Reluctant Surrender (14 page)

He shrugged and stood. “Tonight you’re free to do what you usually do on a date.”

When he bent to retrieve their plates she extended an arm. “No. I’m cleaning. You cooked.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem.” Quickly she stacked their plates and brought them to the sink. “After tonight we don’t date?”

“No.”

The sharp way he answered made her nearly lose her hold of the dishes. Putting them down gingerly in the sink she asked, “What do we do together?”

“How specific do you want me to be?”

With her heart beating like an African drum during a ritual she rinsed one dish then the other. “Well, we’ll be together, right?”

“Yes, we will.”

She turned off the water and opened the dishwasher. “And we’ll be getting to know one another, so how is that different from dating?”

She felt his hands on her shoulders when she straightened from loading their plates and cutlery into the machine and turned around.

“Tonight you’re on your own. Making your own decisions. Drink or don’t drink. It’s up to you. I’ll give you that even playing field you think you want. I’m telling you ahead of time so you can make the most of it, because tomorrow the game changes and we explore the depths of your submissive needs.”

His big body, woodsy scent and captivating eyes made it hard for her to concentrate. “I-I don’t have needs, Ethan. At least I don’t think I do. It’s more like a curiosity. That’s all.”

“Trust me. What you’re feeling are needs. Do you want me to explain them to you? If you do I will.”

There was that question again and for some reason all she could think of were those stupid kale chips. She hadn’t wanted to eat them, any more than she wanted him to explain about her needs. But just like having to buckle down and eat the chips, she’d eventually have to hear what he had to say. To quote Ethan, she needed to get what she perceived to be the bad stuff off her plate so she didn’t have to stress about it later on. “Yes. I want you to explain it to me.”

If he was surprised by her agreement he didn’t show it. “Come into the family room.” He took her by the hand and led her around the counter.

“But I haven’t finished cleaning the kitchen.”

“You can do it after.”

She sat on the edge of the couch cushion and waited while he settled himself on the thick wood coffee table in front of her. “I want you to forget about being embarrassed. I want you to listen without making judgments and I want honest answers from you.”

She nodded, thinking now she’d done it.

“Before you met me were you having extreme fantasies of powerful men taking control over you sexually?”

She’d done it all right. She wanted to bury her face in her hands. Normal people didn’t go around talking or divulging their fantasies to complete strangers. She stared at his chest, his melt-worthy chest and sighed. He wasn’t a complete stranger. He was her freaking fantasy. The steady rise and fall as he breathed gave her courage. “Yes.”

“And after you met me?”

“What?” She looked up at him and her heart skipped a beat. Because just then he pushed a hand through his hair and eyed her in the most intimate way imaginable. She could tell he was waiting for her to say something more so she asked, “After I met you what?”

“I became the man in your fantasies.”

She wanted to shake her head no. Say the word. Scream it, but she wasn’t going to lie.

And he knew it. Bending forward, he rested his elbows on his knees. The position made them almost the same height. He was close. Too close. His breath fanned her face and he said, “Have you had fantasies of me tearing off your clothes?”

She wanted to die.

“Despite your seeming aversion to the reality, I’m sure you’ve had fantasies about me putting you over my knee and spanking you with the flat of my hand or some other object.”

If there was a God, someone would break in right now and put her out of her misery.

“Maybe you see yourself being tortured and teased by me while you’re tied up spread-eagle fashion on my bed.”

His voice went low and husky while his eyes remained fixed. Imprisoning her. “Maybe you fantasize about me locking a collar around your gorgeous throat before ordering you to kneel at my feet.”

She gulped. Where was the hemlock when you needed it? How could he know all this about her? It was as if he knew her every secret. And why was she responding? Getting aroused? Physically reacting to his words?

“You have needs, Colin. Desires. Wants that I can fill for you if you let me.”

“I never fantasized about the collar,” she whispered. That much was true, but now that he brought it up she probably would.

“I have. It’s a dark one. It was my inspiration for that color of nail polish I bought for you.”

“I’m…” She was at a loss for words. Turned-on, tuned in and ready to panic. This all would be so much easier if he just took control and didn’t make her have to understand, agree and admit to everything.

He took hold of her hands and gave them an encouraging squeeze. “I think you’re ready to explore this aspect of yourself. I want to help you do that. Safely. Sanely. And I want you to know you have a say. We don’t do anything you can’t handle. What’s your safe word?”

“Hos-hostage. Are you sure I’m ready to do… I don’t even know what we’re talking about doing.” She looked away. Convinced her face was two different shades of red.

“I’m going to fulfill your every fantasy.”

She snapped back and stared.

“I’m certain we’ll find some new ones together.”

Breathless didn’t describe how she was feeling. If he only knew all the other nasty fantasi—

“I know there is nothing you want to do that I don’t want to do more.”

He couldn’t mean that.

“Come tomorrow you’re going to have to trust me on this. Tonight?” He let go of her hands and leaned back. “Tonight, I want to get to know you better. As friends. That’s all. Gain a little insight into what makes you tick and maybe you can do the same with me.”

She liked the sound of that. “All right.”

“Good. How about I finish the kitchen and you go get changed? Do you have something other than a skirt suit to wear?”

She nodded. She’d brought a number of different outfits, not sure what to expect. “Sure. Casual?”

“Yes.” He helped her up. “We should head out within the hour. Cross the lake while there’s still light. I’ll have a driver pick us up later tonight and one of the guys will bring the boat back in the morning.”

She’d already decided what she’d wear and as there was little she could do with her hair, she stepped around him and said, “I’ll be ready in fifteen.”

She was nearly across the room when he called.

“Colin?”

“Yes?” She stopped and wheeled around.

“Tonight there are no rules, but tomorrow…”

There’d be plenty, she mentally finished for him as she made her way to her room. She was determined to let tonight unfold before she had to worry about tomorrow.

 Chapter Nine

Colin was enjoying herself, having decided she would do as Ethan suggested. She’d relax and have some fun tonight. Truthfully, she’d had the most interesting day with him. And now? Well, there were tons of friendly people in the crowd at the Lionsgate. The music was loud. The place was jumping and the rules for tomorrow seemed a lifetime away.

She’d asked him to order her a Bud Lite and shot of peppermint schnapps yet wound up with the beer and a shot of peach schnapps because they didn’t have peppermint. The first round went down so good, that even though he gave her the stink eye when she indicated she wanted another shot, she chose to ignore it. And by the time the second one arrived, she was looking forward to it. She was eager to have something to distract her from his watchful eyes. The shot of peach deliciousness did the trick. She turned her back on him and clapped her hands to the music while she paid attention to the people on the dance floor. It wasn’t until she heard a woman call out to him that she swiveled.

The voice belonged to a brunette who had the biggest breasts Colin had ever seen. She was tall and her features were offset by heavy makeup, which was perfectly applied. By the time she came to their table, Colin couldn’t help staring at her. She’d never seen someone up close who wore false eyelashes. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but these had jewels on the end of them. The effect was really cool.

“Ethan, I never thought I’d run into you here.” She leaned across their high-top table and nearly knocked over the empty shot glasses with her ample bosom as she air-kissed him on either side of his cheeks.

Ethan’s expression didn’t change. His eyes gleamed dark and frosty, and when there was a break in the music, he said, “Rachel, this is Colin, Colin, Rachel.”

“Hi, Rachel, pleasure to meet you.”

The woman nodded, but didn’t say anything. At least not to her. She was solely focused on Ethan as she stepped right in front of Colin. “How long are you in town? Are you hosting a party tonight on your island? I didn’t see the lights on at the house.”

Colin was shocked. Ethan owned one of the lake islands? She leaned around the rude woman and nearly fell off her stool. Scrunching up her nose she shouted, “You own one of the islands?”

She was glad to see his lip twitch. Was he going to smile? “Yes, a small one.”

“It’s the biggest one,” Rachel corrected. Although, who she directed this to beat the heck out of Colin. The woman’s eyes were glued to Ethan. Surely he didn’t need to be informed about the size of his property.

For the next five minutes, Rachel carried on quite a conversation with herself. It was really bizarre. She’d begin a sentence with a question and finish it with her own answer.

“You’ll never guess who I ran into in Antibes. David Hollan. I know, I couldn’t believe it. He and Vicki were there. She had some work done, although she says she didn’t and…”

Ethan sat there, nodding occasionally and Colin wondered if he was actually listening to this drivel. Not her. She’d seen enough of the back of Rachel’s head for one night. The woman’s inane chatter shouted over the music was mega-annoying. Especially when the group of people Colin had spoken with earlier got up to dance. They looked as if they were having a lot of fun. She watched for a few minutes and when a Lenny Kravitz song came on and one of the girls waved to her, she returned the gesture and stood.

“I’ll be back.” She purposely deepened her voice so she sounded like Arnold Schwarzenegger in
The Terminator
. Rachel didn’t get it, but Ethan did. He leaned around the yammering woman and smiled.

“Where are you going?”

“To dance.”

“Dance?” Geeeeez, by his deep frown you would’ve thought she’d said to kill someone. “With whom?”

“Them.” She hiked a thumb over her shoulder. “It will give you two a chance to catch up.”

Ethan would have made a grab for her if he could, but Rachel was in the way so he was stuck watching her leave as she cut her way through the crowd to the dance floor. Examining her at this distance, he recalled how disappointed he’d been earlier when she’d come out of her room with her hair still tightly confined. Thankfully it wasn’t in a bun, but watching that ponytail swing now, he shook his head because she’d used a series of elastics down the tail length to hold it firmly in place.

He’d quickly gotten over his disappointment on that front, though, when he’d spied her outfit. The snug-fitting jeans and equally snug t-shirt she’d changed into left little doubt that she had a wicked body. A curvy form with generously rounded breasts. The kind of breasts that would sport awesome cleavage and fill his large hands to perfection. There’d be no toss-up about what attribute of hers he’d unwrap first, however, because he’d already planned on setting her hair free pronto. He was trying to imagine what it would look like when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Shifting, he realized Rachel had said something and was waiting for an answer. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked if you wanted to dance.”

“With you? I mean, no thanks.” That wasn’t very well done of him. He sighed. “Did you come here by yourself, Rach?”

“No, I brought Tom with me.”

“Tom? Shouldn’t you be with him?”

“But I thought…”

Of course she thought he’d step in as he usually did when they ran into each other. But not this time. Strangely, Rachel’s disproportionate Dolly Parton figure, which normally turned him on, seemed almost grotesque tonight. Her expertly applied makeup, which he’d always found intriguing, somehow looked desperate, as if she were trying too hard to look good. Maybe she had to.

Colin didn’t.

“As you can see, I’m with someone.”

Rachel didn’t blink. “I don’t mind company. You know you’re the only one I let Top me.”

The thought of her getting anywhere near Colin was unnerving. “No. Not tonight, Rachel.”

When she left, he sat back in his seat and tried to get a visual on Colin. Unfortunately, a group of people stood in front of the dance floor waiting for the waitress to clear a spot for them, so he didn’t have a good view. She’d been gone quite a while. Was she still dancing? If not, why hadn’t she returned to him? He balled up the piece of beer label he’s just peeled off the bottle and tossed it on the table.

He wasn’t the kind of man who worried about where a woman was or what she did, because in general, his woman stayed close. They paid attention and—

Just then he got a clear view of the dance floor. “Holy. Fucking. Shit.” He spotted her there and sat up straight. She was having a grand old time, jumping and kicking it up with the group they’d spoken to earlier. Slamming around, smiling, grinding and gyrating to an old Madonna tune. That wasn’t what captivated him. No, it was her hair. It had come loose and, damn, was it a sight to behold. Luxurious, thick, kinky, waves of blond bounced off her back, whipped around her shoulders and framed her tiny little face like an elegant cameo.

While he watched she threw back her head and a few curled strands clung to her dampened neck, sticking there while she unabashedly moved to the rhythm of the song. Totally invested and swaying without any sign of being self-conscious. He couldn’t breathe. She was spellbinding. Just the way she kept perfect time with the beat. It was the sexiest thing he’d been treated to in quite some time, and her hair? God, he couldn’t help imagining those wet curls threaded through his fingers when he had her naked. Writhing. Panting for him. He could almost visualize her dampened locks wrapped around her neck as she extended and offered him room to taste her warm satin flesh while he moved in and out of her. Her skin— Shit, he was getting hard. Rock-fucking randy, knowing she’d be a sensual minx in the sack. Hips that moved like that could send a man to heaven or hell, depending on which he preferred.