Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Henry
Ariana’s mouth opened for me without hesitation.
The moment I felt the heat of her lips close around me, I had to fight to keep myself from coming undone like an inexperienced teenager.
I looked down at her, and the sight of her nearly knocked the air from my lungs. I couldn’t believe she was here. Couldn’t believe any of this was real. That she was on her knees. Blindfolded. Trusting me.
When I’d said goodbye earlier, I thought I’d spend the rest of the night replaying the way she looked across Gideon’s table. How easily she’d slipped into my world. How badly I’d wanted her. Wanted her more than I wanted air.
I never expected a knock on my bedroom door.
And I certainly never expected her to walk in, strip down, and kneel for me.
This was the biggest fucking turn-on I’d ever experienced.
Not because of the blindfold.
Not because of the restraints.
Not because of the way her lips tightened around me in an instinctive need to take more.
It was her trust that completely unraveled me.
Her surrender.
The fact that she gave them to me freely.
I threaded my fingers through her hair, guiding her gently at first. “Loosen your jaw,” I murmured, my voice thick with lust.
Ariana immediately complied, her jaw relaxing.
“There you go. Take me deeper.”
She obeyed again without hesitation. Just the fierce, stubborn bravery she didn’t realize she possessed.
“Good girl,” I groaned, letting my hips move just enough to test her limits. “You take me so fucking well.”
Her answering hum vibrated through me, almost making my knees buckle.
I tightened my grip on her hair, holding her in place as I thrust into her mouth with controlled precision. Every sound she made, every swallow, every breathy moan she let slip dragged me closer to the edge.
“Look at you,” I rasped. “Mouth full of me. Can’t see a damn thing. Hands tied behind you. And you’re still giving me everything.”
My praise had the desired effect, and she increased her efforts, meeting each thrust with unwavering determination.
“Fuck,” I bit out, my jaw clenching so hard it ached. “I love seeing you like this. Trusting me like this,” I grunted, every nerve ending in my body on fire.
I was getting close. Too damn close.
As much as I wanted to let go in her mouth, watch as she swallowed every last drop, I wanted everything else with her more.
I pulled out suddenly, gripping her shoulders and hauling her to her feet. Before she could even gasp, I slammed my mouth over hers, kissing her hard, desperate.
When I finally tore my lips from hers, panting, her blindfolded face lifted toward me.
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked softly. “Something you didn’t like?”
“Just the opposite.” My voice was so rough it scraped out of me. “I liked it too damn much. And I’m nowhere near done with you. There’s so much more I want.” I skimmed my lips along her temple. “So much more I want to do to you.”
A shiver rolled through her, fearless and excited all at once.
I turned her toward the bed, steering her backward as my fingers worked the knot binding her wrists. The moment she was free, I lowered her onto the mattress, my body following, my mouth claiming hers in a slow, possessive kiss.
“Your safe word,” I murmured against her lips.
“I haven’t forgotten it,” she whispered.
“I know.” I brushed my thumb across her cheek, softening my voice. “The reason I ask is to remind you that you can use it. Anytime. So tell me. What’s your safe word?”
“Hades.”
“Good girl.”
I kissed her again, deep and lingering, before pulling back and sliding off the bed.
“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.” My voice dipped lower, darker.
She swallowed. “What’s that?”
“You’ll see.”
I picked up one of the silk ties I’d set out earlier and lifted her wrist. She tensed at the first brush of fabric, then relaxed as I left a soft kiss on her sensitive flesh.
With deliberate movements, I wrapped the tie around her and secured it tightly to the headboard, keeping my eyes trained on her for any sign of distress.
But there weren’t any.
Only increasing desire.
So I repeated the process with her other wrist, leaving her open and waiting.
Then I dragged another tie down the center of her torso, watching her breath catch and flutter as I brushed it around her clit.
“You okay?” I asked quietly.
“God, yes,” she moaned.
“Good girl.”
I moved to her ankles, binding each one to the footboard until she lay stretched out before me, blindfolded, restrained, utterly vulnerable.
And trusting me more than anyone ever had.
I stepped back, and my cock throbbed painfully at the sight of her. “I can see how wet you are from here. Does this turn you on? Being tied up like this?”
“Yes.”
“What do you like about it?”
“That I’m completely at your mercy,” she breathed. “That you have the power to hurt me, but I trust you won’t. That you’ll make me feel good.”
Her honesty wound through every inch of me.
I climbed over her, caging her body with mine, and brushed my mouth along her jaw.
“I’ll never hurt you,” I promised. “Not like that. If I push you, it’s only to make the pleasure deeper. You understand?”
She nodded.
I took her nipple between my fingers and twisted.
She gasped, a sound caught between a moan and a cry.
“Remember the rules,” I murmured. “Give me your voice. You have a voice. Use it. Always use it.”
“Yes,” she breathed. “I understand.”
“Good girl.”
I lowered my mouth to her breast, sucking, licking, teasing until she arched and trembled beneath me.
Then I pulled away.
“If anything is too much, tell me.”
“I will,” she whispered.
Her chest rose and fell quickly, her skin flushed, her breath uneven. She was already sinking into the sensation. The anticipation. The trust. And I wasn’t even touching her. God, I loved seeing her like this. Loved seeing how much she craved me. How desperate she was for my touch.
I reached for another item I’d laid out and gently placed the noise-canceling headphones over her ears.
Her breath hitched as her world went silent.
Blindfolded. Bound. Deaf.
Mine.
I’d never felt more responsible for another person. Never felt more protective. Never been more turned on in my life.
I skimmed my hand along her thigh, smiling when she didn’t flinch, completely trusting me.
“God, Ariana…,” I whispered, even though she couldn’t hear me. “You have no idea what you do to me.”