"What's wrong, baby?" His chin rests on my shoulder as he draws me against him.
Embarrassment makes my tongue thicken. "Why do I like when you tell me what to do? Give me orders?"
"Why do I likebeing incharge?" he counters.
I don't speak.
"There is nothing wrong with surrendering to another person on your terms. It's an act of trust. And confidence." I interrupt him with a halfhearted laugh, but he just squeezes me tighter. "You telling me what you want shows your trust. Inus.You're willing to let go because we can stop whenever we want. Surrendering is not putting me in charge. It's taking control of what you desire and need. This doesn't make you weak or reflect a lack of self-esteem or whatever a guy like your ex would tell you. It also doesn't mean that this is the only way we will have sex for the rest of our lives."
He shifts and places a kiss underneath my ear. My pulse surges through my veins.The rest of our lives?
"What are you saying?" I whisper.
"You used to be the person reminding me of every reason why I never wanted a relationship. Caring for someone…loving another human meant you could lose them. Loss equaled pain—something I refused to experience again. You changed that when you went into the pool that night at the vineyard."
My heart skips a beat.He saw that? How did he—
"I saw you on the cameras. Something happened that night. For both of us. I didn't want to admit it for the longest time, but I'm done avoiding it. Avoiding you." He loosens his hold, his fingers drawing circles over my collarbone. "You are one of the strongest women I've ever met. Your…condition doesn't define you."
"You make it sound so simple." I drop my hands and reach back, placing my palms on his thighs. Marcus cups my breasts, and my head falls back against his shoulder.
"It is that simple, baby. You and I share a connection that was born out of tragic circumstances, grew by hate and guilt, and finally transformed into something I refuse to give up now that I have it."
He rolls my nipples between his fingers, and a low moan escapes my lips. My nails claw into the sides of his legs. "When did you become so poetic,Baxter?" I tip my head to the side, and his lips hover over mine.
"There are many sides of me you haven't seen yet,Keller."
"I can't wait."
"Good." Marcus releases my breasts, and his body heat disappears, instantly depriving me of his nearness.
"Now, get on your knees," he orders, and a smile tugs on my lips as I comply.
My little moment of insecurity could've easily ruined the mood, yet it did the opposite. I've never felt more powerful, and it's all because of the man who hated me for years. Moving across the country to start over resulted in not just one new beginning.
My heart hammers in my throat, waiting for his next move.
"Are you readyto bein charge?" Fingers curl into my leggings as he begins to peel them over my butt in excruciating slowness.
"Give me your worst," I pant with anticipation.
Marcus pulls them down my thighs but then lets them bunch at my knees, restricting my movement.
My fingertips press into the mattress, fisting the comforter underneath. Desire like I've never experienced before pools in my core.
A whoosh of air is the brief warning before a sharp ache explodes on my right butt cheek. My spine stiffens, but I swallow my sound of surprise. Marcus's knees cage my legs, his cock nestling in my crack. He leans down until his naked chest is flush with my back. "That was for challenging me this past month."
He breaks the connection, rubbing the heat from the impact of his palm. My chest expands with air at the soothing motion but catches in my lungs as another strike comes down on the left. He leans in again. "And that was for the kiss youtookthat morning in the kitchen."
This time, I can't suppress the whimper as his thumb caresses my biting flesh. The tips of his fingers slowly move from the ache to between my butt cheeks, stopping where I am not prepared for. I finally understand what a friend from New York once divulged to me after one-too-many drinks:If you think your clit is sensitive, you need to try anal play.Back then, I just laughed her comment off. Right now, I'm not laughing. I hold my breath as nerve endings coming from this one part of my body fire up at the same time, and holy—my eyes roll back inside my head. But as Marcus applies the slightest bit of pressure, my eyes squeeze shut beneath the blindfold, every muscle going on high alert. Do I want this? No. Yes.No.
He pushes the tip of his finger the tiniest bit inside my ass, and my elbows nearly buckle from the sensory overload, bliss and discomfort sending my body into a frenzy. "I would never do something you didn't like." He withdraws, settling his palms on either cheek. "You will like this, though," he purrs. I expel the breath I involuntarily held. "But not yet. Tonight, I have other plans for you." He shifts to the side so my leg is trapped between both of his as he plunges three fingers into my heat, making me cry out at the intrusion.
"Shhh, baby. We don't want to wake the whole house, do we?" He strokes his fingers in and out as my head falls forward.
"Fuck." I inhale through my nose in a failed attempt to stay quiet.
"Not yet, baby." His grin is audible, and he stops, buried in my folds.