By Invitation Only Read online

  She had imagined herself in love with him and had believed she was ready to make a lifetime's commitment, even though she wasn't quite eighteen. When she'd seen Kendall's blue eyes fasten on her, or heard the rich timbre of his voice, she fantasized he would sweep her off her feet, to live with him in his father's house forever.

  Reality had been strikingly different. She had gone to his office late one evening after she phoned ahead to ensure he would still be there. She filched a sexy dress from her mother's closet and made up her face.

  He had been surprised to see her, but his smile was warm. “Your father isn't working late, is he, Tessa?”

  “No, I came to see you,” she had tried to purr, but her voice sounded husky.

  “Are you coming down with a cold?” His concern was evident.

  Tessa decided to abandon the seductive voice and returned to her normal alto. “No, I'm fine.”

  “What did you need?” His voice had trailed off as she removed the Berber raincoat to reveal the mauve dress. He swallowed, and if Tessa had been more perceptive, less naïve, she would have recognized his discomfort.

  “You.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I love you, Kendall.” She walked over to him, deliberately swaying her hips in a parody of the models she had seen on television. It felt awkward, as if she might trip at any moment.

  He backed away from her. “This isn't funny.”

  “I'm not joking.”

  “I think you are.” His voice had sounded firm, insistent, but with a touch of appeal, as if he was begging her to suddenly laugh. Maybe he was hoping she would say, “Ha! Fooled you.”

  Tessa blushed as she remembered how she had ignored his signs and persisted with her clumsy attempts at seduction. Kendall had ruthlessly rejected her, and his words were still burned into her memory. “You're a child, and this display only illustrates that. I have no interest in a child, Tessa. For the sake of your father, I'm going to pretend this never happened, but there had better never be a repeat episode.”

  In her humiliation, Tessa had flung on her coat and ran from his office, screaming behind her, “I hate you.” The words had hung between them for thirteen years now, as neither had seen the other since Tessa left town—until tonight.

  Suddenly, the disappointment she had been feeling at her wanton behavior turned to anger, directed against him. “How dare you do this to me? Why would you want to humiliate me like this?”

  Kendall shook his head. “It's not like that—”

  Before he could finish his sentence, Tessa’s impulsive urges gained the upper hand. Four years of Tae Bo came to her assistance as she formed a fist and struck him on the chin. She gasped when his eyes widened with surprise, and he reeled backwards. By itself, her punch wouldn’t have done much to him, but his head connected with the footboard. He slumped on his back, and his eyes closed.

  She scrambled off the bed and felt his neck for a pulse. It was strong under her fingers, and when she knew he was okay, her anger returned. Tessa walked to the window and looked out. The snow had stopped falling, but had left behind a thick layer on the ground, as she had feared. She would be his guest for the rest of the night, until the plows came in the morning.

  She turned around to eye his unconscious form. She might as well have fun.

  She returned to the bed and pulled him up against the pillows. The scarves were still draped over the headboard, and she tied him as quickly as possible. She could see his eyes flickering under his lids, and she knew she was almost out of time.

  She picked up the black scarf he had used for a blindfold and tied it around his eyes. Then she scanned the room to find something to use as a gag. She walked over to the armoire and opened the doors. She found a selection of ties and selected a pretty, dark-blue one made from silk.

  In his sock drawer, she picked up a pair of socks rolled into a ball and took them with her. He was almost awake, and she stuffed the socks in his mouth in one quick motion. She secured them with the tie, though she thought it might be unnecessary.

  Then she curled up at the foot of the bed and waited for him to awaken. Within minutes, frantic sounds issued from his mouth, and he struggled against his bonds. She touched his leg, and he stiffened. “Relax, lover,” she said with heavy sarcasm.

  He tried to say something, but it came out muffled.

  She trailed her fingers up his thigh and brushed against his cock. Like an obedient boy, it immediately saluted her. “I imagine you’re wondering what’s going on?”

  He grunted and tugged his wrists vigorously, trying to break the scarves.

  She slapped him lightly across the stomach. “Don’t fight. It’s my turn, Kendall. You owe me.”

  His back arched, and he moved his leg to push her away.

  Tessa sighed. “Do you want me to bind your ankles too?”

  He immediately stilled, and there was air of apprehension surrounding him.

  She let a silence lapse between them. Partly to increase his agitation, but also to figure out what she was going to do with the tiger, now that she had him by the tail—or the cock, as the case may be. She scrunched her brow and struggled to remember the bedroom games one of her college boyfriends had been into. He liked to be in control, and she hadn’t been able to surrender to him, so the relationship ended before he showed her much of what he enjoyed.

  Her eyes fell on the candles burning on the nightstand, and she bit her lip. Was that too much? She didn’t mind causing Kendall some discomfort, but did she want to hurt him?

  When she saw the bucket of iced champagne, it offered the solution. She got up from the bed and walked to the nightstand. She saw Kendall turn his head in the direction she walked, and she smiled. Let him wonder what she had planned for him. She saw his head tilt when she lifted the champagne from the bucket and caused the nearly melted ice cubes to slosh without enthusiasm. She twisted off the wire cage, then worked on the cork, and he visibly jumped when it popped.

  She sat on the bed on his other side, with the ice and champagne within easy reach. The nearest candleholder had about two inches of candle drippings pooled in the bottom. She lifted it and winced at the warm glass. She hadn’t expected it to be so hot. Tessa plunged her hand in the ice bucket and numbed it. She brought a handful of ice cubes and cold water with her when she took out her hand.

  She placed them on the hard abs of his stomach and grinned when she heard him hiss. “The first time won’t be so bad, with the ice,” she said in a soothing voice. She moved her palm around his stomach, holding the ice cubes against his skin as they melted. When they had turned to water, she moved her hand and lifted the candleholder again. “This might hurt a little.”

  She saw his muscles tighten, and she brought the glass cup over his stomach. She poured out a tiny amount of the liquid wax, and it hit his iced skin with a soft hiss. He stiffened, and a muffled sound issued from him, but she ignored him. Tessa leaned down to blow on the wax, and it congealed quickly. “More, I think,” she said decisively.

  His muscles bunched, and his legs kicked.

  “Don’t make me tie your feet.” Tessa waited until he stilled before she dotted wax across his stomach and torso. When she placed some of the melted liquid on his chest, where she hadn’t numbed his skin, his cock twitched, and his pectoral muscles spasmed. She heard him moan, but she couldn’t tell if it was from pleasure or pain.

  She set the candleholder on the nightstand and admired her handiwork. Several small patches of light pink wax covered his chest and stomach. She petted his hair. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

  He turned his face away from her.

  She giggled, absurdly pleased by his stubbornness. She was surprised when her pussy clenched, and she realized she was aroused by what she had done to Kendall. Perhaps her boyfriend had been onto something with his power games. She couldn’t imagine doing this everyday, but for special occasions, certainly.

  She began the process of peeling the wax from his skin. She used th
e fingernails on her left hand to pry up the hardened disks, and applied ice with her right hand. When she had collected all of the wax, she took the champagne from the nightstand and splashed it liberally across his chest.

  He moaned, and his cock thickened and turned dark red as blood filled it.

  “You like that?” Tessa stood up and repositioned herself so that she was straddling his thighs. She rubbed her wet pussy against one of his legs to show him how much she liked it too. Then she bent her head and lapped at the champagne trailing down his skin. She kept one hand near his cock to fondle his balls as she licked him. She could feel his pulse beating strongly through the vein on his cock when she gripped it in her hand. “I can see you do.”

  He nodded.

  “Would you like me to fuck you, Kendall? Do you want to come like you’ve never come before?”

  He nodded again, more emphatically.

  Tessa eyed the small cock-shaped vibrator on the nightstand. Had he suffered enough to make up for the humiliation he had caused her? Just thinking about how vulnerable she had made herself to him caused her anger to swell again. Her nipples hardened to the point of pain as she imagined pressing the vibrator into his asshole.

  She slid up his body, positioning her pussy to graze against his throbbing cock, while she retrieved the lube and vibrator. She heard him groan when she slid down his body again. She settled on his thighs and sat upright as she generously lubed the metallic-green, plastic cock. She smiled. She had always loved green.

  “Are you ready for me?”

  Tessa tried to figure out the logistics of what she had in mind. She finally decided the best way was to swing his legs up toward the headboard and bend his legs against his chest.

  She spread his legs and sat between them. She draped his thighs over each of her shoulders, and then firmly held onto each thigh as she slowly leaned forward to drop a brief kiss on his lips. As she backed off slightly, she whispered, “Hold on, lover,” and moved his feet into his own hands.

  She leaned back and enjoyed the sight of him tangled up before her. Her desire threatened to overwhelm her, and then she remembered what she wanted to do to him.

  She reigned in her impulses as she picked up the vibrator. Tessa leaned forward so she could position it. “Remember, hold tight.”

  He hesitated and tried to say something.

  She sighed with exasperation. “If you want my pussy, do as I say.”

  She touched the vibrator against his anus, and he stiffened. Tessa slapped him hard across the thigh. “Hold still.” She ignored his protests as she massaged his hole with her finger after coating it liberally with lube. His sphincter loosened under her careful ministrations, and she eased the vibrator inside a cautious inch. She heard him groan, and she waited for his muscles to loosen again.

  Slowly, she worked the plastic cock completely inside him and rotated the base. She felt his body twitch when it started vibrating. The toy started to dislodge with his movements. “Hold still,” she said firmly, with a smack against his buttocks for emphasis.

  He growled something, but stopped moving.

  When she was certain he would stay still, she leaned forward again and took control of his feet while she whispered against his lips, “You’re going to love this.”

  After lowering his legs, she maneuvered him around so his legs were closed and locked in place by her own knees. She faced the footboard. Tessa eased her pussy completely over his cock and began to thrust. He tried pushing against her, and she sighed again. “I told you not to move, Kendall. If you don’t obey me, I won’t fuck you.”

  His thighs quivered as she ground herself on him in a circular motion. She supported herself with her knees and moved her other hand to stroke his balls. His cock swelled inside her when she squeezed the base of his shaft. She heard him cry out seconds before his cock surged inside her. She let him orgasm without trying to attain satisfaction, but the sensation of his cock spasming to release his come caused her to climax too. She braced her hand on the footboard as the orgasm ravaged her. She moaned and convulsed around him.

  When the aftermath of the orgasm passed, Tessa moved away from him. A wave of exhaustion swept through her, and she glanced at the clock. She was surprised to find more than three hours had passed since she came for dinner.

  She put the vibrator on the nightstand and lay down beside him. She tuned out the sounds of his voice muffled through the socks and snuggled closer to him. Tessa put her head on a pillow and dozed off without releasing him.

  Chapter 3

  When she awoke, sunlight streamed through the bedroom. She felt an urgent need to urinate, and she hopped up from the bed, where she had remained snuggled against Kendall. He was awake and working at his wrist bindings. He had nearly freed himself from the purple one. She rushed into the en suite bathroom and used the facilities quickly.

  When she returned, he had freed one of his hands. The socks and tie were on the floor, beside the blindfold. He was working at the other tie, but stopped when he saw her. His eyes burned with anger. “You’d better be gone before I get free.”

  She tossed her hair and put her hands on her hips. “Or what?”

  Kendall glared at her. “I’ll give you a taste of your game.”

  She returned his glare. “You got what you deserved, after you set out to deliberately humiliate me.”

  He frowned. “I didn't do this to humiliate you.”

  “But you did. So why do all this?” She lost all pretenses of being the cool, in-control temptress she had been last night, and she knew her pain was nakedly displayed in her eyes.

  “I wanted to be with you, but I knew I'd blown it. I messed up thirteen years ago.” He resumed picking at the triple-knot on the scarf. “When I rejected you, I was unnecessarily harsh.”

  “I'll say.”

  “I wanted you that night.” He succeeded in removing the other scarf, but he sat on the bed instead of coming after her as he had warned. He met her eyes with forthright directness. “But I didn't love you. I knew it would be wrong to have an affair with you. You were so young, but I couldn't get rid of my desire for you.”

  “Is that what tonight was about? Purging me from your system?” She said with umbrage.

  He shook his head and waved a hand impatiently. “Just listen, Tessa. I told myself I was worried about how you would handle my rejection. I knew I had hurt you, so I used that as an excuse to check up on you.”

  “Check up on me?”

  “I hired an investigator. At first, it was just to see how you were, but then I kept making excuses to continue the service.”

  Tessa's eyes narrowed. “When did you fire the snoop?”

  He looked uncomfortable. “Not until you moved back to Naples.”

  “Thirteen years?” she shouted in disbelief. “How could you invade my privacy for so long?”

  “Because I fell in love with you.” He raked a hand through his hair. “You have no idea what it was like to watch you fall in love with other people, always afraid that guy would be the one you’d marry. Yet, I was too afraid to make a move myself.”

  “Why?” Tessa asked the question on autopilot, having suddenly and vividly remembered the agony she had experienced when Kendall used to date Nancy Welsher.

  “I was afraid you still hated me.”

  “What makes you think I even thought of you in all that time?” Tessa avoided his eyes, lest he see the truth.

  He shrugged. “Ego? Hope? Blind love?”

  She gnawed on her lip. “Maybe I thought about you a few times.” Maybe I compared all other men I met to you, and found them wanting. Maybe that's why I never married. That doesn't mean I've been in love with you for thirteen years. I was a child when I thought I loved you. I definitely wasn't old enough to know real love—was I?

  Kendall sighed and stood up. “I'm not foolish enough to imagine you're in love with me, Tessa. After what I did last night, I can only pray I haven't totally ruined any chances of us ever being together
. I don't blame you if you hate me forever. I know I have no right to ask for anything, but would you please give me a chance to get to know you?” He walked over to her, but paused just out of arm’s reach.

  Her brow furrowed with confusion. “What do you mean?”

  “Date you, take you out, court you.” There was a hint of frustration in his voice.

  “I don’t think I can,” Tessa said softly.

  His shoulders slumped with defeat. “What about last night?” His blue eyes darkened. “Didn’t it mean anything to you?”

  The grim lines around his eyes and mouth bit into her heart. “I don't know what to say,” she said. “This is overwhelming. You deliberately lured me here to seduce me …”

  He shook his head frantically. “No, I didn't plan to seduce you. I prepared the bedroom only out of optimism. I planned to tell you who I was before I made love to you. I didn't even expect to get that far once you knew who I was. I only hoped.” He grimaced. “And I certainly had no idea you would do what you did when you found out who I was.”

  She blushed, remembering how aggressive she had been with him. She forced herself to concentrate on his face. She didn’t doubt his sincerity, but she didn’t know if it was enough to allow her to trust him. “I'm going to have to think about this. I really don't know how I feel right now.”

  Hope quickly darted through his eyes, only to be replaced by grim resignation. “Whatever you decide, I'll abide by your wishes.”

  “I'd like to go home now.”

  “All right.”

  Epilogue

  Two years later

  “He has your eyes, my boy.” Kendall's father gave a hearty laugh and slapped his son on the back, which nearly dislodged his newborn grandson from Kendall's arms.

  “Careful, Pop,” Tessa admonished. “Kendall hasn't gotten used to holding Sam yet.”

  “No, I suppose not. He'll learn.”