Bound to Please by Lilli Feisty Read Free Book Online

way up the marble steps to her apartment. Once inside, she placed her purse on the hall table and walked to the living room, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor as she crossed the room, the sound echoing in her ears.
    She turned to face him. “Can I get you something? A drink? Coffee?”
    “I’m good.” He took in her place, inspecting her one-bedroom, second-floor flat. She followed his gaze to the huge bay window, beyond which the lights of the city sparkled. Even though tonight the fog muffled the view, San Francisco twinkled in colorful, blurry lights. It was this scene that had sold her on the tiny place nearly five years ago.
    But the outlook didn’t interest him as much as her music collection. Soon he was flipping through a crate of records she kept next to her ancient record player. “You really do like jazz.”
    She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “They were my dad’s.”
    He looked up. “You close with your folks?”
    “Not really. My dad left when I was sixteen. When Mom tracked him down, she left to be with him. Now, I get the occasional e-mail or postcard. I think they’re in Thailand at the moment.”
    He blinked at her but didn’t press her for information, which she appreciated. Instead he slipped a record out of a sleeve and gently placed it on the turntable.
    Ruby loved the first few scratchy seconds right after the needle dropped onto vinyl. Silently they listened to the static, and then the soft piano of a Thelonious Monk tune drifted through the speakers.
    Mark stood, and she followed his gaze to the black-and-white picture hanging over the fireplace. It was a photograph of a woman’s back. Rope came down from her neck, winding around her shoulders and across her arms, multiple times, ending with one knot that held her wrists tightly at the base of her spine.
    Mark glanced at her. “You?”
    She nodded. Her walls were filled with the black-and-white photographs she’d taken during her college years at RIT. But there was one that wasn’t hers, the only photograph she’d kept from her time with Ash. Of course, Mark had honed right in on it.
    It didn’t show her face or even her tattoo. But he knew it was her. He already knew her that well. Even her own sister had never made the connection, which was why she’d kept the photograph on her wall.
    “Gorgeous,” he said.
    She laughed nervously. “That’s because you can’t see my face.”
    He turned to her then, his gaze sharp. “I never want to hear you talk about yourself that way, Ruby. Understand?”
    All she could do was nod.
    Rooted to the floor, she stood stock-still as he approached her. Then he was kissing her again, with that gentle yet commanding way that turned her insides to mush. She barely noticed the firm hand on her shoulder, pushing her to her knees.
    She closed her eyes, felt the wool of the Persian rug scratch the skin of her knees. The floor grounded her as she turned inward, mentally preparing herself for whatever he wanted to do to her.
    For the millionth time she wondered how this was happening—how she’d let it happen. And yet, it felt powerful somehow. Mark said he would push her, but, more important, she was pushing herself to explore these fantasies she’d been hiding for so long.
    “Are you ready?”
    Her belly quivered with nerves and anticipation. “Yes.” She braced herself on the floor.
    She heard his boots thudding as he circled her. “Can you follow instructions?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then why are you still wearing your panties?”
    She speared him with a look.
    Legs planted in a wide stance before her, he held his hands clasped before him. Despite his commanding posture, he smiled at her. “There will be rules. Such as, no dirty looks.”
    She tried not to roll her eyes.
    “Also. Don’t move unless I tell you to. Don’t speak unless spoken to. Unless of course, you want me to stop. If you want me to stop, you can say… Chihuahua.”
    “Chihuahua?”
    “You want me to