Laid Bare - Lauren Dane [40]
She lost herself in receiving him, in her body making way for his over and over until he finally thrust one last time, deep, and came.
He stumbled away a step to get rid of the condom, pressing a kiss at the small of her back before he left.
In the bathroom he splashed water on his face and stared at his reflection. His pupils were large, his skin flushed with sex. With something more. He’d never used a belt, or anything other than his hand, on a woman. The high of it rode him, surged through his senses. He’d loved it, loved watching her skin turn pink, loved the slight welts he’d made. He worried at first that he’d hurt her, but he listened to her sounds, watched her body language, and if the slickness of her pussy had been any indication, she enjoyed it too.
He went back out to her, knowing she might need a bit of snuggling. He wanted her to understand that what had happened, despite its roughness, was tender on his part. He hoped it hadn’t been too much, so soon after she’d told him that little bit about her daughter. Hoped he hadn’t made a mistake.
She was in the kitchen, singing as she dug through the fridge. Still naked, her ass and thighs still bore welts, and he felt awful even as the sight hardened his cock. She turned to him, smiling.
“Thirsty?” She drank deeply from a bottle of water, holding a spare one his way.
“Are you all right?”
She set the water down and moved to him, sliding into his arms like they were made just for her to be in them. “I’m more than all right.”
“I just never, ever want to harm you. I don’t want you to fear me. You’re precious to me.”
She looked up into his face. “I’m not afraid of you, Todd. I wouldn’t have allowed you to do any of this if I hadn’t trusted you not to harm me.”
“I don’t know how to do this. I’m sure you’re more experienced with it.”
She laughed. “I know what I like, but I wouldn’t say I was experienced. I’ve played over the years.” She put a hand on his cheek as he began to blush, thinking about her with other men. “But never what we’ve had between us. We’ll learn together. There’s no ‘Big Rule Book of Bondage’ or anything. It’s about what works for us. And the belt works for me.” She fanned her face and his angst lifted.
He grinned at her. “Works for me too.”
13
She saw him enter the café and placed a plate with a turkey sandwich extra-loaded with avocado and bacon on the bar. She’d tried to get him to sit at a table, to give her some space, but he’d ignored the suggestion and crowded in. So she’d given up and let herself be happy with making him lunch every day, even as she refused his invitations for dates.
Ella had been there the morning after Erin’s last date with Todd. She’d come through the door shell-shocked by the depth of what they’d shared. Her friend had just put a cup of coffee and a huge blueberry scone on the counter. Erin hadn’t spoken for long minutes until, finally, she’d given up a little bit to the other woman. A bit of her fear, a bit of her hesitation at becoming so deeply involved when she wasn’t back on her feet emotionally.
In the end, Ella had just wiped the counter, taken the cup and plate away and looked Erin right in the eyes. “This guy is your way back to your feet. You’ve had love before. This is different and you know it. Don’t let fear chase your potential for happiness away.”
Erin knew Ella understood the difference between love and obsession; knew her friend was trying to get on her own feet again after a long, harrowing relationship. The irony that it was Erin who usually offered advice wasn’t lost on her, and she’d truly taken it all to heart.
But it had been a lot to process and she still struggled.
That night when they’d gone to dinner and he’d come back to her place had moved things inside her. She wasn’t comfortable in her skin because she wanted him. She wanted to see him, to be with him. Damn it. The second and third round that night had been just as powerful as the first. It wasn’t just fucking as he’d held her wrists, the leather of his belt chafing her skin just