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He surged to his feet and stumbled back a step. For a second he wondered whether it was wise to feel this visceral connection with another human being.
Opening up to Ashley about his needs had nearly brought him undone. She’d twisted him inside out and nearly ruined his life in the process. He’d had to seek therapy;therapy, for God’s sake. He’d allowed someone else in his head, someone who’d reassured him he wasn’t crazy, even while she eye-fucked him and then spread her legs for a taste of what he was capable of.
He looked down at Leia, perfectly laid out for him, waiting, trusting. She was getting under his skin. Fuck, who the hell was he kidding? She was already there, wedged deep.
She could be everything he needed.
Yeah, but for how long?
He pushed the voice away. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
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She waited, her ass in the air, her heart hammering. Waited for him to come back and do goodness knows what to her. It would involve fucking… that much was guaranteed.
But the rest was all mystery. Anticipatory. Predatory. But still a mystery, tinged with danger that snapped like an electric current along her nerves. But no fear.
She trusted him.
She needed time to process that. Time to ponder why handing over the most damaged part of herself to a man she’d only just met could be so… freeing… so mind-blowing.
He returned, and her thoughts fractured.
Her lowered stance meant she saw his muscular thighs first, followed by his stiff, thick cock. She’d tasted that beautiful organ, still had the sticky, salty taste of him in her mouth. Another heady experience she’d never anticipated she’d relish so much. She wanted to do it all over again…
Her gaze shifted higher, and her breath snagged in her lungs. He was holding a black leather belt and two silk bathrobe ties.
Her heart rate kicked up several notches. Her hands started to slip from her back. “Noah…” Her voice quivered.
He stopped beside her. Ran his hand over her cheek, her neck, down her arm to rub his fingers over the tattoo covering her ribcage. “Remember what I said to you when we first met? About you deserving only the best?”
“Yes.”
“I meant every word. I will never break your beautiful spirit, never cause you to feel fear or regret. You’re brave and amazing. You intoxicate me with just one look. I want to make you soar, sweetheart. Higher than you’ve ever soared before. Where no other person besides me will ever be able to take you. Will you let me?”
She could get up, walk out, any time she chose. He wouldn’t hurt her. Wouldn’t take anything she didn’t want to give.
That gut-deep certainty made her nod.
He increased the pressure on her tattoo. “Vocalize, baby.”
“Yes.”
His breath shuddered out, and she realized he’d been holding it. Power surged through her along with a sharp burning in her chest. She’d felt that burning before. A softer, deeper, less jagged version. The enormity of those similarities made her gasp.
Time…
She needed time to sort out her crazy emotions.
He laid a hand on her lower back, just above where her wrists met, and pushed her down to kneeling. Her mind ceased to track. She willingly gave up on chasing her thoughts, ceded control to the power of his touch and the excitement chasing beneath her pulse.
“Spread your legs.” She widened her stance. He looked down at her. “Wider,” he said in a firm voice.
She moved her left knee, then her right, teetering a little off balance with her hands behind her back.
He dropped what he held next to her head on the seat and picked up one tie. “I’m going to secure your knees to the bench.”
Her heart stuttered. “Okay.”