Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

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When there’s no wrong choice, how does one choose? There’s the safe way where the outcome is known then there’s the other way. The way that has the same outcome, yet a completely unknown way to get there.

I had always been the one to choose the safe path. The known path. The path where I knew exactly what to expect every step along the way. It was the path I had been on before I made my resolution. The path that had me as a faceless worker stuck in a cubical.

Now, I am a virgin adventurer on the seas of passion. Ha! That would make a good book blurb. But it’s true. And this adventurer is ready for another adventure.

Paige was no longer the scared, quiet bookworm. She was a book dragon leaping from the pages of her books to live her life. She turned a smile to Mr. Steel but held on to Mr. Paris.

“It was lovely meeting you, Mr. Steel. However, tonight, I’d like to get to know Mr. Paris better. I hope we’ll meet again.”

Mr. Steel was everything Dracklen said. He bowed to her as if he were from a Regency novel and then pressed a kiss to her hand. “I look forward to that day.”

“Let’s catch up sometime, Paris. Now, I see a sexy little sub over there dying to please me.” Lenora crooked her finger at a very sexy younger man. “You two have fun.”

Lenora walked off, leaving Paige and Mr. Paris watching a new scene beginning to be acted out. The kissing on the stage, the way the man was running his hands up the woman’s bare chest, and then the way Mr. Paris began to stroke her hand with his thumb was enough to have Paige needing to remember to breathe.

“Would you like to watch or go someplace private?” Mr. Paris asked. It was clear he’d spent most of his time in America, but that hint of French was so sexy.

Paige had a hard time tearing her eyes off the role play, but when Mr. Paris moved to stand behind her, resting his hands on her hips and pulling her back against his front, well, she didn’t know if she could move at all. His fingers slipped under the frill of her panty line at the side of her hips.

Mr. Paris didn’t move. He simply stood, brushing his fingers against the bare skin of her hips as they watched. Paige felt her heart race and other parts of her started to rev up, too. She didn’t even realize she’d begun to move until she felt Mr. Paris fully against her butt. Her breath caught. Goodness. What was she doing? She had no idea. The way her body was reacting, it knew, so Paige just went with it.

“Do you need to scan my door?” Paige asked Mr. Paris, not taking her eyes off the show in front of them. “To see if we will get along?”

She felt Mr. Paris’s chuckle. “I don’t think that’s necessary, but I’m happy to if you want to see mine. I prefer to explore and find all your hidden desires myself.”

Holy bookworm. Paige’s breathing was coming so rapidly now she hoped she wasn’t going to faint. “Then let’s see how good you are at exploring.”

She heard a slight laugh as Mr. Paris moved his hand from her hip to take her hand in his. He began to walk toward the gold door, but she stopped him. “Don’t we go over there?” she asked, pointing to the rooms she’d gone to with Jeremy the last time she was here.

“Not when the man you’re with has this,” Mr. Paris answered, pulling out his gold door card.

Paige followed him to the door where he showed his card to the VIP manager who then handed a gold key to Mr. Paris. They walked silently down the luxurious hall to door number seven. Mr. Paris put the key in, and when the door opened, she expected to find the black satin she’d seen on her first trip behind the Red Door.

Instead, when Paige walked into the room, it was covered in gold and black silk. The room was twice as large. The toys were top of the line. A giant spa bathroom was off to one side. A sitting room with a fireplace was also fully stocked with small bottles of top-shelf drinks and food. Dracklen had mentioned that while alcohol was served, it was in small amounts to prevent anyone from getting intoxicated.

Mr. Paris didn’t lead her straight to the bed. He led her to the sitting area where he pulled his bow tie loose. “Drink?”

Paige would like to say she smoothly sat down, crossed her legs, and asked for a glass of champagne. However, her mouth had gone completely dry and her legs were wobbly with a combination of nerves and excitement. So she ended up more plopping than seductively sitting.

“Water, please.” Her mouth was like a desert. What was wrong with her?

Mr. Paris poured a glass for her and one for himself before taking a seat across from her. “I see you’re a guest. Is this your first time here?”

“Second.” Paige took a sip of water and decided not to fill him in on her last visit. This was a mulligan, after all, and she was going to take the free shot. “I’m assuming you’ve been here often since you’re a VIP.”

“In my younger days. It’s been many years, but I’m pretty sure I remember what to do.”

Paige wished he’d take off the mask so she could tell how old he was. She was guessing he was older than she was, but maybe only by five years or so. He was probably close to thirty. Paige reached up to take off her mask, but he stopped her.

“Tonight, we keep them on. No names. No identity. Just two strangers finding pleasure.” OMG. His voice dropped to the sexiest tone when he said pleasure. “Are you nervous, Reading?”

Paige thought about playing it cool and saying she wasn’t. However, she was pretty sure he could tell so there was no point lying. “Yes. As I told you, this is only my second time here.”

Paris sat back and twirled the crystal glass in his hand. “Is there anything you are worried about?”

“I just don’t want to mess up,” Paige admitted.

Paris smiled at that. “Then let me take it from here. There will be nothing for you to mess up, as if you could even mess up anything we do. You’re beautiful, Reading. Just from our short conversation, I can tell you’re smart and have a great sense of humor. However, what I plan to do to you has nothing to do with laughing. That is, if you’re willing.”

Paige gulped. Jeremy had been submissive. It had felt safe. Not that she didn’t feel safe with Paris. She just felt out of control with need and excitement, as well as not knowing what to do with it. In books, the virgins all seemed to be experts in bed. They instantly knew what to do, how to do it, and somehow always gave amazing blow jobs. And they always had multiple orgasms. That wasn’t the case for Paige. Sure, she’d given blowies. But were they really that good or were the guys she dated just happy to have someone touch it? And multiple orgasms? Girl, please. Only her vibrator could do that. The men she’d been with poked around and slobbered until it was just too gross, so she’d fake it to hurry them along. Or half the time they wouldn’t even return the favor after she made them come. So, yeah, she was nervous about not knowing what to do.

“I’m willing.” Paige’s voice cracked a little and Paris cocked his head to look at her again.

He licked his bottom lip and bit it as if thinking. Then he stood up, set down his drink, and held out his hand. “Trust me, Reading. I know exactly what to do. Tell me your safe word, not that we’re going to do anything extreme. You’re not ready for that. But if I do anything you don’t like, no matter how big or small, you use it and I’ll stop immediately.”

Paige looked at his hand. “Books,” she said, mind made up as she placed her hand in his.

She saw his lips quirk but then he was all seriousness again as he led her to the bed. It was a massive king with a black matte steel frame and canopy. The comforter was gold silk, but when Paris pulled it back it revealed black silk sheets.

“Lie down, Reading.” While it was an order, Paris practically purred it. Paige didn’t so much as lie down but melted onto the bed at his words and his gaze.

“I’ve wanted you like this since I first saw you.” Paris opened the drawer on the nightstand next to the bed and pulled out two silk ribbons. “Grab onto the headboard.”

“What?” Paige was so lost in watching him lick his lips that she was afraid she hadn’t heard him right.

“Hold on to the headboard, or are you going to use your safe word?”

Paige looked above her at the metal frame. The headboard had several places to hold and a decorative little arch... oh! Those weren’t decorations. They were places to bind someone to the bed. Paris wanted to tie her to the bed.

Excitement, desire, and a healthy amount of nerves hit her. Paris didn’t push her. He waited for her to make up her mind. “And you’ll let me go if I say books?”

“Instantly.”

Paige was too curious to find out what happened next. The idea of being laid out before Paris was too irresistible. She raised her hands and grabbed the metal. Paris didn’t rush. He climbed onto the bed and straddled her. He leaned forward and slowly tied one hand. He looked down, waiting to see if she told him to stop. When she didn’t, he bound her other.

“These give the allusion of being bound. However, if you want free, all you have to do is tug the smaller end,” Paris told her. “Now, I have one rule for tonight.”

Paige definitely felt vulnerable. Paris was not a slight man. He had most of his weight on his knees and off her, but enough to keep her pinned to the bed. Plus, with her hands tied, she was at his mercy. Yet, she really wasn’t. He hadn’t needed to tell her about how to undo the ties. But he’d done it to make her feel in control. Just like the safe word.

“What is it? ”

“No matter what you feel, what you yell, what you want, it’s not wrong. My one rule is you must be completely truthful with every noise you make. If you like something, let me know. If you don’t, let me know. It can be very blunt, as in you saying, ‘I like that,’ or just a noise of pleasure or a grimace if it’s not your thing. I just need to know one way or the other. You go quiet, and I stop as if you used your safe word. Can you follow that rule?”

Paige nodded.

Paris shook his head and made disapproving noises. “Words, Reading.”

“Yes, I can follow that rule.”

Paris smiled down at her. “Good girl.”

Holy page turner. That was even hotter in person than it was in books. What else was hotter? The kiss Paris gave her. He leaned forward, using his forearms to brace himself above her, and kissed her.

Jack had been a great kisser. Paris was next level. He was somehow dominant without being aggressive or too controlling. He opened her mouth to his, but let her share in the control of the kiss.

Paige sighed into his mouth as his tongue swept into hers. It was strange to hold on to silk instead of running her hands down his back, but at least she had something to hang onto as her world spun away with each kiss.

Paris didn’t only use his mouth to kiss her. He used his whole body. His hands ran up her sides. His tuxedo-clad hips mimicked his tongue and pressed her into the bed with each thrust. Paige’s whole body heated. By the time he actually touched her breasts, she was halfway to her first orgasm. He had them freed from her bra, and then what that man did with his fingers and his mouth . . . there were no words. She could see how romance authors had trouble adequately being able to describe what a talented hero could make a heroine feel in bed.

“I love the ruffles, but I want to see all of you,” Paris growled in a way that melted her panties right off her.

Paris reached under her and opened her bra while kissing her. When he peeled it from her body, he covered her breasts with kisses. He scooted down the bed until he was on his elbows and kissing his way down the valley of her breasts, over her stomach, and then to her panties. He sat back and tugged them down her legs and stared.

“Is everything okay?” Paige asked, getting a little nervous.

“I knew you were beautiful, but you bring me to my knees. Literally.”

“Oh,” Paige managed to say on an exhale.

Then, there was no more talking. Paris dove right in. Her knees were tossed over his shoulders and his face disappeared between her thighs. Paige didn’t have a second to tell him he didn’t have to do that. All her other boyfriends had wanted theirs first. She was so hot for Paris that she was drooling at the thought of giving him a blow job. Yet, Paris didn’t even pause to let her ask.

The second his lips met hers, Paige tossed back her head on the pillows, gripped the silk ribbon, and held on. She opened her mouth to say it was good, but all that came out was a long, low groan. When he pressed just the right spot, at just the right pressure, and then did that thing with his tongue and wiggled his finger, holy bookworm, Paige flew off the shelf.

Her body bowed. Her thighs slammed against Paris, holding his head in place, and she screamed. Like, actually, literally , screamed as the orgasm ripped through her. Paris didn’t seem to mind the likely suffocation. He didn’t stop until she’d ridden out the entire orgasm and went slack on the bed, breathing so hard she thought she might be seeing stars.

Paris looked up from between her legs. He licked his lips. His mask was slightly askew. “I knew you’d be delicious. So much so that I want seconds. Let go of the headboard.”

Paris tugged the bindings and freed her hands. He slipped his hands under her and then flipped her onto her stomach. She felt the mattress shift as he got off the bed, only to return a moment later with a wedge-looking pad. “Lift your hips and hold on to the headboard. Don’t let go or I’ll have to tie you back up.”

Paige did as he asked and the wedge went into place, leaving her bottom up in the air and having her core exposed to Mr. Paris. She saw him reach for a bottle on the nightstand and then heard him squirt the oil into his hands.

She was going to ask what he was doing with it when she felt his hands on her lower back. The oil let them slide easily up her back, around to her breasts, and then down her sides until he rubbed the oil into her butt cheeks. Each time he rubbed her bottom, his fingers got closer and closer to her clit before they grazed her.

Paige was so sensitive she jumped. She heard Paris chuckle before he did it again and again until her eyes were rolled back and his fingers and lips explored. His tongue lapped her, surged inside of her, and when he sucked her clit into his mouth, Paige lost control. Her hips moved, she made incoherent sounds, and they seemed to guide Paris’s way right back to another orgasm for her. This one was stronger than the last.

The scream she let out would leave her voice scratchy tomorrow and she didn’t care. She was sweating and wanted the mask off, but right now, her body was so sated she didn’t know how she was going to move.

Paige felt Paris lean over her. She felt his pants on her thighs even as she felt his erection pressing into her bottom. His arms came down on each side of her head then he kissed her neck. “You were everything I knew you would be. You’ve pleased me so very much, Reading. I hope I pleased you as well.”

“Uh-huh,” Paige managed to get out, which seemed to make Paris happy. She could feel his lips curve into a smile on her neck. But then she didn’t feel him on the bed anymore.

Paige lifted her head to find him turning on the tub. Paris walked back over to her, reached down, and scooped her up into his arms. Oh, they were moving this to the tub. Nice! Paris set her down in the warm water and kissed her.

“Until next time, Reading.”

It took a second for Paige to realize when Paris said next time he wasn’t stripping out of his clothes. Instead, he stood up and strode out the door. “Paris? Wait.”

He didn’t stop as he reached for the door. Panic rushed over Paige. She’d messed up somehow.

“Books!”

Paris stopped instantly with his hand on the door. “Yes?”

“What did I do wrong? Is it because I’m a virgin?” Paige winced. It even sounded pathetic to her to hear the crack in her voice.

“Oh, Reading. You were perfect. More than perfect. If I don’t leave now, I’ll lose control.” Paris took a deep breath. “You deserve to be well-pleased and to be worshiped. In this state, I can’t do that. It would be animalistic and not right for your first time. I’ve never seen a more beautiful sight than you tonight. I’ll remember it every moment of every day until we hopefully meet again.”

The warm water might be relaxing, but it was also bringing Paige out of her orgasm-induced haze. Paris didn’t seem surprised by her statement about her virginity. So, he could tell. But before she could ask him, he slipped from the room. The sound of the door closing seemed to echo in the room.

It was crazy how she could feel both so incredibly fulfilled, yet so empty. Her body sang with pleasure and an afterglow she could see in the water. Yet, her heart had taken a little ding when Paris left. Her interaction with Paris was so intense that a bond was formed. Was that how sex would be? Would she leave a little piece of her heart behind? Could she handle that? Paris hadn’t taken that part of her, but he’d also given her so much. He’d given her a glimpse of the passion she could have with a man and he’d given her a grand adventure.

Paige sank back into the tub, a smile still on her face. Yes, her heart may be a little sad this adventure was over, but she couldn’t wait to see what was next.