“What’s up?” I asked her, cupping her chin and looking into her eyes. No avoidance, no denial. If something was wrong I needed to know.
“Nothing, everything’s fine.”
“Bullshit.” I wasn’t angry, but I wasn’t having it. Everything about her from the tentative tone of her voice to the guarded look in her eyes told me otherwise.
“I guess I’m just worried about us and what’s going to happen when we get to Rio. After Rio.”
“That’s a lot to try to figure out right now.”
“I know. But I feel myself…I feel kind of strongly about you already and we don’t even know each other that well yet. It’s almost frightening, feeling out of control like this.”
“I know.” I wrapped my arms around her waist, stroking her lower back. “I know how you feel.”
“It’s not…” She was really struggling for words, and as much as I wanted to swoop in and kiss her and reassure her everything was fine, I knew she needed to get it out, get it off her chest. Then I could get on with letting her know she had nothing to worry about. “I’m worried, when you really get to know me—”
“I know you.” I had to stop her there. She was a good person. I could sense it the first time I’d met her. Everything I’d learned about her since had bolstered that assumption. She might doubt herself, but I didn’t doubt her, not for a second.
“Come here.” I drew her to me, close. Her heart was beating like a hummingbird and I could feel her shaking against me, she’d gotten herself so worked up. “Shhh.” I stroked her hair, caressed her cheek, trying to release the tension out of her body.
“There’s nothing to be scared of,” I reassured her. “Don’t you feel how good it is between us?”
“I do,” she agreed, but she still looked down and away. “But I can’t help worrying—”
“Here’s the thing.” She looked up and I realized I’d started using my authoritative coaching voice, the tone I used when I needed to drive home a point. “You can get all messed up in here.” I tapped her forehead lightly. “We all can. We can waste a hell of a lot of time wondering what if, imagining worst case scenarios, getting so worked up we actually sabotage what’s happening right now.”
She nodded. She knew what I was talking about.
“Athletes have to deal with it all the time,” I continued. “You must have done it when you ran in college. Getting yourself into the right headspace for a competition?”
She shrugged. “That was different, getting ready for meets.”
I shook my head. “It’s the same thing, in competitions, in life. You can’t let your mind run away with worry and negative thinking. You have to stay present. Focused.” I drew a hand up to her shoulder, then slowly caressed her silky skin. “In the moment.”
Her attention shifted, following the path of my hand. I swept her hair to one side, brought my fingers to the back of her neck, and started to kneed her there, working out her tension.
“You need to feel more, think less.” My voice was growing more husky, sitting this close to her, with her gorgeous ass in my lap. I hadn’t even really had a chance to play with it yet. I’d given her some massages, and from what I’d seen of my sweet Emma she might like some other kinds of play, too. And it might be just the thing to get her mind off other more troublesome concerns. Nothing like blinding physical pleasure to arrest her stream of thought and connect her viscerally to the present moment.
As I stroked her neck and shoulders, she finally started relaxing, breathing deeper, her eyes half-closing. She looked so appealing, her pink lips slightly open, her bra strap teasing at the edge of her tank top.
“I want to help you relax,” I assured her, giving her a kiss. She kissed me back, her hand on my chest, a low sound of need in the back of her throat. I had a feeling I knew exactly what she needed.
“Why don’t you lie down,” I suggested, guiding her around and down on the couch face-forward. “Lie across my lap, like that.” I rubbed her back, relaxing her back against the cushions. She lay down with her legs stretched along one side of me and her ass directly across my lap.
She wriggled a bit, driving me wild in the process as the little skirt she wore worked its way up to the base of her ass cheeks. “Are you sure?” she asked, giving me a glance over her shoulder. “I’m sort of in a funny position.”
“Yes,” I soothed her, running a hand down the small of her back, then over her rump. “Just like that. You’re right where I want you.”
She sighed as my hand reached the bare skin of the back of her thighs. The sounds she made just about killed me, such a blend of erotic and sweet. She surrendered herself to me so willingly, with such eagerness. She needed a reward for being so good. But not before she took a little punishment.
“This is a pretty skirt,” I complimented her, smoothing the fabric down over her upturned ass, tracing the hemline with my fingers along her upper thigh, right at the base of her buttocks. She squirmed a little under my touch.
“Now you have to stay still, Emma, if you want me to make you feel good. Can you do that for me?”
“Yes,” she answered, quiet, aroused.
“Good,” I stroked her ass. “Now we need to get you undressed.” In a swift motion, I pulled her skirt down her hips, legs and off. I liked her habit of wearing little elastic waist athletic skirts. They really allowed for movement. And quick removal.
She gasped as I did it, but didn’t protest. I’d already learned, she liked it when I took control. By now she knew that when I did, I’d take good care of her.
She wore lacy, feminine undies. I admired them, caressing her shapely ass, tracing the outline they made on the swells of her cheeks. She shivered under my touch, wriggling a little in anticipation. I could feel some tension in her still, but maybe for a new reason. She had to be wondering exactly what I was up to. And that was part of the fun.
“I like these, too,” I told her. “But they’ve got to go.” I got her panties down and off quick, too, and then I had her completely bare, right where I wanted her, over my lap.
“So pretty,” I praised her, caressing her ass. “You’re so gorgeous. Do you know that?”
“Um…” she hesitated, sounding breathless.
“But I’m disappointed that you tried to pull away from me when you got worried, Emma.” I palmed the swell of her rear, swept my fingers between her upper thighs, knowing I was making her wet, my sweet little plaything. “You know you should always come and talk to me when you’re upset.”
She nodded, but I wanted more. Swiftly, I reached underneath her chest and found her breast. With a light pinch on her stiff nipple, I ordered, “Answer me, Emma.”
With a gasp, she answered, “Yes! Yes, Chase.”
“Good.” I caressed her breasts, brought my hand around to the small of her back. From the shocked sound of her voice, I had a feeling this might be the first time she’d played around with some punishment. Good. I didn’t like the thought of her doing this with anyone else. In the past or in the future. Emma was mine to discipline.
“Now I’d like to try something with you.” She shivered under my hands, a blend of arousal and anticipation. “Something I think you’ll like.” I could hear her panting, see her hands fanned out on the couch cushion as she waited for me to speak.
“I want to give you a spanking, Emma.”
“What?” She arched her head around, propping herself up on her elbow. “A what?”
“I think you need a spanking.” I told her, cupping her firmly with one hand on her hip. With the other, I stroked her quivering buttocks. “You’re so wound up. I think you need my firm hand on your ass. Have you ever been spanked before?”
“No!” she gasped. “No, of course not!”
“Do you trust me?” I looked into her wide eyes and she knew I meant it, on a deep level. Could she trust me this way, to give her intense pleasure with just a bit of pain sharpening the edge, pushing her to the brink? I knew it took a lot, surrendering h