Page 98 of Bound By Words

His feet disappeared, and I leaned forward, flattening my palms against the cool floor. Goosebumps rippled across my back as I followed him, but they weren’t from being cold. For once, I wasn’t sure what he would do to me. He’d explained training and what he was planning to introduce me to, so I knew what to expect in that aspect, but I knew my eye-rolling had changed what he’d proposed.

My mind raced through what I’d checked and filled in on the section on punishments. Crawling across the floor naked would likely not end in doing meditation or writing lines of self-affirmation, so I tried to remain calm as I followed him into his playroom.

I’d been tempted to peek into the room last night, but Nathan hadn’t shown me his space yet, and I didn’t ask out of respect for his privacy.

A plush cream-colored rug covered the floor as I crossed the threshold, the fibers soft on my knees.

“Stop.” His voice was low as his bare feet and plaid-covered legs entered my limited field of vision.

Before I could stop myself, a tiny giggle escaped my mouth. There was something endlessly amusing about Nathan channeling this intimidating Dom leading me into his playroom while I was naked, but he was wearing loose plaid pajama pants. Wasn’t it in their handbook to play in ripped denim or leather pants? I doubted Michael in Chase’s book ever played in his PJs.

“Something funny, sunshine?” he asked as he reached down, gathering my loose hair at the nape of my neck and pulling my head back. My eyes closed as he pulled hard enough for my back to arch.

“Eyes on me,” he commanded, his voice lower than it typically sounded.

As my eyes slowly opened, I looked up toward him, expecting at least a little smirk, but his face was entirely sober as he looked down at me, his posture rigid. The muscles in his chest flexed as he leaned down, his hand moving backward as he steered me with my hair still held tightly in his fist.

“On your knees.”

Pushing my hands against the floor, I leaned back on my knees, my eyes locked with his.

“What was so funny?”

Unsure of what to say, I remained quiet, staring up at him as the slight pain in my scalp radiated through my body. Wetness pooled between my legs, and a tremor raced through my thighs as I fought the urge to seek friction.

“That’s fine,” he said ominously after a few moments of loaded silence. “Don’t tell me. That will make this more fun for me.”

My mouth opened, ready to speak, but he tilted his head to the side, shaking slightly. “I gave you a chance, and you didn’t say anything. Now, I want you to remain quiet while I give you five strikes. The only thing I should hear is counting.” My pulse was pounding when he straightened, tugging lightly as he stood. “On the bench. Up you go.”

Nathan grasped my elbow as I stood, steadying me as he rotated his hand, changing the hold on my hair but not letting go. He turned me toward a wooden bench that was taller than waist height, the top covered in padded black leather. It had two L-shaped padded brackets mounted on the legs closest to me, and I could see two platforms attached to the sides of the far legs, a black leather buckle attached to each side. I didn’t even need to ask if he’d made it because the deep mahogany stain matched the furniture in his bedroom.

“Lie across the bench, knees on the holsters,” he instructed, his lips only a few inches from my ear.

He followed closely, offering a hand as I tried to get into position, the leather cool against the fronts of my thighs as I leaned down.

“Arms out in front of you.”

My hands shook as I reached forward, my breasts flattening against the soft leather as I stretched my arms out in front of me.

Nathan released my hair, grasping my hips and pushing me forward slightly before I felt the leather strap wrap around the back of my thigh. He repeated it on the other side as I tried to keep from trembling, my breath coming out in pants.

When he appeared in my line of sight, bending down and placing a finger underneath my chin, I finally saw playful Nathan; his lips pulled into a wry smile.

“Did you ever settle on a safe word, sunshine?” he asked as he crouched down in front of me.

I nodded, exhaling as his thumb caressed the side of my jaw softly. “Matrix.”

“Like the movie?” He chuckled, his serious demeanor softening momentarily.

“No, like in computer science.”

“Hmm…interesting,” he hummed.

“You’d be surprised at how dirty most computer programming terms sound.”

“But I’m not surprised that you interpreted them as dirty,” he laughed, kissing me softly. “Are you ready for me to rearrange your back-end code now?”

Biting my lip to hold the laugh that wanted to escape, I nodded.

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