He scooted to the edge of the couch, and she tugged his pants down to his ankles. She moved closer and spread his knees wider, then she was lowering her head again. The moment her hot, wet mouth enveloped him, he knew he’d made a sucker’s bet, but couldn’t find it in himself to care. What she’d done tentatively the first time bloomed into full assertiveness, her mouth and tongue working him to within an inch of his control. Her fingernails scored lightly over the tender skin of his testicles and his teeth ground against each other. Sweat broke out on his lip.
He grabbed the edge of the couch cushions, trying to focus. Control over his own release was usually easy for him. He fed off the anticipation and the delayed gratification for him and his submissive. That usually created the biggest payoff for both. But Tess was lobbing grenades at his defenses. When her fingers crept lower, beneath his scrotum and to the sensitive skin of his perineum, he let out a strangled grunt that revealed how badly he was tanking in this challenge.
As if sensing victory, Tess took his cock as deep as she could and then circled his back entrance with the tip of her finger, moving her tongue in the same motion along his length. Her touch was still unsure, as if she’d never tried that before but thought it could be a good idea, and the innocence of it pulled the ripcord on his control. His back arched at that and white split his vision. He moaned her name and gripped her head in his hands, holding her hard as he pumped his hips and emptied inside her.
She made her own sound of pleasure as he came and that only made his utter defeat in this challenge all the more worth it. He held onto her for long seconds after he was finished, enjoying the feel of softening in her mouth. When he finally had the energy to lift his head and slide free, he found Tess looking up at him with stunned wonder.
The unexpected expression had him smiling. “Don’t look so surprised. I think you hustled me with you saying you didn’t know how to do this.”
She licked her lips. “I’ve never done half of that stuff. I just . . . I followed your reactions. And you let me . . .”
“What, baby?” he said, leaning forward and cupping her face.
“Touch you however I wanted. I’m not really used to that. Doug would’ve—” She cringed. “Sorry.”
He frowned. “It’s okay. Say what you need to get off your chest. I don’t want him between us. He’s been there long enough.”
She looked down, as if regretting bringing it up. “He had this weird thing about keeping me like this sweet, proper thing. I’m sure it’s some fucked up stuff from how things worked out with his mom. But if I ever tried anything, you know, out of the ordinary, he’d get disgusted with me. Tell me that stuff was for sluts, whores, trash, whatever.”
“I’m guessing those words weren’t terms of endearment in his book.”
She snorted. “Are they ever?”
He pushed her hair behind her ears and lifted her face to him. “In my world, yes, sometimes they are. In the circles I move in, a woman owning her desires is not only accepted, it’s fucking celebrated. I don’t want you to be some overgrown virgin princess for me. If you have a desire, let’s try it. If you crave a certain fantasy, let’s make it happen—even if that means more than just me providing it for you. And I promise you, if I called you my dirty little slut, it’d be a compliment.”
She shook her head in his hands. “I can’t even fathom that.”
“Own what you want, Tess. No judgment here.” He leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. “In fact, start now. You won the bet. Tell me what you want me to do to you.”
The words sounded foreign rolling off his tongue, but he’d stand on his fucking head and sing the national anthem if it’d help her stop questioning herself.
Tess stared up at him, chewing her lip. He expected her to ask him to return the favor and go down on her, which he was more than looking forward to. He could already taste her sexy tartness on his tongue. But there was a devilish curiosity blooming in those eyes that had him holding his breath.
She leaned back on her calves as if she needed space to make her request, and her gaze flicked down to his lap then back up to him. “Is, uh, that spanking thing only for punishment?”
His breath whooshed out of him in one big rush. He had no idea what he’d done in a former life to grant him this gift tonight, but he wasn’t going to question it. “Baby, it can be whatever we want it to be.”
Her lips rolled inward, her nerves rising to the surface, but she nodded. “Okay. I want to try that. Will it hurt?”
His smile was slow. “Only for a minute.”
FOURTEEN
Tessa’s heart was about to burst from her chest and take a holiday. She’d put it through too much in the last week. But she refused to let her nerves take over. Kade was offering her the chance to try things she’d never done before without worry of critique or judgment. He wanted her to be dirty. And the idea was damn liberating. When she’d gone down on him and ventured into what she dubbed in her mind as the forbidden zone of touching, she’d been braced for Kade to recoil or tell her to stop. But when he didn’t, she realized Kade would’ve probably let her do whatever she wanted. Doug would’ve shoved her away with some ugly name and would’ve asked if she thought he wanted to be touched like a fag.
And now she’d asked Kade if he would spank her. The request sounded ridiculous in her head. She was a grown woman for God’s sake. But when he’d mentioned the possibility outside, it’d sparked something in her and now that curiosity was gnawing at her. Kade stood, tugged his pants back on, and looped his belt to hang around his neck. “I know you won the bet, but are you okay with me doing this my way?”
She’d remained on her knees, so she had to crane her neck to look up at him. The belt sent a glimmer of worry through her, but she took comfort in knowing she still had that safe word if she needed it. “Well, since I have no idea what I’m doing, I think that’s probably a good idea.”
His eyes lifted at the corner briefly, an almost smile, but then his jaw set in determination. “Good. The couch is too low. Stand up and come with me.”
She pushed herself up from the floor and followed him into the small dining area. He pulled out a chair, the legs scraping along the wood floor with an ominous grind. Then he sat down with spread knees and leveled a gaze at her, looking like a prince taking his throne. The room seemed to shrink around him in supplication. She felt the urge to make herself smaller, too. Plus, the fact that he was fully clothed and she didn’t even have her shoes on anymore made her feel more like a servant girl being brought before the royalty for some crime. Guards dragging her in, chains around her ankles, her clothes stripped off as they planted her at his feet. That image wasn’t altogether unpleasant.
“What are you smiling about?” he asked, lifting a brow.
She put her hand to her mouth. Was she smiling? What the hell was wrong with her? That’s it, her trips to the used bookstore were a liability. She was definitely reading too many old school bodice ripper novels. She shook her head in a never mind gesture.
“Tell me.”