His face remains steady, his eyes serious and stern. “What don’t you like? What’s off-limits?”
“I don’t like blood. I like bruises but not scars. I don’t want to be humiliated or shamed. And I don’t want this to change how we are in class. I still want to beat you, and I still want you to challenge me. Never go easy on me.”
“All right,” he says.
“Your turn.”
He nods, leaning back in his chair. “I want to tie you up. I want you blindfolded but not gagged. I never want to stop that pretty mouth of yours. I’d like to set rules for you, and if you break them, I want to punish you.”
“What kind of rules?”
“You will earn rewards through your behavior. You will keep no secrets from me. You’ll ask my permission before touching yourself. If I ask, you’ll wear a token of my claim, be it a necklace or dress or anything of my choosing. You won’t argue against my commands.”
She smirks. “That last one might be tough.”
“You can break it if you’re brave enough to face the consequences.”
“Which are?”
“I’ll bend you over my knee and spank you.”
Her eyes flare and her core throbs. Heat builds between her legs. “All right.”
He grins. “Good.”
“Is there anything you don’t want?”
Standing, he leans over her, bracing his hands on the arms of her chair. His nose is touching hers when he says, “I don’t want you to go easy on me in class, either. Try and beat me. If you win, you get rewarded. If you lose, which you will, you will be punished.”
Her eyes dip down to his lips. “Yes, sir.”
Desire burns in his eyes. “Fuck,” he murmurs, his breath hot against her wet mouth. Then he turns away.
“No,” she growls, standing up and throwing her arms around his neck. “Stay close. Kiss me.”
He threads his fingers through her hair and pulls tight, baringher throat to his mouth. When he speaks, he kisses up her neck between every word. “Not. Unless. You. Win.”
“Cassius,please.”
He presses his lips just below her ear. “No. That’s a rule.”
“You’re torturing me,” she whimpers. She’ll never get to see his greatest fear, will she? Does she even care anymore? No—what she really wants is a deep, genuine kiss.
“I’m encouraging you.” He lets go of her hair and steps back. “If you want that, you’d better get to work on your argument for the debate.”
Slowly, he walks toward the door and pulls it open.
“Wait,” Claudia says. “Close it. There’s something I want to give you.”
Brows pinched, he closes the door and leans against it.
“Close your eyes,” she says, and he does.
Quickly, she moves to the side of his bed and strips off her black slip, then pulls on her robe with nothing underneath. She takes careful, silent steps toward him. “Hold out your hands.”
He obeys. She drops her dress in his palms, and he opens his eyes.
“There,” she says. “You can’t have my robe, but you can keep that.” There’s a small seam of skin where her robe parts.
