“Jace, is the guesthouse unlocked?” Reid asked, his voice disconcertingly calm.
“No, but I can go grab the key and open it for you.”
Reid nodded. “Thanks. Do that.”
Jace jogged toward the side of the house, and Reid walked toward Brynn with deliberate steps, his eyes not leaving hers. The moonless evening and the soft garden lights cast his face in a combination of light and shadow, but the intensity of his expression was clear. She held her breath, her heart beating so fast she worried it would hop out of her chest and flop onto the ground between them.
When he reached her, his hand cupped her bare shoulder. “Turn around and close your eyes.”
She followed his instruction and faced the car. Soft cotton brushed against her face, then tightened over her eyes—her dress, now a blindfold. His fingertips caressed the back of her neck, making her shiver despite the muggy night air. “You’re mine tonight. I let Jace look at you, but he gets nothing else now, you understand?”
She nodded, relief flooding through her. She liked Jace, but it was Reid she wanted touching her. Even if this version of Reid was one she hadn’t quite met yet.
He kissed her shoulder blade, nipped at it. “You remember what you called me the first time we met?”
She paused, trying to wrangle in her buzzing brain so she could concentrate. What had she called him? Reid? No. She wet her lips. “Sir.”
His hand curled around her waist, caressing her bare stomach. “That’s right. Tonight, that’s what you call me.”
The feel of his fingers and the seductive confidence of his voice hypnotized her. She nodded again.
“Tell me you understand,” he said, his voice low but firm.
“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.