Page 121 of Heat & Deceit
“I’ve seen a movie.”
“Right. Well, you can forget about all of that, for the most part. I’m not going to be so controlling, and the only place I’ll ask for your submission is when we’re alone.”
Submitting to another alpha?
My mind rails at the thought. But haven’t I already submitted to him? To them? They’re different.
“I’m a softdom. Do you know what that is?”
I shake my head.
“It means that I prefer to dominate with pleasure instead of humiliation.” He begins to untie the rope. “Alphas like to be in control, yes?”
A tiny chuckle slips past my lips.
His mouth twitches. “This is another form of that, perhaps a bit more controlled.” The way his hands move the rope, with practiced ease and a firm sort of reverence, makes me hold my breath. “Do you feel safe?”
I lift my gaze to meet his. Strangely enough, I do. Something about this room, how it smells equally of each alpha, and the steady calmness with which he watches me, fills me with security.
“Yes.”
He smiles at that. “I want you to focus on that feeling while I work. If you get overwhelmed or need me to stop, just tell me.”
“No safe word?”
“Stopis more than sufficient for this sort of encounter.”
I can’t help but wonder when I might need more than that word, but there isn’t much time to think. Javi rises to his knees and inches closer. My muscles bunch together.
“What’s something that makes you happy?” he asks, wrapping the rope around me and securing it with the first knot.
“Um.” I pinch my eyebrows together, embarrassed to admit the thing that makes me happy is working in the coffee shop and seeing them.
“You don’t have to tell me,” he says. “Think about that and breathe. You’ll be most comfortable if you relax. Close your eyes.” He places his hand on my chest. “Breathe.”
I immediately do as he says.
He purrs. “Good girl.”
Those two words zing around inside my head, gooseflesh rippling over my arm. Pride swells inside my chest at having pleased him. I redouble my efforts to do what he told me to. Slowly, muscle by muscle, my body relaxes, releasing the tension I’ve been holding on to.
“Perfect, mentirosa. You listen so well.” He brushes his hand over my cheek. “Lift your arms. I’ll bind them in a moment.”
I keep my eyes closed while he works, focusing on the feel of the rope, surprisingly soft and silky. The gentle scrape of his knuckles across my skin. The brush of his breath as he leans over, focusing on a knot. The way the rope tightens with each addition. It’s not painful. Javi is securing me in a cocoon of relaxation and deep breathing. My heart beats languidly, not at all threatened or afraid of what Javi might do to me in such a vulnerable state.
He asked if I trusted him, and while the answer came to me, I didn’t realize how much I believed in that trust. He runs his fingers over the rope and knots across my torso.
“Lovely,” he whispers, brushing his lips across mine. My eyes are still closed, and the kiss is a surprise, but I don’t jolt or pull away. His mouth moves to the shell of my ear. “Your body was made for this.” He nudges my cheek with his nose and pulls back.
Desire blooms inside of me, and the room floods with cherry blossoms, my perfume complementing the heady mixture of alpha pheromones in a way that has my thighs pressing together.
My flesh presses between the rope, but I’m not self-conscious about it, not with the praises and gentle care he’s taking. He hasn’t told me to open my eyes. I pinch them shut, even though I’m desperate to stare into his emerald eyes. I’m still breathing, but it’s no longer shallow. His fingers run over the rope that circles my left breast. I arch into the touch, but he doesn’t cup me like I hoped he might.
“Are you doing okay?”
I lick my lips and nod. “Perfect.”
“I’d like to bind your hands behind your back now.” He runs two fingers around my breast, edging close but not nearly close enough. My stomach flips.
