Page 102 of Illicit Education

Somehow, even with the bright lights on the stage and the knowledge that dozens of people watched on, Cabot Reed made me feel like we were the only two people in the world.

Whether in Reed Tower, the Rabbit Hole, or Central Park, he was the kind of man that made everything else disappear.

“Sit,” he whispered.

There hadn’t been a chair here a moment ago, but I trusted him not to let me fall flat on my ass, so I did as I was told. Looking up at the satisfaction in his gaze, I sucked in a shaky breath. He lowered himself to a squat, and whispered, “Do you understand that consent is yours to give?”

I nodded.

Reed clenched his jaw.

“Yes,” I quickly corrected. I still struggled with the whole verbal consent thing, but we were working on it.

“Do you understand that you can take back consent at any time?”

I nodded again, then quickly added, “Yes.”

“Good. Do you have a safe word?”

“Lavender.”

Reed’s lips twitched. The first time I’d picked that word he’d chuckled, giving me a peek of the relaxed man I only got little glimpses of.

“Lavender,” he repeated back to me. “Good. How are you feeling?”

I pulled in a deep breath. “A little nervous.”

“Do you trust me?” he murmured.

“Yes, I do.”

Reed nodded approvingly. “Eyes on me.” Then he stood and moved to the side of me, facing the audience with one hand on my shoulder.

Someone coughed in the audience, reminding me we weren’t alone, and I looked out at the crowd.

Reed squeezed my shoulder. “Look at me.”

I met his gaze.

“It’s just us.”

“It’s just us,” I repeated.

He gave me a full, genuine smile, and my heart skipped a beat.

The man was absolutely beautiful.

He cupped my cheek and I sucked in a breath as all the cells in my body rushed to that place of contact as if each one of them was desperate to be closer to him. He held my face as he brought his mouth to my ear. “Do you consent to being tied up, Ms. Blake?” He slid his hand down around the base of my skull.

A shiver of lust ran down my spine. “Yes.”

“Yes, what?” His fingers flexed on my neck. Not painfully, though, just enough to get my attention.

“Yes, please?” I teased.

His low chuckle tickled my ear and tightened my groin. “The appropriate response is ‘Yes,Master’. I’ll let it slide this time.” He nudged my earlobe with his nose and I sucked in a breath.

Had this conversation been loud enough for others to hear, he would have demanded that I call him Master.

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