Page 52

“Again, it can hurt. Scenes with these kinks require that key I was talking about.”

Tamsyn hesitated, then ticked themaybeboxes again.

Merrick shifted as his cock paid rapt attention to her answers. He tried to be subtle about it; he wanted her attention on the list, not on the growing weapon stirring beneath her ass. “Oral sex—your mouth on my cock, mine on your pussy.”

A very slight hesitation there before it got ayes.

“Double penetration—something in your ass and pussy simultaneously.”Maybe. “Fisting—my hand in your pussy.” That earned him a horrified stare and a reluctant tick in themaybebox. “Enemas—messy, uncomfortable, but the orgasms are supposed to be something else. Water up your butt,” he clarified when she frowned.

When they were halfway through the list, he had to give her credit for an apparently endless supply of courage. She was taking his advice to heart; there were a half dozen firmyeses, and everything else so far was amaybe.

“Medical play.”

He knew her reaction before it happened, which was why he managed to slam his hand down on the paper before she could stab the pen in thenobox. That kink needed no explanation. “Wait, darlin’. Hear me out before you decide. I know you hate medical shit, that’s no secret. I’m asking you as a personal favor to give it a shot.”

Tamsyn threw the pen down and folded her arms over her chest.

“You have a phobia, one that has the potential to impact urgent medical care if you need it. Hell, youdidneed it, and it didn’t go well. I understand if you don’t want to play in that setting, but we need to do some desensitization in case of an emergency.”

Silently sulking, she huffed and puffed a few times, then picked up the pen and mimed jabbing herself in the arm before wagging a finger at him.

“Sorry, darlin’, need to work on that needle fear as well.” This time, he caught her hand before she flung the pen across the room and javelined some unlucky diner in the eye. “This one is non-negotiable, Tamsyn.”

Just to infuriate her more, because he discovered he loved this unexpected vein of temper, he lowered her hand to the sheet and made a mark in themaybecolumn.

Feeling her bristle was the kick his cock needed to become fully erect.

He smiled to himself when Tamsyn wriggled her ass and froze. Another tentative shift of her hips rubbed his shaft against her crack, then her head turned in exorcist-style slow motion. Eyebrows raised high, eyes wide, she blinked at him.

“I warned you I’m not for the faint-hearted,” he said easily as she swallowed nervously. Because her expression clearly stated her mind was struggling to process this new development, he didn’t push it. “All right, where did we get to?”

She continued to stare at him, goggle-eyed, and didn’t see the waiter approach to clear the table. When the man spoke in a low, polite voice, she nearly catapulted herself off Merrick’s lap. The pen clattered onto the tablecloth, rolling to clink against his glass.

“Ah, sir, sorry to interrupt. Can I get you and the lady anything else tonight?”

Merrick frowned thoughtfully. “I’m not sure yet. Come back in twenty?”

“Of course, Master Merrick.” Plates in hand, the waiter retreated.

Taking advantage of the situation, Tamsyn shuffled around on Merrick’s thighs until her ass rested on just the right one. Her gaze dropped to the bulge forcefully straining against the zipper of his pants, then she pressed her palm lightly against him.

His eyes crossed when those small fingers tried to wrap around his girth through the material, tracing the shape of his shaft. The fact she didn’t grasp him firmly or squeeze was the only thing saving him from an embarrassing accident—the power she held over him was astounding.

He grunted. “Darlin’, hope you know what you’re doing with that.”

The shock in her eyes was quickly turning to fascination. When she met his pointed glare, the tawny brown gleamed with intrigue and a smudge of fear. She poked a finger at his confined cock, then held her hands eighteen inches apart.

Merrick laughed and moved them closer together. “Thanks for the ego boost, little owl. Now concentrate, otherwise this list is never getting finished, and everyone will be enjoying an impromptu show with their dinner.”

Goddamn it, her pout slayed him.

Something was changing in her. Had been changing in the last couple weeks. The longer she was here, the more time she spent in his company, the more she was relaxing and giving her character free rein. There were times she appeared shocked by her own behavior, as though she hadn’t known there was a touch of fire inside her, and there were moments he’d caught when she braced for… he wanted to say retribution.

She’d cower, brace that thin body in a way that told him she expected harsh words at the very least. Unfortunately, he knew from experience that abusers rarely stopped at verbal chastisement, often backing up their anger with physical violence.

Grabbing her right hand, Merrick brought her knuckles to his mouth, brushing his beard over the tiny joints before following with his lips. Her shudder ripped through him, spearing straight to his cock and bringing precum to the tip.

She was going to be the death of him, for sure.