Page 128 of Healing the Heart

“You asked for a do-over of our interrupted first scene. I want that, too, but if this is too much too soon, I expect to hear your safeword. Are we clear on this?”

“Yes, sir.”

Suddenly, the blindfold was gone, and he tossed it aside.

“That’s enough of that. I prefer to see your beautiful and very expressive, brown eyes.”

He studied her face for a moment, searching for signs of panic because her first awful scene withhe whose name shall not be spokencaused problems with cuffs and was minor compared to the second. Even months later, Noah stayed vigilant, just in case.

He nodded, satisfied with what she knew he saw—eagerness and desire—and gently ran his hand down her cheek. Closing her eyes, she leaned in to his touch. Too soon, it was gone.

When he cuffed and linked the other wrist above her head with an ominous click, her eyes followed his movements. She took in the maze of chains and pulleys suspended from the ceiling. Tugging on one cuff sent her chain and the many surrounding it to clanking.The sound sent a shiver of desire racing through her. How twisted was that?

He caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger and tipped it down, bringing her eyes back to his. “All good, pet?”

She read the concern in the tension around his mouth and furrowed brow. He’d stop if she said the word, and it didn’t have to be red. Her confidence in him and his having shown he would always put her safety first made her declare, “All wonderful, sir. For some kinksters, it’s the crack of the whip, but the clank of chains does it for me.”

As his hand glided down her side, it lingered on the curve of her breast, tracing the outline of her waist before finally settling on her hip. “How so?” he asked, wanting specifics.

“It gets me wet,” she breathed. “As do you, sir.”

She saw a desire gleaming in his eyes as he sank his other hand into her hair, angled her mouth just so, and kissed her, hot, and wet and thorough.

They were both winded and gasping for air when he released her mouth and rested his forehead against hers. “Truly, I can’t conceive of what I did to deserve the gift of you, Fiona.”

“I can. There is so much good in you, Noah. I don’t know where to begin. But...”

He didn’t raise his head when he looked at her, and all she saw was deep blue. “But?”

“No one is going to mind if you’re not so good every now and then—with me.” She pulled on her cuffs, sending a ripple through the clinking chains overhead.

“Is this your way of telling me to get on with it?”

“Oh no. I’d never!” she exclaimed, somehow suppressing a grin because she would, and had, although never in so many words.

“Beautiful and impatient,” he said with a grin then kissed her again, hard and quick this time. As the long stride took him quickly out of sight, he stated softly, “Challenge accepted.”

She heard the distinct sound of a zipper followed by footsteps echoing once more. Fiona inhaled sharply as Noah’s suede flogger landed with athwapacross her bottom. Not because it hurt but because it ignited the fire his kisses had kindled. So did being cuffed and naked while he remained clothed. The imbalance of power, which she willingly relinquished, was a heady thing.

The tails fell again and again, moving over both cheeks until her skin tingled deliciously. Then, attuned to her needs, he knew she was ready for more, and painted her thighs then her shoulders and her back with the same sensations. With feel-good hormones flooding her body, she stood swaying on her feet, her hands wrapped around the chains holding her up, and she dropped her head forward, surrendering to the pleasure.

Thewhooshingandthwappingsuddenly ceased. Except for her quickened breathing, and the occasional clink of the chains, the room fell into silence.

A light stroking where his lash had touched made her jump.

“Shh, kitten,” he hummed near her ear. “Your skin turned such a lovely pink, I had to satisfy the urge to touch you.”

His hand followed the path the suede tails had taken, trailing over her bottom, testing and caressing, down her thighs then up her back to her shoulders. Where the flogger had made her come alive with sensation, Noah’s caress was like a flame, setting her ablaze with desire.

A creak of a floorboard and the thud of his step. Beside her now, he shook out his lash and began again. A lightthwackonher stomach, the front of both thighs, then in an upward stroke along the underside of one breast, then the other. He focused his attention there for a while, warming her skin with the soft, brushed leather but avoiding her nipples.

Waiting for the inevitable only made her want it more. Her head fell back, raising her breasts. As if she’d beg for it, the flogger connected with both taut peaks at once.

A low moan hummed in her throat.

“That’s it, kitten,” he murmured. “Purr for me.”

As the lash fell, again and again, he whispered words of encouragement and her sounds of contentment continued. There was only one more place she needed it to fall before she could soar in utter bliss. Fiona moved her feet apart several inches, hoping he would be as astute with her gesture as he was with everything else.

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