Because as beautiful as she was, hers wasn’t the face he pictured when he closed his eyes at night.
Eli pried her hand off his arm, squeezing until she loosened her grip. Her lashes fluttered and she looked up at him flirtatiously. “Mmm, yes. You always make it hurt so good.”
He dropped her arm and stepped back. “I’ll sign this stuff and bring it back later.”
She pursed her lips in a well-practiced pout. “Fine. But I need those contracts signed before the end of the day. They’re already late.”
“Late. End of the day. Got it.” He followed behind her as she walked out.
She stepped onto the porch and then swiveled on the heel of one of her extremely high, red-as-blood stilettos. “You can’t avoid me forever. Some things are inevitable. You and I, we’re the same. We need the same things. So whatever’s going on with you, fix it.” She pulled the collar of her jacket up and then strutted down the stairs to where her car was parked in the driveway.
Eli closed the door behind her and flipped the deadbolt. Carly had no idea how good he was at avoidance. If she was waiting on him to give in, he could only hope she wasn’t holding her breath.
After a hot shower and sev
eral aspirin, Eli returned to the stack of mail on his counter. The first was a solicitation for money from his alma mater. He put that in the Keep pile since he usually tried to make a contribution several times a year. Next, he opened the smallest box. He pulled out the Wartenberg wheel and grinned.
He could imagine there was probably some confusion in the mailroom when they’d opened this one. He normally liked to buy his toys directly from a discreet shop in Georgetown, but he’d wanted to replace this quickly. Carly had broken the last one. Deliberately, he was quite sure.
Eli tucked the box under his arm and walked back to his room. It was the only area in the house that he’d taken the time to decorate. With deep plush carpet and midnight-blue walls, it was a sensual haven. He’d chosen white curtains to lighten it up slightly, but everything else in the room was a deep jewel tone. The color palette reflected his personality, he thought. Nothing was too bright or showy. It was a room for introspection and meditation. He looked up at the mirrors installed over the bed. And sex.
Hair-pulling, backbreaking, mind-numbing sex.
He crossed to the closet and pulled it open. “Hello, beautiful.” Everything he needed to torment a woman into mindless pleasure lined the walls. He eyed the first row of vibrators—small ones, big ones, and waterproof ones.
Yes, he could do a lot of damage with those.
The second row held his instruments. Nipple clamps, feather dusters, clothespins, and zip ties lined the shelves. He pulled out his replacement Wartenberg wheel and placed it carefully on the shelf.
He couldn’t imagine not wanting to make a woman beg or not wanting to control each and every aspect of her response. Watching that moment, when a woman looked at him with absolute and complete trust, it was better than a drug. He needed to feel that instant when they gave themselves over to his inevitable possession. Without it, sex was mechanical. An act between two bodies as opposed to the union of two people.
Sensation play was something he’d gotten into by accident. He hadn’t been looking for a “lifestyle,” but he’d happened to date a woman who was heavily into BDSM. To Elliott’s surprise, his natural tendencies in the bedroom were apparently hard to find and in high demand. For him, it was just a natural part of his personality.
For women like Carly, it was a highly sought-out characteristic. Eli sighed and threw the empty box on his bed. His one night of stupidity had already complicated his life immensely. Women were such emotional creatures, something Eli feared and respected at the same time.
It had been obvious for a long time that Carly was willing to “assist” in more ways than one. She’d intercepted one of his packages he’d accidentally had shipped to the office. The order had been for a new flogger, a sweet brown cowhide that was only available online. He’d intended to ship it directly to the Springfield house but had inadvertently put in the billing address, which was to his office. He’d told Carly to intercept the package and bring it directly to him. She’d caught the mailroom worker just as he was cutting into the packaging.
As soon as she brought it to him, he’d known she’d looked inside.
“You shouldn’t have gone there.” He blew out a breath and flopped down on his bed. His reflection stared balefully back at him. A late night when she’d stopped by to bring him his cleaning had turned into ordering dinner and then ordering her onto her knees.
He’d avoided female company for years and then had only allowed himself quick, impersonal encounters in clubs and hotel rooms. To allow her to come here and enter his personal space had been a mistake.
One he would pay for again and again.
CHAPTER THREE
THE SOUND OF the doorbell ringing was like nails on a chalkboard. Eli pulled out his phone and brought up the camera feed for the front door. Carly stood on the front step, holding a brown paper bag. He groaned and rolled over. Allowing her to come here again had been a mistake. She needed a firm hand, and any sense of softness on his side simply gave her hope of more.
No doubt she’d concocted some excuse for why she’d needed to come back. A document he’d forgotten to sign or something she’d conveniently left behind.
He stalked down the hall and to the front door. When he yanked it open, the smile on her face faded. “What are you doing back here?”
She looked down at the bag she held and then back up at him. “I forgot something. Since I had to come back anyway, I brought you dinner.”
Eli accepted the bag. “Thank you, but you really shouldn’t have.” Guilt assailed him. She’d done something nice, and he’d bitten her head off.
“It was no trouble.” Carly pushed past him and walked toward the kitchen.