“Yes, but it’s more than that. I like hard and rough, and when it comes to the woman I’m with, however short a time, she’s mine.”
“Yours? Like you own her?”
He glanced at her. “For the time we’re together, she’s mine. Totally and completely. I wouldn’t call it ownership, more of a strict understanding. Until our time is up or she says no.”
A tremor of anticipation raced through her. She liked the idea of him wanting her to that extreme. She also liked having him. It wasn’t a bad thing in her mind. It made her feel valued. Protected, in a very different way than she was used to.
“Trust is key,” he said. “You’d have to trust me to know your body. I’d have to trust you to be honest. Trust that you’d tell me no when you feel uncomfortable, and trust that you’d keep our time together a secret.”
Yes, their “relationship” would be best kept between them. Because their tightknit group of friends would likely have their own reaction if they found out exactly what was going on. Ryder knew about Bass’s short-term policy, and if he found out Penny was in the rotation, he’d freak. Likely so would the rest of their friends, thinking she needed to be protected. But she didn’t want protection. She wanted domination.
“Yes, I understand,” she said.
“I can give you lessons in sex, but the minute you say no, it ends. I respect that word implicitly.”
“What if I never say no?”
“Then we work in a timeframe of two weeks.”
“Why two weeks? I mean, I know you don’t do long term, but how did you choose fourteen days as your timeframe?”
“Anything longer and emotions tend to cloud the situation.” He said that so bluntly, like he’d experienced this problem before.
“Colt and Jenna are getting married in two weeks.”
“Yes. So come that time, we’re done. If you even last that long.”
She swallowed hard. He was trying to make it sound scary, but all she heard was the adventure and excitement in this new arrangement. A short-term arrangement. Which left her wondering, “Then what?”
“Then we go back to being friends. No one is any the wiser.”
She pursed her lips. “And Ryder?”
“I don’t like the idea of lying to my best friend, but if you’re set on fucking someone—” He took a deep breath, and those dark eyes pierced her. “I’d rather it be me.”
His internal struggle was clear. She didn’t want to put him in a situation to lie to Ryder, but she wasn’t willing to give up this chance with the one man that made her feel more like a woman than a girl.
She looked at him for a long moment. He was so starkly beautiful. Dark hair and eyes, thick lips that s
et into a stern line. He was chiseled out of lean muscle, and his black tee fit tight around his chest and biceps. What could a man like him do to her?
She wanted to find out. Might die if she didn’t.
“So we’d be together during the rehearsal dinner.” It was the night before the wedding, and one Penny was looking forward to. She was hosting and catering it.
“We would not be together,” he said. “Privately, yes. But publicly, no. Not at the rehearsal.”
Looked like she would go stag to the rehearsal then. Which was fine. Because like he’d said, at least in private, they’d be together.
“Okay,” she said. “So we’re in agreement.” She rested her hand on his knee.
“First lesson,” he said, keeping his eyes on the road. “Take that hand and put it on your breast.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he shot her a hard stare, so she did as she was told. She took her hand from his knee and cupped her breast. He stole a glance. Just that quick look made her nipples harden and her skin buzz with need. This was out of her element. She’d never done such a thing in front of someone before.
When her hand slowed and uncertainty crept in, he said, “Both hands, rub your breasts. Close your eyes and imagine it’s me.”
She glanced down at the one hand she already had on herself.