Release Me

and hard.
    My eyes flick open.
    “No,” he says, and I close them again.
    The initial stab of pain fades quickly, leaving a low, thick pressure. A tight awareness and an undercurrent of deep, flowing pleasure. A moment later, I feel that same sharp stab of exquisite pain on my other breast.
    “Your nipples are so sensitive,” he whispers as his hand slips down to explore my sex. “Oh, yes,” he says. “This time I don’t think I have to ask if you like it.”
    I don’t remember ever feeling so aware of my body. Even the air is erotic, its whisper touch making me quake.
    I gasp as the pressure to both my breasts increases. Slightly at first and then with more force. He’s tugging on the chain that connects the two rings, pulling me up, the weight of my ownbody making the tug on my nipples even more exquisite. Not painful, but tight and aroused and ready.
    “Damien.” His name is a demand and he answers by closing his mouth over mine. The kiss is hard and needful, and I thrust my tongue in his mouth, desperately trying to claim this moment. He matches me, but all too soon pulls away and then gently eases me back onto the bed. “Keep your eyes closed.”
    I feel the soft caress of the leather as he trails the whip gently over my belly, then over my legs. I start to squirm, then freeze under his sharp command that I keep still.
    Then it’s trailing between my legs. My muscles spasm in anticipation and then there it is—
snap
, a light spank on my vulva. I gasp. Never would I have thought I’d feel such exquisite pleasure from getting smacked in such an intimate place, but maybe it makes sense. I imagine Damien pounding into me, fucking me hard. Yeah, maybe it makes a lot of sense.
    I wait, my body raw and open. Wanting and needing. But there is no second strike.
    “Again,” I beg. “Damien, please.”
    His moan of pleasure tells me everything—he’d been waiting to see if I liked this new play. And I do. So help me, I really do.
    Once again the strips of leather land lightly against my sensitive skin. I arch up, my clit feels huge and swollen, and as he smacks me once more, I fear that if one of those straps lands directly on it I’ll explode from the combination of pleasure and pain.
    “Damien,” I say, and that’s all it takes. The sensation changes, and it’s not the leather on my sex, but his mouth. His hands are on my thighs, and his tongue is inside me, and I can hear his low, hard moans. I’m close, so close, my hips twisting and bucking shamelessly against his face, the scrape of his beard stubble tickling my sensitive skin.
    I’m there—right on the edge, when he eases away from me. Icry out in protest, but my cry changes to a gasp as Damien thrusts inside me. I open my eyes and see him above me. He’s looking right at me, his expression one of such intensity that I can’t resist drawing my arm around his neck and bringing his mouth to mine.
    We kiss, as deep and as hard as he’s fucking me, and I’m already so close that I come in just seconds, in what has got to be the most massive orgasm of my life. He’s not far behind me, and when he’s spent, he eases next to me on the mattress, our bodies still connected. I see the whip where he laid it on the pillow. I look at it and smile. “I think I’m going to like being a bad girl.”
    He chuckles. “I know you are.” After a few minutes, he sits up, then gently takes the rings off my nipples. Immediately, I feel the warm rush of blood. Dear God, I could fuck him again right now.
    He kisses the tip of my nose. “A lovely thought, but I need to make a run to the office.”
    “How do you do that? How do you read my mind?”
    A smile is his only answer, but it doesn’t matter. I already know how, and it doesn’t scare me: Damien Stark can see beneath my mask.
    “You really need to go? It’s so late.”
    “I can’t stay much longer. I have a conference call scheduled with Tokyo. Unfortunately, I have files in my office that I need.”
    “I’ll see you in the morning, then.”
    He shakes his head. “Blaine’s still in La Jolla. He wants to switch your sitting to tomorrow evening. Why don’t you come by around five. I’ll take off early and we can have a drink before he arrives.”
    “What if I’m not thirsty?” I say teasingly.
    “I’m sure we can find something to satisfy both our appetites.” He holds out his hand. “Come on. Let’s get cleaned up.”
    We take a mostly chaste shower, during which he