Evangeline was on her side, firmly nestled underneath Drake’s shoulder, one arm stretched over his bare chest and one leg draped over his. She was as limp as a wet noodle and thoroughly sated. It was so tempting to drift languidly into sleep, Drake’s warm body next to hers, but she was still overwhelmed and trying to process the barrage of conflicting reactions to the way the night had played out.
And maybe she needed further reassurance, even though Drake had made it abundantly clear that he was fine with what had happened. Hell, he’d orchestrated the entire affair so it would be the height of hypocrisy for him to harbor any resentment or jealousy. But still, it wasn’t as though she had any experience with the kind of lifestyle he lived and reveled in, so how couldn’t she be deeply conflicted?
“Drake?” she asked hesitantly.
He lifted the hand of the arm she lay over and ran his fingers through her hair in slow, sensual pulls.
“What’s on your mind, Angel?” he asked in a tender voice.
She burrowed her face further into his chest, suddenly shy and unsure of herself.
“Did I disappoint you tonight? And are you angry that I enjoyed having sex with Manuel? That I orgasmed?”
He turned, shifting so they faced each other, and he looped his other arm around her, pulling her close to him.
“Angel, look at me,” he said softly.
With reluctance and a little bit of dread, she slowly lifted her chin until she finally met his stare. To her relief, his eyes were warm. Affection shimmered in their depths.
“In no fucking way did you disappoint me. You have no idea how erotic and sexy as hell it was for me to watch another man take what is mine, what I own, and for me to command and control his pleasuring of you.”
Her eyes widened in surprise because she just couldn’t grasp the concept. It just seemed incongruous, with all she knew about Drake, that he would allow any man to touch her. Much less have sex with her.
“You are the most beautiful, uninhibited woman I’ve ever had, and you gave me something very special tonight. First and foremost, you gave me your trust unreservedly and never once showed any sign of backing out. And your primary focus was on me. Not the man fucking you. You gave me the gift of yourself. Ownership over your body to do with as I pleased and whether you realize it or not, the amount of trust involved for you to give in to anything I want is huge, and not many women would ever give a man such a precious thing.”
“Wow,” she whispered. “I guess I never thought of it that way.”
“Youare a gift, my angel. And everything that comes with you, everything that makes you who you are. The verybestgift that has ever been bestowed on me.”
She cocked her head to the side, studying his serious demeanor. “Why does it arouse you?” she asked with genuine curiosity. “I mean watching, observing another man take me and own me the way you do.”
“First,” he said in a grave tone, “I am theonlyone who owns you.Never forget that. Manuel was here at my invitation and he was given explicit instructions about what he could or couldn’t do, but there was never any doubt over my ownership. Manuel felt privileged and was honored to be allowed to have you for a brief time. What man wouldn’t be? As for why it arouses me?”
He shrugged, his hand gliding down her waist to cup her ass.
“Why does anything excite someone? Some things just are. In my case, it’s a huge turn-on to do whatever I wish with what I own. That your body, your pussy, your ass, your mouth, every part of your very soul belongs to me andonlyme, and therefore, that gives me the power to make decisions about how such a precious possession is handled.
“Yes, another man fucked you, but that’s all he did. He fucked you. He gave you pleasure, which in turn gave me pleasure. But he doesn’t own you, doesn’t possess you. He doesn’t have all of you and never will. All of you belongs to me and it makes me hot as hell to watch another man have power over you and bend you to my will in a manner in which I instruct him, because it pleases me to have the privilege—honor—to make the decision to relinquish the power I have over you, albeit temporarily.”
“Is this something you will want to do often, then?” she asked quietly.
Drake’s eyes narrowed as he studied her face, looking for some clue or motive behind her seemingly innocent question. But all he saw was honest curiosity.
“I think the better question is whether this is somethingyouwould want to happen often.”
Her expression was earnest, her eyes radiating sincerity. “I only want to please you, Drake. I want to make you happy. And if giving me to another man while you watch makes you happy, then of course I’d want to do it again.”
She swallowed and before he could respond, she continued on.
“I looked only at you,” she whispered. “Even when he commandedme to look at him. I watchedyou, because I wanted to seeyourpleasure andyourenjoyment. You are the one I want, Drake. Not someone else. Yes, I felt pleasure, but you know why?”
His brow furrowed as he studied her, stunned by her admission, her open honesty and the fact that she put it all out there and held nothing back. She was completely vulnerable, and he knew, heknewthat vulnerability was one of the worst feelings in the world, and he never wanted her to feel that way with him.
“I enjoyed being with another man because I was pleasingyou, and you enjoyed watching another man take and possess what belongs to you.Thatwas my source of pleasure. I can barely recall thephysicalpleasure he gave me. It was there. I orgasmed. It felt good. I don’t deny that. Butmypleasure wasn’t my focus. He didn’t hurt me. I enjoyed the physical aspects. But emotionally, I was only focused on you. And because you looked at me with such warmth, pride and approval, it wouldn’t have matteredwhoyou chose to have sex with me. Because only youmatterto me.”
He was incapable of responding, of saying anything at all, so stunned was he by the impact her words had on him. How deeply he felt each and every one of them. He absorbed her impassioned statement, her expression, the sincerity shining brightly in her eyes, and it suddenly felt as though his heart was about to explode out his chest.
“Drake?” she whispered tentatively, her eyes swamped with worry and her lips turned down into an expression of unhappiness. “Did I do or say anything wrong? Are you angry with me?”
