They ascended the stairs together and when they reached his room he paused.

“Most women prefer their own bed. Mine or yours?”

She nibbled her lip, debating the choice. “Yours.” Mine had been at the tip of her tongue, but for some reason she’d said his instead.

“You want to try something a little on the edge?” he asked as he went to the windows and let the curtains fall into place, dimming the room. He turned on one lonely lamp, letting shadows eat up the remaining light. Her skin burst into goose bumps and she rubbed her arms.

When he came back to stand in front of her, he had rolled up the sleeves of his sweater, exposing those strong, muscled forearms she ached to have wrapped around her.

“You mean BDSM?” Saying the word had her pulse racing.

“Yes. Do you remember my telling you about ‘yellow’ and ‘red’ and when to use them?”

She swallowed and nodded. Excitement skittered through her.

“I’m not going to let you hide. Do you understand? I plan to strip you bare in seconds and restrain you to my bed. If that is too much, tell me now.”

“No…no intense pain,” she whispered. “That is my hard limit.”

He nodded once. “I agree. I would have not wished to do that, even if you’d begged me to. I may be a momentary sadist only with regard to spankings. Anything beyond that is too dark even for me.” The conviction in his tone reassured her. Neither of them was into pain. That was a relief.

“Anything else?”

“No choking.” That was the only other thing she knew for sure she couldn’t handle.

Wes gently gripped her throat, but didn’t squeeze. “What about gags? Any problems there?” he asked, his eyes fixed on her mouth, his thumb caressing the hollow spot in her throat.

Gags? Was she actually having this conversation? “What kind?” Her voice was church-mouse quiet.

“Something light, enough to slightly muffle any sound you make.” His hand moved upward so his thumb could caress her lips, trace the seam of her mouth as though imagining what it would be like to gag her. “It’s the muffled sounds I crave, nothing that restricts breathing. Just a slight softening of your pleasured cries.”

The idea of her on a bed, slightly gagged, crying out, and him above her, slamming into her, hard and aroused into a state of wild abandon…Callie clamped her legs together. She liked the idea as much as he did. What the hell was wrong with her?

“If we use a gag, then I would provide you with something you can squeeze that will alert me to a red or yellow safe word.”

Callie fingered her navy blue blouse, and then looked up at him. “I might be okay with that.”

The flash of approval in his eyes made her belly quiver with renewed excitement.

“Are you really ready for this?” Wes asked one last time. “My rules?”

She nodded. “Your rules.” She swallowed. “Just remember, I haven’t done this before.”

He stepped closer, tipped her chin up, and invaded her space until his heat radiated into her body, warming her, surrounding her.

“Don’t worry, you’ll do fine. That’s the beauty of surrendering to me. I’m in charge and I’ll tell you exactly what to do. You won’t be able to disappoint me, only please me, and in pleasing me, I’ll please you beyond all doubt. Now, one last important question. Are you on birth control? I am regularly tested and am clean.”

Birth control? Right. That snapped her out of the hazy dreams of his body on top of hers.

“I have an IUD.” She bit her lip, then added, “I’m clean.” Which was obvious since she’d never been with anyone before.

“Good, because I plan to ride you bare,” he growled, and then he was kissing her, hard, wild. She moaned against him, her hands coming up to rest on his chest. Seconds later, she heard a violent ripping sound and a sudden breeze cooled her upper body. She dropped her hands and pulled away in shock.

Her shirt hung off her arms in two swaths of cloth. Wes had ripped it clean in two.

“That was one of my new shirts! How about a new hard limit: no ripping of my blouses,” she protested as she crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hide her breasts, even though they were concealed by her bra. A ripple of heat moved through her at the realization that the more he stripped her of her clothes, the more vulnerable she became.

“I’ll buy you a dozen more.” He unbuttoned her jeans, tugged the zipper down, and then peeled her jeans off her legs. She wobbled on her feet as the pants caught around her ankles and she gripped his shoulders for support.

“Hold on, darling,” he warned.

With a little shriek, she was hoisted into the air and tossed onto the bed on her back. Jeans, socks, and shoes gone, she was left in nothing but her bra and panties. Covering herself instantly with her hands and crossing her legs, she jerked as he lunged for her. One hand fisted in her panties and he ripped them clear off. Callie’s legs clamped together and she held fast to the bra.

“Callie, move your hands,” he ordered.

Oh God. She dropped her hands and held her breath as he leaned over her and unbuttoned the front clasp at the center of her bra. The cups fell apart, exposing her completely to his view. He simply stared at them for a long moment, and then a dark, masculine smile of pride curved his lips. A little tremor wracked her as she fought off her desire to cover herself.

“There is no shame or embarrassment here. Only beauty. You are beautiful.” He cupped one of her breasts, and then pinched her nipple, just enough that a zing of pleasure-pain shot straight through her. Instant wetness followed as he continued to play with her.

“I will play you, Callie, just like a Stradivarius violin. I’ll figure out what makes you sing, sigh, and scream in pleasure.”

His words burned her inside like the whiskey she’d stolen once from her father’s liquor cabinet.

He removed his sweater, shoes, and socks and then crawled up on the bed in just his pants until he was beside her.

“Be brave for me,” he murmured and then kissed her again.

She opened her mouth to him, losing herself in his taste. It was easier to forget that she was completely naked with him when he kissed her. His kisses turned from playful to deeply passionate, carnal. His hands were everywhere, stroking, exploring—rough, then tender. She couldn’t adjust to the caresses but could only experience each sensation as it happened. She jolted upright when he suddenly slid his hand between her legs and teased the entrance of her folds.

“Easy, darling,” he said between kisses as he thrust one finger inside her. She arched up and he bent his head to her breast, pressing soft kisses to the sensitive flesh before he sucked on her nipple. The feel of it was too good, too much but she still needed more. She hissed in pleasure as he bit the peak. Wes laughed softly, as though delighted by her reaction. She wrapped her arms around his neck, then slid her hands into his hair to hold him to her in silent encouragement.

“Ready for more?” he asked.

“Yes!” She gasped without thinking.

He got up off the bed so suddenly that she lay there in a daze of confused passion as he strode to his dresser and opened the top drawer. He dug around in the drawer before he turned and came back to her. In his hands he held a pair of leather cuffs lined with fur. Callie started to sit up and he froze her in place with one dark look.

“Wrists up,” he instructed. “Spread eagle.” He gestured to where he wanted her to reach, the posts of the bed by her head. She did as he commanded. The beating of her heart was hard enough that she could feel every pulse beneath every inch of her skin as she tried to catch her breath.

As he walked to the head of the bed, he trailed one lazy fingertip from her shin up her body to her chin and then he pushed slightly up so she tilted her head back to watch him.