A beat passed. “Uncomfortable.”

“Painful?”

“No.”

“Good.” She’d targeted enough discomfort to allow him the opportunity to concentrate on his body, and not what he should be doing or thinking. She reached under the bed, took out a foot spreader, and positioned it between his legs. After a quick check of the equipment, she stood back to admire the naked man in front of her.

A slow, satisfied smile curved her lips. “Perfect. Let’s begin.”

Holy shit.

In a matter of minutes, he found himself naked, spread eagle, and tied up before a female he’d never met before tonight. I’ve lost my freaking mind.

The last incident in Iraq flashed before his vision. Their transporter had been attacked. As bullets rained over them and he’d shot back, sweat dripping in his eyes, adrenalin pumping, sand bursting up in clouds so he didn’t know what the hell he aimed at, he’d reached a turning point. When Ben got cut down, his leg shot to pieces, Rafe had needed to make a life-changing decision in a moment. He’d dived into the danger zone to bring his friend back to safety and hoped life without a limb wouldn’t be as bad as dying.

Right now, right here, with this woman before him, he hit another turning point.

He craved a bit of secret Domme/sub play, but never believed he’d experience a full blown episode. His senses buzzed in vivid neon colors, riding the edge of pain and pleasure. Since coming back from the war, he’d never felt so completely alive. In touch with his body and completely present. Focused only on the woman before him who was about to rock his world.

Jesus, she looked like a different woman. Her face still held the appeal of the girl-next-door, but now she emanated a seductive power that gripped him by the balls and squeezed him as hard as her fingers had. High, perfectly formed breasts played a game of hide and seek behind tight leather. Her nipples grazed the edge of the corset, about to pop out with her next deep breath. Skin tight pants left nothing to the imagination and cupped her ass, clearly outlining the delta between her thighs. Each time she took a step, the heels forced her to balance, pushing her hips forward and back in a feminine swing Eve couldn’t have perfected better. Each thrust beckoned with a promise. If he hung on.

He’d figured she’d call it quits the moment he fought her. He hadn’t expected her to twist his balls, or the crazy pain/pleasure that stiffened his dick at her complete demand of submission. His mind emptied of all other thoughts than getting to touch her, thrust inside of her, see her completely naked. He figured he’d take anything she gave if she’d allow him just a taste.

“Hmm, very nice.” She grasped his cock and slid down from tip to the base. He shuddered and pulled on the cuffs, but the movement cramped and burned his shoulders and neck. He raised almost on tiptoe and stretched his body. Her touch skittered over his skin and twisted the discomfort into excitement. “I want to know more about you,” she purred like Catwoman. “We’re going to play one of my favorite games. I’ll ask you something and you answer as honestly as possible. If you give me the truth, I’ll give you a present. Lie to me, and you’ll be punished. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Summer.”

“Very good.” She continued touching him with light strokes—his hip, his stomach, his nipple. Each teasing flutter fisted his gut with anticipation, until he worried he’d spurt all over her like a freaking horn dog teenager. He used all of his military training to lock down his brain and control his body. No way in hell he’d explode before he pushed inside of her. She picked the wrong man to play that game with.

As if she sensed his thoughts, she lifted one of her hands and he held his breath as her pink tongue licked her palm. She grasped his erection. And squeezed. He bucked at the damp heat.

“Stop thinking,” she commanded. “You’ll do what I ask, not what you think you have to. How long were you in the military?”

“Eight years. Joined at eighteen.”

She rubbed both hands up and down his cock, her thumb massaging the tip, keeping him distracted. “Where were you stationed?”

“Iraq.”

“Tell me about it.”

He blinked, reaching for some answer to her strange question, but she continued stroking. “Uh, what do you want to know?”

“Describe how it felt.”

He groaned when she scratched his sensitive balls with her fingernails. “Hot. Dusty. Had sand in my ass from the first day, and the grit doesn’t wash off your skin no matter how much you bathe. You learn not to trust anyone but your team since any resident can turn on you in a heartbeat. Children included.”

She released him and disappeared behind him. He tensed. Her breath ran hot over his back and one sharp nail traced the line of his spine to stop at the base before tracing the line of his ass cheeks. He closed his eyes and pulled at the chains, wanting out of there, yet he had nowhere to go.

“Tell me your worst memory in Iraq.”

Her finger teased the tight hole between his cheeks. He concentrated on keeping his breathing steady, his heartbeat under control and played his usual game that kept him grounded. Start with one thousand and count backward, slow and steady. No way in hell he’d share secrets with a one-night stand. No way in hell she’d make him.

“Nothing stands out. One crappy day was the same as the rest.”

A sharp slap rang through the air. His left ass cheek tightened and heat burned his skin, but before he recovered, she bit down and the other cheek stung like a son of a bitch. Her hand slid around and grasped his cock, pumping up and down in a steady rhythm and the dual shock of pain melded to pleasure. Her tongue soothed the sting on his ass. With his head swimming, he tried to keep his brain sharp in order to dodge her questions, but his body didn’t give a shit. He cursed viciously.

“Don’t lie to me, it’ll piss me off. Let’s backtrack. Were you in charge of anyone?”

“Yes, five men.”

“Were they close friends?”

“Yes.”

“Did everyone get out alive?”

The repetitive questions came fast. His mind throbbed in time with the demands of his body to come. “No.”

He descended into his own personal hell, fighting with lust and need and crappy memories he didn’t want to emerge. Then she appeared in front of him. She’d loosened her corset and bared her breasts. Two ruby red nipples poked out and begged for his mouth.

“Who died?”

He gritted his teeth. She reached out and slapped his cock. A few drops of cum moistened the tip and he groaned. “Ben.”

“How did he die?”

“Fuck you.”

The last ditch effort at sanity broke from his lips. She smiled and knelt before him. Her hands rubbed her nipples and he stared helplessly at the luscious fruit a few inches away, yet unable to touch. The final threads of control frayed.

“I’m going to take your cock into my mouth and suck. You are not allowed to come. Do you understand me?”

“Yes.”

She opened her lips and slid her tongue up and over him. His heart stopped, sputtered, and pounded so hard the sound roared in his ears. She rolled the tip of her tongue round and round, licking with delicate motions. He jerked in the heavenly wet heat and yanked at his restraints. His knees shook. The numbers swam foggily in his vision but he fought for composure and tried to count again.

She pulled her mouth away with a slight popping noise. “How did Ben die?”

“Ambushed. We took cover but he got hit and his leg was blown off.”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing.”

The witch actually smiled. She bathed her index finger with her tongue. Her hot breath blew on his throbbing cock, and she trailed the same finger slowly between his cheeks, teasing the opening of his anus. Horror and a raging arousal licked him like fire. “Liar,” she said softly. One finger thrust into his ass.

“Fuck!” The delicious pressure shoved him toward the edge of orgasm. She worked the finger like a magician until his body practically wept for more.

“What happened when Ben got hit?”

“I asked Tim to cover me and I went to get him. Dragged him out of the scene.” He panted. With her other hand, she lifted his erection, swirling her fingers under the sensitive base, around his balls, spreading the moisture of her mouth.

“Did you get shot?” she asked.

“No. Everyone said it was a miracle.”

Pain and desire melded until one became indistinct from the other. The agony of the memory pierced him clear and sharp, when before it had always been a dull throbbing that never seemed to go away. She battered him with questions, and still she worked him, never easing the pressure of her finger in his ass, or her tongue and lips on his cock.

“Did you save him?”

“That day I did. He died at the hospital later. The whole thing was a waste. Just another day of waste.”

“Was that your worst memory?”

Her gaze delved deep and grabbed him by the throat. An endless depth of blue churned with emotion and demanded his truth. The walls he’d built trembled and broke in a pile of rubble around him. His body screamed and shook for release, for her permission to come. He dug in and gave it to her. “No, my worst memory was the day I got that fucking medal. The Silver Star. For being a damned hero.” He waited for her revulsion and anger and resentment. Instead, he only met her understanding and empathy. And want.

“Very good. Now, you may come in my mouth.”

Her head dipped and she took him deep to the back of her throat in one swift gulp. She sucked hard, her tongue swirling around with the perfect pressure. A cry ripped from his lips. Her teeth gently scraped the underside of his dick; she thrust a second finger in his anus, and he let go.

The climax ripped through him and he screamed her name, bucking and coming in her slick, satin heat. His toes arched and his head exploded in sensory overload as every muscle released tension. Mini convulsions wracked him from side to side, and she took all of him, massaging, then crooning to him softly. Drained emotionally and physically, he slumped against the handcuffs and heard her murmur his name. Time slowed and blurred. He caught the sweet scent of soap on her damp hands as she freed him from his restraints and rubbed his sore muscles. Settling him on the bed, she pressed kisses to his forehead as he lay against the cool sheets and let her bathe him with a damp washcloth. He basked in a cocoon of warmth and safety he’d never experienced before, after the most powerful orgasm of his life. In the comforting darkness, he surrendered while held within strong, feminine arms.

Chapter Three

Summer blinked away the tears that threatened and she bit her lip to ground herself. The man beside her roused. How would he react after the depth of their emotional scene? In a matter of hours, Rafe Steele had given her more intimacy and passion than she’d ever experienced. His strength humbled her. She shook with the need to belong to him completely, to have him fill her aching pussy.

Dear God, how can I ever go back to my old life? He’d wrecked her for all others—wrecked her for the normal vanilla sex with its nice boundaries and neat actions that barely scratched the surface of deep emotion. By giving in to his needs, his want, he’d given her a priceless gift.