“Not quite.” He turned her, swinging her legs in front of her, and then he was carefully unzipping her knee-high boots. The movements were so patient and deliberate that they only revved her up more. His hands on her calves as he pulled off each boot, the soft leather brushing against her skin through the thin fabric of her tights. She was short of breath by the time his hands slipped beneath her dress. His fingers climbed higher and higher until they reached the waistband of her tights. Her belly dipped as he pulled them down and off, leaving her bare beneath the dress.

He inhaled deeply as if he was trying to gather himself. Or maybe he was just taking in the scent of her, the level of her desire no longer secret. That thought made her skin flush but not in embarrassment. She realized with sudden acuity that she wanted Ash to know exactly how much he was turning her on. The first time they were together, she’d taken something precious from him and hadn’t given him anything in return. She’d never shown him that she wanted him that night, not just that she wanted someone to make her feel better. Now there would be no doubt.

“Touch me, Ash,” she whispered. “Please.”

Ash didn’t obey or even lift her dress. Instead, he balled her tights in his hand and then braced a hand next to her on the table, leaning in to kiss her slowly and deeply again. When she was breathless, he wrapped an arm around her and guided her to lie back, only breaking the kiss when she was flat against the table. She panted as he released her, wanting, needing more of him. “Ash.”

“You’re not in charge, KC,” he said, voice gentle but inviting no argument. He stepped to the end of the table where her head was and guided her arms above her. “I told you. I relieve you of your duties as seductress.” He wrapped her tights loosely around her wrists. “Your only job right now is to feel. And to tell me to stop if I do anything you don’t like.”

The pressure on her wrists wasn’t tight, but it was enough to ratchet up her vulnerability…and desire. He was giving her the gift of not having to perform or play the right role. Just feel. She closed her eyes. Breathed. She wasn’t sure how to let go, but she was going to try. She and Ash had their history, but she trusted him wholeheartedly with her safety. He would never do anything she didn’t want. She flexed her wrists in the bindings. “This is what you imagined on the checkout counter?”

She could hear his footsteps as he walked around to the other side of the table. “Yep. Only instead of tying you with stockings, I made you balance books in each hand. If you dropped one, I would stop touching you until you read a dirty passage from the book and then put it back in your hand.”