Hardline Read Free

I insisted.  
       “You may listen, but you don’t obey worth a damn. Playtime is over. You need to learn, and tonight I’m going to teach you.”  
       I fought the fear that coiled in my gut. Fear of the unknown. “I’m sorry.”  
       “That’s a good start. Get on the table.”  
       I hesitated a second and then quickly lifted myself onto the edge. He shook his head and scooted me back.  
       “In the middle. Hurry up.”  
       I lifted my eyebrows, but rather than question him, I shimmied to the middle. As I did, he circled the table and retrieved the rope from my path.  
       “Lie down.”  
       I obeyed, and he caught my wrist, extending my arm to reach the corner of the table. With shocking speed and dexterity, he bound my arms to the legs of the table. As he moved to my ankles, I pulled against the rope, testing its security. No give.  
       He bound one leg, and then the other, until I was spread eagle on the table.  
       “That’s better.” He gave my calf a small squeeze.  
        My skin heated all the way to my cheeks as the extent of my vulnerability sank in. I wanted to tell him this was too much. The words were on the edge of my lips, but I was already wet and needy for him, for whatever he was cooking up in that devious mind of his. Adding to my growing unease, Blake moved away until he was out of my range of vision.  
       “Where are you going?” I tried to hide the anxiety in my voice.
       “Don’t worry. I’m not leaving. Not when you’re spread out for me like a fucking banquet.”
       I heard ice hitting the inside of a glass and then the quiet guzzle of it being filled. He returned and stood before me, bringing the glass to his lips, obscuring the ghost of a grin on his beautiful face. Something in his expression promised I was in for a slow torture. The need that pulsed through me doubled. I was entirely at his mercy now.
       Seconds that felt like minutes passed. My breasts heaved in time to my breathing, which ticked up as I waited. For what? I had no idea, but the possibilities thrilled me.  
       He lifted the glass once more, drained its contents, and dropped the tumbler loudly onto the table between my legs. He dipped his hand into the glass, and the clink of the ice was followed by the silent shock of the cold on my skin. He traced a slow wet path down the inside of my leg, along the sensitive skin of my inner thigh. I shivered, tensing, as he traveled over my hips to my belly. The cube melted slowly at my navel while he reached for another.  
       He rounded the table, coming to my side. With the next cube, he circled my nipples, lingering on each. On the brink of pain, I suppressed my protest. I couldn’t risk more punishment if it delayed him being inside me. He lowered his lips, replacing the numbing cool of the ice with the wet heat of his mouth. His teeth clipped the hardened points while a cool hand found its mark between my thighs.  
       He hummed, sliding easily through my folds, teasing my clit. “You like when I tie you up, baby?”
       I licked my dry lips, nodding quickly. Did I? I wasn’t sure. All I really knew was that I didn’t want him to stop. I didn’t want to say anything to keep him from giving me the pleasure that only he could. He kept me right on the edge, a state so heightened and helpless that it bordered on unbearable. I tugged against the restraints, the rope biting into my skin.  
       “Stop fighting, Erica.”
       He straightened, depriving me of his touch and his closeness.  
       “I thought you were in a hurry,” I complained, trying to get a grip on the desire that burned through me a little more fiercely with each passing minute. Goddamn him and this rope.
       He grinned. “I was, but the thought of punishing you tempered that sense of urgency. Now I’m just enjoying myself.”
       I closed my eyes. My chest expanded with a deep breath, and I willed myself to relax. As I