Last chapter!

It took a few weeks for the bruising on her wrists to completely disappear.

She luckily always wore long sleeves and bulky sweaters, so no one ever suspected her secret fantasies. Still, every time Steve placed gentle kisses on her wrists, it would reignite the fire and she wondered how long until she could get him to role-play again. She would drop hints when they were together, but whenever she'd remind him, he'd look at the purple tint on her arms and she knew her answer. There was no telling what got into him that night, but apparently it was a one-time show. Much to her disappointment.

They fell back into their usual routine after a while. He seemed to forget all about that night, or any other night that had any roughness, presumably hoping she would forget about it, too. And while he still made sure she got off whenever they were together, she found her fantasies growing more and more detailed whenever she'd shut her eyes.

Tied to a bed.

His leather belt.

Candle wax.

At one point, the image of him pulling a necklace against her throat made her come so hard, she saw stars. Eventually, even pretending wasn't enough.

She tried to encourage him by doing it herself, first. She'd nip the skin on his neck, but he'd pull away and wouldn't put his neck near her mouth again. Or she'd tug lightly on his hair, but he'd swat her hands away. The final straw was when she slapped his ass lightly and he completely pulled out of her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, sitting up on her elbows.

"What are you doing, Darcy? I mean, what is all of this? You just slapped my butt."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Yeah? And your point?"

"You've never done that before. Then there's all the other stuff before, like you're trying to hurt me or something."

"I'm trying to show you that it's alright if you do that to me," she said.

"I don't want to do that to you. You think I've enjoyed those times I've left marks on your body?"

Sometimes her mouth worked quicker than her brain, and before she could stop herself, she heard the words she knew she shouldn't have said. "Maybe I enjoy those times, did you ever think of that?"

"Are you serious?" he asked in disbelief. "You liked it when I hurt you? Oh my God, you did! That night, Halloween, that wasn't just role playing with you, was it? You were completely and utterly loving everything I did to you!"

"Well excuse me for wanting to have a little more fun during sex!" she yelled, feeling incredibly defensive around the one person who never made her feel so defensive.

"I'm sorry that I'm not enough for you!" he screamed back, fishing his boxers off the floor and yanking them on. "Jesus, Darcy, do you even understand what I've done to you? The one thing I swore I would never do and of course the girl I love needs it to get off. You never used to complain about sex. So when the fuck did this start?" He ran his hand through his unruly hair as he searched for his clothes.

"Shut the hell up, Steve! I still don't complain about sex with you. But sometimes, I don't want nice, sweet sex. Sometimes I just want to be fucked. Hard. I want you to pull my hair and slap my ass and do all kinds of crazy shit that could leave me bruised and scarred because GOD DAMN IT it feels good, ok!"

He stared at her, his jaw clenched, and she hated herself for being so ridiculously turned on right now, but she refused to back down. "You know what, Darcy? I don't know that that's something I'm willing to do for you."

His voice was low and quiet; eerily calm. It was the worst thing he could have said in the absolute worst tone. But she was stubborn. And she wouldn't let him win. "Then maybe you should leave."

She didn't actually expect him to walk out. She thought maybe he'd yell some more and go sulk on the couch or something. But when she heard the unmistakable sound of the front door slamming, she realized just how big of a mistake she'd just made. She pushed him too far.

He was just as stubborn as she was, even if he didn't show it the same way, and there was no way that pushing him into something he was so adamantly and fundamentally against would make him stay. She knew exactly why he didn't like doing those things to her, she just didn't know it would be enough to make him leave.

What was she going to do now?

"Are you sure you don't want to come out with us? Sam's invited that Sharon girl from the party. We're all pretty stoked to watch them interact."

Darcy rolled her eyes. Sam had been trying to get together with Sharon since Halloween, but she was having nothing to do with his flirtatious personality and over-the-top ego. She wondered what he did to finally wear the brunette down.

"No thanks, Jane. I think it's going to be a couch night."

"Again?" Darcy could imagine her friend rolling her eyes.

True, she had spent most nights alone on her couch since Steve left. She hadn't told anyone about him, and she figured since no one was questioning her or insisting that she shouldn't be left alone, that he hadn't told anyone either. It was odd, but maybe it was the easiest way to save some embarrassment.

"Hey, Steve, what happened between you and Darcy?"

"Oh, you know how it goes. Things were going great until she decided she wanted me to beat the shit out of her for her sexual gratification."

Yeah, that would go over real well.

Not.

So here she was, another Friday night alone, with just Netflix and Facebook to keep her entertained.

Partway through Orange Is the New Black, she heard a knock at her door. Probably the delivery guy with her pizza. The dude could handle seeing her in her Hulk jammies. So when she opened the door with a twenty held in one hand, she was surprised to see Steve standing on the other side, one hand in his pocket and the other holding a thick binder.

"Steve! What are you doing here?"

He shuffled his feet for a few minutes and then thrust the binder into her hands.

She glanced down at it. "What is this?"

"I've, um, I've been doing some research. Can I come in?"

She opened the binder and let out a gasp as she saw that he had, indeed, been doing research. Beginner's Guide to S&M, S&M for Beginners, How to Start with BDSM, websites and articles explaining what S&M was and wasn't, potential rules for partners, secure safe words, suggested candles for wax dripping, proper care for afterward. She flipped through each page, awed at his dedication to learning about this.

"I get that you're into this, Darcy. I can't say that I'm all that comfortable with it, personally. But it's what you want and I'm willing to give it a try."

She finally looked up at him. "Really?"

He nodded. "Really. But this won't be an everyday thing, Darcy. I love you, and I don't like the idea that I'm hurting you, even if you like it."

She dropped the binder to the floor and threw herself into his arms. "I love you so much, Steve Rogers. And I promise, anything you think you might be into or want to test, I will do it in a heartbeat!"

He chewed his inner cheek and smiled shyly at her. "I'm glad you brought that up, because, um, there is this one thing that I've always been curious about."

"Oh?"

"How do you feel about food play?"

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