The struggle I wage gets me nowhere, except deeper into my own frustration. Furious tears sting my eyes, and I have to blink them away.
“Enough now.” His voice is louder than it’s been as he lifts me from the floor and carries me into his room.
When he tosses me on the bed, I roll to the other side. I wish there was a way to knock him off balance. Tonight, I really want my own strength to mean something.
I must look ready for more mayhem, because Shane says, “If I were you, I wouldn’t.” His warning tone sends a shudder through me.
At the edge of the bed, I stop, looking back at him. I don’t understand how he’s not even breathing hard. His control pisses me off, even though I admire it.
Pushing wisps of hair behind my ears, I force myself to calm down. Shane’s right. Enough is enough.
He drops the gold gift bag on the mattress. I can’t believe he thought to grab it as he came after me.
His fingers pull the knob of the nightstand’s top drawer, opening it. Retrieving a plastic bottle from inside, Shane tosses it on the bed next to the gold bag. As he looks at me, his expression is full of challenge.
What’s this?
Leaning forward, I read the bottle's label, which reveals that it contains lubricant. It takes a moment for it to register that it’s for sex.
My gaze jerks up to his face. He can’t really be expecting to take my virginity right now.
“What the hell?” I push back until I’m on the opposite side of the mattress again. The skirt’s billowing fabric tangles around my legs. I jerk it free, preparing for flight. My fingers crumple the fabric as I hold the panels together to keep from flashing my bare thighs.
Shane’s pursed lips part, and he licks them, watching me the way a lion watches a gazelle. His expression seems to say, “Try to run. You’re fast, but I’m faster.”
What he actually says is, “Open the box.”
Glancing at the white box that’s peeking out of the gift bag, I’m still for a moment. Then curiosity gets the best of me. I slide the box out and remove its lid.
At first, I think the length of fur is a skinny stole. But when I lift it, I realize it’s a faux fur tail with a tear-drop-shaped stainless steel knob on the end.
My confusion must show because he looks slightly amused as he speaks. “You wear it. The metal piece goes inside.”
“Inside what?”
“It’s a tail.” He gives me a meaningful look. “For a kitten.”
Oh, my God. My brows rise incredulously. “You’re kidding.”
He slides his suit jacket off and sets it over the chair. “You can go in the bathroom and put it in yourself. Or I can do that for you. Guess which I hope you choose?”
“Shane—”
“Yes?” He rolls up his sleeves.
“I’m not in the mood for games.”
“You don’t need to be in the mood. It’s your punishment. You’re going to crawl around my bed, naked except for your tail. If you’re good, I’ll pet you. If you’re not, you can get spanked with the plug in your ass.”
My heart thumps wildly. “Are you doing this just because I scratched you? Or is this because I made a scene and destroyed those purple roses?”
“It’s ninety percent because you dug your nails into me and ten percent because your ass felt so good pressed against my groinwhileyou were digging your nails into me. It’s zero percent about anything else. The last thing I’d punish you for is crushing those roses underfoot like they were Bardoratch’s balls.”
“I wish it had been his balls. I wanted to hit him. Aren’t you glad you did?”
He nods.
“Why didn’t you keep going?”
