Free Rogue by Julia Sykes Page A

for your permission to do things, but you will
     use your safe words freely so we can pause and talk about things.”
    My confusion must have been plain on my face at the mention of safe words, because Derek sighed heavily.
    “Thank god you agreed to learning from me,” he muttered.  “Safe words are essential
     in BDSM play.  They allow the submissive to feel safe and facilitate trust.”  He reached
     out and plucked up one of my curls.  Almost absently, he twined it around his forefinger. 
     “You will use your safe words if you truly feel uncomfortable with something we’re
     doing.”
    “Okay,” I agreed easily.  My voice was low and breathy, and his thumb brushed over
     the inside of my wrist again.  The fine hairs on the back of my neck stood on end,
     and my nerve endings began to crackle, craving… something.
    His cocky, twisted smile was back.  It did something funny to my insides.  Something
     funny and not at all unpleasant.
    “If you just want to pause and talk about something, say ‘yellow.’  If you become
     so distressed that you want to stop completely, say ‘red.’”  He regarded me with a
     look that was inquisitive but no less amused.  “You with me, Sharon?”
    I blinked.  Between his hold on my wrist and his tender touch on my hair, I had been
     staring up at him almost dreamily.  My eyelids felt heavy, and my lips were slightly
     parted.
    What the hell was wrong with me?
    Only, it didn’t feel wrong.  It felt so, so right.
    “Um, yeah.  Yellow, red.  Got it.”  God, I didn’t even manage full sentences.
    “Good.”  His voice was soft and husky.  The approval and pleasure in the word awoke
     a warm glow in the center of my chest.
    “We’ll start with the basics,” he told me.  Rather than getting my hackles up at a
     lecturing tone, his low pitch made the words seem to slide over my skin.  It was soothing,
     putting me at ease.
    His next words sent me rocketing back to indignation.
    “On your knees, Sharon.”
    I jerked away from him, scowling.  His firm hold on my wrist kept me from pulling
     away completely.
    “No fucking way,” I hissed.  There was one thing I associated with being on my knees
     in front of a man, and I was most certainly not going to give Derek Carter a blowjob.  “If you think I’m going to-”
    His glare cut me off more effectively than another man’s words could.  My mouth snapped
     closed, and I knew I had said the wrong thing again.
    Shit.  Why couldn’t I stop fucking everything up?
    “I’m not asking for that,” he told me sternly, his eyes flashing.  “If I want you
     to suck my cock, I’ll tell you to suck my cock.”
    My mouth fell open at the crass words.  The man obviously didn’t have any compunction
     about talking dirty.
    “You never have to guess what I want from you, Sharon.  As a Dom, I’ll always be clear
     and honest about what I want my sub to do.  That’s part of why submission is so freeing;
     you don’t have to worry about guessing what I want.  You don’t have to worry about
     figuring out what will please me.  I’ll tell you.”
    As much as I wanted to be furious with him for his domineering attitude, I couldn’t
     help but find his words… appealing.  Comforting, even.  I would never have to guess
     when it came to pleasing Derek.  I wouldn’t have to worry about being a disappointment
     because he would always be one hundred percent clear with me about what he wanted.
    “Okay.”  My voice was strangely soft.  “Sorry.”
    He gently curled his fingers beneath my chin, lifting my face so that my eyes met
     his.
    “It’s all right.  I’m not angry.  I just need you to understand how this is going
     to work.  I would never ask you to do anything sexual for me.  That’s not what this
     is about.  D/s is about so much more than sex.  Just as it’s about so much more than
     hitting your partner.  Do you understand?”
    I fell into the melted caramel of his eyes, and