Page 98 of Dance for Me

“Indeed.”

“Okay, can I ask a different question, Sir?”

He strode through the walkway, his mind already sorting through scenes he could make work for them. “One.”

“Where’s Liam? That was Anarchy serving behind the bar, wasn’t it?”

“That’s two questions, Bodie.” Damn it, she’d noticed the boy’s absence; Braun really hoped she hadn’t been that much attention. “It’s Liam’s night off, so Anarchy kindly stepped in to cover for him. He’s been invaluable, so I can’t begrudge his time spent away from here.”

“Oh.” She was disappointed, that was evident, but took his answer without further comment. She stayed quiet, curling into him as best she could as he walked through the doors into the second barn.

He swore he saw her ears prick at the sound of impact play and sex. His certainly did. Dominance dropped onto his shoulders, a heavy cloak of anticipation and responsibility. Fuck, he’d missed it—hadn’t grasped the fact he mourned the loss of security and routine.

The rigging area was free. Braun considered his options and smiled wickedly. It would take some improvisation to make her comfortable, but he had a feeling his trembling subbie would enjoy the scene he was quickly finalizing in his head.

He set her on her feet, steadied her, and let the play area sink in. It was a simple scaffold of metal bars, similar to a jungle gym, and offered a multitude of possibilities for play. It took a few seconds for it to dawn on her just how he intended for them to scene tonight.

“You’re going to tie me up,” she mumbled, gazing up at the system of bars above her head. It didn’t escape his notice that she slipped her hands behind her back. “From up there?”

“I am. You’re going to trust me to tie you up, Bodie, and take you flying. Once we begin, I will never be out of sight. You’ll be able to see me, hear me, smell me.” When she wobbled, he braced her. “I want you to wait here for me while I get a few things. Take the time to think about what scares you about being restrained. When I come back, we’ll talk about it, and go from there.”

Braun’s pride swelled when she nodded, hesitant but willing. Taking her hands, he curled them around the nearest upright bar. “If you need to sit down, shout for the DM. Otherwise, stand right here and just breathe, Bodie.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Leaving her was harder than he thought. Part of him felt as though he’d just tied a puppy to a streetlight and walked away while another assured him this was part of her growing curve. Aside from that blessed week with her—the calm between storms—they hadn’t spent much time playing.

When it came to sex, to dominance and submission, their trust in each other was a fledgling bird, delicate and in need of nurturing. And, every now and then, it required a push from the nest.

Braun hurried to his office. Everything he required was there, which made life easier. With the essentials in hand, he strode back to Bodie, relieved she was not only still standing where he’d left her, but standing strong. He took a moment to watch her without her knowledge, and his pride stepped up a level.

Her grip on the pole was loose, and she was using it more for physical support than she was clinging to it through fear of what was coming. Her face, beautiful in its serenity, held a relaxed expression. Eyes closed, thinking her thoughts, his subbie was finding her headspace and embracing it.

Reluctant to break the spell binding her to peace, Braun moved slowly. Easing his presence into existence rather than bursting in and disrupting her internal process. Silently, he walked behind her, skimming his open palm over her back, alerting her to his return with nothing more than the brush of hand over cloth.

She arched into his touch. “Master Braun.”

“My good girl,” he purred. “Stay there, Boadicea. Just like that.”

He crossed to the solid wooden utility bench tucked against the back wall beyond the rigging, setting out his tools. Bodie’s leather wrist cuffs, two sets of rope, and his elk hide flogger. Three things to lift his sub from the chaos of her life and let her soar for a while.

With the cuffs in his hand, the leather soft and familiar, Braun returned to her, standing in front of her. “Give me your right hand, Bodie. Did you think about what scares you?”

She obeyed, eyes still closed. His fingers undid the button on the cuff of her shirt, pushing it out of his way, then replaced it with leather. As he buckled it snugly around her wrist and checked the popper, she murmured, “My mother tied me to a fence. Left me there, naked, for the workmen to find me.”

“I know, little one. It was cruel. Unnecessary.”

“It was so cold, and I was all alone. Anyone could have come by and...and...” Her breath hitched, her eyes popping open. “I’d have been at their mercy.”

He’d have found a way to go back in time and murder anyone who’d dare touch her, take advantage of her in that situation. Braun lifted her hand to his mouth, kissed the cuff where her pulse rested beneath. “You’ll be at my mercy now, little one. Because you choose to be, not by force.” Releasing her, he waggled his fingers. “Other hand.”

Bodie gave it to him and he repeated his actions down to the kiss on the cuff. She licked her lips nervously, edging from her quiet place as he swiftly unfastened the buttons running down the middle of her shirt, then peeled it off and tossed it aside.

His heartbeat turned into a tribal war drum, his gaze drinking in the sight of her breasts contained in the simple web of purple lace. That drum intensified when he stripped her of the bra and bared her breasts to his hungry eyes. When she shifted her hands to cover her stomach, Braun scowled. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I...” Her attention wasn’t on him, but on the people around them. “They shouldn’t have to see...”

Twin strands of annoyance and sympathy intertwined. “The scars of a woman who’s been through hell and back?” Braun sank to his knees in front of her, gripping her hips. “My woman, who’s fought a war no one can imagine and come out alive? They’ll see what they want to see, Boadicea, and if it’s anything less than what I see in you, then shame on them.”

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