A/N: Where is Erin, you ask? Well I went out-of-town (went to a cabin with a bunch of friends and acted like we were 21 instead of 30-something. No menz allowed on this trip… except the creepy golfers who were staying at the cabin next to ours)…and I *did* finish this chapter before leaving, but my awesometastic beta EverIntruiged said the chapter was "eh" and she was right, so I waited until I got home and reworked it.
If there are any mistakes, they're mine, as I added a bit after this was edited.
This chapter is for visionary gleam who kindly reminded me that an update was due. Here is your post-defending-thesis treat, bb.
Don't own anything except the plot and perhaps a corset (or five).
"Fashion, including cosmetics, is women's pornography, gratifying women's highly developed sense of touch and their pleasure in their own bodies."
David Kunzle, as paraphrased in Adorned in Dreams
"Everything from a fetishist's dream is on the fashion runways."
Vivienne Westwood
BPOV
He leaned back in the chair after kissing me and closed his eyes. A lazy smile graced his face.
I felt powerful and sexy after making him come. Seeing him release was different than watching him during sex. Not just because I was so concentrated on my own pleasure that I wasn't as observant of his, but it was a different kind of letting go.
He exhaled and opened his eyes again to look into my eyes.
"Let me return the favor, love."
I smiled at him before responding, "While I would love that, I think I'd rather feel you inside me."
His answering laugh confused me. Wouldn't he rather have sex than go down on me?
"I'm flattered that you've mistaken me for a teenager. My 'return' time isn't quite as quick as that." Oh, that.
I stayed where I was, but rubbed my hands up and down his thighs. "I want to explore your body some more. Will you let me?" I smirked at his expression which read as 'you really have to ask?'
I was glad for the chance to study his figure. Having been tied up or blindfolded, I really didn't get the chance to look at him… to appreciate him. I knew he was good looking, but looking at him under a more watchful gaze reminded he was more than that. He was beautiful.
I carefully trailed my hands up his body, taking in every inch of him. He was thin and lithe. His skin felt almost softer than mine. Pliable—just like the way he was made to move with me.
He watched me as I kissed along his body to inspect different parts. He seemed to take delight my scrutiny, as I savored the feeling of him under my hands and lips.
I moved up and straddled his lap so I could gain closer access to his chest and neck. I continued to kiss as I went along, occasionally gracing his skin with my teeth in soft bites.
I sucked on the side of his neck, lapping at him with my tongue. His skin tasted incredible—a more concentrated version of him. I licked alongside his jaw to his ear, pulling his lobe in my mouth and sucking harder, all the while grinding my body on his. Bite.
"Maybe you aren't as elderly as you seem to think," I whispered in his ear, alluding to his rapidly hardening cock. I could feel he was almost ready again.
"It seems you bring that out in me, Bella. The need to feel you around me… to hear you screaming my name as you come is staggering."
I groaned at that and rubbed him a little harder. He grabbed my hips to still my motions.
"You don't want me to lick you? To make you come on my tongue?"
"No, I want you to fuck me. Please, fuck me," I begged, trying to resume the earlier motions of grinding against him.
"Can you grab the condom out of my pant's pocket?" He asked in a strained voice.
I slid down his body, making sure he felt everything from my arousal to my peaked nipples and grabbed his pants. I fished in the pocket for a condom and pulled it out and discarded the wrapper.
With a firm grip, I gave a light stroke to his dick and rolled the condom on him. I kneeled one leg down, then the other, and placed my heat directly above him.
He didn't seem to like the teasing pace, so he grabbed my hips again and pulled me down on him.
"Couldn't wait," he offered. He was completely seated in me and stilled his motions to grab the hem of my shirt. He lifted it off of my body and I went to unbutton my skirt, thinking once unzipped, I could also lift it over my head.
He stopped my hands. "Leave the skirt; I like the roughness of the denim."
He continued to hold onto me as I set the pace, moving up and down his dick. Every time I came down on him he gave an extra thrust, pushing himself further into me.
I rocked my body against his with each movement, trying to get more friction against my clit. As good as this felt, I wanted to come. I wanted to come now, and I wanted him to come with me.
I put my hands on his shoulders to steady myself so I could increase the pace.
"I need to come. Can't you feel how good this feels?" I was slightly out of breath, but he seemed to understand.
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to his body. I could feel every droplet of sweat. He needed to come, too.
"Harder, Edward. I want you to fuck me harder," I grunted into his ear spurring him on to move even more forcefully than before. I buried my head in his neck and listened to his strangled moans.
My clit rubbed up against him as he continued to move me up and down his shaft.
"Unnngh…I'm coming," I breathed out. My orgasm came fast and hard as he continued to thrust.
His arms gripped me even tighter than before. He held on so hard it almost hurt as I heard him groan in release.
When he was finished, his grip on me loosened and I leaned up against him. We were both breathing hard as we came down from our highs.
"God, I want to just stay like this forever," I said wistfully.
"No one's making you go anywhere."
"I can't stay; I didn't bring a change of clothes," I responded, saddened at the thought.
"Actually, I have something to help with that." He lifted me up off of him and walked over to a closet and grabbed a bag out of there.
"What's this?" I asked curiously.
"A gift. C'mon, open it!" He responded gleefully.
I opened the bag and removed the tissue paper. Inside I found a scrap of black leather, soft as butter. It was a corset. I looked up from the corset to his face.
"I thought you could wear it tomorrow when I'm not around. Just a little something to remind you of me."
I fingered the lacing on the back of the corset and imagined him pulling the laces tight. I was so turned on thinking about it, and he hadn't even done anything at all. I didn't want to say that, so I decided to tease him instead.
"So did this gift come with a free gift with purchase whip, or do I buy that separately?"
"Very funny. Like you couldn't have guessed that I already own a whip." His eyes twinkled when he spoke, and though I knew he was teasing me back, I desperately wanted to believe that he was telling the truth.
"Really, though. I should go home. I've got some work to do and I think if I stay here any longer, I'll become insulated into this sex bubble."
"Sex bubble?" He quirked.
"Den, bubble, whatever—whatever it is that makes me forget the outside world when I'm here."
"Is it so bad to forget everything else when you are with me?" I couldn't tell for sure from the sound of his voice, but his eyes seemed… hurt? I'd only known this man for four days. It was too soon for either of us to be so invested in this relationship.
"I'm not saying that, I just… remember the intense, overwhelming feeling I talked about earlier?" He nodded. "Still applies. I can't just drop everything for you, as much as I'd like to."
"I'm not asking you to do that. We have school and work, but that doesn't mean we can't shift our priorities a little to include each other."
I softened at that. "Ok, I'll pencil you in." He smiled in return and pulled me in for a hug.
"I'll sic Alice on you if you don't." I laughed at the prospect. It was definitely a valid threat to sic Alice on anyone.
"Now come here so I can put my gift to good use." He beckoned.
"I need to go home and shower. I smell like a brothel." I leaned my nose down to my shoulder and inhaled for emphasis.
"So shower here, I want to see you in it before you leave."
I rolled my eyes and gave in. Resistance was futile.
I showered quickly and wondered how the corset was going to feel on my body. I'd never worn one. He seemed very excited by the idea of seeing me in it. It was sexy to be sure, but it felt kind of archaic the more I thought about it. Who even wore corsets anymore?
If I didn't see him tomorrow night, would I have to ask Alice or Rose to help me remove it? What would they say when they saw Bella Swan, feminist, wearing a corset? I knew I shouldn't have cared what they thought, but I couldn't help it.
I told myself it didn't matter what I wore—that it didn't change anything about me as a person, but I wasn't sure I really believed it. Ugh. It aggravated me that this was something I even felt I had to think about.
I got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around me, securing it tightly as I made my way back to the bedroom.
"C'mere, Bella." He said as I walked towards him.
I stopped just before him.
"Take your towel off, please." The commanding tone he took on made me want to take him right there.
I removed the towel and held it up with a questioning look.
"Just put it on the chair over there."
I did as he asked and walked back to him. I didn't notice it at first, but he had the corset in his hands. He loosened the laces and held it out for me to step into. He tugged it up my body as I tried to wiggle my hips for it to glide on me easier. He moved it up my body it until it covered my breasts to the top of my hips.
"Let your body surrender itself to the corset," he said softly.
His hands moved to the bottom of the corset and slowly pulled each rung of lacing tighter. I jerked slightly when he first pulled the laces. When he reached the top, he tugged harder, and tied the laces together. He pushed my hair aside and leaned in close to my ear, "keep this on while you sleep and all day tomorrow. I want you to think of me each time you move and feel the boning press against you. Think of my hands on your body… think of how it will feel to have me untie you."
I was breathing heavy by the time he was done speaking, cursing myself that I had to leave. He spun me around and cupped my face with his hands. He brushed a sweet, tender kiss on my lips before he pulled back.
I grabbed my clothes and finished dressing. I looked up to see him watching me carefully. I gave him a smile.
"Do you want me to walk you to the Metro?" He asked.
"It's only a few blocks, I think I'll manage. Besides, you didn't lace me so tight I can't breathe!"
"Can I see you tomorrow?"
"I have to meet with my advisor in the morning, but I'm free after that. Do you work tomorrow?"
"Just 'til 4:00. Why don't we see if the gang can all get together for dinner?"
"What, you mean like a real date?" I asked, in mock horror putting a hand over my mouth dramatically.
"You mean today's wasn't real? I bought you a meal, we had conversation and we came back to my place. It sounds pretty standard in my book."
"Yes, well, today's date was quite nice, but I'd rather not repeat the exhibitionist part in front of our friends." He smirked at me.
"I thought you rather enjoyed that part. You were quite enthusiastic when we got back."
"Not interested in PDA in front of friends, thank you much. Speaking of, I think we need to talk about protocols for the next time you are feeling frisky in public. I won't deny that it was arousing undressing under the blind eyes of a roomful of people, but I'm not sure I would have been ok if you had thrown me on the table and fucked me in front of the same room of strangers." Though it was a fun idea…
His eyes darted to my parted lips. "The look on your face right now suggests you would enjoy that very much, actually," he paused, taking in my wide-eyed expression, "but don't worry, we won't do that… yet."
I snorted at him. We wouldn't be doing anything of the sort in front of our friends ever.
"Alright, Edward. I should go." I leaned up to him and gave him a quick kiss.
"Text me when you get home?"
"Yes, dad," I offered, in a slightly annoyed tone.
"I'm not really into age play…" he started, before he caught the look I gave him.
"I really need to go," I said, more insistently this time.
"Ok, ok," he said with a sigh.
I followed him as he walked through the hall and out the door to stand in front of the elevator. I stepped inside and the doors shut before I had a chance to even think of anything else I wanted to say.
***
I stepped off the escalator and walked down Wisconsin Ave to our apartment. It was Tuesday night and as far as I knew Alice and Rose would be home. I was excited to talk to them about getting together tomorrow night as a group.
Would we go out to dinner? Or a club like the night I met him? I debated those options and thought cooking dinner at home would be best. Then I could ask him to undo the lacing.
I walked into the apartment and called out to see if anyone was home.
"In the kitchen," Alice yelled back.
I walked to the kitchen and found her bent over, perusing the fridge.
"Anything good?" I asked.
"No, it's Rose's week for groceries and she always buys crap. You wanna cook us some dinner?"
"I already ate, but I can make you a peanut butter sandwich if you want?" I responded, trying to stifle a laugh.
"Yeah, I'll pass. I think I might go to Whole Foods and see what they have on the salad bar."
"Don't feel too bad, I'm making us dinner tomorrow," I paused to see her looking at me curiously, "I was actually going to ask you and Rose about that… is she here now?"
"No, she had to work late."
"Oh, ok… well I guess I can text her. I wanted to see if you guys wanted to get together tomorrow for dinner. I thought I could make some lasagna and have everyone over."
"Everyone being…?" She asked in a too innocent voice. She was digging.
"You and Jazz, Em and Rose… and Edward," I finished, hoping she wouldn't ask me any more about the subject. The truth was, while I was dying to talk to someone about him, I wasn't sure what Alice would say. I didn't know if I could even tell her about our sexual… quirks.
She squealed in return and reached in for a big hug. I gasped at the strength she seemed to have despite her small stature and pulled back slightly.
"So this means you're excited?" I teased.
Her returning smile was blinding and I had my response. Just as her hands moved to let go of me, she stilled. She gripped my sides tighter before letting go and gave me a questioning look.
"Did you wear a corset for your little date?" I could hear the smile in her voice.
"No…" Should I tell her? "Edward got it for me." I couldn't help the blush that followed.
"Really? Isn't that a bit kinky?"
"Pot-kettle-black much? Ask me about kinky on a day when you aren't wearing six-inch platform sandals." I looked down at her choice of footwear pointedly. They were black patent leather with a row of straps over the foot and ankle.
"Hey! These are the latest fashion!"
I laughed at her defense. "Latest fashion? What are they, 'bondage chic?' An acceptable way to be a fetishist? Seriously, tell me the difference between me wearing a corset and you wearing those shoes."
"I'm not wearing these for someone else."
It was like a slap to the face. Every doubt I had about being involved with Edward was culminated in what she said. At what point did wanting to please someone else become wrong?
He was helping me realize my fantasies as I was indulging his.
"This is as much for me as it is for him," I said finally. Giving him pleasure gave me pleasure.
"Anyhow, Alice, I have to get some work done. Can you text Rose the details for tomorrow? Let's say 6:30. Edward will tell the guys."
"Are you mad at me? I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you." She looked remorseful, and I knew I couldn't stay mad at her for long.
"No, I'm not mad… I admit to being a little annoyed, but that's only because I shouldn't have to justify my choices for you."
"You don't, Bella. I'm really sorry I said anything."
"It's alright. I have work to do, though. I have a meeting with my advisor in the morning and I need to prepare."
"Can I get a hug?" She asked sheepishly. I smiled warmly at her. All was restored between us.
"Of course! Just don't feel me up again."
A/N: So, I cut the lemon out. Then I added it back in, because dammit, I just spent the weekend with 14 women at a cabin in West Virginia…if it's crappy, just pretend it didn't happen.
Whole Foods, aka 'whole paycheck,' has this delicious salad bar with hot + cold items. My favorite is salad with grilled tofu and vinaigrette.
Books for this chapter: Fashion and Fetishism by David Kunzle, The Corset: A Cultural History by Valerie Steele.
Part of the idea for this chapter was someone asking (on fashion messageboard I post on) about recommendations for "tasteful bondage" accessories. O RLY.
So, review, pretty please!?
