Free Broken Bonds (Club Imperial Series) by Katherine Rhodes Page A

“Look, it’s not the thrill of surrendering control completely, it’s the thrill of surrendering control to you. It’s you . Not any of the tricks or kinks which turn me on. That it’s you with those tricks and kicks, and you’re on the other end of…whatever.”
    “You really thought about this.” She watched his face closely.
    “Of course I have.” He nodded. “You can’t make me feel like that, and then assume I’m not going to think really hard about what’s going on.” He picked at the wood flooring. “I really do like doing very naughty things with you.”
    “Just naughty?” she asked.
    “Okay, mind-blowing kinky things.” She smiled at him. “But that’s the other thing we have to talk about, isn’t it?”
    “I guess it is,” she agreed.
    “What happened, Emmy?” he asked.
    She took a deep breath. “I screwed up. I should have gone over my limits with you. I’m just so used to being in control, so used to my partners not doing anything without my say-so, I forgot you weren’t really a submissive. You didn’t do anything wrong. I freaked out.” She sighed. “Anal play is a hard limit for me. I’m sorry.”
    He picked the floor for another minute. “I want you to go over your hard limits with me, but I want to know why.”
    “I can’t, Nathaniel.” She shook her head. “I’m not in a place to talk about that...”
    “Will you ever be?”
    Emmy stared at him. Would she? She’d never had to explain her life to anyone before or after Franz; which, combined with her only foray into submissiveness, had spiraled her into the behavioral hospital for a solid week long stay. She’d been in hell trying to tell the doctors what had happened. That was when she put on the bustier and never looked back.
    “I don’t know,” she said, softly.
    He stood up and held out a hand. “Come on. We need to talk somewhere more comfortable than a wood floor. This is way too deep for an unfurnished room.”
    Emmy took his hand and he helped her stand. She looked around the room and realized it was starting to get dark. She followed Nathaniel carefully down the stairs. Her side felt much better, even if the rib was still a little tender, and it wasn’t as hard to walk anymore.
    He led her down more stairs and down the hallway. He stopped before her bedroom and opened a door, and Emmy realized it was his bedroom.
    Nathaniel’s bedroom. He took her hand again and led her into the room. To call it a bedroom, she decided, was to completely understate the room.
    They walked into a rugged, comfortable living room. There was a couch, a love seat and high backed Queen Anne chairs all done in plush, reddish leather. Emmy had the feeling if she sat down, she wouldn’t want to get up. The seating was arranged around a corner which sported a fireplace and a television stand. There was a coffee table, two end tables and two lamps to complete the sitting area.
    “This is your bedroom?” she asked, quietly. She walked over to the opposite corner where there was a dark wood wardrobe sitting next to a door, which was on the left hand side of the open doorway. On the other side was a very tall chest of drawers which matched the wardrobe
    “This is my sitting room,” he said, and stopped. “I’ve never brought you in here. You’ve been here for six weeks and I didn’t show you my room.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. Oh, my God. I’m so sorry...” He pointed to the door. “That goes to the walk-in closet.” He motioned her through the door and walked through himself.
    There was a king sized bed on the wall to the left, with a nightstand on either side. There was a deep red leather padded headboard that rose four feet above the top of the bed, and a footboard made of matching wood. There was another wardrobe in the far left corner, a chest of drawers on her right, and a dresser straight ahead. To the left of the dresser was a set of windows and to the right was another door. There were another two