Imperial Topaz

A Total-E-Bound Publication

www.total-e-bound.com

Imperial Topaz ISBN # 978-1-907010-77-4 ©Copyright Kim Dare 2009 Cover Art by Lyn Taylor ©Copyright August 2009 Edited by Christine Riley Total-E-Bound Publishing This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-E-Bound Publishing. Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution. The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork. Published in 2009 by Total-E-Bound Publishing 1 The Corner, Faldingworth Road, Spridlington, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, LN8 2DE, UK.

Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has been rated Total-e-burning.

Collared

IMPERIAL TOPAZ Kim Dare

Dedication To everyone who has ever made a stupid decision, and to all those who’ve stepped in to make sure that decision didn’t come back to bite them where it hurts.

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Chapter One

“If you’re too prissy for a bit of kink—” “I didn’t say that,” Lucy Prichard cut in. Shane Collins tapped two tickets to the Labyrinth on the coffee house table. “Do you want to go with me or not?” Resting a tray of empty coffee mugs on her hip, Lucy hesitated. She had no doubt that Shane was a truly objectionable little man. He always looked her straight in the cleavage and left his empty mug on the far side of the table so she had to lean over him to reach it, but at the same time… “It’s the most exclusive kink party there is.” Lucy didn’t need Shane to remind her of that. She’d spent so long daydreaming about the club, sometimes it was hard for her to remember she’d never actually set foot in the place. She carefully weighed her options. In some ways, her complete lack of attraction to Shane made him the perfect companion for her first foray into a kinky club. She could go there with him, safely sure she wouldn’t submit her way into anything regrettable. And, well, if Shane did desert her half way through the night, that wouldn’t be so bad either. Lucy was sure she wouldn’t object to doing a little bit of exploring on her own, once she was safely inside the building and had a chance to get her bearings. If she had any sense, she knew she should pick the safe choice. Because, if she went there with a different man... She nibbled on her bottom lip, nervous energy spiralling inside her at the thought. If she went to somewhere like the Labyrinth with her nameless, faceless fantasy man, anything could happen. If she went with the man she thought of whenever the guy screwing her was the only one having fun, Lucy knew she just might do anything and damn the consequences. She looked Shane over one more time and made her decision. “I don’t have first date sex.”

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“What?” Shane’s eyes narrowed. He actually lifted his gaze from her breasts for a few brief moments and looked her in the eye. “If I accept your invitation to the Labyrinth, I’m not having sex with you. I’ll only go there with you as a friend,” Lucy explained. No matter how much she wanted the ticket, she wasn’t going to tease her way into the club with a false promise, and she certainly wasn’t going to screw her way into the club. “Fine,” Shane huffed. “Meet me outside the club at ten o’clock.” “No problem. If you’ll pass me your mug…” He thumped the empty coffee mug down near the edge of the table. “Get me another one. Don’t stint on the sugar this time—last one you gave me was bitter as shit.” Shane turned to his laptop as if that was all it took to write her out of existence. Lucy cleared her throat. “Is there a dress code?” Shane didn’t even bother to look up. “Short, tight, leather.” Lucy shifted the tray on her hip. As much as she hated to admit it, she didn’t really know what information she should try to extract from Shane. All she knew was it felt as if she should ask a lot more questions before stepping into the unknown with him. “Is there anything else I need to know?” she asked, when she realised she could stand there all day before Shane chose to volunteer anything else. “No. Stop asking stupid questions, some of us have important work to do.” Lucy resisted her instant temptation toward sarcasm and pretended the customer was always right. Turning away from Shane, she glanced at the surrounding tables. She breathed out a quiet sigh of relief. No-one staredat her. No-one had overheard their conversation. The only customer sitting close by was Garrett Quinn. He appeared completely absorbed in his laptop, his fingers bouncing off the keys at a furious pace. On the way past his table, Lucy noticed his empty cup. “Same again?” Garrett looked up from the screen and handed her his cup. “Yes, thank you, Lucy.” A frown marred the usually smooth expanse of his forehead. Lucy somehow resisted the urge to lean over and kiss it away.

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He smiled up at her like he could read her mind, like he knew exactly how hard she always found it not to reach out and touch him. Familiar heat raced to her cheeks. Lucy quickly retreated as calmly as she could to the counter and filled their orders. Damn! She had to learn how not to blush around him. Okay, so he was handsome. In the words of another waitress at the coffee house, Garrett Quinn was knicker-droppingly handsome—which was apparently the same as jaw-droppingly handsome but far more fun. The dark hair, broad shoulders and lopsided smile were all very nice. But deep down Lucy knew that wasn’t what held her enthralled. Garrett Quinn looked like someone who didn’t play by the rules. Or, even more interestingly, he looked like a man who set the rules and then expected his lovers to obey them. Lucy stared at the coffee machine and faced a fact she’d been avoiding for weeks. It had been a long time since the fantasy man pushing her towards her orgasm was nameless or faceless. Garrett Quinn owned that space inside her head and he’d done so from the first day he walked into the coffee shop. If it was Garrett who had tickets to the Labyrinth then… Lucy shook her head. She would have to be stupid to go there with him. It would be too tempting to pretend the night was a fantasy without consequences. It would be too tempting to melt into his arms, kneel at his feet and fall onto her back the moment he clicked his fingers. Shane was the safe sensible option. Repeating that information over and over again inside her head didn’t actually make her feel any better about her prudent decision. Garrett’s frown still lingered when she returned to his table. “Everything okay?” she asked. Garrett took a sip of the scalding coffee. “Perfect. Thank you.” It seemed that the less time she spent making a fool of herself around him the better. Lucy forced herself to walk away instead of pushing for more information. It was a quiet time of day in the shop. Lucy had plenty of time to stand behind the counter and customer watch. Garrett picked up his mobile phone. Whoever he spoke to, it seemed to ease whatever was bothering him. He smiled to himself as he hung up. Probably talking to his girlfriend, Lucy guessed with a sigh as she turned her attention elsewhere. Two tables along, Shane swore at his laptop. A few moments after Garrett hung up, Shane’s annoying little ring tone filled the air.

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Lucy could make out his tone of voice across the room—calm and respectful.. He had to be talking to some important client then. Lucy knew damn well he spoke to everyone else as if they were dirt.. Beneath the table his foot tapped on the tiles, his knuckles turned white around the phone. Hanging up, Shane slammed his mobile down on the wooden surface. The table rocked, his mug went flying, showering hot coffee over Shane’s papers and his lap. Lucy grabbed a cloth and hurried across to him. “Are you okay?” “What does it look like?” he snapped. Lucy rolled her eyes and began to mop up the coffee from the table, leaving Shane to take care of his own trousers. “Forget about Saturday.” Lucy looked up. “Pardon?” “The date’s off. I have to work on Saturday.” “Oh…” Shane stormed off towards the gents’ toilets. On the way past Garrett’s table he snarled something to the other man. Lucy couldn’t quite make out what he said, but Shane certainly didn’t sound happy. Garrett didn’t appear overly concerned with that fact. He smiled quietly to himself as Shane scurried off to the bathroom. After weeks of watching them, Lucy still couldn’t understand the dynamic between the two men. They obviously knew each other well, but they were far from friendly. Still for some reason they both chose to do most of their work on their laptops in the same coffee shop. Whenever she came in for her shift they were always there, except that one day she’d switched shifts with another waitress at the last moment. Lucy pushed the matter aside as the lunch hour coffee drinkers flooded in, all of them in a rush and demanding to be served that instant.

**** By closing time, Lucy was very ready to go home. As she nudged lingering customers out, Garrett remained at his table engrossed in his laptop. Standing by the shop door, she

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looked across at him and wondered if she should ask him to leave right then, or if she should just enjoy looking at him for a little while first Garrett glanced up. Lucy quickly turned her face away and pretended she hadn’t been staring at him. “I’m half-way through a download and I don’t want to lose the connection. Do you mind if I stay here while you close up?” Lucy turned her back on him to hide another sudden urge to blush. She flipped over the closed sign. “No problem.” The shop was unnaturally quiet after the noise and bustle in there all day.. Lucy closed her eyes and tried to focus on reality, but it was impossible to do that when one of her favourite fantasies started with exactly the same scenario. She closed her eyes, half way through wiping down the counter top. An early closing. A silent room. The assumption no-one else was there. A noise behind her. A shocked gasp. Strong hands spinning her around. The hard edge of the counter against her spine. Her back arching painfully as he pinned her down. Her heart racing. Her breaths coming in pants. “Submit.” Always just that one word. Always followed by one answering nod from her. Garrett’s tie wrapped securely around her wrists. Her sensible waitress’s uniform torn away, ripped at the seams and flung into every corner of the room. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he thrust into her. Adrenaline pounding through her veins. And through it all, the complete security of knowing there were no decisions left to make. She was his and— Garrett’s chair squeaked on the tiles. Lucy spun around. “Just stretching my legs. I’ve been tied to this contraption all day,” he said, waving a hand toward his laptop. Lucy sighed and cursed herself for an idiot while he strolled around the room. “Bad day?” he asked. “Some bad days spread around the room quickly,” she admitted. Shane’s temper hadn’t improved after the phone call. “You noticed Shane throw his rattle out of his pram?” Garrett asked in mock surprise.

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Lucy smiled. “He has to work Saturday night.” “That’s your fault?” Garrett leaned against the wall nearby watching her wipe down a table. He didn’t crowd her the way a lot of the men who came into the coffee shop did, but she really wished he would. She wondered if his body was as strong and muscular as it looked hidden behind office clothes. She wondered what his hands would really feel like if he wrapped them around her wrists and refused to let her go. She wondered what he would say if he knew she thought about him every time she masturbated. Lucy cleared her throat. “Shane was just venting. We had plans for Saturday night so I was a convenient target.” She moved automatically to the next table. Garrett strolled along beside her. “You’re dating Shane?” Lucy quickly shook her head. “We were just going to go somewhere as friends.” “Anywhere special?” Lucy blushed. Talking about a kinky party with Shane was easy. Talking about it with her walking, talking fantasy was a different matter. She tried to think of something to say, but ended up staring at the table in silence. “This Saturday?” Garrett appeared to work out a mental calendar. “The Labyrinth is this Saturday.” “You know about that?” Lucy blurted out. “Yes, I’ve got tickets.” He took two out of his shirt pocket. “But it’s not somewhere a man takes a woman he only wants to be friends with.” “Shane said it would just be fun—nothing serious.” “It’s a lot of fun. But not with a man you can’t trust, Lucy. Not with Shane.” She looked from him to the tickets and couldn’t stop the next question leaving her mouth. “Who are you taking?” “I haven’t decided if I’m going yet.” “It’s the event of the year,” she whispered, her eyes fixing on the tickets. “I know.” His tone of voice made it sound like he didn’t just know it existed, it made it sound as if he knew everything there was to know and more. “How much did Shane tell you?”

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Turning her attention to the cloth in her hands so he wouldn’t see any increased tendency to blush, Lucy moved on to the next table. “It’s for people who…live an alternative lifestyle.” “The catch all phrase is BDSM. Bondage and Discipline. Dominance and Submission. Sadism and Masochism. Do you live that lifestyle, Lucy?” She hesitated again. “I was just curious.” “Was?” he prompted. “Am, I suppose,” she admitted softly. Garrett sat down at the table she’d just left. “Come here, Lucy.” She hesitated, but the sudden change in his tone of voice made her want to do as he said, if only to see what would happen next. She walked across the few feet of tiled floor that separated them and stood in front of him. Every bit of her longed for him to reach out and pull her close. She swayed slightly towards him. “Kneel.” Lucy straightened up. “What?” “Kneel down, right where you are.” Lucy forced a chuckle. “Garrett, this isn’t funny.” “I’m not laughing,” he said. “You’d be expected to do far more than this if you went to the Labyrinth. Kneel down, Lucy.” All her common sense told her to walk away, but she’d been living by common sense for the last twenty five years. It hadn’t done her much good as far as she could see. If she couldn’t have the Labyrinth, she could at least have a taste of it. Lucy gave in to her curiosity. She knelt down on the cold tiles and sat back on her heels as nerves made her stomach clench and her throat go dry. “Do you know what it means to be someone’s guest at the Labyrinth?” Garrett asked her. She shook her head. “Tickets are only ever provided to dominants. When you accept the ticket you accept the dominance of the man who offers it to you.” Lucy lifted a hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Don’t fidget.”

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Frowning, Lucy hesitated, but eventually dropped her hand, leaving the blonde curl resting against her cheek. “Shane said—” “Shane never found the truth necessary when it was inconvenient,” Garrett cut in. He reached out and tucked the lock of hair behind her ear for her. “What would have happened?” she asked. “You would have had to submit to him.” His hand lingered on her neck, stroking the sensitive skin by her ear. “At the very least, you’d have to accept his collar, and with it his control and his rules, and his consequences if you broke those rules. And if you didn’t know well enough to negotiate limits before hand, Shane would demand far more than your submission from you before the end of the night. This isn’t a world to walk into with a man you can’t trust, Lucy.” His caressing fingers made it so hard to think clearly. “What if I went with… with someone other than Shane?” she whispered. “If you went with someone who would look after you,” Garrett specified, “it would certainly be a good way to satisfy any curiosity about the lifestyle you’re so fascinated with.” “I’m just curious,” she corrected. “Curious enough to accept an invitation from Shane? He doesn’t keep his hands off you while you work. Do you imagine he’d take you there all for a good night kiss?” Lucy looked down. The curl of hair slipped from its place again. Garrett took his hand away from her neck for a moment to tuck it back behind her ear for a second time. “It’s the same as any other date. I’m not stupid. I can look after myself,” she said, not entirely certain if she was trying to convince him or herself. He shook his head. “On another date, perhaps you could,” he allowed. “On any other date you’d sit at a table as an equal. It is far more difficult to make yourself heard when you’re kneeling at a man’s feet—unless he’s willing to sharpen his hearing for you.” Giving up on the curl of hair when it escaped from its proper place again, Garrett undid the clip holding the rest of her hair back and let it all fall in curls around her shoulders. Lucy folded, her hands in her lap, resisting the urge to lift a hand and straighten out her hair. “You make kink sound… wrong,” she observed. Garrett laughed and wound a lock of her hair around his finger. “I am not quite that hypocritical.”

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She couldn’t meet his eye, she couldn’t ask. “Yes,” he said simply. Her eyes flashed up to his and he held her gaze. “I find submission in my partner very beautiful and extremely erotic. But I don’t enjoy seeing someone taken advantage of. By all means, explore the leather side of the world, Lucy. As long as you pick the right man to lead you into it first.” She nodded. It felt dangerously easy to agree with everything he said. His tone of voice crept inside her head and told her she only ever had to agree with him and everything would be okay. “Do you trust me?” he asked. She gazed up at him. “Trust you?” Garrett waited. He let go of her hair and folded his hands loosely together, resting his elbows on his knees. Lucy looked down for a moment. When she looked back up, she met his eyes and forced herself not to look away again. “Yes,” she said softly. It was only as she said it, she realised it was the truth. A moment after that, she realised she was an idiot. She didn’t know Garrett any better than she knew Shane. She had no reason to believe he would act differently to Shane if they went out together. He ran a fingertip down her cheek and teased her bottom lip with his thumb, nodding just once. “I’ll take you to the Labyrinth.” “I…” Lucy said. She blinked at him, trying to clear her mind and be sensible. She knew there was no way she could say no to the idea then. She knew she wasn’t strong enough to resist that sort of temptation, but she tried her best to take what precautions she could. “You said… about negotiations and…” Garrett stood up. He touched her cheek again, tilting her head back to study her face as he loomed above her. “You’re a good girl for remembering. I’ll put a collar on you.” He traced a line around her neck. Lucy held back a gasp as her skin flared to life around her throat.

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“You won’t get into the club without my mark on you. And while we are there you will follow my instructions. I’ll be responsible for your welfare so I need some control over you.” “I don’t have first date sex,” Lucy blurted out. He smiled. “Tonight you’ll think about your limits. Tomorrow you’ll tell me what they are and I’ll respect them.” She looked down. Garrett didn’t sound the least bit disappointed that the night wouldn’t end with their bodies wrapped around each other, with leather wrapped around her wrist and— He tilted her face back again, cutting into the fantasy she mourned for.. “Do you really think I give that guarantee because it will be easy for me?” Lucy’s tongue flickered out, moistening her suddenly dry lips. “I don’t know.” “Allowing you to kneel at my feet, knowing I might not have your permission to taste your lips or feel your body writhe for me will be torture,” he told her. “Then why?” she whispered. “Perhaps there is a touch of the masochist in me,” he said. Leaning down he whispered in her ear, “or perhaps I can’t resist having you, Lucy, no matter what the limitations.” She nodded, more to his tone of voice than his words. The soft sounds crept into her spine, sending tingles through her body. She swallowed, trying to work some moisture into her throat. “Eight o’clock,” he told her. Lucy nodded again. “I’ll meet—” “No, I’ll pick you up.” She gave him her address and the directions. A few minutes later Garrett closed down his laptop left Lucy to get back to her feet, to finish closing the shop and most importantly of all, to work out what the hell just happened.

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Chapter Two

When Lucy had seen the dress in the shop window she’d known it was perfect. Opening her front door to Garrett Quinn, she wished just a fraction of that confidence remained. Black jeans, a fitted white t-shirt and a leather jacket replaced the shirts and suits he usually wore to the coffee shop. The change did little to help Lucy forget the image of him standing over her while she knelt at his feet. Even though she’d changed her comfortable flats for high heels, Garrett still loomed over her, somehow appearing taller than his six foot frame. She flashed a worried glance up at him. “Hello.” The calm, clear word in her head morphed into something far less sure of itself as it passed through her mouth. It emerged as a barely audible whisper. He brushed her hair back behind her shoulder. “You look amazing,” he reassured her with a smile. “But you’ll put your hair up before we leave.” Lucy touched her carefully styled hair. “Up? But in the shop…” Garrett caught her fingers and held them. “I told you I’d put a collar on you.” His eyes met hers and Lucy saw his pleasure at the prospect. She nodded. “I want everyone to see it,” he told her. Her pulse leapt at the idea of being marked as his—even for one night. She wanted people to see it too. “I’ll…” Lucy waved a hand toward the stairs. “Go ahead.” Garrett followed her up the narrow flight, across the landing and into her bedroom. Leaning against the wall behind her, he patiently watched her put her hair up. Her hands trembled so much, it took her three attempts to pin all the curls on top of her head. Seeing his admiring gaze in the mirror settled her nerves a fraction. At least he liked the dress. It was short, leather and practically backless. Only the thin halter strap at her neck and the short flair of the skirt, barely covering her knickers, was visible from behind. The

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dress looked like it could slip in any direction at any moment. It wouldn’t. She’d checked. The cut made it cling tight to her curves no matter how much she wriggled. Eventually she had to stop fidgeting with her hair and turn back to Garrett. He stepped forward and trailed his fingers around her neck, examining the line where the collar would lie. “Perfect,” he said softly. The compliment soothed her nerves even further. “Do all the guests really have to wear a collar?” she asked softly. “Collars are ownership and protection. A submissive without a collar is something of a stray pup, and strays are not always well treated.” His fingers continued to trace the collar line along her throat. Lucy swallowed, his fingers shifted against her wind-pipe. “A stray pup?” she echoed. Garrett smiled. “Would you prefer to be called a stray pet, or perhaps a stray submissive?” “Neither sounds very erotic,” she observed, fidgeting at the hem of her skirt with her fingertips. “A human pet is very erotic,” Garrett corrected. “Faithful, playful, affectionate, obedient and wonderfully submissive. There’s only one reason you don’t want that in a lover, Lucy.” “There is?” she asked. Garrett touched her cheek with the back of his knuckles. “You don’t want a pet because you’re searching for a master—someone to look after you, control you and give you what you need. You don’t see why anyone would want a pet because you want the exact opposite.” Lucy bit her lip. It sounded so logical when he said it like that. And for all the kinky implications, it somehow sounded… nice. Garrett’s words wrapped around her like a warm blanket, balancing out the leather. But this wasn’t a fantasy, she reminded herself. Even if he was right and she was searching for a master, she knew there was no guarantee she’d like what she found. “If I change my mind, if I don’t like it, we can leave?” she checked. “Do you know what a safe word is?” She nodded. “It means stop.”

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“If you say your safe word we’ll leave. Your safe word is Topaz.” She considered possible significances, but couldn’t find one. “Why that word?” Garrett took a wooden box out of his jacket pocket and placed it on the corner of Lucy’s dressing table. Undoing the catch, he flicked open the lid. Lucy stepped forward. “The collar.” The bare word didn’t do it justice. The basic structure was, as Lucy supposed, a wide strip of black leather. But, it was no dog’s collar. At each end was a gold clasp. One clasp had a tiny gold padlock attached to it. Gold chains criss-crossed the leather. Warm yellow gemstones hung at intervals along the tempting surface. “I thought topaz were blue,” she blurted out. “Most are dyed. The best natural stones are yellow, the colour of rich whiskey.” He tilted her face back. Cupping her cheek in his palm he held her still for his inspection. “I thought so.” “What?” “A perfect colour match. Your eyes are hazel, with flecks of imperial topaz.” He sounded very pleased with the discovery. “It’s a good line,” Lucy allowed. She was used to lines—there was something about waitresses that made men flirt and try their luck at every opportunity. She turned her gaze away, afraid what other, more intimate, things he might see in her eyes. Her skin tingled from his touch. It took more effort than it should need to break eye contact with him. “It’s an accurate line,” Garrett said. There was no anger in his voice, but a firm note of correction hung on every word. “My family are all jewellers. I might spend most of my time running the administration side of the business, but I know my gemstones. You mentioned your birthday was November—that also makes it your birthstone.” Lucy reached out toward the box, not to take, just to touch. Just to feel the leather under her fingers. He caught her hand before her fingertips reached the box. In an instant, she realised she should have asked for permission. He kept her hand in his, softening the silent criticism of her manners. “It’s beautiful,” she offered.

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Garrett said nothing but Lucy felt him studying her. She didn’t want to raise her eyes until it was safe to do so without meeting his eyes. She stared at the collar instead. It really was beautiful. The rich warmth in the stones called to her, but even more than the shine and the sparkle, she wanted the mark. She wanted the possession wrapped close around her neck so she could feel it move against her skin with each breath. She wanted it so much, she had no idea how to ask for it. “Ready?” Relieved of the burden of words, Lucy nodded. He picked the collar up with one hand and touched her lips with the other. “You have to say one word first.” She opened her lips to speak, guessing what plea he wanted to hear, but he pressed his finger against her lips. “Tell me your safe word.” That wasn’t her guess. Looking at the sparkling stones, she said, “Topaz.” The word was the safety and the request all rolled into one, and as she said it, she felt the mood in her bedroom change. Garrett deftly secured the leather and gold around her neck. She lifted her hand to touch the collar. At the last moment she remembered his earlier correction and stopped herself short.. She caught his eye, still not sure how to word such a request. He nodded his permission without making her ask for it. As her fingers caressed the leather and metal, she tried to imagine how it looked against her skin. After a full minute, Garrett turned her around to face the mirror. She blushed, but not at the sight of the collar. She hadn’t thought to turn away from him and look in the mirror herself. It never occurred to her to turn her back on the man who collared her. Lucy pushed the thought away. She was just being silly. It was a strip of leather and sparkle. It didn’t mean anything. Nothing had changed. Garrett was still the same man she saw in the coffee shop almost every day. Even so, the collar reflected in the mirror was more beautiful than she ever imagined anything could be.. Glancing past her reflection, she met Garrett’s eyes in the mirror. He

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looked pleased too.. After another moment spent considering the reflection, he stepped behind her. He wasn’t so close their bodies touched, but he stood more than close enough to tempt her to lean back and feel his body against hers. One of his hands steadied her at the waist, keeping an inch of air between them. His other hand joined Lucy’s at her throat to examine the collar. He slid two fingers under the leather, checking the fit the same way he’d check a puppy’s collar, ensuring it was tight enough to control but not tight enough to choke. She licked her dry lips and pushed the comparison away. Garrett took something out of his pocket. “A dog’s lead? Is that really necessary?” It certainly wasn’t part of her fantasy. Lucy frowned down at it, wondering if he was winding her up. “The Labyrinth is very disorientating. I don’t want you wandering off by accident,” he told her. She looked sceptically at the length of leather. “May I?” He handed her the lead. Lucy ran it through her fingers. It was made from buttery soft leather just like the collar.. A matching topaz stone even decorated the loop of leather forming a handle. And, just like the collar, it made her pulse beat a little quicker and her lungs draw a little more air into her body. Her eyes were drawn back to his reflection in the mirror. He watched her perfectly calmly. She handed the lead back to him. “Did you ever doubt I would accept it?” “No..” “I did.” An hour before he arrived at her house she would have called anyone who said she’d let a man lead her around on a collar and lead a fool. Even though she couldn’t bring herself to refuse the bondage, she was still half sure they’d have picked the right label for her. “Did you also doubt the lead was non-negotiable?” he asked. Lucy shook her head. No, she knew from the first moment he presented it to her that she would either wear it, or she could stay home while Garrett went to the Labyrinth by himself.

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“I wouldn’t wander off,” she told him, as he clipped the lead onto her collar. As instinctively as she liked the physical connection to Garrett, she hated the distrust it implied, she hated thinking he believed her to be so fickle in her partners that she would leave one for another in the middle of a date. “Not intentionally,” he allowed. That was something, she supposed. He didn’t think she was a slut, just that she was silly enough to get lost in a crowd. He gave her the handle to the lead. “You can keep hold of this until we get there.” Lucy took it. If nothing else it gave her something to fidget with, she ran the leather through her fingers until she came to the topaz on the handle. “The stones are beautiful.” “It’s convenient that you like them,” Garrett said. Convenient. She gave a half smile at the word, knowing he would have had her wear them anyway. At least he didn’t try to deny that. Reaching into his pocket, he took out several other strips of black leather, each with the same topaz details. Lucy didn’t bother to protest. She admired the cuffs as Garrett fixed them around her wrists and ankles—decorating every extremity with his mark. The leather stroked against her skin, making her incredibly aware of every inch of her body, those parts covered in leather and bare to the elements just the same. “Nervous?” he asked, attaching the last cuff to her ankle. “No,” she lied. “I’m just wondering what else you have in your pockets..” He stood and chuckled. “Nothing. The only thing I still need to give you is a submissive name.” “Can’t you just call me Lucy?” She ran the leather lead through her fingers again, trying desperately to release some of her nervous energy. “No,” he said simply, without any apology in his voice or manner. “Unless you separate this part of your personality you’ll never commit to it.” She shook her head but Garrett placed a finger against her lips. “I’m stating a fact. There are many things Lucy would never do. This other name will have freedom to act without worrying about anyone’s perception of Lucy.”

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She didn’t want such dangerous freedom, but she knew the moment he said it that this was non-negotiable too. Any protest on her part would be useless. “What will you call me?” she asked when his finger left her lips. He considered her for a long time, making her keep her gaze up and look into his eyes in return. “I’d call you Topaz, if it wasn’t your safe word. Your eyes really are the most amazing colour. Imperial topaz… Imperial…? No, something shorter. Imp.” Garrett nodded and smiled down at her. “Yes, that suits you very nicely. Imp.” “Imp,” she repeated, thinking it could have been a lot worse. “And what do I call you?” “Quinn.” “You don’t want me to call you sir?” Lucy mentally cringed, wishing she’d hidden her disappointment more successfully. “No. I don’t need someone to pat me on the head and tell me I’m dominant. I know I am. My surname will do nicely. You’ll call me Quinn while you wear the collar.” He waited. “Yes, Quinn.” “Good girl. Now, did you do what I said last night?” “Think about my limits? I meant what I said about not having sex,” she said, with far more certainty than she actually felt. “What else?” he pushed. She hadn’t really thought any further than that. Her fantasies had never involved limits and negotiations. In her head, everything just happened seamlessly and perfectly without her laying down any rules. “I don’t know.” “No. You’ll have to do better than that.” Garrett stepped in close to her. “I want to know, specifically, how far you are willing to go to satisfy your curiosity.” Lucy swallowed, knowing she would do anything he said right then. “A kiss?” he asked. He bowed his head and almost let their lips touch. He pulled back at the last moment. She whimpered her frustration. “A touch?” His hand traced the air an inch away from her side.

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She swayed towards his hand, but he compensated for every movement she made. They never actually touched. “A taste?” His mouth hovered over hers again. “Yes,” she whispered. “Specifics,” he reminded her. “Kiss, touch, taste, yes,” she managed to repeat back to him. “I can touch you however I want? Taste you wherever I want?” “Yes.” “You don’t mean that, Imp.” His voice hardened. “Think.” “I don’t know what you want me to say.” “You’d be happy, bound, naked, gagged, and powerless in a club full of strangers?” Lucy shook her head. In a fantasy, yes, in reality... she shook her head again, too scared to go for what she really wanted. “Then set your limits.” “My clothes.” “What about them?” “All my clothes stay just as they are now.” “And what else?” he demanded. “You.” Garrett raised an eyebrow. “Whatever I do, I want it to be with you,” Lucy said. “That will do for a starting point,” he allowed. His lips still lingered an inch above hers. Her task accomplished, and sure her last limit found a great deal of favour with him, Lucy waited for the kiss. Garrett stepped away. “We’re leaving.” “What? But…” She saw his half-smile and realised he had no intention of allowing her anything right then. “I’ll… get my bag.” “You don’t need it.” “My purse, my ID, my keys, my makeup,” she listed. “I’ll carry your keys, leave the rest.”

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Lucy looked at her handbag, resting on her dressing table. It seemed incredibly important to take it with her, although right then she had no idea why. “Anything else?” he prompted. With one last regretful look at her handbag, she shook her head. She took out her keys and handed them to Garrett. “Good girl.” He led the way downstairs. At the front door he took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. “I have a coat.” She pointed to the space under the stairs where several hung waiting for her. “You’ll be warm enough,” he said briskly, and opened the door. He let her walk out ahead of him and locked her front door behind them. Lucy watched his every move, wondering just exactly when he’d taken over the situation so thoroughly. More to the point, she wondered when she’d started to like that. Lucy knew she would never have let any other date tell her how her hair was to be styled, what she could take with her or what she could wear. Garrett tested the door after he locked it, checking it was secure. That was it, Lucy realised. It didn’t feel like he told her what to do because he was a man and she was a woman and he thought that gave him the right to tell her what to do. It felt like he took control of everything because she belonged to him. It felt like he was looking after her. She bit her lip, and continued to watch him carefully as he turned to his car. He only wore just a short sleeved t-shirt now. It clung to his skin hinting at the muscles beneath. He had to be cold without his jacket, but he didn’t make any mention of it. The jacket was still warm from his body. Lucy wrapped it more tightly around her shoulders. It smelt wonderfully of old beaten down leather and Garrett’s aftershave. Her dress, for all the fantastic cut, still felt too new. It still retained the slightly starched feel of new leather that hadn’t been worn in. Slipping into Garrett’s car and closing the door behind her, Lucy looked down at his jacket.. Creases softened the elbows. They were in the wrong place for her—the whole jacket was too big—but it felt good, just like the collar felt perfect and the lead felt right.

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Fiddling with the cuffs, Lucy was half tempted to inspect the jacket for some discreet sparkle of topaz and see if that was the common denominator. Imperial topaz, she corrected. Her name and her safe word. She smiled slightly at the idea as a companionable atmosphere settled over them. Lucy didn’t try to start a conversation. To break that silence would be rude. It would be dominant. She tensed in her seat, wondering when she’d decided she wasn’t worth being listened to, wondering when she started needing anyone’s permission to speak.. This wasn’t part of her fantasy at all. Shifting uncomfortably, she tugged at the seatbelt and the lead. Suddenly everything protecting her restricted her. She knew was being silly. Nothing was actually wrong. She glanced across at Garrett. He hadn’t told her not to speak. There was no rule for her to break. It was only her own sense of what was appropriate which kept her silent. A longer drive would have given her time to think. But moments later the car pulled in to a parking space under the club.. Lucy stared at the crowd outside the Labyrinth. Her oh-so-daring new dress made her look like a nun dressed for a blizzard. There were women out there wearing nothing more than body paint. Some wore an obscenely small amount of paint in locations that did nothing to protect their modesty. “Take your belt off, but stay in the car,” Garrett said. He got out of the car and walked around to her side. He opened the door and smiled down at her.. Taking the lead from her, he helped her out of the low slung seat. “Come on, Imp. Let’s see if this place lives up to your expectations.”

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Chapter Three

A press of bodies surrounded them the moment they stepped into the club. Latex-clad dominatrixes checking in their coats, leather-hooded submissives crawling underfoot and dozens of aroused naked people trying to find their bearings all crowded in against Lucy. Her head swam with the scents of perfumes, aphrodisiacs and pheromones. She instinctively turned to Garrett. A careless elbow from a towering drag queen swirled her around. She reached out for him, but he was gone. Panic shot through her. Lucy closed her eyes and grappled for control of her overloaded senses. She couldn’t move. If she moved the crowd could carry her anywhere and she would never find her way back to Garrett again. She stood frozen, still and silent, amid the jostling noise. Someone grabbed her shoulder. Lucy’s eyes flashed open. Garrett stood right there in front of her. Turning his back on the current of pushing, shoving people he held her close, shielding her from crowd. She instinctively held onto him, gripping his t-shirt tight in both her fists. He pulled her lead taught, not harshly, but firmly enough to emphasise the physical connection between them. “I’m right here, Imp.” He leaned in close so only she could hear his quiet reassurances. “I’ve got you. You can’t lose me.” Lucy forced a deep breath into her lungs. She offered him an embarrassed smile. Her pulse still raced, but Lucy felt some of his calm leach into her. There was nothing wrong. She was perfectly safe. Releasing her grip on his t-shirt, she smoothed out the creased fabric. When he decided she was calm enough to move, Garrett led her towards a quiet corner near a bar that hadn’t started serving that early in the evening. He picked her up and sat her on a high bar stool. With her eyes level with his, it was much harder to avoid his gaze. “You don’t like crowds?” he asked, tucking a knuckle under her chin to keep her face up.

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Up on the high stool she felt safe amid the turmoil, with the thinner crush of people and Garrett standing between her and everyone else, she realised how silly and childish she was for making a fuss in the first place. Lucy silently cursed herself. She’d barely set foot in the club and she’d already made an idiot of herself. “I didn’t like crowds when I was little,” she admitted. In the back of her mind a worrying little thought formed. She had to tell Garrett the truth. He couldn’t look after her if she hid things from him. That little thought scared her far more than any crowd ever could. Lucy pulled herself back under her own control. “I grew out of it.” Garrett stroked her neck along the collar. “You didn’t grow out of anything, Imp, you learnt to hide it. I bet you never want anyone to see you scared.” “There’s nothing for anyone to see. I don’t get scared…” She closed her eyes. “I don’t need you to look after me.” He tapped the collar. “When you wear this you do. Isn’t that part of the appeal? Permission not to be superwoman for a while?” Lucy shifted uncomfortably on her high perch. “I… I’m just going to find the ladies room,” she muttered, trying to slip down from the stool. Garrett stood directly in front of her, blocking her exit. “No.” She gave a mental eye roll. “Please, may I have permission to visit the bathroom, Quinn?” “No.” Demanding a polite request was one thing, but—“You won’t give me permission to go to the toilet?” “Not when you just want privacy to put all your barriers back up.” “I wasn’t…” Garrett raised an eyebrow. “I don’t like lies.” Lucy gritted her teeth and thought about denying the accusation. She doubted he would believe her if she did. She nodded, just once, reluctantly acknowledging his minor victory over her.. “That’s better, Imp.” Garrett touched her cheek. He seemed genuinely pleased with her.

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She tried not to like that idea quite as much as she did. After a few quiet moments he spoke again. “Ready to explore?” She nodded, grateful to be spared any gloating. The whole club swarmed with people, but it was nothing like the crushing bottle neck at the entrance. Lucy still kept close to Garrett’s side as they made a slow circuit through the club. Although several people waved greetings to Garrett, no one paid any particular attention to them. If anyone saw a flashing light above her head declaring she didn’t know what she was doing, they were polite enough not to mention it. She began to relax. The Labyrinth. The name suited the place. It was more a bazaar than a club that night. There were several bars and dance-floors dotted around, but the rest of the space was given over to booths and bolt holes. Every little space was topped by a banner declaring its kink. Key-holders, foot-fetishists, corsetieres, cross-dressers, male-submissives, switches, spanking, binding, and a thousand other signs Lucy couldn’t pronounce or even comprehend. Every fantasy or foible had a home there somewhere, and attached to each and every one of them were public play rooms where people demonstrated their skills or tried their hand at something new. Others areas seemed to exist for no other reason than to give people a place to enjoy watching or being watched as the mood took them. A sudden crack and a gasp came from Lucy’s left. She craned her neck, standing on tiptoe, trying to see where it had come from. She heard a moan of obvious pleasure, but she couldn’t see over the shoulders of people standing in front of her to see what was going on. Lucy stepped closer. She stopped short with a jerk as she ran out of lead. Turning back she saw Garrett had stopped walking in the other direction and now stood still, watching her with obvious amusement. So much for her promise not to wander off… She bit her lip. She’d promised to accept consequences along with control and she wasn’t going to go back on that now.. Hiding her nerves, Lucy met his eyes, determined not to show any fear at the punishment she guessed she had coming. He slid his fingers under the collar, inspecting the skin beneath. “No harm done. But if you tell me when you want to go somewhere, it will save your neck a lot of trouble.” Lucy nodded, relief rushing though her. “Yes, Quinn.”

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“Come on, let’s go and see who’s having so much fun.” He secured a place for them at the front of the small crowd. Lucy swallowed rapidly when she saw what the crowd was watching. A woman lay face down on a padded table. No restraints held her in place, but each hand and foot touched a corner of the table leaving her spread, vulnerable and naked except her collar. On her left, a fully dressed man held a whip. Every so often he raised his arm and flicked his wrist, sending a curl of leather flashing through the air to strike her back. Crack. Lucy caught her breath. The whip flickered through the air again. The woman arched into the contact. Harsh red lines spread one after another across her skin. Lucy couldn’t look away from the woman’s expression. Her lips were parted, her eyes were closed, but it wasn’t a particular feature that held her so enthralled. No one who looked at the woman on the table could doubt she was entirely in the moment, giving everything she possessed to the experience. “What are you thinking, Imp?” “Beautiful,” Lucy whispered. She swayed forward. Garrett’s arm slid around her waist, pulling her back against his body. His erection pressed against her. Reassured to know she wasn’t the only one enjoying the show that much, she tried to relax. It was impossible. Adrenaline poured into her bloodstream making her tingle all over. Garrett’s proximity did nothing to help her with that. She’d been right when she imagined how it would feel to be held tight against his body. Lucy leaned back against him and watched the show unfold in front of them. Eventually, the man holding the whip set it to one side and helped the woman off the table. He brushed their lips together and whispered something to her. His hands ran down his submissive’s back and over the welts left by the whip. The woman murmured her pleasure at each touch, leaning into her lovers embrace and trusting him to support her body. She was so perfect. Lucy couldn’t help but make comparisons. She put her hand up to touch her collar. “Too tight, Imp?”

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Garrett turned her to face him. Lucy shook her head, it felt good. She trailed her fingers over the comforting presence around her neck again. “It suits you.” “Do I suit it?” Lucy asked. She had a horrible suspicion that while it was a fantastic idea to play with inside her head, she would never be able to take that woman’s place in real life. “Could I really do that?” “Let’s find out.” “What?” Her stomach clenched at the prospect, even as an extra shot of adrenaline pushed a burst of pleasure through her veins. Garrett held out a hand and waited patiently until she mustered her courage. When the other couple walked away, he led her to the table both by her hand and by her lead. He exchanged a quiet word with a man standing by the table. Lucy noticed a tag on his shirt marking him out as a play room attendant. She didn’t catch the words that passed between them. She had more important concerns. “Quinn?” she whispered when the man walked away. Garrett adjusted the metal fixings on one end of the table. “Yes, Imp?” “Please don’t be mad, but I don’t think I can do this.” It wasn’t what she wanted to say. The words in her head were stronger, a simple explanation she’d changed her mind, that this wasn’t part of the fantasy she wanted to explore that night. He leaned a hip against the table. A soft pull on her lead brought her close to him.. “It doesn’t work like that, Imp.” Lucy dropped her gaze. She understood. She said she’d do anything when they were back at her house. But now they were here and... Garrett made her look back up. His expression was so serious. “I wouldn’t be mad at you for not wanting something.” “I do want it,” she corrected, “I just…” He stroked her cheek. “You’re just nervous.” “She was so… What if I freak out? I’m a complete wimp with pain and...” She looked over her shoulder, acutely conscious of the crowd watching them. Garrett smiled. “And you think I’m planning a replica of their scene?” Lucy shifted uncomfortably. “What else?”

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“Something suitable for a first experience,” he suggested. “A taster to help you work out if you’d like to try more in the future.” “No pain?” she asked. “A strong sensation, but not a particularly painful one.” Lucy hesitated, rocking back and forth on her heels. “If I was really submissive, I’d let you do whatever you wanted without all this fuss, wouldn’t I?” “If you mindlessly agreed with everything I said, I wouldn’t be interested.” She frowned. She’d come this far with Garrett, he could hardly think it was necessary for him to start lying about his preferences then. “I want a woman who enjoys submission,” he told her, “but for all that, I still want a woman who would have my balls on a platter if I took advantage of her submission or ignored her safe word. Now, tell me the truth, Imp, do you want to try this or not?” Lucy took a deep breath. She couldn’t back away now, Garrett might forgive her, but she doubted she would ever forgive herself. She nodded. He finished making adjustments to the table and helped Lucy onto it. She lay down on her stomach, doing her best to make sure her short skirt stayed down over her knickers in the process. He guided her into the exact position he wanted, placing her hands together at the top and her feet together at the bottom on the table. Lucy calmed down a fraction. Garrett didn’t expect her to be the woman who laid spread there so recently. He walked around her. Lucy heard a metallic clink. When she tried to move her feet, she couldn’t. She tried to turn and look over her shoulder. Garrett put his palm flat on the small of her back, where the dipping line of the dress exposed her skin. “Stay there, Imp.” “I…” “They’ll just help you stay still.” He came around to face her. Putting her hands back where he’d placed them earlier, Garrett clipped the wrist cuffs to the table. Lucy realised her ankle cuffs held her down in exactly the same way. The pretty bits of leather and gemstones morphed into something a great deal more practical and suddenly she was helpless. She closed her eyes. The important thing was not to panic. “Look at me, Imp.” She cautiously did so.

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“You don’t need to move to stop me. You just say your safe word. Understand?” Lucy nodded. “You can test the bonds if you want to. The leather’s soft—you can’t hurt yourself.” Moving her limbs, Lucy felt the leather move around her wrists. He was right. The bonds couldn’t hurt her, there would be no marks around her wrists to explain away the next day. The attendant returned and handed something to Garrett. “I’m going to use this.” Garrett showed her a length of black leather. “All you need to do is trust me. Can you do that?” She glanced from the whip to him and back again. Looking more closely she saw it wasn’t one piece of leather, but dozens of tiny leather strands tied together like a tassel. Lucy nodded. “Yes, Quinn.” The first touch to her back knotted every muscle in her body. Sheepishly realising it was only Garrett’s hand stroking her skin, she relaxed. The leather came before she had time to tense again. She gasped, instinctively pulling away. The chains rattled. Lucy looked over her shoulder, trying to see Garrett. “Deep breath, Imp. Tell me how it feels.” Lucy took the breath. A broad line across her back felt warm. It tingled under his fingertips as he traced the line the leather had drawn across her skin. “It feels…good,” she hazarded. “More?” “Please.” She had to feel the leather again. Lucy felt a spark inside her burn brighter, felt the promise of the flame it could become if Garrett was willing to let the leather caress her skin again. A second later all the little leather strips flicked against her. She arched into the warm touch. By the fourth stroke Lucy wriggled in her restraints, trying to get more of the leather, more of the whip, more of everything. She whimpered, pulling at the leather cuffs, unable to stay still. The soft swish of leather through the air drowned out the murmur of voices in the crowd. Lucy moaned. From

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the halter strap to where the dress clung to the top curve of her buttocks, her skin sung out with an unfamiliar sensation, neither true pain nor conventional pleasure. The leather caressed her again and again until only that sensation existed. Heat spread through her body. Her nipples pebbled. Her slit turned slick with moisture. It was too much and too little. Lucy closed her eyes, whimpering, scrambling for a peak she couldn’t quite reach. Nothing. Lucy gasped for breath, struggled to look around. “Quinn?” “Hush, Imp, I’m right here.” He tucked a curl of hair behind her ear. His hand settled on the back of her neck, just resting there and keeping a connection between them. “You stopped,” she gasped. “Yes.” “Why would you do that?” she demanded. “I didn’t say the word. I didn’t ask you to stop.” Garrett pulled a stool out from under the whipping bench and sat down. “That’s enough.” Lucy shook her head. “No, it’s not. I want more… I…” “That’s enough, Imp.” His tone hardened, though his hand stayed gentle, against her neck. “But…” “Enough,” he repeated. She dropped her head, resting it against the table, trying to draw regular breaths but not able to. “Tell me how you feel.” “I’m fine,” she said automatically. “Remember what I said about lies?” “I… I don’t know how I feel.” Garrett petted her hair back from her face. “That’s better.” She heard the muffled sound of footsteps. It wasn’t Garrett leaving.. She could still feel his hand on her hair. “What? Who?”

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“Hush, it’s just a waiter bringing a drink.” He rested a glass of water on the table near her head. Lucy’s mouth was dry. She looked at the drink and licked her lips. “I want to sit up.” “No, rest for a moment. I’ll let you up soon enough. You haven’t answered my question. How do you feel?” “I told you, I don’t know.” “And that’s why I’m giving you time to think about it.” He took a sip of his drink and put it back on the table within her line of sight. “Sore?” he asked, caressing her back with the tips of his fingers. No, it didn’t feel sore—Lucy barely resisted the urge to purr like a kitten for him. “It feels good,” she said. “Hot.” His hand slid down lower across her backside and then down one leg, to trace up the inside of her thigh. “Are you hot everywhere, Imp?” Lucy clamped her legs together, but only succeeded in trapping his hand between them. “Answer me, Imp. Did the whipping make you hot and wet for me?” Blushing, Lucy nodded. “Yes, Quinn.” She relaxed her legs. He’d only have to move his hand a few inches further up to find out the truth for himself. “Good girl.” He moved his hand. Lucy spread her legs as far as she could against the bonds, but his hand didn’t venture higher. She whimpered her frustration against the padded table. Her clit throbbed, aching for just the mildest touch to tip her over the edge. “I…” “Hush, I’m going to cool off your back. Then I’ll let you up.” He took a piece of ice from his glass of water. Lucy jumped at the first touch, and moaned her pleasure at the second. So good. So perfect after the heat from the whip. He trailed the small cube over her flushed skin. At first she thought it was a random pattern, and then she realised. Garrett Quinn. He was signing his name in heat and ice.

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Chapter Four

Lucy rolled her shoulders. They protested against their sudden freedom of movement after the comparative stillness of bondage. A delicious ache swept through her body with each movement. She rolled her shoulders again, savouring the feeling. “Worth a few sore muscles?” Garrett asked. She nodded. He helped her off the whipping bench and guided her to a quiet bar. Sitting in one of the big leather arm chairs surrounding a low coffee table, he placed a cushion from one of the other chairs at his feet. Lucy sank down without waiting for an order. Her head still spun. Every brush of cool air across her back made her skin prickle as if it was taking static electricity straight out of the atmosphere. Right then Lucy didn’t care where she sat, as long as she could sit before she fell. “Thirsty, Imp?” She nodded. Her fingers trembled with the aftershocks of the whipping as she reached for the glass of water. Garrett shook his head and kept hold of it. He offered it up to her lips himself. Swallowing down reservations regarding co-ordination, Lucy parted her lips. A trickle of icy liquid dribbled into her mouth. Lucy tilted her head back, eager for more. Garrett smiled down at her, carefully adjusting the angle of the glass so it didn’t spill. “Garrett!” Lucy jerked her head to the side. Water ran down her chin and wound a frozen path down her neck. Blushing, she wiped the moisture from her skin with her fingertips. “I thought you were working tonight,” Garrett said, coldly. Shane Collins took the seat on Garrett’s left. “My client cancelled at the last minute. Duncan Oliver—he’s a friend of yours, right?” He turned to Lucy. “Did Garrett tell you he couldn’t win you in a fair fight?” “Win me?” She looked back to Garrett.

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“You thought we both staked out your place because we liked your coffee?” Shane sneered. “We were just competing to see who got the first fuck out of you.” Lucy looked down, but Garrett made her look back up at him. “This is all some sort of competition?” she asked. Both men answered her. Only Garrett denied it. Lucy’s mind whirled. She tried to focus on the details of that day in the coffee house but she couldn’t make her mind work. Lucy looked around the group of men and women that arrived with Shane. Desperate for space and time to think, Lucy tried to rise. Garrett tightened his hold on the lead, keeping her on her knees. “Do you trust me?” Lucy met his eyes. “I won’t be treated like a game.” He raised an eyebrow. “Is that how I treat you?” Lucy looked down. She tried to think, but the time for thoughts seemed to be long over. All she knew was how she felt when she was with Garrett. “I’m waiting,” he pushed. “No, Quinn, you’ve never made me feel like a game,” she whispered. “But I know something happened in the coffee house the day you invited me here. Shane’s telling the truth about that?” “I called in a favour and made sure he had to cancel your date. If you came here with him you’d have been hurt. That’s not acceptable.” There wasn’t even a hint of apology in his voice. “You could have just said…” Garrett’s expression softened. He stroked her cheek. “Said what? Shane’s an idiot, you should go with me instead? You’ve got more style than to dump one man for another, Imp.” “And I had a lucky escape,” Shane said, sneering down at Lucy. “You obviously don’t know what you’re doing.” She was about to protest when Garrett caught her eye and shook his head, telling her not to waste her energy bothering about anything Shane said to her. Shane snapped his fingers to the woman kneeling at his feet. “Show her how a real submissive greets her master’s friends.” The woman crawled across and put her hand on Garrett’s thigh. She slid her hand up to the bulge at his crotch.

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Lucy grabbed the woman’s wrist and snatched it away from him before she could think about the wisdom of her actions. Shane laughed. “If you want to keep him to yourself, let him sample a few of your holes. That’s what submissives are for, after all.” Garrett put his hand on Lucy’s shoulder, but he spoke to Shane’s date. “Thank you, Amanda, but no.” Lucy let go of the woman’s wrist. “You know her?” “The local scene isn’t that big. I know almost everyone who plays in the clubs around here.” “Hasn’t he got anything worth sucking on?” Shane asked when Amanda crawled back to his side. Shane undid his fly and pushed his trousers down. Lucy looked from Garrett to Shane and back again. She put her hand on Garrett’s leg, just as Amanda had. “No, Imp.” “You would have preferred her?” Garrett chuckled. “Yes, I desperately want a blow-job from Amanda. That’s why I said no when she offered me one.. Have a little faith, Imp.” “You don’t want me either,” she observed. “You are not going down on me just because Shane told you to.” The statement left no room for argument. “You could tell me to,” she offered. “I could tell you to do a lot of things outside your limits.” “Oral isn’t real sex.” Lucy took a deep breath. “And anyway, why do you think I blushed every time I walked past your table in the coffee house? I kept imagining myself on my knees underneath it. You wouldn’t be telling me to do anything I don’t want to do. Let me?” Garrett stared into her eyes for a long time, as if he was trying to judge her honesty as well as her enthusiasm for the idea.. Finally he nodded his permission. Lucy smiled. Freeing his hard shaft from his jeans, she found he was going commando underneath. When he lifted his hips to let her tug the material out of the way, Garrett slipped a hand into his back pocket and offered her a condom.

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“No, I want to taste you.” He nodded and offered no objection. A muffled exclamation came from their left. Lucy looked over her shoulder. Amanda’s head bobbed rapidly over Shane’s erection. Everyone around the coffee table seemed to have the same idea. Lucy nibbled at her lip. “Exhibitionism isn’t for everyone,” Garrett said, turning her back to face him. “I want this,” she told him, entirely honestly. Lucy doubted she had the same depth of experience as the other women around the table, but in an evening of kinky new experiences, fellatio was a reassuringly familiar activity. At least it was something she’d done before. She quickly wrapped her lips around the tip of Garrett’s shaft. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Amanda. The woman obviously had more experience with dominant men than Lucy did. Amanda pushed her mouth further down around Shane’s erection. Lucy bobbed her head, taking a little more of Garrett’s shaft into her mouth, echoing the other woman’s rhythm. She couldn’t see what Amanda’s tongue did, but she guessed and tried to replicate it. Garrett touched her cheek. “You’re not a mirror, Imp. Don’t reflect what other people do. You look at me, no-one else.” He smoothed her hair as he said it, softening the criticism. Lucy nodded and maintained eye contact with Garrett for several long minutes.. When she swirled her tongue around the head of his cock, teasing the foreskin over and over again, Garrett’s eyes dropped closed for a moment. Lucy sneaked a glance to her left. Amanda took the full length of Shane’s cock, deep-throating him to his very vocal pleasure. Lucy adjusted her angle, prepared to push forward and to take Garrett’s cock into the tight cocoon of her throat. “No.” he pulled on the lead, jerking her away from his erection. She coughed, more from the shock than from the impact against her wind-pipe. She lifted her hand to her throat. “Why?” “If you can’t do as you’re told, I don’t want your mouth. I’ll just have your tongue instead.” “But…”

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“Submission is about taking pleasure in pleasing another person. It’s not about showing off for an audience.” “But they’re watching us and…” Lucy looked down, trailing off as she realised not only that she wasn’t going to win the argument, but that she wasn’t sure she’d want to win it if she could. She certainly wouldn’t want Garrett thinking about anyone else. Whimpers and moans filled the air. Everyone but Garrett sounded like they were enjoying themselves. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I…” “Forget about them. Just your lips and your tongue,” he said. Lucy nodded. She brushed her mouth over the head. Pre-cum coated her bottom lip. She licked it away and lapped at his cock, collecting more of the taste. Closing her eyes she pushed all thought of other people away. This is what Garrett wanted. That was the important thing. She slid her tongue against the velvety soft skin up and down the length of the shaft. Right then what Garrett wanted was the only thing. It made the world beautifully simple. He touched her cheek. She hesitantly raised her gaze. He smiled. “That’s right, Imp. Let me see you.” Lucy held his gaze. She trailed soft, slow kisses down the length of his shaft and traced the dark vein up along the underside with her tongue. Working her way down and then back up again, she kissed the head, barely resisting the urge to take him into her mouth. She looked up at him and watched Garrett watch her. His eyes never left her face. Every time she looked up he was completely focused, staring into her eyes. In that moment, Lucy could believe she was his whole world and she could have stayed happily kneeling at his feet forever. Pre-cum leaked steadily from the tip, hot and salty on her tongue. Lucy murmured her appreciation, letting him feel the vibration of her lips when she swallowed it down. She licked her way lower, pressed a kiss to the top of his tight sacs. She caressed them with her lips, flicking her tongue out to tease the lightly furred skin. Mouthing him, she sucked gently at his testicles, almost taking them into her mouth in turn but resisting the temptation to do so without permission.

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Behind her, Shane’s groans escalated. Lucy imagined his hand tightening in Amanda’s hair, his hips thrusting rapidly into her mouth. She didn’t dare turn around to see if her guesses were right. Garrett still held her gaze. One after another she heard the other men around the coffee table reach their noisy climaxes. Lucy whimpered her frustration against Garrett’s shaft. Even as she tried to block out the sounds, they went straight to her clit, making her even wetter. Finally, after everyone else fell silent, Garrett nodded. She took him into her mouth as quickly and as deeply as she could. Fast and frantic, Lucy bobbed her head. Taking him right into her throat, she worked his shaft with her lips and her tongue until his hips bucked. “Look at me, Imp. Let me watch you swallow me down.” Garrett thrust into her mouth again. He dropped his hand from her hair, letting her ride out his jerky movements as his semen spread over her tongue and slid down her throat. As he softened, Lucy let him slip from her lips, but she stayed there, her breaths gasping against his shaft until he moved and tucked himself away. She licked the last taste of him off her swollen lips. Although she kept her eyes on him, she was once more acutely aware of the men and women around the table. They hadn’t heard Garrett’s quiet instructions. They must think she was incompetent. “You didn’t want them to see your date knew what she was doing?” she asked. That was what she’d wanted more than anything when they started. “If I’d let you do whatever you wanted, you still wouldn’t have won a race with Amanda.” Lucy looked away. “Am I that bad or is she that good?” “Neither,” he said solemnly. “Shane has a well deserved reputation for having a hair trigger.” Lucy glanced up at him. She couldn’t quite repress a smile. Garrett smiled too and stroked his thumb across her lips. “Other people aren’t important.” She leaned into his touch and nodded her agreement. It was easy to ignore everyone else until Shane spoke up. “Time to share your spoils, Garrett.”

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Lucy tensed.. She pulled away from Garrett’s touch and looked up at him, hoping to read his intent in his eyes. Garrett looked past her at Shane. “No.” “She agreed to come here with me first. You owe me some fun with her before the night is over.” Lucy looked down. Closing her eyes she offered up a prayer that Garrett was the man she thought he was. It was quickly followed by the fevered hope she would have more luck saying no to Garrett if his order involved submitting to another man than she had saying no to Garrett himself. Right then, she wasn’t sure of herself, let alone him. “No,” Garrett said. “Just no?” Shane asked. “That’s right,” he repeated simply. “Just, no.” Lucy breathed out a sigh of relief. One of the other men said something to Shane. Garrett’s attention turned back to her. “Did you have any doubt what my answer would be?” he asked her. Lucy shrugged. That night she wasn’t sure if there was anything she didn’t doubt. “Do you remember setting other people as a limit?” She nodded. It settled her somewhat to remember she’d done that—until she recalled she’d only done so after Garrett had pushed and prodded her into setting anything as a limit. “But you still thought I might offer you to them?” he asked. “I…” Lucy half shrugged. Then she registered for the first time just how serious Garrett’s tone of voice was. “Do you trust me, Imp?” Lucy nodded quickly. “Then it’s time to prove it.” Garrett picked her up off the cushion on the floor and set her to kneel in the middle of the low coffee table. “Close your eyes, Imp.” Lucy looked at the men and women sitting all around her. “I…” “They aren’t important.” “But…” Garrett tilted her head back and looked into her eyes. “Trust me to respect your limits.”

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“I do, it’s just… there were a lot of limits I didn’t think to mention,” she whispered, hoping the people surrounding her couldn’t hear every word she said to him. Garrett smiled down at her. “Trust me.” Lucy took a deep breath. There was no way she could refuse to do as he asked when the words fell from his lips in that tone of voice. She nodded. With a last look around, trying to place everyone in a mental map while she had the chance, Lucy did as he said and closed her eyes. The world morphed into a baffling confusion of noises. She strained to pick out the sounds made by Garrett, but it was impossible. The air moved. Lucy turned her head, trying to follow his progress to her left. “Stay still.” She tensed. His voice came from the right. “Quinn?” A finger touched her lips. She hesitantly kissed the fingertip, hoping like hell that it belonged to Garrett. “Good girl,” he whispered. The air moved again. His voice came from behind her. “Put your hands behind your back.” Lucy bit her lip. It wasn’t as if a bit of bondage could make her any more vulnerable than she already felt, but it took more self control than she knew she had, more trust than she knew she’d be able to put in Garrett’s hands, to do as she was told and offer her wrists to him. Fingers brushed against her skin. One click of metal on metal and the cuffs they were clipped together. She shifted on the hard wood of the coffee table, testing her ability to move. Garrett stroked her cheek with the back of his knuckles in a familiar gesture. Lucy turned her head and kissed his hand, thankful to be sure that particular touch came from him. He allowed the kiss, keeping his hand within reach of her lips for a few moments before he moved it away. Hands ran down her arms. Lucy was almost sure she could pick Garrett out of a line up in the dark with only his touch to judge from. Almost sure. Her mind whirled, caught between the desire to trust and the fear of trusting the wrong person. The hands felt like they belonged to him. If she could only open her eyes and be sure, then…

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She closed her eyes tighter together, desperately trying to resist the temptation to peek when she knew that one act could break the fragile trust building between them. “Do you know how beautiful you look like this, Imp? So perfect.” He traced a line along the collar and then down the neckline of the dress, over the thin leather. Her nipples pebbled hard enough to ache. It was Garrett. She knew his touch. Lucy’s doubts evaporated. She couldn’t stop herself arching her back and pushing her breast into his hand. He found her nipple through the fabric and pinched it.. The pain shot straight down to her clit. She wished his hand would do the same, but they didn’t. Teasing fingers trailed up and down her back making the whipped skin tingle. He pressed his fingers hard into the sensitive spots on her shoulders where the ache hadn’t quite faded away. Lucy whimpered and lifted her shoulders into his grip for more of the same. Garrett’s touch left her again. The air moved as he walked around the coffee table. She licked her lips, trying to guess where the next touch might be. She jerked when he traced a fingertip line up the inside of her thigh. Lucy shifted her knees further apart. “Quinn… please…” She tried not to squirm. The ache throbbing inside her since the whipping doubled again and again. Finally his fingers made tiny circles against her swollen clit through the damp fabric of her knickers. Lucy jerked against his first touch. She whimpered and instinctively tried to press herself against his hand. “That’s right, Imp. Move for me.” With his other hand, Garrett, turned her face to be kissed. His tongue thrust into her mouth, matching the frantic rocking of her hips as she rode his hand. He kept her on the edge, backing off the pressure whenever she just needed that fraction more to let her reach her climax. Lucy moaned between kisses. “Need. Please. Quinn. Need. Now.” Garrett swallowed her whimpering cry as she came, writhing against his hand and pulling at the cuffs behind her, desperate to reach out to her lover. When his fingers left her a few moments later, Lucy collapsed forward. With her forehead resting on the cool wood of the table, she dragged breaths into her body in the vain hope the oxygen would clear her head.

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Garrett undid her cuffs and picked her up. Cradling her close, he carried her to his chair and set her on his lap. He brushed their lips together. “Open your eyes, Imp.” Lucy looked around. All the chairs and cushions around the coffee table were empty. “When did they leave?” “Does it matter?” Lucy looked back at the chairs. She wondered at what point she’d stopped worrying about who was watching her, when she gave up caring about anyone’s opinion but Garrett’s. She smiled slightly to herself and shook her head. “No,” she admitted. Glancing up at him, she repeated his own words back to him. “They aren’t important.” “Good girl.” He guided her to rest her head against his shoulder and pressed a kiss to her temple. Lucy smiled to herself as she rested in his arms. If a fingertip touch could make her feel like that, she was more than ready to abandon all her first date limits.

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Chapter Five

Lucy continued to smile sweetly to herself as they took another circuit around the club. She didn’t hesitate to raise her eyes from the floor and look around now, unlike when she first entered the confusing swirl of people and fetishes. She’d earned her place when she trusted Garrett. She belonged there now. The slack on her lead disappeared. Garrett stopped looking around and nodding to acquaintances. Their aimless course developed an objective. Lucy stood on tip toe, eager to spot their destination. “The Latex Lounge,” she read over a doorway. He turned Lucy to her right, toward another sign above another door. “The exit?” “It’s time to go home, Imp.” She shook her head. “No. It’s still early. We could do another scene, we could—” “No.” There was no negotiation, no explanation. His tone brooked no argument—he’d made his decision. Lucy looked down, realising that it was very possible Garrett hadn’t enjoyed the evening as much as she had. He was used to all this. The things that seemed new and exciting to her probably had him bored close to tears. He led her out of the building, ignoring her attempts to slow down their progress and linger. In the car he handed her the lead again. She fiddled with the handle, tracing the topaz stone with a fingertip as he started the car and turned out of the car park. They were almost at her house before she built up the nerve to ask her question. “Quinn?” “Yes, Imp.” She took a deep breath. “Do you want to have sex with me?” “Yes.” Lucy stole a glance at him. “Tonight?” she checked.

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Garrett didn’t answer until they’d got out of the car and walked inside her house. In her hallway he turned her to face him. She saw the lust in his eyes and thought everything was settled, but he shook his head. “No, Imp,” he said. “Not tonight.” “But...” “As much as I want to clip these cuffs up here,” he caught her wrists and pinned them to the post supporting the stair banister.. “And as much as I want to bury myself inside you and make you scream for me. You set your limits, and I said I would respect them.” “But that was before we went to the Labyrinth and—“ Garrett shook his head again and wouldn’t even let her argue her case. “Tomorrow, you can make a decision with a clear mind and if necessary, you can change your limits then.” “I don’t want you to go,” she blurted out. Lucy bit her lip the moment the words left her mouth, hating the weakness the confession exposed. He kissed her temple. “I know.” “You could stay. I do know what I want and…” she couldn’t stop the words tumbling from her lips. The idea of Garrett going right then made her forget both her pride and her reservations. He cut her off, putting a finger to her lips. “I’m not going anywhere, Imp.” Lucy hesitated. “Apparently, you’re not the only masochist here. I’ll stay,” he told her. “I’ll hold you while you sleep, but nothing more. Now upstairs and into bed. I’ll be up in a minute.” She rocked on her heels, looking from him to the front door. “Do you trust me?” Garrett asked her. She offered him a small smile and went up the stairs. She slipped out of her clothes and under the sheets to wait for him. He came in some few minutes later, shrugging out of his clothes as he crossed the room. He slid naked into the bed next to her as if he’d done so every night for years. Lucy smiled invitingly, hoping he would change his mind about waiting until the next day. He reached out and she thought she’d won.

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He unclipped the lead from her collar. He took away the cuffs too. A sparkle of topaz caught the light as each one was placed on the bedside table on his side of the large double bed. Lucy watched them go in silence. When he reached for her collar, she caught his hand. “Leave it on?” she asked, knowing that from the moment he took it away she’d have to be Lucy rather than Imp and that she really wasn’t ready for the real world to invade on their time together. Garrett nodded his permission and pulled her closer, letting her snuggle into his embrace. She didn’t hesitate to curl into his side and rest her head on his chest, taking comfort in his presence. Her naked body pressed against his but the hands he laid on her skin, didn’t stray to tease or play. He really did seem intent on keeping their first night in the same bed platonic. She pushed her disappointment aside as he placed a kiss on the top of her head. “Go to sleep, Imp. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

**** Lucy woke to bright sunlight streaming through the curtains and the warm comfort of Garrett’s arms still wrapped around her as he spooned behind her. She turned over, wriggling against him until he murmured a sleepy protest. “It’s tomorrow morning. I’m changing my limits,” she whispered, pressing a kiss to his jaw line. “Hum?” She slid under the blankets, trailing teasing kisses over his skin. Her hand raced ahead of her lips. It wrapped around his morning erection and began slowly stroking him. He’d be wide awake soon enough. “You don’t have permission to change your limits.” Lucy smiled under the covers. “You don’t want to give me permission,” she began, spacing each word out with a kiss that traced a little lower down his stomach, “to ask you, to screw me, right now?” “That’s right. Now, go and fix some breakfast, there’s a good girl.” “What?”

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“I said your limits stay in place until I decide otherwise. I’ll be downstairs in five minutes. I expect breakfast to be well underway when I get there.” Lucy pushed the blankets back and stared at his sleepy form in blank amazement. “You’re joking, right?” He had to be. “Not in the least,” he told her. “Nothing elaborate, toast and coffee will do for today.” She knelt on the bed, slack jawed with amazement. Garrett didn’t even open his eyes and look at her. Scrambling off the bed, Lucy grabbed her dressing gown and belted it tight around her body. She stormed downstairs, slamming the bedroom door behind her. Only the anger management developed serving idiots at the coffee house all day enabled her to stop her reacting more viciously right then. Five minutes later Lucy spread butter on her toast and tried not to look at the topaz collar on the counter. She rubbed her palm against her throat. It was just a stupid bit of leather— the mark of a man who considered her a doormat, someone who’s inclination to slightly kinky sex would make her a convenient domestic drudge. Her neck still felt empty. Heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs. Garrett appeared in the doorway. Lucy glared at him and offered no greeting. If he thought she was feeding him, he was going to leave both disappointed and hungry. She was the only one who would be eating breakfast in her house that day. He strolled straight into her personal space, sliding his hands around her waist. Ducking his head, he stole a bite off her toast as she raised it to her lips. She gritted her teeth. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” “Having breakfast.” He snagged her cup of coffee off the counter and took a sip of that as well. Well, he might have wrangled a breakfast, but Lucy was determined that was all he would get from her. “If you think you’re getting laid, you’re delusional,” she told him. Garrett raised an eyebrow. “I’ll kneel at your feet, Garrett, I’ll crawl, and I might even beg if I find out that rocks my boat. But I won’t be treated like something you scraped off your shoe. Kinky sex in a club is one thing. In the real world, in my own home, you treat me with respect or you get out.”

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She half-heartedly pushed him away, but most of her energy went into cursing herself for a fool for ever trying this submission idiocy. He didn’t seem to notice her desire to have him out of her personal space. He stayed right where he was until he picked her up and carried her across to the kitchen table. She kicked out and connected with his shin. Her toes throbbed. She should have put shoes on—a high heel through his instep really would have made him pay attention. Setting her on the thick oak tabletop, he nudged her knees apart and stood between them. “A good speech, but you missed several important points.” “I don’t give a damn!” she snapped. He ticked the points off on his fingers. “We met at a specific time and location.. We are sharing a meal. And we are enjoying each other’s company.” “Speak for yourself!” “It sounds suspiciously like we’re on our second date,” he mused. Lucy opened her mouth, ready to tell him to get the hell out. She hesitated. “It’s not first date sex if we’re on our second date, is it?” he asked. “You…” The corner of his lips twitched. Lucy gaped at him. “You were winding me up! You—!” He laughed. “I’m impressed you kept your temper. I was ready to duck a flying coffee pot when I walked in here.” “Why the hell would you…?” “Make sure you weren’t feeling submissive?” Garrett brushed their lips together. “Submission can easily make you do things just to please a dominant. My acting like a misogynistic jerk switched you out of your submission faster than anything else could. Do you remember me promising to make sure you made your decision about your limits with a clear head?” Lucy took a deep breath and enunciated each syllable with great care. “I want to have sex with you Garrett. For my own pleasure, because I expect to enjoy it.” “And I,” he echoed her deliberate pronunciation, “am incredibly glad to hear it.” He undid the tie on her dressing gown and leaned over her, pressing her back against the table top. “But first you have some catching up to do.”

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Lucy watched him sceptically. “Catching up?” He caught her hand and pressed her palm against his jeans so she could feel his straining erection through the denim. “You didn’t wake up as ready as I am.” Garrett pushed her dressing gown aside, casually exposing her body for his appreciation. “So gorgeous.” Lucy reached out for him. “No, you don’t.” Garrett caught her wrists and pinned them to the table above her head. “You tasted last night. Now it’s my turn.” “You touched last night,” she pointed out. “Doesn’t that mean it’s my turn to touch?” Garrett smiled, leaned over her and brushed their lips together again. “No.” “But—” “Yeah, I know,” he agreed. “It’s very unfair. Submission’s a real bitch at times. Keep your hands there, Imp.” She wriggled under his gaze, keeping her hands where he’d demanded, but unable to stay still. “Are you just going to look at me?” “No, but I’m going to gag you at this rate.” Lucy considered the prospect. Garrett chuckled. “You’re right—you’d probably enjoy it. But submission isn’t just about bondage. Over time I’ll teach you to stay where you’re put without anything except your own will holding you down.” “Over time?” “Did you think this was a short term deal?” he asked, with obvious amusement. “I didn’t spend days searching for topaz stones to match your eyes because I wanted a one night stand. And I didn’t watch you for weeks in the coffee house because I wanted a quick fling.” “So Shane was right? You really weren’t there for the coffee?” “I was there for you.” He ran his hands along her arms and down her sides. He caressed her waist and followed the line down the outside of her legs, ignoring all the more interesting parts of her body that were begging for his attention. Lucy whimpered her frustration and shifted on the uncomfortable table top.. “Stay still or I’ll just leave you here.”

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She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. That was all he needed to do. Just the way he watched her lie there, spread and waiting for him, was making her wetter by the moment. Lucy held her breath and tried to be patient. The chair scraped on the floor tiles when he pulled it closer. The first touch of his lips made her gasp and wriggle. His tongue was hot from the stolen sip of coffee, but a second later it was gone. Lucy craned her neck, trying to see why he stopped. “Are you going to stay still for me?” he asked. Lucy nodded, but she lied. She couldn’t stay still or quiet. Garrett’s tongue flickered across her clit again and again. When his fingers joined them, thrusting into her slit and crooking upwards to rub against the sensitive spot inside her, she gave up any pretence of trying to follow his order. Garrett’s mouth left her. His hands disappeared. He stood up and walked across to the counter on the other side of the kitchen. “Where are you going?” “I didn’t tell you to talk,” he said, not even bothering to turn around when he spoke to her. “You didn’t tell me where you were going either,” she lent up on her elbows, unable to see him when she lay flat back on the table. He picked up her cup of coffee and walked back to her. Sitting down once more between her spread legs, he looked pointedly at her elbows. “Did I tell you to move?” She glared at him for several long seconds, wanting to be quite sure he knew how pissed off she was with him. He didn’t seem to care how annoyed she was. He smiled back at her, a perfect picture of a man happy with the world and enjoying life. Lucy blinked first, she gave in and lay back on the table. “Are you ready to stay still for me now?” he asked, setting the coffee cup aside. She was ready to scream her frustration. Knowing it wouldn’t get her anywhere, she settled for nodding. “Yes, Quinn.” He lowered his lips to her clit again. Ever so slowly, he licked and teased her back to fever pitch. For what felt like hours he allowed her to play on the edge of her orgasm, but no matter how carefully she tilted her hips or how she cautiously moved, she couldn’t bring

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enough pressure against her clit without moving further than he would allow. Every time she came close he would decide she’d disobeyed his order to stay still. Each time, he sat back in his chair and went back to drinking her coffee, and she lost the pleasure of any sort of stimulation at all. As he placed his lips against her for what had to have been the hundredth time, she fought desperately to stay still. Clasping her wrists with opposite hands, Lucy scratched at her skin through pure frustration. Pain shot through her as her nails bit into the sensitive spot above the veins. The pain transformed into pleasure, and dropped straight to her clit. Whatever woke inside her during the whipping, hadn’t died completely when they left the Labyrinth. Pain still added to her pleasure. She dug her nails deeper into her skin and moaned. Lucy bit her lip. Another shot of bliss echoed though her, chasing the sharpness of the pain away. Digging her short, neat little nails into her wrists as hard as she could, she was soon just moments from her climax. One second before she could top over the edge and— “No!” Garrett stood up. The chair clattered to the floor behind him. He snatched her hands apart, wrapping his fingers tightly around her wrists. “I am the only one who leaves marks on you.” He leaned over her, pinning her wrists back down against the table, returning her hands to the exact position he’d wanted them in before and held them there. She realised he still had his jeans on and groaned her frustration at the denim barrier.. As she pressed up against him, his zipper scratched against her pussy. She pushed harder against it desperate for whatever sensation she could get. He traced a line of teasing kisses along her shoulder. His tongue softly teased her skin. Lucy fought her own body for the power to stay still. The gentle kiss lost all gentleness. He nipped at her skin and sucked hard against it, leaving his mark on her collarbone. An inch or two further along and he repeated the process. Then, again, on the other side of her neck. “Please,” she whispered, not sure if she was asking him to stop teasing and just screw her, or if she was really begging him to bite down hard and break the skin. He ignored her plea, until he was satisfied with the marks along her shoulders. He leaned back and looked her over. Possession and lust raged in his eyes.

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Lucy’s mouth went dry, even if she’d known the words to ask for what she wanted, she doubted she would have been able to say them right then. Dropping her wrists, Garrett pulled her hips forward. His fingers dug into her soft curves. Another shot of adrenaline coursed through her. Lucy squirmed. There would be bruises there tomorrow, perfect impressions of his hands. The knowledge pushed her arousal up another notch. She could imagine how it would be to wear those marks under her clothes every day, a secret that no one else knew, a way he could hold her in a room full of men and be the only one who knew his hands were still there caressing her skin. He looked her over again, obviously enjoying the view of her spread and still beneath his gaze, his to command. Staying still be dammed. She just couldn’t do it. Lucy wound her fingers into Garrett’s hair and pulled him down for a kiss. His mouth was rough against hers. He dragged control of the kiss away from her as he worked a hand between them and unzipped his fly. For a few moments she battled to be in charge of the kiss, not because she wanted the control, but just because something inside her had to know the kiss was important enough to Garrett that he would fight to keep it. He did, thrusting his tongue into her mouth he teased her into emitting a mewing little plea for more when he broke the kiss. Garrett pulled back a little. For the first time, he showed she wasn’t the only one desperate for more. Scrabbling for his back pocket, he extracted a condom, ripped open the packet and deftly sheathed himself in the thin latex. She watched him as best she could from her angle, willing him to hurry up, even though he only took seconds. Grabbing her hips again, he pulled her to the very edge of the table and buried himself in her slit with one smooth thrust. For one exquisite moment they both stilled, savouring the connection. “Perfect.” Lucy didn’t know which of them whispered the word. She nodded her agreement anyway. Garrett kissed her again, harsh and demanding, thrusting his tongue into her mouth once more as his hips took up an equally frantic motion. As each inch of him pounded into her, Lucy forgot everything. She forgot how to think, how to breathe, how to even be

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anything except the woman she was right at that moment. She forgot how to want to be anything else. Balancing on the edge from the start and kept on the edge of her pleasure for what felt like hours, Lucy fell first. The orgasm cut through her body like a hot blade. She bucked against Garrett’s body, her muscles spasmed again and again until the pleasure in them turned to pain, and felt all the better for it. Before she caught her breath the tension began to build inside her again, winding tighter and tighter until it tore her apart. A final hard thrust and Garrett’s climax pushed her over a second edge, one she hadn’t even known existed until that moment. She shattered around a point of bliss and crashed down again, her body shuddering with the harsh impact. She screamed as pain and pleasure collided inside her and morphed together until she couldn’t tell one from the other and couldn’t think clearly enough to even try. Lucy collapsed back on the table. She clumsily released the grip she’d taken on Garrett and dropped her hands over her head. Her wrists fell, perfectly and naturally, to the points on the table where Garrett had pinned them earlier. After several long moments, he slowly withdrew from her body. Lucy lay where he left her, floating on bliss, now obediently still and silent. Garrett chuckled. “That’s not the same as staying still when you’re told.” “You could punish me,” she suggested, smiling at the prospect. He pulled her to her feet. “Turn you over my knee and spank you?” he asked. Lucy nodded, enthusiastically. “Uh-uh, Imp. A sound spanking is a privilege you’ll have to earn.” “But…” He laughed. “A privilege,” he repeated firmly. “But if you’re really good I might even let you feel the whip again. Would you like that?” Lucy nodded. “Yes, please, Quinn.” Garrett held out a hand and led her back up the narrow staircase towards her bedroom. Halfway up the stairs, Lucy stopped mid-step. Snatching her hand from his, she ran back into the kitchen.

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“It’s customary to ask permission before you leave your dominant’s side,” Garrett called from the top of the stairs. Lucy grabbed her discarded collar off the counter top and raced back to his side, perfectly ready to be punished for her breach of protocol whenever Garrett wanted. Smiling at the sparkle of topaz in her hand, Lucy looked up and saw the amusement in Garrett’s eyes. Bondage might not be essential for submission, she decided, but it sure as hell was a lot of fun.

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About the Author Kim is 25 years old, from a small town in South Wales. After writing for years, Kim is finally editing some of the stories to share with the rest of the world. Kim writes both male/male and male/female stories that range from the dark and paranormal right through to the lighter, funnier side of life. The only thing every story contains is a happy ever after for the two (or more!) characters that deserve it most. Oh, and kinky sex — there’s always plenty of that too — but Kim takes no responsibility for any of that. It’s all the characters’ fault. Honest… Email: [email protected] Kim loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.total-e-bound.com/

Also by Name The Gift My Secret Valentine: Secret Service Night of the Senses: Whispers Turquoise and Leather Gaydar You First Caught in the Middle: Between Tooth and Paw Silent Night Gay Like You In the Heat of the Moment Time To Do Friction: Yes!

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