It was late Saturday night and they’d been watching a movie, some old sixties crime thriller and Cherry had never felt so wonderful. She’d called Wade, not wanting him to worry about her. He’d been curious, but content to wait until Monday for all the juicy details.

It was strange to be so happy. She’d spent her childhood trying to please her parents, only to leave them disappointed that their only child was merely average. Then she’d married Brody and he’d been equally disappointed. With Dante, she felt as if it was enough to be herself. As if he were content to be in her presence, eating popcorn and watching a movie. Go figure.

When she noticed his touch on her thigh moving higher, she held her breath, aching for more. Aching for him to touch her very center.

“Have you been enjoying the weekend so far?”

“You know I have.”

“Are you sore anymore?”

She felt her cheeks fill with heat. All they’d done and she still blushed. “No, not sore.”

“I thought not. How about I take you to the bedroom.”

“What about the movie?” She didn’t really care about the movie, but she thought she should protest a little.

He stood and held out his hand. “The movie is a rental. It’ll be here when we’re through. Come.”

Cherry took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. He started walking them toward the bedroom, when Cherry thought of something else. “Dante?”

He went straight to the bed and sat down, then pulled her between his thighs. He cupped her ass and they both moaned in pleasure. “Yeah, baby?”

“You said there were other things you bought from that adult store. What are they?”

Dante’s hands stilled and he looked into her eyes. “Do you want to see them?”

She swallowed hard and went for broke. “Yes.”

Dante’s predatory grin filled her with heat. “I think you’re going to enjoy them quite a bit. I know I will.” He stared to get up, but stopped. “Are you willing to submit to me again? Am I your Master, baby?”

Cherry shook with anticipation, her entire body revved at the notion of playing the submissive for Dante. How had he so easily tapped into that side of her when she hadn’t even known it was there herself?

Dante stroked his hand down her cheek. “It is your choice, you know. It’s always your choice,” he reassured. “I’m fine leaving the games out for tonight.”

She blurted out her answer, lest she lose her nerve altogether. “Yes, I will submit.” Dante’s entire stance changed. His muscles appeared larger, his body bigger. His incredible blue eyes spoke of an untamed panther, barely caged.

“Good girl,” he praised. “Get undressed and lie down on your back while I get your toys.”

Cherry quickly did his bidding. She’d already learned what the consequences were when she didn’t obey. As she stripped out of her shirt and bra, her mind conjured up several scenarios and discarded every one. She had no clue what Dante had planned for them this time. As she shimmied out of the shorts he’d let her borrow, she nearly laughed. Her sexual experience just wasn’t extensive enough. She wished now she’d taken more time to explore the Whips and Gags magazine because she was still sorely lacking in the imagination department. What toy could he have for her now? She’d thought the leash and collar pretty wild. She got up onto the bed and lay down on her back. Cherry tracked Dante’s movements across the room. He’d already turned the lights down, bathing them in a soft glow. The closer he moved the better she could see what he had in his hands. But his gorgeous, nude body kept distracting her.

Never mind the toys. She wanted him.

When he reached the side of the bed, his erection was now at eye level. Or mouth level rather. She really wanted to reach out and touch him. But, she was the submissive and as such she needed permission first. As he dropped the toys to the mattress her eyes bulged out. At least one item she recognized.

“Is that a ball gag?”

“Something like that. It’s called a cock gag,” he explained in a voice gone hoarse. “Now, enough talking,” he ordered, “come here.”

Cherry wriggled across the bed until she lay along the edge right in front of him, his heavy erection and balls inches from her eager mouth.

“I’m going to wrap the strap around your head and the small purple cock goes into your mouth.” He paused then asked, “Can you handle it, baby?”

Cherry gulped. Holy hell, what had she gotten herself into?

Dante rubbed the purple jelly tip of the gag over her lips. “Come on, be a good little girl and open wide.”

Said the bad boy to the trusting innocent. “What if I can’t handle it? I’m not sure about this.” She eyed the gag with both uneasiness and anticipation. Dante did that to her. Just when she thought she was in control of her emotions, he did something primitive and sent her spiraling out of control again.

“I’ll know and we’ll stop. There’s nothing exciting in it for me if you aren’t deriving pleasure from this.”

“Okay,” she said, still reluctant but willing. “Go ahead.”

Dante leaned down and kissed her, then whispered against her lips, “You’re forgetting the game. Let me hear you say it right.”

“Sorry, Master,” she bit out.

Dante chuckled. “You’re very obstinate.”

“Just another of my many charms.”

“And I look forward to discovering each and every one of them,” he murmured, then he loosened the buckle and wrapped the black strap around her head, positioning the cock gag in between her lips. Once it was tight enough, he asked, “Is it comfortable?”

She nodded, unable to speak. The silicone was warm and smooth and her mouth had to stretch a little, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. And the wild look on Dante’s face drove her pussy wild. Her dewy center throbbed for his touch.

“I want to fuck you like that, baby,” he growled, then grabbed her legs and moved her around. Now her feet were over his shoulders and her ass was on the edge of the bed. His gaze held hers as he drove into her cunt with one hard thrust. Cherry gasped at the intense pleasure and threw her head back. Dante pulled all the way out then drove in again, burying himself deep.

“I can’t get enough of you,” he gritted out as he fucked her faster, flinging her into another world. “I look at you and it makes me want to shut you away in a cave. Somewhere no one can see you. So no other man can ever touch you.” He pulled out and bent to lick her dripping cunt, then admitted, “I want to own you.”

She moaned her displeasure when he didn’t fill her again with his hard length. Instead, Dante kissed her mound, then shuffled her around so she was once again lying on the bed. She made a sound of protest, already frustrated with the inability to speak.

Dante came down onto the bed beside her, holding the other adult toy he’d bought her. “I know what you want, because I want it too. You’ll get it, I promise. But first I want you to let me try something. Will you?”

She wanted to shout she was so turned on. To show him how annoyed she was, Cherry placed her own palm over her mound and rubbed. He stopped her instantly with his hand over hers. “None of that. You need to learn restraint. Discipline. It’s all part of the pleasure.”

Inside, her body screamed with the need to come. But, she made a valiant attempt to regulate her breathing and nod her consent.

“You’re such a mix of innocent and vixen. My body is at war each time we make love. I want to eat you whole, but I also want to stick you in a protective little bubble.” His calloused palm roamed over her curves, lighting her on fire. “You make me say and do things I’ve never even imagined.”

She knew the feeling. As she lay there, her body liquid lava, her mouth stuffed full with the cock gag, Cherry could easily understand what Dante was saying. Her thoughts scattered though as he showed her the other item he’d bought. It was a crystal box. Inside were two round pearls. Big pearls. Huh? Her confusion must have shown on her face and Dante was quick to explain.

“Have you ever heard of Ben Wa balls?” She shook her head, lost and a little scared. “They’re designed for a woman’s pleasure. They go inside your pussy. Once they’re in, I’ll fuck you. Slow. Teasingly. I’ll hold onto the silk string attached to the end. It makes the experience for you much more stimulating.”

She was so not sure about this. Cherry shook her head adamantly and started to move away. Dante was faster and stronger, he held her still with one palm against her belly.

“Easy, baby. I won’t hurt you.” She was still reluctant and he added another plea to his growing argument. “Remember the nipple clamps?” She nodded, squinting up at him. “You were worried then too, but I showed you how good they could be when used properly.”

He was right. She’d been terrified of those torture devices, but Dante had made them exciting and erotic.

He placed a protective hand over her pussy and murmured, “I would never hurt this pretty cunt. It’s mine and I treasure it, little one.”

Cherry bit the bullet and nodded. Besides it wasn’t as if she were restrained. If she didn’t like it, she could always stop him. Dante coaxed and pleaded, but he never forced.

“Mmm, such a sweet little thing. Your Master is very happy.”

His whispered words floated over her flesh and Cherry found her desire rising higher. He took the shiny, white balls out of their crystal box and knelt between her thighs. After positioning her legs over his and spreading her thighs wide, he slid a finger inside her. She watched him bring it to his lips and suck her juices off.

“Damn, you taste like heaven. I could suck you dry when you’re like this, baby.” He snared her gaze in his and murmured, “My Cherry deserves a reward.”

Then he carefully placed the first ball against her labia and slowly glided it inward. It wasn’t painful, as she’d suspected. She wasn’t sure what to think yet. As he started to slide the second ball inside her, she noticed he was watching her face, as if ready for any change in her expression. She reached a hand up and wrapped it around his forearm, needing the small contact. He pushed both balls deep, but still held the black silk string attached. When he wrapped his hands around her hips and wiggled, the balls moved. Her breath caught in her throat at the new sensation.

“Are you okay?”

Was she? Truth be told, she was better than okay. She tightened her vaginal walls and felt the balls move again. Holy hell. They seemed to touch nerve endings she never knew existed. Going with the moment, Cherry arched her back and clenched up again. She let loose a moan.

Dante swept a hand over her breasts and made little sounds, worshiping her body. “I’m going to put my cock inside you now, and I’ll move the balls in and out that way the pleasure for you will increase.”

She was beyond caring. Her hips twitched again and her body rioted out of control as the balls rolled around inside her womb. With one hand, Dante held her down as he inched his way into her tight passage. He forced her to remain still as he slowly moved in and out, pulling on the string so the balls moved in time with him. “Lift up,” he ordered, “I want to suck your nipples.”

Cherry pushed herself upward and wrapped her hands around his neck. Now she practically sat in Dante’s lap. His cock and the Ben Wa balls still seated inside her hot core.

He leaned forward and sucked one peak, then the other. She smashed her tits against his face and moaned her approval when he bit and laved at each one with slow precision.

“Reach down and make yourself come. Do it now, baby. Once I pull the balls out I won’t have the control to hold myself back.”

Cherry rose up and down on his shaft, fucking him slowly, leisurely, then she slipped her right hand between their bodies and began playing with her clitoris, flicking and tugging the swollen button over and over. As her orgasm began to build, Dante pulled out all the way, then he slipped the balls free and laid them on the bed.

With both hands free now, he wrapped his fingers around her waist and shoved her onto his engorged length once more. “Yeah, baby, that’s what I need. I love the way your body wraps around my dick. So tight. So mine.”

Cherry’s blood raced and her legs tightened around his hips, as she continued to rub and pump her clit. Once. Twice. Her pussy clenched. It was too much. It was all she needed, all she could take. Throbs turned to spasms as Cherry moaned and threw her head backward, coming apart and flying over some imaginary cliff. Dante was right there with her as he shouted her name and found his own release. Hot seed filled her as his cock pulsed and emptied into her limp body.

It was a few minutes before Dante loosened his hold on her enough to place a kiss to her forehead and cheeks. He unbuckled the cock gag and dropped it to the bed, and worshiped her with sweet words.

He grabbed her head in his hands and growled, “You’re amazing. I’ve never met anyone who drives me so wild. There is no way I’m ever giving you up, Cherry. Never.”

Cherry was breathless and too exhausted to bother removing herself from Dante’s firm embrace. She wanted to protest his statement, but she just couldn’t muster the strength.

“I just sat here, Dante. You’re the one with all the naughty ideas.”

Dante kissed her lips and slipped his tongue into her mouth. His hands sifted through her hair and held her still for his intimate invasion. Cherry tasted his warmth and masculinity. It was a flavor she wanted on her tongue every morning.

Lifting away, his hands still wrapped in her hair, Dante said, “What you do to me…it’s not like anything else. I don’t know what it is yet, but what we have is unique, little one. It’s special.”

Cherry blurted the first thing that came to mind. “You wanted the weekend and you admitted you wanted the office space. You like having sex with me, but is it really any more than that? Can you honestly say there’s more than just lust, Dante?”

He was silent. Staring at her with eyes that saw way too much. She looked away, unable to face the awful truth. That he enjoyed her body, but may never want her.

“It’s more than lust. And the office space doesn’t mean shit to me. Not anymore.”

His harsh tone had Cherry swinging her gaze back to his. The blue of his eyes had gone icy with anger. She didn’t know what to say. She lifted off his lap and went to the bathroom. After she washed up and came back into the bedroom, she noticed Dante was now lying on one side of the bed beneath the covers. His gaze tracked her movements as she slipped into one of the T-shirts he’d let her wear.

“Why don’t you wear the nightgown I bought you?” His rough voice had the affect of a caress.

“It’s too pretty to sleep in.”

When she came back to the bed and slid under the covers, he turned the light off. A long time passed, neither of them talking, neither of them touching. Her heart felt hollow and cold without Dante holding her. Had she grown used to being in his arms so quickly, his strength and heat surrounding her in a safe cocoon?

The bed shifted and an arm came around her middle as Dante effortlessly dragged her across the expanse separating them. He pulled her into his body, her back against his chest and slung one muscled thigh over her legs. “You’re a stubborn woman, Cherry DuBois, and I have a feeling you’re going to lead me on a merry chase.”

Cherry’s eyes burned with unshed tears, her voice shook when she answered. “Everyone gives up eventually and I always disappoint in the end. Eventually, I always disappoint.”

Dante’s lips brushed the back of her head. “Sleep. It will be okay, little one. I promise.”

Cherry didn’t bother to dispute him, even though she knew firsthand that to believe in a promise, was like buying into false advertising. The consumer always ended up the loser.