The Clever Fox: Part Two (The Pleasure Hound Series) Read Free Page B

Her eyes looked around the room, hungry. They touched on the blank canvases, the paint, the pencils. The rig.
    Adom wasn’t beaming, not yet. He knew his mate. That wasn’t the end of his statement on this arrangement. There would be a condition, and Adom suspected that neither he nor Alyss would like it.
    “If she is to sit for you,” Emet continued. “I insist on being in the room.”
    That caught Alyss’ attention. She turned back to him. “You didn’t say that before.”
    “I’m saying it now.”
    “But why?”
    Emet’s eyes went to Adom. Emet wasn’t about to tell Lady Alyss why. Emet and Adom never spoke of the reason Adom kept his distance from women.
    “I’m not only his mate, I’m his advocate. If he displeased you, you could take your complaint to the Peace Keepers, and he’d be thrown in jail.”
    Adom looked away from the memories playing across Emet’s brown gaze, memories of Adom at the mercy of a panicked young woman and her shrewd Mother.
    “I would never do such a thing,” Alyss insisted. “I would never do anything to hurt Adom or his work.”
    “Yet, tomorrow afternoon you’ll be fighting to end one of his basic rights.”
    Alyss ground her teeth.
    Emet closed the door and took a seat beside the door frame. He made a motion to Adom to proceed. Lady Alyss turned her back on Emet, shutting him out of her vision. Anger still crinkled the edges of her eyes and pinched her heart-shaped mouth. She took a deep breath and released it. When she opened her eyes, the golden-brown was already churning bright.
    “How do you want me?” she said to Adom.
    With one final look of gratitude at Emet, Adom turned to his muse. He looked her up and down. There were so many ideas and visions vying for his attention.
    Her dress today was a movement of orange, black and white. It fluttered around her like a bird, or a butterfly. Her body sat in the center as though she were a flower, a lotus. The lotus blossom was a sexual image; a representation of a woman’s sacred flower. Adom had a vision of Lady Alyss awakening in the petals of a blossom.
    He pulled a chair before his easel. “Will you have a seat, my lady?”
    Alyss sent a disappointed glance towards the rig before trudging to the proffered seat.
    Adom’s mouth quirked. He knew he hadn’t imagined that she wanted the bindings. That look just then was proof positive. He sent his smile over his shoulder, but Adom was met with a frown from his bondmate. But Emet refused to acknowledge the unspoken message.
    Adom sighed and put his back to his lover. He knelt down before Lady Alyss. Her breath caught when their gazes met. Adom sat back on his haunches placing his face in alignment with her core. He held her gaze for a moment, searching her depths, trying to see how far he could take her today. He saw a clear path to the destination he wanted in her golden eyes, but he reached for her foot instead.
    He undid the ties on her boot, frowning at the lack of symmetry between the laces. He slid the boot free and positioned her leg on the outside of the chair leg. Then he did the same with the other boot, foot, and leg. When he was done, Lady Alyss sat spread eagle in the chair. Her dress obstructed his view of her blossom, but Adom was a patient man. When he made love to Emet, and in the past the women under his tutelage, orgasm was only a destination. Adom most enjoyed the journey and the explorations of the path. He liked to venture both high and low, taking his companion along for a long ride.
    Adom rose and went to his rope collection. He selected a hemp rope. The material was a bit coarser than the one he’d used on Lady Alyss the previous night. He wanted her to feel the bite today.
    Adom returned to Lady Alyss. Standing over top of her from behind the chair, he looked down and saw her breasts heaving in pants. She was both excited and aroused. She sucked in a shuddery breath when Adom gathered her forearms behind her back.
    He draped her arms over the