24. Don’t Get Yourself Tied Up in Knots
Iwas surfing.
Which was weird because I’d never been surfing.
I didn’t even know how to swim.
But I was wet. And the wave I rode was growing. Growing. Growing.
Waves couldn’t do that.
They couldn’t just build. They had to crash eventually. And when they did, I would drown.
This is a dream.
My body tingled.
This is the best dream.
“Glad you think so,” an amused voice said, dragging me into reality just in time for the wave to build even higher. But it wasn’t a wave. It was the pleasure that Ash was fueling with his mouth.
Knowing I was close, I tried to reach to hold his head to me, but I couldn’t. I pried an eye open before rapidly blinking.
That behemoth actually tied me to his bed.
I pulled again, expecting the loose rope to unknot and fall away, but it didn’t.
It tightened.
“Ash—”
“Who am I?” he bit out before he resumed licking and sucking. Biting and flicking.
“Daddy.” I tugged the rope again. “You actually… You… I’m…” My words trailed off and my eyes went unfocused. “Daddy!” I cried out, but that time it wasn’t to get his attention.
With what he did and the addition of the rope, there was no more surfing the wave. It crashed over me, leaving me gasping for air like I’d actually nearly drowned.
Once it ebbed away and my brain worked, I wiggled my arm. “You did it. You actually tied me to the bed.”
“Yup.”
That was it. No apology. No remorse. Nothing.
“Why?” I asked when it became obvious he wasn’t going to offer an explanation.
Ash stood and rounded the bed to stand at the side near my bound wrist. “’Cause yesterday you ran from me.”
“But I’m here now,” I pointed out.
“And I ensured you stayed. Problem solved.” He made no move to free it as he leaned over to kiss me.
Despite the warning the day before, I turned my head.
He didn’t give me the chance to explain before he squeezed my mouth open and did exactly as he’d threatened.
It should’ve been disgusting. It should’ve made my stomach churn. It should’ve made me barf or yell or maybe even cry.
It didn’t.
It made me needy all over again.
I am sick.
Ash followed it by kissing me, hard and deep. “I don’t give a shit if you don’t like the taste?—”
“It wasn’t that,” I interrupted. “I have morning breath.”
“Don’t give a shit about that, either.” He did something I couldn’t see, and my hand slid free of the rope. He grabbed my arm before I could move, massaging the skin that tingled slightly.
Since he’d made his point—with the rope and the kiss—I let it go.
It was unlikely I’d have to worry about either one again.
When I was wrong, I had no problem saying so. And at that moment, I freely admitted I’d been wrong about the rope.
Or maybe not so freely in that case.
Because as I sat on Ash’s bed, I did it with a raw, red ass and my elbows tied behind my back.
The timing of us… well, becoming an us couldn’t have been more perfect. Ash had two days off. Actually off, and not just working from home.
The first day had been spent mostly in bed.
And once on the kitchen counter—which had apparently been a fantasy of Ash’s ever since my first day there.
The second day, he’d taken me to his favorite Vietnamese restaurant for a sandwich that was more loaded than the ones he made before I’d tagged along on errands. And by tagged along, I meant he’d told me I was coming.
Each night, after he’d settled us with his body mostly on mine and his cock pressed between my legs, he’d included the addition of a rope around my wrist to tie me to the slatted headboard.
Like our position, I hadn’t thought I could sleep like that.
But again, I’d been wrong because they’d been the two most restful nights I’d ever had.
That was why I’d been up nice and early that morning. And, after figuring out how to undo the adjustable knot, I’d gone to make coffee for Ash.
Fine, and also for me.
Since that’d been a violation of his rules, I’d ended up with a much more secure restraint. He’d called it a simple elbow tie, but there was nothing simple about it.
Or the addicting helplessness I’d felt when he’d spanked me.
He was supposed to be getting the coffee I’d been trying to start before I’d ended up over his shoulder, but when I heard him return, he was talking.
There was the soft sound of another voice, too.
My heart beat a rapid drumroll against my ribs. Unlike the way Ash usually made my pulse race, nothing about the panic that surged through me was pleasant.
I still wore his tee, but nothing was underneath it. And nothing hid the way I was restrained with black rope encircling my arms.
He’s not bringing someone else…
He wouldn’t.
Right?
When he filled the doorway, it was just his phone in his hand.
Oh thank God.
That relief evaporated in an instant when he sat next to me, and I saw it wasn’t a phone call. It was a video one.
I barely choked down a panicked squeak.
His camera was positioned where only he filled the small window, but that didn’t make me feel much better. Especially when I took in the older woman who filled the larger one. I could already guess who she was before she said, “And you know your father. He thinks he can fix anything.”
“Yeah, but the roof of an RV?” Ash chuckled. “Remember the time he tried to fix the loose blinds and ended up super gluing the curtains to himself?”
“Or the shoe rack incident,” the woman added with raised brows.
“We don’t talk about that,” a man called from somewhere off-screen.
“Anyway, we found a place that can do the repair, but it’ll take some time. Thankfully, we’re staying in this cute cabin.” She spun around, but not much could be seen at that angle.
That didn’t stop Ash from grinning. “Looks like a great time, Ma. You guys are okay, though?”
“The bedding set is garbage now, but that’s an easy thing to replace. I’m just disappointed we can’t start back your way. Especially since Violet said you have a woman in your life.”
My alarmed gaze shot to Ash, and I was tempted to throw myself out of the room to avoid hearing the rest of the conversation—bindings or not.
He must’ve known it, too, because his hand covered my bare thigh to keep me in place.
His father’s voice was filled with the same kind of warning Ash usually aimed my way. “Lynn.”
“What? I’m just excited. When’s the last time he had a girlfriend? All he does is work, work, work. I know he loves what he does, but he can’t give me grandbabies with his work.”
No amount of effort could’ve stopped the unintelligible noise that escaped me.
Thankfully, it was drowned out by his father. “The eleven we have aren’t enough?”
Ash didn’t seem fazed by any of it.
“There’s no such thing as too many grandkids, Joseph Cooper.” She looked back to the screen. “Vi said the poor dear was in a car accident, though.” His mother was on the phone. She was a stranger. Yet her genuine concern for me was clear as day. “Is she doing okay?”
“Yeah, Ma, she’s good now.”
“That’s good. The drivers in that city act like they need to race everywhere. Are they worried the casinos are going to close if they aren’t fast enough?” She shook her head. “Well, let her know we say hi and we’re glad to hear she’s okay.”
No wonder Ash is how he is.
Who would I have been if I had a mother who worried about strangers instead of a mother who never even worried about her own daughter?
Envy wasn’t a new emotion for me. If I allowed myself to feel it every time someone had more than me, I wouldn’t ever be able to feel anything else. I wouldn’t be able to do anything else.
Yet after witnessing the easy conversation between Ash and his parents, the bitter taste of it coated my tongue. For the first time, though, I didn’t curse the universe and fate. I didn’t spiral.
If it weren’t for my bad luck, I wouldn’t be in Ash’s bed right then. I’d take that silver lining.
Ash squeezed my thigh tighter, offering support I didn’t need. “I’ll let her know, Ma. I’m sure she’d love to say hi to you guys, but she’s tied up right now.”
Never mind throwing myself out of here.
I’m throwing him out.
Just as soon as he unties me.
After a sweet goodbye, Ash tossed his phone to the side.
“I can’t believe you took a FaceTime call with your parents in front of me.”
“I didn’t. I took it downstairs.”
“You did that and forgot the coffee. You’re lucky I don’t kick you,” I seethed.
“Go ahead.”
I lifted my foot.
He stroked a finger from my shoulder down across the rope. “I know plenty of ties that involve the legs.”
I dropped my foot.
“Smart girl.” Turning me carefully, he quickly undid the rope. “While I was on the call with Ma, Maximo messaged that he needs me early today.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Usual bullshit.” Since that wasn’t reassuring and I likely didn’t look appeased, he pressed his thumb against my frown. “There is a boxing event this Friday. The bigger the event, the more VIPs roll in. The more VIPs, the more bullshit.”
“Is this a big event?”
“The biggest Moonlight has hosted. When a VIP starts making a fuss because they think their money makes them better than everyone else and we should do everything but shake the piss from their tiny dicks for them, Maximo sends me to talk them down.”
“Why you?” I pointedly looked around the room. “I mean, you have money, but you’re not pompous about it. And you definitely don’t have a tiny anything.”
And the fact I can barely move without wincing is proof.
He didn’t gloat about my comment. He let his arrogant smile do it for him while he answered my question. “Marco would tell them to suck it up or kick them out. Cole doesn’t deal with guests. And Maximo is the boss, so he doesn’t have to. That leaves me because un-fucking-fortunately, I’m charming and persuasive.”
Since I’d just spent the morning tied up, there was no arguing that fact.
Ash gave me his full attention, watching me carefully. It would be disconcerting if it weren’t so comforting. Maybe that part should’ve been disconcerting.
I didn’t think too hard on it.
“You can stay here today.”
After the previous few days, even my dysfunctional brain couldn’t twist that into something bad, like that he didn’t want me there.
Trust.
He wants me to know he trusts me.
I appreciated it, but now that I knew why he’d had me come with him, I liked it. It sank into some long-neglected part of my soul and made me happy.
That was why I asked, “Do I have to?”
His brows lowered. “What?”
“Can I come with you to Moonlight?”
“Fuck yes, you can. I’d love knowing you’re in the same building, even if I can’t see you. But I’m gonna be running all over today.”
“That’s okay.” Asking him if I could go with him was already a big step. I decided to make it a massive one. “Do you think Juliet would want to see me again?”
His expression and voice both softened to velvet. “Yeah, sunshine, I know she would.”
“Good.” I wasn’t sure what I’d say or how I’d explain everything, but I wanted to try. “Are you okay with me telling her about us? Just, you know, if it comes up. And I wouldn’t go into detail?—”
“Share as much as you want about whatever you want. It’d be good for you to have someone to talk to. But fair warning, if you’re out of the penthouse, Elliot will be with you.”
“Who?”
“The security guard. You don’t have to talk to him or any other detail you might have. They aren’t there for you to entertain. Do what you want. Go where you want so long as it’s on the property. Ignore your shadow. But you will have one.”
Once again, now that I knew why he wanted me to have security, I liked it. I felt bad for whoever had to babysit me, of course, but that didn’t change that it was nice to be protected.
When I didn’t argue, Ash stood and gave me that small smile that made me want to bend over backward to earn it more often. He pulled me to stand. “Shirt off.”
Assuming he wanted to see me naked, I hesitated for all of two seconds before pulling it over my head. His gaze ran over me as he bit out a low curse that seemed to skitter along my skin to tighten my nipples. When he stepped away, he took my tee with him.
“What’re you doing?” I asked.
“Wearing this under my suit. Now go get ready.”
As if that wasn’t an unhinged thing to do, he left.
And as if that wasn’t an unhinged thing to like, I grinned as I went to get ready.