He chuckled. “Yeah, Darlene won’t be bothering us.”
“Oh God, what did you do?”
“Do you really want to know?” He spoke each word between languid licks.
“I… yes?”
Reaux replaced his tongue with his thumb, idly brushing back and forth over her clit. “She thought it acceptable to poach what didn’t belong to her. I made my stance on that very clear. No one disrespects my queen without consequences.”
“I’m trying to hate you, Boudreaux. Why are you making it so hard?”
“Because you don’t hate me, Bennie. You think you do, you’ve convinced yourself you do, and I don’t blame you for it.” His other hand soothed the trembling muscles in her thigh. “I fucked up. I knew it then, just didn’t realize the full extent of the damage I caused by trying to do the right thing. I came here intending to take you home with me, but now I understand I need to heal the hurt caused by my actions and earn your forgiveness.”
Violet curled her fingers into the sheets, squeezing her eyes shut. It was a challenge to stay angry at him when he was so bluntly honest about his failures, especially with the motion of his thumb undermining her ability to think. “Annihilating my heart once isn’t enough for you?”
He eased a finger inside her, sliding in and out without urgency. “This is the wall we’re up against, Bennie. Until you’re willing to listen, really listen to my side, we’ll continue to lock horns. Hurting you was never my intention,” he said sternly when she tried to argue. “My mistake was believing I needed to let you go to explore your Domme, when in reality I should have kept you close and guided you.”
An ache blossomed in her chest. She didn’t know what was worse—that he hadn’t figured it out during two years of absence, or that it took him less than forty-eight hours to come to that conclusion in her presence. “Bull—”
Pain lanced the tender flesh of her thigh near her knee, followed by a wave of indignation as she realized he’dbittenher.
“We’re still on my time,” he admonished, “whether you’re willing to listen or not. I’m assuming not, so we’ll return to this conversation when you are. Now, you can be a good girl and come on my tongue, or a stubborn one who comes with my fingers tucked snugly in her ass. Choose wisely.”
“We are far from done—” Violet yelped as her body jerked down the sheets, her hips jacking up with the help of Reaux’s hands. She clenched her ass, trying to keep him away from her hidden rosebud, then moaned when he rubbed his stubbled cheek gently along her thigh. “Just you wait. Payback is a bitch, Reaux.”
“And her name is Violet,” he mocked, grinning at her without remorse. It appeared he was severely lacking in self-preservation skills. “Tongue or fingers,beignet?A simple choice, no? Of course, my cock is on offer as well, only you might not appreciate where I put it.”
She was getting tired of losing these little battles. It didn’t matter that she was going to win the war, no matter what, because each of these insignificant losses were a slap in the face of her control. And yet, she felt no desire to safeword, no urgent need to escape the situation.
How galling was it to admit—even to herself—that he still felt likehome?After two years, his touch should be that of a stranger’s, yet her body simply melted into it as though it was simply hours instead of years since he’d last run his hands over her—which, technically, it was.
Learning a new lover’s rhythm, scent, methods took time. Days, weeks, months.
Violet didn’t have that luxury. One brush of his skin against hers summoned ten years’ worth of memories humming beneathher skin, vibrating through her muscles, penetrating deep into her core.
It was the epitome of unfairness.
Knowing he would make the choice for her if she didn’t use her voice, she squeezed her eyes shut and elected the least invasive option. At least if she kept some degree of control, she stood a better chance of protecting her heart while Reaux assaulted it with tender words and familiar dominance.
She could survive sex as long as her heart didn’t capitulate.
She could even enjoy it if she fortified her defenses to maximum level.
When the orgasm was over and he was satisfied, she was going to win the goddamn war.
Chapter Six
Boudreaux
She was smart.
Reaux admired her even as he cursed her for being so damn stubborn.
For the past week, seven whole goddamn days, Violet had proven she was a worthy queen, expertly avoiding all butessential contact with him despite the fact he was pretty much joined to her at the hip.
In public, she treated him like he didn’t exist, making sure he knew his place as her silent submissive. He followed her everywhere dutifully, quite content just to be in her presence, fetching snacks and drinks when required, kneeling beside her in the restaurant, even participating in the tame, woefully inadequate scenes she suddenly reverted to in an effort to bore him.
He accepted all of it without complaint because he understood how her mind worked.
