Page 42 of Breadwinner
“On your knees,” she hissed.
There was a microsecond of hesitation reflected in Sarah’s eyes, the tiniest hint of defiance. For a moment, Nell wondered if she’d finally found the limit to the amount of power Sarah was willing to give her. Her brows twitched like she was about to question the command, maybe even challenge it.
Nell raised one brow expectantly, tilting her head ever so slightly as if to say,I’m waiting.
Sarah’s breath caught, and it took every ounce of restraint for Nell not to give in to her own reactions. She watched Sarah’s expression shift as she made peace with her decision before sinking to her knees in one smooth, quiet movement.
Nell let the silence stretch. Let Sarah sit in it as she stepped forward, close enough that her thighs brushed against Sarah. With exquisite care, she reached down, tilting Sarah’s chin up between her fingers.
“I saw you before I ever met you,” Nell said, the steeliness of her voice surprising to her own ears. “You were standing across the room at that tech summit last spring, before the Empwr launch party. You weren’t even on my radar, but you were the only one I couldn’t stop watching that day.”
Sarah’s eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t look away.
“I watched you,” Nell continued. “The way you carried yourself. The way people turned to listen when you spoke. Youdidn’t even notice how you took up space. How commanding your presence was. But I did.”
She dragged her thumb lightly along Sarah’s bottom lip, watching it part instinctively. Heat and want spread through her.
“That bigness is what drew me in. Whatstilldraws me in. So, no.” She couldn’t help her grin. “I don’t want you small, Sarah. Not ever. Not for your family, not for Beth, not even for me.” She dropped her hand slowly, hoping Sarah ached for the absence of its weight. “I want to watch you claim your power,” she crooned. “Right now. I want to watch you take all that power of yours and turn it inward.” Sarah blinked. The shift in her breath sent Nell into overdrive.
She stepped back, just enough to give Sarah space before offering her hand and pulling her to her feet. Sarah’s eyes searched hers for meaning.
“Touch yourself. Show me how powerful you are.” She sank into the armchair, swirling her glass, amber liquid twirling as Sarah stared at her. Waiting for more. “Go on,” she said lightly. “Put on a show for me.”
She never took her eyes off Sarah, who was still rooted to the spot she had left her in, still deciding what to do next.
Nell pointed to the couch directly across from her. “Sit there.”
Sarah moved with excruciatingly measured steps as she crossed the space, having clearly made up her mind. Hazel eyes stayed locked with hers as Sarah reached for the button of her jeans, popping it open in one small motion. She shimmied slightly, and Nell’s mouth went dry as Sarah pushed the fabric of her jeans and underwear down over her hips, revealing toned thighs. The bite of bourbon burned her tongue as Sarah lowered herself onto the couch and settled back against the cushions.
Nell uncrossed her legs, feeling the heat of her anticipation as she leaned forward slightly, her elbows resting on her thighs, bourbon glass loose in her hand.
“Good,” she said, that tiny thrill shooting through her as Sarah straightened under the weight of that single word. The power praise had over Sarah electrified her. “Now spread your legs. I want to see all of you.”
Sarah inhaled deeply, but obeyed, parting her thighs enough to make it clear she was listening. Nell’s eyes tracked the movement like a slow drag of flame.
“Not quite what I meant, but I can see you’re trying.” She sipped her bourbon, savoring the heat, before letting the glass rest against her bottom lip. “Touch yourself like you’re alone. Like you’re the only one in the room. And remember—keep those beautiful eyes on me. Don’t you dare look away.”
Sarah wavered a moment, then nodded, her chin high, gaze steady as she began to move her hand. She slipped one hand between her thighs, her fingers disappearing from view. Her other hand braced gently against the couch cushion beside her. Sarah’s lips barely parted as she began, eyes never leaving hers. Nell didn’t dare blink, watching in awe as Sarah showed her exactly how she liked to be touched.
Sarah started gradually, with a careful swipe of her fingertips, legs spreading further, allowing her more access. Nell watched Sarah’s fingers glide through her glistening folds, mesmerized by the faint sheen of her arousal from the lazy circles she was drawing around her clit. And when she moaned—that low, animalistic, guttural moan that came from deep in the back of her throat, and the way her breath caught, then stuttered free with each pass of her fingers, lashes fluttering—Nell could have died right there.
“God, you’re beautiful like this,” she murmured, her voice a low burn of reverence accompanied the last of her restraint.Every fiber of her ached to drop to her knees, to take Sarah apart with her mouth, but she held back. This wasn’t about surrendering to her own desire. This was about letting Sarah blaze in her own light.
Sarah’s cheeks flushed as her breathing quickened, her fingers picking up their pace, and still, she didn’t look away.
Nell leaned back, her free hand resting loosely on her thigh, gaze never straying. She drank in the picture before her, not only the physicality of it, but the deeper thing: the trust, the vulnerability this request required. Sarah wasn’t just obeying her—she waschoosingto bare herself like this for her.
“It feels so good, doesn’t it?” Nell said softly. “To own your desire like this.”
Sarah’s breath hitched, her body giving away her answer before she could form the words.
“Y-yes,” she managed through labored breathing, her hips shifting slightly, movements becoming more desperate. Nell’s own body responded in kind, the burning pull low in her belly more intense than ever.
When Sarah’s breathing began to stutter—when the lines of tension in her thighs went taut, when the sounds leaving her mouth became fragile, uneven things—Nell rose, unable to hold herself back any longer.
Within a single breath, she crossed the room and was on her knees in front of Sarah, running her hands up and down those perfect thighs, pushing them further apart, burying herself between them.
The scent of Sarah’s arousal was everything to her as she hooked her arms up and under the back of Sarah’s thighs, pulling her closer to the edge of the couch.