She suddenly loses her balance and stumbles forward with a startled yelp. I reach out and catch her around her waist, pulling her back against my chest. For a moment, we both tense. The feel of her body pressed to mine…her heat wrapping around me…her sweet scent teasing my nose…
Fuck, my cock is twitching.
Get a grip. Get a grip. Get a grip!
I loosen my hold on her and she slowly turns around to face me, but she doesn’t put any more distance between us. We stare at each other, the pull between us undeniable. I know if I leaned down to kiss her, she’d let me. That she wants me to, even, but I resist. We shouldn’t. We can’t let things get complicated. Can’t cross any lines.
But, fuck me, she’s so tempting. So stunning.
She starts moving closer, though, and I don’t stop her. Not even when she pushes onto her tiptoes and brings her mouthcloser to mine. I want her to kiss me. To wrap her arms around me and melt into me. To let me touch her and tie her down. The temptation is there, pushing me, but I tilt my head back, pulling my mouth out of her reach.
“Hold on,” I murmur. “You were right in wanting to keep things between us platonic. We’re just friends, remember?”
She nibbles her bottom lip and I want so badly to take that lip between my own teeth and bite it…
“Why can’t friends have sex without it being complicated?” she asks in a husky voice that makes my cock throb.
God damn it, she’s making this so difficult. I have to remind myself that she doesn’t know what I’m really like. If she knew about my actual…proclivities, she’d probably be freaked out.
“Sutton.” I place my hands on her shoulders and gently push her back. “I had fun that night we spent together, but that’s not my usual MO.”
“What do you mean?”
I suck in a deep breath through my nose and blow it out of my mouth. “My tastes in the bedroom are… different. Intense. I don’t think you’re really ready for that.”
Considering the discussion over, I kiss her forehead. “Good night.”
Moving past her, I have every intention of heading straight to my room, locking my door, and forgetting all about this. I can feel her staring after me, though…her eyes boring into the back of my head. Unable to help myself, I pause and look back at her. I expect her to avert her gaze, maybe even look embarrassed that I caught her staring. She doesn’t look away though, and she sure as fuck doesn’t look embarrassed. Actually, she looks determined..
Boldly holding my gaze, she speaks in a clear, unwavering voice.
“I’m ready,” she says. “Show me.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: BOUND
JAYCE
Sutton gazes up at me,chin raised and expression determined. I try not to latch onto her request too quickly, telling myself she doesn’t really know what she’s asking.
“Sutton, I don’t think…”
“Jayce.” She cuts me off in a firm voice. “I’m serious. I want you to show me what it is you enjoy. You won’t scare me.”
I chuckle and shake my head. “You say that now.” Still, the chance to explore her submission is almost too tempting to resist. “Are you sure? I need you to give me clear consent for us to move forward.”
“You have it,” she says without hesitation.
The corners of my lips twitch, but I school my features so as not to give away just how pleased her confident answer makes me. Part of me thinks I should resist this harder. Should insist she doesn’t know what she’s getting herself into. However, Sutton is a woman who knows her own mind, and I’m not going to insult her by doubting her decision. If I show her what I want—what I need—and she doesn’t want to participate, we’ll go back to simply being friends and co-conspirators. Nothing more.
“All right,” I nod. “Then come with me.”
Turning, I continue on toward my bedroom. I don’t look back to see if she’s following me, but I hear her soft footsteps moving across the floor behind me.
I don’t stop at my bedroom door, however, and continue on to the room right next to mine. My playroom. It rarely gets used since I frequent the club, but having the dedicated space helps keep things in my life more compartmentalized. I let my hand hover over the doorknob for half a second before I push it open and step aside, letting Sutton walk in first.
Warm light spills across the hardwood floors, catching the deep gray of the rugs and the dark wood posts of the bed. The four-poster bed is huge, with sleek, modern lines. No carved details, nothing dramatic. The frame is thick and reinforced, designed to look like luxury furniture when in reality, it’s functional in other ways. The built-ins around it blend seamlessly into the posts and base, hidden anchor points disguised as decorative hardware. No one who didn’t know what to look for would notice them.
Sutton steps farther inside, her gaze roaming over the space. The bed, the matte-black nightstands, the wall of bookshelves opposite the windows.
