Unwound

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

RONIN and Amery arrived at Twisted an hour before the demonstration. His mind was on setting up the riggings since it’d been a while since he’d done a suspension.

But walking through the club took time. Not because they stopped to observe the various scenes in progress, but due to the curiosity from other members about where he’d been in recent months. After the third such question, Amery sweetly piped in, “He’s just been so darn busy with his new rope partner. I’ve got him all tied up in knots.”

Crazy, wonderful woman.

Amery remained close to his side, not as tense as he’d expected, until some of his former rope partners approached him—in the guise of checking her out.

“Master Black. You’ve been missed.”

“Thank you for saying so, but I’m certain you’ve not been lacking partners in my absence.”

“I’d hoped to be on your call list when you decided to give another demonstration.”

“I’ll let Knox know you’re interested.”

The voluptuous blonde never glanced at Amery, but not as a sign of respect. “Thank you.”

Amery turned and put her lips on his ear.

Before she could speak, he said, “She is exactly Knox’s type, and he dabbles in shibari.”

“Good. I don’t like the way these women fawn all over you.”

“I didn’t notice.” He kissed her temple. “I don’t see anyone but you.”

“That comment is so getting you laid later,” she murmured.

The small ready room had been set up the way he preferred. Usually he prepared alone and he met the model on stage. Or if he’d needed a binding and sex encounter, he booked a different, private room. So it was a little strange he and Amery were in here together.

He dropped his bag of ropes by the door and watched as she hung up the suit bag with the two outfit choices.

She rubbed her arms and checked out the space.

“Are you cold? There’s a blanket on the table.”

“Ronin, I’m fine.”

He stepped in front of her and nudged her face up to look into her eyes. “Tonight, more than ever, you need to be completely honest with me about how you’re feeling. This is a suspension binding. There comes a point that it will be unsafe to untie you if you’re having an issue.”

“I’ve come up with a way around that.” She lowered her lashes. “If it pleases Master Black.”

Such a smart-ass. “Tell me.”

“I know in many traditional shibari and kinbaku bindings, the model is blindfolded. You should blindfold me.”

Once again he tipped her face up. “You sure? You’ve never wanted that before.”

“It’ll be easier to concentrate on what you’re doing to me if I’m not looking wide-eyed at the audience.” She placed her hand on his chest. “I realize this won’t be like other times between us. Not only because I won’t be naked.”

“At least this time you didn’t say naked and dangling in the air like a slab of beef.”

She smiled. “So whichever outfit you choose for me to wear, I have a blindfold.”

“Amery, I told you I’d let you choose.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to pick.”

The one he chose was a no-brainer. “The bodysuit.”

“Would you like the blindfold now?”

“Yes, because I need to check out the stage.”

Amery unzipped the suit bag and pulled out a long section of white satin.

His gaze locked on to the wide strip, and he realized it was the tie from her robe she wore into the practice room. Touched by her need to stay connected to him outside of this public display, he closed his eyes and rubbed the satin against his lips. “Perfect.”

“Are you nervous?”

“Anxious. I always look forward to binding you.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ll see you out there.”

He bowed to her. Then he grabbed his duffel bag and headed to the big room that contained a staging area.

Ronin had utilized the space dozens of times over the past few years. Hardware had been provided, but he preferred to use his own. He double-checked the lighting, glad to see the owner had installed Ronin’s requested changes. Merrick McBride ran a top-notch club. He’d apologized repeatedly for his manager’s indiscretion with Naomi and had assured Ronin any breach in club security had been fixed.

He grabbed a ladder and climbed up to affix the rings to the chains for this suspension. He tested the swing ratio before pushing the remaining chains out of the way.

All set.

Now he had to decide whether to bind her hands above her head in a gauntlet with the dedicated body rope or just bind them in a quick tie with plain rope. He crouched down and unloaded his rope bundles from his duffel bag. He’d already seared the rope ends and folded each length in half to ensure faster connection times when he needed to add more rope. He preferred to work with shorter sections, especially in this case, since he intended to create the knotted version of the full-body tortoise.

If he wrapped the gauntlet-type tie on her from the ankle down, completely around each foot, she’d have no balance. But that played perfectly into the theme.

That decided, he divided the rope coils for easy access. Then he retreated to the far corner of the staging area hidden by a curtain and searched for his calm center.

In this situation, Ronin had mastered the ability to block everything out. So he heard nothing but the sound of his own breathing. His mind stayed focused on the pattern, so he wouldn’t be thinking about it when he bound her. He mentally finished the tie twice before Knox approached him.

“The room is full. They’re ready for you.”

“Merrick approved the camera?” The club owner had asked if there was anything he could do for Ronin to make up for the Naomi situation, and Ronin had requested that he be allowed a video camera in the room for this binding. Cameras, phones, any type of device that could send images outside the club were expressly forbidden.

Knox crossed his arms over his chest. “Yes. But I’m uncomfortable with this, so I can’t imagine how upset Amery will be when she finds out. You should’ve asked her permission.”

“I don’t need her worried about being on film. She and I are the only ones who will ever see the video. Now that she’s decided she wants to be blindfolded, it’ll be her chance to see how exquisite she looks in this binding.”

“Still think this is gonna come back on you, Sensei. But Merrick agreed—just this one time—and provided a camera that is encrypted. I’ll show you where the recorder is.” He took Ronin to the side and pointed to a chair in the front row marked off as reserved. “There.”

“I don’t see it.”

“That’s the point.” Knox pulled a small fob out of his pocket. “The recording is going and has a limit of two hours. Push the yellow button when you’re ready to change the lighting. I’m bringing Amery in now.”

Ronin stretched out his muscles, rolling his shoulders and bending forward and sideways. He performed a couple of jumping frogs as the lights dimmed. Closing his eyes, he inhaled. On the exhale, he opened his eyes and walked onto the stage. He heard the murmurs of the crowd, but their faces were a blur in the darkness.

When he saw Amery on her knees on the mat, her head bowed, wearing a kimono, his body stirred, his heart leaped, and his head swam with one thought: That beautiful woman is mine.

The bright stage lights came up, and the audience faded away; it was just the two of them, ready to get tangled up together. He studied her. The overhead lights put an extra sheen on her red-gold hair. Her chest heaved as she breathed much too quickly. The tight clasp of her fingers resting on her lap revealed her nervousness—but only to him.

He circled her twice before softly commanding, “Stand.”

Amery pushed to her feet.

He moved in behind her and suddenly wrapped his arm around her chest above her breasts, pulling her hard against his body. He whispered, “Ready?”

She nodded, angling her head against his.

Ronin stepped back and peeled the kimono away, revealing her body in a flesh-colored leotard, which enhanced her curves and gave the appearance of complete nakedness.

He draped the kimono over the back of the chair. Then he removed his gi top, placing it over her clothing, and he reached for the robe tie.

Amery trembled when he trailed his fingertips over the slope of her shoulder. He knew her reaction wasn’t from fear but from his erotic touch.

After he secured the blindfold at the back of her head beneath her hair, he followed the line of white satin beneath her eye and across her face. He murmured, “Arms loose at your sides. Feet slightly apart. In a yoga position rather than a defensive position.”

She inched her toes out, creating a small gap between her legs.

He pressed a kiss to the side of her neck—his signal the binding would begin.

The rope was smoother than he usually used. He placed the midpoint of the rope at the base of her neck and pulled the two lengths forward so they draped across her collarbone. He tied an overhand knot at the V of her cleavage and continued down her body, placing a new knot every four inches.

As much as he liked that the rope wouldn’t chafe her skin, Ronin missed the feel of her flesh beneath his fingertips. Once he passed the apex of her thighs, he spent extra time letting his knuckles rub on her inner legs as he tied knots.

The heat and scent of her body soothed him, incited him.

When he reached her anklebones, he shifted behind her, resting on his haunches as he created knots running up the back of her body that mimicked the knots on the front. As soon as he reached the center point at the base of Amery’s neck, he passed the two rope ends through, then tied them together before separating the sections and pulling each line against the swells of her breasts above her armpits.

Once again Ronin moved in front of her, holding the two ropes in his left hand. Before he started on the next step, he studied her face and her reactions. She’d slowed her breathing, yet the pulse point in her throat throbbed beneath his thumb. Her upper teeth were digging into her lower lip. So sexy.

He couldn’t resist rubbing his mouth over hers, just a brush of lips and a sweep of his breath. “You are doing great, baby.” The whispered words sounded as loud to him as a shout, since he rarely spoke during a public scene, but the only person he cared to hear them offered him a soft sigh of gratitude.

Ronin nuzzled her temple as he tucked the rope ends through the space between the first and second knot. He pulled hard, creating a diamond shape. He slipped his fingers across the curve of her side and around back, tucking the rope ends once again through between the first and second knots in the rope against her spine. Another tug and he checked to made sure he hadn’t cinched it too tightly before he expanded the diamond shape and returned both sections of rope to the front.

As he added more rope, the diamond shapes ran in a straight line down her body. The connecting sections kept the smooth, clean look of a tortoiseshell. He added more force so she could feel the impression of the ropes digging deeper into her skin.

With her rounded hips and thighs, the narrow line of her knees and calves made her a gorgeous sight. Ronin knew he’d bind her wrists in a gauntlet from behind her so everyone could see how exquisite she looked in the front.

After he secured the final diamond shape between her shins, he left the remaining rope pooled on the floor and rolled to his feet. Letting his hands roam over the bindings and her body, ever so slowly, he enjoyed the tactile experience of the ropes beneath his palms and feeling the heat from her skin.

He snagged another bundle of rope and reached up to slide the O-ring over Amery’s position. Holding the folded end of the rope in his teeth, he circled each of her wrists and held them together above her head with her palms touching. As soon as she held the pose on her own, he started to craft the gauntlet. Threading and wrapping the rope from her wrists to her forearms, leaving enough room between the columns to attach the suspending section of rope.

Ronin hooked her to the O-ring before he stepped back to scrutinize his handiwork.

Gorgeous. Now he needed to wrap her feet and the binding would be complete.

But before he reached that final stage, Ronin followed the sensuous arc of her arms down to her shoulders. He smoothed her hair and fanned it out across her upper back, stopping for a second to bury his face in the softness and sweetness. To ground himself in the knowledge the woman he loved was putting herself out there for him—he would celebrate that.

He stepped back and pulled the rigging, lifting Amery off the floor about a foot. He tied her off into a stable hanging position and snatched another bundle of rope. He knelt, making a loop around her big toe. Then he proceeded to wrap the rope up her foot. When he reached the leftover ends from the body binding, he quickly looped them around her shins to her ankles.

A hard shudder rolled through her, and he glanced up.

Amery’s head had fallen back. Her lips were parted, and Ronin saw she’d drifted into the floaty headspace of a bondage high and she’d been there awhile.

He lost all track of time when he had ropes in his hands and inches of pliant flesh waiting to be tied and touched. He secured the last of the rope around her left foot and tucked the remainder underneath the wrap, which caused her whole body to jerk and him to smile; he’d forgotten her feet were ticklish.

Ronin made some last-minute adjustments before he cupped Amery’s face in his hands.

“You humble me with your beauty.” He kissed her—another first in a demo—and it wasn’t a gentle tease or a quick peck, but a kiss full of the passion she brought out in him.

When she wiggled her body, as if reaching for him, he broke the seal of their mouths and jerked on the rigging, lifting her higher off the floor. Then Ronin spun her slowly around and around, showing the rope work on the backside.

Amery’s hair flowed out as if she were underwater.

Time for the finale.

He twisted the free rope dangling from the second chain through the back of the gauntlet binding her feet.

Then he clicked off the overhead lights and the black lights came on.

A collective gasp echoed in the room as the neon green glow- in-the-dark rope he used on Amery outlined her body in luminescence, creating the effect of a mermaid.

He pulled on the second rigging, raising her feet to hip level so it appeared she was swimming. The bindings on her feet created the effect of a mermaid’s split tail. The way her hands were raised above her head looked as if she were swimming to the surface.

The woman was absolutely fucking stunning. An ethereal, mythical creature come to life. The diamond pattern gave the appearance of scales, and the cinched binding at her waist divided her body. The swishing motion of her hair added to the illusion of a mermaid in motion.

Applause broke out and startled him. Ronin was so mesmerized by her that he’d forgotten for a moment they weren’t alone.

And suddenly he wished they were. He wanted to marvel at this bound woman who owned him body, heart, and soul.

He didn’t want club members touching her or asking questions or breaking this spell. He allowed himself another long look at her. This wasn’t about anyone else but them; he wouldn’t treat this any differently than if they were in the practice room when he finished the binding. He held on to her as he lowered the rigging. Once he had her unhooked, he brought them both to the floor.

She sighed and remained pliant no matter how he manipulated her body.

Ronin left the black lights on as he cradled her in his arms. First thing he did was slip off the blindfold. He kissed her as he unwrapped her wrists.

She blinked at him, and then her gaze drifted to the glowing rope crisscrossing her body. She smiled at him with that sweet quirk on her lips.

Next he unfastened the ties around her feet. “How’s your circulation?”

“A little tingly but good.”

As Ronin slipped the knotted ends of rope free from the tucks and ties, he let the rope zigzag across her skin.

Amery trembled and arched. Then on the next pass, she would try to move away.

So he took his time unbinding her. Touching and kissing to his heart’s content. He hadn’t even noticed that they’d brought the lights up halfway until he pulled back away from her mouth after another drugging kiss. “Baby. I love you.”

“I know.”

Then he swept her up into his arms and carried her out the side door, striding down the hallway.

Inside their private room, Ronin set her on her feet only long enough to wrap a blanket around her. Then he picked her up again and settled them on the couch.

The first noise she made was a laugh. “Glow-in-the-dark shibari ropes, Master Black? You are certainly full of surprises.”

He pressed his lips into her hair. “I’ve never used them before.”

“Why not?”

“They seemed a little . . . stage showish.”

“At least you didn’t play the theme song from The Little Mermaid while you were binding me.”

That made Ronin laugh. “You must be down from your bondage high if you’re cracking jokes.”

Amery twisted to look at him. “I’m fine. Were you worried I’d be weepy and shaky afterward or something?”

“I honestly didn’t know how you’d react.”

“And?”

“And you reacted perfectly.” Ronin took her mouth in a kiss that was a lazy exploration.

After he ended the kiss, Amery murmured, “Unwrap me so I can touch you.”

“You can touch me all you want when we get back to the penthouse. But not here in the club.”

“Because that’s the way you’ve always done it?”

He stared into her eyes. The blue so deep and pure it was easy to get lost in them.

“Ronin? Are you okay?”

“Sorry. I’m great. My mind just traveled off track for a bit.”

“To where?”

“To how lucky I am that you’re in my life.”

She pressed her face into his neck. “I’m glad I didn’t do something weird and embarrass you.”

Ronin kissed the top of her head. “If you decide you don’t want to do a demo again, I’m fine with that.”

“Really?” Amery tipped her head back and looked at him. “Why?”

He wondered how honest he could be with her.

Or maybe it was how honest he could be with himself.

He tried to arrange his thoughts into some semblance of coherency.

“Sweetheart, talk to me. Don’t hold back how you feel—even if you think it’s something I might not like.”

“That’s the thing. It doesn’t have anything to do with you. Or your initial fear of being publicly bound.”

“Then what?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve done a demo with a woman I’m involved with. Now that I know what real love feels like, I realized I’ve never done a demo with a woman I love. When we’re in the practice room or anywhere we’re together, it feels right. Our being together like that is Zen for me. Tonight, it wasn’t . . . pure. And, baby, it didn’t have anything to do with you. What happened tonight was performance art. While that has its place, I am not a performer.” Ronin closed his eyes. “In the past few months with you? I really found the heart of what kinbaku is. It’s not about teaching others. It’s about teaching myself. It’s about creating art and beauty with love and trust. I never got that until you.”

“Are you trying to make me cry?” she asked softly.

“No.” Ronin tucked a hair behind her ear. “I’m trying to explain that tonight was more of an awakening for me than for you.”

“So you really aren’t okay.”

He sighed. “The only reason I joined this club was for access to rope models who wouldn’t freak out about what I needed. Any sexual contact would be safe because a health certificate is required to be a member of Twisted. After Naomi . . . it took me several months to want to do anything but the most basic configurations on a live model. And even then, I had to have some connection to the model to consider taking it further, and honestly it was so rare that I found that.” Ronin locked his gaze to hers. “Are you sure you want to hear this now?”

“If you’re ready to talk, I’m ready to listen.”

“Now I don’t know what else to say.”

“Are you afraid that now that I’ve done the public demo once and it didn’t cause me to freak out, it’s something I’ll want to be part of on a regular basis? Because that situation happened with Naomi?”

“Maybe. Are you?”

Amery shook her head. “I’d rather it just be the two of us. But I’ll admit it didn’t feel any different to me because I was blindfolded. In my mind, we were in the practice room.”

“In my mind too.” Ronin feathered his thumb across the dark mark beneath her eye that hadn’t completely faded in the past ten days. She’d done well covering it up with makeup, but he knew it was there.

“Stop staring. It’s almost gone. And I don’t want her here in this room with us any more than she already is.”

Ronin smoothed her hair back from her face. “Get dressed. I’ve got to talk to Knox about one thing before we go home.”

She gifted him with a fierce kiss, a claiming kiss that let him know he was hers just as much she belonged to him.

• • •

HIS need for her raged through his body like a fever.

The instant they stepped off the elevator, Ronin was on her. She made a surprised eep when he pushed her against the wall. Then his mouth covered hers in a kiss born of fire.

She tasted so damn sweet and hot. Like heaven, like home—like his. She clutched his shirt, returning his kiss with unrestrained passion.

“Baby,” he whispered against her throat. “You’re like a goddamn drug.”

“So take me.” She reached under his shirt and scraped her nails up his chest, pausing at his nipples. “Use me.” She pinched the tiny tips hard. “Let me have the raw side of the rope master.”

Amery nuzzled his ear, outlining it from lobe to the inner shell, her tongue licking at the scar tissue with such wicked sensuality that he forgot he never let anyone mess with his ears.

“Every dirty, raunchy, nasty thing on your sexual arsenal . . .” She sucked the air clean out of his head, and his skin erupted in gooseflesh. “Do it to me. Without warning, without apology. We’ll make this a night we’ll never forget.” She nipped his earlobe hard enough to leave a sharp sting. “I’m yours. Prove it to me. Prove it to yourself.”

“Knees.” He pushed on her shoulders until she was on the floor before him. He tugged his gi pants down and clamped his hands on either side of her head, pulling her mouth to his cock. The head breached her lips, and he started to work himself deeper into her mouth with every pass.

Her hands gripped his thighs. She didn’t look up at him; she just let him fuck her mouth. Her saliva coated his cock and made her chin and neck shiny and wet.

The visual of his shaft disappearing between her lips . . . Christ. Talk about fucking sexy. This hot, wet mouth of hers could bring a man to his goddamn knees. She sucked hard as he pulled his length out completely past her teeth, and she opened her throat when he shoved in so deep his balls hit her chin.

His legs began to tremble. The electric tingle started at the base of his skull and zipped down his spine. Too fast, but he couldn’t stop it. Didn’t want to fucking stop it. Ronin hammered his hips into her face with shorter strokes.

Yes. Fuck. Almost there.

He rammed in, feeling the head of his cock against the back of her throat. He slid his hands down to cup her jaw, his thumbs on the pulse point in her neck. In that split second before he shot his load, he growled, “Swallow. All of it.” He looked down, her head tilted back, her eyes on his. Her throat muscles working him with an intimate kiss, and every fucking time she swallowed, he felt as if his body were being zapped with a live wire.

And he didn’t look away. He let her see his pleasure. He let her feel every twitch of his body until he had nothing left. Then he let his fingers caress her face, tracing the outline of her lips still enclosed around his cock. “So fucking hot with you on your knees and my dick buried in this mouth I can’t get enough of.”

Amery closed her eyes and made a soft moan when he slowly eased his dick out, as if she were savoring every inch as she let him go.

As soon as she sat back on her haunches, he kicked off his gi pants. He ran his thumb over her swollen lips. “Strip. Then come find me.” He made a quick stop in the bedroom before he strode to the dining room and took the seat at the head of the table.

She appeared a couple minutes later.

Ronin patted his lap. “Come. Here.”

She sauntered over. But before she could sit down, Ronin said, “On second thought, get up on the table.”

Amery perched on the edge and watching him warily with those big blue eyes.

“I’ve got a surprise for you.” He reached behind him and showed her a small rectangular box.

“What’s that?”

“Something I saw online that made me think of you. Open it.”

She lifted the lid and looked at him with confusion. “What are these? Some kind of paperweights?”

He laughed. “No. They’re geisha balls.” He ran his finger over the glass. “The flower inside is a cherry blossom.”

“They’re, ah, very pretty. What do you do with them?”

Ronin lifted them out by the silken tie that tethered the two glass orbs together. “I’ll show you. Lie back and bring your heels to the edge of the table.”

Amery bit her lip.

He got right in her face. “Don’t go all shy on me now. Lie back on the table. I want to see every inch of your pussy, spread wide for my enjoyment.”

She muttered something, which earned her a punishing kiss—a kiss he knew she thoroughly enjoyed—before she stretched out on the table.

He scooted the chair up and pressed his face between her thighs. Perfect height. He glanced up to see Amery resting on her elbows. In that position, the gap in her knees narrowed. “Baby. If you can’t follow directions, I will get out the restraints.”

“Don’t you think we’ve had enough rope play tonight?”

Oh, such a sassy little thing. Ronin reached behind him. Then he dangled the leather straps above her belly. “What’s the rule about questioning me?”

This time she didn’t say anything.

“Tell. Me.”

“Any challenge will be answered. Sir.”

He secured the looped end around her ankle and widened her seated stance by fastening the strap to the table leg. He did the same thing to the other leg and stepped back to look at his handiwork. “You’re beautiful open to me like this.” Placing his hands on the inside of her thighs, he pressed down and licked her slick cunt.

She groaned.

“So fucking wet.” Another short lick right over her clit. “I’m going to fuck this hot pussy of mine with my tongue, with my fingers, with my cock. As many fucking times as I want to tonight.”

“Yes.”

“Reach down and hold yourself open for me so I can suck on that sweet little clit until you come against my mouth.”

And it was erotic as hell, seeing her slender fingers exposing the soft flesh. He let his tongue tease those helpful digits every time he made a sweeping pass from her pussy lips and up her slit.

He settled his mouth over her hot spot and pushed one finger inside her pussy. Then two. He lightly flicked his tongue over her clit and began to rub both fingers on her G-spot.

“Goddamn you have . . . yes, more.”

“More?” He added a third finger and continued to torture her.

Amery begged. Then she threatened.

Just before he let her come, he plucked the geisha balls from the case and pushed them in her wet pussy.

“What is that . . . ? Omigod, are those the flower thingies?”

Ronin lifted his mouth long enough to say, “Yes.” Then he settled his mouth over her clit and flicked his tongue over that swollen nub until she started making that soft wail. He switched to full suction and let her fly.

He knew the instant the balls began to vibrate from the strong pull of her pussy muscles squeezing around them. He continued to suck in time to the clit pulsing against his lips.

Amery’s legs twitched, her body shook, and she expelled those silent breathy moans that indicated she’d gone beyond speech.

While she came in a wet rush all over his face, his cock rallied for the next round.

After the shaking stopped and she went lax, he pressed kisses over her mound. He rubbed his lips from the ticklish spot he’d discovered mid-thigh to her hip bone. The overwhelming urge to mark her arose. On a night like tonight, when he skated on that edge, he didn’t deny the instinct. He sucked love bruises from the inside of her knee, up to the crease of her thigh and back down the other side.

“What are you . . . ?”

“Whatever I want.” Ronin pushed to his feet and stood, placing his hands by her head, stretching his body over hers until they were nose to nose. “You’re mine. And I intend to make that perfectly clear tonight.”

Amery grabbed a handful of his hair. “Bring it, tough guy.”

“Good thing you don’t have to work tomorrow, because it’ll be goddamn difficult for you to walk.” He unhooked the straps from the table and moved her legs to dangle over the edge. He clamped his hands on her ass and lifted her. Keeping his gaze locked to hers as he carried her into the bedroom and tossed her on the bed.

“Hands and knees.”

After Ronin grabbed the lube, he noticed Amery had pulled back the comforter. He lifted an eyebrow.

“It’s slippery. I figured with as hard as you’ll be fucking me, I need to be on a surface that won’t send me flying.”

He caged her body beneath his, his pelvis against her ass. He stayed like that for several long, deep breaths. Hard skin to soft skin, the scent of her filling his nostrils. His lips found her ear, and he rocked his hips into her.

She gasped softly.

“What’s that feel like, baby?”

“I feel full. When I move, those . . . things inside the ball vibrate like a tuning fork, starting strong and then tapering off.”

“Do you like it?”

Amery angled her cheek to rub against his. “The fact that I creamed all over your face points to . . . yes.”

“Such dirty talk,” he murmured and latched on to the skin at the nape of her neck. He sucked hard and drank in her quick gasp and full-body shudder like a shot of adrenaline that traveled straight to his cock.

When he snapped his hips again, her torso was thrust forward. His arms bore the brunt of the motion, and he pushed back.

“Oh god.”

“Widen your knees.” Once she had a solid stance, he planted kisses down her spine, to her tailbone, letting his tongue follow the crack in her ass down to that tiny rosette. He flicked his tongue across it a couple times and felt the muscles relax.

She groaned.

Ronin pushed to his knees and grabbed the lube. He squirted a thick dollop on his fingers and reached between those soft butt cheeks until he found her damp, puckered hole. He smeared the lube around and worked a finger in past that tight ring, then another, scissoring his fingers to open her up.

Then he pressed the tip of his lube-slicked cock to the spot and pushed through the resistance. The sphincter muscle closed around the head. He let it rest there, feeling the lure of her back channel, so hot and so fucking tight.

Goddamn. He couldn’t resist that lure. He plowed into her to the hilt.

Her body moved forward, and she dropped her head down.

Ronin built a hard, driving rhythm. Vigorous enough to dampen his hair and coat his body with sweat.

He’d come once, and that usually meant the second round would take him longer. But the clasp of her anal passage and the sensation from the geisha balls swaying inside her cunt put him on the fast track to orgasm again.

Amery was panting, and he noticed she’d clutched the sheets in her hands.

“Give me one more.”

“I need . . .”

He returned to the caged position, his chest on her back, his pelvis pumping. “Not done with you. Never going to be done with you.” He dragged openmouthed kisses across her shoulder, then stopped and bit down, gifting her with another mark.

That sent her spiraling into the abyss again.

The squeeze and pull of her orgasm propelled him into thrusting harder, deeper until he came in a scalding rush of heat that momentarily struck him stupid. When he realized he’d kept up that punishing rhythm even after he’d come, he worried for the first time he might’ve taken her too hard. He slowed and stopped. “Amery. I got carried away. I’m—”

“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry,” she warned. “It’s a rush that I can make you lose control like that, so don’t apologize.”

He followed the arch of her spine with kisses as he slowly withdrew. When he reached her buttocks, he gave her a big hickey on each cheek.

“You weren’t kidding about marking me everywhere.”

“No, I wasn’t. Loosen your grip on the geisha balls so I can take them out.” Ronin found the string and tugged them free.

Amery caught him off guard and pushed his elbow, rolling him to his back. She scooted off the bed until her feet hit the floor, and she sauntered to the bathroom. Her eyes glittered with lust when she stopped in the doorway and looked over her shoulder at him. “You promised to fuck me until I can’t walk. I’m still standing. What are you gonna do about that?”

Growling at her challenge, Ronin chased after her.

He fucked her in the shower.

Then he fucked her in the living room.

Then he fucked her over the bar.

After that, she couldn’t walk, so he carried her to bed.

Hard not to feel cocky about that.