‘I’ll take what I want. How I want.’
His eyes pierce me, and I lick my lips, finding my voice above the flames.
‘You think I want soft?’ I say, proud of how steady I sound. ‘You think I need gentle? This is me, Ax. When have I ever been either of those things?’
His mouth curves – not a smile. Something hotter. More lethal.
‘You’ll learn.’
Some semblance of self-preservation kicks in as my brows pinch together. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘If you agree to this, you agree to my rules, and you bend for me.’ His thumb strokes me through the silk, tiny little currents shooting off in every direction as I struggle to focus on his words. ‘And I’ll take all of you, Tay. And I mean…allof you.’
All? No.
My heart’s as locked down as his. No one’s getting that. But the rest?
God, yes.
‘Then do it already.’
His eyes flash, his grip tightens, his whole body thrums?—
But he doesn’t move.
So I do.
I rise onto my toes, lashes fluttering closed, my lips parting for his heat, his breath, his?—
He jerks me back by the hair.
My scalp screams, my core clenches, a gasp tears free. ‘What?’
‘Not that,’ he bites out. ‘Hard limit, Stone.’
I blink, and I see it.
The line.
The intimacy he won’t cross.
The one I should’ve known he’d draw.
In my escort days, kissing was as off-limits as sex itself. A peck to the cheek: that was the line.
And now…
Kissing means real intimacy.
Kissingmakesit real. Full stop.
He knows it. And I should’ve known it too. Rookie mistake.
But…
‘You were the one who said you wanted all of me…’ I swallow over the heated recollection. ‘Every which way.’
His laugh is low, dark, almost sinister.
