“How?”
“We would have never fucking left the house, for a start.”
“I thought that was part of the fun?”
“It’s only fun if both parties are aware.”
“How was I meant to know you’d bought sexy lingerie for me? It wasn’t in the box.”
He shakes his head. “I need a do over of this entire situation.”
“Well, I’m not going back out, so you can forget it.”
My passion cools, and I try to wiggle away from him, but I end up grinding myself against his erection. He hisses and grabs my hands before pinning them behind my back.
“I want my truth,” he says.
“Haven’t you had enough for one day?” I snap.
“I want to watch your eyes as you come.”
My brows furrow. How is that a truth? He stares down at me with an air of expectation, his large body crowding me, making me feel utterly vulnerable again. But I’m also notfighting the situation as hard as I thought I would, so that’s progress. I release a breath and utter, “Fine.”
“Your real eyes.”
Oh.I blink at him and wet my lips, not all that surprised he knows I’m wearing colored contacts. I’m due for them to be changed tomorrow anyway.
“Let my hands go,” I instruct. He pauses, and I roll my eyes. “I can’t just make them dissolve.” He releases my wrists, and I take out the contacts, dropping them into the sink beside us before turning back to face him.
“Holy fuck,” he mutters as he takes in my eyes’ two different colors. The left is gray with flecks of blue, while the right is a startling blue with flecks of gray that almost make my eyes look violet. They are memorable, which is why I conceal them.
He cups my face and lays a soft kiss on my mouth. “Thank you for trusting me with that. Here, in the safety of this house, shed the layers you use to protect yourself. I want as much of the real you as I can get.”
My eyes flutter closed as he kisses me deeply and brings that raging need back full force. My hands wander up the inside of his white shirt and trace the muscles of his back. He’s so utterly powerful and could break me with a careless snap. But that’s the beauty of Fox—he’s purposeful and deliberate in every movement, but that power is being utilized to stoke my desire, not control it. His hands drag the hem of my dress up to bunch at my waist, and his thumbs trace circles on my hips, just under my panties.
“Can I touch you?” he murmurs against my lips.
“Yes.”
He sucks in a breath and takes a step back to look me over. His eyes darken as he takes in the red silk encasing my pussy.
“Remove your dress,” he demands, but I don’t move. “Now,Cleo, before I tear it off you, and it can’t be worn again.” I grab the hem and pull it over my head. He closes his eyes for a brief second, and when he opens them, I find demons stalking his gaze to rival my own, but they don’t scare me.
“Tell me to stop at any point and I will, okay?”
He unbuttons his jeans, and panic wells inside of me as I dart my gaze from his underwear to his face. “I’m not—” I start.
“I know, firecracker. I know you aren’t ready for that—yet. But I need a bit of fucking relief. I’ve been hard for hours.” He closes the distance and winds a hand in my hair before fisting it and snapping my head back to look at him. “This isn’t going any further unless you tell me you understand that the word stop will make everything cease no matter what we are doing or how far gone I am. I will always stop.”
“I understand.”
“Good girl,” he mutters before covering my mouth with his. This kiss isn’t like any other he’s given me, any other I’ve ever experienced. It’s both frantic and controlled, needy and insistent, and it’s fucking devastating. I go pliant in his arms as he takes down another brick in this carefully built wall I’ve erected around myself.
He leaves my mouth and scrapes his teeth down the column of my throat, making me shudder and squirm in his arms. His mouth closes around my silk-covered nipple, the heat making me squirm as my hands dive into his hair and yank on the strands. He growls his approval against my breast, and I suddenly need to have that growl against my core.
“Fox, please,” I whisper.
He nips at my nipple, making me almost lose it right there. He unclips my bra’s front fastening, his hand cupping and squeezing, forcing more of it into his mouth. He pinches my other nipple at the same time his teeth clamp down. Pleasure and pain shoot between my legs, making me curse. He handlesme like I’m precious, but at the same time, like he wants to devour me.
