“Put your hands behind your back, sweetling.”

Callie responded to Brundar’s command with a pained groan. Already turned on beyond belief, she was almost sent over by his stern tone and what he’d asked her to do.

Gritting her teeth, Callie held it off. There was so much more coming, and she wanted to savor it all. If she climaxed now, he would stop spanking, and she would miss out on it.

As soon as she obeyed, he gripped her wrists with one strong hand and started a steady beat on her upturned behind. The first few smacks were so light they almost felt like caresses, but soon his tempo increased and with it the sting. Still, it was far from painful. He was only teasing her. In the world of kink, this was like foreplay, and she was ready for the real thing.

Brundar stopped and massaged her warmed globes, his finger sliding down to her wet center. “How close are you, sweetling?”

“Close,” she husked.

His grip on her wrists tightened, and he pulled her even closer against his body, his warmth and his scent and the feel of his hard abs further scrambling her brain.

The next smack took her by surprise.

It delivered a real sting that had her jerking on Brundar’s knees. This was what she imagined a punishment spanking would feel like. Then came another one, just as hard, on her other cheek.

Callie tensed in anticipation, but instead of a smack, Brundar’s hand caressed and massaged the ache away.

“Okay? Too much?”

Was it? Callie wasn’t sure. “Maybe a little.”

His hand kept on caressing. “Remember. One word from you and everything stops. No fear.”

“I’m not afraid.”

“Good.” He kept massaging and caressing, giving her time to process what she was feeling.

In retrospect, those two hard smacks had been more intense but not really painful. It was fear that had made her tense.

She wiggled as much as his iron hold on her allowed, signaling that she was ready for more.

“Words, Calypso.”

“Please continue.”

He gave her butt cheek an approving squeeze before resuming.

It was perfect. Not too hard and not too soft, it was exactly how she wanted it. Despite the rapid climb of arousal, Callie managed a brief moment of clarity. This had been a test of sorts. Brundar couldn’t have known where her sweet spot was without stretching her limits. He was good at reading her responses, but he wasn’t a mind reader. The important thing was that she could trust him.

The man was devoted to bringing her maximum pleasure.

With that realization, Callie let herself go in a way she hadn’t before.

Complete surrender.

Her orgasm crested, washing over her in wave after wave of languid fire instead of one volcanic eruption.

“Oh, sweetling.” Brundar lifted her off his lap as if she weighed no more than a pillow, turned her around and cradled her in his arms as if she was precious to him.

What a feeling.

His hand soft on her cheek, he turned her head toward him and kissed her as tenderly as he did before.

“Good?” he asked.

“Excellent.”

His arms tightened around her. “There is no more beautiful and titillating sight than you in the throes of climax.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him it was unfair of him to deny her the same. Brundar would look magnificent as he reached his peak. But there was no point in bringing it up and ruining the sweet moment between them.

As it was, Brundar had already relaxed his own rules by not tying her up. Instead, he’d held her tightly against his body throughout.

Was it the first time he’d been that intimate with a woman?

Could she ask him that?

Her need to find out was so intense it was undeniable. “Am I the first? I mean like this. Close and personal.”

“Yes.”

Satisfaction, pure and sweet.

“Good.”

Brundar didn’t have a monopoly on one-word answers. In fact, she was starting to like them. He was right. It was a more efficient way to communicate if one didn’t mind sounding like a Neanderthal.

Next thing she would be using grunts instead of words.

“What’s that smug little smile about?”

Callie chuckled. “I was just thinking that we rub off on each other, and that pretty soon I’d be talking in grunts instead of words.”

“I don’t grunt.”

“Yes, you do.”

There was a moment of silence, during which Callie regretted not seeing Brundar’s expression. It was one thing to have sex blindfolded; conducting a conversation was another. Without the facial cues, she was literally blind.

“Not a lot,” he acquiesced.

Carefully, afraid she would bump her nose on his jaw, Callie lifted her head and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Compromising.” Callie meant about everything. About relaxing his rules and holding her close, and about agreeing with her on a silly thing like whether he tended to grunt a lot or not.

“Aha.” He let go of his grip on her, allowing a few inches between their bodies, and tugged on her dress. “As sexy as this is, I think it’s time to get rid of it.”

“I agree.” She lifted her arms.

He pulled it off with one tug. “I like this dress. You should always wear things that are easy to take off. But only when you’re with me.”

“Yes, sir.” Even though the dress didn’t show cleavage and reached down to her knees, the clingy fabric and how easy it was to pull off made it somewhat scandalous. She would’ve never dared to wear it while going out alone or with a girlfriend.

“I like it when you’re so agreeable.” Brundar chuckled. “Even though it’s only when it suits you.” He unclasped her strapless bra, baring her breasts.

Her nipples breathed a sigh of relief, figuratively speaking. The strapless bra had been tight and uncomfortable, especially when her poor little nipples had beaded with arousal but had nowhere to go.

Brundar traced his finger over the bra’s compression lines. “Next time you wear this dress, don’t wear this instrument of torture beneath it. Even bondage doesn't leave marks like that.”

He lifted her and laid her on the bed. “Arms up, baby.”

She stretched like a cat on a windowsill on a lazy afternoon.

Brundar tugged off her tiny thong and cupped her molten center. “I’m going to enjoy the hell out of lapping up all the nectar that you’ve made for me.”

Hopefully, he would do more than that. She had no intention of letting him out of her bedroom until he joined them as one.

This strange and wonderful man belonged to her, and she needed to claim him. She would let him believe he was the one doing the claiming, but at the same time, she would be staking her claim on him.