Page 45 of Forbidden Fruit
The back of my legs hit the couch and once again, I’m trapped and exactly where he wants me. With one finger, he lifts my chin and I meet his hungry gaze. “Answer me,zitella.”
My intake of breath is sharp as I close my eyes to savour his voice and the nickname he keeps using for me. Not only does it set my skin on fire and definitely makes me wet, but it awakens something deep inside my soul. It reminds me that it’s okay to be taken care of, sometimes. I’ve never had that and Lino makes me want to surrender and just let him.
I must keep my eyes closed for too long because Lino’s fingers glide around my throat and give a tentative squeeze. My lids fly open and I answer him. “No, Daddy.”
“Goddamn,” he says on a heavy exhale. “If you keep calling me that, I’m going to bend you over and fuck that weeping pussy until you can’t walk.”
I moan loudly, then flush crimson. “I still work for you,” I say in an effort to create space between us.
As much as my heart rate kicked up at his promise, and my underwear got ruined, I’m not sure what we’re doing and I can’t take the tension. I need to know why he’s here, why I feel likeI’m on the edge of a cliff, and why I couldn’t just fall in lust withanyonebut my boss.
He takes a step back and burying his fingers in his hair, pulling at his roots with both hands, turning his back to me. When he turns around, it’s like another man is in my flat and my heart falls to my feet.
“We should talk about the kiss.”
He avoids looking at me below my face and I just wish he’d take a very good look at my tiny sleep shorts and just fall to his knees and beg to bend me over like he just said he would.
My mind and body are at war and I’m not sure which one I want to win.
I swallow and cross my arms over my chest to bring a modicum of comfort into this awkward as hell situation. I’m horny, embarrassed and most of all, I feel exposed. Naked. I just want this conversation to be over already.
“We can pretend nothing happened,” I say, like it’s a question.
Lino sighs. “No, Vanessa. We can’t. I crossed a line last week when I…” He swallows thickly then squares his shoulders and hides any real reaction under a mask of indifference but I know better. I’ve seen the lust on his face. He couldn’t take his hands off me. And he kissed me again after that first time. I was a willing participant, but still. “I crossed a line when I touched you.”
“And when you kissed me. Twice,” I sass. I know he doesn’t like it but hell, it’s not like this is a one-time thing that can be blamed on the intensity of the workshop or the spur of the moment.
“And when I kissed you twice,” he concedes. “I apologise. Our relationship is purely professional, and I got carried away. I’m older than you and I’m your boss, we can’t keep… I was…”He doesn’t finish his sentence, but I can fill in the blank by the expression on his chiselled face.
Sad. Lonely. Defeated. Confused. All of it.
I can’t speak, so I just nod.
Then his eyes drop to my legs before they come back up to meet mine. “Vanessa,” he growls my name and the shivers are back. “Did you tie yourself up tonight?”
I look down to follow where he’s looking and sure enough, the ropes left deep angry red marks all over my legs, criss-crossing in a tantalising design.
“It helped with my anxiety,” I say lamely and truthfully because I’ve lost the capacity for rational thought. Not knowing how he will react sends prickles of excitement through my entire body. My nerves feel like live wires ready to ignite with a touch, a word, anything he’ll give me.
His face softens, and he walks to the front of the couch, bending his knees to drop low. I turn to see what he’s doing. The ropes I hid there are now in his hands. They look like they belong there. He touches them reverently, like they speak to him of secrets and passion and carnal desires.
“Do you need me to help you with anxiety, Vanessa?”
A ridiculous squeak leaves my lips as I nod.
Lino stands back up. He looks between me and the ropes a few times, obviously battling with a decision. Then, he holds out a hand. “Come here.” His voice carries the command of someone who’s not used to being denied. I don’t want to refuse him, anyway. Not when he looks at me like I’m the centre of his solar system.
I take his hand but ask, “What about Anton and Livia? You can’t…”
His hand flies to my mouth just like it did before, eliciting a wave of wetness to pool at my centre. “My father is keepingwatch, and I have the baby monitors in my pockets. Now, hush. Kneel on the sofa, legs apart.”
Goosebumps erupt as he controls me. The ropes aren’t even on my skin and already, my mind feels emptier. Like the chatter ofwhat ifsandshouldsorshould-notsjust turn to white noise. I obey and position myself, gulping and letting my hands fall on my thighs.
“I’d need more than two ropes for what I have in mind for you, but this will do.” I’m not sure if he’s talking to himself or me. “Where are the sheers?”
“Coffee table.”
Lino nods, then shocks me and drops to his knees on the carpet. My breath hitches as I take in the best view of him. He immediately gets to work and ties the first rope around my waist with a knot I can’t help but get jealous of and admire. It’s nothing like the simplistic one I know.