Free Temptation’s Edge by Eve Berlin

at the clubs had been just that—play—but Connor was the real thing. It aroused her, excited her, so much more than she’d expected. But with Connor every time she thought she knew what to expect, he surprised her. Including, right now, how quickly her irritation at his bossiness dissolved under the powerful force of his natural command. It was real—he wasn’t some wannabe, which, she now realized, was probably what those other men she’d experimented with were. And somehow, that changed everything.
    “I should also tell you,” he went on, “that when we’re done, if you still have any questions for me, you let me know, and I will answer as thoroughly as I can.”
    She nodded again. Licked her lips.
    “Remember: yes, no or maybe. Do you want to be spanked?”
    She smiled, a little surprised at how quickly the conversationhad shifted, how he’d gotten right down to business. But this question was easy enough. “Yes. Sure.”
    “Pinched?”
    Also easy. “Yes.”
    “Hit with a flogger, a slapper, a crop?”
    A lovely chill ran through her. “Yes. I’ve had a flogger used on me, but it was one of those soft suede ones. And frankly, he was far too tentative with it.”
    “What about with a single-tail?”
    “Is that like a short bullwhip?”
    He nodded. “Yes.”
    “I don’t know. I don’t know the level of pain I can handle, what I might enjoy past a certain point.”
    “But you do enjoy the pain?”
    “Yes. I always have. From rough sex to a good spanking.”
    “But you have never felt that you were a submissive.” It was phrased as a statement, but she knew he was asking her.
    “Not in the past. But…it’s different with you. Not that I’ll ever be truly submissive. The submission is part of the pain-pleasure thing. An offshoot of that.”
    “And you’re not entirely happy about it?”
    She smiled again, a little wryly. “Not entirely.”
    “But you are willing to explore these things with me?”
    “Yes.”
    “What about anal sex?”
    “Yes. I like it a lot.”
    A slow smile from him at that. “Ah, good girl.”
    There it was, those two simple words again that just made her melt into a pathetic little puddle.
    Only for him.
    She’d been telling him the truth. Although she’d been spanked,tied up, she’d never felt that sensation of going under, of letting go of control, handing that to another person. It had been more about seeking out extreme forms of sex. Having an adventure. The adventure with him would be something else altogether.
    “How do you feel about being tied up? Handcuffed? Chained?”
    “Being tied up has never really done much for me. I don’t get the fascination with ropes, and definitely not with silk scarves. That seems…amateurish to me. I love the handcuffs. Really love the idea of chains, although I’ve never used them before.”
    “Ah, we are a perfect match, you and I. What about being blindfolded?”
    “I…I don’t like it. Enough that I’ve never allowed anyone to try it with me. I don’t like that total disconnect from my environment.”
    “You always need a shred of control to hang on to, is that it?”
    She raised her chin. “Yes.”
    “All right. We don’t have to go there right now. What about hot wax?”
    “I’ve played with it before, but I wasn’t the one on the bottom that time.”
    He laughed. “And?”
    “I like the idea of it. We’ll have to see if I like the sensation.”
    “Tell me about the kanji tattoo on the back of your neck—what does it say?”
    “My tattoo?”
    “Yes.”
    She shrugged, trying not to squirm, although she wasn’t sure why
now
, rather than during all the questions about the floggers and chains. “It says ‘pain is love.’”
    He raised one dark brow. “Do you really believe that?”
    There was no hesitation before she answered this time. Loving anyone always meant that a certain amount of pain was inevitable.That’s what her life had taught her. What witnessing her mother’s life had taught