“No.” She craved his touch.
Ah! Something—his finger—had touched her hip, and he circled her with an unhurried thump-tap of heel and toe on the timber floor, as he ran that finger around her waist. The shirt, fully open, slipped from her shoulders. She felt the light brush as her underwear slid down to join the pants at her feet; then his hand, first at one ankle, then the other, made her lift each leg in turn. The pants and underwear were whisked away. She could hear herself breathe.
“Stay there,” he said.
She could smell him.
She almost opened her eyes to say something, but instead balanced there. Why she obeyed him, she wasn’t sure, but it satisfied something primal, something deeply sexual. And letting go like this made her feel safe.
Anticipation strung her insides tight. She yearned for further caresses. Her cleft swelled.
“Here. Raise your feet.” An article of clothing, both silken cloth and something harder, slid with muffled clicks up each leg. Theo arranged it about her torso, cool beads shifting across her breasts until the garment fitted snugly on her body. Something narrow settled between her legs. She gasped at a throb of pleasure as his fingers played in her moisture. A few more adjustments and he led her off to one side. A light flared on. “There. Open your eyes.”
In a tall mirror, she saw herself, dressed in a black corset paneled with satin. Coming down from a halter, pearl ropes fanned out over each breast with her nipples peeking out between. A tiny skirt of chiffon, divided at the crotch, barely made it as far as her upper thighs. Lines of seed pearls undulated down the satin, and a string of larger pearls dived deeply between her legs, emphasizing the split lips of her sex. She could feel it run up between the cheeks of her bottom at the back. Even as she looked, she felt a renewed throb, for every movement she made, from breath to heartbeat to shift of feet, moved the line of pearls and rubbed against her clit.
In the reflection, she saw Theo beyond her shoulder, bare-chested, the ringlets of his black hair stark against his forehead. He raised a satin and pearl choker and positioned it about her neck, clicking it into place. “And these,” he said, holding first one wrist and then the other to snick matching black satin bracelets on her wrists. “They suit you.” From the hardness, metal lurked beneath the black cloth.
Where the choker and bracelets rested on skin, her pulse rose, thumping, to the surface and reminded her of where she was, who she was with, and especially, how dangerous this could be. But…she trusted him.
To her surprise, her throat still worked, though the words seemed to stick to her tongue. “How did you know my size? Where did this come from?”
“Bought while I was away. I have a good memory, especially for someone as striking as you.”
Which meant, he’d planned her…seduction, while she’d been planning escape. She leaned back against him, fascinated by the allure of the woman in the mirror. The heat from his body soaked into her like a glass of wine. She lifted each wrist and examined the bracelets—identical, and each with tiny loops of steel projecting from them.
“That’s for a chain to pass through,” he whispered, mouthing her nape. “Does it bother you? Think, before you answer.”
“Yes…” she said slowly, fearful of being again restrained in cuffs.
“And yet?” He pressed a hand against her stomach, holding her against him, making her feel the rigid line of his cock. The pearls slid in her juices, pressing, rolling over her clit and anus. She let out a whimper. “Ahh. You feel them working on you.” He chuckled. “And yet?”
And yet the idea of it, of being restrained by Theo, held a strange and deadly fascination. She shied away from that thought and shook her head. “And nothing.”
“Aah. I can see my first project will be to get you talking more.”
She stood there in silence. The fear she felt came intertwined with lust in almost everything that Theo did to her. Taking her by the shoulders, he moved her to face him, gray eyes inches away; then his mouth descended, covering hers, devouring her. She breathed in his breath, letting him do as he willed. One broad hand held the base of her neck; the other splayed over the curve of her buttocks. His fingers wrapped around the pearl rope running between her legs, tightening it. Desire ran rampant through her, surging higher with every tiny movement of his lips on hers and the rub of the pearls on her * and nipples.
When she put her hands to the belt of his pants, he reached between their bodies, snared both her wrists, and pulled them round to the small of her back where he held them with one hand. Again, the pearls shifted. She bit her lip, a moan escaping her as she arched.
Eyes shut, she heard a soft animal-like growl.
“Claire, if you’re not damn careful, I’ll eat you up.”