Chapter 2

At length, his breathing evened out and he rolled onto his side, his body covered in a cold sweat, his limbs still twitching every now and then, as if from exhaustion. She knew now was the time to put her plan in motion. Carefully, she moved him so that he lay on his back, then gently attached the restraints to his thick wrists.

He shifted and murmured, but his sleep remained undisturbed. Adaar collected the items she would need and laid them on the floor by the side of the bed, close enough to be within her reach, but hidden from Bull's view. She pulled off her robe and covered her body in a moisturiser that left her skin gleaming and smelling ever so lightly of vanilla and jasmine.

With the preparations finished, she climbed onto the bed and straddled Bull's wide waist, stifling a groan as her sex pressed against his firm abdominal muscles. Ah Maker, even asleep he was the sexiest damn man she'd ever had the pleasure to know, and the only man she'd ever loved.

She smoothed her hands over his chest, the remnants of the moisturiser leaving a gleaming path in its wake. Bull shifted, a lazy hum escaping his lips that vibrated pleasurably through her body. However this night was about him, so she reined in her own arousal and set about waking him up. Her hips rocked smoothly back and forth in a slow, sensuous movement, rubbing her silken folds against him.

"Do you need something, Kadan?" His voice was rough and husky, his words a little slurred with sleep. She didn't reply as she waited for the inevitable moment. The chains clanked; she had an instant to wonder if she was doing the right thing, and then his eyes opened fully, no longer clouded with sleep, but alert and questioning.

He moved his head back and to the side taking a good long look at the manacles, a look in the opposite direction confirmed that his other wrist was in the same predicament.

His eyebrow lifted. "This is new." The words held a hint of wariness mixed with a dash of humour. His lips tilted up in that lopsided smile that invited you to join in the joke.

Her gaze left his lips and settled on his eyes, it was there she would see his real emotions, and she didn't have to look hard. There was an undercurrent of fear, caused in part by a lingering trace of the nightmare, but there was also the understanding that he was treading in unknown waters. His past made it hard for him to trust easily, a past where everyone he met had been a potential enemy, where a friend had so easily become a betrayer.

Needing to put him at ease, she leaned forward and captured his lips in a warm, gentle kiss. She pulled back when she felt him relax a little and whispered against his lips, "In answer to your question, I do need something."

She stroked over his large shoulders, massaging the tight muscles for a moment, before sliding her hands over his arms, fingers dipping into defined biceps, tracing the thick veins running over his strong forearms, a brief caress to his hands. "I need something from you, Bull."

Her tongue traced the shell of his ear, lips pulling at the tip in a suggestive manner. "I can see that Kadan, but, correct me if I'm wrong, aren't the restraints usually wrapped around your lovely wrists?"

She kissed along his firm jaw line, nipping tenderly at the skin, inhaling his masculine scent and tasting him with quick flicks of her tongue.

"Adaar, stop a moment." She pulled back, her face hovering over his. "These restraints; are they because you think I'd hurt you?" Her eyes widened; that was something she hadn't imagined him thinking, probably because she'd never once felt unsafe in his presence, just the opposite in fact.

She cupped his face, making sure he was looking her in the eye. "No Bull, never that. You're my shelter, my safe haven, I know you would never hurt me." He blew out a breath. "Okay, that's good, I thought perhaps I'd gone too far last time." She grinned and kissed him hard. "My screaming orgasm wasn't a clue as to how much I enjoyed it?"

He chuckled. "Could you speak up, because my ears are still ringing with the sound of screaming." The laughter died in his throat as shadows flickered across his features, and she knew his words had unintentionally triggered a memory from his nightmare.

"Is that what you dream of, Bull?" Her voice was low, calming. His eyes darted to hers, and she could practically see the walls coming up. "Nope, I dream of your naked body riding my cock."

She pulled back, seating herself on his stomach. His reply was unsurprising, a defensive answer to knock her off balance, but that wasn't going to work on her.

"Tonight is all about you learning to let go." She traced a circle on his abs, her expression thoughtful, a means of gathering herself, an erotic variation of doodling in a book. From under her lashes, she noticed his muscles tense, the chains pull tight. Then he seemed to regain control of himself, but she could see the effort it took to relax his body into a state of lazy indifference.

She lifted her head, her features strong and determined, her eyes holding a hint of steel. "Tonight, I'm going to pleasure you until you're shaking with desire, and then I'm going to let it all settle down before bringing you back to the boil again and again. I won't let you orgasm until you let go of the fear."

She was going to break that darkness, scatter it to the four winds, but for that, she needed Bull to co-operate, and judging from the look in his eye, that wasn't going to be an easy task.