BDSM Checklist: A, B, C

Her breath hitched in her chest and her blood pounded as the scarf pressed in. As soon as she realized the pressure was there, it was gone again. She faltered for a moment, but Master Jensen squeezed her ass, eliciting a yelp.

“Focus, Anna,” he admonished her.

“Yes, Master.”

She went back to fucking herself on him, using the slow, grinding rhythm she knew would drive him wild.

Again the scarf tightened, restricting her breath for just a moment longer than the first time. She looked at her master, her lips parted to take the breath he held captive. Their gazes locked as he tightened the pressure for the third time, this time holding it long enough that her chest heaved.

A spike of pleasure shot through her. Anna’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What?” he asked, seeing her reaction.

“That felt…that felt good.”

He nodded once. “It’s restricting the oxygen flow to your brain. Carbon dioxide is accumulating and that’s what’s making it feel good’. It’s like being at a high altitude.”

She listened vaguely, glad he knew the physiology, but not wanting to think about it too much, in case it distracted her from the pleasure.

She could feel his fists on her back, knew he held the ends of the scarf there. It both thrilled and terrified her that he controlled her so completely.

“Faster,” he growled, and Anna increased the speed of her hips.

He stole another breath from her, holding it long enough that her body spasmed, reacting to the denial with an illogical pleasure. Giddiness swept through her.

“Faster,” he demanded again.

hard and fast. Her ass slapped his thighs and the resulting

scarf tight around

“Come, Anna,” he demanded.

heaved, she could feel her pulse fluttering in her neck. She was owned, controlled, pleasured and worshiped. She trusted him completely. He mastered her, body and soul, and she owned him in returned. The scarf went slack and his hands grabbed her hips,

the

***

fingers tightened on the arm of the chair until the wood creaked. His palms tingled with the need to touch the beautiful creature who’d just stepped into the

making her red hair gleam, but the photo must have been a few years old. In person she was more mature in her face, placing her in her late rather than early twenties. Or perhaps it was the way she was dressed in the photo that made her seem younger. Tonight she wore

the clothes from her and cane her

tempted to walk away, forfeiting his membership, but Faith had convinced him to at least meet with the sub, and trust that the

would run screaming from the room. Pre-scene it was the submissive who held all the power, because the sub decided whether the Dom merited the trust needed to proceed. Mae would refuse and he would be

why Faith was putting him through this. She knew he needed his time here to fight back the darkness inside him. Forcing him to waste a night like this was cruel…which considering the source shouldn’t

him, Xavier doubted she had any idea how truly torturous this was, because though he and

shifted her weight and clasped her hands together, Xavier decided it was probably time to show her exactly what was going on.

* * *

that day, Anna broke down. She sobbed, releasing the last bits of tension she held in her body. He freed her from the cuffs and clamps, then laid them down and curled around her, holding and protecting her. When she rolled over to face him, she could see the power and impact of what they’d done in the tense lines of his face. She kissed and stroked him, her touches not meant to arouse but to calm. He laid his head

not sexy scars,”

before. She doubted he knew how much it revealed about

you survived,” she

they’d come for her, taking her into the hospital, where she’d gotten her first look at the boy she loved. But it hadn’t been a boy who

hadn’t worked. She found the men she met at the firm or at posh cocktail parties weak and insipid. She’d longed for her former boyfriend’s strong hands—and she’d hated herself for choosing a career over a future. Though only in her

partner in her firm, Ramon Leo. He’d noticed her disdain for the men in their circle of acquaintances. He’d invited her out for drinks, plied her with expensive champagne, and asked her about her love life. Too tired and drunk to care, she’d

turned in to Master Leo. He’d tutored and guided her as she explored her submissive side. When she’d received

to work a week later, after making sure her ex-boyfriend was safely set up in a good hospital, she’d unloaded on her boss, admitting that he was the reason she craved such strong men, and that it