Page 28 of Craved By You (Dark Desires Duet #1)

Astrid

I t had been about a month since Colt and I reconciled and I was finally feeling better about everything.

The morning after we were forced to cross paths at Karaoke Cavern, Colt went straight home and tossed everything from his freezers and fridge, vowing to never consume his victims again.

He couldn’t promise me that he would be able to stop being a vigilante, but he did promise me that he would continue to not get caught.

Colt also admitted to why he switched our phones that first day I cut his hair, and I made him have Chris and Ryder remove the tracking program from my phone.

Instead, we installed an app that we could keep track of each other’s location.

We even ended up inviting Haileigh and the guys in the band to join too, like one big happy family.

Except Jax, I didn’t think we would ever figure out what crawled up his ass.

Tonight, Colt and I were celebrating six months together. He took me to my favorite seafood restaurant so that I could get a fillet and lobster tail and he ordered steak and shrimp. Everything was perfect.

After dinner, we went to the lake and watched the sunset in a comfortable silence.

Spring’s chill was just beginning to bite, the trees hinting at new life with their budding leaves and early blooms. The unseasonable warmth of the day that had been perfect for a sleeveless dress, was quickly fading and replaced by the need for a heavier jacket.

Colt took my hand, and for a heart-stopping moment, I thought he was going to propose regardless of how soon it was. But then he began to talk excitedly about the tour.

Six months. A long, empty six months.

??“ I want you to come with me.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Colt, I have clients. I can’t just…”

He cut me off. “Haileigh has already talked to your clients and they agreed that as long as she took them on until you got back they wanted nothing more for you.” He had it all figured out.

I continued my cycle of rational thinking instead of just blurting out yes like I wanted. “I have bills.”

“ I will pay you up through the next year if you just say yes,” he pleaded and for a moment I kind of liked being on this end of things. “Or just move in with me and I’ll pay your fees for getting out of your lease early.”

I had never been off work for that long. Hell, the two weeks Haileigh had insisted on after the breakup was the longest I had ever taken. I did love the idea of getting to see the band in action out on the road, though. “I’ll think about it.”

He smirked. “You’ll say yes.”

I laid my head on his shoulder as the sun disappeared past the horizon. “Maybe.”

“ Okay, I have one more surprise for you,” Colt said excitedly as he grabbed my hand and took me back to his car.

When we arrived at The Shack, Chris and Ryder were leaving.

They waved to us in passing but didn’t stop and say anything which made me wonder if they were in on whatever Colt had up his sleeve.

When we got inside, there were fake candles lined up on both sides of that hall leading back to where our usual play sessions took place.

Since we could do pretty much whatever we wanted in his bedroom, I knew instantly what he was going to do and I couldn’t wait to feel the rope brush against my skin again.

It was a feeling I hadn’teven realized that I was missing until that moment.

As we entered the space, I knew that I was right as it was set up almost identically to the first time he tied me up.

There was sensual music playing in the background as we took our places.

Colt raised my arms and pulled my skull print dress over my head, exposing the deep purple lingerie I was wearing beneath it.

“ You’re beautiful.” He pulled me in, wrapping his arms around my waist. Our lips met in a soft and passionate kiss before he released me. “I can only imagine how stunning you’ll look in the air.”

I gulped nervously and looked up at the o-rings dangling above my head. “Suspension?”

“ I think you’re more than ready.” He smiled. “But if you don’t-” ????I cut him off before I had the opportunity to change my mind.

“ Let’s do it.”

???

Colt

It felt like I had won the lottery.

I was still convinced that once I’d confessed everything, Astrid would still want to run.

The fact she stayed, that she wanted to stay, was beyond my wildest dreams. Perhaps it was better that we were apart for a month when it all initially came out for her to somewhat process.

Still, it took days of her gentle insistence and reassurance for me to truly believe we were back together.

We’d been through the fire, and they say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I believed it.

Astrid and I?

We could survive anything, as long as we had each other.

I wanted our six months together to be as special as she was to me. In the past, I didn’t believe in celebrating relationship milestones outside of the yearly ones. Astrid gave me a reason to want to celebrate each day.

Tonight, she’ll forge a memory that will burn into her soul. Tonight, I’ll shatter the illusion of her weight holding her back. She’s grounded now, but tonight, she’ll experience true freedom.

I asked Chris and Ryder to help me so that I could focus solely on Astrid tonight.

While we were out, they were back at The Shack getting everything ready: setting up candles, placing the tables at arms reach with the rope I had chosen for the event.

They even set up music so that nothing would interrupt the mood from the moment we set foot into the room.

As I removed her dress, I discovered that she had her own surprise in mind. Underneath she wore a beautiful lace piece. It hugged her curves perfectly and while I couldn’t wait to remove it, I would. Right now was about her.

I ran my hands across her exposed body as we remained in the moment.

Our actions and facial expressions did the talking while the music guided the movement.

I reached over and swiftly undid a coil of rope.

The soft exterior would feel smooth against her skin while it worked against itself to form secure knots.

The warmth of my hands glided across her cool, pale skin as I directed the rope to where I wanted it to go.

Creating a harness across her chest, I watched her breaths rise and fall to make sure that I hadn’t gone too tight.

As the rope continued to gently graze against her, I noticed as I moved to her legs that goosebumps had begun to form over her skin and her nipples were hardening beneath the lace.

Her eyes met mine for a brief moment and mine moved down as she bit her lip, she was enjoying this as much as I was, if not more.

I stood back up and ran the rope through the o-ring, wrapping and tying as I secured the first part of the suspension.

I looked back to her for approval, making sure that she felt safe as she stood there balanced on one leg with her other hoisted up.

When she didn’t object I grasped her thigh and pulled her into me causing a slight loss of balance, placing yet another kiss on her lips as I steadied her, appreciating the trust that she had placed in me. “You’re doing great,” I whispered in her ear so as not to ruin the moment.

“ I have a great teacher.” She smiled back at me and I almost melted, unsure of who was feeling more vulnerable in the moment.

I continued, weaving and knotting the rope while creating anchors to ensure that she was comfortable and would feel safe the moment that I lifted her off the ground. “You ready?” I held my breath as she nodded yes slowly.

???

Astrid

My breath hitched as I felt my body leaving the floor. For a second I worried that the rope wouldn’t be strong enough to hold me no matter how hard and diligently Colt had worked to ensure my safety.

The world shifted and I started to feel a euphoric rush coursing through my entire body.

It was exhilarating; a feeling that I never wanted to end.

I couldn’t help but giggle. All those years of thinking that this was something I would never be able to achieve, that I would never find anyone who made me feel safe and cared for the way Colt did…

No matter how vulnerable I got in my emotions.

I knew he would never judge. That was why I had chosen to look past the things he had done and continue to move forward together, to create a new life with new, positive, memories.

Colt grasped my foot and slowly began to spin me around, ensuring that the tension didn’t cause any issues between me or his artistic knotting.

I couldn’t explain how powerful and indestructible I felt in that moment. It was another instance in which I knew that Colt and I were destined to be together for the rest of all eternity.

As I spun past Colt, I stuck my tongue out at him before announcing that I would join him on the tour.

The words had barely left my lips and suddenly he was stopping the movement.

He grasped me by my face and kissed me, deeper than he had ever done before.

His tongue pushed past my lips and suddenly I wanted nothing more than to feel him in me while this sense of euphoria enveloped me in its deep hold.

With the tug of a few knots, my feet were back on the floor and Colt cleared the table that everything had been sitting on.

It was at this moment that I was grateful that the candles were battery-operated because otherwise, the entire warehouse would have gone up in a blaze of fury.

He ripped the lingerie from my body, lifted me up onto the table by my thighs, and dove into me.

I had gotten lost in everything that was going on that I hadn’t even realized how wet I had gotten from being tied up.

In fact, everything was such a blur that I hadn’t even had a chance to process how we got from that moment in the air to where we werenow.

Not that I was complaining, as I wrapped my legs around Colt’s torso and interlocked my feet, causing him to dive deeper.

He grunted in my ear as he kissed my neck, continuing to thrust into me, each buck of his hips rougher than the last.

Laying back on my arms, Colt reached up and began to play with my nipples, rubbing the buds between his finger and thumb of one hand, as he rubbed my clit with his other hand.

Soon a buildup from the three different sensations working together as one was almost too much for me to handle and a much different feeling started to come over me.

My body began bucking into him, meeting his own thrusts.

As I started moaning deeper, my body began to convulse in ways that I had never experienced before, part of me thinking something was wrong while my brain celebrated finally being able to work through a complete release while Colt continued kissing on me.

It didn’t disappear this time.

I laid back on the table, out of breath as Colt finished, my body shivering at the slightest touch as he pulled out. His come sent a jolt of electricity through my body as it dripped down between my legs and my pussy felt like she had just taken quite the beating. More so than usual.

“ Multiple points of stimulation,” Colt seemed to be taking notes under his breath. “Got it.”

“ That was so much work for what it ended up being.” The words slipped out and I realized that perhaps this was my own version of post-nut clarity.

Colt shook his head. “Can’t you just let yourself live in the moment and enjoy it?”

“ Never.” I sat up and kissed his cheek. “Who do you think I am?”

I heard him sigh as he started to clean up the space. “I can’t argue with you there, but you should try.”

I smiled back at him. This was the best gift that Colt could have ever given me. Together, we were dancing in circles of control and release. It was something that we would forever share with each other. A special bond that would never break.