Page 14 of T is for…

Tara groaned, letting her head tip so she was looking at the ceiling.

“That’s a dangerous noise to make.”

Her head snapped up. Nathan was looking at her…mouth? She pressed her lips together, and his nostrils flared. He was looking at her mouth.

“Are you attracted to me?” Tara asked bluntly.

Nathan’s lips twitched, as he was more than used to how direct she could be. “You know sexual attraction isn’t necessary for BDSM.”

“I’m well aware. Trust is what’s critical.” He’d dodged the question, but the way he was looking at her was an answer.

“And I trust you.” His words sounded like a confession, as if it was something more intimate than trust he was admitting.

But maybe trust was the pinnacle. Broken trust could destroy love, but falling out of love didn’t necessarily breed distrust.

“I trust you, too,” she said.

“That’s what I’m scared of losing.”

That was a sobering thought, and she tensed, starting to climb off his lap before she’d fully processed his words. Her instincts were working faster than her internal monologue, and her instincts valued her relationship with Nathan more than…

More than what?

Why had she proposed playing the checklist game as assigned, when the logical course of action was to refuse?

Because you’ve always wondered what could have been.

And soon you’re not going to have the time or energy to explore what-ifs.

Tara forced herself to relax, her tight muscles going soft, her weight settling on his thighs and against the arm of the couch.

Nathan’s free hand, the one not supporting and massaging her lower back, settled on her bare knee.

Tara’s legs were stretched out, her toes braced against the other arm of the couch, a slight bend in her knees, the soft material of her robe clinging to her legs enough that she wasn’t too exposed.

His hand felt hot and strong against her knee, and Tara suppressed a moan.

Then his thumb tucked under the edge of the fabric, flicking it up. The bottom of the right side of her robe slithered to the side, exposing her right leg all the way to the hip.

His hand slid halfway up the newly exposed flesh. Tara held her breath, watching his hand, her whole body warm and tingling with anticipation.

“To answer your question,” Nathan said mildly. “Yes. I’ve always thought you were gorgeous.”

Chapter 4

“Always?” If that was true, she couldn’t decide if she wanted to kiss him or shake him.

His head cocked at her skeptical question, and something changed. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but it was as if the air got heavy and close. Physically the shift in his mood, his bearing, was visible only in small things—the slight angle changes of his brows and a tightening of the skin around his eyes and mouth.

Nathan sat forward, his back no longer making contact with the couch. His hand tightened on her thigh, and she stared down at where his fingers slightly indented her flesh.

“Tara, are you calling me a liar? Think very hard before you answer.” His voice was low and dark with warning, the threat of punishment implicit.

It had been years since she’d let herself think about this aspect of Nathan. Not Nathan her best friend but Master Nathan—sexually dominant and strict.

As her mind reeled, her body reacted to his dominance and the sweet promise of punishment. Her skin was hot and tight one second, pebbled with goose bumps the next.

He’d barely moved, and his words weren’t that shocking—the threat implicit not explicit. And yet she’d reacted as if he’d put one hand around her throat, the other on her pussy, and warned her to be a good girl. Until this moment with Nathan, the memory of a Dom doing exactly that had been a go-to memory for masturbating.

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