Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“I’ll have the banana-stuffed French toast with extra butter and syrup,” she said. “Oh, and also two over-easy eggs and a side of bacon.”
Beau lifted his brows in obvious amusement.
“What?” she said defensively. “I’m hungry.”
“I didn’t say anything,” he protested, grinning. “I like a girl with a healthy appetite.” To Odilia, he said, “I’ll have the chicken and waffles, thanks.”
As the waitress went to put in their order, Beau reached beneath the small table and slid his hand under Lia’s skirt. Fortunately, the table was covered with a long cloth, so no one else could see what he was doing.
He stroked her thigh as he murmured, “Let’s finish what we started in the car. I want you to play with yourself under the table. If you can make yourself come before she brings the food, you have my permission.”
Lia glanced around. There was no one yet seated at any of the nearby tables. She slipped her hand under her skirt and between her legs. After another glance around, she rubbed furiously at herself, eager to come before the waitress returned.
“Keep your eyes on me,” Beau directed.
Lia focused on the sexy man across from her. His eyes blazed into hers as she stroked herself. She had to press her lips together to keep from moaning aloud. Her nostrils flared as her breathing quickened.
“Now,” he commanded in a soft but masterful tone. “Come for me, Lia.”
Heart smashing against her ribs, Lia slid a finger inside herself, her eyes fixed on Beau, her palm grinding against her swollen clit. With a stifled cry, she climaxed in a series of small spasms.
Odilia chose that moment to return with their food. As she set down the plates, she eyed Lia with apparent concern. “You all right, honey?” She lifted a brow. “You look a little flushed.”
“I’m fine,” Lia managed. She turned her attention to the food to avoid eye contact with either one of them. “This looks great. Thanks.”
“Enjoy,” Odilia said.
After she left, Lia lifted her gaze to Beau. He was grinning broadly. “You did good.”
Lia laughed, relaxing. “I feel good,” she asserted. “Except that I’m starving.”
Mouth flooding with saliva, she turned her attention to the French toast covered in sliced bananas and melting butter. She poured a healthy amount of syrup over the stack and tucked in with gusto.
They ate in companionable silence. The eggs were cooked just right, the bacon the perfect complement to the sweet French toast. When Lia couldn’t eat another bite, she wiped her mouth with her napkin and leaned back in her chair with a satisfied sigh.
Beau, who had finished his meal before her, shook his head with feigned amazement. “I have no idea where you put it all, girl.”
Lia shrugged, grinning back. “What can I say? That workout you put me through last night gave me an appetite.”
Beau smiled, but then his expression grew serious, his lovely forest-green eyes fixing on her. “I owe you an apology, Lia. I’m the one who talks about how communication is paramount in a D/s relationship, but I’ve been less than forthcoming. All the insanity last night with my ex aside for the moment, I owe you a better explanation for why I thought I had to put the brakes on things this past week.”
He blew out a breath, a determined expression moving over his handsome face. “First, the age thing.”
Lia scowled. “Not that again.”
He held out his hands, palms up. “I know, I know. It’s just a number and all of that. But the last thing I wanted to do was take advantage of your innocence. Though I have to admit,” he added with a chagrined smile, “in some ways you’re more mature than I am.”
“Damn straight,” she retorted with an answering grin.
He looked down at his hands. “When I left you at your door last Friday night, I told myself it was so I wouldn’t take advantage of you. We had a finite training contract and we had completed the terms. I’ve seen it before with submissives in a training situation. It’s very easy for a sub to confuse getting her deep-seated erotic needs met with feelings for the person making that possible. Precisely because you’re so young and inexperienced, you might be especially susceptible to that kind of transference.”
He met her gaze, his expression earnest. “It took me a while to admit what I was feeling. The age difference wasn’t the primary factor driving my behavior. The unvarnished truth is that I didn’t want to get hurt again. That woman you saw last night, her name is Renee. We were in a relationship for over two years and it was quite serious. She wore my slave collar and we had talked of getting married.”
“When did you break up?” Lia asked.
“It’s been a while now—nearly three years. Which is one reason it was so freaky to have her show up out of the blue like that. The thing is, back when we were together, I believed she was the one. Then she cheated on me. I managed to forgive her the first time, though it wasn’t easy. But then she did it again, and that was it for me. I ended things, but I never really dealt with my feelings for her and how the whole thing affected me. I let it shut me down for a long time.”