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  Deepening the kiss, she straddled his hips and yanked the boxers down. His cock blessed the freedom and starting looking for a new home. Dan lifted her away before things went too far. He wanted inside her too much and his condoms were in the other room.

  "It's time, sweetheart."

  A deep flush covered her face and spread down her neck. He lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze, praying he hadn't misjudged what he presumed she wanted.

  "Go into the bedroom and get what you need for tonight, what you want." He stripped the robe down her body. "I'll be less than a minute behind you. And trust me, it's going to kill me to wait that long."

  She swallowed, nodded, and stood. Her body quivered with every move. Dan hoped it was with anticipation and not dread, even while he admired her sweet ass as she walked away.

  Chapter 7

  * * *

  Juices trickled down Leigh's thighs. She tried to be casual about this, tried not to run to her bedroom. Her pussy had other ideas. Her clit swelled the second Dan had uttered "It's time." Years of waiting for someone to know, to take the lead and give her what she craved. Not to humiliate her as Bert had. Not to have to be told. To just do.

  She forced herself not to evaluate how Dan had come upon his knowledge of her private needs. If she did she'd never go through with it, never know what it was truly like to have this. But despite all her fantasies, Leigh didn't have a clue how to proceed from here. She'd never done this with anyone before, always alone.

  Indecision played havoc with her senses. She stared at the rumpled bedsheets, their clothing scattered all over the room, his duffel lying open on the floor.

  I wanted to make love. With you.

  She buried her face in her hands, then yanked her fists to her sides and strode toward her dresser drawer. Fingers closed around the wooden hairbrush. Leigh left the drawer open, exposing her treasure trove of toys. Dan could do what he wanted with the stash. She'd trusted him enough to bring him home with her, to...to make love with him, share ice cream and secrets. She'd trusted him enough with her biggest secret of all. He'd opened the door with his promise to give her all she needed. All Leigh had to do was step through it.

  Dan walked in the moment her knees hit the mattress. His erection thrust proudly from its dark nest. Muscles glided with every step. His gaze darted to the open drawer, then back at her. Leigh placed the hairbrush on the foot of the bed, an offering to the man who was going to give her all. He accepted it without hesitation and weighed it in his hand, eyes never once leaving her face.

  "Have you..." Leigh swallowed. "Have you ever spanked a woman before?"

  "I told you, baby. I don't kiss and tell."

  Meaning what they were about to do would never leave this house. She was safe. Wasn't that why she'd let him so near?

  Dan ran his hand over the bristles. She felt every one of those soft, white strands. Slow steps carried him to the side of the bed. She watched over her shoulder as he plumped the pillows against the headboard. Her heart jumped when the mattress sagged with his weight. Pulses leaped when his legs stretched out and his big hand closed over her forearm.

  "Come to me, Leigh."

  He drew her to him, and she went, gliding facedown over his lap. He draped one arm around her, holding her in place.

  "I do need to know if you've ever been spanked by someone before," he said.

  She quickly shook her head.

  "It's very different than doing it yourself."

  Did that mean he'd been on this end of things? She couldn't ask.

  "The goal is pleasure, not punishment, sweet Leigh. You're trusting me to let me give you this gift; I'm trusting you to tell me what's too much."

  "I will. I promise." She braced herself for the first hard smack, clenching butt cheeks together, fisting her hands into the sheets, digging her toes into the mattress.

  "Relax." He gave her a little shake, then ran the bristles down her back.

  Tickles sped over her skin, tightening her nipples and sending a new rush of moisture to her pussy. He did it again, and she bowed into the caress, smothering a moan as she tossed her head back. Dan stroked the brush through her long hair, draping it down her back, then doing it again, petting her, loving her, until she knew there were no tangles left.

  The wood kissed her bottom, but didn't strike. He rubbed the brush over her ass, down her thighs, and back up.

  "Open your legs."

  Leigh obeyed, and he rubbed again. Over her bottom, down her thighs, between her thighs and up, nearly touching her pussy before running back down the other side, then up again to her other cheek. She lifted her ass for more. The caress was harder this time, more determined. She spread her thighs farther when he neared the top--he kissed her clit with the bristles.

  "Oh!" she cried out.

  "I know." He shifted a little, pulling his erection up between their bodies. "I can't promise not to come on you. There's only so much a man can take and I have never known a woman hotter than you."

  "Oh, Dan, please..."

  "Please what, baby? Make you come? Because I can feel your juices soaking my thigh. Or paddle your bottom?"

  "Both please," she gasped out.

  "Sweetheart...it will be my pleasure." A sharp swat punctuated his sentence.

  Leigh groaned. "Oh, God, yes. More. More. Please."

  He smacked the other cheek twice, then rubbed his hand over his handiwork. "Harder?"

  "I trust you." The words came out a whisper, and her spanking began...in earnest.

  She writhed with every smack, loving the freedom, the fire that pooled blood to her pussy and swelled everything to bursting. Loved that someone else was in charge of her pleasure, her orgasm. He covered her backside thoroughly, leaving no part untouched, always to the edge of pleasure, never to the point of pain. Then he worked his way to the crease where ass and thigh met, and Leigh swore that would be the strike that would yank the climax right out of her.

  "A strap would work better here, love." He ran the bristles down her thighs. Chill bumps erupted behind them. "I have many belts, some soft and worn, some stiff and new, wide, narrow...all with your name on them. Your choice, sweet Leigh. Your pleasure."

  She felt the brush near her pussy and spread wide. She couldn't bear the wait much longer. As if sensing her need, Dan sank the handle inside and wedged his other hand beneath her, right to her clit. Leigh came fast, grinding into the orgasm like an animal unleashed. When the sensation blissfully subsided, she slumped over his lap, spent yet wanting more.

  "Good, honey?" His breath tickled her ear.

  "So good," she somehow managed to say.

  "But not nearly enough."

  No, it wasn't. "I...I have belts."

  "Special ones?" He combed the hair from her face.

  "Hanging in the closet." She turned into his hand, sniffing her scent on his fingers. "I trust you."

  He rubbed a palm over her warm bottom. "Then get ready and I'll find one. Facedown, pillows lifting that luscious heiny. I'll have to fuck you after this, Leigh. My cock is ready to bust open, but I'll hold on for you. Warning...I'll fuck you hard and fast, deep, but not long, because I'm too close to coming myself. But you'll come again, too, sweetheart, maybe more than once...or twice."

  Dan slipped from beneath her then, leaving Leigh to do as he'd said. Her arms and legs felt weighted from the force of her climax. But once she heard him open her closet door, want propelled her to prepare.

  She gathered the pillows and placed them in the center of the bed, then lay facedown, more or less spread-eagle for him. Already her clit had awakened, her pussy clenching for something to fill it.

  The tinkle of a belt buckle alerted her time was approaching. She closed her eyes and waited. The rip of a condom packet. The sound of... He was going through her toys! The bed dipped and cool lubricant touched her anus, then the small butt plug plunged in.

  "No anal beads, honey?" He kissed her ass. "We'll have to remedy that. They make you come like
you've never come before." He moved away. Leather swished.

  Leigh arched her back with the strike upon her thighs. Fire spread again quickly followed by another lash higher. Another higher still. She squeezed her thighs together to quell the ache in her clit.

  "Nuh-uh, that's cheating," he said, slithering the leather down her back until it tickled the crack in her butt. "Only I make you come. Open."

  "God, Dan! It just feels--"

  "So good," he finished. "I know, sweetheart, and it's all for you. Ten more and then I'll have to fuck you, baby. I'm disappointed in my lack of stamina. I really wanted to suck your clit and make you come."

  "There's always tomorrow," she murmured.

  "I can't think of any better way to wake up," he replied, and struck again.

  Leigh tried to count the smacks. She lost count after three, wadding the sheet in her fists to keep her hands out of her pussy. The instant she heard the belt fall to the floor, she rolled over and reached for Dan. He was already there, grabbing her legs and urging them up to his shoulders. He tugged the pillows under her hips, pressed his thumb to her clit, and plunged his cock to the hilt. She came hard, thrashing with the waves rolling through her.

  Dan grunted, withdrew, then plunged in again...harder. A low buzz warned Leigh. She grappled for his shoulders and held on, but the sensation of vibrator against her clit had her fisting the sheets once more. He pounded into her as he'd promised--hard, fast, and deep. Sweat glistened on his skin.

  "You look so beautiful," she cried out. "I want to lick you dry."

  This time he whimpered.

  "Suck your cock."

  His body quaked.

  "Feel your tongue slither deep into my pussy."

  He plunged deep, grinding into her. Head tossed back, he groaned and let go. Leigh came with him, taking each thrust as jism shot from him, and knew she'd never seen anything as perfect as this man.

  Somehow he dredged up the strength to put the bed to rights--heaven knew Leigh didn't have it. She tucked her head into the pillow he'd placed at the headboard, then curled into his body when he joined her there and draped an arm around her.

  That's when reality hit her. Questions and doubts she'd tried to ignore assaulted her. The tears came out of nowhere, sobs right behind. Rough, heartbreaking sobs that carved out her heart and left it as roadkill for ravens to pick apart.

  "What's wrong?" Dan sat upright, taking her with him.

  Leigh batted him away and took refuge at the edge of the bed, her pillow clutched before her as if it could protect her.

  "Are you hurt?" Devastation twisted his face. He reached for her. "My God, did I hurt you? Sweetheart...honey..."

  "You peeped!" she shouted, slapping his hand away.

  "I'm sorry...what?" He actually had the nerve to look confused, innocent even.

  "You peeped me." Leigh smeared the tears from her face; more replaced them. "Back then...you peeped on me."

  "I did not." He stabbed his finger onto the mattress. It came right back up. "One time I saw that jerk-faced son of a bitch fucking the neighbor and you came in to take care of his business." His finger came up again. "One time."

  "Then how could you know about this?" She waved her hands. "No one knew. No one! Not even Jerk-face."

  Dan's shoulders sagged with his sigh. "Oh, honey." His arms opened to her. "Please come here. I swear I didn't peep on you."

  She ignored the attempt to placate her. "Then how?"

  "I figured it out...eventually. Let's face it, my world experience was lacking in many areas at the time. I couldn't understand why you'd have a riding crop when I knew you didn't ride horses. Hell, with trying to finish your masters and working nights, you barely had time to breathe. And then that bastard had the nerve to cheat on you."

  He reached for her again; this time Leigh relented. Dan cupped her shoulders, thumbs circling. "As time went on, I understood why you'd often close your bedroom drapes at odd hours of the day. I thought at the time you were taking a well-deserved nap. And remember, at that particular stage of my life, I often sequestered myself in the privacy of my room. For me...not to look in on you." He tapped her nose.

  "That's quite a leap of your deductive skills." Leigh wiped anyway what was left of her tears.

  Dan shrugged. "It's what I do. Considering what I do, please keep in mind it took me many, many years to reach said conclusion."

  "And then you practiced?" A lift of her eyebrow dared him to use his I-don't-kiss-and-tell defense.

  He splayed his hand against his chest. "Guilty. And very curious at the time. Practice makes perfect... Shall I go on?"

  "No." Now she felt stupid, but what else was she supposed to have thought?

  Dan lay down, taking her with him. Leigh rested her cheek on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

  "I meant what I said in what I wrote," he said after a bit. "I discovered that day the type of man I did and didn't want to be, but I knew long before then I did want a woman like you. It wasn't until years later I realized I didn't just want a woman like you...I wanted you. It hurt inside to know that would never happen, that I would never be able to tell you how I feel. Then there you were back in my life. Not only did I not want to miss this opportunity Fate had tossed my way, but I was also determined to keep you and prove I was man enough to do so--to be the perfect man for my perfect woman."

  Damn it all, now she was crying again. Sitting up, she reached for a tissue from the box on the nightstand. Dan rubbed her back, then sat up, too, and dotted kisses along her shoulder.

  "I'm going to lay all my cards out, Leigh. I love you. Plain and simple."

  A tinny ring like an old-time telephone broke the moment.

  "Fuck," he muttered. "Of course." He swung his feet to the floor. "This time of night, it's got to be work." He dug his cell phone from his jeans, then punched a key. "Jefferson."

  Leigh watched him brace his elbows on his knees. Frustration radiated off him. She crawled up behind him and did as he'd done for her--rubbed his back and kissed his shoulder. His arm came around to hug her.

  "Yeah, but someone's going to have to come get me. No transportation. I'll explain later. But this is the third time that ass has fucked with my time off. If he's drunk yet again, it needs to go in his record." He ended the call. "Sorry...work."

  "I know."

  "Don't know how long I'll be."

  "I know that, too."

  He looked over his shoulder. "I meant what I said, Leigh. Every word of it. Are you...are you here for me? For now?"

  "Yeah," she choked out. "I'm here."

  He patted her thigh, then head for the bathroom across the hall.

  Leigh waited until the door closed, then slipped on her robe, gathered his clothes for him and placed them on her bed. It didn't take him long. In fact, she'd never seen anyone move so quickly. He was ready to leave in under three minutes.

  "Here are my numbers...home, work, cell, and my address." He scribbled the information on the back of one of his business cards as he spoke.

  Leigh chuckled. "I'd give you my numbers, but I suspect you already have them."

  Dan grinned. "I do." He placed the card on her nightstand, then leaned over and kissed her--once, twice...

  Leigh cut him off after the third. "I promise I'm not going anywhere. I might even have hot coffee if you're back for breakfast."

  "I'll probably be looking for bed and sleep by then."

  "I have those, too."

  Two more kisses before he pushed away. "Gotta go." He snagged his duffel and walked toward the door.

  "Hey, Dan," she called out.

  He turned back. "Yeah?"

  "How do you feel about kids?"

  He smiled. "I still love kids...and dogs, cats, animals in general. I'm onboard. Every journey begins with a single step, sweetheart. I'm taking it."

  "Good to know." She grinned.

  "Later." He winked and walked away.

  It was only when she heard the door close that Le
igh wondered if she should have given him a key. What the hell...if he wants in that badly he could probably pick the lock.

  Leaning toward the nightstand, she opened the drawer and pulled out her list. No need to scan the items there. Dan met all her requirements. She tore the paper into tiny bits and watched them flutter into the small wastebasket below.

  "And I'm pretty sure I'm going love you, too, Dan Jefferson."

  Smiling, she picked up his card, then reached for the cordless. There were some things a man just had to know before heading off to a potentially dangerous night. This was one of those things.

  The phone rang before she could dial. Caller ID showed it was Dan.

  "Miss me already?" she asked.

  Dan chuckled. "As a matter of fact, I do. I'd much rather be under the covers with you than heading out to work."

  "I was just about to call you." Leigh's heartbeat slipped to her throat.

  "Before you say anything I've got to clarify something." Hesitation lingered in his voice.

  It scared her a little...okay, a lot. "Okay, I'm listening."

  "The thing with kids and dogs... I am onboard, but I don't think I'm exactly ready to jump in with both feet just yet."

  Leigh grinned. "Step at a time?"

  "Yes, like start with a dog and work our way forward from there?"

  "Sounds good. The condoms aren't necessary, by the way. All safety protocols are in place."

  "Damn, woman, I want to run right back and give you a quickie."

  "No turnaround?"

  "Your powers are without compare."

  "Flattery will get you anywhere, big guy."

  He chuckled. "Who's flattering whom here?"

  Leigh giggled, then said with all seriousness. "I'm with you, Dan."

  "You are?"

  God, she wished she could see his face. "I am, and I'm looking forward to sharing this journey with you. I'm right beside you wherever you walk, wherever the path leads."