What? Oh, shit. Evan’s heart jumped into her throat. She pinned Jace with a desperate stare. “What are you doing?”
“Giving you a choice.”
No. No. No. She didn’t want a choice. She couldn’t be trusted with this choice. Especially not after her lackluster kiss with Colby. “Why are you doing this?”
He wrapped his hand around her nape and without any further warning, brought his mouth down on hers. Electricity, sharp and instant, sparked at the contact, waking every nerve ending in an all-encompassing rush. Oh, Jesus. The muscles in her legs quivered, fighting to hold her upright position, and pulsing heat radiated down to her clit.
He kiss was hard, hungry, not at all tentative like Colby’s. It was a proclamation, a claiming. And God, she wanted to be consumed by it. By him.
But as quickly as he’d started it, he pulled back and straightened. “Just choose me, Evan.”
It took her a second to find her voice and her brain. “Jace, I—”
Something flickered in his eyes, and his mouth hardened into a line. “I know you’re new at this, sub, but you’re to speak only when spoken to. And you need to address me as sir or Master J in public. All you have permission to do right now is choose your dom for the weekend.”
She sucked in a breath, the change in his demeanor and stark authority in his voice almost knocking her off her feet. Everything was happening too fast. Her thoughts and hormones were whirling into a firestorm in her gut, and she couldn’t process any of it.
He frowned. “Answer the question, sub. It’s not that hard. You want Colby or you want me?”
Ha. There was the question of the day. Physically, she wanted Jace so bad her arms strained to bust out of the bindings just so she could touch him. She couldn’t remember ever having a kiss affect her so intensely. But how could she risk being with him even in a casual way? Nothing with Jace had ever been casual for her.Author: Roni Loren
And after what had happened between them in the past, how could she trust him? Back then he’d had her completely convinced that he really cared about her. She’d opened up to him like she had never done with anyone else, and it had all been bullshit. Just Jace fulfilling a duty. A guy trying to make a messed-up girl feel better about herself.
Too bad she hadn’t figured that out before she’d talked her way into his bed one night and taken things too far.
She’d imagined many times that year what losing her virginity to Jace would be like, but being a mercy fuck had never been part of the fantasy.
Neither had getting pregnant.
Though Jace didn’t exactly know about that last part.
So why in the hell was he standing here, asking her if she wanted him? He couldn’t be serious about sleeping with her, dominating her. Her tongue darted out, wetting her lips with a nervous flick. Despite the warning sirens shrieking in her head, the thought had her hot in all the right places.
No, this had to be about his ridiculous protective streak. He probably just wanted her to select him so he could haul her over his shoulder, stuff her back in the limo, and send her home.
She straightened her spine. “I’m serious about trying this, Jace. Don’t do this so you can keep me from participating or give me some edited, half-assed experience. I know you still see me as someone who needs a keeper.”
He frowned. “What I see is a girl jumping into a game she knows nothing about just because her fiancé isn’t doing it for her in bed. But if you’re really here to find out what it’s like, I’m one of the best doms here. I can help you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Thanks, but I don’t need another sympathy screw. You already covered that with me a long time ago.”
He winced.
“Come on, Austin. You’re wasting all of our time,” Colby said.
Jace lowered his voice. “Look, I realize what a dick I was to you back then, and I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am. But I’ll make you a deal, Sasha. I can leave everything outside these doors as long as you can. I want you. And based on that kiss, you want me, too. So let’s keep it that simple. This is sex. The past doesn’t exist here. And I promise whatever I do with you, sympathy or pity definitely will not be a factor.”
She blew out a breath. Could she really block out everything while she was here? Be someone else for a while? She came here for one reason: to feed her physical side in a no-strings-attached environment. Could she do that with Jace? She wasn’t a desperate, love-struck teenager this time. Jace didn’t mean anything to her anymore. And if they didn’t dredge up the past, her secret was safe.
Could she just focus on the fact that he was a sexy man who happened to get her hormones firing faster than any other guy ever had? He certainly stirred up a tempest with a kiss whereas Colby had only left her cold.
Hell, she was a master of compartmentalization. When she’d run away all those years ago, she’d learned very quickly how to lock away painful memories and emotions. It was the only way she’d survived it. And she’d certainly been able to tuck away her libido for the last few years without much incident. So why wouldn’t she be able to do this?
There was no reason. She was strong enough, and she’d earned this chance for indulgence. If Jace stuck to those “no past” rules, then so could she.
She glanced at Colby, who nodded at her as if he already knew what she was going to do and understood. She took a deep breath and turned her gaze back to Jace. “I’m all yours . . . sir.”
The green in Jace’s eyes darkened, clouding the normal humor that resided there. He stepped closer, his intimidating height looming over her as he grasped her elbow and led her away from Colby. Her arms had been bent into L-shapes behind her, so keeping her balance was a challenge, but Jace made sure she didn’t tip over. He took the collar he’d been holding and wound it around her neck.