She didn’t pull back when he grabbed her hand and took her out of their daughter’s room. He marched down the hall and led her into his bedroom.
“Owen…”
He closed the door behind them and locked it just in case any other family member would show up.
“I know we need to talk. And I know that everything is fucked up. But on the other hand everything also feels so damn right. Seeing you with our girl, how happy you two are in this house… I just want to have a taste of that joy.”
She smiled coyly as she hung the emerald coat over his chair in the corner of his bedroom.
“What did you have in mind?” she asked as she walked towards him, giving him a magnificent view of her curves in those skin-tight jeans and white shirt.
“I want you to take the hem of your shirt and pull it over your head.”
She did as he asked and stood before him in her lacy white bra.
He sat down on the edge of his king-sized four-poster bed and said, “Now those sexy jeans.”
She unfastened the buttons before slowly rolling her jeans down her thighs. She kicked off her sneakers and stepped out of her jeans before taking off her socks.
He liked how she did everything with a mischievous smile, holding his gaze.
“Do you remember what I told you this morning about that robe?”
Her eyes widened. “You mean that thing you said about tying me up?”
“Go get your robe, Gorgeous.”
“Okay.”
If he wasn’t mistaken he saw her walking out with a spring in her step. He’d always admired how willing Tara was to try new things. He got up from his bed and undressed, leaving his boxer briefs on.
He grabbed a few condoms from his wallet and placed them on top of his bedside table before Tara returned into the room with her robe slung over her arm.
He took the robe from her and slid the terry cloth tie from the belt loops.
“If you want to keep your underwear in one piece, you’d better take it off before you get on the bed. I’ll tie your writs together so you can’t move but I’ll make sure it doesn’t hurt when you squirm and wriggle.”
“I don’t remember you tying—” Tara’s face fell as realization hit her.
He threw her robe to the side and palmed her sad face. “Whatever is going through your mind right now, let it go.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. I don’t want to be one of them.”
“One of them?”
“You’ve obviously done this before. I don’t want to be the next in a long line of women you’ve tied to this bed.”
Anger spiraled inside of him, as his reputation must have preceded him. He couldn’t give a flying fuck about what the people in this town thought about him, but if they messed with Tara’s head he would make it known he wouldn’t stand for that. He only cared about what Tara thought of him.
His thumb brushed over her pouty lips as he said, “I’ve installed this bed the night before I got the call from my cousin Donovan that he’d found you. You’ll be the first—and only one—who’ll share this bed with me.”
One of her dark brows arched. “You don’t need to make me any promises you can’t keep.”
“I thought you were into the idea of me tying you to my bed and having my way with you?”
She tried to look away, but he still held her face in between his palms.
“I don’t know… It just sounded like you’ve done this a thousand times before and it didn’t make what we were about to share feel special—or me, for that matter.”