Hope hurried to follow Ace’s demand and raced into his bedroom, where a low light burned, and flung herself onto his bed. Smiling, she turned to the doorway, only to find it empty. Her smile fell. “Ace?”

Hearing his footsteps coming down the hall, she relaxed, positioning herself on her back in the middle of his bed.

When he appeared in the doorway, it alarmed her that his hands were empty. “Stay in that position.”

Hope sat up, watching as he pulled a duffel bag from under the bed. “Where are my clothes? What’s in there? Aren’t you getting undressed? I can’t wait to see you naked. Are you going to let me touch you?”

Kneeling beside the bed, Ace stared at her, his jaw clenching. “You’re never going to survive tonight.” He raised his finger when she started to speak. “Quiet. Not another word. You don’t speak again unless I ask you a question. Lie back down and don’t move a muscle unless I tell you to. Do you understand?”

“Yes, of course I understand. I’m not stupid.”

Hope got back into position, her heightened sense of anticipation making her tremble all over. Her trembling got worse when he gripped her wrists and started to fasten her arms above her head.

“What are you doing? Are you going to tie me up?”

Ace tied her wrists to the headboard with a velvet cord. “Do you want me to gag you?”

Hope blinked, wondering if he could be serious. “Of course not.” Pulling experimentally at her bonds, she realized that, although soft enough not to hurt her, the cord held strong.

Leaning over her, he lightly pinched a nipple. “Then be quiet. Not another word.”

Hope bit her lip to hold back the moan that threatened to escape. With her arms over her head, her small breasts lifted and had become completely vulnerable to whatever Ace wanted to do to them. She’d never been restrained before and found the added sense of helplessness even more arousing.

“Ace, I’ve never been tied up.”

Ace leaned over her, stroking the nipple he’d just tugged, heightening her awareness that there was nothing she could do to stop him. “Are you using your safeword?”

Hope tried to sit up, momentarily forgetting that she couldn’t. “No! I’m just nervous.”

Holding her gaze, he bent to take her other nipple between his sharp teeth, biting lightly before letting go. “You’re going to be downright scared before I’m done with you. Just say your safeword and it stops. That’s why I don’t want to gag you, but I will if you keep talking.”

Trying her best not to show how much it frightened her to see his teeth close on her nipple, she dug her heels into the mattress as the slight pain had more of her juices leaking from her slit.

She groaned and sucked in a sharp breath. “I’ll be quiet.”

Ace licked her nipple, smiling when she lifted again. “You don’t have to be quiet. I want to hear all the little sounds you make, but no more talking unless I ask you something. Now, we’re going to have to do something about your inability to stay still.” He lifted her legs to her chest, keeping them close together, effectively lifting her bottom from the bed. “You’re going to learn to stop clenching when I spank you. In this position I can spank you, and you can’t clench as much. I want you to see how this feels.”

Hope cried out when he delivered a sharp slap to her bottom, involuntarily pushing against his hold to straighten her legs, unsurprised to find she couldn’t straighten them at all. The slap stung more than the ones had last night and almost immediately started to burn. Biting her lip, she said nothing as the heat spread, enflaming her entire slit. Her juices coated her thighs, more leaking from her as he delivered two more slaps.

Keeping her legs high, he lightly rubbed her bottom, making it hotter and spreading the heat. “If you insist on clenching your bottom, this is the position I’ll be forced to spank you in. If I do have to spank you like this, your pussy is also going to get spanked.”

Hope shuddered at his tone, the cool look in his eyes telling her he would do it. Not wanting to risk being gagged, she didn’t speak. Her clit throbbed steadily and they’d only been here a few minutes. Her pussy clenched frantically with the need to be filled, but something in Ace’s expression told her it would be a while before she got any relief. She had no idea what it would feel like to have her pussy spanked and didn’t know if she wanted to.

Ace took the decision out of her hands. Lifting her legs even higher, he spanked her again. This time his fingers came in contact with her slit.

Hope gasped at the sensation and struggled furiously against his hold. It stung, especially on her sensitive clit, making it burn and throb worse than before. She couldn’t stop pushing against Ace’s hold, whimpering in frustration. Her entire slit warmed and tingled, becoming so sensitive that she knew the slightest touch would send her over. Thrashing on the pillow with her eyes squeezed shut, she gulped for air, her whimpers becoming moans as the heat spread and intensified.

“I can do that as many times as I want to. Would you like another? Five more? Ten? I can spank your pussy until you come, screaming my name, the pleasure and pain combining until you don’t know which is which.”

Hope grabbed on to her restraints, her chest heaving as she arched her back. “Please no. It’s too much. Yes, do it.”

Ace slid a thick finger into her slick pussy. “If you stay with me, it’ll happen. We’ve only just begun, love. I can do the same thing to your ass. I can spread you and use a whip on your tight little hole and then fuck you there. And I will. Think about that.”

Hope clamped down on the finger inside her, amazed that the thought of him doing those things to her aroused her even more. She wanted it. She wanted to experience every one of his dark desires and have him help her explore her own.

The way her body reacted to his erotic threats, convinced her even more that they were a perfect match. “Yes. I want it all with you, but I’m a little afraid. Can we go slowly?”

Ace blinked and began stroking her pussy, his finger pushing deep inside her. “You? Afraid?”

Unable to stop clamping down on his finger, Hope moaned. “Just a little. Oh, Ace. It feels so good. I’m going to come. I’m sorry. I can’t stop it.”

Ace stopped his intimate stroking. “Concentrate, love. Listen to my voice and block out everything else. Hold it off. Breathe slowly. If you come, I’m going to spank your pussy again.”

Hope whimpered. “I don’t know how to stop it. I want you to spank me there, Ace. Please. I need it.”

Withdrawing from her, Ace slid his arm out from under her thighs to lean over her, using his thickly muscled thigh to hold her legs in place. Reclining on his elbow beside her, he gathered her against him, running a soothing hand over her stomach. “Deep breaths, baby. Force it back. You can do it. I know you can.”

Hope turned her body toward his, readily accepting the strength he offered. This had turned out to be harder than she thought. Being naked while he remained dressed the night before had been hard enough, but having the added disadvantage of also being restrained took her far out of her comfort zone. Being at Ace’s mercy also aroused her in ways she’d never experienced, even with the other men she’d been with.

Disappointed in herself, she lifted her eyes to find him watching her, his eyes sharp and, to her amazement, lovingly possessive. “You’re not mad?”

Still rubbing her stomach, Ace brushed her lips lightly over hers, gently nibbling. “Of course not. It’s up to me to teach you.”

Surprised at his soft tone, she blinked. “It is?”

“It is. Now that you’ve settled some, let’s see if you can keep from clenching that tight ass while I spank you.”

* * * *

Ace flipped her to her stomach, resisting the urge to pull her over his lap. Having her over his lap would be too intimate and would only increase the possessiveness that had already become way too strong.

Sliding a hand under her hips, he lifted her onto a pillow and adjusted her position. He ran a hand over the luscious globes, barely resisting the urge to bend and take a bite as he moved between them. He’d never seen a finer ass in his life. In this position, he had full access, but most importantly, she couldn’t see his face. When he flipped her to her back again, he would blindfold her.

Hope saw way too much of what he desperately fought to keep hidden. If she had the smallest inkling of how much he wanted her, she would never give up.

Listening to the soft sounds she made, seeing such a vivacious woman in this submissive position had his cock pressing painfully against his zipper. Running a hand over her bottom again, he smiled at her shiver. Her amazing responsiveness made him want to tie her to his bed for days and thoroughly explore every inch of her.

“Scared?” He glanced at the bowl on the nightstand, partially hidden by the lamp.

“No.”

He smiled at the anticipated response and slapped her ass. Vowing to himself to make this a night neither one of them would ever forget, he did it again, his cock jumping at her needy cry and the way she wiggled her ass at him, inviting him to do it again.

“Liar. You’re a smart woman, Hope, and a smart woman would be afraid. Don’t lie to me again.”

Hope twisted to look at him over her shoulder. “But it’s you. I’m not afraid of you, Sheriff.”

Ace grinned coldly, fighting his own desire at the absolute trust and need in her eyes. “You will be.” Running his hand over her luscious, warm bottom, he smiled again at the moisture coating her thighs. The little brat loved this. Now would be the perfect time to take her farther out of her comfort zone.

“You clenched your ass when I spanked you. You’re going to have to learn that I won’t allow that.” As he expected, she watched as he reached for the bowl on his nightstand and removed the contents.

“What’s that?”

Clamping his jaw in an effort to hide his amusement and surge of lust at her apprehension, he held it up, letting her get the full effect.

“Ginger.” As he settled back between her spread thighs, he held a hand on her back to keep her from twisting.

Hope might like to submit with her body, but her strong will kept her from submitting completely. What a challenge it would be to see how far he could take her until the needs of her body overrode everything else. It would get harder and harder, the challenge never-ending.

“W–what are you going to do with that?”

Ace’s cock came to rapt attention at the tremor in her voice. “I thought you weren’t allowed to speak. You’ll have to be spanked for that…let’s say five slaps. But first I’m going to insert this into your ass. If you clench, it’ll release oils that burn.”

“What? You’re going to put that inside me?”

“Are you using your safe word?”

“Go to hell, Sheriff.”

“Let’s make it ten slaps. Would you like to add anything else?”

Hope buried her face in the pillow, another reason he would have her on her back soon. “No.”

“Good. Then we can take care of this before we go any further.”