My heartbeat speeds up, adrenaline and the chemicals of love crashing through me. As I lead Krista to the bedroom, I’m so damn turned on by her it’s ridiculous. Her scent is hot, sexy, and tropical.

This isn’t how I pictured this going down, necessarily.

I wanted more time with Krista before we went down this path. This isn’t a side of me I’m accustomed to showing after such a short time.

And here we are after barely five of the ten nights we agreed to.

Holding her hand, I guide her to the bed and she sits on top of the covers, hesitant. Anxiety is written all over her face. She cocks her head a little, and I notice her fidgeting with her hands.

“Nervous?” I ask.

She nods, her eyes drifting to the leather straps I’m holding in my hand.

I thread my hand through her hair, then tip her chin up toward me. I didn’t want to get to this point so quickly. The timing really couldn’t have been any worse.

If I had known what a sick fuck Nick had the potential to be, I would have never taken this little box out of my closet. What started out as a silly little game, a fun secret to reveal to Krista, became something bigger. Something menacing.

Something I suddenly became ashamed of.

I wanted more time with her before we delved into what the straps really meant and how we could use them, but Krista’s curiosity about the box, combined with our chance run-in with Rhonda, made waiting impossible.

I ducked and dodged her comments as best I could. Sure, we could spend the time on the island surfing, sunbathing, and having a good time. But then what? If our relationship was built on an underlying lie by omission, what good was all of our fun and shared experiences?

“You can trust me,” I say in a low voice.

“What are we doing exactly?” she says with a forced smile, and it pains me to see how hesitant she is. That’s not what I want to see. “When you say fun and games...what do you mean?”

“We won’t do anything you don’t want to do,” I say firmly. “This is about trust. And exploring limits. Pick a safe word.”

“Like a word I can say that will stop the action?”

“Right,” I say, massaging her shoulder.

“That feels good.” She puts her hand on top of mine. “Don’t stop.”

“Your safe word is ‘don’t stop?’” I chide.

She rolls her eyes, and I’m relieved to see a natural smile spread across her face again.

“No. How about Pineapple.”

“You’re the boss. Pineapple it is.”

I fall to the bed, and we make out for a few minutes on top of the covers. I lightly caress her body over her dress, and eventually my hand reaches to her thigh, drawing my fingers slowly along her leg.

Her tequila soaked lips taste amazing.

I pull back and thread my fingers through her thick hair.

“You ready?” I ask.

She nods. I help her slip off her dress.

“You’re so beautiful,” I whisper, and she turns a ruddy shade of red.

There are a million more things I want to say to her in this moment. I stare at her intensely, and when her eyes return to mine she parts her lips at the intensity of my stare.

“What are you thinking about?” she whispers, running her hand along my tattooed forearm and shoulder.

“You really want to know?”

She nods.

“Fine. I want to tell you how I believe you are an angel sent to me. I’ve been going through my own shit this fall and somehow, this past week, it’s all moved to the back of my consciousness. All I can think about is you.”

Her chest heaves, her nipples hardening. Hovering above her, my hand on her hip, I continue.

“I want to ask you a million questions. I want to get to the bottom of what happened between you and Nick. I want to know what he did that messed you up so badly. I want to move slow with you. I want to laze around with you on the beach all day drinking rum and cokes, and then I want to bring you back here and screw you so hard…”

“Stop,” she moans bending her head back and exposing her neck to me. “We still can’t have sex. The ten days. You can’t talk like that.”

“Why not? You don’t want to hear about how good and hard I’m going to fuck you when we finally make it through the ten nights?” I ask.

“If you keep talking like that I’m not going to make it.”

“Oh, you’re going to make it,” I grin evilly. “If I have to do this…”

I grab hold of the leather straps. Fastening each of her wrists, I extend them over her head.

She watches, fascinated. Her eyes focused on me, a nervous smile flicks across her face.

“So what are you going to do with me now? Just tie me up and leave me here?”

Kneeling next to her on the bed, I run a hand over the soft skin of her cheek.

“Are you worried?”

“No,” she whispers.

I put my hand to the skin of her heart. I put my ear to her heart and listen. The flesh of her chest is hot to the touch as it brushes my face.

“Ooh,” she moans. “Your beard tickles.”

“And your boobs are hot.”

“You’ve said that before, I’m pretty sure.”

I throw my head back in laughter. “Yeah, I’m sure I have. But now, I mean like, literally. They have a hot temperature. You okay?”

“I’m nervous,” she admits.

I clench and unclench my fist, taking a deep breath. “On a one to ten scale, how nervous are you?”

"I'm a six."

"Well I'm a nine. Do you want to…” I trailed off, giving her time to get the joke. “Just kidding."

She smiles again, and I love the fact that I'm getting pretty good at making her do that.

"I do feel like I'm at your mercy right now. I'm totally vulnerable."

"Yes you are. Besides your legs."

Stretching across her body, I grab the pillow case from one of the pillows that we'd tossed aside.

"What are you..." she mumbles as I reposition my body, sliding behind her so my chest touches her back.

"Ow," she says when the zipper of my khakis touches her soft skin.

"Shit, I'd better remove those," I say, and waste no time sliding them off so I've only got my briefs on. I slip my body back behind her, wrapping my legs around her.

"Better?" I ask, and she nods.

We're not going to have sex. I have no plans to get off right now. But as Krista gently writhes against me, this is the most erotic experience I've ever had in my life. My thick cock presses against the cloth of my briefs, aching with need for Krista. Begging for release.

But this isn't about me right now. It's about her.

She wiggles her ass into me as I wrap the cloth around her face.

"Mmm what are you..."

She has her answer when I fix the cloth around her eyes.

"Oh that’s what you’re doing. I can't see anything. "

"What do you feel, though?" I say as I wiggle my hips into her, trying to get comfortable.

“Your hands on my stomach. Mmm that feels good,” she moans as I bring them down her torso.

She giggles.

“What’s so funny?” I ask accusatorily, scrunching up my face as I nibble on her ear.

A slow smile spreads across her face. “I can feel your cock pushing into my back. You’re...really hard aren’t you?”

“Yeah. You’re exactly right. You make me hard. Shocking, I know.”

Grinning, I get out from behind her and reposition my body in front of her so I’m on my stomach. “You know, you’re cute when you’re nervous,” I add, sprinkling kisses on her thighs.

“I’m not nervous,” she swallows, and I see her body shaking. “I swear.”

Just then, I hear a knock on the door. “Who the fuck could that be?” I wonder.

“Just get it,” Krista says. “I want to keep playing this game. I bet it’s the bellhop or something. Tell him to go away, and put the do not disturb sign on our door. And don’t worry, I’ll be here when you get back.”

I get a chuckle out of that one, and head to the door to see who it is.

“Well, this is a surprise,” I say, a smile on my face.