“Willow misbehaved, and I want to ensure that never happens again.”
13
Willow
My heart stopped.
What?
But he had grinned when I met his gaze, almost as if he were proud of me for disobeying the society rules. He’d also asked me to do that when we were alone. Yet now he wanted to punish me for it?
Were we not alone when I met his gaze?
Did he know I scanned the room when I should have been submitting?
Had I completely misread his cues?
The elevator car came to a halt, scattering goose bumps along my exposed arms. What’s he going to do to me?
I didn’t dare meet his gaze now, my shoulders caving in a way that made me feel small. A memory began to surface, something involving claws and tee—
“Willow.” Ryder grabbed my chin and tilted my head to the side, forcing me to look at him. His dark eyes searched mine. “What do you call me if I push too far?”
My brow furrowed. “What?”
“Were you not paying attention on the plane?” he asked, tsking. “Then I guess we’ll review it thoroughly now.”
His palm drifted from my lower back to my hip as he stepped in front of me with his back facing the elevator door. He kept his other hand on my chin, forcing me to maintain eye contact with him.
“You call me by my given name when we’re around others. You call me by my title when it’s just you and me. Damien doesn’t count as ‘others.’ Nod so I know you understand.”
Was he implying that I could stop whatever was about to happen by uttering his name? Wait, no, it was his title in private that would cause him to stop. But would he really? It seemed unlikely considering he wanted to punish me for defying him.
“Hmm. That’s not a nod.” He started walking me backward until my shoulder blades hit a hard chest behind me. Damien. I hadn’t even felt him move, my attention on Ryder.
“Perhaps she doesn’t understand the purpose of a safe word,” Damien suggested.
“Yes, nor does she appear to believe me when I say I don’t share.” His hand on my hip drifted to the slit in my gown, thus allowing his fingertips to brush my skin. Goose bumps cascaded down my limbs from his teasing touch.
What is this man doing to me?
His nearness stirred an intoxicating mix of hot and cold sensations deep inside me. How did he plan to punish me? What had I done wrong? Why does he smell so damn good?
I inhaled his minty essence, my tongue parched for a taste. His scent, combined with the cinnamon and spice of the male behind me, and I forgot how to utter my own name.
Two powerful vampires, caging me between their hard, lethal bodies.
Oh, Goddess…
“Your heart’s racing, Willow,” Ryder murmured, his nose going to my neck. “I can practically feel it in my mouth, pulsing madly. Are you afraid? Or is it something else?”
I couldn’t answer him because I didn’t know. My legs began to shake, my chest throbbing from the impulse of an unknown desire laced with darkness and intrigue.
His presence was hypnotizing me.
No, their presence was the cause. Two deadly vampires, trapping their prey and using their alluring wills to lull me into a pliant state.
There was no fighting this.
They were too masculine, too predatory, for me to resist.
Ryder hummed against my throat as his fingers drifted across my thigh to find the damp apex between my legs. He drew a finger through my slit, his touch like liquid fire. I jolted against him, then gasped as Damien captured my hips with his palms to hold me in place.
“I don’t share, Willow,” Ryder whispered, his lips tracing a path up the column of my neck to my ear. “I told you that on the plane, yet your reactions tonight suggested you don’t believe me. So I’m going to teach you a lesson, sweet pet. Ready?”
No, I wanted to say. But I found myself nodding, almost as if he were my master and pulling my puppet strings. Perhaps he was. Vampires could control minds to an extent. Was he in mine right now? Conducting my actions?
His fingertip brushed my clit, causing me to groan and forget my own thoughts.
Ryder chuckled against my ear. “I’m accepting that sound as an affirmative.” His teeth skimmed my jaw, stirring a tingling sensation inside, then his mouth captured mine in a kiss that was borderline harsh. I panted against him, my lungs burning for a deeper breath. But