“You’re right, I loved every fucking second. Feeling you was all my most sinful fantasies come true. I won’t lie to you anymore. But you couldn’t handle everything I’d do to you.” He spun back to her, torment choking his words from his throat. “You have no idea what I’d demand. Fuck, Raine, you passed out on me after I’d barely gotten a taste of you. You’re not wired to deal with my needs. Look at you. Look at the marks I’ve left. You’re already bruised and…fuck! They almost didn’t stop me. You’re built for a tender Dom who can give you that picket fence you crave. I can’t be anything but an unrelenting Master.”
“What kind of bullshit is that? So I got tired? I’m here this morning. Use me.” She tossed off the blankets and spread her legs, trying to hold in her wince of pain...and failing. Hell, she was so sore. And Hammer’s stare flicked over her, settling on her pussy for a long moment before drifting back to her face. His cock grew hard in his sweats, but he didn’t move a muscle toward her.
“Whatever you want, I’ll get used to it. Give me more than five minutes to adjust! Bruises are no big deal. And I never said anything about picket fences. Can’t we just...be together right now and see what happens? Make love, have breakfast, work together, grab a nooner, then a nice dinner before the club starts hopping and—”
“No.” He silenced her midsentence. “You don’t understand. I’m not the kind of man who shares a relationship. I demand one. On my terms. There’s no vanilla give and take.”
None of this made sense to her. “But…you’re great with everyone. Employees love you. Patrons all say you’re flexible and fair and—”
“Because they don’t wear my collar. Let me tell you what I’d expect if you did, because it’s a far cry from what you’re imaging.” He spun back to the bed, eyes blazing into hers. “In the morning when you wake up, I’ll unchain you from the bed.” Her eyes flew open wide in disbelief. “That’s right, unchain you from my bed. Then I’ll force your mouth to my cock and you’ll suck me off before your feet even hit the floor. Then you’ll leave the room to fix my breakfast. There won’t be any sweet talk at the table unless I wish it. Most likely, you’ll be on your knees at my feet while I eat. I’ll spoon-feed you what and when I decide. You’ll be naked twenty-four/seven, unless I take you out in public. Then—” His grating scoff sliced into her skin, up her back—“you’ll wear what I choose. You’ll cut your hair the way I want it. You’ll wear the fragrance I like. Your pussy will be waxed at all times. Your fingernails will be short with clear polish only. Most of all, you’ll take my cock anywhere, any way, and any time I decide without so much as a peep of protest. If I want to fuck you on the sidewalk in broad daylight, you’ll let me. And if I want to share you? Yes, that’s right, I said share you, you’ll spread yourself wide and welcome another man’s cock into your pussy, ass, or mouth at my command. None of this is negotiable. You will tell me every day that you accept and crave my every desire. Because that’s what I need to be happy. And don’t blow smoke up my ass and tell me that what I’ve described is your dream, too.” He jerked upright as his frustration poured through the room. “I need a slave, Raine, not a sub. And you have no idea the toll that would take on you. I’ve already been through the havoc it can wreak on a woman ill prepared, and I’m not willing to live through it again. That’s fucking final.”
“Seriously? This is the lie you’re going to tell me to get away from me? I’ve seen you every day for the last six years. I’ve even watched you scene when you thought I wasn’t looking. You’ve never treated a woman like that.” She rose with a stomp of her feet and looked around for her clothes, only to remember that he’d dragged Liam’s robe off her in the bar, and they’d left it there. And she’d be damned if she would put anything of Hammer’s on her body right now. “You would have had more success just telling me that you’d fucked me out of your system and are done with me. This slave bullshit is pathetic. But whatever. You want me gone? I’m gone. I should have left yesterday, like I planned. At least I’d be minus a few hickies, bruises, and a sore pussy. But I get the message. You’re just a miserable fucking bastard who wants to be alone. No problem.”