Page 38 of Ryder

His words became a balm over the prior hurt.This, whatever was happening between us, spanned more than now.

* * *

We agreed on a safe word, or in this case, words.Red meant stop immediately, yellow meant slow, green meant go.I liked that it was nice and simple, and given I was already sinking into the moment, I thought simple was good.He also said that if I got confused, I could also tell him to stop.

His eyes held mine.I often thought of them as stormy blue ones, but today, they appeared dark and moody as his hand fisted my hair and his lips lowered over mine, kissing me, tongues tangling.I groaned into his mouth, clutching his shoulders.

Impatient.

Needy.

Desperate for more.

I wanted his hands on me.I wanted to feel his cock sliding in and out of my pussy, to feel him over me, filling me.

When he brought the kiss to an end, we were both breathing heavily.He pressed his forehead to mine.“Get on the bed, on your back, and open your legs.”

Damn.Just that command and his husky voice sent a shiver rippling through my body.I nearly fell off his lap in my haste.His dark chuckle followed as he rose from the bed, stripping everything except his jeans as he headed over to a dresser.I stopped breathing as he peeled his T-shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor, my eyes riveted to the rippling expanse of tanned flesh, the enticing contours of his muscular back, presented for my view.I had never seen a more beautiful man.There was so freaking much of him—Herculean shoulders, a tapered waist, ridges of thick muscle.The power in him was spellbinding.

He opened up a cupboard and took several things out, placing them on top of the nearby dresser with a clatter and clunk.There was something long and metal with what looked like cuffs at the end that defied my limited knowledge.

Then he turned around and tutted as his eyes landed on me.Walking over, he placed the items beside me.I couldn’t bring myself to look yet.

“Baby, you can do better than that.Open up for me.”

My breath hitched at his crude words, yet I felt the command.He wanted me to open up so that he could look.I didn’t think there was a woman on the planet who wasn’t self-conscious about her pussy on some level.His expression was as stark and beautiful as his body.He would wait for me to do this for as long as I needed.Steeling myself, I pushed my knees a little wider.My reward was a deep growl emanating from his chest as his eyes locked on the apex of my thighs.

“Perfect,” he said.“Every single thing about you is fucking perfect.”

His praise soothed my nerves, because I could tell he wasn’t making up a line.In his eyes, I was perfect.

“I like you like this,” he said, his gaze holding mine.“All spread open.I’m going to keep you that way.”Leaning over, he picked up the long metal pole that he placed on the bed.“This is called a spreader.I guess the name is self-explanatory.”

I fought the urge to clamp my legs shut.He was going to put that on me, and it would hold me open and vulnerable while he disciplined me with his belt.My eyes flashed to his.

“Do you want me to put the spreader onto you?Do you want to be held open?Can you do that for me?”

This wasn’t what I’d imagined when he mentioned restraints.Tying me to the bed maybe, but certainly nothing like this.My legs were wide.He would be able to see all of me once it was fitted in place.I wouldn’t have a choice and couldn’t shut my legs, even if I tried.

“Yes,” I said, knowing after our last time together that he needed the words.

“Good girl,” he said, placing it on the bed between my spread legs.On each side, there was a strap and buckle.

I thought he would begin straight away.Instead, he leaned in, capturing my chin in his strong hand, and gave me a deep, sexy kiss of tangled tongues and panted breath.I groaned into his mouth, wildly aroused, throbbing, and he’d barely touched me yet.

His head lifted, and he pinned me with a look.“Every time you do something like this, it takes you closer to your reward.”Returning to the bottom of the bed, he drew my legs apart.A groan escaped my lips as he eased them wider still, so that he could fit the bar between my feet.

I jerked, but Ryder held me still, a warm hand on each ankle.

“Easy, baby,” he said.“I won’t fit it until you’re ready.”

I sucked in great gulps of air, then nodded.

“Baby?”

“I’m okay,” I said.“Green.Please do it.”

He took his time about it, resting the cuff around my left ankle, letting me get used to the feel of it before he buckled it closed and repeating on the other side.Then his hand enclosed the whole of it within a comforting weight.His other hand caressed from my calf to my lower thigh, then back down again.

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