Buttons and Shame (Buttons 4)

I stepped farther into the room, feeling my cock harden in my jeans. Whenever she fought me, it aroused me. But whenever she was cooperative, it turned me on too—just in a different way. I could never go wrong with her. “Do it, or I’ll make you.” I stopped when I was just a few feet away from her. “You’re going to get on your knees and suck me off. And you’re gonna like it too.”

“Fuck. You.”

That familiar shiver ran down my spine. “You’re either very stupid or very brave.”

“Neither. I just know you’re better than those other scumbags. I know you won’t make me do anything.”

She was calling my bluff—a dangerous thing to do.

“I know you have a heart. Otherwise, you would have fucked me when you came into that room.”

“Did you ever think that maybe I was concerned you would give me something?”

“You had a condom.”

“Still risky.”

“No, you just listened to me. I said no, and you listened.” The anger dimmed as she stared at me. As she spoke, she gave herself more confidence. She convinced herself everything she said was true. “So, I’m not scared of you.”

She cornered me with just her words, and now I had to prove her wrong. I had to backhand her just the way Tristan did. I had to punch her in the face so hard that I cracked her cheekbone. I had to make her wish she was back with Tristan because I was so much worse.

My hand shot out to her neck, and I gripped her throat tightly, cutting off her air supply just enough to make her struggle to breathe. I gave her the coldest look I could muster, taking on the appearance of Satan himself.

She didn’t grip my wrists with her hands, keeping them on her thighs. Her eyes were locked to mine as she controlled her panic. She didn’t give in to the fear even though I wasn’t allowing her to take a full breath of air.

I challenged her, but she challenged me back.

I gripped her harder, this time cutting off her air supply altogether.

She still didn’t grab me.

We were going head-to-head, waiting for the other to break first. All I had to do was strike with my iron fist. I’d punched a lot of people. I’d nearly killed Pearl simply because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. If I’d met this woman just a year before, she’d be begging for mercy at this very moment.

But I couldn’t do it.

I couldn’t hurt her.

I dropped my hand and stepped back, ashamed that she won the standoff.

She clutched her chest as she coughed and caught her breath.

Too pissed to look at her, I stormed off and slammed the door behind me. I set the alarm system for the apartment with my cock still hard then went to bed. Despite my hard-on, I didn’t feel like beating off.

I was too angry.

She outsmarted me, and I didn’t appreciate it. All I had to do to balance the scales was hurt her so much that she couldn’t walk, but not a single bone in my body would cooperate with the decision. I wanted the action, but not if I had to make her bleed.

I was a fucking pussy.

I shouldn’t care about her well-being. I shouldn’t give a damn about hurting her. She was stupid enough to put herself in a vulnerable position to get snatched in the first place, so to hell with being a nice guy.

I got into bed and pulled the covers to my waist, my dick still hard under the sheets. All I could think about was the beautiful brunette down the hall with a pussy that tasted like crack. I could easily go out and pick up another woman to solve my problem, but I didn’t want another woman.

I wanted her.

And I didn’t even know her name.

9

Pearl

I knew Crow was pissed the second he walked in the door.

“He’s a fucking piece of shit, and I’m gonna put a bullet right between his goddamn eyes.” He threw his jacket on the back of the chair but missed by several feet, so it fell to the floor instead.

It didn’t matter how rich he was. Expensive suits like that didn’t belong on the floor. I set my journal down and picked the coat up. I shook out potential wrinkles and set it on the chair where Lars would retrieve it later.

Crow kicked off his shoes and yanked off his tie. His movements were harsh and jagged. “I’ve wanted to kill him many times in my life, and this is one of them. I want to break his neck and turn him into a rubber chicken.”

I picked up his other articles of clothing like the good wife that I was. “So, who are we talking about?”

“That piece of shit. You know exactly who.”