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His anger was back again. The second the door closed, the emotion slammed into him like a sledgehammer, and he was pissed at her.

Watching as she slowly stripped, he walked up behind her and ordered, “Faster.” A sharp bite entered his voice even she wouldn’t miss.

Shooting him a questioning look, he narrowed his gaze at her before she hurriedly undressed.

The way her ass swayed as she climbed to the center of the bed should have had him ready to jump her, but all he wanted to do was see it a shade of red as angry as he was feeling. Quickly walking to her, he grabbed her hips before she got too far, pulling her back so she was sitting on her heels with her back to his chest. He wrapped both arms around her so tightly that she couldn’t move, not that she was trying to.

“You’re going to be punished for running, Princess.” When she would have protested, he covered her mouth lightly with one hand. “You ran from me, Deidre. I’m mad as hell about that. More than I could ever tell you. I was terrified someone had taken you and was prepared to tear that hospital apart.”

“I’m sorry,” she sighed weakly.

“I know you are, but you need to know there’s no leaving me. You are everything to me. My breath, my heart, my life.” With every word he spoke, the anger became more intense. It was all true. Before he’d found her again, he lived for Jaxson alone. That gave him a fulfilling purpose, except he wasn’t actually happy. With her he’d found that and thought she had, too.

“Are you ready?”

She whimpered just before he gripped her hair, pushing her down so her ass was in the air facing him.

Sixteen

He was really going to punish her! At first, she’d been terrified. Punishment didn’t exactly sound fun, but the heat behind his words held a dark promise. He probably didn’t even realize she’d heard it.

With his hand wound tightly in her hair, he pushed her chest down. She felt more exposed than she had before. Scared, she fisted the sheets with both hands, closing her eyes tightly and waiting for whatever he was going to do.

She heard the rattle of his belt as he unbuckled it, the rustle of his clothes as he began to undress, and his labored breaths as he became more and more excited by the moment.

When he reached over her, his bare chest against her back felt delicious, and his hard cock against her ass was intoxicating. He grabbed both of her hands pulling them behind her, contorting her arms so they were bent at the elbow and her hands were crossed between her shoulder blades. She felt his belt twine around her forearms as he knotted it at her wrists.

Kissing her fingers one at a time, he told her, “Don’t fucking move.” His voice held a threat that had her frozen. Whether that threat would be good or bad was anyone’s guess, so she obeyed.

“Good girl,” he murmured as he peppered kisses along her back.

The sensuality in his movements didn’t feel like a punishment, which in turn had her relaxing into his touch.

Big mistake.

His soft laugh made her want to look at him just as his strong hand landed on her ass. Biting her lip so she didn’t cry out, she tried to focus on the sensations vibrating through her skin as he rubbed circles where he’d just smacked her.

When he pulled his hand away, she prepared for the next one. Landing on her other cheek, she let out a small whimper mixed with pleasure and a small bite of pain.

She had no idea what his plan entailed, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t to turn her on. Shockingly, she ached for more. To have his harsh hand land harder. Heavier. To give her everything he was feeling and more.

“Dominic,” she moaned as he rubbed his hand across her hot flesh.

“You never cease to amaze me, Princess,” he groaned. “You like it.” A statement rather than a question.

Pulling her up by the belt in his other hand, the one that was still wrapped around her arms, he buried his face in her hair. They breathed heavily for a few minutes before he finally confessed, “I fucking need you, Princess. Seeing your ass so red has my cock harder than it’s ever been. I need to feel your pussy squeeze it so tightly I can barely move. I need your screams of rapture more than my next breath. But you know what I need most, Princess?”

Was that rhetorical? Because rational thought was beyond her at his words.

“I need for you to not move a fucking muscle. Be as loud as you want beautiful, but let me control you. Own you in ways you’ve never dreamed of.”

His words held so much more than need. They were full of promises, and the purest form of worship she’d ever heard. He wanted to show her he could own her so completely she never had to fear her trust for him.

It was about so much more than control. He needed her to do as he commanded so he could have faith in her trust in him.

If he only knew.

It wasn’t him she didn’t trust.