Taunt Me (Rough Love 2)

“Go on,” I prompted. “This will be the one and only time I let you in there with clothes.”

I could have made her take off the clothes, but she’d worn them for a reason, and they were special. If she was going to wear clothes her first time in my cage, it was good and right that it would be these.

“Wait,” I said. “There’s something else for you to try.”

She perched just inside the cage’s opening, sitting on her knees. It was exactly the right height—tall enough for her to sit comfortably, but not stand. She could stretch her legs out if she raised them in the air. I’d have her try it in a moment, but first I went to the drawers and pulled out a box from the top left one. It contained another relic from our hotel sessions: the supple leather collar I’d bought for her, in the same soft brown color as her eyes.

I brought it over to her, as excited now as she’d been excited over the cage. I didn’t stop to show it to her, beyond holding it in front of me for the slightest moment. I wanted it on her. I wanted to see her wearing my collar again. My pet, my toy, my starshine, my pink dragon. Mine.

“Let’s try it on for size,” I said, although I knew the size of her neck like I knew the size of my cock, since I’d grasped both of them plenty of times. I knew it would fit. She’d worn it before, during our last session at the Carlyle Hotel. I held the part with the O-ring against the front of her neck and made her lean down so I could buckle it in the back.

“Oh,” she said. “You made it too tight.”

“Not tight. Snug.” I didn’t want a breath of space between that collar and her neck. It symbolized control and surrender, and our history together. Three years. That was a long fucking time.

She sat up and shook her hair back. Holy fuck, she looked magnificent. I’d put the collar on her at the Carlyle, yes, but that meant nothing in comparison to my feelings now. My cock ached, but this moment was more than sex, more than horniness.

This was, finally, her total surrender—and mine. She touched the leather with her delicate fingertips, and gazed at me, her eyes wide. I wouldn’t have faulted her for looking around for a mirror, but she only looked at me.

“Do you like it?” she asked.

Jesus. Did I like it? I parted my lips, at a loss for words. I made some motion for her to scoot back, and then I shut her in the cage, locking the door with an audible scratch and click. She stared out between the bars, the same woman who’d come to me, masked and defensive, three years ago, but now she was unmasked, and not defensive at all.

She loved me. She wanted me. She’d asked me to trust her, but I was more amazed by the trust she placed in me.

“Look at what you do for me,” I breathed. “You’re so beautiful.” It was the only poem I’d ever written for her, and the one I fell back on now, when all other words failed. I reached through the bars and touched her face, and skimmed my fingers over the collar.

“Price,” she said, her voice high with emotion. “Can I call you Master now? Are you my Master?”

“I’m your everything,” I replied, curling my finger in the O-ring. “Owner, Lord, Master. But I’m partial to Sir. It sounds less pompous.”

A smile curved the corners of her mouth. “You’re never pompous, Sir.”

I gave her cheek a little crack for the snarkiness, still holding the O-ring. She gasped, five percent of it dismay and ninety-five percent of it lust. Yes, I was sometimes pompous, and I didn’t mind her pointing it out. We could still have jokes and warmth between us. We could have everything now.

I let go of the ring and opened my hand, and wrapped it around her neck, squeezing just enough. “Talk to me, starshine,” I said. “Do you want this? Tell me your definitive answer.”

I already knew her answer, but I was thrilled to hear it anyway.

“Yes. Yes, Sir, I want this.” She swallowed hard against my palm, gazing at me, eyes clear and free of tears. “I belong here in your cage. In your dungeon.”

Cages and dungeons weren’t the best way to love, but they were necessary between us. They were the best way to make our relationship work. That’s what I told myself, anyway.

I grasped her neck tighter, curling my fingers over the elegant brown collar, then pulled her close until our lips met through the cage bars. With a soft growl of contentment, I sealed our covenant with a kiss.

**to be continued**