Page 118 of Escape Velocity

She finished by marching past him to the bed and yanking the embroidered spread and blanket to the floor so that only an expanse of soft fur was covering the mattress.

Whirling back to him, she ordered, “Now take off your clothes, and lie down. And fold everything neatly,” she added, remembering what he had required of her in the cargo bay.

With her breath frozen again, she waited to see what would happen.

When Max started to unbutton his shirt, she let the captive breath trickle out.

He turned away from her, intent on carrying out her orders. She had never stared at his body before, but as he folded his shirt onto the chair, she admired the taut muscles of his broad back and nicely shaped arms. When he pulled off his pants, she took in his very masculine butt. Seeing him naked was charging her up, but she made her voice hard and commanding in keeping with the role she had set herself to play.

“Lie down.”

He hesitated a moment, then did as she asked, and she was pleased to note that his cock was taut with arousal.

“Well, you’re hard as one of the staves in the fence out there. I see I’ll have something to work with,” she said in a conversational tone.

Ignoring his strangled exclamation, she moved toward the edge of the bed and looked down at him. “You are my slave now. Under my complete control. Put your arms out to the sides. The way I told you I wanted them.”

He did, but not to their full extension, as though he was afraid to trust her that far.

“I want your arms out all the way, like they’re tied in that position, she ordered,” and he slowly did her bidding until he looked like a sacrificial victim.

His eyes were wary. “What are you going to do?” he asked in a taut voice.

“You think I’m going to tell you?” She kept her gaze rigid. “Let’s use your rules. I don’t want you to speak unless I give you permission.”

He gave her a doubtful glance but pressed his lips together. He looked so vulnerable that her heart turned over, but she wasn’t going to stop this yet.

“I think we’re ready to begin.”

His gaze never left her, and she struggled to keep from smiling as she reached to the placket at the front of her dress and began releasing the buttons. Knowing she had his full attention, she opened the bodice just above her waist and pushed the fabric out of the way on either side, exposing her breasts with their tight, aroused tips. Arching her back, she lifted the mounds in her hands, then stroked them, hearing Max make a muffled moan as he watched.

Smiling again, she circled her taut nipples with her fingers, then squeezed and tugged at them, watching the avid expression on his face.

“You’re letting me know how much you like this,” she murmured. “But, of course, you can only watch.”

She stood there for another few moments, torturing herself and Max. But finally, the need for contact drew her to him. When she eased onto the bed, she heard him draw in a strangled breath.

“You aroused me in the cargo bay. And then you made me wait for satisfaction. How do you like it?” she whispered as she stroked his shoulders, then combed her fingers through the hair on his chest before finding his nipples and doing what she had done to herself, wringing a gasp from him.

Before he could enjoy that too much, she glided her hand lower, over his ribs, then his abdomen. His muscles jumped under her touch. When she bypassed his cock and ran her nails up one thigh, he made a pleading sound.

He had spanked her. Did he need physical punishment as well? Or was arousing him and then denying him release enough? She hoped so because she couldn’t bear to strike him.

She went up on her knees then, pulling the dress up to her waist, letting him see that she was naked underneath.

Gathering the skirt up with one hand, she used the other to play with the curly hair at the juncture of her legs, then slid her hand a little lower. But she stayed away from the throbbing place she wanted to touch, because she had vowed not to lose control.

She’d gotten into the spirit of this torture session. Lifting one shoulder, she said sweetly, “You know, all this fabric is in the way.” Then, very slowly she eased her arms out of the sleeves, pulled the dress over her head and tossed it onto the floor.

“Gods, this is making my body flame,” she said, arching her back and fanning herself with a flattened hand, knowing his gaze was following every tiny move she made.

His teeth were clenched, his hands dug into the fur under his fingers, and his breath sawed in and out of his lungs. She must be driving him mad—because she knew what she was doing to herself.

When she reached out and delicately glided one finger along the length of his red, swollen cock, she felt his whole body jerk. She kept her gaze downcast because looking into his pleading eyes would undo her.

With her teeth clenched, she continued to stroke him with two fingertips, before closing her fist around his rod, moving up and down the shaft in a way she was pretty sure would drive him insane with need.

But how much more of this could she take? Teasing him, touching him like this was almost more than she could stand.

---