He leaned down and drew his lips along her ear. “To take away all your control.”
She shivered against him, and desire surged through his blood at the subtle but clear reaction.
Yes. This. That’s what he craved from her. And perhaps, it was what she needed most as well.
He turned toward her plate and cracked open her crab, pulling out a succulent piece of meat with the small fork. “Open, angel.”
Her gaze stayed fixed on him, but her lips parted, and he slid the fork into her mouth. His cock swelled as he watched that lush mouth close around the bite.
“That’s it,” he said, rubbing the pad of his thumb over the edge of her bottom lip to catch a little bit of the butter sauce. “Just let all that other stuff go and focus on the moment. Your only job right now is to listen to me. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
The whispered words and loosening of her posture told him everything he needed to know. If left to her own devices, Cela would think herself into a panic every time. She’d find something to fixate on—their difference in financial status or his past lovers or her guilt over what she’d been taught growing up.
He couldn’t afford to be casual with his dominance. Whether she realized it or not, she was already taking advantage of how lax he’d been.
He helped her extract the rest of her crab, quietly letting her finish her meal, then declined dessert. He had bigger plans for her than chocolate mousse. Originally, he’d planned to introduce her to a few people at the after-dinner mixer, but now he realized something else was in order. Giving her the easy way out wasn’t working, so it was time to make this real. For her. And for him.
After the table had been cleared and the check paid, he grabbed her hand and guided her out of the booth. “Ready?”
She reached for her purse. “Yes. Your place or mine?”
“Neither,” he said, tugging at the knot in his tie, the hum of conversation in the restaurant matching the humming in his veins. “It’s time for your next lesson.”
Her gaze flicked to his, nerves and question marks there again. “What do you mean?”
He smiled and pulled the tie from around his neck. “Turn around, Cela, so I can blindfold you.”
Full-fledged fear painted her features as her eyes darted from the tie in his hands to the diners behind him. Her whisper was harsh. “Foster.”
He had information that could ease her fear, reassure her, but that would ruin this lesson. And of all the lessons, this was the most vital of them all. “Do you think I would ever do anything to truly harm or embarrass you?”
Her expression was pained—some battle waging between her instinct to please and her fear of being judged by others. “No, but Foster, we can’t, what will—”
“Turn around, Cela.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, her fists balled at her sides. He hated seeing her this distressed, but they had to get over this hurdle. It was put-up or shut-up time.
She stood there for a few long seconds, and his own anxiety that she’d use her safe word began to burn in his belly. But finally, by some miracle, she turned around. His breath whooshed out of him—the simple gesture a monumental display of trust. Thank God.
He stepped up behind her and placed the silk tie over her eyes. Her body was shaking against him, but she didn’t move away from his touch. When he’d knotted it at the back of her head, he wrapped his arms around from behind. “Good girl. I don’t take the gift of your trust lightly.”
“Are people staring at us?” she
asked miserably.
“If they are, it’s only because they appreciate a pretty display of submission. These people are all like us, angel,” he said, rubbing his hands along her bare arms. “Seeing a girl with a blindfold is about as shocking as seeing one with dark hair.”
“What?”
“Kade’s monthly parties are invitation-only for a very select type of people. I would never embarrass you in public, angel. You’re safe with me.”
Her body sagged against him. “Thank you, God.”
“Don’t thank Him yet,” Foster said, placing a kiss on her shoulder. “I’m not done with you. You’ve earned a punishment tonight.”
She stiffened at that. “What? Why?”