Chapter 4
Valentine rang the doorbell and listened to the soft bing-bong with a pounding heart.
She tugged at her new black leather bustier, hoping it was what Shane had meant by “sexy”.
At least it went well with her black leather miniskirt and the thigh-high stockings she was wearing with a black lace garter belt.
This time she’d left the panties off entirely and it made her feel both incredibly anxious and deliciously bare to stand out in the open and know there was nothing on under her skirt.
She was, if anything, more nervous now than she had been the first time.
Shane had sounded so stern on the phone, so unyielding.
She was used to the man who held her when she cried, who kissed away her tears and told her everything was going to be all right.
Deep down she supposed she’d always known there was a tougher side of Shane—actually it was probably the side that most people saw—he was a cop and a Dom, after all.
But she’d never been exposed to it herself until now.
Then again, she reasoned, the man who held her when she cried was the same man who had never treated her as anything more than a little sister.
So maybe it was worth it to meet Shane’s darker side.
After all—he’d given her the most intense orgasm of her life the last time she’d seen him.
She could live without the cuddling and kissing for that—or so she told herself.
Assuming Shane continued the way he’d started.
What does he have planned for tonight? Valentine was almost afraid to find out.
She wanted more than anything to submit to him, to give herself completely, but she didn’t know if that would happen.
Shane had seemed visibly upset by the way their last lesson had ended and she got the distinct impression that he felt like they had gone too far.
If only he could get over the idea of her being some untouchable porcelain doll!
Valentine knew he felt responsible for her in Peter’s absence but why couldn’t their relationship extend into another realm?
Why did it have to remain platonic? He could still look out for her if they were together, couldn’t he?
Maybe he doesn’t want to be together with you. Maybe he doesn’t want you that way.
Valentine pushed the thought away. Some part of Shane wanted her that way, she was sure. The way he touched her and kissed her during their first lesson proved it— didn’t it?
Before she could get really worked up, the door opened and Shane was standing there. He was shirtless tonight, just as she’d seen him in the club, wearing only the tight black leather pants that made her mouth water.
“Come in, Valentine.” He motioned her inside and shut the door before turning to give her a once-over. His black eyes seemed to burn her exposed skin and he let out a long, low whistle. “You follow orders very well.”
“Is this all right?” She motioned to her black leather outfit. “You said sexy but I wasn’t sure… I was hoping you’d like it.”
“I do like it. Very much.” He stepped closer to her, invading her space until their chests were almost touching and looked down into her eyes. “Now strip.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “All the way?”
“All the way. Now.” His voice was a low, commanding growl.
Fingers trembling, Valentine fumbled with the leather bustier.
It fastened through a series of hooks and eyes that ran up the front of it and it had been a nightmare to get on.
It was even harder to get off, especially with Shane watching her every move.
She felt like she was all thumbs and her heart was beating so loudly she was sure he could hear it.
Finally he stepped forward and brushed her hands away. “Here. Let me.” His voice was softer now, less intimidating and more like the Shane she knew and loved. Valentine dropped her hands to her sides gratefully and let him take the bustier off her.
When she was bare breasted, he took a moment to admire her, circling around her like a cat on the prowl as his gaze raked over her body. “Beautiful,” he murmured, pinching one of her nipples gently.
Valentine moaned softly as the small pain magnified itself into pleasure that seemed to go straight to her pussy. “Thank you, Master.”
“You’re more than welcome, Valentine.” He smiled at her. “Now take off the skirt.”
The skirt was easier to get off and she was quick to comply although it felt funny to be completely naked in front of him. Valentine had the urge to cover herself but she knew he wouldn’t allow it. She was about to take off her garter belt and hose too when he stopped her.
“Leave those. I like the way you look just like this. No panties this time?”
She bit her lower lip in embarrassment. “No. I…I liked the way it felt. To be bare under the skirt. To know you were going to be seeing me like this.”
One corner of his sensual mouth quirked up. “Kinky, sweetheart. Very kinky.”
“Isn’t that why we’re here?” She raised an eyebrow at him and he laughed, that deep rumble she loved so much.
“Touché. You’ve got a smart mouth on you, you know that?” His eyes flicked over her again and he frowned. “Spread your legs.”
Valentine did as he said, feeling the heated blood rush to her cheeks. Shane knelt in front of her, studying the area between her thighs.
“You shaved.” He traced the slit of her bare pussy with one finger, as though to illustrate his point.
“Yes.” She nodded, trying not to moan as he touched her.
“Did I tell you to shave your pussy?” He looked up at her, his black eyes unreadable.
“No, but…but I thought—”
“Didn’t I tell you that as long as we’re doing this your body belongs to me?” Shane rose in one fluid movement and stood over her.
“Yes, Master. I-I’m sorry,” Valentine whispered.
“Don’t be—this time.” He gave her a nod of approval. “I like you like this.”
“Do you really?” Feeling suddenly daring, she stepped up to him and pressed the length of her body against his. The hard planes of his chest felt warm and smooth against her bare breasts and the growing lump in his leather pants pressed against her shaved pussy in just the right place.
He stayed still as a rock, only moving at the last instant when she tried to kiss him. “Did I tell you to kiss me?”
Valentine sighed in frustration and stepped away. “No, Sir.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“I thought…I just wanted…”
“Get to the bedroom and lie facedown across the end of the bed with your feet on the floor. I think it’s time for a punishment.”
“Yes, Master.” Valentine felt a flare of excitement spark all her nerve endings at once.
God, another whipping. What would he use on her this time?
Would it be the riding crop? His belt? She was a little alarmed to find that she was almost anticipating the pain—or maybe not the pain so much as the pleasure that was sure to come afterward.
She wasn’t sure anymore—she just knew that she loved the feeling of being the complete and utter center of Shane’s attention, no matter what he had in mind for her.
She walked as quickly as her high heels would allow, aware of Shane following close behind her, his big body like a line of fire along her spine.
God, he was driving her crazy already. How was she going to get through this?
But the uncertainty was part of the pleasure and when she reached his bedroom she went directly to the high, old- fashioned four-poster and positioned herself as he had ordered.
Shane’s bed was the kind that you almost needed a footstool to get in and out of so she didn’t have to bend over very much to drape herself across the end of it with her feet planted securely on the floor.
She kept her head turned and from the corner of her eye she could see him retrieving something from the closet.
When he turned around, she saw it was a flogger—the same one she’d first seen him using at the club.
It had the look of a clean and well-cared-for instrument just like his gun, the few times he’d seen it.
Shane believed in taking care of his tools to keep them in optimum working order.
Valentine remembered how she’d watched him wield the flogger that first time and imagined that he was using it on her. She’d wondered at the time exactly how it would feel—well, now she was about to find out.
Shane walked toward the bed, the long black leather strands of the flogger making a whispering sound against his leather pants legs as he moved. Valentine braced herself for the first blow, expecting to feel the sting of the flogger across her back or ass.
But instead of whipping her, Shane let the long strands trail lightly over her bare skin.
He drew a line down her spine and then traced her shoulder blades and hips.
The thin leather strips were barely touching her, teasing her exposed flesh unbearably and yet he went on and on, apparently in no hurry to end the strange torture.
Valentine’s skin broke out in goose bumps and she began to shiver as the flogger continued its never-ending journey across her body. At last she couldn’t stand it anymore. “I thought you were going to whip me.”
“Do you want me to whip you?” The leather strands stroked endlessly over her body. Now he was trailing them over her ass and between her thighs, making her crazy as he tickled her bare and extremely sensitive pussy with featherlight touches.
“I don’t know—maybe,” she said desperately. “Anything but this—you’re driving me crazy.”
“That’s the idea, sweetheart. You need to learn to submit when I touch you—to accept whatever sensations I give you whether they’re pleasurable or painful.”
“I don’t know which this is.” Valentine shivered again as the flogger whispered over her skin. “I only know I can’t stand much more of it.”
“So you’d rather I do this?” The flogger whistled through the air abruptly, licking around to land on her vulnerable buttocks.