She accepted it, loving the flavors as they burst over her tongue. "Yum." She swallowed it down, then glared at him. "But don't think the food is gonna b.u.t.ter me up. You're still a tease. I'll get it out of you eventually."

"You're welcome to try." He offered her another plantain. "But before you do, I want you to take a shower. Hot water will help ease any sore muscles you have, so you can enjoy our outing. I've already set out an outfit I'd like you to wear. It's on the bathroom counter."

She glared at him as she chewed up the fruit. "I think I'm old enough to pick out my own clothing, Deacon."

He shrugged. "You are, but the fact you're letting me on this trip only makes your submission sweeter." He rubbed another piece of plantain across her lips. "When we return home everything will go back to normal. You'll get to pick out your own clothing."

Pain pooled in her stomach at the thought. Had he already decided that it would end here?

"Everything?" She couldn't stop the question. Her heart raced as she waited for his answer.

He tilted his head. "That will all depend upon you." He set the fork down. "Even if you decide to continue our arrangement, I don't want the responsibility of picking out your clothing every day."

A mixture of relief and sadness mixed in her system. She didn't know whether to be happy or upset that the attention he was showing her was temporary or not. "I see."

He gazed at her coolly. "No, I don't think you do but you will." He nodded toward the tray. "Are you full or do you want more?"

She tore her eyes away from his. "I'll have some more fruit...and another coffee, if that's okay."

"Of course it is."

She remained silent as he fed her the rest of the plantains and she finished off another cup of cafe con leche. When she was finally done, she shifted against the sheets, wondering if she had to ask for permission to leave the bed or if she should just get up.

"Headed for the shower?"

"Ummm, yeah." Her cheeks flushed.

"Good. We have about thirty minutes before we need to leave for the rental place. Think you can be ready in that amount of time?" He lifted the tray off her lap, then slid from the bed, carrying it toward the dresser on the far side of the room.

"Should be." She threw her legs over the edge, while being careful to keep the sheet around her. It was one thing to be nude at the beach, or even when making love. It was quite another to walk around in her birthday suit in the cold light of morning.

"Good, and don't forget to wear your comfortable shoes. We're going to be doing a bit of walking today."

She drew a ragged breath as she slowly stood. The memory of the intense pleasure brought on by the toys scared her. She'd totally given into him, uncaring about the people around them. "Please tell me, we're leaving the b.a.l.l.s here."

He placed the tray on the dresser, then turned around and leaned back against the wood. "You can't tell me you didn't love them, Bethany."

Her cheeks flushed and she clenched her fingers around the sheet. "I might just choke you if you stick those d.a.m.n things in me again. They are evil."

He gave her a s.a.d.i.s.tic smile. "Relax. They are put away for now, because where we're going today, the acoustics would ruin any effort at privacy we tried to attempt." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Come here."

She tugged on the sheet, intent on taking the covering with her.

"Drop it." His lazy command quickly shattered any illusions she had of staying covered until she reached the bathroom.

She froze. "Ah...Deacon, I'm naked under..."

He smirked. "I know. Drop it."

She fidgeted with the material. Did she dare?

"The longer you stall, the less time you're going to have to shower."

"But-"

"But, nothing. I want to see that s.e.xy body of yours before you cover it up with the clothing I picked out for you."

"Beast! You just want me to walk across the room naked."

"Of course I do. Now drop it." He pushed off the dresser. "I won't ask again."

The firm request was such a contrast to their earlier camaraderie that she felt uncertain, off balance almost. Perhaps that's what he'd been going for?

Her nipples tightened against the sheet at the reemergence of her Dom.

Deacon waited to see if she'd obey or if she'd continue to cling to the sheet and her false modesty.

Or if she's going to force my hand. Dear Lord, let her force my hand.

Images of how he'd make her pay for her rebellion flashed before his eyes. His favorite of course, was bending her over his lap and warming her a.s.s. But she dashed those thoughts when she dropped the bedding, letting it pool around her ankles. He didn't bother to stop the soft groan from escaping his chest. Standing in a pool of sunlight, her lush curves backlit with her blond hair shining like an angel's halo, she reminded him of heaven on earth. One he was definitely going to explore once they got back from the caverns.

"Now come here." It was difficult but he kept his tone even.

She took halting steps towards him, finally stopping about three feet from him.

"Closer."

She inched closer, then stopped. He sighed dramatically before wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her up against him. "Better. Now kiss me."

Her lips parted, and for a moment, he thought she would baulk, but instead she lifted up on tiptoe and pressed her mouth to his. He savored the rich taste of coffee on her lips while she pressed a bit harder. He waited to see what she'd do. How far she'd go. He almost caved when her tongue rubbed over the seam of his lips before darting back into her mouth. If she thought that her little tease would coax him into playing, she was sadly mistaken. He continued to let her kiss him, not actively partic.i.p.ating until a low frustrated moan escaped her. Then he took mercy on her, spearing his tongue inside her mouth. She gave a happy sigh as her tongue rubbed over his.

By the time he lifted his head, he was precariously close to saying screw it and tossing her back onto the bed. Only his plans of seducing not only her body but her mind as well kept him from giving into his baser urges. He had a plan. He drew back and slowly released her.

"Go shower, sweetheart. Before I forget my good intentions." He curled his fingers into fists. Anything to keep from reaching out and taking what was his at least for the duration of their vacation.

Which is why today is so important. I have to prove that it's more than just s.e.x that as a good Dom, I'll see to all her needs, in AND out of the bedroom.

"Fine." With a flounce he admired, but would later result in his hand swiping across her luscious backside, Bethany stomped off into the bathroom. As soon as the door shut, he jerked out the nearest drawer and began yanking his own clothing out. His little h.e.l.lion wouldn't let him live it down if he wasn't ready by the time she reappeared.

Chapter Eight.

"Oh, my G.o.d." Bethany squealed in the seat next to him, as Deacon turned into the ma.s.sive parking lot outside the gift shop and tram-station that lead down to Parque de las Cavernas del Ro Camuy. Situated about an hour and half west of their bungalow, he was sure it was the last place she'd expected him to take her.

"Excited?" He began to hunt for a parking spot.

"Yes." She literally seemed to bounce in her seat. "I read about the caverns, but didn't want to make the drive alone. They say there are over two hundred caves and even an underground river." She placed her hand on his arm. "Thank you for bringing me. I know caves really aren't your thing."

Spotting a car backing out, he braked. "You're welcome. But just remember there's a cost to this trip."

"Cost?" The sensual cadence to her question raked over him, making him wish they were back at the bungalow.

"Not that...naughty little girl." He shook his head as he eased the car into the now vacant spot. "Before we go through the caves, we're going to have a nice little talk."

"A talk?" She nibbled on her lower lip.

"Yeah. One that we should've had earlier one that won't end up with me pinning you to the bed." He shoved the transmission into park and shut off the car. "The publicness will keep me in line." He raked a hand through his hair. "We need limits something I should've seen to before we fell into bed together."

"I see." She shifted in her seat while staring out the windshield. "So you regret-"

"Never." He covered her thigh. "But as a good Dom I shouldn't have delayed this discussion. Believe it or not, I want to learn more about what attracts you to the lifestyle than just your submissive side."

A giggle that sounded forced, escaped her. "Who says I'm submissive?" She fidgeted with her seat belt. "I mean, what we have going on is fun, but I'm the least submissive person you'll ever know."

Twisting in his seat, he slipped his hand under her loose t-shirt. He cupped the gentle swell of her belly, covering the tattoo that represented more than just pretty art. "This begs to differ."

She stilled under his touch. "It was a whim...in college. A former boy-friend spurred me to get the ink."

He caught her gaze, torn between wanting to let it drop at that, and the burning need to know who had introduced his lovely sub to the lifestyle. The latter won. "Because he introduced you to your submissive side?"

She shook her head. "No, not even close. Ryan was very vanilla."

He searched her expression. "Yet you got a permanent mark denoting the lifestyle for him?"

She shrugged. "Not for him, because of him." She tipped her head back. "I suppose you're not going to let this drop?"

He shook his head. "I can't force you to tell me, but it might help me understand the submissive side of you a bit better."

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, her indecision apparent on her face. Then she sighed.

He drew circles around her silky navel, and patiently waited for her to explain. It would be up to her or not if she shared. Unlike an o.r.g.a.s.m, he couldn't force this.

She rolled her shoulders before she began to explain. "Ryan and I had been dating for nearly a year. Things were getting serious. We'd even talked about moving in together. However, our love life...well it was rather bland. Other than talking." She sighed. "Ryan was a good talker when it came to s.e.x. He could talk the panties off a girl, but when it came time to deliver...well, let's just say the only fireworks I saw were duds." She rolled her shoulders. "So, in my infinite wisdom, I tried to interject a bit of spontaneity into our s.e.x life. It was an effort to jump start it, before I made the ultimate commitment and moved in with him. I wasn't about to shack up with some guy without getting everything I deserved."

Deacon nodded. Her words didn't surprise him. As long as he'd known Bethany she'd never had a live-in lover. But he was getting off track he needed to know more about what happened with her ex. "Go on."

"Well, since I'd always been intrigued by BDSM, I thought it would be a perfect way to spice up things. The idea of a power exchange, of giving over control to another what can I say? It really gets me going. I thought if I set the scene perfectly offered myself up on a silver platter, he'd understand what I needed and take over."

It took some effort, but Deacon kept his tone even. "Men aren't mind readers. We sometimes need to be told."

She shook her head. "I know that. Which is why I left a note taped to his door. I knew he'd read it before he came in." Her cheeks grew red at the memory. "Ryan had a two bedroom just off campus and no roommate, so I put it where he couldn't miss it. Then I stripped down to my underwear, presented myself much like I did yesterday for you. Can you believe I read every book I could find on High Protocol only to be shot down?" She paused to chew on her lower lip "Shhh. Don't do that." Deacon smoothed his thumb over her lip, freeing it from her teeth. "You have nothing to be embarra.s.sed of. If I'd been in his shoes, you wouldn't have escaped my clutches for hours. I'd have tied you to my bed and played with your body until you screamed for mercy."

She gave him a rueful grin. "Because you're into that kind of kink." She straightened her shoulders. "With Ryan, however...well, let's just say it wasn't one of my finer moments."

Deacon shifted uneasily. "He rejected you?"

She glanced away from him, but shook her head. "Not so much as rejected my offer, it was more along the lines that he wasn't alone."

"He had another girl with him. Oh, Bethany, I'm sorry...men who f.u.c.k around should be castrated. Want me to go do the honors?"

She suddenly burst out laughing, as if imagining him chasing down some now middle-aged business man to introduce him to the business end of Burdizzo pinchers. He wouldn't even have to use the castration tool on Ryan. The man would probably die of fright. "Thanks for the offer, but Ryan wasn't with another girl. No, I had the rotten luck of trying to seduce my boyfriend the same night he brought his mother home for dinner. His very 'Catholic, no s.e.x before marriage' mother."

"Oh, s.h.i.t." A chuckle slipped free, even as he could only imagine the horror a younger Bethany had gone through.

"Yeah." She glanced at him, mirth that only time and distance could bring in her gaze. "It was in that moment, as Ryan struggled to find an explanation to give his mom about why his very proper girlfriend was kneeling nearly naked in his front hall, that I realized that we would never be right together. He'd spend the rest of his life either apologizing for my actions, or I'd end up like a Stepford wife." She placed her hand over his under her shirt. "I couldn't live like that, so I broke up with him. Then a few months later I went and had the tattoo done a reminder to myself that I didn't have to settle for vanilla - that I would one day find the balance the triskelion represents."

"Yet you claim you're not submissive?" He shook his head. "It takes a very strong person to be submissive, little one. The fact you knew ten years ago that your ex couldn't give you what you wanted, but still walked away with your head held high proves that. My only question is why I haven't heard anything in the local scene about you. Surely you didn't give up after one try? Not when there are clubs like Cattail around."

Her cheeks flushed even more. "I...I toyed with the idea of joining, but the idea of putting myself out there, with people I might know from our area as a lone submissive, seemed pathetic. I didn't want to be the poor sub girl in the corner begging for sc.r.a.ps." She shook her head. "So I tried role-playing instead."

And settled for half a loaf instead of a full measure.

He c.o.c.ked his head. "And how did that work?"

She shrugged. "A couple of the guys I dated, flat out refused me, while a few others got into the swing of it, but usually f.u.c.ked it up by apologizing to me if they thought I was hurting. My last boy-friend, he did okay until the day I came home to find him wearing my underwear and begging me to punish him because he was a naughty boy."

Deacon actually sputtered. "Randall Duncan actually wanted you to punish him?" The thought of the staid banker dressed in one of Bethany's skimpy thongs was almost too much. But the last time he'd run into Randy at the Co-op, the banker had been hanging with a known Domme. So maybe Bethany's tale wasn't so farfetched.

She shrugged. "I guess so. He didn't stick around to see if I would, after I started giggling. I just couldn't do it." She shook her head. "So there you have it. My one sad attempt at sceneing."

"Until our time in the office." He growled, his body stirring at the memory of her going up in flames. "I bet you never realized you could come from a spanking."

Bethany fought back the blush she could feel warming her cheeks. She had done nothing to be ashamed of nothing wrong. She fidgeted in her seat, then realized he was waiting for an verbal answer, not just a shrug or blush.

"No, it was a first for me." She wanted to groan as his fingers slipped under the waistband of the khaki shorts he'd picked out for their excursion.

"One of many." He toyed with the band of delicate lace hiding her curls from his wandering digits. "I can't wait until you bend over my lap of your own free will. There is something decidedly delicious when a submissive willing offers herself up to punishment."

"As if." She stuck her tongue out at him. "It will take an act of Congress to get that kind of submission out of me."

She didn't trust the s.a.d.i.s.tic grin that tugged his full lower lip up into a smile.

Ut-oh.

She recognized that look. She needed to change the subject ASAP before he proved her wrong. "So now that you know my first foray into the dark world of BDSM, what was your first time like? Did you fumble around or did you take to it like a duck to water?"

"Nice try, Bethany." He lifted her chin with a finger. "I'll answer your question, but don't a.s.sume for a moment that I'll forget the little gauntlet you just threw down. Before we leave Puerto Rico, you will offer your a.s.s up for my hand."

The sensual promise in his tone had l.u.s.t pooling in her stomach. How would he convince her? What would he do or say, in order to convince her? Her nipples tightened against her short sleeved blouse.