My inner walls clench as he squeezes his fingers around my neck. Fire explodes in my half-lidded eyes, smoldering like burning embers dripping around us. This is Jace’s power. I’m a slave to his command. Whatever he wants is his to take. I bestow it unto him like an offering to the gods, my body, my heart, my soul. It’s all for him.
The sharp smack of his free hand comes down on the meaty part of my ass cheek. It elicits a moan that twirls around us like twine. “Again,” I beg. “Please.”
His lips curl in a wicked grin, a devious flicker rolling over his volatile stare. “Sweet and innocent,” he snarls with a snicker and a second spank, this one harder than the last, making a frantic frenzy of sobs rush from my lips. “Later tonight, you’ll wear this dress to be his demure little partner, but in the back of your mind, you’ll know you wore it first to be my whore.”
A third smack radiates up my spine. I purr as my climax hits hard and fast. Corded muscles flex in his neck. A deep growl sounds low in his throat seconds before he tears himself away. Pearls of hot cum squirt on my tailbone. He swipes at it with hisfingertips and brings it to my lips. The salty-sweet flavor trickles across my tongue. I suck them into my mouth and swallow him down like an obedient housecat.
With his hand still tight on my throat, he tips my head back, fusing our lips in a delicate kiss that steals the breath from my lungs. “You’re a fuckin’ freak …” He lets out a contented sigh between our coupling. “And no one knows it but me.” Smooth and sincere, the beast within him wanes to a sensual side rarely seen. He sweeps my tattered thong off the floor and uses it to wipe away what’s left of his release, then chucks it into the corner.
Without his support, shaking legs give way beneath me. I fall to a crouch, still gripping the edge of the dresser to keep from falling over. Jace’s possession pelts down on me like rain from the heavens. It splits the sky like an electrical storm threatening to destroy anything that gets in its way.
I wince as I pull myself to my feet. The sting of his sensual assault still burns my flesh. I yank open the drawer and pull out a fresh pair of panties, feeling his eyes boring into me as I undo what just happened in a thinly veiled attempt to make myself presentable. “You got what you wanted. You can go now.”
He takes me in his arms. “That’s not what I came for.” His satisfied stare smolders. He presses his long body against mine and whispers his husky demand like a secret. “I want to hear you say you love me again.”
“Why? So you can use it against me?”
He drops his forehead to mine, his eyes fluttering closed. “So you can teach me how to say it back.”
When the doorbell rings, I almost miss it over the sound of my beating heart. Jace runs a hand through his hair, then clamps the back of his neck as he turns away.
“That’s for you, I guess.” The broken shards of his arrogance crumble to the floor. I hear it in his voice, the way it cracks as he tells me to go.
The urge to pull him to me comes on strong, but I know if I do, I’ll never let go. A world of possibilities waits for me outside this door. One with music and laughter, elegant dresses, and country club cocktails. A world I should be aching to run back to, but instead, I find myself shying away. Reaching out for the simpleness of a basic life. Except things with Jace are never simple. He breaks me down to my baser urges. He toes the line between passion and discord, both of them bringing me to my knees.
But I made a promise.
“Will you be here when I get back?”
With his back turned, he stares at the wall as if he can’t bear to see me walk away. “We’ll see, I guess.” He pauses before adding. “Have a great time. You deserve it.”
Voices echo from down the hall. I offer him one last look before opening the door and walking through.
“I thought you were wearing pink?” A blush tie looped around Troy’s neck disappears beneath a sleek black vest. The tux clings to his slender frame as if it were made for him. In all honesty, it probably was.
“Oh. Last-minute decision.” I still feel Jace’s hands on my body, the phantom memory of his cock pounding into me from behind as I let Troy drop a chaste kiss on my cheek.
“You look gorgeous regardless.” He holds up a snow-white lily. “This is for you.”
I click the roof of my mouth. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
“Well, don’t just stand there. Put it on her,” Cindy scolds.
Troy’s goofy grin makes my chest hurt. I remind myself this isn’t a date, simply an act of friendship, but his energy twirls around me. It pulls me in, but still, I stave it off. My head shoutsthat he’s the right choice, but my heart knows better. I gave it to Jace, and he’s too damn stubborn to ever give it back.
Cindy snaps photos as Troy fixes the lily onto my wrist. Scuffling boots come through the front door. She cranes her neck as Dusty appears, holding an ivory rose. “Good, I’m not too late.”
“I’m glad you came.”
“Didn’t wanna miss it,” he says, handing me the flower. “I didn’t know what’s customary in this position …”
“It’s fine. Dusty, this is Troy, and you already know Cindy.”
“Uh, yeah.” He pulls her in for an awkward one-armed hug. Strange how easily one goes from friends to strangers. I imagine Dusty and Cindy spent a great deal of their young lives together only to nod in passing as adults.
“Good to see you, D,” Cindy says with a pat on his back.
We pose for a few more pictures before Troy ushers me out the door. The Rolls idles in front of the house, Troy’s driver jumping to attention when he sees us coming. He pulls open the door and guides me into the back seat. Alone, Troy and I sit side by side as I fiddle with my hem, hoping he doesn’t pick up the faint scent of Jace’s cologne in the fibers.