Hardpressed Read Free Page B

was surprised instead to feel his hand slide up my back. His fingers deftly unhooked my bra and I heard the garment land a few feet away. Bare-chested and chilled by the cool room, I was acutely aware of my present vulnerability.
    “Lie down and don't make me repeat myself again.”
    I released the breath I'd been holding, suddenly weakened by the command and the edge in his voice. Arguing with his simple but forceful request was a distant thought, quickly overwhelmed by the desire to have him take control of my body for as long as he saw fit.
    I obeyed and lay down on my back, resting my palms on the textured fabric of the blanket, cool against the heat that prickled beneath my flesh. He unbuttoned my jeans and tugged them down my hips, stopping just short of my pubic bone.
    He trailed hot open-mouthed kisses along my belly that had me breathless for more. I arched into his touch as he caressed the juts of my hipbones with his thumbs.
    “I love this part of you,” he murmured. “One of many. Your body… Erica, you’re so fucking sexy.”
    “Touch me.”
    “I plan to, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Stop squirming.”
    “You're torturing me,” I whimpered.
    He laughed quietly. “Not nearly.”
    With that he left me, creating an unwelcome distance between us. The room chilled again. Where was he and what was he doing? I shivered at the first drop of liquid sliding into my navel. He drizzled a trail up my chest, circling my nipples, each beading under the sensation.
    “Do you like strawberries?”
    I smiled at the hint. “Yes.”
    “Good. I'm going to feed you one.”
    The fresh aroma of strawberries mingled with the chocolate as he rested a piece of fruit on my lower lip. I opened my mouth, but Blake kept it just out of reach. I arched to grasp it until he finally let me sink my teeth into it. I chewed and swallowed, savoring the flavor and the new experience of combining my obsession with Blake with my love of food. Strange, but I couldn't argue with having too much of a good thing, or many good things, in this case.
    He pressed an unexpected kiss to my throat, nibbling my flesh. He traveled down my collarbone and passed between my breasts. His tongue slowed and circled one peak after the next. He sucked and licked slow velvety strokes all over my torso, spreading his attentions to any remote expanse of skin. I gasped at the sensation of his tongue taunting and taking its sweet time to lick my flesh clean. Once he had, he slid a hand into my jeans and cupped my sex over my now soaked panties.
    “I'm going to fuck you now, Erica. Do you want that?”
    His breath over the wet flesh of my nipple gave me gooseflesh, my skin electric from all the ways he'd tantalized it.
    I moaned a loud affirmative, my hands nearly numb from gripping the blanket with restraint. Ready to burst, I released them and found his hair, fisting the silky strands that slid between my fingers as I held his mouth tight to my breast. He nipped me gently and I yelped.
    He took me by the wrists and replaced them above my head. “Stay still.”
    The bag crinkled again, and then he bound my wrists with some kind of silky fabric and tightened the knot, leaving no question about my ability to wriggle free from it.
    He stripped me from the waist down and I heard his clothes drop to the floor at my feet before his body covered mine.
    I twisted my wrists, a pointless effort since I had no way of breaking free on my own. As I did, my heartbeat ratcheted to a rapid rate, panic seeping in. He'd done this before, left me helpless, unable to touch him or move. Those bonds had been a little easier to negotiate, but these didn't budge. I couldn't see him now. I was helpless and in the dark. A cold fear crept in, replacing Blake with a nightmare, the darkest memory.
    “Blake.” My voice was uneven, tainted with the uneasiness that grew. I wasn’t sure if I could do this.
    His hand rested over my heart, my chest rising rapidly with the breathing I could no