I blinked, chest heaving with an inhale. “What?”
“You want to stop, we stop. You don’t like something, tell me, and that’s it. Do you understand?”
My heart thrummed with the weight of his words. I gulped, still tasting my own arousal on my tongue. “I…I don’t know.”
Cal’s touch softened, and he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. With his eyes still wild with desire, he visibly reeled himself back in. He gulped, licked his lips, then said in a quiet, rolling voice, “I think it turns you on when I tell you what to do.”
I flushed hot, and I knew I’d turned bright red. “No, it doesn’t,” I lied.
His eyes flicked between both of mine, and understanding seemed to settle over him. “What we do in here has no bearing on who you are out there.” He tilted his head toward the door.
When I tried to turn my head away from him, he brought me back with his fingers on my chin. “I wouldn’t have asked you to work for me if I didn’t respect you. And I still respect you, whatever we might do together.”
My legs were shaking with adrenaline, because this was the knot at the center of our attraction to each other. We both knew we could satisfy each other. He could give me exactly what I needed—what I craved—when no one else had been able to.
Because I’d never felt safe with anyone else. Not safe enough to let down my walls and admit that I didn’t want to be in charge. Not all the time. Not here.
Cal knew it. Heunderstoodit. Somehow, he’d gleaned my secrets from our few interactions, and he was promising to keep them safe.
Could I trust him? Of course not. But did I want him?
I dipped my chin in agreement, and Cal exhaled. He kissed me hard, and the last gasp of resistance went out of me. This was happening.
I wanted this. Wantedhim. And I’d take whatever consequences came next.
Cal lifted me so I was fully sitting on the edge of the table. “Deena,” he murmured against my lips. “Spread your legs for me, love.”
TWELVE
CALLUM
I’d started shakingthe minute my fingers had entered her, and I couldn’t stop no matter how hard I tried. She was so perfect. I’d wanted her so badly, and I’d almost convinced myself that I’d made up our attraction. I’d invented the fire in her eyes. I’d hallucinated the way my body reacted to her.
But it was real. Nothing had ever been so real as my desire for this woman. I didn’t care that anyone could walk in, or that she definitely hated me beneath the unstoppable force of our attraction. It didn’t matter.
What mattered was the sight of her sitting on the edge of a billiards table, her dress crumpled in a pink, frothy mass above her hips, her knees spread wide. Her feet were wrapped in ridiculous pink heels that seemed completely opposite to something the Deena I knew would wear. I wanted her to wear nothing but them, pink straps digging into her ankles while I held them spread wide and had my fill of her.
I put my hands on her legs and forced them wider, my thumbs pressing into the impossibly soft flesh of her upperthighs. I wanted to bite them, suckle them, leave my mark. I wanted her to look at herself in the mirror later and remember how much I wanted her.
Her panties were still bunched to the side, and the center of her glistened. With a deep inhale, I tried to marshal my thoughts. Control was slipping from my grasp, and I hated that. I slid my thumbs toward her core, tracing the swollen, wet lips I couldn’t wait to taste.
Deena shivered, then leaned forward and put her hand over my cock.
“Stop touching me,” I rasped, eyes never straying from the movement of my thumbs.
She shivered as I circled her clit with one thumb, the other dipping inside her. But she didn’t take her hand away from my rigid length. Instead, she squeezed it and whispered, “No.”
I huffed a laugh, gaze flicking up to meet hers. She was flushed all over her face, neck, and chest, her cleavage dappled with fine droplets of sweat. Her hair was a wild, glorious mane that framed her face. I’d never seen anyone so beautiful.
“Brat,” I growled, pressing her clit hard. “You don’t touch me until I tell you to.”
Her hand spasmed against me, and I jerked in response, my hips chasing more of that feeling. More of her. Her head fell back, and I couldn’t resist the temptation to press my lips to her fluttering pulse. I tasted her skin, my fingers sliding back inside her as she moaned.
But she didn’t take her hand off my cock. Instead, she started squeezing and stroking and teasing. I scraped my teeth against her neck and relished the shiver that went through her body. She was so wet it dripped down my fingers and coated my palm.
She would feel like heaven. I needed to get inside her.
But not like this. Not until I was ready, until I knew she was mine.
