The vibrator Tina had sent her had been sitting in the nightstand for weeks. Angelica acted like I hadn't seen the bright-ass box, like she hadn't snatched it out of my hands and buried it under her bonnets and books. Like I hadn't seen the flicker of shame in her eyes, like she expected me to be disgusted.
Embarrassed. Because that's what her ex taught her to be.
But I wasn't Gavin.
Toys didn't intimidate me. Shit, I welcomed the challenge.
I wasn't here to compete with plastic. I was here to work with it. Amplify it. Use every tool at my disposal to break her down until the only word she could remember was my name.
I stood up, tucking my half-hard dick back into my boxers, and reached into the nightstand. Pulled out the tools I'd bought myself first... the blindfold, then the silk restraints. Then I pulled out the vibrator. Her eyes followed every movement. Widened. Her breath went shallow.
"Maleek..." she whispered, voice teetering somewhere between anticipation and hesitation.
I caught that nervous energy instantly. The little mask she wore when she didn't know how to process something tender or filthy. Probably both.
"Bought these weeks ago," I murmured, running my fingers up her thigh slow enough to make her twitch. "Just been waiting for the right night." I let the words settle. Watched them melt her resistance.
"I'm gonna make you feel so fucking good, Angel. Better than I ever have. Just let me take care of you."
The look on her face told me she already believed me. But the way her body reacted—that was confirmation. I felt the heat bloom between her thighs before I even touched her again.
Good.
I kissed her again. Long. Deep. Then backed her into the pillows, and positioned her dead center on the mattress.
"Hands up," I said softly. She obeyed without a word.
I took my time with the restraints. One wrist, then the other. Slow, deliberate. Kissing her skin as I tied her down. "Need these out of the way while I work," I whispered against her arm. "Don't want you trying to push me away when it gets too good."
Her breath caught. But she obeyed. Slow. Intentional.
That trust... it hit like a fuckin' prayer and made my dick twitch at the same time.
I blindfolded her next. Watched her chest rise and fall a little faster. I leaned in, kissed her lips, soft and lingering, then asked,
"Who loves you, Angel?"
"You do." Her voice was clear. Steady.
I kissed her one more time, then got to work.
My fingers were light. Feather-soft. Skimming over her collarbone, her ribs, the soft dip of her navel. I leaned in, kissed the wet spots I left behind. Sucked. Blew.
"You feel that?" I murmured. "That's me. Right here."
I left wet kisses in random spots—her thighs, her belly, her neck—but never where she needed me most. She twitched, whined, whimpered.
"Maleek, please—"
I chuckled. Low. Dark.
"You know better than to beg this early. I'm just getting started."
I picked up the vibrator. Ran it along her collarbone, then her neck. She gasped.
"What were you so embarrassed about, huh?" I asked, brushing it along the curve of her breast. "This ain't a threat. It's a tool... When it's in the right hands." I kissed her jaw. "And you already know these are the right hands."
I turned it on low. Let it hum against her nipples. She sucked in a breath. Arched.