Page 14

"Yes. For your information, I can." Nora rolled her eyes, then sauntered into the kitchen to watch me as I wiped down the counter.

She leaned against me, her hot, firm body pressing my side. She bumped my head with hers and I nuzzled her cheek with my nose.

"I want to," she said, her voice soft. "I mean it."

"I know you do." I tossed the paper towel in the trash and turned to her. "I know."

"No strings…" She bit her bottom lip after and I watched as she melted from her confident, mouthy self, to the demure, pleading beauty that I ached to touch.

Denying her destroyed me, time and time again, and I let out a soft sigh as I brushed her hair from her face. "No strings."

"F.W.B.'s?" she asked, a silly smile returning to her face.

I laughed a little and nodded. "Friends with benefits." I snaked my hands around her waist. "On one condition…"

"What?" Her brows flicked upward when she let her hands fall against my chest.

"You tell me what you want me to do to you the most." I grinned when I said it, knowing she would blush. "Because this isn't for me at all. This is all for you. You don't get to touch me."

"Um…" She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, anxiously seeking the right words. Her stomach fluttered against mine and she met my gaze again. "Your mouth on me."

"Where?"

"Everywhere," she said, her voice quavering with it. "Just everywhere. And then…not too gentle with other things…"

"And you tell no one." I pressed my index finger to her lips, her gaze locked with mine. "Not even Maya."

She nodded, gulping when I released her lips. "I won't."

"I mean it. No one. Say you swear."

"I swear," she declared, before taking my hand and walking us backward out of the kitchen.

I followed her a few paces, ignoring all the warnings that the sirens in my heart blasted at me. How could I resist her? She was the perfect choice. Submissive, eager, and she followed my rules. I disliked Raven because of her carelessness with her subs, but I hated her because she got to play with Nora, and I didn't.

I jerked her to a stop, pulling her roughly to me, her lips an inch from mine when she stumbled. "And you promise to never play with Raven again. She doesn't practice safely."

Her teeth chattered and she nodded, shaking fingers trembling against me. "I won't. I promise."

I forced her to walk backward all the way to the bedroom and closed the door behind us. She stood there, nearly vibrating with desire. I clicked on the light of the lamp on the nightstand, and the black comforter of the neatly made bed filled the space behind her.

"Get undressed, slowly, and let me watch you," I said, leaning back against the dresser as my mouth watered with want. My heart beat angsty rhythms in my chest as I fought the need to calm myself down. We shouldn't be doing this, shouldn't be doing any of it, but right then, I didn't care.

I didn't care at all.

Nora obliged my demand and slipped out of her shoes first. She shed her sweater after, her eyes never leaving mine while she continued. The only sound in the room belonged to my controlled breath, and the zipper of her jeans sliding downward. Her pants tumbled to the floor, leaving her in a thong and lacy black bra. I burned the image of her into my mind, licking my lips as the sight of her stoked the desire in my core. I yearned for her, ached to taste her, to devastate her body with pleasure that would leave her mindlessly broken under the thrall of ecstasy. To covet something so deeply, so salaciously wrong, only fueled my fire, deepening the darkness of the path we hadn't yet taken.

I watched her bra as it tumbled to her feet, leaving her perky tits exposed to the cool air. Her nipples, tiny buds of pink like her lips, stood out against her pale flesh. She never stopped watching me, lusty eyes lingering on mine with every movement. My mouth watered, and I swallowed down the longing to pounce her prematurely. Her thumbs hooked around the fabric of her thong, and she rolled it down her thighs. I'd seen most of Nora at that point, usually from sharing motels for work or quick passes in and out of the shower, but I never saw all of her so completely in front of me. Her bare pussy, narrow hips, and tight V-shape at her pelvis nearly killed me. For someone who very much hated working out and the physical requirements of our job, her body told nothing of her disdain for fitness.

"Turn around," I said, nodding my chin in her direction.

She bit her bottom lip so firmly that I worried she would scar herself. Eventually, she turned, the ounce of hesitation told me more than the lip biting did. Her hair fluttered over her shoulders, reaching an angled V that ended perfectly between her scapulae. My eyes wandered over her, down her firm back with smooth lines to her rounded rear. My stomach flip-flopped when I noted the shape of her. Perfect for grabbing, nipping, and spanking. She looked over her shoulder at me, tentative eyes meeting mine.

"On the bed," I instructed, pointing to the pillows. "Lay down and let me see you."

Again, she listened and climbed onto the bed. I shifted away from my perch while watching her roll onto her back. At first, she held her knees together, her entire body shaking enough to bounce the bed.

"Show me," I demanded, deepening my tone to see how far I could push her.