“That’s a good girl,” he crooned in her ear. Her pussy squeezed him, milking his dick until he couldn’t stand it anymore. Every muscle tightened as he lost control to her body. He came, swore, pleasure and euphoria sweeping over him. A mix of heady satisfaction and frustration followed.
Fuck this temporary bullshit, he was claiming her. Since she’d been around, he’d felt more alive than he had in years, and he wasn’t willing to hand her over to some idiot Dom without doing his damnedest to mak
e this work.
So she didn’t want to be a slave. Maybe it was something they could negotiate. He could handle her being headstrong sometimes, if it meant that he still got to see the look in her eyes when she couldn’t help but call him Master. He had to convince her, and now he knew how to do it.
He pressed his lips to the nape of her neck. If your body knows me as its Master, your mind will follow.
Feeling as if he were standing in the sun for the first time in his life, he rolled to the side, then pushed her onto hers so he could see her face. He brushed hair out of her eyes, watching her blink at him like a newborn calf—confused, shocked.
“Are you alright?” He trailed a finger down the side of her face, her neck, to sketch small circles on her lovely collarbone.
She shivered, then her eyes rolled, closed. Shuddering, she moaned, and his cock twitched in response. Hell, she was sexy. Her hair tousled, her eyes half-lidded again, she looked like a recently fucked goddess. Gorgeous.
He tried to memorize her face—the vulnerable eyes, the parted lips, the curve of her neck—so he could paint her like this.
Banner moved closer, wrapped his arm around her and kissed her gently. This could work, but he had to rein himself in. The sex clouded his mind. Sure, they were compatible, but his body was urging him to collar her, marry her. He could have bounced out of bed, if she asked, and started renovating the house to suit her.
Whoa there, hold up, tiger.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she said.
“Like what?”
“This got way out of hand.” Shaking, she extricated herself from his arms and slid off the bed. When her feet hit the floor, her knees buckled, but he dove across the bed and caught her before her knees met the hardwood.
“Stop, Kate. I know you want to run away again, but you’re in no condition to drive home. Why don’t you just stay here tonight?”
After he settled her back on the bed, she gave him a wary look. She was panicking. Ordering her around now would just freak her out more.
“Please?” He wasn’t accustomed to begging, but he let some vulnerability show. She seemed to be especially sensitive after sex, so there was no need to be heavy-handed. Plus, he felt it deep down too— He was vulnerable when it came to her. “Please stay, Kate.”
She watched him for a moment, studying his face. Then, with a sigh, her body relaxed. “Okay.”
Tension drifted away and a warm feeling settled in. Although he wished it were just the afterglow from sex, when Kate nestled into the curve of his body, lying to himself became impossible. It wasn’t about sex or dominance or submission. It was about Kate.
Chapter 9
“Kate?”
A hand waved in front of her face.
“Huh?”
“Wake up,” Bethany said. The girl brushed her sandy hair out of her eyes and grimaced. Kate was glad it was her best work friend rather than one of the fake-sweet girls who stabbed you in the back in the lunchroom. She didn’t need to give the gossips any fodder. “You zoned out again. What’s wrong with you today? You’ve been a zombie.”
She looked down at the stack of files on the desk in the file room trying to remember what she was doing with them. “Have I?” Yeah, she’d been a little out of it that day. But it was Monday. Wasn’t everyone a zombie on Monday?
“Have you been sleeping okay?”
“I’m fine.” Even she could hear the lie in her voice. Crap. She had to get herself under control before this affected her job, her life. Her relationship with Banner was supposed to be superficial. A quick, fun tutorial on submission, then bam, over. But it wasn’t turning out that way. Banner was insinuating his way into her heart. And they were both going to get hurt.
She knew that in her head, but her body was having trouble listening. Her greedy libido wanted him in a bad way, as evidenced by its obedience to his stern commands. How would she ever be able to control herself when just the sound of his voice made her panties wet?
“You’re staring at nothing, Kate. At least open the file if you’re going to pretend.” Bethany chuckled.
Scowling, she looked at her friend. “Shut up.”