Angel in Scarlet (Bound and Determined #4)(55)


“Slip your chemise off, but do not turn about.” Ahh, definitely the master and not the prince. “Yes, just like that, slowly, up and over your head. Bare yourself to me slowly. Yes. Yes. Now stay stretched up like that, place your hands on the columns. Yes, move on to your tiptoes even. Perfect.”

His boots scuffed against the stones as he stepped away.

It was strange to stand in the sunlight bare as a babe. In some ways it was even stranger than what they had done last night. Daylight added a whole new feel to this adventure, a rawness, a realness. Again she let her mind move to fantasy. If before she had dreamed of soldiers and spies, now she returned to that image of goddess and capture.

A single finger trailed down her back, steadying as he traced a whirl of patterns, before continuing downward, reminding her who was in control. Her master stopped just above the cleft of her buttocks. His finger held still and she waited, resisting the cry to urge him on.

Still he did not move.

What was he doing? What was he planning?

“I had considered something even more adventurous for this afternoon, but I have decided that wisdom lies with caution. We will not yet do anything that cannot be undone.”

A deep breath left her. Translating those words was not difficult; her master was not yet ready to take her completely, to make her fully his.

“Is that relief or disappointment?”

“I do not know.” And that was the complete truth. The goddess’s body longed to know the secrets that she sensed only he could teach her, but Angela did understand the consequences of losing her virginity.

His finger left her back. “Turn around.”

The master had returned.

With a nervous swallow, she did, letting her mind drift again to that world where only this moment mattered.

He was so close. If she breathed deep, her breasts would brush his chest, tease him.

He stared down at her, his eyes half closed. She could feel the weight of his consideration.

His breath was warm and soft upon her cheek. He took a step away, his eyes sweeping over her. Small fires burned wherever his gaze touched. The goddess stood tall and proud, her hands still resting high on the two columns, aglow with desire. Her master enjoyed her, enjoyed the sight of her body in the sun. Her shoulders moved back, her breasts thrusting even higher, a pagan sacrifice to his need.

“You look like an offering,” he said, unconsciously echoing her thoughts. His gaze focused on her tightly peaked breasts.

“I am yours,” she whispered, eyes dropping.

“Then it is time to claim my bounty as I see fit, time to take my spoils.” He walked to the satchel and pulled out several short lengths of rope and a piece of tarp. He dropped the tarp to the floor a few feet from the marble bench.

He turned to her, holding up the rope, a last question in his eyes.



Ahh, the expression on her face was worth a fortune, anxiety and want combining. He had read her fantasies correctly. Colton stepped forward, holding out the rope, and lifted his arm to rub it against her cheek. “It’s very soft. Cotton. Nothing that will abrade your fragile skin. I wanted to give you a chance to explore what it feels like to be bound, to be helpless as you were in your dream of your lieutenant.”

She swallowed, her eyes growing even wider. He could sense her nervousness but also her intrigue. For a moment he was tempted to pull her into his arms, to crush her to him and cherish her. Cherish her. He stared down at the rope. Swallowed, hard. He lifted the rope higher, feeling her gaze follow.

Then her eyes returned to his, asking a question he dared not explore. She nodded once, biting down on that full lower lip.

“Turn around.”

She did, the lush curves of her ass jiggling with the movement.

He swallowed again, but this time for a different reason. “Bring your hands behind you.”

Again she complied, although a shiver took her, and he caught her delicate hands easily between his much larger ones, wrapping the thick rope from her wrists halfway to the elbows. He pressed her arms tight together, noting the strain. After waiting a moment, he pivoted her to face him, looking for her response.

She took the time to consider. Her arms pushed against the ropes, but not hard. Yes, she definitely could feel the pull and the strain.

Her eyes rose to his again. She continued to bite down on her lower lip but did not protest. She shivered—not from cold. Using his hands to rotate her, he wrapped another rope tight about her. He spun her again, and then again, crisscrossing her chest with the rope, forcing her breasts high. “Very, very pretty,” he said.

Her whole body was quivering, more and more with each tightening. He could feel the frantic beat of her heart beneath his fingers. He placed a finger on her neck, savoring the strength of that beat. His angel was frightened, but in the best of ways, her every sense heightened.

He leaned in, whispering in her ear. “Do you like this? Do you like being helpless before me, knowing that at any moment I could do anything to you?”

Her whole body shuddered, trembling with desire and that sharp edge of the unknown. Her head nodded once, firmly.

He turned her back to the lake. “Do you know that sometimes they take boats out in the afternoon? At any moment someone could come rowing past, and think what a view they would get.”

She gasped but still did not seek to move or hide.

He pressed his hips forward, bringing his rampant erection to rest between her buttocks.

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