Aline Hunter - Make Me Shiver

“I want you to come one more time, angel. Come with me.”

She whimpered when his fingers stroked her clit, rubbing in a fast, frantic motion. He didn’t stop thrusting, keeping up the pace until she was right there with him. Her muscles coiled, her skin started to grow warm and she felt the steady building in her belly. Like before, there was no warning. A climax seared her like an open flame, tingling and spreading through her torso before moving outward. Michael was right behind her, groaning in her ear as her pussy milked him, continuing to move even as his cock pulsed inside her and went still.

The arm holding her was the only reason she didn’t flop across the counter. She was panting, struggling to breathe. Nothing had ever been like this, and nothing ever would again. Her reserved nature tried to claw to life but she suffocated it quickly. Later she might regret being so brazen. Tonight she did what Michael asked of her.

It wasn’t until she was breathing normally that she realized all the conversations had stopped.

She froze, going utterly still beneath the man who had her trapped against the counter.

Was everyone watching? Was there going to be a round of applause?

She got her answer when the blindfold slid down her face and fell on the counter, allowing her to see for the first time in hours. They were resting against a bar. Mirrors lined the wall, allowing her to see Michael’s bare ass and her very naked body. Booths and tables were scattered around with cushions on the floor next to them.

She paused in amazement, struggling to believe what she was seeing.

The only thing watching them was the lifelike dummy bartender standing a few feet in front of her. There were speakers mounted into each corner of the room and a tiny circular button just in front of her.

She pressed the small nodule and heard the same voice that startled her earlier. “What can I get you?”

What the hell?

“I told you’d I’d never do anything to embarrass or hurt you,” Michael said, exhaling against her back. “I would never do anything you didn’t want.”

“What is this place?” She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “Where are we?”

“This is a room for people who want to explore exhibitionism. If a Dom has a submissive who is excited by the prospect of playing in public he can bring her here, invite experienced couples to watch and control the environment.”

It couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible. There had been people here when Michael stripped her clothing away and fucked her silly. If they’d been alone, some inner part of her would have recognized it.

She would have known that it was only the two of them.

Wouldn’t she?

“No one else was ever here?”

“No.” His hair caressed the area between her shoulders and she felt his lips brushing the middle of her spine.

It had all been a trick. From the moment they’d entered this room it had only been her and Michael, no one else. She should have felt duped. The knowledge that none of it had been real should have made her as angry as hell.

So why didn’t it?

Because he asked you to give him your trust and he proved he wouldn’t break it.

Michael never said he would take her against the bar while people watched. He never insinuated he would fuck her in front of God and everyone. Those were her own insecurities, her own doubts. Each time she’d hesitated, he’d offered her the easy way out. There was nothing but total honesty on his part.

The truth wasn’t easy to take but it was necessary. The point Michael so desperately wanted to make was far more important than the D/s trust and honesty code. From the moment they’d entered into a relationship he’d always been open with her. When the cards were down and he needed her support, she’d taken that honesty and crushed it, treating him as if he didn’t deserve any kind of credit.

She questioned him time and again, despite the numerous things he had done to prove his loyalty.

It was so obvious now. So clear. She knew how far he’d go for her. He just needed to know how far she was willing to go for him.

“It was just a test?” she whispered, stunned by the realization.

“I’d say it was more than that.”

“Did I pass?”

He pulled free of her body, turned her around and pulled her into his arms. “We both did.”

Then he kissed her, and she knew he’d been asking for her trust because he’d never take advantage of something so important to him. Michael was the man she’d always wanted, standing right before her, but it took her being blind to the world to finally see.

Sagging against him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and knew this time she would never let go. He made her shiver. He made her melt. And as promised, when he finished, everything but the two of them disappeared.

Candice parked her car in front of Lacey’s house and took a deep breath. She didn’t want to go inside and have dinner with her best friend and her brand-spanking-new fiancée, but if she wanted to remain a part of Lacey’s life she was going to have to make some adjustments.

She looked at herself in the rearview mirror, smoothing her hair. “This entire situation is fucked up.”

All right, maybe that was taking it too far. She was happy for Lacey. She’d managed to find a man who treated her right and had her best interests at heart. Mike doted on her friend in a way that made her as jealous as it did nauseous. The courtship had been fast—too fast to most in their small town—but their affection and love appeared genuine. They were like newlyweds already, sharing secret whispers, exchanging knowing looks.

Not to mention they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

The trouble was, watching the two of them together made her yearn for something she didn’t understand. She didn’t want a relationship. She wasn’t interested in putting her heart on the line in order to establish one. It was best to keep things on a strictly sexual level when it came to men. She enjoyed what they offered, she gave them what they needed in turn and both parties walked away happy.

So why did that suddenly sound so callous to her? As if she were mistreating the men she made arrangements with who were eager to accept her nostrings-attached policy?

“You can lie to the world but don’t lie to yourself,” she told her reflection, studying her face.

“You know exactly why it bothers you so much.”

Brady fucking Stone.

Either God was trying to send her a message or she had shitty timing, because everywhere she went she bumped into the man. She’d seen him at the grocery store, when she was staking out the local pet store to do a story on a puppy mill and then again when she’d met with Brian Laing and Trevor Carmack at Rolo’s Café to discuss the whereabouts of a woman who’d left their home weeks ago and never returned.

She righted the mirror and sighed. That last visit had turned out to be far more than she anticipated. When she explained she needed assistance from the Plainview Police Department, which would have information she couldn’t gather on her own, they told her it was no problem and Brady showed up. Brian and Trevor were quick to point out how useful Candice and Brady could be to each other. She could question the people who phoned in with anonymous tips while Brady could screen the information against what he had in the database at work. It was a match made in heaven that totally wasn’t.

Faced with paying her rent or saying no, she’d decided to take the job and investigate the whereabouts of one Alyssa McIntyre. Unfortunately, that meant she could no longer avoid Brady’s calls or tell him to leave her alone. This was business, after all, and she was a professional.