“No, Skylar. Not at all. You’ve done nothing wrong.” He winced. “I’m the one who screwed up.”
She stared at him, both relieved and confused. “You did? How?”
“What happened back in the water room earlier,” he replied. “It was inappropriate. I put you in a compromising position, both literally and figuratively. I overstepped the bounds of a trainer/trainee relationship when I pulled you onto my lap like that. I placed my own desires above my professional obligation as a trainer. It put you, as the trainee, in an untenable situation. I’m very sorry about that, Skylar. If you feel it would be better to work with another trainer, arrangements will be made immediately.”
“Your own desires?” Skylar said, stunned. Was it possible that this accomplished, masterful, sexy man who could certainly have his pick of highly trained, eager submissives wanted her? “You wanted it, too?”
His tentative smile segued into a grin. “In the worst way,” he said emphatically. “I probably should have refused the assignment right after we’d talked on WhatsApp. I was a goner from the moment we first connected.”
She stared at him, still not quite believing what she was hearing. It was like being told she’d just won a lottery—even better than winning this trip. She moved a little closer to him, daring to reach out and rest her hand lightly on his bare, muscular thigh.
He stared down at her hand. Suddenly afraid she’d overstepped, Skylar very nearly pulled it away. Before she could, he placed his own hand over hers. Lifting it, he turned it over and traced a line over her palm with his thumb. She shivered at his touch, her nipples so erect they actually throbbed.
He looked into her eyes with such undisguised longing that it took her breath away. Then, like a dream—like a fairy tale, he took her face in both hands and dipped his head to hers.
She reached for him, cupping the back of his neck with her hand as he pulled her closer. Their lips touched and then parted, his tongue slipping into her mouth. She moaned softly against him and he answered with a low, primal growl that sent a pulse up her spine. He claimed her with his mouth as she melted against him. The kiss was like nothing she had ever experienced. All other kisses she had shared over the years with the many Mr. Wrongs disappeared in a puff of smoke.
There was only now—this perfect moment. She wanted it to last forever.
~*~
When they finally separated, it was only because Caelan knew if he continued to kiss her, he’d end up taking her right there on the beach. That wasn’t what he wanted—not this first time.
Caelan wanted to laugh out loud from the sheer, incredulous joy of this unexpected and wonderful development between them. On the one hand, he felt like a teenage boy who had just worked up the courage to ask his year-long secret crush to the Prom and she’d said yes! On the other hand, this wasn’t a typical boy-meets-girl scenario. He still owed it to Skylar to give her the experience she came to Desire Island for.
She had come into the program claiming she was unsure she was submissive, but after only a short time together, Caelan was convinced that not only was she a sub, but a sub who would blossom in a Master/slave relationship.
Had he finally found the woman of his dreams?
He took both of Skylar’s hands in his. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since the moment I saw you,” he admitted with a smile. “But before I go all caveman on you and drag you back to my lair, I want to make sure we’re both on the same page regarding your training.”
“Okay,” Skylar said. “Where do we go from here?”
“I’ve talked briefly with Ella and Ryan about the possibilities. They’re cool with us taking this in a more, uh, personal direction.” He smiled again in spite of himself and she smiled back, her face radiant. “We need to figure out together how we want to approach this. I still want to give you the experience you came here for—a full BDSM immersion training experience—if you still want that.”
“I do, Sir,” Skylar said softly. “Very much.”
“I want it, too,” Caelan said. “Obviously the dynamic is going to be different.” He let one of her hands go to stroke her cheek. “That said, I don’t want you getting the wrong message if I’m acting all lovey-dovey, which I probably won’t be able to help because you’re so fucking adorable.” He grinned, feeling goofy and ridiculously happy, but also determined to make sure she understood where he was coming from.
“During our training sessions, I will still expect full obedience and proper behavior. I’m going to push you as hard as before, maybe harder. Does that work for you? Is it what you want, too?”