Bound by Bliss (Bound and Determined #2)(74)

Stephan’s lips came down on hers in the softest of kisses, a kiss that did not seek to silence as much as to tempt. His mouth moved over hers, barely touching and yet letting her feel him, feel his need, his wants, his…

It was wonderful. Soft. Sweet. Delicious.

Her own lips opened under his, inviting him in, beckoning him on.

For the briefest of moments his tongue swept hers and then, just as she began to rise to meet him, was gone.

“Trust me, Bliss. I only want to make you happy, to make you surrender to all that you are meant to be.”

Her mind was blurred. She wanted to fight. Why should she be the one to give in to him? This matter of allowing was something that needed a great deal more discussion. He had to understand that when she did as he said, even when she bent over the bed to accept her punishment, it was because she’d decided to. She was the one allowing him.

“Stop thinking and enjoy. Let yourself be, Bliss.”

“But…”

“Do you really want to argue or do you want something else, something more?”





Chapter Twenty


Duldon waited for her response. Would she listen? Would she understand? He fought the urge to kiss her again, to grind into her until they were both mindless. This moment was important, crucial even. It was time that she accepted him for who he was, understood how things would be between them, even if her education was just beginning.

“I don’t want to argue,” she said at last, her voice barely audible.

“Then you accept how things will be?”

She was silent for a second, thinking. Why did she have to spend so much time thinking?

“For tonight.” The breathy whisper echoed.

“For always.” He needed to be clear on that point from the start.

“But tonight is our always.”

Why could she not get past that point, admit that they were meant to be together, admit that she was his as he was hers? “I thought you did not want to argue.”

Silence again. He did hope she was not thinking of the fabric of the coverlet or whether there was such a thing as always. Her tendency to let her thoughts ramble at crucial moments might be endearing, but it could also drive a man to drink.

“I want to think of something clever to say,” she said at last, her breasts rising to brush against his chest. “I know there are words that will let us both think what we will and the argument will not be necessary, but my mind is empty at the moment. Tomorrow will bring what tomorrow will bring.” She sounded strangely melancholy.



“That it will. So can you promise that you understand that when we are together you will understand my need for control, be that for tonight or every night for the rest of our lives?”

“You mean when we f*ck?” She said the word coldly, as if trying to distance herself from him.

“I was avoiding that word. I have not quite decided what it is we do, but I am not sure that it is f*cking—and that is ignoring the fact that I have promised we will not actually f*ck until we are wed. And no, you do not need to say that you have no intention of wedding me.”

He felt the air of her long exhale whisper past his cheek.

“I will agree, but given that you have demanded control, and I have granted it may I ask a boon?”

“You may ask.”

“Will you allow me to finish my examination of you later?”

His groin surged at the thought. If she kept talking he would end up embarrassing them both. Although perhaps she would not be embarrassed. He rather thought she might just regard the whole thing as interesting research. “Within some limits. Perhaps you could skip to the end of your examination, to those parts you were saving.”

She licked her lips and he felt a drop seep from the tip of his cock. He closed his eyes and resisted the urge to bury himself in her. He had made her a promise and it was one he meant to keep, no matter the fact that he lay between her naked thighs, his cock brushing against warm, tender skin, only inches from where it longed to be. He’d fought off thinking about their positions since he’d flattened her on the bed, but now he could no longer fight back the thought. “Stay still,” he commanded and swung his legs off the bed and away from her.



“But…”

“And it is my turn to say be quiet. And unlike you I will promise to make you be silent if you should fail. I can think of several things I would enjoy placing between those swollen lips.” Well, at the moment there was truly only one thing, but he’d gag her with his neck cloth if necessary. Her words would be his undoing if he was not careful.

Her lips shut, but her eyes moved down his body, settling on his prick. Her tongue darted out and began a too-slow sweep of her lower lip, and then a sharp press of small white teeth on tender flesh. Another lick. Her thoughts had clearly followed his own.

He moved over to one of the high wardrobes and swung open the door. Neat drawers met his eye, drawers filled with everything his imagination desired and then some. A thin leather crop lay in the center of the first drawer he opened, but it did not cast its normal allure. He might have enjoyed reddening Bliss’s flesh, enjoyed leaving his mark upon her knowing how increased the sensitivity of her skin would be, but he found he had no desire for more.

What he wanted from Bliss was her openness, her vulnerability. He wanted her emotional surrender as well as her physical.