Settling my palm into that dip that connects neck with shoulder, I stroke the soft skin over her pulse point. The warm softness of her skin makes my breath hitch.
I slide my hand down to stroke my fingertips across the low neckline of her dress, and goose bumps break out across herflesh. Her nipples harden into taut peaks, pressing against the thin satin of her dress; the sight of them makes my mouth water.
I ache to pull her into my arms. If she’s here to hurt me, she’s chosen the perfect weapon. Dangling my deepest desires in front of my face, only to rip them away…
Nothing could harm me more.
I have to know her end game so I can stop this indulgence before I’m too far gone to recover.
If she’s come here tonight, ready for a battle, I need to know the rules of the game.
“Name your terms.”
“Wh-what?” She swallows hard against my palm and I slide my hand up to cup her chin, then tilt her head back so she’s looking up at me. “I said,name your terms.”
“I-I don’t understand,” she whispers, and the hesitant softness in her voice is nothing like what I’m used to. This isn’t the ball-busting woman who challenges me at every turn. “Am I supposed to make the rules or something…?”
Scowling beneath my mask, I drop my hand and she drops her chin.
Could I have been so wrong about her?
Leaning back against the bathroom counter to put some space between us, I cross my arms, staring down at her bowed head. Suddenly, her submissive stance isn’t beguiling, it’s offensive. It’s mocking.
With a growl of frustration, I snap, “Look at me, Sutton.”
She lifts her head immediately and when we lock eyes, I’m struck by that practically glowing honeyed-amber shade of her irises in the same way I always am. A man could get lost in those eyes.
But even with her mask obscuring much of her face, I can see how wide her eyes are. Startled and suddenly afraid.
“How do you know my name?”
Holy fucking shit,does she really not know who I am?
My pulse jumps into overdrive, rivaling only the speed of my racing thoughts.
“I know the name of everyone who steps through those doors,” I lie.
She nods slowly, keeping those eyes on me as they soften.
“What do you want?” I ask again, though this time softer. Because I don’t think we’re talking about the same thing here. While I want to know her terms, what it will take to keep her from blowing up my whole life, I’m starting to thinkshethinks I’m asking for something deeper, those hidden desires she’s never told a soul.
And I fucking want them, every last one.
Whatever way this conversation goes, I’m ready to negotiate.
Those molten-amber eyes flick all over my mask, searching for my eyes, my expression. I’ve never been more compelled to rip this mask from my face than I am in this moment.
“Speak your mind. Tell me what you want, why you came here tonight.”
Her gaze dances over my arms, my chest, warming me skin like a physical caress.
Her eyes are focused now, alert…
It’s a shame I can’t watch those pupils blow out with lust as I push her over the edge.
Hold up.
I lean closer, struggling to make sense of what I see in those gorgeous eyes.
