A Touch of Winter (A Short Story) Read Free Page A

evaporated, leaving despair. Abbie turned her face away, afraid of what he might see in her eyes. She wasn’t going to let him know how much he had hurt her.
    'Hey…' With his free hand, Jack stroked her face and she bit down hard on her lip. I will not cry .
    His thumb brushed along her cheekbone, collecting the single tear that had managed to escape. 'Oh, Abbie, Abbie, don’t.' Holding her jaw firmly, he turned her head. Abbie scrunched her eyes shut determined not to look at him. 'Why do you do this to yourself?'
    Her eyes flew open. 'What do you mean?'
    'You could have walked into the playroom. You could have let me know that you were there. Instead you ran away. You always run away.'
    She shook her head. There is nothing she could say.
    'Why are you always ready to believe the worst? I haven’t looked at another woman since I met you, but the bottom line is that you don’t trust me.'
     
    * * *
     
    Jack stared down at her in frustration. He was torn between wanting to spank her, smother her with kisses, and howl. Fuck, this time she hadn’t even waited for them to have an argument to run away.
    No more. He had plans for the two of them, and they didn’t include chasing after Abbie every time she was unhappy about something. It was difficult enough trying to sustain a relationship while they lived in different states. If their relationship was to survive, she had to learn to open up to him.
    And he knew just how to make her talk.
    'Jack, what are you up to? That’s an evil smile.' Abbie sounded worried. Good, she was right to be.
    He allowed his smile to widen. 'It occurs to me that our problem is you don’t talk to me. So you are going to talk, and I’m going to listen.'
    She tightened her lips and made a 'humph' sound as she glared at him in silent dignity. It would have been more effective if she hadn’t been stretched out on the couch, dressed in one of Kit’s t-shirts which was stretched to the limit over her beautifully curved breasts.
    He looked around the room quickly, seeing if he could find anything useful. Those curtain ties might work. He pulled one loose, and before Abbie could get up, and used it to tie her wrists together. She wiggled like a silverfish, and contorted herself into interesting shapes trying to pull loose, but he wasn’t letting her get away. When he had finished, her arms were stretched above her head, she was panting and sweating and cursing him in language she had never learned at her country club. And her Tee had ridden up, allowing him a glimpse of soft pale skin.
    ‘You are a goddamn asshole,' she said. The venom in her voice was real. 'You mess around with other women, and then think you can break in here and tie me up. Well, I’m finished with you and your stupid kinky games.'
    'And yet you didn’t use your safe word,' he said mildly.
    Her eyes flared. 'Red! Red! Fucking red! Now let me up.'
    He made a point of standing back, so that he wasn’t touching her at any point. 'In one minute. We’re playing a new game tonight. Your safe word is "Stop". Think you can remember that?' Her glare was his answer, and he continued before she could interrupt. 'But if you use it, not only does everything stop, but I’m gone. We’re finished, and you’ll never see me again.'
    She recoiled. He had been gambling, but it had paid off. She didn’t want him to walk.
    'So what are you going to do, asshole?' she sneered. 'Beat me? You don’t have your tool kit with you.'
    Jack’s tool kit, the bag containing his crops, canes, paddles and flails, was a joke between them. And it was in his house in Hollywood. 'Don’t worry, I’ll improvise.'
    He could tell she was determined to wiggle free as soon as he turned his back, and the slippery cord of the tiebacks would come loose with a bit of determined effort, so he twisted her panties around her ankles and looped the other cord around them, and tied it to the foot of the couch. 'Stay there until I come back,' he said, enjoying her glare