Shackled (3 page)

“I can smell your juices and see them glistening on the lips of your cunt, thanks to your having shaved yourself. When was the last time you had sex, sweetheart?”

“I…it’s been years. I don’t know how many. But it’s been years.”

“I thought your husband had only been gone for six months,” he said.

“That’s right.”

“He didn’t take care of you, then.”

Bethany knew she should feel a little loyalty to the man she’d been married to for more than a quarter of a century. But here, now, she’d been stripped of more than just her clothes. She’d been stripped of pretense, of political correctness, of everything false. She’d been stripped of everything but her inner self.

It felt as if everything she’d shed had only served to
free
her inner self. Before she could think about that too closely, she remembered the man in front of her was waiting for her answer. So she gave him the absolute truth.

“Never. He never took care of me.”

“I know. Did you understand the answer I gave you, as to why Master Jordan knew what you wanted?”

“No. I really don’t understand anything at the moment. I should feel shyness, or embarrassment, standing here naked when I don’t even know who you are, can’t even see your face. And I do, a little. But mostly I feel—” Bethany didn’t know if she could really put into words how she felt.

Apparently this man didn’t need to hear those words.

“I understand, sweetheart. Your honesty has earned you the same in kind. Master Jordan knew, as I have always known. Some in this life are Dominants, my sweet. Either by natural inclination, or through the circumstances of their lives, they come to understand their personalities demand they exercise control and gain control. Control not only of themselves but those who entrust themselves into their hands. And others, Bethany, were meant to be submissives. One thing about Doms is they can almost always recognize a sub when they meet one.”

“I’ve always been in control,” Bethany said. The words wouldn’t be held back. “Every decision, every crisis, fell to me. If the water heater broke, if the kids skipped school, if the car broke down and there was no money until pay day. I’ve always been the one who had to do it all, keep it all together. Alone.”

“Yes, baby, I know.” Was that tenderness in his eyes and his voice? Or pity? God help her, she’d been denied the former for so long she didn’t know if she could tell the two emotions apart.

His next words drew her attention from her thoughts. “Just as I know you’ve been slowly smothering under the weight of that assumed role for years. Smothering because you were acting against your true nature. Sweetheart, you’re a born sub. And now, hopefully, you’re going to be
my
sub.”

A part of Bethany had bristled even as she’d been drawn to the stories, to the concept, to the depictions of the lifestyle she’d only so recently read about. At first, she assumed her attraction to be visceral, tied to the sexual aspects of what she read.

Society had always told her she was a modern woman, in control of her life and her destiny, that she should want, even demand, to be in charge of it. Yet the reality of living that way had been a horrible burden to her. It
had
been a role.

Bethany blinked when the man before her groaned and then drew her down onto his lap. It wasn’t until he used his thumb to brush a tear from her face that she realized she was crying.

“Everything’s going to be all right now, sweetheart. From now on, you’ll wear my shackles and be free.”

Something in the way he smelled, something in the way he held her, stroked a hand down her back, called to a memory. This man was familiar to her, if only she could place…

“Have you figured it out yet? I wanted you committed to me before you did, my sweet Beth. I didn’t want your knowing who I am to get in the way of what we’re about to begin to build together.”

Bethany’s breath caught, and her eyes widened. Only one man had ever called her Beth in that soft, sultry tone. She tried to get off his lap, but he held her fast.

“You know this is what you need, and what you want. What you don’t know is that more than anything,
I
want to be the one to provide these things for you. More than anything,
I
want to be your master.”

“Jonathan.” She hadn’t seen him for more than a year. They used to sit and talk, sipping cold soda or sweet tea in the summer in her backyard, when he’d lived next door to her. Fifteen years separated them in age, yet there was no denying he was a man fully grown.

“Yes, Beth.” He held her, stroking her arm gently. After a few moments, her tension began to ease. “Nothing is going to happen without your consent. That rule and ‘do no harm’ are the two unbreakable tenets I live by. So before we go any further, I have to ask you. Will you let me be your master? I can promise you that no other man will take care of you the way that I will. Say yes, Beth. Say yes, and then I can begin to give you everything you’ve needed for so very long.”

Chapter 3

When she’d left her house earlier, Bethany thought herself ready for whatever the day would bring. Man, had she ever been wrong. The sensation of Jonathan stroking her arm over and over from shoulder to hand calmed her. She’d made the decision to come here, throw herself on Jordan’s mercy, as it were, and trust whomever he chose for her.

She hadn’t expected to have a personal—albeit platonic—history with the man. She’d assumed that it would be a perfect stranger who would take command of her body, who would fuck her.
Oh, God, Jonathan is going to fuck me!

But wasn’t this better? Jordan said there needed to be trust between master and sub in order for the relationship to work. Didn’t she trust Jonathan already? He’d never hurt her. Of that she had absolutely no doubt.

He’d asked her a question and sat patiently waiting for her response. A part of her wanted to grab her clothes and run away in embarrassment.
My God, I’m sitting completely naked on the lap of a much younger man, someone I’ve considered a friend for years!
On the other hand, a sweet hum of arousal vibrated through her body. She couldn’t help but notice the strength of the erection pressed tight against her hip. That sensation, not to mention the visual image of the size of his cock, made her want to stay right where she was.

Now that’s an outright lie.

She wanted to feel that cock surging into her pussy. Oh God, yes, she did! It had been so long since she’d felt aroused, since she’d had sex, she nearly forgot what it felt like to have a man’s body pressing her down into the mattress and his cock thrusting inside her.

Tim wasn’t built anything like Jonathan, so I really have absolutely no idea how it will feel when he fucks me.

The image her words evoked heated her face. She’d never had a thought like that in her life. Desperate to ease her blush, her mind scrambled for something else to grab on to.

Then she realized it was okay to have any damn thought she wanted to have.

She’d honored her marriage vows even when, time and again, her late husband had betrayed them. Perhaps comparing his cock size to Jonathan’s was a tad disloyal, but wasn’t she entitled to a bit of selfishness? Wasn’t she entitled to whatever she wanted to grab for herself at this point in her life?

Yes, she was, even if that wanting didn’t sit comfortably within the norm of social convention from time to time.

Bethany brought her attention back to the present. Here she sat, totally naked, open and exposed. A part of her still wanted to cower and hide away. Instead, she reached for honesty to give to Jonathan. Inhaling shakily, she said, “I’m trying to tamp down my embarrassment. I’m trying very hard to not be nervous. I’m on the verge of losing those battles. But if you really want me, then the answer is yes. Yes, I agree to have you as my master.”

Until Jonathan used his finger to lift her chin, she’d not realized she’d kept her eyes down as she spoke. Now, meeting his gaze, the heat in his eyes seared her.

“Oh, I most definitely
want
you, sweet Beth. Believe it or not, I don’t get hard like this looking at just any naked woman.”

She couldn’t look away from his gaze. When he changed the caress of his fingers on her chin to a gentle grip and brought her face closer to his, she didn’t blink. When she felt the moist heat of his breath on her lips, she wondered for one heartbeat if his kiss would be wooing or demanding. Then she closed her eyes and surrendered to his oral possession.

His lips felt soft and moist as they brushed hers, back and forth, a steady tasting that lured her closer, teased her into relaxing on his lap. She brought her fingers up and caressed the lower part of his face not covered by the cowl.

Jonathan opened his mouth wide and claimed her with a ferocity that thrilled her down to her toes. Hot, wet, and voracious, his lips devoured hers. His tongue conquered, strong and demanding and so damned intimate Bethany melted. Lavish and lush, her body responded to Jonathan’s kiss, a kiss that dripped with decadent intent. His hands caressed her face and neck, and though his fingers wandered no further than that, his touch stirred her as no other had ever done. Bethany wanted everything. She wanted him to take her right then and there. Had she ever needed like this? Had she ever burned like this? She knew the answer even as Jonathan slowed his greedy drinking of her.

She actually whimpered when he pulled back. If he hadn’t flexed his hips just then, pushing his erection even tighter against her hip, she’d have been embarrassed by that sound of need.

“I’d hoped you’d be responsive.” Jonathan gently caressed her bottom lip with his thumb. “You’re more than responsive. You’re fucking
hot
.”

Bethany blinked. It tickled her to have a man as young and obviously virile as Jonathan call her hot. “I’ve never been called that before.”

“I know.”

He brushed the back of his hand against the underside of her breasts. Bethany gasped sharply as the simple stroke puckered both of her nipples into rock-hard buds.

“Yes, you’re
very
responsive. We’re going to take a nice, long time to get to know each other, love. Did you know I bought a house out in the country?”

He continued his light fondling of her flesh, and Bethany had to focus on the conversation. What had he said? Oh, a house in the country. “Um, no, I didn’t. That’s nice.”

Jonathan chuckled. “I’m totally messing with your ability to concentrate, aren’t I?”

“Yes, but please don’t stop.”

“I’m going to have to in a moment. Otherwise, I’ll be laying you on the floor and plunging balls deep into your very hot and fragrant cunt right here and now.”

Bethany couldn’t help but shift her gaze to the floor. She didn’t think it looked all that uncomfortable, carpeted as it was.

“Minx!” Jonathan kissed her, and the flavor of him shot every single thought out of her head.

This time when he pulled back, he put his hands on her shoulders. “Enough! Put your skirt and blouse back on, honey. Can you wear the pumps without the stockings?”

“My skirt and…what about my underwear?”

“I don’t want you wearing any underwear whatsoever. They’d just be in my way. We have a bit of a drive before we get to where we’re going, and I’m going to want to play with you along the way. Did you leave your car in the lot across the street?”

Bethany wondered if she’d found some Alice-type rabbit hole and tumbled into it, unawares. Her body continued to hum with arousal, and the floor still looked pretty damn good as far as she was concerned. But her mind seemed to be stuck on one point, and one point only. “You want me to get dressed? Without my underwear?”

Jonathan smiled. He used his finger to trace a gentle trail across her lips, then down her neck to the valley—or as she’d come to think of it lately, the wide, flat,
barren
mesa—between her breasts.

“Do I
want
you to get dressed? Hell, no. I’d prefer to tuck you into my car stark naked and drive off with you that way. However, that act, as hedonistically satisfying as it would be, might get us both arrested. So you’ll have to get dressed just enough to be decent for the drive to my house. Now, about your car?”

He lifted her off his lap and left his hands on her waist, squeezing gently. He kept them there, and she realized he was waiting for her to stand on her own two feet.

Bethany could see his cock continued to press tightly against the leather of his pants. Everything she knew about men told her that meant he was at least as horny as she was. She lifted her gaze and encountered his smile. He’d asked about her car, and here she was ogling him as if she were thinking of trying him on for size.