“Looks even better in person than it did in the pictures I saw before I rented it.”
From the information we had, we knew there was an indoor pool and sauna on the lower level, a living room and kitchen on the main floor, and the master bedroom on the top floor, with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the town. We were secluded enough so that our nearest neighbors weren’t visible, but the village was just a short car ride away. And because of the location, we could walk right outside of the house and ski.
Nathaniel reached over and took my hand. “So glad we made it before the storm hit, even though we had to cut out early last night.”
“I’d do it again in a minute,” I said as we pulled into the driveway.
“Me, too.”
The taxi came to a stop. Nathaniel sat back in the seat for a minute. “I don’t know about you, but I’m in desperate need of a shower.”
“A shower sounds perfect.” Especially if he would join me.
“Why don’t you go on inside and hit the bathroom? I’ll bring the luggage in and make sure the kitchen’s stocked the way we requested.”
“You’re not going to join me?”
“Not this time,” he said. “I’ll shower in the guest bath.”
“Waste of water if you ask me.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
He kissed my cheek. “We have plenty of time.”
For someone who had been initially opposed to my suggestion of no sex for a month, he certainly had been patient about it for the last ten hours.
Well, if you didn’t count those five minutes the night before.
Regardless, I left him to deal with the luggage and I walked inside the stunning home that would be our refuge for the next two weeks. The interior was an odd mix of log cabin and contemporary, but it somehow fit together to create a warm and inviting space.
I decided to do the bulk of my exploring later. Ever since he mentioned a shower I felt grimier with each passing second. I breezed past the living room and kitchen, up the stairs, and into the master bedroom.
From the third-floor windows, I could see down the mountain to the village. I felt almost vulnerable surrounded by all the windows even though I knew there was no way anyone could see me. Nathaniel had selected the chalet for its privacy.
I dropped my overnight bag by the bed and walked into the bathroom. Seconds later, I’d stripped my clothes off and was soon enveloped by the soothing warm water of the decadent shower. Outfitted with two rainfall showerheads and numerous smaller vertical ones, the shower could easily fit two people. Nathaniel and I would certainly put the space to good use over the next two weeks. For the time being, though, I simply closed my eyes and let the water and steam revive me.
My skin was wrinkly when I finally got out. I honestly hadn’t meant to stay in for so long, but it had felt so good. I glanced outside and saw the shadows were growing long. I wondered if Nathaniel had finished doing all the things he wanted to do and if he was finished with his shower yet. Since I didn’t know if Nathaniel had brought up my bag with my clean clothes, I pulled on a robe I found hanging on the bathroom door. I debated leaving my hair wet, but decided I’d regret it, so I dried it as quickly as possible.
He was waiting in the bedroom when I left the bathroom. He must not have spent the time I did in the shower. Not only was his hair still wet, but he’d pulled heavy curtains across the windows and lit candles. The room was decorated all in white. A huge bed made up with an inviting downy duvet and fluffy pillows faced the windows. At the moment, the candlelight cast the entire room in flickering shadows. Nathaniel had been sitting in a plush white chair, but stood at my entrance.
“There you are,” he said. “I was afraid you might never come out.”
He walked to me, my husband, and I swallowed around the lump in my throat at the thought that this man was mine forever.
“I couldn’t help it,” I said, taking in his bare chest and the way his pants hugged his hips just so. I could see the bulge of his erection in the front. “The shower felt so good.”
He didn’t say anything, but walked until he stood before me, framed my face with his hands, and kissed me. His lips were strong and insistent and I felt his need sweep over me. Combined with my own, it would have made my knees buckle except for the fact that I had my arms firmly around him.
“Nathaniel,” I said in a soft sigh.
“Mmmm,” he hummed, entwining his fingers with mine and then he quoted:
In that book which is
My memory . . .
On the first page
That is the chapter when
I first met you
Appear the words . . .
Here begins a new life
I pulled our clasped hands together. “Dante?”
He nodded and our foreheads touched. “It seemed appropriate. I never knew that day I saw you at the library so many years ago that you would be the start of my new life. But I wonder, did it truly begin then, or the day you walked into my office the first time—or when you accepted my collar the second time?”
His body was warm against me and his breath was hot on my skin. I lifted my head and kissed him. “I don’t know.”
“I think,” he said. “That maybe it starts tonight. With us here like this. Coming together as husband and wife.” He kissed my wedding band. “And renewing our vow as Dominant and submissive.”
He moved to the nightstand and took something from the top. My heart pounded, knowing what it was, and I hurried to my purse to get its mate. He was back in front of the bed when I turned around and he watched me with dark eyes as I made my way back to him.
He held up a ring made up of three intertwined platinum bands. Its meaning was found inscribed inside.
Abigail, my lovely, my submissive, my heart
His voice was low and heavy with emotion, “Abigail, I give you this ring as an everyday reminder of my dominance. When you see it may you remember that you are your Master’s most treasured possession.” He slipped the ring on my finger, leaned in even closer, and whispered, “Always.”
I swallowed around the lump in my throat and held up his ring, which had been engraved in a similar manner.
Master, I am yours, body, heart, soul
I slid it on his finger and whispered, “Master, I give you this ring as an everyday reminder of my submission. When you see it may you remember that you alone hold my heart, my body, and my soul.”
He kissed my right hand ring and then cupped my face in his right hand. “My dear Abby and my cherished Abigail, I love you.”
There were no words I could give him that would capture the feeling of utter rapture his words brought to me. So instead I decided to give him myself.
I took a step back and kept my eyes on his as I undid the sash of my robe and slipped it from my shoulders. The move reminded me of another time when I’d done something similar. That day I’d asked him to love me. Now I knew he did, so I asked for something different.
“Take me, Nathaniel. Make me yours, Master.”
Silently, he stepped out of his pants and when he took me in his arms again, there was no poetry. He used his hands and his body to say what words were inadequate to convey.
He kissed me again, moving us toward the bed. His touch became urgent as if he wanted to feel me everywhere, all at once. Or maybe like he couldn’t get close enough to me. My hands moved in a similar way. Across his chest, down his back. After a month of denial, I had a physical need to touch him and I drank him in. The hurried five minutes the night before hadn’t been anywhere near enough.
He laid me on my back and I sank into the downy warmth of the duvet. Then he moved on top of me and his mouth was on my skin, kissing a trail from my neck, across my clavicle, and down to my breast. I gasped and arched my back as he sucked a nipple deep into his mouth. He teased the tip with his tongue and nipped it with his teeth.
My nails scratched his back and he groaned.
“Fuck yes,” he said. “Mar
k me.”
“Bite me,” I asked in return. “Make it hard.”
He sat up and took a breast in either hand. “Watch.”
I could do nothing else but stare as he palmed and kneaded my breasts. With each squeeze, he ran his thumb across the nipple. The touch sent a spark of desire straight to the spot between my legs where I ached for him.