Ow! Ow, ow, ow!
The crack against her skin stung like fire but she bit her lower lip to keep from making a sound and swallowed the tiny screams of pain welling up. Her body automatically tensed as she waited for the next kiss of the leather but Rio placed his warm palm on the curve of her ass.
“Try to relax,” he told her. “It will sting less. And focus on the heat as it finds its way into that gorgeous pink cunt. I will do nine more strokes. Ten in all. Count in your head. It will help.”
She hauled in a deep breath and let it out slowly as the lash descended again. By the fourth strike she knew exactly what Rio meant about it heating her pussy. It felt on fire, as did her ass and thighs. But by the time they reached number six a strange thing was happening to her. A surge of pleasure overrode the intensity of the pain and she found herself craving the next stroke, the next sting. The low tremors signaling the rise of another climax thrummed deep inside her.
When they reached number ten Rio kissed both globes of her buttocks, humming his approval against her heated skin.
“Your ass is such a beautiful shade of red,
amada.
In a little while I’ll bathe you and smooth on a cream that will ease it. But right now I need to fuck you more than I need my next breath.” His fingers probed inside her vagina. “And you want me just as badly. I knew this would be good. I sensed it from the moment I met you.”
He released her ankles but left her arms locked to her thighs. She heard the crinkle of foil, felt his fingers at the lips of her pussy, then his thick cock was pushing inside her.
Oh God, it felt so good. She pushed back, trying to take him even deeper.
He moved in and out slowly at first but then, as if the blaze consumed both of them, pumped hard and fast, one hand reaching around to pinch and stroke her clit. More, more. She bucked against him as best she could. Without sight every nerve was concentrated on just feeling his thick shaft inside her, plunging again and again. In her velvet darkness everything was magnified, amplified, every sensation greater than she’d ever felt.
Rio stiffened just as Amber crested to the peak and they tumbled over together, cries mingling as they shook with the incredible force of passion and heat. Her skin was seared almost from her waist to her knees but it was nothing compared to the heat in her cunt from the friction of Rio’s cock and the thunderous release he’d ridden her to.
She had no idea how long they lay there like that, waiting for their erratic heartbeats and uneven breathing to ease. Finally Rio slid carefully from her body. She heard him pad across the floor to the bathroom to dispose of the condom. Then he was back, releasing her wrists and thighs and removing the blindfold. He stroked her hair back from her face and kissed her cheek.
“Wonderful. You are truly
magnífico.
”
“Thank you.” She smiled at him. “You too.”
He chuckled, then caressed her still-stinging ass. “Just looking at this made me so hard I could barely wait to be inside you. Now I think it’s time to bathe you and put some soothing cream on your very hot ass.” He kissed her cheek. “I must take very good care of my sub, you know.”
Amber smiled and bit back the questions that bubbled up to her lips. She was only going to be at Molly’s for another week or two while she decided what to do with the rest of her life. Rio had said this was special, that they were meant for each other. But he hadn’t said anything about where they went from here.
And she wasn’t about to ask him.
She’d just enjoy every minute with him and hope he didn’t leave her with a broken heart.
Chapter Six
“I have to make up my mind pretty soon,” Amber said, running her finger around the rim of her coffee cup.
It was unusually pleasant outside that morning and she and Molly were having coffee on the patio. As usual, she’d spent the night at Rio’s and he’d brought her home so he could go about his business at the ranch and she and Molly could visit. And as usual, before she left, he’d inserted a plug in her ass, telling her to keep it in during the day until he picked her up that night. A tiny frisson of excitement skated through her as she sat there with her rectum filled. She knew tonight would be the night he took her there.
The past two weeks had been a wild ride with him. He was a devoted and attentive lover and a demanding but instructive Dom. The more training he gave her, the more she felt herself falling into the embrace of BDSM. They’d moved from the flogger to the crop, the sharper sting even more arousing for her. Sometimes she deliberately misbehaved so he’d give her extra strokes. She could hardly believe a woman of her age was becoming so wanton.
And that was another thing. As much as he told her age was only a state of mind—
her mind—
she still expected him to wake up any morning and tell her it had all been a big mistake. They had been to Peregrine twice more and the scenes there had been so arousing she’d hardly been able to wait until they got home and could play their own games.
One of those nights Jacob and Peregrine had joined the crowd, watching the performances. Amber had managed to steal glances at them, sitting at a table not far away. While they were totally circumspect about it, Amber still saw the way Jacob casually caressed his wife, his hand skating over her body, his mouth at her ear, her jaw, her neck. Their love for each other was as obvious as the blatant sexual chemistry between them.
Was it possible for her to have that with Rio? She realized she’d fallen hopelessly in love with him but did he return that love? Did he mean it when he said age wasn’t a factor? Did he really want her in his life?
Stop obsessing about it.
Some days she had stayed at the ranch until noon and he’d shown her firsthand how the operation ran. She’d watched horses being trained, being exercised. Seen two of his trainers giving lessons to barrel racing and roping competitors. They’d talked about her own career as a graphic designer and what she might want to do with it. In New York she’d worked for a large marketing firm but she had no intention of returning to that city ever again. Besides, she wasn’t sure she wanted the stress of a big company again either.
So here she was, in a quandary. Needing to make a decision and not knowing which way to jump.
“Make up your mind about what?” Molly asked. “It’s not as if you have any kind of deadline, you know.”
“I’ve got to figure out how to get on with my life.”
Molly frowned. “I thought that was what you were doing. With Rio.”
Amber sighed. “I just don’t know. I think it’s working and he says this is special, but I have no idea where he wants to go with it. And I can’t impose on you and Nick forever.”
“First of all, you’re not imposing. That’s stupid. Anyway, we hardly see you.”
Amber gave a little laugh. “Does that make me a good guest or a bad one?”
“It makes you a wonderful friend who’s finally happy and that makes
me
happy.”
“But I have no idea where it’s going and I can’t just hang around waiting for him to give me a clue. I have to decide where I’m going to live. How I’m going to work. Although I really think I want to go out on my own.” She took a swallow of her coffee. “I do web design as well as many other graphics. I can put up my own website, advertise in magazines and build a clientele.”
“Oh, Amber.” Molly reached across the table and squeezed her friend’s hand. “I think that’s a wonderful idea. You could set up shop right here in the Hill Country and we could see each other a lot.”
Amber stared into her cup. “That would be nice. Except…”
“Except what? What’s the hang-up?”
“For one thing you have a husband who certainly wants you to spend time with him. For another, if this thing with Rio goes no place I don’t think I could stay around and see him with other women.”
“Don’t you think you should find out, then?” Molly asked.
“Yeah, right. Just ask him if he plans to make this permanent? Nothing like putting him on the spot.”
“Honey, you can do it subtly. Tell him you’re thinking about future plans. Just drop it into conversation and see what happens.” She studied Amber. “I know you’re in love with him. And I know you’re as much into the lifestyle with him as I am with Nick. If he needs a little nudge then give it to him.”
Amber sighed. “I guess. If he says he doesn’t see us together in the future I might as well find out now.”
“I think you might be pleasantly surprised.”
* * * * *
Amber had dressed with great care for the evening, wearing the red dress she’d worn the first night at Peregrine. She had a brand-new thong since Rio had kept the other one. They’d dined by candlelight on the patio in the soft Texas night. A delicious meal that he confessed with a grin came from his favorite Mexican restaurant. But as always when they were going to play, he served sparkling water instead of wine.
Now they were in his bedroom, both of them naked. He’d kissed every single inch of her body. Then he’d bound her hands and settled her on her knees before him so she could take his cock into her mouth. She loved the feel of its hard thickness on her tongue and filling her mouth, the hot spurts of his semen as it jetted down her throat. He might be the Dom but giving him pleasure made her feel powerful too. She’d finally realized that this was what was D/s was really all about—the exchange of power. And that was why trust was so important.
But she’d deliberately pulled her head away before he released her, knowing she’d incur a punishment. Rio laughed, stroking her chin.
“I think you’re becoming too addicted to the whip and flogger,” he teased. “We might need to move on to something a little more sophisticated.” He swiped his tongue across her lips. “But not tonight. Tonight I think we’ll let the crop do its work. Only let’s have twenty strokes instead of the usual ten.”
Dread and anticipation knotted in her stomach. Could she take that much?
Of course I can. I’ve come to crave it. And he knows it.
She liked it best with the blindfold so he tied it around her head before arranging her on the bed. Tonight he braced the pillows beneath her head and breasts and left her arms bound behind her back. Because this position exposed her even more and he didn’t want to hurt her, he removed the butt plug, drawing it out slowly.
“Perhaps tonight I’ll replace it with something else,” he told her in a husky voice. “But first I must remind you to be an obedient sub at all times.”
As usual he trailed the crop across her raised ass and the backs of her thighs, teasing her with it, sliding it against the exposed lips of her pussy, brushing the handle against her clit. She was shivering with need by the time the first stroke fell, the heat streaking through her cunt lips and thighs and drawing more of her liquid from her body.
She counted silently to ten, then ground her teeth together as he added more. Thirteen, fourteen. She wriggled her ass, pulling away yet wanting more. When he reached twenty she was a seething mass of sweet pain and pleasure and clawing need.
As always Rio caressed her reddened ass and kissed each cheek. Then she felt the cool gel as he applied it to her anus, rubbing it into the tight muscle before sliding his fingers into her hot, dark tunnel. Lately he’d slid the plug in before he fucked her, the feeling of both channels being so filled unbelievably erotic. She was shaking with hunger for him and wished he’d hurry because she wanted him so badly.
But she heard the sound of foil before she felt the intrusion of the plug and the next thing she knew the tip of his penis was pressing against her opening, his hands bracing on her ass cheeks to hold them wide open.
“I told you this night would come,
amada.
I’ve hardly been able to restrain myself waiting for it.”
He rocked against her, easing himself into her rectum. She understood now why he’d had her wear the plug every day for the past several days. His cock was so thick that without it stretching her muscles it would have been painful taking him. As it was she felt a slight burning as he pushed farther into her.
“Take in a deep breath,” he ordered. “Good. Now let it out very slowly.”
As she did he drove into her all the way, the fullness of him sending icy-hot chills through her. If she thought she’d been aroused before it was nothing compared to what she was feeling now.
”Okay?” he asked. “All right?”
“Yes,” she breathed. “More than.”
As if that was his signal, he drew back and thrust into her again and again, increasing his speed until he was pumping hard and fast. One hand reached around to rub her clit while the other gripped her hip.
Oh God oh God oh God!
When they climaxed she felt as if she was splintering into a million parts, whirling in space, buffeted by a storm against which she had no refuge. The storm seemed to toss her forever, until all the million parts of her settled back together. She collapsed on the pillows, totally exhausted and thoroughly replete.
Rio released her wrists, rubbing her arms to relieve them from the strain as he always did. Then he slowly eased from her body and went to dispose of the condom. When he returned, he rolled her to her side, rearranged the pillows and lay down so he could pull her against his body.
“I knew it would be good, Amber,” he told her in a voice that sounded almost humble, “but I never dreamed it would be such an intense experience. I was the first, wasn’t I?”
“Yes,” she mumbled.
“Good. And I’ll be the last.”
She swallowed hard. “And exactly what does that mean, Rio?”
“What does what mean?” He sounded truly puzzled.
“That no one else will ever take me there.”
“It means you belong to me,
cariña.
I thought you realized that.”
“Words,” she told him. “Generalized words. Rio, I have to make plans for the rest of my life. I can’t visit with Molly and Nick forever and spend my nights here. I need to plan for my work. Where I’m going to live. All those things.”
Abruptly he turned her to face him and the anger in his face shocked her. “I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about. In my mind I already had you moving in here. With me.”
“But y-you never said anything. I mean—”
“Amber, Amber, Amber. How could you not know how I feel? I was trying to give you time to adjust to it. Not rushing you into something permanent you might not be ready for.”
She wriggled one hand between them to brush at the tear rolling down one cheek. “I didn’t know… I wasn’t sure…”
“I love you, Amber McCloud. I want to marry you. I want to be your husband and your Dom and everything else in your life.”
For the first time since she and Molly had talked that morning, Amber felt the tension ease from her body.
“I love you too, Rio.”
“It happened so fast I wanted you to be sure. But I know what’s in my heart.”
“Me too,” she whispered. “And you don’t think the age thing—”
“There is no age thing,” he said firmly. “You are a woman with the blessing of maturity and the sparkle of youth. You are everything I want. So I’ll ask you again. Will you marry me? Will you be my sub and my wife?”
“Yes,” she cried happily and threw her arms around his neck.
“And if you ever doubt us again I’ll have to punish you properly.”
“Then perhaps,” she teased, “I might need to express my doubts on a regular basis.”
He laughed, a lusty sound, just before his mouth took hers in a scorching kiss.