EXTRACT FOR
Submissive in Bondage
(Amber Cove)

 I snorted softly. It wasn't very ladylike, but at that moment, the only thing I was able to think about was what was going to happen next. 



Had she really read between the lines of all of our emails? Our online chats? Our late night phone calls? Maybe I should have been more subtle. That's what all the magazines say anyway, right? Women need to be told what to do. 



Perhaps it was I who needed to be told what to do?



"Relax, Kate."



The whisper against my ear made me jump a bit. "Easy for you to say, Daria." I thought. 



"Shh. I'll be right back.



I took a deep breath, then slowly blew it out, licking my dry, parched lips. Had it only been an hour ago since I'd had the upper hand in this? Or at least I had the option to walk? 



I heard her moving about in the room, the TV turning back on...realizing she was probably waiting for me to get more comfortable. I slowly closed my eyes, not that it would matter since I couldn't see anything anyway through the blindfold. Then I thought back to earlier tonight...



I raised my cell phone and exhaled. My finger hovered over the SEND button, my eyes glued to the two words which popped onto the screen: I'M HERE. I one last deep breath and sealed my fate, praying that my anxiety would settle down so I wouldn't feel nauseous anymore.



There was no turning back now.



The sound of a toilet flushing drowned out the ringing of a nearby telephone. A heartbeat later, the door across from me opened, and my nerves seemed to be on overdrive.



"Are you just going to stand out there all night?" The smooth, sultry voice coming from the backlit doorway.



Daria.



I didn't need to close my eyes to imagine her anymore. There she was. Her athletic, shapely body, draped in an untucked button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her bedroom eyes staring down into mine with a glossy look. Her slender, elegant hands gripping the sides of frame and the door as she leaned into the hall toward me.



Our last and first encounter had been at a gangster/rap-themed dance a week prior. My own stomping grounds, my own friends and my own comfort zone. It had been easy to fall for her, the way she held me in close when we slow danced. The way she tilted my cap back in the parking lot before kissing me softly, her fingers barely grazing my cheek. The way she whispered in my ear that my decision to dress gangster rap had really turned her on. My knees buckled when she pressed up against my hip.



It took all the strength I had to simply function for the next six days, especially at work. Our late-night phone conversations and the Internet didn't help. She was just letting me indulge in my fantasies of bondage. So why was I so scared? She was handing me the moment I'd been fantasizing about ...



"Kate?" She propped open the door and stepped fully into the hall now, the corners of her mouth turning downwards. "You okay?"



I backed up against the wall, gripping my overnight bag tightly on my shoulder.



This is a mistake. I shouldn't have come here tonight. I mean, what was I thinking? Wait, I wasn't thinking. I..



Her fingers softly brushed my cheek as she lifted my chin. "It's okay Kate. Don't be scared."



"Who me?" My voice sounding shaky, and nowhere near the confidence I thought I had, even with a smile.



Her frown became deeper. Her face filled with concern. Her disappointment battled within her almond eyes. "Do you not want to do this?"