She smiled at that. "You haven't had time. It's been pretty steady almost every night, you know?"
Heat lit his eyes at the reminder and his fingers tightened over hers. "I know. And I'd like to keep it that way. I'd like you to tell me that it's just you and me. I want to hear it."
She ran her fingers over his hand. "It's just you and me."
His expression didn't change, but he began nodding his head, as if it were something he'd already known, but now had the verification that pleased him. His voice deepened as he spoke, "I want you to know, as long as we're together, you don't have to worry about anything. I'll take care of you . . . anything you need. Anything you want." She swallowed and nodded her head, and tried not to think about what it would be like if they weren't together. Her eyes remained glued to his as he continued, "There are only two things I want from you . . . two things I need really." Her pulse pounded as she waited with bated breath for him to go on. "Nobody else touches you . . . and I want your total compliance in bed."
At his words, the breath slipped from her lungs in a dizzy rush. "I thought . . . I thought I'd already given you that."
His eyes held hers prisoner. "Maybe--maybe not. From this moment going forward, I want your complete surrender, I want certain rights over your body."
Angie felt a jolt of hysteria at what he might be implying. She attempted to swallow her alarm and asked, "Are you talking about hurting me in the name of pleasure?"
His eyes narrowed into slits and he immediately began shaking his head. "Absolutely not."
Even with his denial, the blood continued to pound through her veins in sheer freight. "Are you sure? I can't do that."
He shook his head more vigorously this time. "There's absolutely nothing inside of me that wants to hurt you. The image of you feeling any kind of pain, but particularly at my hands, horrifies me. It doesn't get me off at all. If it's any comfort, you can take that to the bank."
She felt a ribbon of relief, but was still confused. "I don't understand what you're asking me for that you're not already getting."
"I want you to do what I say, Angie. In bed . . . that's what I'm talking about. When we're in bed together, I want you to relinquish control to me. I want your total acquiescence."
"Are you saying . . . are you saying that you don't want to have to stop if I tell you to stop?"
Tension lit his features as he chewed into his bottom lip until the blood was gone and it showed white. "That's not what I'm saying. I'll always stop if you ask me to."
She shook her head slowly, in confusion. "I'm not getting it."
He picked up her other hand and spread his fingers through hers, until both of their palms were touching. "I don't know how to explain this to you, because I've never felt a need like this before I met you. This isn't something I've ever wanted with another woman." A primal look of heat infiltrated the lines of his face as he attempted an explanation. "I'll always stop if you tell me to. What I'm saying is that I don't want you to tell me to stop."
Angie felt her stomach plummet and let her hands go limp. The only thing holding them up were his fingers, entwined with hers. "But that's my only out."
He nodded his head. "And you'll still have it. But I want you to use it sparingly, baby, understand?" A raw sizzle filled the air between them, a pagan, primal life force that felt tangible. "I've struggled with this, Angie, since the first time I saw you."
"What do you mean?"
"Remember what I said to you, what I warned you about?"
Her brain was more than muddled, but she thought back to that day and tried to remember his exact warning but the agitation she was feeling was too strong. "I remember you warned me about sleeping with you."
"What I said to you that day was the truth. But then I lied and coerced you into bed with me anyway." His fingers tightened on hers. "I want to own you, Angie. I want to own each and every one of your orgasms. I want you to be mine, to do with what I will. I don't want to ask for permission, I don't want to worry about refusal. From the first moment I saw you, I've felt an urge I can barely control to sink my hands around you and know that I can do anything I want to you, and nothing and nobody can stop me. Maybe that's wrong, I don't fucking know. I've never experienced the feeling before in my life."