Page 126 of Heart of Stone

Carefully, she pulled at the satin bow and slid her fingernail across the tapeline to unwrap it. Inside the box, nestled in a royal blue pillow, lay the necklace that I had a local jeweler custom craft for her.

“Alex, it’s beautiful,” she said in awe. She ran her fingers across the platinum interlocked spiral emblem and over the three smooth sapphires that were placed in the surrounding circle. She looked up at me and smiled.

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!

Confident that she wasn’t going to argue with me about the necklace, I released a sigh of relief.

“It’s a triskelion, or at least a variation of one,” I told her. “Some people call it a triskele.”

“What’s a triskele?”

“It’s a symbol of the BDSM community.”

“Oh. Well, um…” she hesitated and her smile faltered. “Am I…to wear this? I mean, don’t get me wrong – it is truly a beautiful necklace. I’m just not too keen on advertising my new-found interests.”

“Don’t worry,” I lightly laughed. “The triskelion symbol has many meanings actually, depending on who you ask. Most people you encounter will think it means something entirely different. I personally believe that may be why the BDSM community adapted it. Look it up one day, Krystina. You may be intrigued by it’s history.”

“How so?”

“BDSM may be a subject that is never talked about, but many aspects of it are often in plain sight. Here, let me put in on you.”

I reached to take the box from her hands. I could still see the apprehension on her face, but she didn’t argue when I secured the clasp around the back of her neck. The emblem rested perfectly against her smooth skin, accenting the flawless swell of her breasts.

“Well, whatever the symbol is, you have impeccable taste. I love it, Alex. Thank you.”

“I’m glad you do. That will make it easier to give you the last surprise.”

“Alex,” she said in a warning tone. “I said thank you for the necklace, not the clothes. I’m still not sure what to think about those, let alone a third surprise.”

“It’s nothing, really. This one is more meant as a joke than anything else. Open the top drawer for my dresser.”

She eyed me suspiciously, but did as I instructed.

“What’s this?” she asked after she peered at the contents.

“Replacement underwear for the ones that I ripped off you. Remember?”

I flashed her a devilish smile, recalling the night that I tore the black lace from her hips. The image of doing that again caused a stirring in my groin.

“Oh, I can certainly remember! But this is more than a replacement – there’s got to be at least ten pair in here!”

“A dozen to be exact,” I moved over to her and circled my arms around her slim waist. I leaned down to whisper in her ear. “So that means, I get to rip them off of you twelve more times.”

I felt her shiver in my arms, and I knew then that I had truly won. I reached down to cup her behind, pulling her hips tighter against me.

“Twelve more times, huh?”

Her words sounded breathy already and I hardened in response.

“Yep,” I confirmed, nipping at her ear. I trailed a line down her neck, feeling the beat of her pulse beneath her skin. My hands found the hem of her sweater, and I slid them up her back to undo the clasp of her bra.

“Well then,” she started, but then paused to moan when I found one of her nipples. “We should, ah…we should get to work on that.”

“I thought you wanted to watch a movie.”

I rolled her taut peaks around between my thumbs and forefingers, flicking them softly while I did so.

“The movie can wait,” she breathed.

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