I glared at him.
“But you want to know something else?”
“What?” I gritted out.
“I bet you’re even angrier at yourself for how aroused you are at the thought of me fucking you, taking that cherry of yours, as Akari put it, of making you come every which way possible.”
Refusing to admit he’d spoken even a word of the truth, I responded with, “The only reason I’m pissed off is because I’m in this situation. I reacted to you just like I would to any other good-looking man.”
The lie lay heavy between us.
A glint of challenge lit his irises, and my heartbeat accelerated. This man read me without even trying. He understood my desires.
How was it possible to feel trapped and at the same time, desperate to stay trapped?
Shifting my wrists to one hand, he slid the large palm of the other down to engulf my neck, squeezing. The slight pressure sent a shockwave through my nipples, clit, and pussy.
Oh, dear God. I needed more of that.
I gasped, and then a guttural moan escaped my lips, betraying everything I’d spoken only moments earlier.
“Tell me, Goddess.” His fingers tightened on my skin. “How many others caught your attention with a glance or made you want to squeeze your thighs together with the slightest pressure of his fingers to your wrists?”
I closed my eyes, feeling my walls crumbling under my traitorous body’s desires. “You think too highly of yourself.”
“It’s called confidence. I know what I bring to the table. This is what you’ll get from me. Raw, dirty, untamed. And one guarantee.”
“And that is?”
He licked over my lower lip. “I won’t be like any other lover you’ll ever have again in your life.”
It took all of my effort to hold in the whimper that sat on the cusp of my tongue.
This whole situation was so wrong on an infinite number of levels, but the thrall this man weaved around me had sucked all common sense from my mind.
“One year only. You keep quiet about everything, and then you set me free.”
“Is that an agreement to my proposal?” He set his forehead to mine. “Look me in the eyes and tell me, yes or no.”
Lifting my lashes, I stared into emerald-like green irises.
This attraction, this lust, this desperate need pulsed out of every nerve in my body. In any other circumstance, I’d have jumped at the chance he offered.
“What’s your answer?”
“You already know it. Was there really a choice, as you stated earlier?”
“There is always a choice.”
“Simon.” I couldn’t hide the desperation in my voice.
“Say it.” His fingers slid down my neck, between my breasts, making my nipples pebble to hardened points, and on to my hip.
My heartbeat hammered in my ears as I licked my lips and spoke the one word that would seal my fate for the next year, “Yes.”
He remained still, holding my gaze as if assuring himself that he’d heard my answer correctly.
Just when I thought we’d stand there all night, he moved.