“Room service, then,” he said, pulling off his sweater. “You know, we’ve never done that before.”
“What?”
“Eat after making love.”
She caught her breath. Coughed. He just didn’t do subtle, did he?
“Are you nervous?” he asked, amused. He came closer, his hands on his belt. “I promise I won’t use it.”
There, he’d brought it up, the thing that hung between them. She watched him pull the belt, and her mouth went dry when he reached for the top button of his jeans.
“But as long as you have the power, I won’t always be totally comfortable,” she pointed out. “Or totally trust you.”
He nodded. “I know.”
“But you aren’t going to remove it, are you?”
“No. I can only promise I won’t use it tonight.”
“Why?” How could she be sure he wasn’t just playing a game, using her attraction for him, just to deepen the trigger?
“Because I want to prove what you’re feeling for me isn’t my doing. It’s more than that. I want you for yourself too.”
He wasn’t an easy man to deal with one-on-one. Up close and personal, in an intimate setting, she felt the full sensual force of his masculine determination. The sexual charge of a man desiring a woman, taking his clothes off slowly, teasingly, using everything in his power to seduce—everything he’d cloaked from her in public had dropped away. The sound of his zipper brought her attention lower. He was so sure of getting his way with everything.
“You...you like to negotiate.” Helen licked her dry lips. “What I want is total control of you this time. You manipulate me enough in VR and RV, Jed. Let me take back some of that power in real life. What do you say?”
For a heartbeat she thought he was going to refuse. Then his hand dropped to his sides. His silver eyes were brilliant gems in his tanned face. He nodded.
“You don’t have to use NOPAIN, Elena. I’m all yours.”
Helen smiled slowly. She was so going to enjoy making him pay for all those past torments.
Chapter Eighteen
Helen eyed the man standing in front of her approvingly. He really looked damn good in jeans, especially shirtless. She walked around him slowly, drinking in the sight of a man perfectly conditioned by years of discipline, the tan skin marked with nicks and scars.
He didn’t say anything as she circled, just as she’d done in virtual reality the first time they’d met. Except this time, she was checking out the real person behind the programmed avatar.
She frowned at the sight of the mesh of criss-crossed patterns on his back. They held a story of their own. Reaching out, she tenderly touched the scars. They were very old, muted shades, mere marks that hinted of the violence that had left them there.
“These aren’t recent.” Her voice was hushed. “How did you get them?”
“From a whip,” he replied, giving the obvious answer.
So, he wasn’t ready to tell her. She didn’t push. She understood he’d lived a life of violence and didn’t like sharing the details. It didn’t stop her from feeling angry at whomever it was that had scarred him so permanently.
She leaned forward and kissed him between the shoulder-blades, smiling at the slight betrayal of tensing muscles under her lips. She used the tip of her tongue to trace down his spine, tasting him, her palms moving down the length of his strong back as she lowered herself.
“Take them off,” he said, when she reached the top of his jeans that were slung low and tempting on his hips.
Helen shook her head. “Quit giving me orders,” she reprimanded, even as she tugged.
“I wasn’t ordering. I was just suggesting.”
The man had an awesome ass. She stepped back and naughtily gave a wolf whistle. Okay, she liked him out of those jeans too. She retraced her steps and he just stood there, letting her take her time.
God-in-jeans naked. All golden skinned and lean taut muscles. She couldn’t resist the temptation any longer. Reaching out, she shaped the wide shoulders, palmed the hard biceps and chest, smoothed over one plum-colored nipple, and finally reached the rippling abs. He was hot to the touch, all hard muscle over powerful bone structure. Her fingers trailed the line of dark hair that arrowed lower and then boldly, she circled the waiting erection.
