The grip on her neck and his words coalesced in the small space of her entryway, creating a foggy, heady feeling that wasn’t altogether unpleasant. This was it. No more safety net. Even though she’d surrendered to him at The Ranch, she knew he was still holding back parts of himself. She’d seen the things the other dominants did to their submissives. Kade had never tried any of that with her. The only pain had been spanking.
She’d realized that night that he’d been going easy on her, introducing her slowly to his darker side, keeping it all playful, fun fantasy. She’d been thankful for it at first, the heavier stuff scaring her. But she couldn’t deny that lately, she’d found herself imagining more, amping up the intensity in her mind and wondering what it would be like for Kade to go into full primal mode with her—she’d sensed it there right beneath his surface and now it was glittering on the forefront like moonlight on black water. The idea of exposing herself to that primitive side of Kade both turned her on and scared her. But in her heart of hearts, she did trust him to not physically harm her.
“I want this—whatever this is.”
“This,” he said, guiding her none too gently down to her knees by her neck, “is the ugly part.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
Kade loomed over her, every trace of his normally easygoing expression gone. “On all fours. Crawl to the bedroom.”
She got in position but peeked upward before moving. He couldn’t be serious. “You want me to crawl like a dog?”
His expression hardened and he wrapped his fingers in her hair. “No, I want you to do what I say without question. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” she managed, though her heart seemed to be pounding so hard it was affecting her vocal cords.
He tugged her forward, not hard enough to do damage, but enough to make her scalp tingle in protest and her body move beneath her. He led her into her bedroom and left her there on the floor while he turned on her bedside lamp. When he swiveled back around, he gave her an appraising look. “Are you wearing anything important to you? Something that can’t be replaced?”
She shook her head.
“Good. Stand up.”
She scrambled to her feet, her body going on autopilot for the commands. The whole thing should have freaked her out, but for some reason, everything inside her pinged with anticipation—like watching a horror movie and knowing something was about to jump from behind the curtain but unable to look away. This was Kade without a filter.
Kade closed the distance, his gaze like lead weights anywhere it landed on her. He reached out and grabbed the collar of her blouse with both hands and yanked, sending the buttons flying.
“Kade! What are you doing?”
The buttons skittered along the wood floor, and he tossed the shredded blouse to the side. His han
d went to her neck, collaring it. “I’m doing what I want. Take the jeans off.”
Oh, shit. Hello, deep end of the pool, nice to meet you. She fumbled with her snap and zipper, the presence of his hand on her throat making her thoughts branch and divert in directions she couldn’t quite follow, but eventually she managed to work the jeans down and off.
“Good girl.” He ran his fingers along her jawline. “Scared?”
She rolled her lips inward, considering the question, but then shook her head. “No, not exactly. Confused maybe.”
He watched her as she spoke, as if recording every verbal and physiological response she had. “By me or your reactions?”
“Both.”
That answer seemed to give him what he was looking for. He turned her in his hold, putting her back to his front. His erection was hot against her backside, and everything went liquid inside her. She almost didn’t want to admit to herself how turned on she was already. His lips brushed her ear. “We all have sides that we don’t show the world, Tess. The back of the coin. This is mine. I like some violence, some edges. A little darkness. Let’s see what your flipside looks like.”
He grasped her upper arms and walked her to the bed, then pressed a palm to the center of her back bending her over. He nudged her ankles apart.
“Eyes closed. Stay there.”
“Okay,” she whispered, her heart beating so hard she wondered if it could leave an imprint in the mattress.
The sound of his footsteps receded. He’d left the room, but she didn’t have the guts to look back to see where he was going. A rummaging noise came from somewhere in the house, and then Kade was back, his presence seeming to charge the room with static. Something cool touched her shoulder. She sucked a breath.
“Don’t. Move.”
A metallic edge ran over her skin and under the strap of her bra, sending fear pulsing through her. Oh, God.
Kade knew he was pushing it as he ran the dull edge of a knife along Tessa’s skin. Fire was still running through his veins from earlier. And he needed this more than Tessa could even understand. But he also was acutely aware of how wrong this could go if he wasn’t one hundred percent on his game.