Ignoring his little head, he turned his big head back to his job. “You mentioned bed-hopping during college, which isn’t unusual. A lot of young people feel the urge to cut loose when they first get out on their own. What about relationships since then? Anyone special?”
“Nope. I went through a dry spell after college then back to mostly one-night stands, a few that lasted a little longer.”
Sean liked how she didn’t try to defend or apologize for her promiscuous behavior. She’d only been seeking what she’d been denied during her emotionally neglectful childhood. But the way she shifted her eyes with her light, airy response spoke volumes about how she felt about herself, and those relationships. He would have to add showing her she was worth more than a quick lay to his lessons on giving up control in the way she said she desired. “Just sex, huh? Wham bam, thank you ma’am?”
Those soft, tempting lips curled in a derisive smile. “Sometimes not even a thank you.”
“Their fault, not yours.” Pushing back his plate, Sean stood, nodding in approval at Alessa’s almost empty dish. “Good job. Stand up and remove your dress. I want to see the rest of my gift on you.”
THE SUDDEN SWITCH from personal questions to a sex-charged demand sent Alessa’s blood surging through her veins in a heated rush. It’d been difficult sitting across from him, staring at his thick chest and arms with muscles that bulged with the simple lift of his fork to his mouth while talking about her wild youth. But it was those penetrating grey eyes that kept her grounded while admitting to the sins of her past. Her behavior didn’t shame her, but it was also something she’d never spoken of to anyone, not even Krista.
Standing, she began the slow process of unbuttoning the rest of her dress under his watchful gaze, the throbbing of her pinched nipple a reminder of consequences if she didn’t obey. Not that she minded the warm thrum that also pulsed deep inside her pussy. The dress slipped off and pooled at her feet with the release of the last button, leaving her to stand before him in the tight corset that hugged her waist above her hips. She clenched her naked buttocks as he strolled around her, and knew what others meant when they said they could feel someone’s eyes on them.
“Nice,” Sean stated, his deep, appreciative voice washing over her. “You’ll need to get rid of your pubic hair before we get together again, but otherwise, I like the way you look, Alessa.” Steering her into the bedroom, he stopped at the bed and opened the bag sitting on it, pulling out what looked like a long, tight leather sleeve. “Turn around, arms behind you.”
Alessa bit back the questions hovering on her tongue and did as instructed. He was in full Dom mode, a side of him she hadn’t witnessed before tonight and one that put all her senses on high alert. She inhaled to remain steady as he worked the leather binding up both her arms, the tight press of them together pulling her shoulders back and pushing her chest forward. His warm breath blew over her neck and drew goosebumps as he said, “We need to work on your trust issues tonight.”
“I trust you.” Even she could detect the false ring in her quick return.
“No, you don’t, not like you need to. Too many people have let you down for you to drop your protective guard completely. There. How does that feel?” He spun her to face him and she teetered on the heels, falling against his torso, his springy chest hair tickling her nipples.
“Tight, but not uncomfortable.” She almost spoke too soon when her attempt to move her arms and they didn’t budge forced her to swallow back a surge of panic. He kept his arms snug around her, holding her against him for a moment instead of releasing her right away, and that simple gesture went a mile toward easing her insecurity. The steady beat of his heart against her ear soothed her into taking a deep breath.
“Good girl.” Pointing to the bed, he instructed, “Kneel up.”
Scrambling onto the navy chenille comforter by crawling on her knees, she managed to kneel without his help then sank back on her heels as he extracted a leather paddle from the bag. Recalling her response to being spanked the other day, her pulse leaped with a frisson of excitement. Would the instrument have the same effect as his hand?
“Now, lie down, head toward me.”
Sean’s short, blunt instructions lacked explanation and kept Alessa on edge, but she didn’t ask questions as she lowered onto her stomach with his help. When he set the paddle down and grasped her upper arms to slide her forward until her head and torso hung over the side of the bed, a wave of instant panic returned. With her arms bound, she couldn’t brace herself to keep from landing on her head and she broke out in a cold sweat of sudden alarm.
“Sean!” The warm pressure of his hand on her lower back cut off her embarrassing squeak.
“Trust me, I won’t let you fall.” Before she could say anything else, he picked up the paddle with his other hand and delivered a blistering swat to her right buttock. “Tell me, was your trip to Dominion your first time in a BDSM club?”
“Yes,” she got out despite the distracting burn encompassing her cheek.
Another smack covered her left buttock. “And you’ve heard from the girls there’s someone assaulting subs at the clubs around the state, correct?”
“Well, yes, but… crap!” That swat landed in the center of her butt with enough force to scoot her forward if it weren’t for his other hand holding her in place, and left behind needle pinpricks of pain along with the building heat.
“That was not wise, Alessa. But that’s not why I’m spanking you.”
“It’s not?” she gasped with the next blow.
“No, I’m spanking you because I want to. I enjoy tormenting delectable asses such as yours. Do you want to know what I like best about it?”
“Uh, sure.” Blood was starting to rush to her head, making concentration difficult, that and the slow build-up of throbbing, heated pain across her backside.
“The way some subs, such as you, respond to the pain.” Three more swats landed in rapid succession. A low keening mewl slipped out of her mouth as he held nothing back, then changed to a deep moan when he cupped his palm over her labia. “Warm and damp, that’s what I enjoy, along with the view of your bright red ass, of course. Up you go.”
Sean assisted her back onto her knees, and when her cheeks touched down on her heels, she felt the heat and imagined the bright hue he’d spoken of. Reaching for the ba
g again, he pulled out a large padded cuff with an attached hook. “Sean…”
“The next time you don’t address me as Master Sean, or Sir, you’ll feel the cane.”
The frown darkening his face belied the casual tone behind his rebuke and drew a full body shiver. “Yes, Sir.”
He nodded in approval while kneeling next to her. “You were going to ask about the cuff. Put your ankles together.” When she did so, he wrapped the cuff around both, binding them snugly together before hooking her restrained arms to her ankles, the pose forcing her to arch back.
The yoga exercises Alessa went through with Krista every week were coming in handy in a way she’d never imagined. The awkward position compelled her to widen her knees to aid in maintaining her balance, but the warm approval in his gunmetal eyes helped stem the flood of mortification sweeping up her chest from the blatant display of both her breasts and pussy. She pictured herself bare of pubic hair, how she’d look now without the protective barrier she’d sported since puberty, and the image threatened her composure.
“Good.” Sean ran one hand up her left thigh. “I thought to use a spreader bar, but now see I don’t need to. Keep your knees apart.” He smoothed his palm up and down her inner thigh, reaching the juncture where leg met hip then trailing back down to her knee. “At Dominion, did you climax with that Dom?”
Wondering where this question was leading, she thought back and remembered the nice Dom, Master Greg, and thinking she wished he would just take her over with instructions instead of asking her her preferences. “Yes, why?” It hadn’t been an explosive climax, not like the one Sean had driven her to the other day. At the time, she hadn’t thought anything of it as it had been the same mediocre response of her past that she’d been used to.
A sharp smack between her legs, right on the tender flesh of her labia, startled her, the sting spreading up her sheath and drawing a spate of moisture that caught her off-guard. How could she become aroused by that humiliating rebuke?