“Yes. She told me once that she saw a fire in you, one that you tried to hold back. Maybe you’re just letting that fire out around me.”
I stared down at him, not sure what he meant.
His hand moved up to the back of my head, pulling me down for a kiss. “And I like thinking that I bring out the fire in you.”
How in the heck did he know the exact right thing to say?
His fingers trailed down my neck to the place where he’d bitten me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good,” I answered, letting my head fall back on his shoulder and tucking my face against his neck.
“I think resisting you has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he murmured, his fingers moving from my throat to run through my hair.
“Resisting me?” I asked. When I tried to lift my head, he used his hand to keep my cheek on his shoulder.
I relaxed into him, and he continued stroking my hair. And speaking.
“I think I’ve been resisting you since the night I met you.”
That weird rolling sensation was happening in my chest again.
“I thought you were the most beautiful man I’d ever seen the night we met,” I admitted, the words spilling from my lips unbidden.
His hand stilled in my hair.
“And then, you handcuffed me to a bed and it really pissed me off that someone so handsome was an a-hole.”
The muscles beneath me went rigid.
“But you fed me. And gave me a comfortable place to sleep. You made sure I had my clothes and coffee and my phone. So, as far as kidnappers go, I think you probably suck at it.”
When he didn’t move or say anything, I kept going.
“Even when you were hot one minute and cold the next, you thought of my needs and safety more than anyone else I’ve ever dated and we’re not even dating.”
The stiff muscles beneath me began shaking. This time, he let me lift my head to look down at him.
He was laughing silently.
“This isn’t funny!” I said.
His face suddenly grew serious. “You’re right. It’s not. No one should treat you with anything less than what you deserve. Not even me. And I promise that I won’t treat you coldly anymore. The only reason I did was because I was trying to respect you. We have a sort of power imbalance between us right now and I didn’t want you to feel pressured or as though I was trying to take advantage of you.”
“I didn’t feel that way,” I stated. “And I think I’ve finally figured out that I’m really in charge here.”
He blinked up at me. “You’re in charge?”
“Absolutely. I wanted coffee, you bought a machine. I wanted my phone, you gave it to me. If I’m hungry, you either buy food or cook for me. Now, you’re my love slave, so I’m definitely in charge.”
Suddenly, we were rolling and he was on top of me. “Love slave?” he asked, his eyes flaring with green light.
“You don’t want to be?” I asked, arching a brow up at him.
The look he gave me made my heart pound. “I think I prefer being in charge when it comes to this.”
I saw a flash of fangs as he spoke and memories of the insane orgasm he’d incited in me when he bit me washed through my mind.
“I’m beginning to think the same thing.”
