I pulled out the box and four pairs of handcuffs, which I took to the twin bed that was set up in the corner of the dungeon. The bed was bolted to the floor, and it had eye bolts and metal rings all over the steel frame, not to mention up and down the walls and even on the ceiling. The sky was the limit for tying someone here.
After I’d put a fitted sheet over the mattress, I left the box and cuffs on the bed and went back upstairs to wait for Rick.
In the kitchen, Karen had on her jacket and was gathering her purse and keys.
“Hey,” I said. “Taking off already?”
“Yeah, we figured we should get there early so we can find a place to park. Sounds like the concert is sold out, and you know how parking is by the coliseum.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Ugh. I think I’d walk.”
“I would too, but after what your kids did to my hip…” She shot me a good-natured glare.
Shrugging, I chuckled. “They’ll make up for it by putting you in a good nursing home.”
“Damn right they will,” she muttered. “All right. I’m off. Don’t have too much fun tonight.”
“Likewise.”
Our eyes met, and we both laughed.
Then she came around the kitchen island, arms outstretched. As she hugged me tight, she said, “Thank you again for the tickets. This means a lot.”
“You’re welcome.” I kissed her cheek. “I hope you all have an amazing time.”
“We will.” She let me go, and we exchanged smiles. Then she gathered her things and left.
As I listened to her car head down the street, I smiled. It was good to see her getting out and having a good time. This was her favorite band, and she’d been looking forward to this concert for weeks. When the tickets had gone on sale a few months ago, we’d both been tight on cash—she’d just coughed up a retainer for her attorney, and the kids had all needed textbooks that must’ve been printed on endangered yak flesh in ink made from the tears of angels. But it was something her asshole ex would have forbidden her from doing. He hated the band, he hated her friends, and he hated her going anywhere without him. Now that she was out from under his thumb, she didn’t have any reason not to go except the cost of the tickets.
Over my dead body was she missing that show because of him, though, so I’d made a deal with Marie to let me work a few hours of overtime that week, and bought the tickets for her. They weren’t exactly front row with backstage access, but they weren’t nosebleed either, and Karen had been thrilled.
I hoped she had a blast tonight.
Meanwhile, I intended to have a blast as well, especially since a certain gorgeous submissive was going to be here any minute.
A car engine raised the hairs on the back of my neck. Speak of the devil…
I opened the front door as he closed his car door, and my whole body broke out in goose bumps. He was dressed down, of course—jeans and a green golf shirt—but he could’ve been wearing anything and still looked hot. It was his eyes, though, that made my heart go crazy. Even more than his hurried gait, his eyes said I can’t fucking wait.
Neither could I, so without a word, I stood aside and gestured for him to come in. And just like that, we were in the foyer, with my dungeon beneath our feet and the whole night ahead of us. My pulse sped up even more, especially as I wrapped my arms around him and gazed up at him. It was weird—we’d been together last night and the night before, and yet it felt like it had been ages since we’d been in the same room. Like it was an enormous relief to find ourselves in the same place again.
I cupped his face and kissed him. “It’s good to see you.”
“You too.”
I moved my hand up into his hair and claimed another kiss, sliding my tongue between his willing lips as everything about him—his presence, his body heat, his hands on my waist—turned my knees to water. I was still in control, but damn, kissing him was a good way to warm up to the idea of losing control.
But that wasn’t why he was here, and it wasn’t why we were doing this. I was a Dom, for God’s sake, and I would stay in control.
I broke the kiss and forced myself not to show that I was out of breath. “We should go downstairs and get started. Or else I’m going to fuck you right here in this foyer instead of tying you up downstairs.”
“Lead the way,” he said quietly, breathing hard.
I did, taking him down into the basement.
At the dungeon door, he paused. “Am I… Is this where you want me to undress?”
“Did I tell you to undress?”
“N-no.” He gulped. “Just…uh…”
“I’ll tell you when it’s time.” I pushed open the door and waved him in.
“Sorry,” he murmured, and stepped into the room.
In the middle of the floor, I halted, and nodded downward. Immediately, and with only the slightest wince, he went to his knees.
“Good.” I stroked his cheek. “You’re ready for this, aren’t you?”
He nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Ready to play around with a few toys and some bondage?”
He swept his tongue across his lips. “Absolutely.”
That kind of enthusiasm—as if he were this close to trembling with excitement—turned me on like nothing else.
“Before we go too far,” I went on, “tell me the safe word.”
“Red.”