Diana Hunter :: Bound by Desire. Freed by Love.

The moon was full and the soft white light bathed the empty beach. Phillip pulled her close and kissed her once, twice. Sarah returned his kiss, liking his smell, his touch. His hands began to wander and she let them, liking how they made her feel.

"I like my women compliant," he whispered in her ear.

And compliant she was feeling. The moonlight, the anticipated day off, his touch; they all combined to put her in a tremendously relaxed mood.

"Would you do what I asked you to?" he asked her, nuzzling her ear. Phillip Townsend knew what he liked in women. Never married, he had been through several long-term relationships; each one had run its course and the break-ups had been mutual. He dated more selectively now that he had grown older, and theoretically wiser. Sarah's blush when their fingers met on the orange had prompted the first date - her intelligence had dictated several more since then. Tonight he would find out if she was worth any more of his time. He sincerely hoped she was.

Of course, it wasn't only her brain that intrigued him. While not drop-dead gorgeous, she was a still a beautiful woman. That set of freckles scattered over the bridge of her nose gave her a pixie-like quality that belied the severe cut of her shoulders. Obviously that was where she carried all her tension. He saw those shoulders as a bit of a challenge - would she be compliant enough to relax with him?

"Yes," she murmured her answer, his touch arousing her.

"Would you come back to my place and do what I asked you to?"

This was exactly what she'd hoped for. She had been a virgin until marriage, then monogamous throughout it and chaste afterward. It was high time she was naughty. "Yes," she murmured again, an impish smile dancing in her eyes.

He took her hand and they worked their way back to his black Corvette, the sand of the beach squishing through their toes. He did not kiss her again, nor touch her except for holding her hand. Pausing at the car only long enough to brush the sand off their feet, Phillip held the door for her as she sat and refastened her sandals and he slid on his docksiders. A moment more and they were on the road.

The ride to Phillip's cottage wasn't long - he lived out of town in a cottage separated from his neighbors by several acres of woods. They talked of small things along the way, getting to know more of each other's opinions; he liked brussel sprouts and she didn't; he hated washing dishes and she found it relaxing. As he pulled into the long drive and parked the car up near the house, the two of them fell silent. The Corvette was his one extravagance; certainly it seemed out of place beside the simple cottage. Putting the stick in neutral, he let the engine idle for a moment as he turned to the beautiful woman beside him.

"Now, Sarah, I need to ask you again. Once you step out of this car, I want total control over you. Are you willing to give that to me? I promise, I will not hurt you."

She hesitated, suddenly realizing the position she was in and what she had agreed to. Her physical desires warred with her practical nature; did she really want to give this guy total control?

Seeing her hesitate, he leaned over and kissed her gently. From the few statements the woman had made about her dead husband, he knew she was really not prepared for what he was asking. "I will give you a word - a safe word - and if you say that word at any time, I will stop what we are doing and we will talk. Will that make you feel better?"

Swallowing hard, Sarah nodded.

"Then the word I will give you will be 'orange'. How's that? Just think of the day we met and you'll remember it."

She nodded again in response. Part of her couldn't believe she was actually doing this, the other part of her was so excited, she didn't trust her voice.

"Remember, once you leave the car, you will do as I say."

The warning tone was implicit, yet Sarah knew he meant it. She nodded again and took a deep breath at the sudden arousal his words caused inside her. She was voluntarily giving up all control - letting someone else take the lead. She, who prided herself on her ability to think through every problem she'd been given; she who led an entire set of teams at work. What would her friends and co-workers say of her now, agreeing to give up control to a man she'd met only a few times? She didn't care. It had been far too long since she'd had sexual relations of any sort. Putting thoughts of everyone and everything else aside, she opened the door and stepped out.

Shutting the door, she stood next to the car, suddenly uncertain as to what to do now. Just how far did this control thing go? Could she walk to the door without being told to do so? On unfamiliar territory, she felt the world wrench sideways a bit.

He smiled at her nervousness and came around the car, taking her hand. "Come with me, for you are now mine."

Frowning, she searched his face for signs of a power hungry fanatic and found none. He was still the same, smiling the way she'd enjoyed earlier. Stepping carefully in the dark, she followed him to the door of the cottage.

"Stay here and let me get the light." He unlocked the door and went in, closing the door behind him. Inside she saw a light come on as she waited. An owl hooted somewhere and she jumped. But then he was back, opening the door for her to enter. She sensed she had the right to back out yet; but once over the door, she was committed.

She stepped over the threshold.

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