Darien did just that, scooping her up in his arms. “Only I reserve that right.”
“That’s very territorial of you.”
“I can’t help it. And it wouldn’t hurt you to be obsequious from time to time.”
She laughed. “What does that mean?”
He murmured in her ear, “Submissive.” And felt the tremor down her spine.
“Well,” she said, sounding breathless. “I can’t afford to be as whimsical as Lizzy and her four sisters. But I have no problem with giving you whatever it is you want from me this evening.”
A low grunt fell from his lips. He set her on the bed and leaned over her. “You’d lie here naked and let me do whatever I wanted? Explore your body with my hands and mouth? Give you pleasure…make you come…?”
Her teeth sank into her plump, lower lip. Desire flashed in her dark-blue eyes. “Really?” she muttered in a provocative voice. “You think I’d take exception to that?”
He tilted his head to one side. “I haven’t told you the rules yet.”
“Rules?” The desire deepened in her hypnotic irises as intrigue seemed to grip her.
“Yes. You can’t distract me from what I’m doing. Which means no touching me or our fun will be over before we’ve even started.”
She sat up. Her fingers skated over his abs, making his muscles quiver and his cock swell. “But I like touching you.”
He reached for the attached belt at her waist and untied it. Then he slipped the robe over her shoulders and down her arms. “I like it too. Too much.”
She lifted slightly and he whisked away the satin material. He had no idea where Sheena had produced an article of clothing that fit Jade, except to surmise it had come from her personal collection, since they were almost the same size. Anything from his closet would swallow her up.
His head dipped and his lips brushed over hers. “Do you agree to my terms?”
“What choice do I have? You are the king.”
He snickered at the light mocking in her tone. “Yes I am.” Stepping away from her, he unfastened the tie around the thick mass of dark-brown silk drape that matched all the others hanging in the four corners, attached to the twelve-foot-tall bedposts.
Jade eyed him curiously. “Not going to take my word that I won’t touch you?”
“No.” He grinned at her. “You have a way of turning things around and I don’t want to be sidetracked until I’m done.”
Uncertainty crossed her face, but for a split second. Then she said, “Lizzy would panic over a moment like this.”
“Thankfully, you’re not Lizzy. Now lie down.”
She hedged, and he knew it was merely a defiant move to prove she wasn’t accustomed to taking orders. But lust seemed to get the best of her, because she did as he asked. She stretched out on his bed and fanned out her long, raven hair against the mound of pillows.
He eyed her previously injured hand. “I’ll be very careful.”
She smiled. “You always are with me.”
He took both her hands and pressed the wrists together, then gently bound them with the sash, leaving the material loose enough so she could easily wiggle out of it if she wanted to. He had no intention of pulling tight enough to potentially create any pain. He was much too cognizant of her hypersensitivity to sensation to add any sort of strain on her.
Guiding her to lift her arms over her head, he secured the sash through an intricate cutout in the thick headboard, just below the scrolled trim at the top. His hands glided over her skin from her wrists to the undersides of her arms. Then he palmed her breasts and she writhed on the mattress, her back arching.
He stood beside her, the bed at waist-height for him. His erection pushed against the crotch of his briefs and the front of his black leather pants. He wore nothing else, due to the amount of heat generated from the fire he’d built to keep Jade comfortable.
Her full, firm breasts didn’t quite fill his large hands. His thumbs swept over the hard, dusty-rose nipples and she let out a soft sigh. Her legs pressed together, as though she felt the same ache between them as he felt between his own.
“You are so beautiful,” he told her as he gazed down at her. She had a flawless, alabaster complexion that made her even more striking, given her hair color and vibrant blue eyes.
One of his hands skimmed over her rib cage to her slightly rounded belly. She had feminine curves that drove him wild. His fingers swept over her upper thigh, and then along the inner portion, the flesh trembling beneath his touch.