Lady is a bundle of wet puppy kisses and energy when we enter the den, and it’s clear that Lexi, Piper, and Cole have been missing their master as well. We play for over an hour hiding treats baked at the Bark Avenue Bone Bakery, of course, and tossing a ball for them to fight over and fetch.

When the four of them are lying around panting and half asleep, we decide to call it a night. The skirt of my dress is tied into a knot at the bottom to keep me from tripping over it while we played, my feet are bare, my hair is in a knot on top of my head, and the dogs have removed most of my makeup.

Not cute.

But Alex doesn’t seem to notice when he scoops me up in his powerful arms and carries me to his bed. As he has done twice before, he crouches down between my legs. Unlike the other two times, he doesn’t touch me, though. His forearms rest on his knees, and he lowers his head into his hands and pushes his hands through his black hair before he looks at me.

“I don’t have sex in cars, or public places, or airplanes or anyplace other than my home. I may allude to it like tonight, but it will never happen. I didn’t want you to think that I didn’t want you tonight in the limo.”

“Okay, may I ask why?”

He places his hands on my knees and swipes his thumbs along the material of my dress. “You may.” I wait for him to continue, but he is going to make me ask.

“Why?”

He watches his hands as he works the soft silver material up my legs until they are bare, and he is massaging my thighs. “When I was young, after my father died, my mother would send me for weekends with my Uncle Peter. Uncle Peter was her brother, and she knew what a monster he was from first-hand experience. He would collect me in a limo and take me away on those weekends. We went on vacations in his private jet, on trains or cruise ships, and he would molest me. It was her ultimate form of abuse, and she didn’t even have to get her hands dirty.”

“Oh my God, Alex.”

“I’m only telling you so you will understand why I can’t be intimate when we go away together. It has absolutely nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. I’m sorry.”

“Jesus.” I slide off the bed and into his arms wrapping myself around him. “Don’t apologize for that, and don’t worry about it. We don’t ever have to leave this house. We can stay here forever, I don’t care.”

“Thank you. I will never hold you to that, though. I want to see the world with you and Faye.”

“We will take short trips then, and, no more limos from now on. Why do you put yourself through that? There are a million other kinds of cars we can ride together in,” I say against his neck. He pulls me away and shrugs.

“I was trying to keep you in my orbit.” The smallest smile plays at the corners of his mouth, and I have a sudden rush of love for this crazy man who would do something so self-sacrificing just to capture my attention.

“You know, you could have picked me up in a dirty old Jeep, and I wouldn’t have cared.”

His smile widens. “Now you tell me.”

I kiss him, and his arms surround me pulling me to the floor over him. He gathers my dress pulling it over my hips and breaking our kiss only long enough to slip it over my head and toss it aside leaving me naked. His hands roam every inch of my body while we continue to kiss and nibble and suck at one another. He raises his hips, and I feel his thick cock through his slacks pressing against my seam.

I want him naked under me, on me, behind me, and inside of me, and I want it now. Sitting up astride him, I begin to unbutton his shirt while he watches me pushing the pieces of hair that are falling out of my topknot away from my face.

“You’re gorgeous when you’re frantic for me. Your dark skin flushes.” He runs his fingers over my sensitive breasts. “Your muscles quiver with excitement.” He smoothes his hands over my hips as I tear his shirt from his pants and begin unbuckling his belt. “And you pant with want until the second I push my hard cock inside you. Then you hold your breath until I’m all the way in when you make the sexiest whimper and exhale as if you were experiencing the greatest feeling ever.”

My God, how does he know all of that about me after only bedding me twice? He is a master observer. He sits up shrugging out of his shirt, and I push him back down to work him out of his pants, but he rolls us over and stands up towering over me while he removes the rest of his clothes himself.

He is a man always in charge, and now I know the reason why. I push the horrible story of his uncle out of my mind and admire his lean, muscular body as he pulls me up from the floor and into bed with him.

“I’m going to ask you again just to be sure, Olivia. Do you have any hang-ups? Any hard limits or absolute no’s? We never really got to that the other night.”

I’m not taken by surprise like it was the first time he asked me that question. I’ve had time to think, but my answer isn’t much different.

“I’m not experienced in kink, but I’m not opposed to trying new things. How about you do what you want, and I’ll tell you if I don’t like it?”

“Fair enough.” He rolls out of bed, and I watch his perfect ass walk away from me to lock the door. Uh oh, what have I agreed to? “Don’t look like that, I won’t give you anything but pleasure, and you are always in control. You say stop, and I stop, no questions asked, no hesitation.”

I chew on my bottom lip and follow him with my eyes as he opens the door of a heavy antique wardrobe. I can’t see what’s inside, it’s dark, but when he turns around, he’s holding a pair of thick leather handcuffs.

He approaches me, and all thoughts of desire and passion dissipate being replaced with fear and panic. “Alex, I don’t know about this. I thought I was all right with anything but…”

He sits next to me on the mattress and hands me the cuffs. They’re heavy, but the leather is soft. “Why do you want to restrain me?”

“I want you to surrender to me. Let me worship you with no limits.”

“You can do that without handcuffs. I’m yours, do with me what you want.”

“It’s not about what I want or wish, it’s about trust. Do you trust me, Olivia?”

I probably shouldn’t. I should have alarm bells and whistles going off in my head, but I don’t. I’m comfortable with him as long as he’s explaining what he’s doing and why.

“Yes.”

He closes his eyes for a moment as if thanking the gods for my willingness to participate, and when he opens them, he gently places my wrists into the cuffs and hooks them to the headboard.

He stands and admires the sight of me stretched out for him before with his head cocked to the side for a moment before getting back on the bed. Hovering over me, he puts his talented tongue to excellent use trailing it over my nipples, down my sides, in my navel, and finally to my great relief, on my sex.

He slides my feet up, pushes my legs open at my knees, and begins to worship me bringing me to orgasm over and over again. I buck and thrash pushing against him with no shame as he does things to me I never knew possible.

I cry out panting and begging him for more and then to stop. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. His mouth is everywhere making me feel good and then better and then like I’m losing my mind. Being handcuffed allows him free reign over me to do whatever he pleases.

I thought it would scare me to be so fully at his mercy, but it’s done the opposite. It thrills me and excites me beyond my imagination. I start to wonder what else is in that wardrobe that could bring such ecstasy.

Hours later, we lay tangled in each other’s arms on the mattress with no sheets or blankets panting and glowing with sweat. The handcuffs have long since been abandoned, and no other wardrobe items were necessary. I am sated and boneless. I feel like I have congealed and become one with Alex.

“You’ve got stamina, Ms. Johnson.”

“You’re an animal, Mr. Wolfe.”

“Well, my name is Wolfe so…”

“Yes, I haven’t forgotten. We need to go to sleep. I’ve got an early morning, and we both have a busy few days coming up.”

“That’s precisely why I wanted to take you out tonight. I’m trying to get a fix before we face the ugly, real world, but I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you, sweet girl.” He kisses the top of my head, and I try to shift to kiss him back, but I’m too weak.

“You’ve turned me to jelly. I can’t move.”

“Good. I wish we could stay here forever.”

“No, you don’t. You’d miss Faye and the dogs and seeing me in a string bikini on the beach in Hawaii.”

“Mmm, you’re right on all accounts. Hawaii, huh? Does that mean you’ve decided about our upcoming vacation?”

“Well, I’ve always dreamt of going to Hawaii, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to swing the time off. Valentine’s Day will be here before we know it, and you wouldn’t believe how people go crazy for my doggie love treats. I swear some people love their pets more than their spouses or significant others.”

“Not me.”

I smile against his chest, and the soft hair there tickles my nose. “Me either.”

His heart beats under my cheek, and I swear it skips a beat. When his arms tighten around me, I sense he is content, and I wonder how long it’s been since he felt that way.

“You’re shivering, do you want a blanket or a shower?”

“Hmm, that’s a hard decision. I think you’d have to pour me into the shower so how about a blanket.”

“One blanket coming up.” He peels my limp limbs from his and rolls over to pull the comforter off the floor and over us. “Come here,” he says pulling me into the curve of his body and wrapping himself around me from behind. “I never thought I’d have this, you know?”

“Have what?”

“Peace.”

“Faye was a blessing even if she came to you through tragedy.”

“Faye is a blessing, but it’s you who has brought me peace.”

I’ve never thought about being peaceful or not, but I guess my life wasn’t as full of struggle and warfare like his. I can’t fathom having such an evil mother. The things she subjected him to are, in my opinion, punishable by death. No child, no human being, hell, no animal, should be subjected to that.

I have never truly hated anyone in my life until now. I hate Sylvia Wolfe. I hate her for hurting this man who is wrapped around me so lovingly. How he turned out so good and kind is a miracle.

“I’m glad.”

“For what?”

“That you’ve found peace. You, of all people, deserve it.”