Total pages in book: 767
Estimated words: 732023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 3660(@200wpm)___ 2928(@250wpm)___ 2440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 732023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 3660(@200wpm)___ 2928(@250wpm)___ 2440(@300wpm)
Alexander couldn’t help but return her smile with one of his own. Of course she didn’t want a sadist top. Heavy impact play was one of her limits. He shoved aside the vague sense of disappointment.
He bent and fiddled with the trunk latches. It opened, and as he’d expected, it was full. Also as expected, most of the contents were for post-play as this was one of the aftercare lounges.
Robes, rolled blankets, lotion, aspirin, and bottles of water were all in there.
Not everything was solely for post-scene care. There was also lube, gloves, alcohol wipes, black silk ties, and two crops, one long, one short. He pulled out the short crop, a pair of gloves, and alcohol wipes.
He tore open an alcohol pad and wiped down the crop, stuffing the black plastic gloves into his pants pocket.
When he turned back to Alena she looked uncertain, and had her arms crossed over her stomach.
He raised the crop, swished it through the air. “The scene begins now.”
Her eyes widened, and when he brought the tip whistling down to strike a nearby ottoman, she jumped.
Alexander raised a brow. “A crop is not by default heavy impact.”
“It can leave a welt.”
“A long crop, yes.”
“I’m sure you could use all those muscles to make it hit hard.” She gestured at his arm.
She liked his muscles? There was no way she could see them through his tailored shirt. False compliments to manipulate him into being gentle?
Plenty of women had complimented him in the past. As a matter of fact, people rarely did anything but compliment him, yet Alena’s words made him feel good. Maybe because she’d sounded disgruntled, and that added authenticity to her statement.
Alexander stalked towards her, holding the crop slightly raised. Not a threat, but the hint of one.
She dropped her hands to her sides, changed her mind and folded her arms, then pressed her lips together as if firming her resolve, and dropped her hands once more.
Her uncertainty was delightful.
Alexander placed the tip of the crop under her chin, nudging her face up until their gazes met.
“Leave now,” he murmured.
“Why would I do that, Sir? I want to be here.”
“You’re ready to submit? To me?”
In response, Alena closed her eyes, her shoulders relaxing, her lovely face still tilted up. He wanted to taste her lips, but he couldn’t. No fluids exchange was her other rule, and a common enough one it hadn’t been worth mentioning.
No fluid exchange meant he couldn’t lick her pussy without a dental dam, or ask her to lick his bare cock.
And it meant he couldn’t kiss her.
Alexander leaned in, let his mouth hover over hers. He closed his eyes, imagined the kiss, and then pulled back. Now was not the time for tenderness, even if her rules had allowed it.
“Once you kneel, you’re mine for the night.” It was a final warning, but not enough. He should have explained to her that he could be sadistic. It was, perhaps, his true nature.
He should tell her exactly how deep into the darkness he could fall, how his refined exterior, crafted by his upbringing and position, were a veneer for a dangerous, feral creature inside.
But he’d never warned a submissive about it before. He didn’t know why he felt like he should with her.
“I’m not looking for an out, Sir.”
He hoped she could handle him, because though he hadn’t started the night with a feeling of disquiet, ever since he’d pushed back her hood, his sexual appetite had skewed towards the darkness.
“Kneel, Alena.”
She obeyed.
Chapter 2
Alena focused on her breathing as she knelt before him. Inhale for a four count, exhale for eight.
“Nervous?” Alexander asked softly as he circled her.
“If I said I wasn’t, I’d be lying.”
“No lies. Not in a scene.” As he looped around the front she couldn’t help but stare at the riding crop. It had been a long time since she’d been cropped.
“I agree, Sir. This is no place for lies, but I’m not exactly nervous. I’m…trepidatious.”
“Trepidation is appropriate, but not what you’ll be feeling soon.”
“Oh?”
Rather than reply, he made a noise halfway between a hum and a grunt. He’d stopped behind her, and Alena had to resist the urge to bunch her shoulders up around her ears as her hindbrain registered him as a threat.
She might know how to submit, but it had been years. Her instincts were sounding the alarm, insisting she shouldn’t be passively kneeling when a predator was so near. The fact that she found him attractive was inconsequential according to her intuition.
The tip of the crop brushed her hair, and she shivered.
“Cold?”
“No, Sir.”
The crop trailed down her back, moving from bare skin at her upper back, to lace, to bare skin and more lace. She held her breath as the crop danced over her ass. He hadn’t been specific about how she should kneel, so she’d opted for the most comfortable position, which was kneeling and seated, her butt resting on her heels.