Another shiver, almost violent in its intensity, quaked through her body, leaving desperate need in its wake. She stumbled precariously, like she was drunk on alcohol, as she weaved her way toward the bed.

Tate was with her the entire way, helping to position her to his liking on the bed. She eased down onto her belly, resting her cheek against the soft mattress. She planted both feet firmly on the floor, her toes curling into the sheepskin rug at the foot of the bed. Then he left her, his absence a keenly felt void as she waited for him to return with the bonds that would render her helpless and at his absolute command.

She didn’t have long to wait. It was as if he were as impatient as she was to reclaim this part of their relationship. She closed her eyes, relaxing under his patient touch.

He pulled one arm up first, ensuring she was comfortable with gentle questions to gauge her reaction. First he looped the rope around her left wrist, testing the strength of the knot before securing it to the headboard, stretching her arm high above her head in the process. Then he repeated the motions with her right arm until she was spread wide on the bed, arms outstretched and reaching high toward the head of the bed.

She was completely vulnerable, unable to move except to rise up on tiptoe, flexing the arches of her feet and then back again. She tested the strength of the bonds, a quiver of delight tumbling around her belly when the ropes held fast and she was unable to move but the barest of inches.

“You are so absolutely beautiful,” he said in a reverent, awe-filled voice. “More beautiful to me than even five years ago when we first married. I know I’ve failed miserably in making sure you know how beautiful—and important, all-important to me—but with every passing day, you grow even more gorgeous to me. There’ll never be another woman for me, Chess. No one who owns every part of my heart and soul like you do.”

If he didn’t stop, she’d lose the battle to keep her tears at bay. The words he’d spoken to her, obviously from the very heart of him, ever since their crisis on their anniversary night, were heartfelt. An unobscured window to his very soul.

She bit into her lip and closed her eyes, not wanting to see what he would do next. Instead she reached out with her heightened senses and anticipated his next move. Would he torment her endlessly, drawing out her pleasure to its maximum peak? Or would he move in, rough and dominant, instantly possessing her body and rebuilding the faltering connection between them?

So much was at stake here. This night. It wasn’t merely kinky sex meant to satisfy their more acute sexual tastes. This was truly a turning point in their marriage, whether he reestablished his control or they shifted to a different kind of relationship entirely.

She flinched when he pressed a kiss to the small of her back and nibbled his way over the plumpness of both cheeks and then ran his tongue up the cleft of her ass until she was trembling with desperate need.

Would he f**k her ass? Or would he slide into her pu**y, hard and pulsing? Perhaps he’d first thrust into her pu**y and save her ass for last. Anal sex was something she didn’t merely endure. It was something she found extremely erotic and she embraced that dark need. She was completely unashamed of her desires and had never felt any inhibitions about letting Tate know what turned her on. Every kink they indulged in, she was a full and active participant. Just because he was the Dominant didn’t mean her role in their lovemaking was passive. Far from it.

His mouth left her and his fingertips replaced his lips, tracing delicate lines down and then around her anal opening, teasing her mercilessly until she was already precariously close to begging. Not for him to stop. But to please give her more. To end her desperate journey to sexual fulfillment.

“I’d love to draw out your pleasure all night,” Tate said, strain evident in his voice. “It’s certainly what you deserve. But I’m very close to coming already. Once I get inside you I’m never going to last for more than a few minutes.”

“Please don’t make me wait,” she begged. “Don’t make us wait. I want you so much, Tate. I don’t know how long I’ll last once you get inside me!”

He chuckled low in amusement, his hands growing bolder in their exploration of her most intimate areas. “My girl is greedy tonight. I like that.”

She almost growled in frustration because despite his earlier words of not being able to last long, he was taking his sweet time working her up to inevitable release.

It wasn’t unnoticed by her that instead of using a flogger to mark her back and behind, he covered every inch of the area he’d usually kiss with leather with his mouth instead. A long sigh escaped her. This was a very different Tate tonight, but she didn’t mind in the least. She knew in her heart that he couldn’t bring himself to break out the flogger because he was instead showing her his love and tenderness in a completely different way. One she found ultimately satisfying.

His teeth grazed the small of her back, eliciting tiny chill bumps dancing over her skin. Then he followed with his tongue until she was straining against the bonds with impatience.

And then finally, just when she was prepared to beg him to put an end to it, he spread her bu**ocks, pushing upward so he had access to her pu**y, and positioned himself just at her opening.

She could feel his broad head pushing inward, inch by delicious inch. Then he stopped and a strangled sound of need erupted from her throat.

“Does my girl want this?” he asked in a teasing voice.

He withdrew partially and she moaned her protest.