Follow Me Darkly (Follow Me #1) - Helen Hardt Page 0,86
of the room and up the stairs, where I presume Annika or someone else will tend to them. I’ve never been up those stairs, and though I’m curious, my curiosity is tamped down by my pure love for the man before me.
Can he love me back?
Will he love me back?
A man doesn’t rescue a puppy for a woman he feels nothing for, does he?
I don’t dwell on it. I want to be in Braden’s bed. I want to show him how I feel even if I can’t tell him.
I want to give him what he desires.
“Braden,” I say.
He fingers a few strands of my hair. “Hmm?”
“Take me to bed. Please.”
Chapter Fifty-Seven
He doesn’t hesitate. He sweeps me into his arms and marches to the bedroom. The lights from the harbor illuminate the dark wood and bedding. Later, I’ll do my last post for Susanne standing by this window.
Now, though?
I don’t think about work. I think only of the man whose arms hold me as if I’m light as a feather.
“I’m yours,” I say. “Do whatever you want to me.”
His eyes darken. “That’s a tall order, Skye. Are you sure?”
“Absolutely sure.”
He lifts his gaze to the contraption above his bed. “Anything?”
I nod, trembling. “What is that thing?”
“It’s no longer functional,” he says.
I hold back a sigh of relief.
“It was a harness, where I could suspend a partner, but I found that sort of play wasn’t particularly enjoyable for me.”
“Oh? What about your partner?”
“Depended on the partner.”
I opened this can of worms, and I suddenly wish I hadn’t. I’m about to give up control for good to this man, and I don’t want to think about all the other partners he’s had in this room.
“Why is it still there, then?”
“I just haven’t gotten around to having it removed yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because I met a woman who invades my mind every fucking second.” He sets me on the bed. “And all I can think about is all the dark and dirty things I want to do to her.”
I swallow. It’s okay. I want these things as much as he does. I want to give in.
“Did you like it when I bound your wrists?” he asks.
I nod, my body thrumming.
“How about these?” He tugs the chain between the clamps. “Do you like these?”
I nod again, inhaling swiftly against the torturous pleasure the clamps inflict on my nipples.
“Say yes, Skye.”
“Yes. I like them. A lot.”
“Did you like it when I covered your eyes?”
“Yes, Braden.”
“What else would you like me to do to you, Skye?”
I suck in a breath. “Whatever you want.”
He raises his eyebrows, sits down on the bed next to me, and fingers the odd notches on the runs of his headboard. “Do you know what these are?”
“No.”
“I had this headboard specially designed. I have bindings that secure here and here, and same on the footboard. They’ll hold you in place, all four of your limbs, render you completely helpless, Skye. What if I want to do that to you? Tie you up spread-eagle and then have my way with you?”
My body pulsates. “Then I want you to.”
He stands and walks to his highboy, opens a drawer, and pulls out what appears to be a riding crop. “What if I want to use this all over your body while you’re tied up?”
“I want you to do it.”
He sets the crop down and picks up a stainless steel object. “This is the anal plug I used on your body while you were blindfolded. What if I want to put this in your ass and then fuck you?”
I clear my throat. I’m determined to finish what I’ve started. “I want you to.”
He sets down the plug and picks up something else—something I don’t recognize at all. It looks like a collar but has a silver ring with four prongs sticking out of it. I shiver.
“This is a spider gag, Skye. Do you know what it’s for?”
“No.”
“It holds your mouth open so I can fuck it. What if I want to use this tonight?”
I’ve come too far to back down now. “Then I want you to.”
“Are you sure?”
“Braden,” I say, “let me be clear. I’m giving myself to you. I’m giving you the control you so desperately want. If you want to put a collar on me and lead me around on a leash like Sasha or Penny, do it. I’m yours.”
“For good this time? I get your control in this room?”
“Yes, Braden. I yield to you. I give up control.” He’s opened up my dark side, and at