Turning him around, I let the audience fade from my mind. There were no lights biting at my back. No music to tempt my body to move to the beat. Just me and this trembling body now caught in my web.
Lifting his hand, I brushed my lips across his knuckles. He shivered, his lashes fluttering like he couldn’t believe I was real. I didn’t want to break the moment, so I kept my movementsslow, careful, pressing my body against his and savoring the heat between us as I secured one wrist with a soft metallicclick, then the other.
He was mine now.
Once he looked up, realizing where he was, he tugged on the chains. “Shhhh,” I cooed. “I can tell you’re going to like this.”
His ragged exhale told me that his body knew it, but his mind was still holding back. “How do you know that?”
Letting a sultry smile lift, I bent towards him, letting him in on a little secret. “It’s my superpower. I can tell exactly what someone craves, just by looking at them.”
I took a few steps back, drinking him in. His breathing hitched, along with a low rumble from his chest that made my pussy clench. My eyes watched as the growing strain in his pants became so taut the outline was impossible to miss.
I licked my lips deliberately, letting my gaze climb over his torso, his taut abs, his strong chest, each inch of him begging to be claimed. I longed to taste him, to drag my tongue between the valleys of muscle and leave him shaking, but that would come later.
Pleasure was a reward only given by me, and only when I decided.
Sliding a sleek black remote from the edge of my corset, I held it up between us, my voice honeyed with a threat.
“Are you ready?”
He gave a slow, uncertain nod, and my smile turned wicked.
I pressed the button, and the chains began to move.
The sound of the chains groaned through the space, loud, metallic, and relentless, as the slack tightened with each heavy crank. My wolf's head turned slowly, no longer fixated on me, but on his hands. He looked at the cuffs tightening around his wrists, then those striking blue eyes snapped back to mine, wide, unsure, but burning.
I pointed toward the small platform shelves beneath his feet and cooed, “I’d stand on those if I were you. It stings when the chains yank you up by force.”
He instantly obeyed, hopping up like a good boy. I crouched down to secure his ankles, the sound of the second set of cuffs clicking into place echoing like a promise.
“What are you doing?” he rasped, voice hoarse and frayed, like someone who'd never danced this close to the flame.
Smiling up at him, I locked the last cuff and purred, “I don’t want you falling off mid-play. That would make meverydisappointed.”
Rising to my full height, I took a step back and admired the view. Strung up, wide-eyed, and bursting at the zipper, he looked exquisite. His chest rapidly rose and fell, each breath coming harder, quicker as his body betrayed his nerves.
Maybe my little wolf needed a push, just a touch of encouragement to keep him on edge.
I turned to the crowd, arms spread wide to display my prize. The noise swelled, voices tangling with hunger and envy. Some shouted their approval, others hissed jealous threats, and a few practically begged to be next.
The middle of my back heated, unnatural and jarring, causing me to pause and rub the spot that felt like it was kissing fire.
Before I could dissect what was going on, I felt a set of shadowed eyes on me, drinking me in like I was his salvation and destruction all in one, and the spot on my back cooled. Scanning the crowd, I looked for the eyes that had an overpowering hunger, one that felt like years’ worth of yearning for me.Stalker? My stalker? Are you in the crowd?
A blur at the edge of the crowd caught my eye, distracting me from my search, and I saw a familiar tall, white-masked male. Golden hair spilled around his shoulders, and silver eyes locked onto mine despite the distance between us. My breath caught.
Was that my British vampire watching me like a predator at midnight, his eyes devouring me from the middle of the room? I hadn't realized how much I missed that gaze until now. A week had passed since he registered, and every night he hadn't shown felt like a quiet rejection.
That ache? It twisted in my chest, but the storm inside me shoved the sentiment away. A savage voice inside demanded,Show him. Show himwhat you are.
I bit the inside of my cheek, hard, smirking as I took a measured step back. His arms, casually crossed, slowly dropped to his sides. A silent warning? A plea? I didn’t care. He didn’t own me.
I let my gaze drift, confident he couldn’t breach the barrier but less sure about my own restraint, especially when I caught sight of a pair of beckoning eyes.
Van.
Leaning against the right wall, arms folded, his emerald eyes sparkled with restrained heat, but beneath it, worry simmered. He understood exactly what I was doing, recognizing the pain behind it, but he knew he couldn’t stop me.
