “I need you to be honest with me. Tell me what you’re thinking. That’s the beauty of this. There are always boundaries to push and limits to test but you have the final say. You understand that, don’t you? Without your absolute trust and consent, there is nothing for me.”

“I’m afraid.” Her words were feather soft but he heard them just the same.

He stilled, worried that he might have read her wrong. “What are you afraid of? Me?”

“No, not of you.” A hesitation and she confessed, “I’m afraid of feeling like this, of wanting these kinds of things.”

His dick became harder at the admission. Did this wet dream of a woman have a kink of her own? Could it be possible that the submissive tendencies he knew existed were rising to the surface? Or perhaps she wasn’t as green as he thought. Maybe it wasn’t fear of the unknown but experience in D/s that had sent her running from Haddie’s as though the devil were on her ass.

“Have you experimented in the lifestyle before?”

Inhaling deeply, she shook her head. “I only know about the things I researched online.”

His cock pulsed against her ass, the aching throb in harmony with the pulsing of his heart.

She’d been researching BDSM online. Was that before or after she met him?

“What kinds of things?” She went tense in his arms and he gripped her firmly, pulling her into his chest as he warned, “No, Lacey. Don’t hide from me. You have the chance to explore, to learn what it is that you want, but only if you’re honest with me.”

He lowered his right arm and palmed her mound at the same time as he lifted the hand at her waist, cupped her breast and rolled his thumb across the nipple. The small point went hard against his fingers and the skin surrounding it pebbled.

“Things that I was raised to believe are wrong.” Her voice was throatier, sexier and laced with passion.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting this. Everyone is different. There is no right or wrong when it comes to what you want and need sexually.”

Sliding his hand along her jeans, he deftly opened the top button and worked the zipper down.

Her breath caught when his fingers skimmed across her quivering skin and flitted over her belly. He came to the edge of her lacy panties and paused for a moment before dipping below, seeking the prize within. She was completely bare, her pussy nothing more than skin, heat and a cock-rocking slickness. As much as he loved teasing soft curls, tender skin he could easily access made things a lot more pleasurable and interesting.

“You’re so wet, baby.” Carefully he slid his finger along the seam, following the outline of her labia, until his finger was coated in her cream. She groaned, shifting her hips. “You feel so good and ready for me. How can that possibly be wrong?”

He slid his finger into the slick mouth of her cunt, stifling a groan of his own when her pussy surrounded his finger in a satiny grip as he advanced until he was third-knuckle deep. She was so tight and hot, positively drenched for him. If her mind was saying no, her body was screaming yes.

“Michael.” She parted her legs when he rotated his wrist, searching for the sweet spot just inside her snug walls as he brought his thumb to her clit. “That feels so good.”

“Good girl,” he crooned, encouraging her. “Tell me what pleases you.”