Mr. King [Book 1]

Thirty-Five

"I need to get up," Katherine whispered to Harrison as they lay in her bed in the stillness of the morning.

"Your boss must be a tyrant making you get up at this early hour," he quipped, smiling at her through the dimness.

"Yeah, something like that," she giggled, thinking about how exceptionally adorable he was when he felt comfortable enough.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep in here. I'm sorry," Harrison said quietly as he sat up, running his fingers through his tousled hair.

"Don't... don't apologize for that," she sighed, her smile dropping off her face as her heart sank.

"I'm sorry for last night," he continued to apologize, looking into her anxious eyes.

"What part?" She asked hesitantly. If he said all of it, she would probably cry.

"For the same part I have already apologized for," he elaborated, his eyebrows tightening, causing a crease to form between them.

"I've already forgiven you, Mr. King," she said, letting a sly smile turn up her lips. Harrison smiled back at her.

"Mm," he hummed, letting a faint smile appear on his lips as he slipped out of the bed.

He quickly picked up his underwear, slipping them on before replacing the rest of his clothing. When he was finished, he turned to face Katherine again.

"Can I explain something to you?" He asked, his steely eyes piercing hers. He looked nervous. It wasn't an emotion she saw very frequently on him, if at all.

"Um, yeah. Okay," she said, feeling confusion as she sat in the bed with the covers wrapped around her body. What was he going to explain?

"Last night... the orgasm denial..." He began, sucking in a deep breath before slowly letting it out.

"Harrison," she breathed lowly as her cheeks burned red. She didn't really want to talk about it. She didn't even want to think about it. She just wanted to put the whole thing behind them.

"No. I need to explain it," he insisted and she nodded her head.

"It wasn't supposed to be... it wasn't supposed to go like that..." He told her, still staring at her, though she wasn't able to look back at him.

"Orgasm denial is a sexual act that can be rather rewarding," he explained, causing Katherine to scoff under her breath.

"Katherine," he said sternly and she finally looked up into his eyes.

"Let me explain," he said through gritted teeth.

"Okay," she said quietly. He nodded and took a breath before beginning again.

"It's a general practice in dom/sub relationships," he explained and her eyes narrowed at him.

"I know—I know we don't have those... those boundaries set. I know. In all honesty, what I was doing with you wasn't even considered orgasm denial. Only in the broadest terms," he explained.

"It sure felt like it," she snapped.

"I know it did. But, the term for what I was doing is 'edging'. Edging is actually drawing out stimulation for a long period of time. But the eventual goal is to orgasm. I always planned it that way," he explained.

Katherine's heart was beating so hard in her chest and her mind was reeling. She'd never heard of either of those things — orgasm denial or edging. But her sexual experiences were definitely more mild in comparison to Mr. King's.

"Do you believe me?" He asked, looking at her with the softest eyes she'd ever seen him use.

She stared at him for a moment, thinking back on their time in the gym with her tied up and his head between her legs. It was the most frustrating thing she'd ever been through. But maybe if she knew the outcome before they started, she might have felt differently.

"I think... I just think there needs to be more communication..." Katherine said finally, and Harrison nodded in agreement.

"I mean, if this... if something like this happens again. I mean, you seem to enjoy punishing me," she said, looking straight into his eyes for a moment before her lips tugged up into a smirk.

His sullen eyes watched her. She noticed his gaze fall to her lips and she saw the cock of his eyebrow before he smirked devilishly back at her.

"I do," he breathed lowly.

"Just... just talk me through it next time. I don't... I've never... been in a situation like this," she said, letting her eyes fall away from his again, feeling bashful.

"Will do," he breathed softly.

"Okay," she said with a nod.

"Thank you for listening," he told her gently, his amiable eyes looking deep into hers.

"Thank you for explaining," she replied with a nod. She felt so much better about everything, feeling almost elated with the breakthrough they just had.

"You better get to work before your boss finds new ways of punishing you," he quipped, cocking a suggestive eyebrow at her.

"Oh..." She breathed as her eyebrows heightened and her mouth dropped open in surprise, causing Harrison to let out a laugh. What a beautiful sound.

"Always a pleasure, Miss Mason," he told her a moment later, leaning in to plant a kiss on her lips before he pulled back and left her bedroom without another word.