“No. You are my one vanilla conquest,” he shakes his head, still grinning at me.
Why does he find this funny? And why am I grinning back at him like an idiot?
“I can’t give you a number. I didn’t put notches in the bedpost or anything.”
“What are we talking – tens, hundreds… thousands?” My eyes grow wilder as the numbers get larger.
“Tens. We’re in the tens, for pity’s sake.”
“All submissives?”
“Yes.”
“Stop grinning at me,” I scold him mildly, trying and failing to keep a straight face.
“I can’t. You’re funny.”
“Funny peculiar or funny ha ha?”
“A bit of both I think.” His words mirror mine.
“That’s a damned cheek, coming from you.”
He leans across and kisses the tip of my nose.
“This will shock you, Anastasia. Ready?”
I nod, wide-eyed, still with the stupid grin on my face.
“All submissives in training, when I was training. There are places in and around Seattle that one can go and practice. Learn to do what I do,” he says.
“Oh.” I blink at him.
“Yep, I’ve paid for sex, Anastasia.”
“That’s nothing to be proud of,” I mutter haughtily. “And you’re right… I am deeply shocked. And cross that I can’t shock you.”
“You wore my underwear.”
“Did that shock you?”
“Yes.” My inner goddess pole-vaults over the fifteen-foot bar.
“You didn’t wear your panties to meet my parents.”
“Did that shock you?”
“Yes.”
Jeez, the bar’s moved to sixteen feet.
“It seems I can only shock you in the underwear department.”
“You told me you were a virgin. That’s the biggest shock I’ve ever had.”
“Yes, your face was a picture, a Kodak moment.” I giggle.
“You let me work you over with a riding crop.”
“Did that shock you?”
“Yep.”
I grin.
“Well, I may let you do it again.”
“Oh, I do hope so, Miss Steele. This weekend?”
“Okay,” I agree, shyly.
“Okay?”
“Yes. I’ll go to the Red Room of Pain again.”
“You say my name.”
“That shocks you?”
“The fact that I like it shocks me.”
“Christian.”
He grins.
“I want to do something tomorrow.” His eyes glow with excitement.
“What?”
“A surprise. For you.” His voice is low and soft.
I raise an eyebrow and stifle a yawn at the same time.
“Am I boring you, Miss Steele?” His tone is sardonic.
