THE BEAUTY OF SURRENDER
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Shibari…The ancient art of erotic restraint…Its finely-knotted ropes are a turn-on, a sexual experience… and for some, an absolute necessity…
At a San Francisco sex club called Pinnacle, Ava Gregory seeks something she cannot quite describe. But of one thing she is certain: the moments when feels her most beautiful and complete are when she is tightly restrained in the Shibari ropes. At Pinnacle, she’s paired with a master: Desmond Hale, who thrives on control… But something surprising happens when Desmond binds Ava’s willing body and takes her to the edge of ecstasy. And now, the two are taking their relationship out of the shadows of the club, sharing secrets unleashed and bodies unbound…
An art dealer and Shibari master, Marina has never hesitated to dominate anyone. Until she meets James, a dark, gorgeous, towering journalist who’s survived horrors around the world. James confesses that submission is the only way to clear his troubled mind, but Marina is instantly overwhelmed by his strength and magnetism. To share the pleasures of bondage, something must change between them. When it does, it will come with an explosion of unexpected pleasure—and a relationship that neither could have ever have imagined…
EXCERPT from THE BEAUTY OF SURRENDER:
He opened the door and led her through.
An enormous bed, with carved wooden posts soaring toward the high ceiling. More windows open to the incredible Bay view, letting the night right in: the dark sky, the glittering stars, making her feel all the more vulnerable, even though she was certain no one could see inside. The room was dimly lit by amber glass sconces on the walls. Music played quietly, something soft, meditative. And against one wall was a large wooden frame, like the ones she’d seen at the fetish clubs. But this one was beautiful, carved, with benches and bars padded in brown leather and shining brass hooks placed all over it. Next to it stood a tall rack with coils of colored ropes hanging from it: white, black, red, blue. Her breath stuttered in her chest.
He came to stand behind her, so she couldn’t see him. She could only feel his presence, the faint heat of his body. And his scent, warm and enigmatic, filling her senses.
“Do you know what this is, Ava?”
She nodded her head. “I think so. It looks like the bondage frames I’ve seen at some of the clubs.”
“Yes, that’s right. I can do complex web work here, full harnessing, suspension. Anything.” A short beat. “And I will.”
Oh, she was going to sink to her knees right now, right here!
“Ava, take your clothes off. All of them.”
She paused, opened her mouth, but found she had nothing to say. Everything he was asking of her was well within the boundaries she was used to, but for some reason she felt startled.
She wasn’t going to argue. She didn’t want to. But she was trembling all over, with excitement, and with a little fear still. She wasn’t afraid of him exactly. It was how he made her feel.
But she was doing it, slipping out of her dress, her bra, her high heels, and finally, her damp, white lace panties, which he took from her. He held the small scrap of fabric in his fingers, stroking the lace with his thumb.
“I love this; that you would wear something so sweet-looking. That’s one of the first things I noticed about you,” he told her as he set her clothing down on the dark suede coverlet on the end of the bed. “That air of innocence.”
She could hardly believe he was talking to her so calmly, while she stood naked in front of him!
“And this,” he said, his voice quiet, almost reverent. “This incredible skin.” He drew one finger between her breasts, and her nipples went hard immediately. She shivered all over. Moving in closer, he spread his fingers wide, his entire palm covering the skin between her breasts.
“I can feel your heart beating, Ava. I don’t mind telling you mine is beating just as hard, just as fast.”
He took her hand, placed it on his firm, muscled chest, and she could feel his thudding heartbeat beneath his black cotton shirt.
God.
She was melting all over, into his heat, into her own.
“This is why we’re here together right now,” he said.
He took a step back and she saw him pull in a deep breath. She was unable to speak, her mind beginning that lovely slip and slide, filled with nothing but his rugged beauty, his command, her own sense of submission. And overcome, she clasped her hands behind her back, bowed her head.
“Ah, good girl.”
Hot flash of pleasure at those words, at his tone.
“Stay just as you are while I get set up,” he told her.
She waited. Breathless. Dizzy with need, anticipation.
Then that familiar whisper of rope smoothing over rope, and in a moment he was back in front of her, taking her hands from her back, leading her forward.
“We begin now, Ava.”
