Lex shuddered through a soft sigh and framed his face with gentle hands. "You don't have to. Not if it's too much."
Of course she saw. Of course she understood, which was why it would never be too much. Growling, he caught her face, his thumb and fingers digging in to her cheeks just enough to serve as a quiet warning. "Are you going to be a good girl?"
Her answer was quiet, serious. "You know me better than that."
He knew she fought back, but sometimes it was hard to tell how much was a struggle to hold on to her defenses, and how much was a silent plea for him to fulfill a need she could barely articulate.
Maybe she couldn't articulate it, but he understood it. Leaning closer, he licked her lips. "Tell me you'll be good tonight."
She stilled and then moved, sliding her inner thigh up the outside of his leg. "I'll be good. Only for you."
He rewarded her with a rough whack on the hip before rolling away, his mind already stumbling over what part of her to claim first. With a few clever toys and a little patience, he could reduce her to limp, trembling bliss.
"On your knees," he ordered as he moved to the open cabinet. A fortune in tools of debauchery lined the shelves, a mix of custom pieces and pre-Flare relics, things meant to bind, to penetrate, to cause pleasure and pain.
He bypassed the whips and floggers, uninterested in striking her with anything but his bare hands. Pain wasn't Lex's trigger, for all that he'd seen her transported by the hazy rush of it. She thrived on sensation, on roughness that stemmed from too much desire, from the feeling of being overwhelmed.
That made his selection easy. When Dallas retrieved the items and turned back to the bed, Lex was kneeling near the end of it, facing him.
Waiting.
God, she was striking. Beautiful, from her disheveled hair straight down to her perfect toes. Sleek, but not soft. She had the strength of a dancer, toned muscles under dangerous curves, and sometimes it was hard not to just stare at her.
But staring wasn't enough tonight. He dropped the toys to the bed and traced the luscious line of her thigh before curling his fingers to cup her pussy. "Ready to get back to that talk about the things that belong to me, love?"
Her head fell back, and she clutched his arms with trembling hands. "Yes."
He delved between her outer lips and bit back a groan at how wet she was. Wet and hot, even more so when he thrust his finger deep inside her. Not only for the pleasure of hearing her moan, but for the satisfaction of feeling her muscles clench with arousal when he lifted his other hand to lightly slap her face again. "Open your knees, Lexie. Keep 'em spread wide, so I can play with this pussy however I want."
She shifted on the bed, her knees parting, hips tilting toward his touch. So obedient, so eager, and the naked trust in her eyes was as delicious as the way she squirmed, like she couldn't not ride his hand.
Edging closer, Dallas dragged her head back, forcing her to stare up into his eyes as he fucked her lazily with that one finger. "Good girl. You do everything I tell you, and I'll let you decide where I fuck you. And how hard."
Her eyes flashed, dark and hungry. "Surprise me," she rasped.
Possessive heat skated under his skin. This was the part of her he never wanted to share. The others could line up and beg for the privilege of pleasuring their queen, as long as no one else saw Alexa, stripped bare and willing to do anything to please him.
His secret pleasure. His gift. And goddamn, was he ready to play with her.
He didn't bother with orders, not when they'd both get off on the alternative. Locking rough hands around her waist, he lifted her bodily and flipped her, sprawling her face down across the mattress as he smacked her ass. "Up on your knees."
Her hands clenched in the bedspread, but she arched her back and obeyed.
Anticipation wouldn't hurt her, so he stayed silent as he retrieved the heavy silver plug. It was wicked, blunt at the tip and sharply flared, with a green jewel flashing from the flat, circular base. Not the sort of adornment you tried with someone inexperienced, but the complete set with their differently colored