He tips up my chin. “Don’t fight it.”
Then he gets up, holding the chain. I’m like a dog on a leash … and the dirty grin on his face makes me want to bite his face.
My nostrils flare. “How long does this thing stay on?”
“As long as I want it to,” he replies. “As long as it takes for you to learn your lesson.”
“What lesson?”
“That you don’t get to turn away from me. That you don’t run away from a man like me. That you don’t go and fall for another man’s charms.” There’s a hint of betrayal glimmering in his eyes.
“So this is about Deion, after all,” I muse, folding my arms.
“It doesn’t matter who it is. Any man who’s not me is not right for you.”
Oh, Lord.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me, Charlotte,” he growls, and he tugs the chain so hard I’m on the floor, catching myself with both hands.
“You’re still jealous even though I told you nothing happened,” I retort.
“You gave away your heart to someone else,” he hisses.
I stare at the floor and my hands, which tremble under my weight. I can say it’s not true, but that would be a lie. Deion did capture my heart but not in the way he thinks.
“Deion was a friend. My only friend. A friend I needed more than anything else at the time. And I’m grateful he was there to support me at a time when no one else would. Without asking questions. Without asking for anything in return.”
Pain mars his face. “I could’ve given you everything you wanted, anything, and you didn’t even need to ask,” he says. “Now stop talking and spread your legs.”
He flicks the chain, and it reverberates against my skin. I lift my lip and show him my fangs, but he’s not impressed.
“Charlotte, I’ll keep this on you forever if need be.”
That’s a warning I don’t want to ignore.
After a few seconds, I part my legs. I doubt it’ll please him enough to take off the chain, but I don’t want this debasing collar around my neck forever.
He cocks his head as his eyes travel down toward my pussy. I’m still wearing leggings, but I feel naked.
“Crawl.” He tugs the chain until I fall to my knees again. Then he waits, and so do I. His finger curls, and he beckons me. “To me.”
My legs drag forward as though they’re made of steel. He never once takes his eyes off me as I reach his feet, but I refuse to allow this humiliation to get to me.
He smiles. “Good … Now take off your pants. Leave the shirt. I like seeing your tits this way.” The added groan makes my pussy clench.
After all this time, his words still affect me like nothing else. Whenever I’m with him, it’s as though my body isn’t mine anymore.
I do what he asks and slip out of my leggings and panties with ease. Then I sit back down on my knees and wait. His eyes glint with passion and rage with lust, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t turn me on.
“Such a beautiful girl,” he murmurs, tipping up my chin. He leans over and presses the softest of kisses onto my lips, dizzying me. My brain turns foggy and full of emotions I can’t describe and don’t want to understand. But I have to. For the sake of my sanity, I have to know why I’m so attracted to this man who keeps taking things from me that I don’t want to give away.
“My girl.”
How he says the word my makes goose bumps scatter on my skin.
“And I will adorn that finger with a new ring, but first, you need to learn a lesson,” he muses.
“You keep mentioning this lesson. Why?” I mutter.
“You should treasure what I give you.” He cups my face. “Because even though you think you might not need it, you know you do.”
He pulls me up to a standing position with both the chain and his fingers underneath my chin. I stand before him with pride and unrelenting fierceness as he takes off his tie. Grabbing my arms, he twists me around and locks my wrists behind my back to secure the tie.
He walks me toward the bed and sits down, then pulls me right across his lap.
His hand circles my ass as he hums. “You know this was coming … Tell me.”
“Yes,” I murmur.
Of course, I know. He’s Easton Van Buren, a man who loves savage debauchery and degrading sex … but only with me.
A sudden smack to my ass has me squealing, but Easton tugs on the chain and shushes me.
“Don’t make a sound. You don’t want Jill to come in and see you like this, do you?”
“No,” I reply.
He spanks me again, this time on the other cheek, and I bite my tongue to stop the sounds from spilling out.