Chapter 16

ELODIE

My sleepy brain was now wide awake. Pulse racing, I sat up, scrambling for an explanation that wouldn't make me seem like a total stalker. Or like I was a journalist digging for dirt.

"Okay, you caught me," I said, keeping my voice light.

Mac raised an eyebrow, waiting for my explanation.

"I was curious about you, and I found out you went to high school with Dawn. So I wanted to hear about what you were like back then. I mean, can you blame me for wanting to know more about a preacher's kid who gets into BDSM?"

Mac still looked uncertain, but then he let out a sigh that sounded relieved. "I guess I'd be curious, too," he admitted.

I let out the breath I'd been holding.

"Did you talk to Dawn?" he asked, setting the notebook down and climbing back into bed with me.

"Yeah. She lives in Malibu and owns a pottery studio. When I found out she lived close by, I couldn't help myself."

"Well, shit. Now I'm not sure I want to know what she had to say about me." Mac's smile was amused. "I haven't talked to her in years."

"Oh, she was very complimentary."

"We were each other's beards, you know. She was gay, and I was into . . . other things. But she probably already told you all that."

I nodded. "Pretty much, yeah."

"How was she? Dawn."

"Um, she's married now. She doesn't look like she did in her yearbook photos. And she did a great job trying to teach me how to make a vase." I chuckled at the memory. "Suffice to say, my attempt was a disaster."

He chuckled but seemed a little lost in thought. I worried that he was thinking better of accepting my story so easily and that he might've been starting to doubt my explanation.

"I know what I did was intrusive, but curiosity got the best of me. Please tell me you don't think I'm a stalker."

Mac simply smiled, not granting me the satisfaction of an answer. Instead, he got up again and handed me a few bills, which also happened to have large OVERDUE notices at the top.

Now I blushed, feeling humiliated. "I ran a little short paying a few of my bills," I hedged.

Mac picked up three other bills and cocked his head to the side. "Is everything okay?"

I wanted to die. I could tell he was concerned, but it irked me. I grabbed the bills from his hands and stuffed them into my drawer.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little behind. I had a book deal that fell through, so I've been doing extra freelance work that hasn't paid yet. Don't worry about me."

Mac sat down on the bed next to me. "Do you need money, Elodie?"

I froze. I also bit my tongue nearly in half to keep from saying something I'd regret. He's just trying to help , I reasoned.

"I don't need your money," I replied.

"Everybody needs help sometimes."

"Well, I don't." Realizing how bitchy I sounded, I added, "Sorry. I'm fine. Really. Thanks for the offer, though. It's just been tricky, too, because Todd and I were going to move in together, and obviously that didn't happen . . ."

Mac's expression was grave. Was he blaming himself for me ending things with Todd? Or was he still weirded out about the Dawn thing?

I glanced at my phone. It wasn't even midnight. "Do you want to go to the club?" I blurted, desperate for a distraction once again.

"What? The Scarlet Rope? Now?"

"Sure, why not?" I went to my closet to find something to wear. "We haven't been there together in a while. I feel like we could both benefit from blowing off some steam tonight."

Mac eventually agreed, to my immense relief. I put on my sexiest little black dress, which I could tell Mac appreciated. He slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me in for a heated kiss.

The Scarlet Rope was bustling with people tonight, but I had only eyes for Mac. He'd been quiet on the ride over, but he seemed to relax the moment we'd been admitted inside the club.

Feeling guilty about both the Dawn thing and getting snippy earlier, I whispered in Mac's ear, "How about we go to a room? Where we're the participants this time."

Mac stared down at me, clearly surprised. "Seriously?"

I nodded, a thrill going through me. "How about it, then?"

He didn't say anything. Then he touched my cheek and said, "I'm not sure I want to put our relationship on display. We only just started. You're probably not ready for something like that."

I was both touched and annoyed now. I wouldn't have offered if I'd known he hadn't wanted to do it. But I also wasn't going to push Mac to do anything he didn't want either.

"We can go watch a room together," he suggested. "Then maybe we can get a private room to enjoy each other in."

I nodded, following his lead. He took me to the BDSM room. There was a woman and a man this time. The woman had a collar around her neck, with the man holding the attached leash. She wore nothing but a tiny thong and a blindfold while he was still fully dressed in a suit and tie.

Despite what was happening with just a thin wall of glass between, I fixated on Mac. Did he consider our relationship more serious than I thought? I would've guessed he would've jumped at the chance to up the ante of our play.

Yet it seemed like he wanted to keep things private. Was it because he was concerned about me? Or was it that he just didn't think I had the balls to let other people watch us have sex? When the scene ended, Mac took my hand. I followed him silently to a private room in the back of the club.To my surprise, I shook, but it wasn't from fear. It was from anticipation. My nerves were on fire, my entire body desperate for Mac's touch.

He cradled my jaw. "You ready?"

I could only nod and follow him inside.

The room had a bed, and along the walls were all kinds of instruments and toys. Some I recognized; some I couldn't begin to fathom the uses of.

"What's the safe word?" Mac asked me, startling me out of my thoughts.

"Uh, turkey?"

He smiled. "That's right. Remember, you can say that word whenever you want me to stop."

I nodded.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

I nodded again. My body was tense with anticipation. I glanced at the variety of whips and floggers on the wall, Mac following my gaze.

"Not tonight," he said. "But soon."

I shivered. Mac gathered a few things, but not before telling me to strip out of my clothes.

I stood naked in the middle of an unfamiliar room, my nipples hard as steel, when he came and blindfolded me. Darkness enveloped my vision, and it sent a thrill through me. Mac's fingers brushed across my shoulder as he brushed my hair aside. He kissed my neck gently.

"Put your hands together in front of you. Just like that," he said softly.

I obeyed. Then I felt him tie my wrists, the bindings tighter than when he'd bound me in the hotel room, but still not uncomfortable.It seemed like an eternity as he tied the knot around my wrists. I was about to ask what the hold-up was, but then he stepped away.

I stood there, waiting, listening intently, but Mac didn't say a word. I could only make out his footsteps, and the air moving around me.

"You're so fucking beautiful," he said reverently. "I love the way your nipples tighten every time I speak."

I could feel my traitorous nipples do just that, and Mac chuckled. He rearranged my hair so it fell down my back, then he was on the move once again. Every step he took made my heart beat faster. I felt like a gazelle waiting for a lion to pounce. Except I wasn't afraid. I was desperate. I trembled, my pussy already throbbing with need. I squeezed my thighs together, but that only made the sensations more intense.

"How much do you want me to fuck you?" he growled.

I swallowed, too aroused to think. "I don't know."

"You don't know? That's not a good answer. Try again."

I licked my lips. "You haven't even touched me yet."

"Who said you were in control here?"

Mac's big hand settled on the top of my head, guiding me to kneel in front of him. I could smell his scent inches away, making me salivate, desperate to taste him. But the man standing in front of me took his time. Finally, after a minute or two, I heard fabric rustle, and then I felt the smooth head of his cock brush against my lips.

"I'm the one in control," he said, his tone as hard as his cock. "Say it, Elodie. I own you."

"You own me," I whispered.

"Now, take my cock into your mouth like a good girl."

I licked the head and slowly took him into my mouth, savoring the salty taste. Mac dug his fingers into my hair as I began to bob my head and suck him off.

"You're so good at this," he crooned. "Do you love my cock in your mouth, sweetheart? Does that make your pussy wet?"

I nodded. I'd never liked blow jobs much—until I met Mac. Without even touching me, he managed to make them painfully erotic.

Mac tightened his grip on my hair and began to take control. He thrust harder into my mouth, going deeper and deeper until I gagged.

"That's it. Take all of me. Breathe through your nose." He groaned. "God, you're fucking amazing, baby girl."

Just as I finally started to relax into the feeling of having my throat filled, Mac pulled out. I gulped in a few breaths, but the break was short, and a moment later, he was feeding me his cock again. This time, he didn't go slow. He wrapped my hair in his hand and used it to keep my head steady as he fucked my mouth, going deeper into my throat, farther than I would've thought possible. I couldn't breathe, my throat burned, and my eyes watered, yet I had never been more turned on in my life. I'd never wanted to please someone more than at that moment. When Mac finally relented again, pulling back and allowing me to rest for a moment, saliva dripped down my chin. I was sure I looked like a complete mess, but I couldn't even care.

"God, Elodie," he rasped. "You look so beautiful with my cock in your mouth. Tell me how much you love it."

"I love it," I whispered. I did.

"Louder."

"I love it!"

"Do you want me to come down your throat?"

"Yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, please."

"Good girl." I could hear the smile in his voice as he stroked my cheek. "Then no more stopping. You suck me until I come down your throat. Understand?"

"Yes."

He deep-throated me even longer this time. Tears ran down my cheeks as I struggled to breathe. But I loved every second of it. I was desperate to taste him. His grip on my hair tightened as he pushed deeper and let out a string of curses, then stilled as he pumped down my throat. He came in endless pulses, making me swallow all of it.

Mac sighed. He gently untied my wrists and took off my blindfold before lifting me into his arms. He carried me to the bed, and before I could say a word, he buried his face in my pussy.

I squealed as he licked me from ass to clit. He plunged his tongue into my sheath as his thumb worked my clit.It didn't take long before I was on edge.

"Mac!" I was ready to explode, and it was too much, too soon. "Slow down..."

He ignored my cry and kept eating me out, licking and sucking and fucking me with his tongue until I arched off the bed and moaned his name.When he sucked my clit into his mouth and plunged two fingers inside me, I came. I screamed through the orgasm, not caring if the entire club heard me. I could just make out Mac chuckling as I came.

Afterward, he gathered me into his arms, kissing me gently as he pushed my hair back.

"You good?" he asked. I could see the concern in his gaze. "Your throat okay?"

"I'm exhausted and sore. But in a very good way."

"I didn't push you too hard?"

"You pushed me, but I liked it. I promise you." I kissed him.

He sighed and wrapped his arms around me. "You're amazing."

I couldn't help but smile against his bicep. The infamous Cole Mackenzie, playboy hockey player, thought I was amazing at sex?

I would take that compliment with me for the rest of my life.