And Tiernan was not only my best friend’s brother, but a man of the Clan, every bit as stern and unyielding as any of them. That wasn’t what kept me apart from him, though, not really. He didn’t see me as a woman, but a child, and I knew it. I was his younger sister’s little mate, and he’d just as soon pat me on the head and give me a lolly as he would look at me.
I couldn’t stand it. And when Fiona and I had our falling out… well, I’d just as soon cut off my right arm as I’d spend a moment with a man of the Clan. Way too fucking close to home for comfort.
But now… I don’t have much of a choice.
He wears a simple t-shirt and trousers, but the way he wears it… the knit fabric’s stretched tight over his shoulders and taut at the arms, and though it’s large and a little loose, it doesn’t hide the way his muscles flex as he moves. His longish hair’s reddish brown in the light, and my heart gives a little leap in my chest when his piercing eyes come to mine.
He’s commanded my body. Commanded my obedience.
Does he command my heart?
“I see you’ve behaved yourself,” he says with stern approval, reaching in his pocket to retrieve the key for the cuffs.
“Bloody hard to misbehave when you’re cuffed to a bloke’s headboard,” I mutter.
His stern lips twitch, though his brows are still furrowed. He kneels on one knee beside me, reaching for the cuffs. “Oh, I can think of plenty of ways of misbehaving while cuffed to a bloke’s headboard.”
My pussy clenches at that, and my body goes all tingly.
“Oh, can you, then?” I sound as eager as a little puppy, goddammit.
Lame, Aisling.
“Oh, aye,” he says. The key’s just at the edge of the lock, but he doesn’t unfasten me quite yet.
I lick my lips. “I suppose a bloke could…” I let my words trail off a little. “Take advantage of a girl, hmm?”
He nods thoughtfully, takes the keyring, then tosses the bloody thing to the bedside table. It hits the center with a clink.
He sits on the edge of the bed but doesn’t touch me. His eyes rove over my body.
“Could kiss every inch of you,” he says thoughtfully. “Lick and suckle my way down your body until you nearly came out of your skin.”
My body heats, and my breathing hitches.
“I could eat out that pretty pussy of yours until you came on my tongue,” he says softly, stroking his beard. His trousers tent, and it makes me even more eager for him than ever. I squeeze my thighs together as he continues. “I bet I could make you come in multiples.”
“If memory serves, you already have,” I mutter. “Multiple multiples.”
“Oh, I mean just with my tongue,” he says with nonchalance that sends my heartbeat skipping even harder.
“Sounds… um, good,” I whisper.
He stands and reaches for the edge of his t-shirt. Even his fluid movements as he tugs his shirt off and tosses it to the side make me eager for him. He’s all corded strength and ripped sinew, unbridled power and grace, and I fucking want him. He knows how to orchestrate my body, and he does it so bloody well.
He rejoins me in the bed wearing only his trousers. One hand on either side of my body, he braces himself above me, leans down, and whispers in my ear, the heat of his body warming mine to my very toes. “I’m not taking these cuffs off until you’ve begged me to come. Begged me.”
I whimper.
His hand comes to my arse, cups it, and gives me a warning squeeze.
“And you know what happens if you come without permission, don’t you?”
“Oh, aye, I could imagine,” I say with a forced laugh. “I get bloody well punished, don’t I?”
“Mhm,” he says with a nod. “Of course you do.” He nips my earlobe, and I’m so primed, my hips jerk involuntarily. “What methods of punishment could I use, Aisling?”
I’m trembling and needy, and he’s hardly touched me. “A… spanking?”
“Of course. I could put you over my lap and spank you until you begged for mercy, couldn’t I?”
“Ah, yep,” I say, still trying to keep my head in the game, but I’m trembling.
“Or I could tie you up and flog you.”
I squeak a little. “Flog me? Sounds… hardcore.”
He shrugs, trailing his tongue down my neck. “Oh, I could do hardcore.”
“I’ve every confidence you could. What would… that entail?”
He kisses my shoulder gently. “Punishing your arse properly with a good spanking and a bloody good fucking.”
Oh, God.
“So that every movement reminded you of me.”
“Simple as that, eh?” I say with another forced laugh. “Couldn’t just…text me?”
Knock, knock, knock.
He scowls, and for one brief second, I imagine I can see the old Tiernan, the younger man I knew when I was only a child myself.