“Yes, sir.”
“Good, girl. Let’s go.”
In one swift movement, Reid lifted her off her feet and into his arms as if she weighed nothing. She grabbed for his neck, disoriented from the blindfold. “Whoa.”
“I’ve got you, sugar. I won’t let you fall.”
Sounds drifted to her ears as they made their way across the yard—crickets, frogs, the rustle of the leaves as the breeze touched them. She wondered if the landscaping continued around the side of the house or if she’d be exposed to the neighbors. The idea that people might see her half-naked, being carried by this powerful man, should’ve bothered her, but she was at ease in his arms.
She had given herself to him, so if he wanted her exposed to others, then that was up to him. Tonight, he owned her.
Damp heat pooled between her thighs at the thought.
Uh-oh.
What had she gotten herself into?
What the hell had he gotten himself into? Reid sat a blindfolded Brynn down on the edge of the bed and tossed her purse by the footboard. “Don’t move.”
He stalked back to the doorway of the bedroom and leaned against the frame, watching her. He had fully expected her to bail the minute he’d asked her to strip in front of Jace—that had been his intent. But she’d shocked him, calling his bluff. And the minute he’d seen her bend to his will, he’d gotten an intoxicating rush so strong, it had made his head spin.
Jace laid a hand on his shoulder, keeping his voice low. “The room’s yours. Leah and I will hang out in the main house. You need anything else from me? Do you want me to stay?”
Possessiveness ripped through him like lightning, and he had to dial it back before responding. “No. I’ll be… fine.”
Now if only he could believe that.
Jace’s gaze flitted to Brynn, then back to him. “Just trust yourself. She does.”
Reid nodded, the weight of that knowledge settling over him. “I know.”
Jace closed the door behind him, shutting out his last safety net. Reid stared at Brynn. Even in the soft lamplight of the room, he could see the rosy buds of her nipples peeking through the lace of her bra. His cock strained against the denim of his jeans, hardening to the point of agony. Since she’d shown up on Jace’s doorstep tonight, he’d been trying to hold back, trying to prove to himself he was over this stupid fantasy. But seeing Brynn offer herself to him so naively had only served to conjure familiar images of her collared before him. God, he was so fucked.
His mother had always taught him you could tell everything about a man based on the way he treated a woman. She’d spent her life as an advocate for women’s rights. And now here he was, unable to resist the urge to dominate Brynn like she was some kind of slave. His mom would’ve been so ashamed.
But he was done questioning it for the night. He had to cleanse this from his system, and Brynn needed to see why she shouldn’t jump into things she knew nothing about. By the end of this, they could both move on. They’d either go forward and start a normal relationship, or more likely, she would run away completely freaked out and want nothing to do with him. Either way, tonight he was giving himself over to it.r: Roni Loren
“Brynn—”
“No, seriously. It’s not like I was expecting exclusivity or whatever, but I think I’ll have a hard time scraping the image of the three of you from my brain.” A flash of the beautiful girl wrapped around Reid’s naked body went through her mind, making her want to heave.
He latched his other hand on her opposite arm, squaring her to face him, his blue eyes fierce. “But I don’t want her, I want you.”
She jerked her arms from his grip, no longer able to keep the lid on her boiling anger. “Oh, right. Because cancelling a date with me to go tag-team fuck some other girl is exactly the way to show me you care. You should write goddamned Hallmark cards.”
He ran a hand over his face, his expression stricken. “No, it’s just… complicated.”
She smirked. “No, I think it’s pretty simple. Now you know why I didn’t want you to come inside my house. My life is ugly. I wouldn’t want to get involved with me either. Good-bye, Reid.”
She turned her back to him and stuck her key in her car door.
“Screw it. You want to talk about secrets?” he asked, his volume rising. “Let’s do that, then.”
She turned the lock and reached for the door handle.
“You know why that girl is here? Because I’m screwed up, Brynn. When I look at you, I don’t just want to play nice and date you. I don’t just want to fuck you. I want to own you. Tie you to my bed and do whatever the hell I want to you. Use you.”
Every muscle in her body stilled and some foreign emotion stirred low and deep in her belly. She couldn’t turn around; she just stared back at her own wide-eyed reflection in her car window.