I just had to find out why first.
I walked over to her and held out my hand, silently asking for her consent once again. She took my hand without a second thought, and I slowly led her over to the sitting area by the bed. I held my arm out for her, allowing her to steady herself in her heels as she sat onto the full-leather chair, then I pulled up the ottoman and sat with my back straight.
I rolled my shoulders back and drew in a deep breath, expanding my chest as her eyes took in my every movement.
Then, I asked the one question that would start off a night I would never forget.
“Why are you here?”
CHAPTER FIVE – ROSE
I felt like I had been hypnotized. As I sat there, staring into the eyes of the man every woman downstairs wanted, all I could hear was the blood rushing through my ears. My body was being tugged toward him, wanting him in a way I’d never experienced before. My nipples were painful peaks underneath my lacy bra and I could feel my underwear growing wet as I sat down into the leather chair. His movements were fluid. Languid. Simple. Caring in a way I didn’t expect with how Eli seemed to describe a dominant. His icy gaze held onto mine as my surroundings hit me with an unrecognizable force and, suddenly, I started to digest what was happening.
I was in a dominant’s lair as an inexperienced virgin.
Surprisingly, I didn’t give a damn.
I was surrounded by some sort of fantasy. A room designed to fulfill things people could only conjure up in their imagination. The shower looked absolutely decadent and the tub was something I could swim laps in. The dungeon was an avenue that shivered me with fear and yet the man before me wasn’t someone to be feared.
At least, for me he wasn’t.
I had to admit, I was titillated. My eyes kept darting around the room, taking in its wonders as I settled back into the leather chair. I could feel his eyes on me as he sat on the ottoman in front of me, his stature growing tall as he straightened out his back. I had no idea what type of world I was stepping into. Hell, I didn’t even know how much of this stuff was supposed to come into play. The ropes and chains that donned the walls and the toys that hung up on hooks were things I didn’t even recognize.
But then my eyes fell on a line of paddles that were affixed to the wall just beyond the dark prince’s shoulder and I started to shiver.
The intensity of the moment was too much to bear. I could feel my entire body trembling in the leather chair as a chill shot down my spine. The intensity of the man before me, surrounded by the chilling intensity of the room he’d led me into, bubbled something in the pit of my gut I’d never felt before.
I wished I could define it but all it did was bring tears to my eyes.
“Why are you here?”
His voice ripped me from my trance and I paused, attempting to formulate my answer. My watery gaze connected back with his but, if he caught it, he didn’t show it. I felt a tear trail down my cheek as a shuddering breath left my lips and, for the first time in my life, I honestly didn’t know what to say.
Why in the world was I here?
“Well,” I said breathlessly. “My friend, um, brought me here.”
But all he did was stare at me and I got the feeling that my shaking sentence hadn’t been enough for him.
“She, uh… invited me to… to New York. To see her. For the weekend. I, uh, haven’t seen her since culinary school and I’d missed her. I’m from a small town near the Poconos and I don’t really get to the city often. At least, since I left school. After, well… after everything happened.”
I felt like an idiot, stammering on like a childish schoolgirl, while this poised man held his hungry gaze on my face. I felt my words trail off as another silent tear cascaded down my cheek and, in a split second, I felt his fingertips graze my skin.
This thumb was wiping away my tear trails before his hand cupped my cheek, bringing my gaze back to his.
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “Why are you here now? With me?”
I felt my cheeks heat up with his touch as I involuntarily nuzzled into his palm. I had no idea why I was here with him, so I simply stayed silent.
“It’s very clear you’re inexperienced,” he said.
“I’m sorry.”
His hand rushed to my chin, clenching it tightly, and I yelped; not in pain, but in surprise.
“Never be sorry for something like that.” It was as if his voice had dropped an entire octave and I could feel a throbbing between my legs. I wanted him to use that voice again. I didn’t know why and I didn’t know for what, but all I wanted to do was hear those notes grace my eardrums again.