I gripped her ponytail and tugged her head back.
“Stop,” she said, her voice quiet.
I held her like that, my gaze drifting to her lips, soft and pink, her mouth slightly open, and I kissed her. I just…kissed her. It was our first kiss.
She made some sound, but my mouth muffled it. I walked her backward until her back was against the wall, and I leaned down to kiss her harder, tasting her, her mouth so soft, so inviting, even as she protested, or tried to. But her body gave me this, and she opened, her hands relaxing against my chest, even curling a little over my biceps. I dipped my tongue inside her mouth, the moan coming from me now as my cock stiffened against her belly. It felt like a mutual want heated our kiss. Lucia’s fingertips touched my shoulders, drawing me closer, her tongue meeting mine. Hands wrapped around the back of my neck and pulled me in. I relaxed my hold, feeling her surrender, but as soon as I did, she struck. She rammed her knee so hard between my legs that she knocked the wind out of me.
I doubled over, sucking in a loud breath as she stumbled backward, smiling.
“You want my obedience?” she taunted. “You want me to be a good little thing, do as I’m told? Fuck you when I’m told?”
I made some sound, more animal than human as fury fired me from the inside. Lucia backed away, a moment of uncertainty crossing her features before she reached her door down the hall, placing her hand on the doorknob.
“You’ve got another thing coming, Salvatore.” She turned the knob and pushed it open. “If obedience was what you wanted, you chose the wrong woman to fuck with.”
She ran into her room and slammed the door shut. I straightened, my balls fucking killing me, and reached for the key on top of the door frame. I’d installed the special lock on her bedroom door before her arrival for exactly this reason. She would not lock me out. Not in my own house. I imagined her in there right now, frantic when she discovered the missing key. I slid it into the lock and turned it, locking her in from the outside.
“Obedience is what I’ll have,” I said. “I don’t mind teaching it to you. Remember what I said last night?”
She tried the door, jiggling the handle.
I smiled at her muttered curse.
“If you betray me, I’ll punish you. This will be your first punishment.”
I lefther to stew while I showered. She’d fooled me with that kiss. I’d thought she felt it too, thought she liked it. I think she had, at first. But then, maybe her own sense of duty made her attack.
Regardless, I grinned as I pulled on a pair of jeans. The thought of punishing her aroused me.
Drying my hair roughly with a towel, I went to the door between our rooms and turned the key in the lock on my side. Lucia sat on her bed, her hair wet from a shower, dressed in a pair of shorts and a silk tank, her knees tucked against her chest, a letter opener in her hand held like a knife. The look on her face told me of her shock to see me enter from this door. I locked the door behind me and pocketed the keys.
Her eyes raked over me, from the top of my wet head to my bare feet. I wore only a pair of jeans, wanting her to see what she was up against. I stood a foot taller than her and outweighed her by probably seventy-five pounds. I wouldn’t hurt her, but I wasn’t above a little intimidation. It would be good for her to learn her place and learn it fast.
When I stepped toward her, she got up on her knees in the middle of the bed and pointed the letter opener at me.
“Put that down.”
She shook her head. “What are you going to do?”
I stalked closer. “I said put it down.” I didn’t give her a choice this time. Instead, when she scrambled backward on the bed, I placed one knee on top of it and caught her wrist, dragging her down on her belly until I relieved her of her weapon, tossing it away. I released her. She climbed back up on her knees and glared at me.
“Get undressed, Lucia.”
“No.”
“Come on. I’ve seen it all before. You showed me last night, remember?”
She jumped off the other side of the bed. I liked this. Always liked cat and mouse.
“Go away, Salvatore.”
“Strip, Lucia.”
She’d cornered herself by now, but I gave her space to bolt, just because I didn’t like the game to end too quickly. She ducked under my arm and did just as I knew she would. I turned, watching her try the door.
“Leave me alone!”
“Where are you going to go?” I asked, following her as she ran to retrieve the letter opener. I have to admit, she was faster than I thought, but I caught her around the middle and squeezed her wrist, taking the weapon from her a second time.
