“Hey, wait up,” I whisper. The fence claws at my skin as I try to squeeze through.Thanks for holding it open, asshole.He doesn’t slow down, so I quicken my strides to catch up.
The clearing opens and reveals the lake. I only hear Lex’s breathing over the sound of crickets and croaking frogs. A fish surfaces on the other side of the lake, and I hear the ripples it leaves in its wake. It’sthatquiet.
“Get undressed,” he says before leaning against a tree and watching me.
I don’t want to cave to his demands, especially when I’m still so heated from his attitude, but he has a way of speaking that influences me like nothing ever has. It makes mewantto do things he asks of me.
I grip the hem of my shirt and begin to lift it.
“Slower,” he tells me.
I do as I’m told, removing my shirt as slowly as I can. The heat of his stare is on me, and he watches as I toss my shirt away. The hunger in his expression makes me throb and forget about my annoyance.
I slip my pants down my thighs, and cool air embraces my body. Lex unbuckles his jeans, and I watch as he slips off his pants. My eyes rove down his body. I lock on to the cut on his stomach, glad to see it’s stopped bleeding. I still find myself worrying about him, even though he didn’t seem to mind being stabbed.
I walk toward the lake and dip my hand into the water to check the temperature. I desperately want to clean up, and it’s the best we’ll get at this point. Lex brushes past me and gets in, the water spreading around his strong body as he wades deeper.
“Is it cold?” I ask.
“Very. Come on.” He motions me in.
I wade into the water, and my breath catches in my throat when it reaches my chest. The blackness stops at the swells of my breasts, nearly covering them. Lex wraps me up in his arms and holds me in front of him. His expression softens for the first time since the interaction in the car.
“It’s not the degradation you liked. That isn’t who you are.”
Lex pushes me under the water and holds me there. I don’t flail until my lungs clench for breath, and even then, it’s weak. I reach up and grip his wrist, but I don’t push him away. I should be scared—that’s a normal reaction—but I’m not. I listen to the black emptiness and the thunder of my heart. I almost feel serene, even as my stomach tightens and my lungs scream for air. I justknowhe’ll pull me up. I don’t know how I know, but I do. I’m safe within his grasp, even in such an unsafe situation.
Even gazing into the cold face of death.
Just as my body begins to lurch for air against my will, he grabs me beneath my arms and lifts me to the surface. I cough and spit water.
“It’s the trust you have in me that makes you wet. Not the act.”
I hear the seduction in his voice, though it’s muffled by the wet hair sticking to my ears. I spit more water and steady my breathing. “What?” I brush back my hair, hearing the droplets return to the lake and blend with the water.
“When I spit on you. You weren’t turned on because you like to be degraded. It’s because you trusted me enough to do it to you in the first place. You’ve let me fuck you, take care of you, shit, even put your life in my hands. It’s all trust.” He kisses me. “You trust that when I cut off your breath, I’ll give it back to you.” His mouth finds my clavicle, kissing above my breasts. “You always come because you trust me more than your husband. You trust me more than you trust yourself.”
“I-I...that’s...” I try to fight his words, but he’s right. I trust him. Everything inside me should mistrust him—he took me at gunpoint, for fuck’s sake—but I feel no fear when it comes to him. He holds all of me in his hands, and I never worry he’ll drop me.
“You’d let me do anything to you, wouldn’t you, bunny?”
I gnaw at the insides of my cheeks and swallow before my eyes rise to meet his. “Yes,” I whisper.
“Would you let me fuck your ass?” he asks, so casually.
My mouth drops open, and I let out an unintentional squeak. I’d let him do anything...
Except that.
“No!” I have never had anyone inside me that way. Not my husband. Not anyone. Lex has already gotten so many parts of me. He doesn’t need that too. I shake my head.
“Rabbit,” he says more sternly. “Don’t I always make you feel good?”
“No. I can think of a few times you didn’t.” He’s done plenty of things that didn’t make me feel good...or didn’t make me feel good at first.
“What if we play a game? I’ll let you run, and if I catch you, I’m taking your ass.”
My mind flashes to when he ate my pussy on the hood after he caught me. How hard he made me come. God, I wantthat, but I don’t want what he’s offering now. I don’t want him to fuck my ass.