“Mmm, thoughtful. But unnecessary.” He nodded at the notebook sitting on the table. “What are you up to?”
“Just making a few notes for the trip,” she said, the lie rolling off her tongue like an automatic reflex.
“How diligent of you. But that furrowed brow you had is way too serious for so early in the morning.” His hands drifted down over the curve of her ass, causing her to wince ever so slightly. “Are you sore?”
“A little, but not in a bad way.” Her rear had been tender when she’d first sat up this morning, but the effect had been anything but unpleasant. To her own surprise, she’d gone hot and bothered in an instant at the sensation, at the memory of his hands on her.
“I have to say, when I woke up without you next to me, I was a little worried I’d scared you off.” His warm palms spanned her waist beneath the shirt. “I know you revealed more about yourself than you planned to last night. And I was harder on you than I’d originally anticipated being for our first time together.”
She looked up at him, finding his expression a little guarded, tentative. Like he was half-expecting her to scamper right out the door. “I’m not going anywhere, Wyatt. Last night was good, really good. Yes, you surprised me. I didn’t think you’d be so . . .”
His gaze was heavy on hers. “So what?”
“So all in,” she said, searching for the right words. “When you said you didn’t do this anymore, that you could put it aside, I figured you had just done it as kinky fun in the past. You know, played around with it. I didn’t expect—”
“Yeah,” he said, releasing a breath and reaching up to touch her face. “I didn’t know how it would go either. But it seems the door is either wide open for me or locked tight when it comes to this. And being around you busts that door right down. I need to know you’re okay with that.”
She licked her lips. A few days ago, that probably would’ve scared her off. Part of her had anticipated being able to hold on to a little control, to manipulate him a bit. But when he’d turned down her offer to finish the blow job, she’d realized how seriously he was taking the training. He’d wanted her to finish him off, and she could see the need painted all over his face. But she’d earned a punishment, and he wasn’t going to let her take control by using his own pleasure against him. So, he’d set aside his needs and had taken the less pleasurable route to remind her of her mistake and her role. It was the move of a seasoned dominant. It had scared the hell out of her. And had also soothed her in some undefinable way.
He’d put her first. No guy had ever put her first.
“You’re very good at it,” she said, being honest but dodging his question about how she was feeling.
He pushed her hair behind her ears, his gaze tender. “And I thought you were beautiful already, but you’re breathtaking in submission, Kelsey. Like punch-me-in-the-gut gorgeous.”
She glanced down, her cheeks warming at the compliment. She was used to guys telling her she was pretty or sexy or whatever. She’d heard every version of male bullshit imaginable while working at the strip club. But somehow, the way Wyatt said it made her believe he wasn’t simply talking about her ample rack or how she looked naked. “Thank you.”
“So I didn’t scare you, huh?” he asked, lifting her chin upward.
Yes. But not in the way he feared. And even if her mind was yelling at her to run, to hide from this man who seemed to get under her armor so easily, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Even now, all she wanted to do was touch him, be touched, have him command her body in a way no one else ever had. “I want to be here, Wyatt.”
His mouth curled upward, pure pleasure in his eyes. “Glad to hear it.”
He leaned past her and set her closed notebook down on the chair, then shoved the bowl of pears on the kitchen table over to the edge, almost sending it crashing to the floor.
He grabbed her waist and guided her toward the tabletop. “Lay down, love.”
She glanced back at the long wooden table. Her lips parted to question him, but the singular look in his eyes didn’t leave much room for interpretation. “Yes, sir.”
She scooted onto the table and lay down, leaving her calves hanging over the edge. Without a word, he tugged her underwear off, then came around to the other side and helped her pull the borrowed shirt off, leaving her bare in the daybreak sunlight filtering through the windows.
When he made his way back to her lower half, he guided her ankle to the corner of the table and wrapped soft material around it. She pulled in a breath.
“I should be more prepared,” he said almost to himself as he secured her ankle to the post. “But I don’t have any cuffs that will work with the legs of this table. So this shirt and a kitchen towel are going to have to do. Does that feel too tight?”
“No, sir,” she said, her voice catching in her throat.
“Good, girl. Now reach out and grab the edges of the table. If you let go, I’ll find something to tie your hands as well.” She did as she was told, her temperature climbing from simmer to steady burn as she lay there for him. She hadn’t been bound by anyone since Davis. If anything should trigger her fear, this should. But none came. This was on a different planet from being tied against her will with those painful zip ties, and her body registered that fact immediately. This was sexy and fun and so . . . fucking . . . hot. Wyatt bound her other ankle, leaving her spread wide and exposed for whatever he planned to do with her. Once he rose to his full height again, his hot gaze swept over her naked form, and amusement tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Now this is a beautiful breakfast.”
He gave her knee a quick squeeze and then headed back toward the stove. She’d made a pot of coffee already, and he turned his back to her for a moment, fixing himself a cup like he had all the time in the world.
“Uh, sir?”
He peeked back at her, a naughty boy smile. “Yes, love?”
“Did I do something wrong?” Was this her punishment for getting out of bed without asking him if that was okay?
“Of course not.” He poured a dash of skim milk into his cup. “But I spend every day of my life with a packed-to-the-gills schedule. This morning is about indulging. And right now, I want to take my time indulging in you.”