Forbidden Obsessions Read online

  “You’re a man, but go ahead and give it your—”

  He was fighting laughter, but it was time to take the reins back. “Enough,” he said, his voice purposely low and sharp. She didn’t flinch, but she did stop talking. “Lift your skirt to the tops of your thighs, just high enough for me to see the bottom edge of your panties.”

  She hesitated. “I can’t.”

  Disappointment flowed through him, but he pushed through it. “Are you calling safe?”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh, no Sir.”

  Color him confused. “Then pull up your dress so I can see your panties.”

  She flushed deep red. “The way this dress is cut, I, uh...I’m not wearing any.”

  Jesus. It took everything he had to keep his ass in his chair and his tone level. “Even better. Lift your dress so I can see you. No hiding from me, naughty girl.”

  Slowly, with trembling hands, she inched her dress up until he could see the very edge of her curl-covered mound. Barely, just enough to tantalize and torture his mind, but not show him everything.

  “Stop.”

  She froze instantly, her hands still hooked under the material of her dress.

  “Turn and face away from me. And feet further apart, please.”

  She turned around and made her stance wider, which made her dress ride up a tiny bit, baring the curve of her rear.

  And what a sexy one it was. “Lovely. Now, I’ve seen you do this during your PT, so I know you can do it. Palms flat on the floor in front of you. Will you do that for me?”

  She glanced over her shoulder, indecision written on her expressive face. He kept quiet, though, allowing her to find her way on her own. He couldn’t force submission. It had to be given, and given freely. Finally, she spoke.

  “Yes, Master Gabriel.” She bent over, and the dress rode up more, baring her most intimate parts to him. Her wide-legged pose allowed him to see she was glistening with her own arousal.

  “So beautiful. So wet and swollen with need.” He shoved himself out of his chair and walked silently to her, resting his palm on the curve her ass. Her skin was hot and nearly singed his hand. “When you submit to me, this is mine to do with as I see fit. Spank it, fuck it, whatever I want. Even share it. When you submit to me, you trust me to know what it is you need, and what will turn you on.”

  She was shivering now, the scent of her arousal tickling his sense of smell. But he didn’t touch her intimately, as much as he wanted to. It would be so easy to plunge his fingers inside her moist sheath, then bring her to orgasm. Or to breach her anus with a wet finger or a slender plug. Instead, he squeezed his fingers against her flesh once, then helped her rise, steadying her as she righted in case she was off balance.

  Physically off balance, anyway. Her mind was another story. He hoped it was racing, thinking about what he might come up with next, what she’d allow him to do before calling a halt.

  Right now, though, it was time to end things. She’d had enough and, if he wasn’t going to take her to bed tonight, so had he.

  He pulled her dress back down over her hips, then turned her so she was facing him again. He caressed the side of her cheek and kissed her there. Her eyes were filled with confusion, but again he let her stew. He wouldn’t always explain things to her, so she might as well learn that now.

  “Come with me,” he said, holding out his hand.

  She slid her hand in his immediately, and that pleased him. She’d done an amazing job of following his directions. He scooped up her shoes, her bag and her wrap and led her downstairs to her room. She didn’t speak, just watched him through wide eyes, and that pleased him too. She was following his lead, obeying his orders not to speak, and those small tastes of her submission satisfied him on a visceral level.

  At her door, he handed her bag to her so she could get out her key. She looked at him, then gave a small, one-shouldered shrug and slid the key in the lock. He covered her hand with his, turning it and opening the door. He dropped her things on the small table just inside the door, and then, with his hand still holding hers, spun her carefully so her back was against the wall in the hallway. “I don’t trust myself to go in there with you,” he murmured, “so I’ll take my good-night kiss here and now.”

  With that, he grasped her other hand and held them so they were against the wall, shoulder height, pinning her against it.

  Her breath caught, and he leaned close until they were nose to nose. “One last order tonight, princess. No touching yourself unless I say you can. For as long as we play this game together, your orgasms belong to me. Is that understood?”

  A soft puff of air landed on his lips as she exhaled. She answered, her voice huskier than usual, her accent deeper than he’d heard before. “Yes, Sir. I understand.”

  Satisfaction rushed over him. He kissed her with all his built-up sexual frustration, taking her mouth like a marauder, wringing a moan from deep within her throat. She wasn’t a passive partner, even though he held her immobile. She kissed him back, her soft tongue tangling with his. Reaching deep for his control, he pulled back, resting his forehead against hers, both of them breathing hard.

  Fuck, he was standing right at the edge of his sanity, aroused past the point of pain. But she’d given him so much tonight with her small gifts of submission, and that gave him a measure of satisfaction.

  He released her hands, then cupped her cheek. He pressed his cheek against hers, whispered softly in her ear and then, using every ounce of willpower he had, turned and walked away.

  Chapter Eight

  Liv sagged against the door, her knees weak from that unbelievable kiss, his final words echoing in her head.

  Good girl.

  Why that made her want him more, she didn’t know.

  She made her way to the bathroom and stripped off the dress and the stockings, blinking in the brightness. Usually, this light made her skin look sallow, but tonight it was flushed a dark pink, mostly on her chest and cheeks. And was that...?

  She leaned forward, tilting her neck. It was. He’d marked her again, in the same spot. She flashed hot and felt herself grow wet. Well, wetter than she’d been already from his earlier words and actions. Spank it, fuck it, whatever I want. Even share it. When you submit to me, you trust me to know what it is you need, and what will turn you on.

  She’d had a boyfriend once who’d given her a playful swat or two as he’d taken her from behind, and she had to admit that it had been fun. She imagined, though, that with Gabe it would be more intense than that, much like the man himself. She wasn’t so sure about anal sex, but that same boyfriend had tried, once. She’d realized she didn’t trust him enough to allow him that intimacy, and it had been the death knell for their relationship. But her feelings for Gabe were so much deeper and more complex than that, and really, only time would tell. All she knew was that every single thing he told her he’d do to her had made her hotter and wetter than she’d ever been with, and for, any man.

  She turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat. She wasn’t in the mood for a soak. Long baths made her hot and bothered, and if she climbed into one while she was already this unsettled? She’d wind up playing.

  And Master Gabriel had told her no.

  Only, would he really know she’d disobeyed him? How could he know if she gave herself an orgasm or five?

  She sighed. She’d know. And she’d tell him. Damned sense of honor, that was what it was. Besides, she hadn’t had a single orgasm since before the accident. Not one. In all truth, she was terrified that what should be the ultimate in release might spike a back spasm, or worse. It was something she really needed to share with Gabe if they continued on this path, but how in bloody hell did she bring that up?

  She climbed into the decadent shower, letting the hot water soothe her aching muscles. It was large enough she
could stretch as the water rained down on her. She stood on tiptoe and reached over her head. Bent from side to side with arms on her hips. Then she spread her feet and touched the floor, much like Gabe had ordered her to do.

  Water trickled between the cheeks of her arse and lower, teasing a groan from her chest as the hot water hit sensitive, aroused skin. It also made her realize just how exposed to him she’d been. Christ, she must’ve looked wanton, spread so wide she had no secrets. He hadn’t thought less of her for doing it, though. In fact, he’d loved it. She could tell that much.

  Slowly she rolled her spine straight as she stood, wincing as one spot pinched. While she was hugely relieved she didn’t need more surgery, she wished like hell she knew why this one spot kept hurting.

  Patience.

  It was something she’d been forced to learn during her long recovery, but it wasn’t her natural behavior. If it had been, maybe she wouldn’t have been the one on the ladder when the hose burst. Her stomach soured. If it hadn’t been her, it would’ve been Marcus, and what kind of friend did that make her? No, she didn’t want this for him. She didn’t want it for anyone.

  But it had happened to someone. Her. And it did have consequences. Maybe she’d be stuck with those consequences the rest of her life, and maybe she wouldn’t. It was useless to whine about them, though.

  Big-girl panties.

  And bedtime.

  She washed up quickly, then dried herself and put on her fire academy shirt. It was falling apart at the seams, and there wasn’t anything remotely sexy about it, but it was soft and it didn’t make her scars feel all creepy and gross like her silk nightgowns did. And she still hadn’t figured out how to get that damned lotion on her scars, either, so they were getting tight again, which made them feel even more creepy.

  She crawled into bed and pulled the soft comforter up. Gabe had provided lush linens in this room, and she’d grown addicted to them. When she’d shopped for the other rooms, she’d bought a similar style. She tried to settle down, but her mind kept racing, thinking back to the most sexually charged few hours she’d ever had in her life.

  But she was confused. She wasn’t stupid, and though she hadn’t had any real chance to talk with Bella and Marcus since that kiss gone wrong, she’d gotten on her laptop and searched BDSM. She saw pictures first, but some of them were alarming, so she ignored the images and searched for sites with explanations. She found a few that she bookmarked, ones that seemed to echo what Gabe talked about so much. Safe, sane and consensual. If she didn’t see those words, she moved on.

  So she knew what kinds of things Doms liked to do to submissives, but Gabe had done none. Where were the spankings, the restraints, the flogging? He’d been so gentle with her, physically anyway. She’d felt the whip-sting of his tongue a few times, when she’d forgotten how to address him or had gotten cheeky with him, but even then, she’d felt him holding back.

  Did he really think she’d break?

  She hadn’t asked him, though. Part of her didn’t want to know, didn’t want to learn that he saw her as weak. And part of her didn’t care to ask because as new as it had all felt, it had also felt oddly right.

  She yawned, then rolled onto her side, snuggling deeper into the bedding. She was going to learn patience if it killed her. Even though she still wasn’t sure she had time for a real relationship in her life, she couldn’t deny her attraction to Gabe and the life he lived. Was it for her? She didn’t know, but she wasn’t going to risk shutting things down by being an impatient git.

  She flipped the pillow over to find a cool spot, closed her eyes and drifted off into a restless sleep.

  * * *

  The next morning, Gabe sat on the steps as she did her PT in the back garden. It ticked her off that he felt like he had to babysit her to make sure she didn’t overdo it, but he watched her quietly with hot eyes and a sexy, amused smile on his face. She wished she knew what was going on inside that head of his, what was putting that wicked gleam in his eyes. She tried to ignore it and was nearly finished with her workout when he finally spoke.

  “It’s nice out here.” He took a sip of his coffee, then cupped the mug in his hands. His voice dropped an octave. “And it’s private. Very, very private.”

  “Yes, it is. And I like it that way.” She didn’t know quite what he was getting at, but the look on his face had her heart skipping a beat and another word tripping off her tongue. “Sir.”

  Christ. Where had that come from?

  The gleam in his eyes turned to flame. “So do I, princess.” He pushed himself up from the step and came toward her, eating up the distance in two long strides. “I was thinking tomorrow, if it’s this nice, you should do your workout naked.”

  Her eyes flew wide. “What? No, no, no. I can’t do that!”

  He grinned. “I can make it an order.”

  Her heart started to beat triple time, and she felt like she was going to faint. She even swayed a tiny bit.

  He grasped her waist and steadied her. “Whoa, princess. Breathe.”

  “I can’t...you...I...” She blinked a few times, trying to focus on him and get the words out. “Would you really?”

  The smile slid from his face. “If you weren’t a novice?” He cupped her chin and forced her to meet his eyes. “Yes, Olivia. If you were more experienced with domination and submission, I would make it an order. You always have the right to use your safe word to refuse. And unless you chose to use it, you’d either do as I ordered or be punished for the refusal.”

  Oh, God. She had to sit down. She wrenched out of his grasp and moved toward the steps, dropping down onto them.

  He sat beside her, his thigh touching hers, his hands clasped and hanging between his knees. “Is this going to be a problem? Do we need to go back to the way things were before last night?”

  How did she answer that? She glanced over at him. He was watching her, his face unreadable. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but her own instinct was shouting at her and she said the very first thing that came to her. “No.”

  He sighed, probably because she’d given him a one-word answer. “This is no different than what I asked of you last night.”

  Was he kidding? “Last night was private, not outside where anyone could see!”

  “And you agreed with me just a few minutes ago that this yard is private too. The question is whether or not you trust me to keep you safe. From harm, or from exposure to people who don’t understand what it is we do.” He paused. “What it is that I do. Whether you do it or not is yet to be determined.”

  Her heart clenched and her stomach twisted. Not quite the panic from last night, but unsettling and she didn’t like it. She wanted to trust Gabe. She did trust him. Mostly. And the things he did to her last night had been incredibly erotic and intoxicating. “This just caught me...off guard, I guess.”

  He held her gaze steadily. “That’s part of the mental aspect of domination and submission. I like to keep a submissive wondering what I’ll ask her to do that will push her boundaries. Wondering what’s coming next. And not just wondering, princess. Wanting it, whatever it is.”

  She thought about that for a moment, then decided to go for brutal honesty. He’d asked that of her before. “That’s hard for me, Gabe.” He raised that eyebrow, and she flushed. She’d opened that door by using the word, so she couldn’t fault him for the reminder. “Hard for me, Sir. The last few months have been all about wondering what’s coming next, and I’ve had so many nasty surprises that I don’t like not knowing. Does that make sense?”

  He reached out and squeezed her hand. “It does. We haven’t known each other that long, so I can understand you don’t really know whether or not you can trust me. Only you can decide that. And it may take some time.”

  She stifled a sigh, because it wasn’t frustration at him, but at herself. “
I know, Sir.”

  His eyes swept her face. “Did you like what we did last night?”

  Like was such a mild word. There was so much more to what went on last night than like. She’d been frustrated, aroused, confused, terrified and amused all at the same time, but most of all she’d felt alive in a way she hadn’t in, well...maybe ever. She nibbled her lip. “Yes, Sir.”

  He nodded, smiled slightly, and shivers coasted down her spine. He snagged her towel off the handrail, swung it around her neck and pulled her close so they were nose to nose. “Are you sure you want to keep moving forward?”

  She looked into his gunmetal-gray eyes. “I, uh...yes, Sir. I think I do.”

  He nodded and released the towel. “Let’s eat. And since it’s so nice out today, let’s go take a walk around Harpers Ferry.”

  * * *

  The day was gorgeous, but not nearly as beautiful as the woman by his side. She’d dressed in a long, flowing skirt, a tank top and a light sweater. Her hair was swept back into a twist low at the back of her neck, baring the slender column of her throat. Gabe itched to trace it with his tongue, to collar it with his hand and later, after she’d completely submitted to him, collar it with leather.

  Olivia was quiet on the ride over, and so was he. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, but more reflective than anything. When they pulled into the visitor center, he parked, not close to the building but in a corner of the lot, away from prying eyes. He wanted to respect Olivia’s concerns, but he wanted to push her boundaries and teach her she could trust him. It was midweek, and early yet, so there were only a handful of cars here. Relatively private.

  He turned off the engine and shifted to face Olivia.

  She smiled at him. “I’m excited. I’ve never been here before.”

  He grinned back. “Take off your panties, princess.”

  Her eyes flew wide. “What? Here?”

  He nodded. “Here. Now. We’re parked away from anyone else, and you’re wearing a long, dark skirt. No one will know but you and me. Now take off your panties, and while you’re doing it, tell me what you’re doing and why.” He injected a stern tone to his voice. “Properly.”