He stopped in the doorway, forearms resting against the edges of the frame as his cool gaze surveyed the crowded, dimly lit room. His faint smirk widened into broad smile as his eyes stopped on her. Across the room, seated on a plush sofa, she had looked up the moment he'd opened the door. She met his eyes with a stubborn frown that only made his smile turn feral. He blinked and she was gone, his view obscured by the crowd. A multitude of voices talking, whispering and laughing exploded upon his ears the moment she vanished from his line of sight.
Straightening, pulling himself up to his full height, he strode across the spacious room towards where he last saw her. His eyes narrowed and his smile vanished when he saw the man seated next to his goal. His long strides came to a halt right in front of her. Ignoring the surprised man seated to her right he held his hand out to her even though she refused to meet his eyes. The now outraged man attempted to speak but was silenced by a cold, dark look and a thumb jerked in the general direction of the rest of the room. The stranger shut his open mouth, got up and left without a word.
She sat there leaning back against the cushions with her arms crossed and her gaze averted. Inwardly, she seethed, furious that he thought he had the right to do this to her again. She could see his outstretched hand in her peripheral vision but still refused to acknowledge it.
"Come."
His voice was deep, warm and very familiar. All other background noise faded from her notice as she waited, listening for those quiet mellow tones again. But she moved not one single muscle. A rush of air past her face startled her and she turned to look at him. His hands were on either side of her, gripping the back of the couch. His eyes glittered dangerously as they captured and held hers.
"Come," he said again softly, his lips inches from hers, "or would you rather I take you right here, in front of your friends?"
The hard edge of his voice cut through her, shaking her to the core. She knew he meant every word he said, and she also knew she wouldn't, couldnât stop him. Her body betrayed her every time.
She dropped her gaze and he withdrew, smiling once again. He held out his hand and she placed hers in it, allowing him to pull her up. His grip tightened almost painfully around her fingers as he led her through the crowd and out the door. He turned left and started quickly down the hall, pulling her behind him so that she had to run to keep up with his long strides. He stopped abruptly in front of a door on the right side of the vacant hallway and used his key to open it. The heavy door swung silently into the darkened room.
"Do you trust me?"
His voice was quiet but the strength behind those words was unmistakable. He already knew the answer to his question but wanted her to say it. Her dark eyes flickered back and forth between his once, then she spoke.
"Yes."
He smiled and cupped her delicate jaw with one hand, his thumb caressing her cheek as they stood there. He saw her eyebrows form the start of a frown and laughed softly. Fire was starting to burn in her eyes and he knew how little it would take to push her buttons.
"You want me."
His words infuriated her because she knew he was baiting her and yet couldn't help reacting.
"No," She practically spit out the word.
He just laughed once more, "You need me." She could hear the smile in his voice.
"The
hell
you say!" She glared at him, feeling the flush of anger rising in her cheeks.
He just kept smiling and extended his hand further, running his fingers through her hair. "You can't live without me."
Her jaw dropped and then shut again with a snap as she attempted to twist free of his hands, enraged and sputtering.
"You self-centered, egotistical, arrogant, BAST...."
Her last word was cut short as he yanked her head back by her hair, his other hand twisted her wrist and arm cruelly up behind her back, pulling her smaller form tight against his. He kissed her hard and she stiffened for a split second then melted against him giving him first her soft lips and then her tongue. Every nerve in her body vibrated just from being held by him so roughly.
He felt her soften against him and claimed her lips as his own before pushing her from him and laughing. He knew she couldn't resist him.
"You can't live without me." That statement again.
Stung, she withdrew, the fire in her eyes blazing brightly as she brought her fingers to her lips.
She entered the pitch-black room at his gesture, taking several unsteady steps inside before he flipped on the lights. She blinked, barely able to register the sparsely decorated room before he took her elbow and guided her towards the couch. This was a playroom, not one meant for sleeping unless one slept on the couch. Her eyes took in various implements of pain and pleasure scattered around the room. They widened as she saw the black leather harness resting on the hardwood floor, the leather straps stretching up over heavy wood beams that crisscrossed the ceiling.
Saying not a word, he watched her carefully, noting each expression as her eyes traveled around the room. He watched her stop short as she realized what the mass of leather straps lying on the floor was and a ghost of a smile crossed his lips. Spinning her around, he took her into his arms, pulled her hard against him and kissed her deeply, crushing her lips beneath his. He left no doubt as to why he'd brought her here. His tongue demanded and found entrance to her mouth and though he felt her hands on his chest, vainly struggling to push him away, her mouth was begging him not to stop. Her body pressed against his told him all he needed to know, no matter how her hands said otherwise.
She gasped for air when he finally broke their kiss. Her heart was racing, her body tingled and her knees felt weak. This was the kind of kiss that romantics dream of and poets write about but never experience. Her reaction frightened her, shook her to her soul and her knees buckled as she sank down onto the couch behind her.
His laughter broke through her haze and she looked up at him, absently wondering what was so funny as a distant, not quite silent part of her mind screamed at her to leave while she still could. Her feet twitched but she didn't get up, couldn't get up. She couldn't move. Not even when he knelt in front of her, took her left hand and bound her wrist with a length of rope he'd pulled from under the couch cushion. She watched his lips form the words that sent a bolt of fear through her heart.
"No one else makes you feel this way. No one else makes you want these things like I do." He finished tying her wrist and caught her eyes. The smoldering, dark passion that lived and breathed there almost sucked her in. Almost.
"No," she whispered.
Whether that was confirmation of his words or denial, it didn't matter. She hid her other hand behind her back.
"You are bound to me as tightly as I bind your flesh. Give me your other hand." His tone made it clear that this was a subject not open for debate and still, she hesitated.
"No," she said louder, more insistently.
His eyes narrowed. He was rapidly losing patience with her and her denial.
"Why do you continue to resist? You know you don't want to. You know you can't. Why do you even try?" he asked her, but only silence answered his questions.
"Answer me." his voice dropped to a dangerously low level and his eyes seemed to pierce right through her. She looked away, unable to tell him that she was afraid she might lose herself if she ever gave in completely. And that what frightened her most was not caring if she lost herself forever as long as she was with him.
His hand shot out and grabbed her by the chin, his fingers digging into her jaw cruelly as he turned her face towards him again. He saw the tiny flickers of fear in her eyes that she tried to hide and he nodded slowly, understanding what she didn't think he could.
âYou are mine. You are my slut. My toy. I will do with you as I please. Do you really think I couldn't just take what I want from you?"