Page 130 of Delicate Escape

Shep pulled out more scarves, one after the other until he finally reached a silk one. I didn’t know why I’d even bought the damn thing. It wasn’t like I needed a silk scarf in Sparrow Falls, but I’d seen it at the secondhand shop in town, and it was so beautiful. It looked like a delicate painting you could wear.

As Shep studied it, running those long fingers over the watercolor detailing, I was beyond grateful that I’d made the rare impulse purchase. He took the remaining scarves and placed them on top of the dresser. As he stalked back to the bed, my heart rate ratcheted up.

Shep came to a stop at the end of the bed, between the two short posts at the footboard. Those amber eyes were on me again.

He bent, his hand fisting in the blankets and slowly tugging them down. The glide of the sheets against my overheated skin felt like a cool caress. They inched down lower and lower until they were gone completely.

Shep’s gaze cascaded over me, landing in different spots. He traced my collarbone, then dipped lower over my breasts and belly, down to my thighs where my nightgown had ridden up.

“Have I ever told you how much I love these fuckin’ nighties?” Shep growled.

My tongue darted out, wetting my bottom lip. “I don’t like pajama bottoms. They ride up and get all twisted when you sleep.”

Shep’s eyes swept back up my legs to the apex of my thighs, as if he could see through the material to what was beneath. “So damn pretty. All soft satin and lace. And what do you wear under it, Thorn?”

My lips parted on an inhale. “You know it’s nothing.”

Shep let out a sound that was almost a growl. Not exactly that, but it definitely had an animalistic edge. And something about it had wetness gathering between my thighs and my nipples pebbling.

His hands latched around my ankles, and he tugged me farther down the bed. That, too, had me sucking in breath. Shep’s grip wasn’t harsh in any way, but there was power behind it. Something I wanted to feel.

Shep grabbed one of the scarves and tied one end to the bedpostand the other to my ankle. The moment the soft fabric locked around my limb, heat surged through me.

“Too tight?” Shep asked, his voice going gritty as he traced the tie with his finger.

I shook my head.

“Words, Thorn. I need your words.” There was a command in Shep’s voice that had my nipples tightening to a point just shy of pain.

“Not too tight,” I breathed.

He gave the scarf a testing tug. “Good.”

Then Shep moved to my other ankle, repeating the steps. As he rounded the bed, he kept his hand on me, a point of contact. Fingers ghosted up my leg and over my belly, then along my sternum to my chin. Shep’s thumb skated over my bottom lip as if memorizing the swell.

“Arms up. Grab the headboard.”

My arms obeyed before I even made the conscious choice. My fingers latched on to the wooden slats in the furniture, and Shep moved with deft grace, weaving a pale pink scarf around them and tying it off.

“Good?” he rasped.

“Good,” I echoed.

But it was more than good. My breaths came quickly, pressing against the satin of my nightgown. I shifted, trying to alleviate some of the building pressure but couldn’t, not with my feet tied in place.

One corner of Shep’s mouth kicked up. “Can’t press those pretty little thighs together, can you?”

“Shepard.” I didn’t know what the single word even meant. It was searching and reprimanding all at once.

But it only made Shep grin. “At my mercy,” he whispered, his fingers trailing lightly over the lace at my breasts. Then they moved lower, circling a nipple. “Do you know what a gift that is? That trust?”

“Shepard.” It was as if all I could say was his name. But this time, I was begging.

“Don’t worry, Thorn. I’ll take care of you.” His fingers moved in a flash, clamping down on that bud. There was a bite of pain thatlasted a millisecond and then spread into the heat of pleasure. Wetness pooled at my core.

Shep’s hand was gone and reaching for the final silk scarf. He placed it gently over my eyes, carefully wrapping it around my head and tying it off.

Darkness descended and engulfed me completely. I had a moment of panic when there was nothing, and then Shep’s hands were on me again. They trailed down my sides to where the hem of my nightgown rested.

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