“You have the most loving, generous heart,” he said in a voice thick with emotion. “I don’t deserve you. I don’t deserve your forgiveness and I damn sure don’t deserve your trust after I’ve failed you at every turn.”
She put her fingers to his lips to hush him before he could continue.
“I’d much rather hear about this night of decadence you’ve promised me,” she said with a wicked grin. “Or am I not allowed to know?”
He smiled back at her, the shadows erased from his eyes. This moment felt so much like old times. Her sitting on his lap and them just talking, teasing and just … being. It felt utterly perfect.
“All I will tell you is that I will personally choose what you wear to The House and, just a warning, it’s going to be positively sinful. At least for the time you’re wearing it, that is,” he said in a deliciously evil tone that sent a rush of anticipation flooding through her veins.
“Except for the shoes,” he murmured thoughtfully. “I plan to find out where Kylie got her killer f**k-me shoes because I’m buying you a pair just like them so that when I f**k you the only thing you’ll be wearing are those shoes. It will give my ‘helpers’ plenty of leverage to hold you down so you’re utterly helpless to my every whim.”
Helpers? Her mind was ablaze trying to imagine such a scenario. In all of the fantasies they’d played out at The House over the years, apart from Tate and whatever man he involved to fulfill both hers and Tate’s decadence, that was where it ended. Tate and whomever he deemed deserving to put his hands on what Tate considered his property. And now he had used helper in the plural. Helpers. Meaning more than one!
“Uh, Tate, I know I just apologized for questioning or trusting you, but can you tell me a little more about this trip to The House? You mentioned helpers, meaning more than one, and you specifically singled out James as the one who’d flog and mark my skin until it’s rosy and evenly marked so that when you take me you see those marks and while you didn’t administer them yourself, they were still put there by your command. I see the satisfaction that brings you.”
Tate nodded.
“But adding more than this guy James? What exactly are you planning for me—us—that night, or is all that top secret and I find out when I get there?”
“If you’re afraid or unsure then we don’t go. Period. There is no way in hell I’d ever force something on you that you were not completely on board with, and with me, seeing me, knowing in your heart that I am the only true Dominant for you, I think you’ll be more than satisfied with the plans for the evening.”
“You’re such a tease,” she groaned. “I want to know more! I’m dying to know all the dirty details.”
He chuckled but evidently decided to give her more information. Or perhaps it would only end up being a tease fest where he whipped her up into an even more frantic state of anticipation.
The one word that had never escaped her lips, much less her mind, was fear. She was never afraid when Tate was there, even if a few feet away. He may have a desk job but the man was completely serious when it came to his workouts. She teased him all the time about being the most gorgeous, well-dressed fashion plate to go to the office and talk to clients on the phone all day.
Oh there was more to it. She was making light of his job. She knew he had many important dinners, lunches, after-work drinks, calls at all hours of the night. And in the beginning she hadn’t minded. Each accomplishment made her prouder and prouder. But somehow along the way his job—his struggle after his partner bailed—had faltered at first and so Tate had thrown all of his time and energy into making it a solid success. Endless and countless lunches, dinners, golfing. Meetings for drinks. It had become all-consuming.
“I will lead you into the common room by your collar.”
Her hand automatically went to her throat where the delicate jeweled collar rested.
“I’m having another specially made just for that night, and it will be ready this week. I’ll pick it up when I also go pick up what you’ll be wearing to the event. And those killer f**k-me shoes. Those are at the top of the list.
“But every man in The House that night will know you belong to me. The leash is also being fashioned, yet another thing to do on my shopping trip. Well, and there’s the lingerie I had to get my girl because just imagining you with that outfit the damn mannequin was wearing gave me a hard-on that lasted thirty f**king minutes!”
Chessy could hold back her laughter no longer. She shook against him, her giggles muffled by his shirt.
But Tate was still being serious. “I have the perfect earrings and necklace. It is my intention to drape you in jewels and nothing else. Every eye in the common room will be on you. You’ll wear your hair down. I love your curls. And you may as well just forgo makeup because I guarantee, before the night is over, there will be none left.”
He said the last with a smirk that told her he’d be getting as much pleasure from their role-playing as she would.
One of his favorite scenarios was to have another man f**k her ass while Tate f**ked her mouth. And yeah, that would definitely ruin a makeup job, and if such hedonistic pleasure awaited her she was more than happy to forgo being fully made up for the evening.
Her thoughts turned dreamy again. So far she’d remembered all the pleasure Tate had received as if she were a plaything, brought out for boys’ enjoyment and then put away with no regard for her whatsoever. And it certainly wasn’t true.
Tate, even though he was a forceful Dom, was also exceedingly gentle and tender, often interpreting her body signals before she even knew what her body was telling her. He always seemed to know exactly what she wanted more of. Or less of. Or what made her wild with want and need. He was so in tune with her body. Hell, he was in tune with her damn thoughts most of the time. But then her friends had always told her she was as transparent as glass.
When she was happy she shone. Brought light and warmth into any room. But when she was unhappy? It was equally evident. All the light that surrounded her on a seemingly endless basis just burned out. Deep shadows had formed underneath her eyes and she was already getting lines across her brow from worrying and stressing.
“I don’t need to know any more,” she said warmly. “I do trust you, Tate. My curiosity always gets the better of me. You know that. I’m more than happy to wait. I don’t want to ruin the surprise for you since it’s obvious you’ve spent most of the day today preparing for this outing.”