“Now the real question,” he growled. “Can you be obedient?”
My mouth was bone dry, tiny prickles jetting against my skin. This was crazy. This was ridiculous. This was… Exciting. I took a few seconds before I answered. “I guess you’ll need to determine that for yourself.”
“Yes, I guess I will. You should know, if you don’t obey me, I will punish you. Do you understand?”
As with everything else about him, he wasn’t asking me if that was alright. He was telling me what would happen.
“Yes.” The answer tumbled from my mouth before I could stop it.
He laughed softly, provocatively as he pushed back his chair, taking his time to stand. “I guess I’ll find out. If not, you will be punished.”
“One night.”
I needed to establish the limits.
“One night.”
Very slowly, I lifted my head as he approached. He was cocky as hell, more annoying than any man I’d spent time with, yet at that moment I wanted nothing more than for him to touch me in the commanding way he’d mentioned.
When he held out his hand, he lifted an eyebrow. This was my last chance to say no.
If I was a truly good girl, I would.
Instead, I placed my hand in his.
He said nothing as he pulled me to my feet, guiding me away from the table and down the short set of stairs into the salon. There was something so commanding about the fact he was walking in front of me, his arm behind him and his fingers firmly wrapped around mine as he led me into the stateroom.
Was I nervous? Yes, but the excitement continuously building between us changed everything. Once inside, he took a single glance into the salon before closing the door. Locking it was definitive, authoritative, and I bit back a whimper.
I wasn’t afraid of him. I was terrified of myself.
I was also petrified of letting go.
Yet the intense scent of longing in the air between us was unmistakable and intoxicating. While my entire body continued to quiver, my mouth was already watering at the thought of seeing all of him.
As he turned toward me, he immediately allowed his gaze to fall as he’d done so many times before. Only this time was entirely different, a moment of ravenous hunger feeding into his system. His chest rose and fell and I could almost feel the wheels of his mind clicking as he determined how he wanted me.
How he would devour me.
Even from where I stood several feet away, I could see his cock throbbing. I licked my lips involuntarily and he chuckled in his deep, almost ominous tone.
“Remove your clothes.”
His tone was demanding, more so than before. When I didn’t react immediately, he arched an eyebrow. “Perhaps I need to allow you to understand before every moment of pleasure often there’s a requirement for pain. Obedience is required.”
This wasn’t about romance, but blind, unyielding passion and his utter control.
Over every inch of me.
I’d agreed to obey him, which wasn’t like me. All my life I’d done my best to control a situation. My only obedience had been to my parents, my teachers, and law enforcement. With men, all bets had been off whether in business or in pleasure.
Yet with him, as I studied the dark, piercing look of his eyes, I wanted to obey him if only for tonight. As I tugged the shirt from the waistband of my skirt, he mimicked my actions.
When I unbuttoned, he did as well, the wry smile on his face and lust-filled eyes keeping me tingling all over.
After I shimmied the shirt to the floor, he ripped off his by the back of the neck, finally removing his loafers so we were both in bare feet.
As I reached around to unzip my skirt, his nostrils flared, but he wasn’t removing any additional clothes.
