up from down anymore. My emotions are all over the place: furious one minute, almost incoherent with desire the next.
Bastard.
I slosh some tonic into the gin and take a huge gulp. I suppose this place isn’t too bad… for a prison.
“Living room’s through here,” Maximus says, leading the way. I follow him, my eyes on stalks as I try to take it all in: the sand-colored walls, high ceilings crossed with dark beams, polished hardwood floors, and blatantly expensive furniture and rugs. There are banks of floor-to-ceiling windows everywhere, like shiny black mirrors.
Maximus sinks into a huge, plush sofa and pats the spot beside him with his free hand. “Come sit by me,” he says in that dominant growl, and my legs take me toward him as if they have a life of their own.
“How are you feeling, pet?” he says, once I’ve sat down.
Tired. Confused. Horny. Frustrated. “Fine,” I say.
His hand, idly stroking the back of my head, suddenly grips a chunk of hair at my nape and tugs sharply. “What did I tell you about lying to me?”
“I’m sorry,” I whimper even as a bolt of desire shoots through my lower belly. The man is a revelation: one touch, and I’m putty in his hands. “I’m… confused, Sir. I’m feeling a lot of things.”
“That’s understandable.” His grip loosens and he resumes stroking me gently. I shiver. “How’s your ass?”
Now I’m smiling despite myself. “Sore. Good.”
“Good,” he echoes. “I did so enjoy hurting you.”
Another deep, languid thump reverberates through my core.
“And you took it so well. Spread your thighs.”
My sex must be raw, and I’m certain even the slightest touch now would be excruciating, but I still find myself obeying his command. It’s like I have no free will around him.
“Good girl.”
I’m holding my breath, waiting for his touch, but nothing happens. Instead, he takes a sip of his whisky, his other hand still playing with my hair. Feeling stupid, I begin to close my knees again but his growl stops me dead.
“Keep them open until I tell you otherwise.”
It’s humiliating, sitting beside him with my thighs splayed, but it’s somehow also supremely erotic. I drain my gin and tonic to hide how aroused I am. Maximus might be bossy, and strange, and extremely secretive, but he is easily the sexiest man I’ve ever met. A mere raised eyebrow from him turns me on more than hours of foreplay with anyone else.
“You smell so good,” he whispers. “And so wet. I can smell your excitement from here.”
My cheeks are on fire and I close my eyes, wanting to hide from his scrutiny but aware that there’s nowhere to go.
“I wonder, pet… are you still wet from before, or is it turning you on again to sit here on my couch, wearing nothing but a blanket, your thighs spread like a hungry, greedy little slut who’s desperate for cock?”
The moan escapes my lips before I can stop it. His crude words make me feel ashamed and aroused at the same time, and I hate myself for it.
“You want me again, don’t you?” His growl is like a caress. “That sensitive place between your legs is sore and achy but it’s also swollen and throbbing, isn’t it? Desperate for my fingers… my tongue… my cock…”
I open my eyes and watch him as, with deliberate slowness, he finishes his whisky and sets the tumbler on the coffee table. Taking my empty glass from my hand, he puts that down as well. Then his fingertips are tracing the top of my thigh. I let out another helpless moan.
“Say it, sweet Sabina,” he murmurs. “Tell me what you want.”
I close my eyes again—anything to hide from his penetrating stare—and shake my head. I can’t say it. I can’t.
The pinch he delivers to my inner thigh is so savage that I gasp and jerk back.
“I won’t ask you again,” he snarls.
“Please,” I whisper, not even sure what I’m asking for. Mindless with need is an expression I’ve heard and read about so many times, but I never really understood it.
Until now.
“Please… what?” He’s stopped stroking my hair now and is gripping the nape of my neck. The scrap of skin on my inner thigh that he’s got trapped between his nails is burning almost as hot as my face.
“I don’t know,” I moan. “I can’t… I can’t think straight right now.”
He tuts sympathetically, and I gasp as he takes his nails out of my flesh. “Poor little pet. Shall I help you?”
I nod.
“You can do