She tapped her lips with her fingers. “I wonder if I’ll be loud when I fuck. I hear some women are loud. Others hold it all inside and don’t make much noise. Granted, it’s probably harder to remain quiet when more than one man is servicing a woman at the same time.”
She crossed her arms and squeezed her breasts together. Unlike her sister, she’d started wearing a bra in the last few months. Bras weren’t a luxury the two of them had ever had living off the grid. Their mother wore them, but it would’ve been difficult to get their hands on anything that fit properly, and besides, neither of them had very large breasts, so it wasn’t a big deal.
Nevertheless, the addition of bras to her wardrobe had given her confidence to wear tighter shirts and more revealing clothing. She wasn’t a fan of everyone seeing her nipples, so the new lingerie was a game-changer.
Stuart’s gaze wandered down to her chest when she crossed her arms, and then he jerked it back up front and center. “You’re not going to listen to a word I say, are you?”
“Probably not. Not while you insist on being irrational and lying to both of us. It’s possible I might be inclined to listen to your orders if you made them in the bedroom or naked in the shower, but I guess we’ll never know, huh?”
“Ariel,” he snapped. She could see his patience was coming to an end.
She finished her sand muffin and wiped the crumbs from her lips. Rising from her chair, she set her hands on the table and leaned closer to him. “I have to get to work. I’ll meet up with Tarin and Kester this evening and let them know everything is on hold while we wait for you to get your head out of your ass. I’m guessing you’ll probably get a visit from the two of them when they find out you’ve decided to cock-block them. But I’ll let you explain your infinite wisdom to them.”
He jumped up from his seat so fast that it fell over backward, the metal frame striking the concrete floor with a resounding bang.
She ignored his stance and turned toward the door. “See ya later.”
The moment her hand landed on the doorknob, Stu’s palm flattened on the door, keeping her from opening it. “Where the hell did you learn a term like cock-block?”
Thatwas the part he wanted to take issue with? Really? He was exasperating.
“Something from the early Two-Thousands called the urban dictionary. It’s fascinating. You should check it out if you haven’t already.” She continued to face the door, hand on the knob, not glancing at him.
“I’m super familiar with the urban dictionary, and stop reading it.”
“Is that an order, Master?”
His hands came to her hips, and he spun her around and flattened her to the door so fast that she lost her breath. Finally, they were getting somewhere. Her methods were unseemly and unorthodox, but as long as she got some sort of emotional rise out of him, she would call it a win.
“Don’t call me that. I suppose you’ve learned that word in the fucking urban dictionary too, huh?”
“Maybe?” She was breathless now that he was inches away from her, his hands on her hips. She licked her dry lips and cleared her throat. “Doesn’t the shoe fit?”
He shook his head. “No.”
She lifted a brow. “Really? Seems like it. Let’s see… Master. A person who has general authority over others. But that’s from the regular dictionary. I think in the urban one, it’s more like: a dominant male in a BDSM relationship, usually in the bedroom. I learned what BDSM stands for too. It’s—”
His hand slammed over her mouth, cutting her off. “Don’t say another word. That’s enough.”
Ariel lifted her brows as if she’d proven her point, which she felt confident she had.
Stu was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling. He continued to clasp her mouth shut. After taking several deep breaths, he leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.
She’d never been this close to him. It was a huge improvement over their previous contact when he’d squeezed her shoulders from behind. She could smell his personal scent. He’d recently showered. His soap mixed with the coffee he’d sipped and his pheromones.
“You need to leave,” he murmured. “Before I do something I’ll regret.”
She shook her head against the door in defiance as he released her mouth. “I don’t think I’d make a very good submissive,” she whispered. “I can’t seem to follow orders.”
He gritted his teeth. “Will you leave if I promise to talk to Kester and Tarin?”
She smiled. “Will you?”
He nodded. “Yes. If it will get you out of my apartment right now, I will.”
“I’m not sure how to take that, but I’ll accept. You’ll talk to them?”
“Yes. I said I would.”
“Tonight?” she pushed.
He groaned. “Tonight.”
She threw her arms around him and hugged him. “Thank you.” After releasing him just as quickly, she fled the room.
She didn’t fully breathe until the door slammed shut behind her, leaving her panting in the hallway. She probably shouldn’t have hugged him. It had left her feeling his loss now. Even that brief contact was enough to tease her with the promise of what it would be like to be in his arms. His body heat lingered against her chest and forearms. She wanted more.
When she was finally able to convince her legs to take orders from her brain, she turned and headed down the hallway toward her workplace at the clothing exchange.
She was both nervous and excited. With any luck, Kester and Tarin could get through to Stu. She wasn’t certain she’d had any influence over him. The man was well and truly stubborn.