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  “Then why—”

  “You know why.”

  Because I didn’t keep my mouth shut. He promised he’d punish me if I spoke again. My body is so hot and needy, I almost wish he’d flogged me rather than deny me an orgasm.

  I don’t actually want to be flogged.

  But God, I want to come.

  I want to come so badly.

  Please, Braden. Let me come. Tell me what I have to do to come.

  The words hover in the back of my throat, never quite making it to my tongue.

  “You’re still resisting, Skye,” Braden says. “If you weren’t so determined to be in control, you could have come three times by now.”

  “Why?” I ask.

  “I’ve already answered that. You know why.”

  I shake my head. “No. I mean, why do you need me to give you control?”

  “I don’t need it.”

  My eyes pop into circles. “You don’t?”

  “That’s what you asked. You asked why I need it, and the truth is, I don’t.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t understand.”

  “I don’t need it. I want it.”

  “Why, then? Why do you want it?”

  His face darkens, and God, all I want is to take him in my arms and tell him I’ll do whatever he wants, just to keep that sad look off his face. But is it sadness in his eyes? Yes, but it’s also something else. Something I can’t read.

  “Does there have to be a reason?” he finally says.

  “Yeah, there does,” I say. “How am I supposed to understand if there isn’t a reason?”

  “Still trying to stay in control, aren’t you?”

  I sit up, my cheeks warming. “Just because I want answers—”

  “Means you’re not giving up control.”

  “You said if I gave up control, you’d show me pleasure like I’ve never known. Then you deny me a climax. That’s not showing me pleasure, Braden.”

  “True, but there’s still an element missing to that agreement.”

  “What’s that?”

  He trails a finger over my cheek, almost a loving gesture. “You haven’t given up control.”

  My cheek tingles from his touch. “But you want me in your bed, Braden. You’ve said that from the beginning.”

  “I don’t deny it.”

  “Why not take me as I am?”

  “Because you and I will both like it better my way.”

  “What makes you so certain?” I ask, sounding a lot more sure of myself than I am.

  He slides his finger over my lower lip. “I see it in your eyes. You’re a beautiful woman, Skye, but you’re the most beautiful when you let go and surrender to your body.”

  His words ignite the embers burning deep within me. I zero in on his still-clothed crotch. His bulge is more apparent than ever. This must be affecting him, too.

  “You want me,” I say.

  “Of course I do. I’m not made of clay. I’m a man, baby, and any man who lays eyes on you wants you.”

  I warm, and damn, my pussy is still so ready for his touch, his tongue, his cock.

  How is he able to keep those desires at bay and tease me? Is it because he’s older? He’s thirty-five to my twenty-four, clearly much more experienced than I am. Or is it something else?

  His expression remains stoic. He smiles so rarely, laughs even less. Does anyone truly know Braden Black?

  I clear my throat. “Is my punishment over?”

  “That’s up to you.”

  “Meaning…?”

  “Meaning…are you ready to give up control?”

  Am I? I thought I was, but then I couldn’t obey him when he told me not to talk.

  “Before you answer,” he says, “know this. I want to fuck you. I want you more than I’ve wanted anyone in a long time. I think I’ve made that abundantly clear.”

  I nod. I’m dying to ask why he’s punishing me, then, because in punishing me, he’s also punishing himself.

  “I will fuck you tonight,” he says. “The only question is whether you get a climax.”

  “But if you fuck me—”

  He quiets me with a touch of his fingers to my lips. “Trust me. I can still fuck you and keep you from coming.”

  He doesn’t know how right he is.

  I finally get to come, only it’s with a man who wants to rule my climaxes. So not fair.

  “Do you want to come tonight, baby?”

  I nod.

  “Tell me. Tell me you want to come.”

  “I want to come tonight, Braden.”

  His eyes grow slightly cold. “Then don’t disobey me again.”

  Why is this so important to him? He hasn’t asked for control over any other aspect of my life. In fact, he made it clear earlier this evening that he didn’t track me down because I couldn’t take care of myself. No. He tracked me down to keep me out of someone else’s bed.

  He’s domineering but not a dominant. He’s controlling but not a master. Just who is Braden Black?

  Why is he like this?

  I may never know, and if I’m going to continue to sleep with him, I need to be comfortable with that.

  And I need to give up control. Not just in words but in action.

  Am I ready?

  Am I truly ready?

  I clear my throat. “Tell me what you want, Braden.”

  “I want to fuck you into next week.”

  I smile. “You’re in luck. I’ve got all next week open.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Braden grabs the black blindfold and ties it over my eyes again. “No talking, Skye. Understand?”

  “I have a question first.”

  “For God’s sake. What kind of question could you possibly have? No talking means no talking.”

  I let out an exasperated sigh. “It’s a valid one, Braden. Can I sigh and moan? Groan?”

  “Sexual sounds are permissible.”

  “Okay. But you got me last time for saying ‘oh.’ Isn’t that a sexual sound?”

  “No. ‘Oh’ is a word. ‘Oh God’ are words. ‘Yes, Braden, yes’ are words.”

  I keep a smile from spreading across my face. “But those words are indicating that I’m enjoying myself.”

  “So what?”

  “So…don’t you want to know I’m enjoying myself?”

  “I know you’re enjoying yourself by how your body responds to me. The words are superfluous.”

  I scoff. “Seriously?”

  He chuckles. I can’t see his face, but I imagine his smirk.

  “You become more of a challenge every second, Skye Manning. You’re my Everest, and I’m determined to conquer you. Now, be quiet.”

  I press my lips together and make a locking motion with my hand. I’m feeling sarcastic, but my action probably doesn’t convey that to Braden. Just as well. I’m not up for more punishment. I want a climax.

  He gently pushes me until the backs of my legs hit the bed. “Lie down.”

  I obey. My body is still tense and ready, needy and wanting. Braden is moving around. His clothes rustle. What is he doing?

  I have no idea, and suddenly I’m thrilled. I don’t know what’s in store for me. It could be anything.

  Anything.

  The wait is excruciating. Every second, my body becomes tenser with yearning, and my mind comes up with something else he could do to tantalize me.

  Seconds pass.

  They turn into minutes.

  I squirm, but I don’t speak. I’m determined to get that orgasm.

  I gasp when something flutters over one nipple. It’s not his finger or his lips. Something cool circles my areola. Is it…ice? No. Not cold enough, plus no melting trickles of water. He traces the swell of my breast with
the object and moves to the other nipple, tantalizing it as he did the last.

  Prickles erupt on my flesh. The coolness dances around now, going from nipple to nipple and then trailing down my abdomen, making my belly flutter. He stops at my belly button, circling it. My clit is throbbing, so ready to feel the cool hardness of whatever object he’s teasing me with.

  Braden lingers at my belly button, though. “So beautiful, Skye. You should have this pierced.”

  I open my mouth to say “hell no” but stop just in time.

  I will not talk.

  I will have that orgasm.

  When he finally tires of my belly button and trails downward to my vulva, I let out an excited moan. Still he teases, though, gliding the coolness over my pubic bone and down the sides of my opening. The coolness is heaven against my hot labia, but my clit, Braden. My clit…

  The object makes a path over my inner thighs down to my knees and then back up.

  You’re such a fucking tease, Braden Black!

  But I stay mum. He can’t keep me from climaxing forever.

  Can he?

  No. Can’t go there. The coolness trails up my wet slit.

  “Mmm. Nice and wet,” he says. “How much do you want me, Skye?”

  I open my mouth and then slam it shut. He’s not going to get me with his games.

  “Good girl.” He slides the cool object over my clit.

  I moan and circle my hips. The jolt to my clit glides through me like an icy carnival ride. I arch my back and undulate, reaching for more, more, more…

  But he moves the object back up my vulva to my breasts and then to my lips. He pokes it into my mouth. “Taste yourself. See how delicious you are.”

  I swirl my tongue over the object and delight in my tanginess. This allows me the first sensation of what he’s been teasing me with. It’s pointed on one end and about the size of a large marble. He removes it quickly then and his clothes rustle.

  Is he finally taking them off?

  God, yes. Please.

  I squirm on the bed, twisting the covers with my hands. How much more can I take? Is this fun for him, watching me go slowly mad?

  “Don’t move your hands, Skye,” he says.

  I release my fists and do as he says.

  “Bend your legs so your feet are flat on the bed.”

  Again, I obey.

  Then warm hardness nudges my slit. His cock. He’s going to fuck me. Finally. Is he completely naked? I’m desperate to touch the warmth of his skin. I reach—

  “I said don’t move your hands!”

  Fuck! Did I just screw myself out of an orgasm? I quickly move my hand back.

  He teases my pussy again with his cock, sliding it back and forth from my clit nearly to my ass. Please, Braden, please.

  But I say nothing. I keep my hands flat.

  And I wait.

  And wait.

  He can’t last forever, can he? He wants me as much as I want him, right?

  Such a tease. Such a wonderful, aching tease…

  Then a powerful thrust, and he’s inside me, my emptiness finally filled. A vibrant groan wafts to my ears and enters me, a sound vibration that I can almost see in my mind’s eye. I cry out, not in words but in pure emotion.

  He pulls out, and I whimper at the loss, waiting for his next thrust.

  Instead, though, he teases again, letting just the head of his cock breach my pussy. Tiny shallow thrusts, just enough to make me want him more.

  Oh, he’s a fucking expert at this. I want to scream and beg and lash out, but I keep my lips sealed.

  “Fuck it,” he finally says and thrusts into me, tunneling through me with his cock made of hot steel.

  I groan. It feels so amazing, so perfect, as if his cock were made to fit only me. My nipples are tight and hard, and I hope he’ll move downward so his hard chest will appease them. My body is on fire, and he fucks me hard. The invasion spirals through me, and I’m close, oh, so close. If only he’d come forward, let his pubic bone hit my clit.

  Such a tease!

  This is what he meant when he said he’d control my climax. Bastard!

  Then his lips are on mine, and my clit is getting the stimulation it needs. The fuse is lit. He thrusts and he thrusts and he thrusts—

  A rocket of energy surges into my clit and my pussy contracts, pulsating against his plunging cock. Sounds come from my throat. Are they words? I have no idea. I’m blind, but colors and vibrations and kaleidoscopic images catapult through me as I jump from the precipice and leap into nirvana.

  “That’s it, baby. Give it to me. Give it all to me. It’s mine.”

  Thrust, thrust, thrust—

  “God, yes! So tight, baby. So good.”

  Braden’s cock is so deep in me, and still I quiver around him, my climax reeling. In seconds, it slows, and I’m left with him pulling out and rolling off me.

  And I’ve never been so satisfied in my life.

  With a whoosh, Braden removes the blindfold. “You can speak now and move your hands.”

  But I have no words.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Have I truly rendered you speechless?” Braden says, a glint in his eye. “Seems unbelievable.” He’s on his side, his head propped on his hand. He stares down at me.

  I reach forward and push a stray hair over his forehead. “What do you want me to say?”

  “You can start with, ‘Wow, Braden. You rocked my world.’”

  I laugh. “Isn’t that pretty obvious?”

  “See what happens when you give in to me?”

  I smile but say nothing. Because I’ve stumbled upon a secret.

  I haven’t given in. I used my control to keep from speaking, to keep my hands in place. I used my control to be certain I ended this evening with an orgasm.

  He may think he controlled me, but he didn’t.

  The glint in his eye remains, but a cloud hovers over us. Does he know my secret? Does he care?

  Finally, I speak. “It was amazing.”

  He kisses my lips softly. “Go to sleep.”

  …

  I wake to light streaming in through the wall of windows in Braden’s bedroom. As promised, he didn’t make me leave. But where is he?

  I’m still stark naked. I wander to the bathroom quickly and then into Braden’s closet. I grab a white shirt and put it on. What can only be 100 percent cotton is cool over my shoulders. I find my panties—still in one piece, thank goodness—on the floor and hastily don them. Then I leave the room.

  This place is huge. My nose helps me find my way to the kitchen. Braden is sitting at the island drinking coffee and reading something on his iPad, while a woman—his chef, presumably?—stands at the stove frying bacon and eggs.

  And I’m wearing nothing but black panties and one of Braden’s shirts. Since it’s doubtful a hole will open up and swallow me to save me this embarrassment, I clear my throat softly.

  Braden turns toward me. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning.”

  “Coffee?”

  “Absolutely. Thank you.” I walk in and take a seat next to Braden.

  The woman at the stove turns. She’s young and gorgeous, with brown hair and eyes. “Good morning. I’m Marilyn.”

  “Hi,” I squeak out.

  “How do you take your coffee?” she asks.

  “Black.”

  A moment later, a cup of steaming black coffee slides in front of me.

  Braden turns to me. “Hungry?”

  “No. I’m good.”

  “Are you sure? Marilyn always makes enough to feed a small army.”

  “That’s because you have the appetite of a small army.” Marilyn smiles and sets a full plate of bacon, eggs, and toast in front of Braden. “Sure I can’t get you anything
?”

  “No.” Seriously, if I try to eat right now, I’ll puke.

  This is the part I’m really bad at—the small talk after something intimate. I’ve never known quite what to say the morning after, and this time it’s worse because first, I’m starting to really like Braden, and second, there’s another person in the room—who knows Braden and I fucked all night long.

  I take a sip of coffee and burn my tongue. I set the cup down quickly and spill a few drops on the marble counter. “Sorry,” I mumble.

  “Not a problem.” Marilyn wipes up my mess with a flourish.

  Braden places his iPad on the counter. “Could you excuse us for a few minutes, Marilyn?”

  “Sure, Mr. Black. Just buzz if you need me.” She exits the kitchen.

  He turns to me. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You’re acting strange. Are you uncomfortable here?”

  “No. Not exactly.”

  “You’re the one who wanted to stay. To leave on your own terms.”

  I nod. “Yes.”

  “Okay. Just so we’re both on the same page. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like. I have a few hours of work to do.”

  “Oh. Okay. I should check in with work, too.” I take another sip of coffee, being more careful this time. “Braden?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m going to need something to wear home.”

  His lips curve up slightly. Just slightly, but I’ll take it. “Of course. Find out where Tessa got the black dress, and I’ll have it replaced. You can wear the cardigan I gave you last night.”

  “Okay… What about pants?”

  He nearly smiles again. “I guess I didn’t leave your dress in working condition as a skirt.”

  “No, you didn’t.”

  He stands. “I’ll find you something. Next time, bring a change of clothes.”

  Next time? A thrill surges through me.

  “In fact,” he says, “bring over several things. Or if you want to leave me your sizes, I’ll have some stuff delivered.”

  He wants to buy me clothes? “That’s okay. I have plenty. I can bring some over.”

  “Good,” he says, his voice going darker, “because I plan to destroy a lot of them.”