Page 38 of T is for…

Baby. Sweetheart. Both names felt good, when she knew they shouldn’t.

He eased her back into a sitting position, and she kept her head bowed, shivering as fresh pain swept through her, once her butt made contact with his hard legs. She laced her hands together behind her neck.

“Look at me.”

Tara looked at him through her lashes, her body feeling soft and heavy with submission and need.

Nathan cupped her breasts, swiping his thumbs across her nipples. Pleasure transformed pain’s remnants, until the throbbing in her lower body wasn’t from the spanking but an extension of the pulsing need that throbbed through her.

“Better?” he asked.

“Yes, thank you, Sir.”

“How does your bottom feel?”

“It hurts.”

“You can do better than that.”

“It feels hot and raw. The skin is tender, but there’s a deeper ache too.”

He made a noncommittal humming noise as he once more cupped her breasts, idly thumbing her nipples. What fell between them wasn’t silence but a soft calm filled with the sound of her quiet moans of pleasure and need.

“Here you go,” a male voice said.

Tara opened her eyes as Nathan released her breasts, reaching up and back to take what looked like a small feather duster from the Dom standing behind the couch.

“Thanks, man.”

“You’re welcome.”

The toy had a molded, dark-wood handle. Feathers of different sizes and shapes flared from the end, and when he held it straight up, it looked like a black and red bouquet.

“Tickling is on my hard limit list, if you hadn’t already figured that out. Sorry if that’s something you were looking forward to.” Nathan tested the feathers against his left arm, frowning in concentration.

“It wasn’t. I was planning to tell you that I would have changed it to ‘no’ had I known about the game and had a chance to review my list.”

“I’m glad I won’t leave your tickle fetish unsatisfied.” He held the toy parallel to the floor and twirled it so the outer ring of feathers brushed his skin.

“That looks a lot like tickling,” she said, unable to keep the comment to herself.

“I know, I’m assessing the least tickly way to use the teaser.”

“Teaser? Is teasing one of our items.”

“Yes.”

Tara opened her mouth, closed it, thought, then with a rush said, “What does that mean?”

Nathan looked at her, the hand holding the teaser dropping to the couch while his other palm landed on her thigh, squeezing with that deep pressure she liked.

“What does teasing mean?” he asked slowly.

“Obviously I know what the word means, but in a BDSM context…” She shrugged, hiding a smile at the way his eyes dropped to her breasts for a moment. “Isn’t teasing…edging?”

“It could be. I certainly think if I decided to edge you for a few hours and call it teasing, no one would tell me I was wrong.”

Tara genuinely wasn’t sure if she loved or hated that idea, and it must have shown on her face because he smirked.

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