set the article down on the bed and went to him, sliding her arms around his waist, though he kept his hands in his pockets. “I’m so sorry. I don’t even know what to say.”
He sighed and put his arms around her. “Now do you see why we need to be careful?”
“What do you mean?” She pulled back so she could look at his face.
He threw his hands out to his sides. “I came from a monster, Brynn. Half of me is from him. What if all these urges I have to dominate you are an early version of what he became? What if he started by just wanting to tie a girl up and spank her a little?”
“Oh, Reid, no,” she said, shaking her head, her heart breaking for him. “You have as much in common with that man as Molly has with a brain surgeon. You can see it in the photo, that man has no heart, no soul.” She cupped his face and met his eyes. “And you—you’re all heart and soul.”
He stared down at her, his eyes swirling with an amalgam of emotions. “Why do you keep putting your trust in me? I don’t know if I trust myself.”
She wound her arms around his neck and held his gaze. “My mom has dated abusive men. When guys like that walk into the room, it’s like the air stops moving. My skin crawls and all I want to do is leave. But when you walk into the room, the opposite happens—I’m not scared. All I want to do is get closer to you. And get naked.”
A laugh broke through his pained expression. “Is that right?”
She shrugged and stepped back. “But if you’re not into me…”
He hooked her waistband with one of his fingers and yanked her against him. “Now hold up right there, sugar. I never said I wasn’t into you.”
“So what are you going to do about it, then?” she asked, her tone challenging.
His gaze met hers. “I’m in.”
“What do you mean?”
He sank into his desk chair and pulled her down onto his lap. “I mean, I’m in. I’m tired of struggling against my instincts when I’m with you. So, let’s try it your way. You want me to be myself, well, here I am.”
Her heart did a little twirl in her chest. “Really?”
He cupped her chin and ran his thumb along her cheek. His eyes pleaded with her. “You just have to swear that if I ever do anything you don’t want me to, you’ll make me stop. We’ll come up with a code word that means quit, but even with that, you have to promise you’ll do whatever you need to get your point across. Don’t let me push you too far.”
She leaned forward and brushed her lips across his. “I promise. I will totally kick your ass if you step out of line.”
He grinned, the tension lines in his face softening and the heaviness in the air seeming to lift. His hand curled around her hip, and he put his forehead to hers. “Thank you. I’ve never told anyone about my dad besides Jace. I thought for sure you would run for the hills.”
She lifted her head and shrugged. “I refuse to believe that we’re doomed to our parents’ fate. If I bought into that logic, I may as well slit my wrists now.”
“Your outlook on life is such a ball of sunshine,” he teased.
She tapped her temple. “Yep, like I told you, it’s all rainbows and unicorns in here.”
He gave her a wry smile and closed the space between them to claim her mouth in a heated kiss. Her lips parted, and she could feel the tension draining from both of their bodies as they gave themselves over to the simple pleasure of tasting each other—an acceptance of each other’s ugly histories and a promise to move forward despite it all.
He pulled away from the kiss, his cheeks flushed. “You know we still have a half hour before we’re due back to the office? Maybe we should practice our new arrangement.”
She shifted on his lap so that she could straddle him, and adjusted her skirt. Her panties brushed directly against the hardening erection in his pants, sending a dart of warmth through her. “That isn’t very much time.”
He shoved her skirt farther up her hips and with a yank, ripped off her panties.
“Hey! I’m supposed to go back to work in those,” she protested.
He pulled the swath of material from under her and tossed the panties onto the floor. “I’ll buy you some new ones. But for the rest of the day, I want to look across that office and know that there’s only this thin skirt between me and what’s mine.”
His fingers found her heat and glossed her clit with her juices. She tilted her head back, and his other hand unbuttoned her blouse and freed her breasts. His hot tongue sucked a needy nipple through the lacy material of her bra, then he bit hard enough for her to gasp. She moaned and rocked against his hand.
“That’s right, sugar. I love how responsive you are for me. I can’t wait to take you somewhere tonight, tie you up, and taste every delicious part of you. Make you beg for release.”
She shuddered. God, just his words could set her off.
“But right now”—he leaned back, undid his fly, and released his cock—“just hold on.”
“My pleasure, sir.”
now
Brynn swayed on her knees, the shock of seeing Reid in front of her hitting her like a bullet to the chest. She stared at him, a hundred questions coloring her thoughts. Why was he here? How had he even gotten in? And what the hell was he expecting—that she was just going to jump at the chance to be with him after she’d explicitly told him she never wanted him to touch her again?
His stern expression didn’t answer any one of her silent demands.
“You need to choose your master, Brynn,” said a well-dressed man standing to the left of Reid. She glanced at the man’s tapered fingers; he held a chain, no, a leash. Oh. He was one of her choices, as was another shorter man on Reid’s right. Shit. Both guys were attractive enough, but could she turn herself over to them—put her trust in one of these strangers?
Her gaze darted to the second man’s waistband where a whip was attached, coiled like a sleeping snake. His fingers toyed with the handle as if his hand itched to wield it. Oh, hell no. Scratch him off the list. Anyone that eager to whip her wasn’t going to go easy.
She tilted her face and ventured another glance at Reid. His expression remained smooth, but something in his eyes yanked her back in time—back when she wanted nothing more than to give herself over to him, body and soul. Yes, he’d burned her like no man had ever before or since, but he’d also had moments of tenderness that had stilled her heart. He wouldn’t physically hurt her. She knew that. Which was more than she knew about either of the other guys.
But could she temporarily seal off the wound that sent slicing pain through her anytime she was around Reid and see him as simply a means to an end for the few days they were here? At least behind closed doors she wouldn’t have to pretend with him like she would the others. She inhaled deeply, causing the bindings on her arms to bite deeper into her skin, and held Reid’s gaze.
“Looks like she’s made her pick,” said the man with the leash.
Reid shook his head. “No, I want to hear you say the words, Brynn.”
Her fists clenched behind her. Why did he always have to push? Always make things more difficult than necessary? She put as much contempt as possible into her tone. “I choose you, sir.”
The set line of Reid’s jaw relaxed, and he gave a slight nod. The other men looked mildly disappointed, but stepped away and melded back into the shadowed groups sitting around