Chapter Twenty-Two

I shudder as chills sweep over my body. My nipples and areolas tighten at the coldness, but my pussy remains warm and wet. My body is a mass of mixed signals and dichotomous temperatures.

It’s thrilling.

I don’t want to be punished.

But God, I do.

How frightening that someone who so values control wants punishment? That I want punishment.

“Are… Are you going to hurt me?”

“Only if you want me to.” He slips the blindfold onto my eyes once more. “Keep it on this time.”

“But are you—”

“Punishment doesn’t have to hurt, Skye. At least not physically.”

“So you’re still going to…?”

“Punish you? Oh yes.”

Shivers rack my body, and still my core is hot as a sunny day. “How—”

“No more talking,” he commands. “You’re used to being in control, Skye, so I’m trying to be lenient. But I have my limits.”

I open my mouth—

“Do you want to be gagged?”

I shake my head vehemently.

A warm breeze wafts over my ear. It’s Braden’s breath. He nips my earlobe. “The first thing I noticed about you was your sexy mouth. The second thing was your amazing rack. But the third thing, Skye, was what truly drew me to you. Do you know what it is?”

I shake my head.

“When you dropped your purse, you wouldn’t accept my help. You had to maintain a semblance of control in the situation. Then there was the condom.”

I bite my lip.

“Yes, I saw it. Another way you keep your life in control.”

“Because I don’t want to get pregnant?”

“It’s more than that, and you know it. If a situation arises where you want to have sex, you’re ready. You don’t have to rush to the pharmacy for protection.”

“A lot of women carry condoms around.”

“Less than you might think. Some depend on other methods, or they run to the pharmacy as needed. Some are concerned only about pregnancy and not diseases.”

“And you know this because…”

“I’ve been with a lot of women.”

Well, I asked for that one.

“I had a feeling about you. About your need for control. Then, after our first dinner and my attempt to seduce you, I knew for sure.”

My mouth twitches, but I don’t respond.

“I recognized it in you. I recognize it in people because it’s part of who I am as well.”

I nod. His words don’t surprise me. At least not the part about who he is. What’s odd is that he wants someone with the same tendencies.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without knowing how to exercise control in every situation.”

I nod again. This not-talking thing is becoming more bearable. Is he still going to punish me? I both love and hate the idea.

“That includes controlling you, Skye. Right now, I control your pleasure. I have leverage over you. Do you understand?”

I don’t respond. Is this a game to him? Seduce someone who’s used to being in charge and take that away from her? I’m not sure how I feel about that. All I know is I still want him. I want him more than ever.

“I asked if you understand.”

I’m not sure I do, but I nod once more anyway. I’ve come this far, and I’m not leaving without an orgasm.

He pushes me down onto the bed. “Lie down.”

I obey. What else can I do?

He spreads my legs and draws in a breath. The swift intake of air whooshes in my ears. He’s right. My sense of hearing is heightened.

“Your scent intoxicates me, Skye,” he whispers, his breath a cool breeze against my thighs. “I can sit here between your legs forever and never get tired of it.” He inhales again, this time holding his breath longer until he exhales, again cooling my flesh.

A soft sigh emerges in my throat. Can I sigh? Does that constitute talking? I hold it back, going rigid.

“Relax, baby. No need to tighten up right now.” He inhales once more. “As much as I adore your smell, you taste even better.”

His tongue begins at my perineum and slides up over my slit to my clit. I gasp sharply. He glides over my clit, swirling around, and then he closes his lips around it and sucks ever so slightly. He’s lighting my fuse with his slow and deliberate movements, and he’s driving me wild.

I let a sigh escape this time, and a moan follows. Who cares if it goes against his no-talking rule? I need to release the tension somehow. I controlled the last sigh, but he asked me to give up control. Part of that is making the noises my body needs.

He doesn’t berate me for releasing the sounds. In fact, he seems spurred on, and he increases the speed of his tongue. I grip the comforter in both my hands and arch my back, undulating my hips as I chase his tongue. He’s deliberately ignoring my clit now. He shoves his tongue into my pussy and then licks and pulls on my labia. God, it feels so good, but I need… I want…

Yes! A short lick on my throbbing clit. The fuse is lit once more. Keep going, Braden. Please keep going.

But he strays again, going back to eating my pussy. “You’re so wet,” he says against my flesh. “God, you drive me wild, Skye. You’re so responsive to everything I do.”

Yes. Yes, I am. Please. Please. Please let me come.

As if in answer to my thoughts, he slides his tongue up my pussy and grabs hold of my clit once more, this time nipping harder. Once. Twice. Then three times. The fuse is burning. Almost there.

He thrusts two fingers into my heat, and—

He releases my clit.

His fingers penetrate me, fill me, and the ache of the emptiness begins to wane, but the fuse has burned out. He released my clit too soon.

Damn!

I bite my lip to keep from demanding what I want.

And then it dawns on me.

He knows exactly what I want. My body speaks volumes louder than my mouth ever can.

He knows.

He fucking knows.

He’s doing this to me on purpose.

This is fucked up. If I knew my own body better, maybe I could force an orgasm. But I don’t orgasm on demand. I never have. As much power as I exercise over my own life, I could never attain climax by myself or with someone else.

Not until Braden Black.

And now he’s holding it over me, dangling it like a carrot in front of a rabbit’s mouth.

He pushes my thighs forward and lowers his tongue, sliding it over my asshole. I tense. No one has done that before, and it feels… It feels…

“Oh!”

He’s jabbing his tongue into my ass gently, but it feels like a probe.

Smack!

His hand on my ass. I jerk against the sting of his slap to my ass cheek.

“That’s for talking.” Then he slides his tongue back over my asshole and up my pussy again.

My clit is throbbing in time with my rapid heartbeat. Before I can think, I let my hand wander to my vulva. If I can just touch my clit, just one little flick…

Braden grabs my wrist. “No, you don’t. That clit is mine tonight. No one touches it but me.”

“But I have to come.”

The blindfold slides off my eyes, and he meets my gaze. His chin and lips are wet from my juices, and he’s chuckling. He’s fucking chuckling!

“I told you I’d punish you for talking.”

“The smack?” I say.

“No, that was for pleasure.”

Pleasure? It hurt, but only minimally. Now my cheek is warm where his hand was. Warm and tingly…and yes, it feels nice.

I never imagined.

What’s the punishment, then?

His lips form a suction against my clit once more, and his fingers are ramming in and out of my pussy. I shudder on the bed, my hips moving frantically against Braden’s lips and tongue. His delicious fingers massage the inside of me in a deliberate way that drives me nearly to the edge. My God, my God, my God…

The fuse is lit again, and it’s burning, burning, burning…

Until he pulls away from my clit and removes his fingers from my pussy.

He moves forward, the texture of his shirt abrading my nipples. They’re so hard. Every part of me is wound tighter than a bowstring.

He presses his lips to one nipple and then the other before he kisses my lips chastely. I taste myself on him. The citrusy tang of my juices.

“Do you understand now, Skye?”

“Understand what?”

“That punishment doesn’t have to physically hurt.”