I watched as Richard put down his glass and stood.
Still in his suit pants, he was striking. Under his white dress shirt, I could see the defined muscles of his biceps.
I knew he was going to come over to me, and I wanted him to. I hadn’t changed my mind, but my body hadn’t gotten the message. I was shaking all over, and getting a full breath was difficult. By the time he was in front of me, my stomach was tight with a mixture of anticipation and agitation.
He had not ordered me to fully undress as I’d expected. He had taken the time to question me, and find out if I was certain about taking this step.
He lifted his hand and caressed my cheek.
He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. My legs continued to shake, but breathing became easier. He moved his hand to the back of my head, letting his fingers tangle in my hair. He gave me a brief kiss on the lips, then took my hand. I followed him upstairs into his bedroom.
He pulled four satin ribbons from a drawer. “I’m going to restrain you with these. Any concerns?”
I shook my head. I knew this was part of our agreement.
“Everything off.”
With those words, the mood in the room changed. He wasn’t Richard who loved traveling and kept all his photos on display. Or Richard who was kind and thoughtful enough to help my sister. Or Richard who secretly longed to teach English. He was a dominant. A dominant who would have me submit to him.
He wouldn’t tolerate any insolence on my part.
The friendliness was gone, replaced by utter control.
This time was easier than the first. I unsnapped my bra and tugged my panties off, trying to stay balanced as I stepped out of them.
“Lie down.”
I lay on the bed.
He gently pulled my arms above my head and tied them to the headboard. The silk was cool against my wrists. Flat on my back, with my hands tied, I couldn’t cover my breasts.
“Spread your legs.”
Those words sounded crude, but had an effect on me that was far from negative.
He tied my left ankle to the bedpost. As he pulled my right ankle to the other post, my legs were spread wide. Just like last night, my body was open to him. But this time he wouldn’t just be penetrating me with his hands and his mouth. He would be putting his body inside mine.
He knelt between my legs. I closed my eyes and tried to brace myself. I’d heard varying stories of how much this would hurt.
“Chrissy. Eyes open.”
He didn’t push inside, but continued to kneel beside me. He began by kissing under my ear, along my jaw. I shivered. His hands covered my breasts. They massaged, making circles around the skin until he lifted his hands, brushing over my nipples.
I breathed in the piney scent of his expensive cologne. An electrified chill went through my body. I’d heard breasts were an erogenous zone, of course, but I’d never expected that. He bent forward, and took my nipple into his mouth.
The warm heat intensified the sensation. He mouthed at my other nipple. I tugged at the ties on my wrists. The knots held. I gripped the ribbons, desperate for more.
Then he straightened up again. His gaze was piercing.
“Lift your chin.”
I did my best, aware that the motion pushed my chest into the air.
“Yes. Exactly like that. Now arch your back.”
His hands traced over my neck, my chest, my stomach. “You’re blushing. All the way down. You know what you look like? Next time I’ll bring a mirror. You’ll be able to see yourself, naked for me. Bound for me. You’ll be able to see me watching you.”
I moaned. His words set my blood on fire. I’d always imagined bedroom talk would sound silly, but Richards words had a profound effect on me. The place between my legs, open to the cool air, pulsed.
“Perfect. I like what that does to your breasts.” He passed over them one last time with his hands before inching backward down the bed until he was between my legs.
He bent his head forward and licked me, in the spot where I craved it most.
I began to writhe.
He put one large hand over my hip bone. “Be still.”
I pressed my hips into the mattress. I found myself wanting to obey him. His fingers joined his tongue, pushing into me, just as he had last night, over and over again. Tension built in my body. I strained against the ties on my legs, knowing if they weren’t restrained that I’d be kicking.
Finally, he released me. He untied my arms first, massaging my wrists. Then he untied my ankles.
I felt amazing. The unease I’d felt the first time was gone. I leaned up to kiss Richard, but he stopped me, pushing against my chest.
“No,” he said. “I’m in charge. Lie down.”
I flushed all over. Blood rushed between my legs and I throbbed, hoping he’d help me find release soon.
He dipped his finger inside me again. “You’re so wet. That’s perfect, Chrissy. Just what I want.” He added a second finger. “Keep your legs open. I want to see you like this. Spread out on my sheets, naked, just for me,” he said. “This is the last time you’ll be a virgin,” he said as he removed his fingers and stood.
At last, he undressed. His chest was mostly smooth, and firm with muscle. His stomach was flat and his abs were well-defined. I wanted to touch them, but I didn’t dare move. He pushed his boxers down and crawled on top of me.
His erection was hard against my leg. “Wrap your legs around me. I want to feel them.”
I did as he said. He ran one hand up and down my thigh. “Keep your legs smooth like this. I’ll want them around me every day that you’re here.” He tapped my thigh. “Are you ready?”
I nodded.
Then he lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me firmly.
Then he pushed inside me.
A sharp pain coursed through me. I let out a tiny whimper and he stopped. “How much pain?” he asked.
“A little. It’s fading.”
He remained still, letting me adjust until I relaxed into the mattress again. He began to move again, thrusting into my body. Long minutes passed, with us joined together. He put his hand back between my legs and rubbed.
I shouted as I finished, letting my body squeeze his. He lowered his head to the mattress and panted, pushing into me one last time as he spilled his release.
We breathed together, in and out, until he pulled his body out of mine.
I started to sit up.
“No. Lie back. I’m going to look at you.” He put his hand on my inner thigh. “Legs spread.”
Heat burned my face. Some tiny part of me was enjoying even this part. He wanted every part of my body, and that was a major turn on, even if I felt weird about parts of it.
He ran his finger over me. “Does it hurt?”
“No.”
“You may be sore tomorrow. If so, let me know and I’ll get a hot bath ready for you.”
I started to tell him that I could handle my own bath, but I remembered that part of what he desired was taking care of me. “Thank you.”
His finger slipped inside. “I like seeing where I was buried inside you.”
I could feel every touch.
“Stay there. I’ll be right back.”
He returned with a warm cloth. He cleaned between my legs, making careful passes with the washcloth.
He covered me with the sheet and lay down next to me, much like the previous night. He kissed the top of my head. We lay there together, not talking, just dozing comfortably for about an hour. He rose suddenly.
“You may sleep in your room tonight.”
I stood slowly, wincing a little as my body protested. The sudden dismissal confused me, but I was still too loopy to decide if it was a problem or not.
“Here,” he said, pulling a robe from the closet and wrapping me in it. “I’ll walk you to your room.”
Now that I was back in my room, I didn’t know what to think. During our time together, Richard had been attentive. He’d been careful and gentle, but his dismissal had been sudden. I wondered if he didn’t want me to share his bed overnight.
I settled into bed, planning to get some good sleep, but the buzzing of my phone startled me. The caller ID said ‘Bella.’
I snatched the phone up and pressed the ‘accept’ button. “Hello? Bella? Are you okay?” She was far from okay, but the nurses had said she was stable.
Her little voice was loud and clear over the line. “I have a phone! It’s better than the normal one here because we can do a video chat! Do you want to?”
Richard must have given it to her. He must have programmed the numbers in. My affection for him increased a million times over. He might not want me to share his bed overnight, but this gift of a phone for my sister was a huge deal for us. “Of course I want to see you.”
She hung up and then redialed, this time connecting via video chat.
She was still pale, and likely would be until she was cured. But she was smiling. “Guess what?”
Even though I’d seen her earlier in the day, seeing her again was comforting. “What?”
“I got my own room. No roommate! And the nurses are way nicer up here. They brought me a little pink cupcake with silver glitter!” She held up an empty cupcake wrapper. “I’d show you but it’s gone. And guess what else? You can eat the glitter!”
“That sounds delicious.”
“I took a picture. I’ll send it to you. I know how to text. Mrs. Johsnon came over and brought my homework and she showed me how.”
“That’s amazing. Are you tired?”
“Just a little. But I had to call you.”
“I’m glad you did. I miss you, Sweetie-Belle. I’ll be there again tomorrow during the day.”
“I miss you too. I know you have to work. So we can eat.” Bella frowned. “Is this gonna mess us up?”
“What do you mean?”
“All this nice stuff.” Bella spun the phone around to show me the room, which caused my head to spin. I couldn’t see much, but I caught a few glimpses of stuffed animals and balloons. “It looks like it costs a lot.”
What could I say? I should have known Bella would be perceptive enough to notice the upgrade. “It was a gift from a friend.” I grimaced. Bella probably knew we didn’t have any rich friends.
“A rich friend? Like one of your bosses that owns the café?”
“Just like that.” Not that any of my former bosses would ever have enough money to foot that kind of bill, but luckily Bella was too young to know that.
“Don’t worry about the money. We’ll be fine. I want you to be comfortable, and concentrate on feeling better.” I made a kissy face at her. “You get to sleep. Love you.”
We disconnected, and I was grateful all over again for Richard’s thoughtfulness.
It had been great to see Bella’s face. Her enthusiasm made me smile. And it made me hopeful that she’d be able to beat this disease.
If Bella weren’t sick, I wouldn’t be here. It almost felt wrong to enjoy the gifts Richard had given me, when I was here because my sister had a life-threatening disease. The Wish Maker sought me out because of my desperate situation, that was no secret.
Bella should be at home, begging me to let her read another page of her book and sneaking into the kitchen after bedtime to look for chocolate. Or asking if I remembered to wash her archery uniform. But her illness wasn’t Richard’s fault, and I shouldn’t resent him because she wasn’t well. There was only one person at fault, and that was our mother.
It broke my heart that she wasn’t with me. But she was in the best place possible for someone with her illness.
I choked back a sob. I couldn’t lose her. I wasn’t willing to face that possibility. All my life, I’d figured that if I just tried a little harder, she’d be safe. And that had been true. But for this illness, there was very little I could do.
And if for some reason her time was limited, I wanted her to be as happy as she could while she was still here. Richard had done that for her.
