“Look at me.”

Shakily, she looked up to meet his burning eyes. She didn’t know what he saw, but Rainer made a sound that was almost a growl. And then his hips were surging, his length sliding into her ever so carefully. He was too thick to take easily, but she was ready, her need making her pulse around him.

Groaning, Rainer surged forward until he was buried to the hilt, swallowing her gasp with his mouth. “Oh, God, the feel of you,” she whimpered.

Satisfaction transformed his features. “Like that, do you?” He withdrew before slowly inching back in. “Well you’re going to love this.”

Then he started to fuck her.

She held on to his shoulders as he started to thrust. He stroked deeply, sometimes slowly, teasingly, then hard and fast, stimulating that deep pleasure point in the very heart of her.

Trusting this new but powerful connection, Georgia let go, giving herself over to sensation in a way she had never been able to before. One tight twisting orgasm blended into the next until Georgia was boneless, her body sated and satisfied. But Rainer hadn’t climaxed so when he flipped them, urging her to straddle him, she forced her lax muscles to work.

“I like this.” Georgia reached down to run her fingers across his hairline where the vibrant red of his hair was starting to show beneath the brown. “With your roots starting to show, it’s like fucking a burning ember.”

Rainer snickered, but then his eyes lit on her wrists.

“Wait.” Mouth firming, he pulled on the ropes, Winding the slack around her wrists, he bound them together. He held them in one hand, taking control despite the fact she was on top.

“Now ride me. Hard.”

Breathing fast, her body thrumming with anticipation, Georgia gamely tried. But without the use of her hand, he had to help her balance. Gripping her wrists in both hands, he lifted them over her head as she rode him, gripping his cock with every stroke as she worked him over until he was groaning, his neck corded.

And then he broke, letting out a shout as he jerked his hips up, grinding into her as his cock throbbed, spilling into the condom. Georgia soaked in the dying pulses, climaxing a final time before letting herself fall forward.

Rainer wrapped his arms around her back, her bound hands between them.

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

When Georgia woke up next, the ropes had been unwound, but her wrists were still tied. She lifted her hands, examining the knots dispassionately.

She knew if she asked, Rainer would untie her. But she also knew he didn’t want to.

That was fine with her. The fire was high enough and there was the smell of bacon in the air. Snuggling under the blanket, she lay on the bed, listening for him.

He appeared a few minutes later, a plate in hand. Rainer arranged the pillows behind her, helping her sit up. Then he began to feed her. A forkful of eggs, a piece of bacon. He didn’t speak until he’d handed her the glass of orange juice. “I plugged my phone into the generator and managed to get a call out to the solar power manufacturer. The number was on the broken controller. They’re coming out with a replacement today.”

“Are the roads clear enough?”

His mouth quirked up. “I authorized payment for emergency service, and they said that wouldn’t be a problem. They’ll come up in a helicopter if they have to, to drop their technician. But I suspect it’ll be a snowmobile.”

The latter proved true. The technician came by in a rented vehicle with a partner. One climbed onto the roof with a snowblower, clearing the panels while the other replaced the controller.

But Georgia didn’t oversee the repair. She was still tied up in the living room. Rainer dealt with the repairmen outside, dismissing them with promises of a bonus. The heat was just starting to pump into the room when he came back inside carrying a box.

“What’s that?” she asked when he set it on the mattress next to her.

“I had the repair guys pick up a delivery at the post office in town, something I had shipped overnight mail.”

Tearing off the tape, he discarded the shipping box and opened the smaller one inside. Georgia took in the thick leather cuffs inside, unblinking. His mouth twitched at her lack of surprise, but he grew serious when she held out her hands.

Rainer undid the ropes, tracing the skin of her wrists to make sure it was undamaged. When he was satisfied, she didn’t have a mark on her, he wrapped the cuffs around each wrist. Padded and lined in soft fabric, he closed each one like a miniature belt before closing a special fastener over the top as well as a large metal ring. She didn’t realize it was a lock until he took out the key. But she didn’t object when he locked each cuff, then fastened the climbing ropes to the ring.

The knot wasn’t elaborate. It was simple enough for her to undo with a little effort should the need arise. But it was her willingness to wear the cuffs that mattered.

When he was done, he took her in his arms. Already naked, Georgia climbed over his thighs, unzipping him. At his urging she freed his cock, taking it in both hands. She wanted to stroke the hot satin-covered steel against her cheek, to taste him, but her small ministrations were too much for him.

Hissing slightly, he pulled her over him, positioning her in place. They came together in one fluid motion, so in sync that she had no time to think, to second-guess her actions. In his arms, she was a creature of instinct, acting and reacting.