He moved her hand away from him and guided her fingers to the curls between her thighs. His fingers intertwined with hers and stroked over her clit with slow, deliberate motion, his thick warm fingertips alternating with her cold ones. The sensation had her biting her lip and tilting her head back. “Kade . . .”
“So if you insult your body again or try to hide it from me, I’ll turn you over my knee and redden that pretty round ass of yours. Understand?” He pressed his fingers inside her and she gasped both at the feel of it and the threat.
“You’d sp-spank me?” she asked, having trouble grabbing onto words as he pumped his fingers inside her with slow precision.
He chuckled softly against her ear. “Now who’s the stutterer?”
“Cocky bastard,” she whispered, no ire behind it.
“Yes, and a kinky one—spanking included.”
She lowered her forehead to rest on his shoulder, needing him for balance. His admission had her blood moving faster, fear of the unknown warring with ravenous curiosity. “How kinky?”
He cupped the back of her head with his free hand and touched his lips to her ear. “So kinky that there’s probably not a fantasy you can tell me that I’m not willing to make happen for you. And a thousand filthier ones that you haven’t even considered yet that I can introduce you to.”
Guh. Her belly dropped to her toes and a hefty dose of oh-God-YES dumped into her bloodstream. Fantasies. Lord, she’d harbored many over the years, illicit images weaved late at night while reading naughty romance novels and lying awake next to her uninterested husband. Secret desires filed away in the darkest recesses of her psyche and never spoken aloud. Things Doug would’ve called her a slut for even considering.
Kade must’ve noticed her reaction because she could hear the smile in his voice at his next words. “The question is . . . where do we start?”
THIRTEEN
Kade could feel the shudder go through Tessa’s body at his words, and he had to hold back the groan of satisfaction. There were nerves there, anticipation. Her pulse was beating hard at her throat. But he didn’t sense fear in her. He knew he was coming on strong by making her strip out here. She wasn’t his submissive. She probably wouldn’t even know what that meant. But he needed to do something to push her boundaries to see how she’d react. He had no intentions of letting this be their last night together, but he had to make sure she wasn’t turned off or freaked out with how he liked things. Because he could make a lot of accommodations, but smothering his dominance wasn’t an option. He’d tried in the past, trying to convince himself it was something he could take or leave. Epic fail.
But now he could breathe a bit. Tessa had protested out of surprise at first, but as soon as he’d assured her he’d keep her safe, she’d complied. And when he’d mentioned fantasies, she’d gone so hot and wet that he’d damn near spread her out on the hood of the car for a taste. But it was way too chilly for a Whitesnake video reenactment. He needed to get her inside.
He pulled a strip of silk from his back pocket. “Lift your head. I’m going to blindfold you.”
She raised her head, her gaze startled, but she didn’t move away when he fastened the black strip over her eyes. She reached out and gripped his biceps. “I feel like I’m going to fall.”
“Shh, take a breath. The first few seconds can be disorienting, especially in unfamiliar surroundings, but trust that I have you and won’t let you hurt yourself.” He moved to her side and grasped her elbow. “Now walk.”
Tentatively, she put one foot out in front of her and tapped as if to make sure a trap door wasn’t going to open up. Kade bit back a smile. Soon, he hoped to have her trusting him so much that she’d sprint ahead blindfolded if he told her to. But he knew that’d take time and he still didn’t know if she’d agree to see him for more than a two-night stand, so he let her do her little herky-jerky steps forward while he kept her steady. When he guided her inside the cabin, he made sure
she was holding onto the door frame, and then stepped back a moment to soak in the sight of her. The cabin was still dark and the moon backlit her form, highlighting every curve in silver.
Never in his life could he have imagined that the girl he’d so lusted over—maybe even thought he loved at one point—would be beautifully naked, waiting for his command, in the same place she’d spurned him after he’d tried to kiss her so long ago. It was a gift he wouldn’t take for granted. If a teenage Kaden Fowler had hopped into Doc Brown’s DeLorean to visit the future, he would’ve never made it back because this vision would’ve made his brain implode.
Tessa reached out to find the other side of the doorframe. “Where are you?”
“Just looking at you, Tess,” he said, taking her hand again and leading her all the way inside. He pulled open the curtains to let some moonlight flood in. “And wondering how best to rechristen this cabin.”
“I have a few ideas,” she said, a shy undercurrent in her voice.
“Tell me.”
She rubbed her lips together. He got the impression that she wasn’t someone who was used to voicing her needs or fantasies. That would change quickly if he had anything to do with it. He wanted to know every sordid thought that had ever gotten her hot. But to her credit, despite her obvious qualms, she answered him. “When we used to come here, even after I’d promised myself that I’d only think of you as a friend, I’d catch you watching me with this look that . . . I don’t know . . . it was so intense. I remember wondering what you would do to me if I gave you the green light. And even though I knew it was wrong, part of me was desperate to know. I’d lie in bed at night and imagine me saying yes to you, imagining what your hands would feel like on me. I’d . . . touch myself and imagine it was you doing it.”
Christ. The words were painting a picture straight out of his teenage spank bank. How many times had he gone home with the same thoughts? Tess saying yes, Tess choosing him, Tess being his. He was surprised he hadn’t developed a chafing problem with as much as he was jerking off that year. “I would’ve given you whatever you wanted.”
She squeezed his hand. “I know. I used you as my emotional crutch. You were more my boyfriend than Doug was after a while, but I wouldn’t grant you the right to act as such. You got the tough stuff without the fun benefits. So maybe the best way to rechristen this cabin is to right that wrong. You have all the green lights you want now. Take what I wish I would’ve given you back then.”
“Tess,” he said, pulling her against him, an ache in his gut . . . and decidedly lower. “Are you giving me your virginity?”
She gave him a heartbreakingly sweet smile. “Second time’s a charm.”
He pulled off her blindfold at that, needing to see her eyes. “I wouldn’t have known what to do with you back then. But I would’ve done my best to make it good for you.”
“I know,” she whispered, her gaze a little wistful.