“I changed my mind.”
“Why?”
He waved his finger in front of my face as if to say no. “The first rule, never question me. Ever. My word is law, and you will respect me and every decision I make by never questioning a damn thing. Understood?”
I clutched the dress against my naked chest. “Okay.”
“Second rule.” He walked over to the cabinet and opened the top drawer. “Whenever you step foot out of this bedroom, you will always look your best. Your image is a reflection on me.”
I moved closer and peeked inside to see the drawer stacked with make-up and beauty products. When he opened the second drawer to reveal underwear and lingerie that weren’t there before, I looked up at him. “Where did all this come from?”
His eyebrows slanted inward. “It’s been less than two minutes and already you’re breaking rule number one.”
“Well, I haven’t accepted your offer yet.”
He smirked. “You say that like you have a choice.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, and that cocky grin remained on his face.
“You gave me the choice, little mouse, and I made it. There’s no going back now.”
“What if I don’t want to do it?”
I clutched the dress tighter as Castello started to slowly circle around me, his gaze moving up and down my body.
“You never would have brought it up if it wasn’t something you wanted to do.”
I glanced down to the floor, refusing to look at him. The way my skin tingled, the way every muscle inside my belly started to clench tight, I knew he was staring at me with lust-filled eyes. And once I looked into his eyes, I would crack and do exactly what he wanted me to. But right now, I wanted to at least try to have a clear head. To process what the hell was happening between us.
“Am I no longer your prisoner?” I kept my head down, not looking up at him.
“I answered that question already.”
“You said the answer depended on me.”
“It does. I’m not letting you go, Tatum. Not now, not ever. Do you think I’d kill my own mother, go to war against my own brother, if I thought there was even half a chance that I would be able to let you go?”
“It’s hard to know what you’re thinking sometimes.”
His lips pulled up into a cocky grin. “A man never shows his weakness, little mouse.”
I swallowed hard, feeling intimidated under his scrutinizing gaze. “Is that what I am? A weakness?”
He stepped up behind me, and the second I felt his warmth against my bare back, I sucked in a breath. “Is it possible for someone to be your weakness as well as your strength?”
I closed my eyes as his breath moved against the skin of my neck. It was as if yesterday never happened. As if I hadn’t angered him at all. The way he felt against me, his touch, the way the energy between us sparked with wild fire—it felt like nothing had changed between us…yet it had.
He placed a gentle kiss on my bare shoulder. “Is it possible for one person to be your illness, as well as your cure?”
I shuddered when I felt his hand softly frame my waist. Within a few heartbeats, Castello had easily managed to seduce me into silence. All the questions I had swirling around in my head a second ago were gone. The confusion was gone. With a single touch, he had possessed my mind, filling it with nothing but thoughts of untamed desires and wicked pleasures. It was like a filthy melody, playing seductively inside my head, urging me to stop trying to figure him out. To just let it be, to succumb and give this man everything he wanted from me.
“Castello, please,” I begged as he slowly dragged his fingertip over my waist.
“Shhh, I know. You need me, and as my queen I will always make sure you have what you need.” His hand dipped between my legs, and leaning back against him was all I could do to keep myself from falling. With a single stroke, he pulled his finger through my slit, and I moaned.
His touch managed to cause my body to spin out of control within seconds. My breath hitched as he pushed his finger inside me, his thumb still working that one spot that had me rocking my hips back and forth. I long ago accepted the fact that my mind will never win over my body when it comes to this man. And the truth was, my body wanted him…all the damn time.
“You’re a part of my world now, Tatum.” He brought his other hand up and cupped my breast, pinching my nipple hard. “And I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you not only survive at my side, but thrive.”