Page 37 of Beneath the Midnight Sky
“Yes,” she replied without hesitation. She stuck her arms in front of her, her wrists together like the perfect angel that she was. I sat on the side of the bed, pulling her closer to me, and started wrapping the rope around her wrists like I’d seen before. “Uhm…where did you learn…” she started asking, her cheeks slowly getting pinker.
“A tutorial from a club Wyatt has been doing some work for. It’s called a double column tie. It’s a basic knot that leaves a bit more room for your wrists without too much so that you can’t easily pull out of them,” I told her, happy I’d looked into this the moment I’d been interested—just in case.
“Wow…do you…do you uh—do this often?”
I finished up the last bit of the knot and looked up at her. Clearing my throat, I tried not to sound like a moron. “I—you’re the only one I’ve done this with, Aspen. I just had the idea after we’d met and looked into it, just in case. You sort of inspired meafter the belt incident. I didn’t want to be unprepared for you. I wanted it to be good for you and safe, so I asked the experts.”
She stared at me, and a small smile graced her face as she nodded. “What next?”
“Lie back in the middle of the bed, arms above your head,” I replied. She did as I asked, and I quickly tied the rest of the rope to the middle bar of my headboard. Stepping back off the bed, I looked her over. “Fuck, angel. You’re a goddamn dream,” I muttered—more to myself, but I could tell she didn’t mind hearing the praise.
“You’re still dressed,” she whispered, nerves clear in her voice.
I smirked again. “Yes. Yes, I am.” I walked back into the closet to grab one more thing and then came back out to the bed. Her head was lifted as she tried to see what I was doing. “Ready to have some fun?” I asked.
18
NOT JUST YET
Aspen
My hands wereabove my head, tied to his bed frame. Where I should’ve been anxious about this current setup, I only found a cloud of immense joy and intense relief rolling over me.
I felt like I’d lost most of the day to my anxiety attack. Today was supposed to be good, relaxing, possibly even fun. Instead, I’d hidden for hours in my bathtub, convinced that Sam would show up at any moment to try and drag me back to Nevada, where he’d do heinous things that I couldn’t even think about right now—not here.
Instead, Rowan had shown up and offered me his arms and chest to cry on, and then brought me home with him. I don’t know what would’ve happened if he hadn’t shown up when he did.
I looked across the room at him. He was standing a few feet away from the foot of the bed, smiling at me, something small in his left hand.
“Ready to have some fun?” he asked, the mischief clear in his eyes. Nerves had me biting my bottom lip again, but I noddedanyway. I trusted this man. “What did we talk about, angel? Words.”
“Yes, I’m ready to have some fun,” I replied quickly.
He pulled his shirt off and tossed it to the side, leaving him in only his low-slung Wranglers. His hair was pulled back low at the base of his neck, and he looked fucking delicious with the stubble growing back in along his jaw. I watched as he crawled up from the foot of the bed, stopping when he was between my thighs. I shifted them apart more so he could fit more comfortably and tried not to let myself blush when his eyes raked over my naked body.
“Fuck, you truly are an angel,” he murmured, his voice rough with tension that matched the bulge pressing against the inside of his jeans. He set down the small package next to my thigh, and then lay down between my legs, his hands gently squeezing my thighs as they ran up to my soaked center. “Are you ready to agree to stay with me?” he asked, his eyes lifting from my wet heat to my face.
I shifted slightly, trying to keep a solid bit of control over my anxiety. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, Rowan,” I replied.
He nodded his head as if he was thinking over my words, and then he leaned down, running his tongue from my cunt all the way to my clit. I released a startled gasp and arched my hips towards his mouth when he stopped after one swipe.
“Why don’t you think it’s a good idea?” he asked calmly.
I was trying to get my breathing back under control, and he had questions? Right now? Really?
“I just…the last guy I lived with, it didn't end well, as we just talked about, and I don’t want that too—” I was cut off when he leaned down and started gently sucking on my clit. “Fuck—Rowan, please—” I started to plead, but he pulled away just like he did the first time.
“Now, I’ll remind you, little angel, that I’m not that fucker. I have no desire to treat you the way he did. I just want to love you—and yes, I mean what I said,love. I want to protect you and take care of you as much as you’ll allow. So, agree to stay with me,” he said from between my thighs.
“I just don’t know if—” I started again, but once again, I was cut off when he leaned down and shoved his tongue into my cunt, his hand coming around my thighs and his thumb slowly circling my clit. I felt my thighs trying to close around his head, squeeze him, do anything to keep him exactly where he was, but his arms were already looped around me and held me firmly open the way he wanted.
He kept going, rubbing my clit faster, fucking me with his wicked tongue harder, and I felt my orgasm rising in my core. My breathing picked up, and just when I thought it would crest and explode, he pulled away again. I laid there, panting, staring at the ceiling while I attempted to compose myself again.
I could feel his stubble rubbing against my inner thigh as his lips pressed against me over and over, but never back where I wanted—no,neededhim to be.
“Rowan?” I asked, my eyes still on the ceiling.
“Yes, little angel?”
