and your mouth would either be shut or full of my cock.” He entered her private space, as he liked to do. “That must mean I like and respect you.”
Certain aspects of being his whore sounded kind of exciting. “Have you ever kept a woman that way?” she asked even though she knew she wouldn’t like the answer if it was—
“Yes.”
Fuck. Something dark and possessive weaved its way around her heart. “Really.”
“Yes. A few. At the time, an arrangement like that was convenient, but that was long ago.”
“How long ago?”
“More proof that I like my pet; I do not make her sit in the corner as punishment for layering these tiresome questions on me.”
She laid her palm on his thigh. “Will you really make me sit in the corner if I make you mad?”
“Probably not. Though I have imagined you staring at a wall as you wait for me in a submissive pose, your ravishing feet peeking out from beneath your bare ass, mouth quiet. I would bind you before bringing you to bed. Or simply have you right there. We may play that out today. And it has been over four years since I had a mistress.”
Her brain was tripping to keep up. Submissive pose, naked, bound, fucked on the floor. Four years since he’d kept a woman. Why did that hurt to think about? “Have you had a girlfriend in that time?”
“When did you last have a boyfriend, Yasmeen?”
“A couple of years ago.”
“How long were you together?”
“Five months.”
“Were you in love?”
“No.”
“Was he?”
“Not really.”
“In other words, yes. Did he end it or did you?”
“I did.”
“Why?”
That’s where her willingness to answer his questions ended. “I answered you, now you answer me. Have you had a girlfriend in the past few years?”
“No. Why did you end the relationship?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“He was unfaithful.”
“No! He was the nicest guy I’ve ever known.” She defended Chris, a musician she’d dated in college, without thought. “He wouldn’t have messed around on me.”
He sat back slightly. “You were unfaithful.”
Her face burned with shame.
“That is unexpected. And disappointing.”
“I didn’t cheat on him,” she muttered. “I broke up with him before it happened.”
“Before what happened?”
What was she doing? She’d never even told Miranda this story. Had been too humiliated and embarrassed. But she didn’t want Lucian thinking she was a disloyal tramp. A tramp maybe. But not a disloyal one. Ugh.
“There was a professor during my last semester at school. He was handsome and charming, but a dick. His class was overcapacity because of an enrollment error and he called me into his office to tell me I had been one of the last to enroll so I had to go.” She shifted in her seat as the sick feeling she’d gotten sitting in his office came back to her. Her ass cheeks were pulsing with a heat that felt almost good. “He asked why I looked so upset, and told me I could take the next class offered, but that would have kept me in school for another semester, and I couldn’t afford the one I was currently in. As it was, I was there on grants and a scholarship. I needed to finish and get my ass into a job that paid more than peanuts. I had student loans that were already past due and rent and student fees and living expenses.” She shut that down when it sounded as if she was making excuses for herself.
“To make a long story short, after I told him that, he made me an offer. He would backdate my enrollment, and they’d kick someone else out. After I did what he wanted, I’d have secured my place in the class, and I could graduate in a few months as planned.” She pressed her knuckles against her thighs and cracked each one. “I broke up with Chris that afternoon and visited my professor in his office over the next five nights.”
She blinked when Lucian pushed his chair back and got up. She watched him walk out—
A blast of shock smacked her silly when she saw Sorin standing just outside the door. How long had he been there? Had he witnessed her spanking? Oh, fucking hell. Had he heard her share the lowest, most disgraceful moment of her life? She came back around and wished she could melt through the floor. What if Lucian sent her home? What if her behavior disgusted him the way it disgusted her? What if he started treating her like a real whore because