The Burlington Manor Affair

“But you like it?” His cock was hardening. Silently he cursed it. He had to know the truth.

“I told you. I don’t know why.”

The fear he saw in her eyes hit him hard. It was different. When she offered herself, she wasn’t afraid; she was resentful but she was willing. That look on her face tore him apart. Did this mean that the submissive side of her was her nature, and not a role-play? Will I ever really know? The woman was an enigma, and just when he thought they were getting closer, she clammed up good and proper.

What shocked him most of all was the fear. Why was she afraid to be honest about it? Did she think he would tease her, was that it?

“Rex, please, don’t.”

The sound of her whispering his name so breathlessly, so afraid, made him want to protect her, above all else.

“You do it because it makes it easier,” he stated.

Silence. Then she nodded, gratefully.

He’d said it to break the tension, and it had. Somewhat. Yet his nerves felt tauter than ever. Carmen was the important thing here, not his base reactions. He didn’t want her to be uncomfortable around him. They’d done enough of that over the years. Far too much, in fact.

She didn’t respond, but when she met his gaze there was a silent plea for understanding in her expression.

“I’m sorry.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “I adore you that way. What man wouldn’t—”

“You’re not just any man,” she interrupted.

He stared at her, surprised by her comment, but instantly needing more explanation than that.

“Oh, bloody hell, Rex. Do I have to spell it out for you?”

“I’m sorry, but apparently you do.”

She meshed her hands, fingers twisting together as she spoke. “I haven’t been like this before...not with anyone else.”

“I don’t understand.” It was the honest to God truth. He didn’t get it.

“It’s just you. I don’t know why. Maybe because I’d wanted you for so long. It just happened, and when it did, it felt right that you...mastered me.” Her face was aflame. “Fucking hell, Rex! It’s what I wanted, what I’d always wanted, deep down.”

The information seemed unreal and he couldn’t take it in. But why would she lie? Stunned, Rex paced up and down the room and then sat down on the edge of the bed.

He stared across at her. She seemed dreamlike to him.

She folded her hands around her upper arms and her hair fell over her face, so that he couldn’t see her eyes.

Instinctively Rex knew what she needed from him right then. It wasn’t rocket science, but it made him wonder. They did have a seemingly natural symbiosis in their sexuality; that was unquestionable. But he’d assumed this was the way she was, that she had an inherent desire for the kinky aspect. Had she really not behaved this way with anyone else? He’d assumed that she’d been introduced to BDSM by another man. Apparently that wasn’t the case. It also wasn’t the real problem here. It was part of the solution.

The notion made his possessive feelings for her multiply rapidly. He put out his hand, gesturing for her to come closer. “Come to me.”

Without hesitation, she did so.

Stepping across the room, she paused in front of him. A moment later she lowered to her knees at his side and sat back on her heels.

The neat, folded posture she assumed was so simple, yet it stunned him to see her that way, like an elegant geisha, her head lowered yet cocked, as if to hear his request. What a prize, what a beauty.

He reached out and stroked her head.

She leaned into his touch, her forehead against his knee.

A tight, willful mood swamped him, weighing heavily on the moment. How much easier did it make sex for her? How hard would it be to balance the power, as they had in the heat of the moment last night? The questions made him want to know why she was really here, on her knees.

Was it for him, or for Burlington Manor?