He was taking the steaks from the grill and putting them on a platter and went completely still when her admission hit him. Then he turned the burners off the other skillets and slowly turned, fire brewing in his eyes.
“Maybe if I wasn’t standing.” She plunged ahead before she lost her nerve. “A man of your expertise surely has a thousand ways of flogging a woman without me having to put any weight on my knee.”
“What I think,” he said slowly, “is that first we should eat. And then afterward we can have this discussion. Preferably with you in my bed, tied up and powerless to do anything but accept the pleasure I give you.”
She gulped. She was supposed to eat now? And actually remember what anything tasted like?
He served portions of the food onto two plates and then put them on the table. Then he returned and carefully lifted her down from the island and carried her over to the table, but instead of depositing her into her own chair, he settled down with her in his lap.
She realized that once again, he was going to feed her, but this time, there was no hesitation on her part. She’d enjoyed it the first time he had fed her by his own hand. Intimacy had cloaked them, pulling them further and further into a hazy fog of passion and arousal.
As he began to feed her—and himself—he complimented her on yet another excellent meal.
“But you cooked, not me!” Evangeline protested.
“I hardly call slapping two steaks on a grill and turning them at the minute marker you set while simply turning on the heat under the other skillets to rewarm the food you’d already prepared cooking the meal,” he said dryly. “It was delicious and I appreciate the effort you underwent to make it special for me. That means a lot to me, Angel. I only regret that you hurt yourself in the process.”
“A skinned knee was worth pleasing you,” she whispered. “I do want to please you, Drake. It’s a need within me I can’t even explain to myself. You give me so much. You make me feel beautiful and wanted. I want so much to give you back even a part of what you give so selflessly to me.”
He kissed her, hugging her closer to his body. “You do please me, Angel. Never doubt that. Now, what do you say we continue this conversation in the bedroom where I can properly tend to my angel and give her what she wants and needs from her man.”
“I’d say that’s the best idea I’ve heard all day,” she whispered against his lips.
Drake carried Evangeline to the bedroom and reverently laid her down on the bed. Then he simply stood over her, his gaze raking up and down her naked body, clear appreciation in his eyes.
For once she felt no shyness or self-consciousness. She felt . . . bold. Like a seductress with a lot more experience than she actually possessed. She didn’t want to be a passive participant in whatever Drake chose for tonight, but at the same time, the idea that he would make all the decisions and have all the control gave her an indescribable thrill.
He frowned when his gaze settled over her knee and he seemed to be thinking.
“How much does it hurt?” he asked. “And don’t sugarcoat it. I’ll do nothing that causes you further pain tonight.”
“It actually feels much better now,” she said truthfully. “I fell asleep on the couch because Silas wouldn’t leave until I was resting on the couch, and I fully intended to get up as soon as he left so I could get a start on dinner, but I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until you called. And since I was immobile for such a long time, my knee was stiff and tender for a while after I started moving around, but it’s loosened up and isn’t nearly as tender.”
His lips tightened. “And if you had called me, I would have ensured you did precisely what Silas told you to do, only you would have been in my arms, me holding you, while you rested.”
The image was so tantalizing that in that moment she wished she had allowed Zander to call Drake.
“I wish I had called you now,” she whispered.
He leaned down and brushed a gentle kiss over her knee and then looked up so their gazes locked.
“In the future, make sure you do.”
“I will,” she promised.
A gleam of a different kind entered his eyes. The one of a predator, full of heat and anticipation that had her breathless and edgy with indescribable need.
“You could make me feel all better now,” she said in a husky voice that was filled with invitation.
“Oh yes, my angel. I intend to do just that. But first, I’m going to crop that sweet ass so that it bears my marks when I fuck you.”