Indebted - Piper Stone Page 0,17

more time and there will not be a third. Lower your jeans and panties and lean over the edge of the desk.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off the action as he slowly drew the thick strap from his beltloops. Every part of me shaking, I forced myself to move forward, my fingers stiff as I attempted to follow his orders.

A shadow of darkness swept over me as I forced my feet to respond, inching closer to the oppressive-looking desk. I found it difficult to believe that he was going to spank me like some bad little girl. Everything about the experience was overwhelming, pushing me closer to the edge, unable to think coherently.

I could no longer look at him, even allowing my hair to fall into my face as I managed to unfasten my jeans, struggling to slide them over my hips. A waft of cold air skittered across my skin, my heart hammering in my chest as I slipped my fingers under the thin elastic of my panties. I’d never felt so vulnerable, exposed for a man I didn’t know but one who considered himself my owner.

Easing across his desk dragged the very last of my sanity away. Even my throat clenched, tentacles of madness clawing their way to the surface. I clamped my fingers around the opposite edge, pressing my face against the cool wood as the anticipation and anxiety became pinpricks of raw anguish.

There was no sound for at least two full minutes, the wait becoming utter agony. When I finally heard his solid footsteps, I sucked in my breath as a single bead of perspiration trickled down from my forehead. A series of dazzling sensations indicated he’d moved closer until I was able to sense his foreboding presence, his muscular body as it loomed over mine. I choked back a cry, refusing to give into his basic tyranny.

In my mind, he was a true monster.

I didn’t know him, had no understanding of who he was or the weight he’d carried with my father. I found it difficult to believe that the man who’d raised me from a baby could tolerate doing business with anyone who could treat another human being this way.

Perhaps I did need the salvation of penance, but only for trusting someone I believed to be my friend. I wasn’t a bad person. I’d never purposely broken any rules, whether those doled out in my father’s household or in society in general. I’d been a good girl my entire life.

Then why did Gabriel’s words reverberate in my mind?

No. No! This wasn’t happening. I couldn’t be entrapped by a man who had no idea about my life.

Please let me go. Please.

I loathed admitting I was intimidated, but the simple truth was there. He had a way about him, not just the words he said as if knowing everything about me, but also his mannerisms. It was as if he was better than everyone else, his tether on others strengthening over time.

I wasn’t expecting the warm touch of his hand or the way my body reacted when he stretched out his fingers, shifting them across the rounded curve of my hip. A series of vibrations increased, my pulse skipping. I held my breath for fear of allowing him to learn of my body’s betrayal, almost instantly becoming dizzy.

His caress seemed practiced given the way he brushed the tips of his fingers from one hipbone to the other, finally sliding them down my rounded bottom. But not before digging his well-manicured nails into my skin. He wanted me to whimper, to attest to the fact I’d accepted his superiority. That wasn’t going to happen. Not now.

Not ever.

When he pulled a single finger down my thigh, the scent of my feminine wiles wafted into my nostrils. I was a sick woman to be aroused by this horrible deed.

My stomach churned, twisting from the stark reality of what I was facing.

And the punishment that he was prepared to dole out.

Harsh and brutal, just like the man he portrayed himself to be.

Gabriel shifted his hand between my legs, daring to dip them close to my wetness. I clenched my pussy muscles, fighting the urge to cry out.

To give him the satisfaction that I was excited.

To allow him to understand my fractured nature.

To accept the level of control he so desperately needed.

“I have the power to grant precious moments of pleasure, but I will never do so without your complete surrender,” he said casually, as if this were just a game,