Page 74 of Hideaway

Cade moved to stand behind her. She inhaled the cool, familiar scent of his cologne as intoxicating as the first time she’d breathed him in. She felt the warmth of his body pressed against her back, the tingle of his touch as his hands traced unfamiliar patterns along her bare arms, the pleasant burn of his stubbled jaw grazing her neck as he leaned in to kiss her throat. He rested his cheek on her shoulder, his lips by her ear.

“I believe the sight of this room and all its unknowns has robbed you of your ability to assess the situation with a level head,”he whispered in a low, husky voice.“Perhaps if I take away one of your senses, your sense of reason will heighten.

Kara felt herself being gently pulled across the room. Cade placed a hand on top of hers and moved her fingertips to explore a diverse row of implements hanging along the wall. The smoothness of the soft leather strands caressed their joined hands with a feather light touch. Kara could imagine the multiple strands being used on her body like silk against her skin.

“I enjoy the extraction of pain to the extent that you enjoy it,” Cade whispered against her ear.

He trailed her hands over firmer objects that were smooth and braided. Perhaps they were whips? They felt so much less threatening when she didn’t have sight to inspire fear.

“In the case of punishment, I enjoy the pain to the extent that you require it. The pain is an extension of control. It is the act of taking possession of your body and making you feel what I want you to feel. It is a similar type of physical dominance as sex, just with a different sensation.”

Cade moved her fingertips along a row of ropes, some thick and coarse, others thin and satiny. He brought her back to the collections of canes, and they felt more like smooth twigs than instruments of destruction. He moved her around the room and brushed her hands over the leather couch and silk sheets and the cool, wooden surface of the desk.

“I reach the same high fucking you, demanding pleasure from your body, as I would flogging you to demand your surrender to the pain. In both situations, it is the power of control that fulfills me.”

He spread her arms above her head, pressing her against what felt like the wooden cross as he stroked his hands down her body from wrist to ankle. She gasped as he placed a lingering kiss on the top of her foot, trembling as her body begged for more of his touch.

“From personal experience, the most intimate, tender sex can follow the most excruciating SM session.” Cade breathed against her skin as he continued to brush his lips over her body, kissing his way up until he reached the sensitive curve of her neck. Placing one hand possessively across her throat, Cade moved to untie the blindfold nestled in her hair,letting the black cloth fall to the floor.

Kara blinked in the newness of light, readjusting herself once again to her surroundings with full senses. The room hadn’t changed form, but its contents no longer inspired fear, the strangeness banished thanks to Cade’s unorthodox introductions. More than that, Kara found herself intrigued by the thought of submitting to Cade and the contents of his secret hideaway. The overwhelming need she felt in that moment was startling. All the rationality of her mind was fighting a losing war with the erogenous areas of her body. She knew a single look from Cade would send her hurling over the brink of surrender.

“If you don’t want this, we will leave the Hideaway and pretend that I never showed you what lies below. If you do want this, own up to it. You aren’t less of an independent woman or less of an academic or less of a rational human being for consensually claiming what your body desires, no matter how unconventional that desire may seem. The choice is yours alone.”

Kara drew a deep, shaky breath, her eyes fixated on the exit. Escape was hers if she truly wanted it. But the starling, nerve shattering truth was—she wanted complete surrender with Cade more.“I want this. Please.”

“Brave girl,”Cade responded in a voice husky with emotion as he breathed a deep sigh of relief. His eyes shone with the light of admiration that she was willing to wade into the unknown, trusting that he would be there to hold her and guide her. And he would be. Every step of the way.

Chapter Nineteen

CADE looked at Kara with a mixture of admiration and hesitation. She was offering herself to him so trustingly, and, as hard as it would be to restrain his darker nature, he would need to keep himself in check.“You need a safe-word. Something to use as a signal if you think I’ve given all you can handle. It doesn’t need to be anything specific or significant, but it should be memorable enough that it is easily recollected if you are at your limit. As this is your first time, I intend on being cautiously receptive of your tolerance and needs. You should have no need of a safe-word tonight, but under normal circumstances, the safe-word serves as a precaution in situations wherestopis more of an encouragement than a deterrent.”

“O-okay,”Kara responded nervously. She felt a general sense of unease at the thought of allowing a man who seemed to have an entirely different definition of the wordstopto have full control over her body, but the indescribable need she felt outweighed her misgivings. The idea of two consenting adults needing a code word to play safely seemed rather juvenile, but Kara was willing to meet his conditions, whatever they may be.“Thornfield,”she decided finally, paying homage to her favorite piece of literature.

“I believe that is rather suiting,”Cade replied with a smile.“The Brontës definitely had a robust understanding of the darker side of human nature, and I am sure Mr. Rochester would find himself rather comfortable in a BDSM setting,”he added with a wink.

A kinky Mr. Rochester?

In all her many readings of the text, Kara had never once consideredthatpossibility, but she supposed it wasn’t hard to imagine that the man who kept his wife locked in an attic and emotionally tortured and manipulated the woman he loved might have done so out of sadistic pleasure.

“Now, for my second condition,”Cade continued, reclaiming her attention.“I would like you to address me assirfrom this moment forward.”

Kara giggled at the ridiculous suggestion, earning her a withering glare from the imperious man before her. “You can’t be serious,” Kara demanded, her expression horrified.

“I bloody well am serious,” Cade responded darkly, his eyes glittering with a need to punish.

“That’s absurd! I’m not going to call yousir,” Kara argued, crossing her arms angrily over her chest and very narrowly resisting the urge to stomp her feet in protest.

“Then leave,” Cade answered, his voice deadly calm as he nodded toward the stairs. He knew that she needed his dominance more than she needed her pride at that moment, and he was calling her bluff.

“Fine!” Kara shouted in exasperation, throwing her arms into the air in surrender.

“Fine,what?” Cade questioned with a raised brow.

“I would like to stay,” Kara responded sullenly.

“Are you sure you can handle it, love?” Cade asked with false concern as a taunting smile spread across his lips.

“Yes,” Kara replied curtly. With a chastising glance from Cade, she added “sir.”

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