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  I blushed furiously at his mention of sex but nodded. ‘Umm, OK …but surely calling you Sir, that’s about degrading me, isn’t it? Making me inferior to you?’

  Oliver actually looked horrified by my statement, recoiling in his seat and swiftly shaking his head. ‘Dios. No! Not at all. Not the way I see it, anyway. For me the title is all about power and dominance. I get a thrill from being an authority figure.’ He took another sip and smiled. ‘I thought women loved a man in charge, firemen, policemen, uniforms and all that?’

  This was true; I had always had a thing for firemen. His words reassured me, but I got momentarily distracted by visions of just how good Oliver would look in a fireman’s uniform, with his biceps bulging and a trace of ash mixing with the sweat on his forehead … yum.

  Blinking away my fantasy, I nodded at him. As long as he respected me, seeing him as an authority figure wouldn’t be a problem. Surprisingly, the idea of calling him Sir didn’t really seem that peculiar to me now that he had explained it. He’d always had an air of authority about him, a calm confidence that somehow made me trust and respect him, and as such the title of “Sir” seemed to fit him rather well.

  ‘I should warn you that if you hesitate to follow my commands or go against my requests, there will be consequences.’

  Consequences… this must be what Samuel had been referring to when he told Sasha that Oliver had a reputation for being strict. ‘That doesn’t sound like a game either,’ I whispered nervously.

  Oliver absorbed my trembling voice and reached across and took my hand into his. ‘Perhaps not, but it is important to me. I promise you will always be safe with me, Robyn. If you trust me and submit to me fully you shouldn’t be questioning me or hesitating anyway, so it shouldn’t be a problem.’

  Curling my trembling fingers tighter around his I immediately felt the strength of his grip seep into me, and I sat taller and more confidently from his simple touch.

  ‘Now. We need to discuss limits. Do you have any hard limits?’

  Hard limits? In my research I’d seen a few paragraphs about safe words, and I was fairly sure I could recall something about hard limits in some of the fiction I’d read, but that was a while ago, and I wasn’t sure I knew the correct interpretation of the phrase.

  Not wanting to get it wrong, I raised my eyebrows and hoped my confusion showed, which it obviously did, because Oliver nodded and placed his drink down. ‘Hard limits are things you wouldn’t want to do,’ he explained gently.

  Oh. Of course. ‘I don’t do tequila,’ I joked lamely, but Oliver merely angled his head and gave me an intense stare that made it very clear he wasn’t going to let me wriggle out of answering.

  ‘Things you won’t do sexually,’ he added, even though I knew full well what he’d been referring to.

  Pulling in a flustered breath, I hesitated in answering. My sex life up until now had been so limited and dull that I was quite keen to explore and see if sex lived up to the fuss that Sasha always made about it. I was quite up for trying new things, and as such, I had no clue if there were things I wouldn’t want to do.

  My pause obviously concerned Oliver, because a deep crease folded his forehead and he leaned in closer to me. ‘You weren’t untruthful to me yesterday when you told me about your previous lovers, were you? You have had sex before, haven’t you?’

  A startled giggle broke in my throat, and I nodded as my cheeks burned with embarrassment at this line of conversation. ‘I have. But I’ve never done anything that required a conversation about limits before.’

  Oliver considered me intently for several seconds and nodded. ‘I understand that, but with me, things would be different. You can still walk away, if this is all too much.’ He reached out and trailed a path from my knee to my upper thigh, then he bit down on his lower lip and gave me another of those panty-soaking stares through his lowered eyelashes. ‘Although I really hope you won’t.’

  After bolstering my courage, I shook my head. ‘I won’t.’

  A low, approving hum left Oliver’s throat. ‘Good. So, limits?’

  I still had no idea what to say to that. ‘Umm … I don’t really know. I’m quite keen to explore new things.’

  His grip on my hand increased, and Oliver’s face tightened with desire at the same time. ‘We shall certainly be doing that, Robyn. So, nothing springs to mind that you wouldn’t do?’ His tone gave away just how excited he was by my apparent open invitation to do whatever the hell he wanted to me.

  ‘I guess nothing humiliating,’ I pondered with a shrug, remembering images of women crawling on a leash that I’d seen. That held no interest to me at all.

  ‘Of course. Perhaps it would be easier if I told you what I like, and then you can inform me if any of it is not to your liking?’ Oliver suggested, his voice lowering to a heated whisper. I nodded my response and shifted closer in my curiosity so I could listen above the music of the club.

  ‘I get my thrills from the bond between us, the trust, and the fact that you will comply with my requests without hesitation. The thought of you bending to my will has me harder than you can possibly imagine.’ It was getting me pretty aroused too, and I felt my skin tingling with excited anticipation. ‘And just to clarify, humiliation, degradation and extreme pain hold no interest for me whatsoever.’

  OK, that was certainly good to know.

  ‘I like bondage, predominantly using ropes or cuffs. I’m very much looking forward to tying you up and teasing you until you beg me to stop. If you give me your consent, of course.’ My eyes widened. God. That sounded really hot. ‘And I won’t lie to you, there will be some pain, but it will be relatively mild. I use it to sustain your pleasure, and I’m rather good at it, if I do say so myself. That may sound peculiar to you at the moment, Robyn, but once you have experienced how good it can be, you’ll understand.’

  My stomach clenched with nerves. Pain that sustained my pleasure? I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but I loved the wicked look twinkling in his eye and didn’t feel half as scared as I perhaps should.

  ‘Does that all sound OK so far?’

  From the way my knickers were now soaked, I think it was fair to say that it all sounded more than OK. ‘Y-y …’ I was so aroused that my voice had dried up. Laughing nervously, I took a quick sip of my drink and nodded. ‘Yes, that sounds … good.’

  And it did. The idea of him “bending me to his will” sent desire shooting through my system like a potent drug.

  He raised his glass and downed the remaining contents then hit me with a full-on mega-watt stare. ‘Excellent. Final chance to walk away … Do you definitely want to be with someone like me?’ He shook his head as if somehow struggling to comprehend the idea. ‘You’re younger than me, and so much more … innocent.’

  I might be less inexperienced than him but I was no virgin, and as for the age thing, I didn’t actually know how old he was. ‘How old are you?’

  ‘Would it matter?’ he countered, immediately.

  ‘Not at all, I was just curious.’

  Smiling, he shifted on his seat and gave my hand a squeeze. ‘Let’s just say that I’m old enough to know better.’

  What a peculiar reply. ‘Know better than what?’

  His right eyebrow arched high in his brow. ‘Old enough to know better than to get involved with a determined sprite like you.’

  Determined sprite? What did that even mean? ‘Excuse me?’ Feeling slightly insulted, I tried to tug my hand away, but as he saw my stunned expression, Oliver laughed and squeezed my hand. ‘Don’t look so outraged, it was meant as a compliment. I merely wanted to convey that I feel a great deal for you, Robyn. You seem so innocent and shy, but you have this quiet determination burning within you that I suspect will challenge many of the ways I used to live my life. No doubt changing me for the better.’

  I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

  ‘So, knowing I am considerably older, you still want to be with me?’

  Con
siderably older. He had me intrigued by his age now, but it wouldn’t matter. He couldn’t be that much older than me, late thirties, perhaps? If I had to guess an exact age, I’d put him at thirty-eight. Staring into his beautiful blue eyes, I threw myself right in at the deep end by nodding firmly. ‘I want to be with you, Oliver,’ I whispered.

  Oliver drew in a long, satisfied breath, as if savouring the moment of his victory, and nodded. ‘In that case, let us go somewhere a little quieter to continue this conversation.’

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Robyn

  The “somewhere quieter” turned out to be Matías’s office, a plush suite of rooms, complete with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the mass of tangled bodies gyrating to the music on the dance floor below.

  ‘Trust is paramount in a relationship like this. I mentioned before about training to develop it, which is something we may need to do. I have to know you trust me implicitly.’

  ‘I do,’ I replied, confident in my feelings for him.

  Oliver bowed his head in appreciation and nodded. ‘Good. Let’s test it, then.’

  He placed a hand on my lower back and guided me to the right of the room where there was a window area almost like a giant fishbowl. The floor was also glass, and as we stepped out it felt just like we were standing on a cloud above the revellers below.

  Oliver positioned me to face him, then nodded once and walked away from me, leaving me in the glass area as he went right back inside the office and took a seat at the desk. He was still in my line of sight, but now sat a good ten metres away.

  ‘Turn and face the crowd, Robyn.’

  I did. Turning my back on him, I looked again at the dance floor, just about able to pick up the faint strains of the beat the dancers were throwing themselves around to.

  ‘Remove your top.’

  What? And show everyone my bra? Was he insane?

  As I hesitated, I stared down at the people dancing below me, feeling as if I caught the eye of several as my gaze passed over them. They’d all be able to see me. Every single one of them would see me in my underwear. Except Oliver, of course, because he was behind me.

  Swallowing hard, I was about to tell Oliver that I couldn’t do it, when his words came back to me. “You have to trust me implicitly, Robyn.”

  I did trust him, but if I questioned this then I would be proving the exact opposite. Suddenly I found myself not caring if the club goers saw me. I was in a different country, and they were all strangers anyway, so what did it really matter? He’d said that submission was about giving up my worries and following his commands, so he must have a good reason for asking me to do this.

  Gripping the hem of my top, I pulled it up over my head and let it hang loosely from my fingers for a second before dropping it to the floor.

  I heard him hum behind me, and smiled that I had pleased him. ‘And your bra, please.’ God. Well, that was certainly another level. But once again, I trusted in why he was asking me to do this and removed it without question.

  Oliver was too far away to see anything but my back, and the people below didn’t appear to be paying any attention to the fact that I now stood topless in the walkway above them, so it actually felt quite liberating.

  ‘Lean forwards and press your breasts to the glass. Let them see how beautiful you are.’ Oliver’s voice was gruffer this time, as if he was desperate to come across the room and take a look himself, but I didn’t dare turn to him.

  As embarrassed as this demand made me feel, Oliver had requested it, so I dropped my inhibitions and followed his request. The cool glass made me shudder as I draped my weight into it, and my nipples peaked to hard bullets as I splayed my palms against the surface to steady myself.

  I’d only been in the position for a few seconds when I felt the heat of Oliver approaching behind me. The air fizzled with his closeness, then he cocooned me within his suit jacket, wrapping it around me and covering my bare breasts before pulling me into his arms so I could snuggle against his chest. The weight of the jacket, and the scent of him on the fabric, combined with the adrenaline rushing in my system and made me feel giddy.

  ‘So brave, thank you.’ He placed a hot kiss on the top of my head. ‘In case you were wondering, no one could see you,’ Oliver murmured against my ear. Guiding me sideways, he pointed to a small panel on the wall, which simply said “Mist”. Making sure I was fully covered by his jacket, Oliver pressed the button and as a red light came on I saw a minor change in the colour of the glass before us.

  ‘The glass has a mist function. It’s barely visible from inside, because we can always see out, but when the green light below that button is illuminated it means the glass is misted. Now that I have switched it off, the people outside can see in.’

  Looking over the crowd, I saw there was some sort of sex show happening on the main stage in the distance, but I pulled my eyes away, watching instead the writhing bodies lost in the music. As my gaze drifted over the dancers I saw Matías just below us, talking with two women. As if he felt my gaze, he glanced up at us. His eyes skimmed my strange state of dress and I blushed at being caught wrapped in Oliver’s jacket. It could have been worse, though: if the button had been pressed earlier he’d have seen me with my breasts pressed against the glass. A knowing smirk crossed his lips, before he winked and turned away.

  ‘Why did you make me do it, if no one could see?’

  ‘I knew that intrinsically your mind would question the idea of being naked before other people, perhaps even rebel against it. I was curious to see how you would respond. Would you follow my commands, or not?’ He leaned down and picked up my clothes for me, briefly caressing the lace of my bra before holding them out for me. ‘You were perfect, Robyn. Thank you.’ He pressed the button again, misting the glass, and smiled down at me. ‘You can dress again.’

  My fingers brushed his as I took my top, and tingles flared at the contact, making me suck in a small breath. My eyes flicked to his to see if he’d noticed, and the answering smirk on his lip told me that he had. Of course he had. This man missed nothing. What was I getting myself into? My reactions to him were going to devour me alive and leave nothing but overwrought emotions and a bundle of arousal at this rate.

  Oliver gave me some privacy while I put my bra and top back on, then approached me with a look of intent purpose on his face. ‘Now we have that out of the way, I can’t wait a minute longer for us to begin properly, if you are still happy to?’

  The adrenaline from my strip tease was still flowing around my system, boosting my confidence, and I found myself nodding without even considering it. ‘I am.’

  He gifted me with a broad smile, and the small lapses of his usual control showed me just how excited he was about this as well. ‘Very good. Come with me, Robyn, we’ll find a better space than this office,’ he commanded softly, stretching out a hand towards me.

  Here we go, then.

  Looking at his hand, I noticed that, once again, I was left to walk to him. He was rarely the one to make the first move these days, which I could only assume was a dominant thing; asserting his control by making me go to him.

  As I stepped forward, I saw a brief softening in his features, one that almost looked like relief, and he cleared his throat. ‘This isn’t me enforcing my control,’ he murmured, once again having read my exact thoughts. ‘Not at all. In a relationship such as ours, the submissive holds all the power.’

  Frowning, I paused, halfway to him. I was submitting, giving myself over to him, how could I be the one with the power?

  ‘If you say no, nothing happens. This –’ he waggled his hand in the gap between us ‘– is my way of giving you the choice. If you choose to come to me, I know you are willing. If I hold my hand out and you don’t accept it, I know you aren’t.

  ‘Before tonight you may have believed that it is me as the Dominant who holds the authority, but you’d be wrong. I’m handing you ultimate control over whether we continue or not.’

&nbs
p; Wow. When he put it that way it made it incredibly simple to go to him. I might be submitting, but I still had control. Taking a deep breath, I took the last two steps and accepted his hand without hesitation, a move that made Oliver dip his head in an appreciative nod.

  We left the room, and I followed Oliver back down to the main dance floor, then through a door at the side of the club. We entered a darkened corridor, and as my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw that it was actually rather plush; thick carpets, inlaid wooden doors and discreet uplights that made it feel like the corridor of a posh hotel. It was similar to the long corridor in Club Twist, so presumably these were the private rooms that people could hire out.

  Oliver paused briefly at a computer console that was labelled as “staff only”, but after pressing a few buttons he examined the screen, nodded, then continued down the corridor. He obviously knew his way around, because he led me past several more closed doors until finally stopping by one and pushing it open.

  The room was dominated by a huge four-poster bed made up with pristine white sheets, which I immediately found to be an odd colour choice, seeing what the sheets here must be frequently subjected to. Ugh, what a thought. The walls were neutral, just like the corridor, but there was a large wooden shelving unit in one corner holding all sorts of objects that most people would never lay eyes on in real life; whips, canes, floggers, and various other things I recognised from my research.

  My breath caught as I looked at the top shelf. It held lots of spiky metal cuffs, knives, and chains, and was far more daunting than the rest, instantly making me feel sick.

  Distracting myself from the torture shelf, I looked back at the room and bed and saw that actually both were far from normal. The ceiling contained several rows of bolts and hooks, as did each post of the bed frame, which were presumably for attaching things too. Or attaching people to … Oh God.