Dare to Surrender Page 26

  “Lordy,” Erica said, shaking her head.

  “I know.”

  “Am I really considering this?”

  “What do you have to lose?” Joy asked.

  “I can’t believe I’m considering this.”

  “Trust me. What I’m planning has the potential to be much more humiliating than anything you’ll experience with Blaine.”

  “The only reason I’m willing to try is because I want to see you make things work with Ash. And I happen to know Blaine’s at a workshop tonight, so I know where to find him.”

  “There you go!” Joy exclaimed. “It’s fate.”

  She just hoped fate was on her side, too.

  An hour later, Erica was loitering outside the culinary school entrance. Blaine was one of the last people to leave the building, and the minute Erica spotted him, her pulse started racing. He looked like such a conservative boy, but she knew that underneath his appearance there was a bad boy waiting to get out.

  She wanted to open that door.

  Still, what if he rejected her? I won’t wait forever. Had her chance come and gone?

  For a second she considered turning around before Blaine saw her, but she’d made a deal with Joy, so she stayed where she was. She would do this. For better or for worse, Erica was going to talk to Blaine.

  God, the man was gorgeous. How could she have ever found him boring? His brown hair was just a bit too long; his jaw was sharp. And those eyes, so big and brown and luscious.

  Erica wanted him with a fierceness that brought every nerve in her body alive.

  “Hi,” she said, stepping in front of Blaine.

  Shock registered across his face before he masked his expression.

  “Hi, Erica.”

  “Um.” Erica adjusted her dress. “I wanted to talk with you.”

  “About?”

  God, was he going to make her do this here? Now?

  He was. Crossing his arms over his chest, he waited for her to speak.

  “I wanted to apologize.” Jeez, this was even harder than Erica had thought it would be. She felt sweat pricking at her brow as her stomach did a flip. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea….

  Blaine looked expectant, and was that a gleam of humor in his eyes? “What did you want to apologize for, Erica?”

  Screw it. She stepped closer to Blaine and met his gaze. “For being a stupid, scared, prejudiced bitch.”

  Something fluttered across Blaine’s face, and after a minute, his mouth twitched into the tiniest of smiles. “Well, admitting you have a problem is the first step toward recovery.”

  “What’s the second step?” Erica asked, her heart going crazy in her chest.

  “I’d say the second step is kissing me.”

  Erica didn’t need any more of an invitation. She yanked Blaine against her body and kissed him. He tasted like cinnamon, and it was sweet, so sweet, to feel his body pressing against hers, to feel his solid chest rubbing against her sensitive nipples.

  Smiling, she pulled back. “So. Are we good?”

  He kissed her again, until her body swirled with desire. Then he looked down at her, his eyes glimmering in the soft light. “Sweetheart, let’s go back to my place and I’ll show you how good we can be.”

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Please answer, please answer…

  Standing on his doorstep shivering, not from the cold but from nerves, Joy prayed Ash would answer the door. She just needed to see him, to try to convince him to forgive her, to show him she would do anything to make up to him what she’d done.

  Please answer, please—

  The door opened and he was there, staring at her. His face was totally blank; she had no idea what he was thinking.

  She pushed inside.

  Turning, she said, “Ash. Please sit on the sofa and let me show you something.”

  He didn’t say anything, but at least he didn’t tell her to get the hell out of his house. But her hands were shaking as she carried her bag—she’d switched back to the big old one—and went into the kitchen. The first thing she did was take a big shot of his whiskey. Then she removed her coat and began pulling the things she needed out of her purse.

  Oh my God, I can’t believe I’m doing this.

  She kicked off her shoes. She was already wearing the silk skirt low on her waist, and she tied a scarf edged with coins around her hips. Then she took out the gold arm ornaments and slid them on so gold thread covered her skin from elbow to wrist in a gold web.

  Then she bent over and gave her hair a good upside-down toss, trying to get it nice and wild-looking. Before she picked up the small boom box, she downed one more shot of whiskey, just for luck, and then she was ready.

  When she saw Ash, a shiver raced down her spine. She experienced a moment of discomfort when his gaze fell on her skin, exposed from just under her jingly bra to where her scarf and skirt rested low on her hips, several inches below her belly button. She never even wore a two-piece bathing suit at the beach, and now she was about to perform for Ash at her most vulnerable?

  But that’s exactly why she was doing it. She wanted Ash to know how much she trusted him, and she needed him to know she’d do anything to prove her love for him, even if it meant she did the one thing she swore she’d never do.

  But she loved him. That was the only reason she was here, the only reason she was taking this chance of possible humiliation and rejection. If that happened, it would be devastating, but at least she had to try.

  She wanted him so badly—she wanted to own him as much as she wanted to be owned by him. And that want fueled her. She turned on the music and positioned herself directly in front of his gaze.

  Hell, if she was going to do this, she was going to do it right. She met Ash’s gaze and smiled. She placed her arms out elegantly, one raised above her head with her fingers pointed toward the ceiling, the other arm at her side, her fingers positioned gracefully.

  Slowly, the exotic beat of Middle Eastern music drifted into the room. The slow, sensual sound of a flute signaled her, and she began to move her hips.

  She danced. With her attention focused solely on Ash, she moved her hips and arms along with the music. The steady beat of a drum joined the flute, and it seemed to pull her hips from side to side. The music entered her body, and it was impossible not to feel sexy as she spun in a circle, letting her hair arc behind her. She paused a few feet from Ash to undulate her stomach to the beat.

  She put everything she had into her dance. Her heart seemed to be in her throat as she used every muscle, every curve of her body, to dance. Her skirt spun around her ankles; her hair fell in front of her face. She continued to focus on him, but he faded as she moved toward the crescendo. The drum beat faster, stronger, and she jerked her hips up and down and side to side. She felt the strength in her core moving seductively, and she used that part of herself to entrance her audience even more.

  And then she realized she liked this, liked performing for him. A quick glance at his crotch, and she saw he seemed to be enjoying it, too.

  The fact that he was becoming aroused made her own sex dampen. As she shimmied her arms, she lowered her chest, allowing him to see right down her bra top to her breasts.

  She stepped back and raised her arms above her head. As if her wrists were bound, she pressed the heels of her palms together, and then as slowly, as delicately as she could, she lowered herself until she was kneeling on the ground.

  She stayed in that pose as the flute piped its last few notes. And then it was silent, but she remained in the position, eyes downcast. The dance had left her breathless, and her chest rose and fell as she panted before him.

  And yet…

  Nothing. He neither spoke nor moved. What seemed like an eternity went by, and her heart began to crack.

  It hadn’t worked.

  Her eyes stung as she began to lower her arms from the pose. He didn’t want her. Mortified, she just wanted to get out.

  “Don’t you dare move.”r />
  She glanced up at him. “W-what?”

  “Stay there.” He pushed himself off the sofa and disappeared for a few moments. Joy’s heart rate skyrocketed as she waited for him. What was he going to do? What did he want? The uncertainty was killing her as she remained in the position he’d ordered her to stay in.

  Her arms started to shake from the effort of holding them over her head, and just when she thought they would collapse, he was there before her.

  And he had a length of red rope in his hand.

  Her skin pebbled as an erotic awareness went over her. Was he…?

  “You’ve been a bad girl, haven’t you, Joy?”

  She nodded.

  “Stealing is wrong, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “You know what happens to thieves, woman?”

  “They get punished?” She couldn’t help the little hopeful note in her voice.

  “That’s right.” He started wrapping the rope around her wrists. She felt the soft nylon binding, and, just like that, she began to lose herself. To him.

  But so many things were unresolved. “Ash, we need to talk.”

  “We will. After I punish you.”

  His words sent a jolt of lust shooting through her, and she nearly let it drop.

  But she shook her head. “No. That’s partly why we got into this mess in the first place. I let myself be persuaded too easily.”

  When he looked down at her, she saw his eyes weren’t shuttered any longer. He looked…

  Happy.

  He sank to his knees so they were face-to-face. Like she was some kind of prisoner, he lowered her hands so her bound wrists were in front of her.

  She took a deep breath. “Ash. I know you think I was getting it on with Cartwright, but I promise it wasn’t how it looked.”

  “I know.”

  “I mean, I’m sure you think you can’t trust me but… Wait. What do you mean, you know?”

  “I saw everything. I heard everything. And it was obvious you could take care of yourself.” He placed a soft kiss on her nose. “I was so proud of you.”

  She searched his eyes. He was dead serious. “But what about the sculpture? Aren’t you mad about that?”

  “Oh, yes.” But he was grinning. “And I’m looking forward to making you pay for that.”

  Leaning down, he lifted her skirt. “Good girl, you’re not wearing panties.” He kissed her clit, then started to flick at her in that way that could shoot her to climax in exactly one minute.

  He pulled back. “You have the most beautiful pussy,” he murmured. “I bought you something on my way home.”

  He stood, and she saw him pull something out of his back pocket. It looked like a plastic butterfly. Awareness dawned on her as he untangled the straps around the purple butterfly and smiled.

  “This is a remote-control vibrator.”

  She felt the muscles of her belly quiver as he strapped it around her thighs. The butterfly hugged her pussy, with a pointed tip pressing right against her clit, already swollen and sensitive from Ash’s mouth.

  “After seeing you tonight, all I wanted was to punish you.” He tightened the straps around her ass and gave it a buzz from the wireless remote in his hand. “Hear you scream for me.”

  She jerked as a shock went through her belly with the sudden pulsing at her pussy.

  “You like that, sweetheart?”

  “Yes,” she said above her beating heart.

  He turned it off, and she gasped. Even though the butterfly had stopped buzzing, her clit still pulsed. “Ash…”

  “I’m punishing you, remember?” he said with a deliciously wicked grin.

  “Asshole.”

  “So I’ve been told. Be right back.”

  He left her there, helpless with her arms tied. Her arousal should have abated, but with each passing second, her body became more alive with anticipation. Her breasts were hard points under her bra, heavy from the coins and decoration, and her sex was throbbing with want.

  Then he was back, and she felt him cutting her bra off her shoulders.

  “Hey!” she said. “That was expensive.”

  “I’ll buy you an entire closetful of them. I plan on having you dance for me on a regular basis.”

  Her heart swelled. “You mean you liked it? You really liked watching me?”

  “Oh, hell yeah. I think it was the fucking sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  Joy didn’t believe him; he’d taken some of the most erotic images she’d ever seen. Still, it was a nice compliment.

  “Just don’t think you’re going to go out dancing for anyone else. That’s for my eyes only.”

  His possessive words made her smile.

  He kissed her again, and just when his tongue entered her mouth, he turned on the butterfly, and she cried out. Bucking her hips against the humming vibrator, she kissed him hungrily, her wrists straining as she leaned forward, pulling the rope taut.

  Just when her entire body was shaking with need, he left her, circling her like an animal circles fallen prey.

  She’d noticed what looked like a bamboo stick in the corner, and now he went and picked it up. He tapped it lightly on his palm.

  “Ash?” she said, suddenly a bit scared. Yeah, she liked a bit of pain, but did she really want to be caned?

  “I told you,” he said. “You need to be punished for your misdeed.” And then he gave the butterfly a pulse, and she gasped as pleasure shocked her to the core.

  He circled her again, changing the vibrator’s speed from low to high, until she went from low moans of pleasure to loud cries like she’d heard only out of porn stars.

  What had he done to her? She had absolutely no inhibitions any longer.

  And it felt amazing.

  When he flicked the cane in the air, only about a foot away from her body, she gasped as the sound whipped through her ears. It was going to hurt.

  And she wanted to feel it.

  “Do it,” she said, her voice gravelly.

  He kept the vibrator going, and just when she thought she would climax, the buzzing ceased. The first sting of the cane made her scream. From pain or pleasure she wasn’t sure, but then the vibrator started again, and it was only pleasure.

  He continued the sweet torture. Whipping the fleshy part of her ass and then pausing to buzz her clit with the vibrator only he controlled.

  In between, he’d place soft kisses on her neck, her shoulders. The combination of sensation overwhelmed her, and she felt as if everything in her body had evaporated, leaving only a euphoric numbness that blanketed her. She felt the vacant smile on her face.

  He caned her ass again, this time not stopping in between strikes. He was literally whipping her into a frenzy; each time he hit her flesh, she screamed, and she heard herself asking for it harder and harder….

  But then he stopped. When he released her, she was in a fog, endorphins rushing through her body in a wonderful charge. When he picked her up, she smiled at him. “I love you so much.”

  Kissing her forehead, he said, “I love you, too, baby. You’re mine now. You know that, right?”

  “Yes, Ash. And you’re mine, too.”

  “Yeah, that’s the fucking truth.”

  He carried her upstairs and placed her gently on the bed. Then he removed the vibrator and stripped down in front of her.

  She watched his beautiful body as he moved, loving the way she could see his toned muscles under his skin. Loving the way his jaw-length hair fell in front of his eye. Loving the fact that it all belonged to her.

  He’d said so.

  “Come here,” she said, spreading her legs wide.

  He rolled on a condom and then climbed on top of her, settling right between her thighs.

  “Make love to me, Ash.”

  He held his head a few inches above hers and locked his gaze onto hers.

  “Yes, baby. Anything you want.”

  Cupping her breast in the palm of his hand, he kissed her so gently
it was like a whisper on her skin. It was nearly unbelievable that this sensitive lover was the same dominant man who’d held a cane in his hand moments ago.

  He continued to kiss her breasts, her ribs. She trembled beneath his touch, and when he again pressed his lips to hers, she welcomed him.

  She explored his mouth with her tongue, thinking she could kiss him forever.

  But there was a pulsing need between her legs, and she needed to feel him in her, needed to be one with him.

  “Ash,” she whispered. “Please.”

  “Oh, Joy.” She felt him tilt his hips back, and in one solid move, he entered her. Hard and deep and solid. She arched her neck as her body welcomed him. She couldn’t remember ever feeling quite so complete. He leaned down to kiss that place below her ear, so softly and tenderly she gasped.

  She spread her legs wider and bent her knees, tilting her pelvis so she could feel him as much as possible. He lifted his head to look at her, and their gazes were still fixed on each other as he pulled out and drove into her again.

  “Ash, oh…”

  He pulled out, slowly, and entered her once again.

  “Joy, my Joy.”

  “Yes, yours,” she breathed as he continued the lovely, slow rhythm of making love to her.

  “Come for me, sweetheart. I want to watch your face as you come.”

  “Yes.” Staring sightlessly, she clung to him as wave after wave of tremors rocked through her.

  He kissed her back to earth and then drove into her three more times. She traced her fingers down his back, and then she felt his own orgasm pulsing inside her.

  “That’s it, honey,” she whispered, holding him close. She could feel his heart pounding hard against her own.

  When they came back down, he rolled off her and lay on his back, pulling her against him. She could hear his heart still hammering in his chest. Idly, she drew circles around his nipple with her fingertip.

  She bit her lip. Yeah, the evening had been amazing, but what did it mean?

  “What are you thinking, sweetheart?”

  She continued to draw on his chest and tried to sound casual. “So… does this mean we’re, um…” She swallowed. “Boyfriend and girlfriend?”

  “Is that what you want it to mean?” She wasn’t sure, but she swore he held his breath.