And maybe she was more stressed than she was letting herself admit, because something equally needy and desperate inside of her responded instantly. Demanding more, seeking the comfort and assurance only his touch could bring.
“Upstairs.” His voice was rough and harsh as he spun her around and sent her towards the stairs with a stinging smack to her ass.
Glancing over her shoulder, she gave him a sassy grin. “What’s the magic word?”
That teasing smile died on her lips when he placed a hand at the nape of her neck and gave it a hard warning squeeze. “I’m in a mood, little girl. I am going to be rough with you, and you can either enjoy the ride or you can spend the rest of the evening wishing you’d been less of a smart ass. Which is it going to be?”
Oh, fuck. Need pulsed between her thighs, so sharp and sudden she thought she could come just from his words alone. It was tempting to push him, to see exactly how he might make her regret being a brat, but that darkness she’d sensed in him before was closer to the surface than ever. And although she trusted him not to harm her, she wasn’t quite ready to dive headfirst into the dark. “I’ll be good, Daddy.”
“That’s what I thought. Upstairs, and I want you kneeling in the middle of the room when I get there. Go.”
Another swat, heavier and even meaner than the first sent her scrambling for the stairs. Heart hammering against her rib cage, she hurried for his bedroom.
What the hell had gotten into him tonight?
Letting the question roll around in the back of her mind, she stopped in the middle of his spacious room and considered her next step. He hadn’t said anything about getting naked, and with the mood he was in, she had a feeling that she would be paying dearly for not following his orders exactly.
So, she knelt, fully dressed, and waited for him to join her.
The wait wasn’t long. And when he walked through the doorway, his lips curving up in an approving smile, she knew she’d made the right choice.
What was it about him that made her so eager for those little smiles, those words of praise? Or maybe it was something about her, and he was simply the first man to unlock that part of her personality. Whatever the reason, she craved his approval like air, and she was ready to do whatever it took to earn it tonight.
“Good girl. Are you wearing those stockings I like so much?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Excellent.” Crossing the room with agonizing slowness, he settled in a deep armchair nestled in the far corner. “Stand up and strip for me. But leave the stockings and the heels.”
Pushing back up to her feet was more difficult than kneeling had been with her stilettos still in place, but she managed it without falling on her ass. With her gaze locked on his face, partially obscured by the shadows, she flipped open the first few buttons of her blouse.
“Slowly.”
It was an order, but not as harsh as the ones he’d issued before sending her up to his room. And yet, her body responded just the same, her skin heating and her pulse racing as she slowly slid the next button from its home.
When her shirt was hanging open, exposing her breasts and stomach, he shifted in the shadows and she realized with a mix of horror and fascination that he was unzipping his slacks. She went still, fascinated as he pulled his cock free and stroked the long, hard length.
“Did I tell you to stop?”
The barked question made her jump and she went back to work, tugging her shirt free from her skirt and tossing it carelessly to the side.
“That’s my girl. God, you’re fucking beautiful. And all mine.” His hand never stopped stroking his cock as he spoke, adding to the humiliating arousal coursing through her.
“Yes, Daddy. All yours.”
Reaching behind her, she tugged the zipper of her skirt down, slowly working the clingy material down over her hips and thighs. When the skirt pooled around her feet, she kicked it to the side and moved to her bra, sliding the straps down her shoulders before arching her back as she unsnapped the contraption and let it fall to the floor.
In the heavy silence, his breathing grew ragged as he continued to stroke himself. The air itself felt electrified as she unsnapped the straps holding her stockings up so she could slip her panties down and off before fastening the garter belt back to the thin nylon.
And then she was nearly naked in front of him. It was somehow even more intimate, more vulnerable than being completely nude. Perhaps because she knew what kind of wanton picture she painted. Or perhaps because the only items of clothing left were there becausehehad commanded it. Just one more reminder of how completely at his mercy she truly was.
“Knees.” The order was gruff, his voice tight with his own burgeoning pleasure. She started to walk forward, but he barked out a sharp “No” that had her hesitating, unsure of exactly what he wanted.
“I said, knees, Ace. Where should you be?”
Still uncertain of where he was going with this, she slowly lowered herself back to the floor and waited for his next instruction.
“Good girl. Now, crawl.”