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God, he loved the fire in her voice. “Abso-fucking-lutely. They think your relationship was shameful, but for all the wrong fucking reasons. The only person who needs to be ashamed of what they did is Micah. Don’t you ever forget that.”
When she twisted around to look at him, the adoration in her eyes stole his breath. Not a soul in the world had ever looked at him like that. Not even Jess.
Needing to taste her, Rafe crushed his lips against hers, holding onto her so tightly she whimpered into his mouth. He devoured the tiny sound, wanting every single bit of her he could possibly get. Fucking hell, he’d never be able to get enough.
Shoving the fact that she would leave Fairford Manor in two days to the back of his mind, he lost himself in the moment. She tasted spicy and sweet at the same time, like cinnamon and cloves. With her sun ripened peach smell, the silky feel of her in his hands, and her little gasps and moans...Jesus fucking Christ, she overwhelmed his senses.
“Come on,” he said before he lost himself completely, standing and placing her on her feet.
She followed without question, into the house and to the end of the hallway, where he punched a six-digit code into the keypad by the dungeon door. Relief flooded through him when they made it to the bottom of the stairs, finding the dungeon empty. He didn’t want any interruptions or distractions.
Rafe led her straight to the Shibari corner of the dungeon, which housed the enormous wooden suspension rig Aiden helped him build a few years ago. It almost looked like monkey bars from a child’s playground, with thick wooden slats running across the top and down both sides. Heavy duty forged anchor rings were strategically mounted all over the rig, the metal shining against the black-stained wood.
Leaving Nell standing beneath the rig’s upper bars, he headed to the nearby wall, where dozens of lengths of rope hung from hooks. The nylon and cotton braided ropes came in endless colors, all stored in identical, perfect bundles. Rafe led a mandatory class with the other Doms on the proper cleaning and storing of his rope as soon as they installed the suspension rig.
Ignoring the flashier options, he chose the two longest lengths of the stronger, undyed hemp bondage rope. He only hoped they were long enough for what he had in mind.
He carried his supplies back to Nell, arranging the bundles side-by-side at her feet. She didn’t speak as he stripped off her jeans and shirt, tossing the clothes aside.
“Beautiful,” he said, admiring the black strapless bra and matching panties underneath. “Stand with your legs together and your arms at your sides.”
She did as she was told, flattening her arms and hands against her sides when he pressed against them. “Like this, Sir?”
Rafe ran the tips of his fingers along her cheekbone. “That’s perfect. Now try not to move.” Unwrapping the two bundles of hemp rope, he got to work.
There were few things he found quite as calming as Shibari. The repetition as he created each perfect knot, the precision and patience required to turn his sub into a work of art with only the rope in his hands and his imagination to guide him...it mesmerized him.
He created dozens of crossing hitches, using the simple knot to connect the two ropes in a patchwork pattern across her skin, enveloping her body from her shoulders down. By the time he finished with a double column tie at her ankles, she was encased in a cocoon of rope, completely immobilized.
“So fucking beautiful,” he murmured as he circled her. With a single fingertip, he traced her skin just inside the square of rope between her shoulder blades, a knot at each of the four corners. He did the same inside a square over her hip, and then the center of her chest, directly above her breasts. “Do you understand what I’m doing?”
Her smile made his heart skip a beat. “You’re turning me into a butterfly.”
Rafe brushed a gentle kiss over her lips. “Good girl. Are you ready for the cocoon to unravel?”
She closed her eyes, taking as deep a breath as her binds would allow. “Yes, Sir.”
Standing straight and tall, she didn’t move a muscle as he undid his work one knot at a time. When at last he was done, he helped her step over the discarded rope to the new life waiting beyond.
* * *
When Rafe found out Nell and Zach secretly planned a Halloween party, he didn’t know whether to laugh or turn her over his knee.
He settled on both.
But when he and Nell walked into the parlor, it was impossible to not be impressed. The space had been so utterly transformed, it looked like something out of a Tim Burton movie.
Black spiderwebs covered the white walls, only hints of the picture frame molding and intricately carved chair rail peeking through. The blue velvet furniture was draped in a shimmering gray fabric, festooned in sprays of black and orange silk flowers woven through twisting black vines. Black metal lanterns that used to be on the front porch hung from hooks in the ceiling, and a spectacular assortment of jack-o-lanterns were clustered on tables and along the walls, candles flickering out of each terrifying face.
And it looked like not a single invitation had been declined. Holy fuck, even Leo and Sophie drove up from Manhattan. How Nell and Zach pulled all this together in only a day was quite beyond him.
Rafe’s jaw still hung open when Jonathan sauntered up to them in a pirate costume, the scantily clad brunette on his arm dressed as a bar wench. “So. The ringleader has arrived at last.”
“Nell, this is Jonathan. The Manor’s senior founding partner.” He couldn’t help smirking when she squirmed.
Nell blushed under the other Dom’s scrutiny, not quite able to meet his gaze. “Zach told you the party was my idea?” Despite the trepidation in her voice, she was trying to hide a smile.
“He did indeed.” Jonathan moved his shrewd gaze over to Rafe. “I hope you punished her soundly for all this nonsense.”
