Page 39

39

COLLINS

If I’m going to lose my mind, it will be tonight. From the moment I realized Penny was heading toward Limit-X—unaccompanied and without protection—I have wanted to yank her out of here as fast as I can.

Trust me, if she was mine, her ass would be raw by now, and a reminder not to cross me would be branded into her permanent memory bank.

Since finding her in the presence of other men enjoying her tight, little body, I’ve been twitching with an electricity to fight, as jealousy slithers around me, taking root and growing with an undeniable force.

Her innocence plagues me, haunting me through the darkness of my desires.

Just seeing her grinding bodies on the dance floor caused a stir inside me to protect her from Wesley. I’m sure he meant no real harm—except for the fact he’s married and has kids—but just watching him paw her ample curves was enough to make me see red.

And now I can’t see any other color other than it.

I’m starting to think that Penny secretly hoped I would show up. I think she likes it when I go a bit crazy.

From the way she is dressed in tight leather shorts to how her fiery-red halter top accentuates her breasts, I’d think that she wore this number solely for my viewing pleasure.

And my eyes are pleased.

Fuck, she’s beautiful.

But it’s more than just me watching her. Nearly everyone we pass gets a second or third glance at her over their shoulder—regardless of sexual orientation and regardless of who they actually walked in with. Penny has that appeal. She isn’t like the others.

I would know, because I’ve been with quite a few others .

Sadly, they’re all the same—eager to please and easy to pleasure. It sounds good in theory, of course, but in reality I got bored.

I am— was —bored.

While I never thought of Penny in a sexual nature while she was healing in therapy, I most definitely can’t prevent my mind from drifting to the darkness now.

She makes it impossible to not see.

Now she’s taunting me into arranging a forbidden sex contract between us, and I’m seriously considering it—only because I don’t think I can keep resisting her. Getting things in writing might help me maintain some level of professionalism, while she thrusts her sexual prowess at me every chance she gets.

Every time I witness her legs moving, I want to grab her luscious ass cheeks and sink my teeth into them.

I want Penny to wear my mark.

I want to dirty her up and make her so needy for me that only my touch will soothe the burn.

But can she handle a man as demanding as I am? I’m not an easy person to be with, and any of my previous partners will share that I’m controlling as fuck. It’s not something I pretend to hide or soften with flowery language or society’s kinky labels.

I need to be with someone who knows the score. I like what I like. And I’m not afraid to vocalize it. This is why there are contracts in place. So both parties consent to the activities willingly and without the risk of coercion.

But this is Penelope Hoffman.

And she doesn’t deserve to be treated in the same clinical way as I have any partnership over the last few years.

Yet I know if Penny doesn’t get her fill of the experience tonight, she will just insist on coming back here again and again. She is determined and stubborn—two qualities that I admire but also struggle to accept.

Limit-X is not designed for a girl as straightlaced as Penny Hoffman. She is soft and feminine and needs to be cherished—not thrown against a wall and felt up in public.

But that’s what’s happening to us, and the guilt of not giving her more than what equates to an alleyway grind session is messing with my focus.

Our desires can’t possibly align because she hasn’t lived long enough to discover her preferences—and I doubt I could be the man to walk her through the journey.

I’m not the hand-holding type.

But can I stomach the idea of someone else doing the job?

No. Definitely not.

There’s no part of me that wants Penny to explore her sexual awakening with anyone else—that much is clear. While I don’t know details about her past, I can tell she doesn’t have very many amazing experiences to pull from and is probably searching for someone to fill that void.

I hate myself for how easy she makes me lose touch with reality. She is a temptress, trying to get me to give in to this notion that she thinks she wants.

Penny doesn’t know what she wants.

She wants to test the waters and explore, and I’m not sure I can give her those experiences without taking more from her than she is prepared to give. Another perk of having sexual contracts with my partners is that there are no misunderstandings and that when the contract ends, so do the expectations for more.

I don’t do more .

I do what is mutually agreed upon and nothing extra. There is no bonding and definitely nothing romantic about the arrangement. There are no dates and no dinners. No one texts except to confirm meetups here. All signatures on the contract consent to a sexual union only.

Having the finality of ending relationships is the driving force behind the appeal of us both signing on the dotted line. Not to mention the nondisclosure aspect that keeps my personal life free from my professional life.

On the other hand, if Penny and I were to have that type of arrangement, everything would get murky. How could it not? Penny would then be part of both lives, and the separation once the line is crossed would be impossible to fulfill.

I’m her bodyguard…

And I don’t want to die via the wrath of her brothers…

I stare at Penny as her hands reach behind her and start undoing the tie of her halter top.

Shit.

Why is she doing that? It’s as if she has no idea what she does to me—and yet is calculated in her moves. Baiting me. Luring me in to her with my weakening self-control.

She is chiseling away at me, and there’s no way possible that she doesn’t realize her effect on me.

I look up at the viewing booth we happened to stop next to and notice that the sign suggests that the test for pushing boundaries is clothes. No wonder Penny is trying to remove her top. She is testing more limits than just her own. She is testing mine.

Slowly, she is pushing back the boundaries, stretching them to blur the lines between going too far and not going far enough.

If I don’t help her with her fantasies, I run the risk of her finding some sleazeball who simply wants an easy thrill. If I do comply, then I basically go against the code I live by—the one I tell myself separates me from the assholes in this world.

But can I give up on the girl who is making a home for herself inside my heart?

“Penny…”

Turning around, she points to the back of her neck where her fingers are struggling. “Can you help me with my knot, please?”

“What? No. Fuck. Penny, you aren’t going to take off all your clothes at some club for everyone to see.”

Spinning around, she pouts out her bottom lip. “It’s dark and no one will even notice me.” Her eyes plead with me, as her fingers continue to try to work out the knot.

“Every man in this place has been eye-fucking you long before you walked upstairs.”

“Fine, I’ll just get someone else to help.” She hits her bracelet’s button, turning it green.

“The hell you will,” I growl, grabbing her wrist and switching the color to red. If she’s not careful, I’ll remove the entire thing and slam it against the wall to make it stop working entirely.

“You’ve got quite the temper, Mr. Stone.”

“You keep toying with me and you are going to find yourself pressed up against a wall with my cock pumping inside you. That’s what you want, right? A quick and dirty fuck in a public place for everyone to see? You want to be degraded, Pen?”

“Maybe.”

My fingers grip her chin, careful not to squeeze too tightly, but rather just to hold her attention. “You want to crawl on your knees and have your hair yanked?”

I watch as her throat swallows, and I can’t tell if she’s turned on or appalled by my non-sugarcoated words. The truth in her eyes is that of expectation, longing, and desire.

Rolling her shoulders, she continues to untangle the knot of her halter top, finally making progress. Her silence is what unnerves me the most. I can’t tell what she’s thinking or how far she’ll go tonight. Sure, the theme of the evening is about pushing the boundaries, and I’m about to lose all of mine with her.

For someone who strives to be logical and consistent, my mind is racing right now with torrid thoughts as Penny’s halter top slides up over her curves and neck, revealing a strapless red and black bra.

Penny has never looked hotter.

And I’m going to bash in every guy’s face who happens to notice her seductive striptease.

She is mine.

We may not have a contract in place right now, but there is no way I’m allowing anyone else to take her home.

Maybe Penny is right that having an arrangement where we both get what we want—where I can control the situation—will be the best solution to scratch these itches that keep tormenting both of us. Perhaps at the end of the time frame, we go back to being professional—at least until her brothers trust her without a shadow. As long as Graham and Nic don’t find out, everything will be as if it never happened.

Why can’t we have our cake and eat it too?

Penny’s fingers slide to the button of her leather shorts and mine intercept hers to cause them to halt. Turning her around, I press my front to her back. I pull off my shirt, tossing it to the side where there are benches aligned against the outer perimeter of the viewing space. I join Penny’s warmth, moving my arms around her to squeeze her tightly to me. My fingers splay against her bare stomach, trying to conceal as much of her as I can with my own body.

Mine .

My mouth kisses at the side of her neck, down her arm, and then back up again.

The crowd around us fades like a moving wave that is getting farther in the distance. In this moment, it’s easy to get lost to the buzz of not-so-innocent touches, but I can’t help but fully submerse myself in Penny.

My fingers tease her belly button, as our hips sway side to side to the muffled music coming from the downstairs dance area. We move like the breeze, matching each other’s energies.

“They are so sexy,” she says with an exhale.

My eyes focus in on the people in the showcase room, stripping and dancing around ceiling-to-floor mounted poles. It’s erotic to be here with Penny in my arms, viewing the same scene and enjoying it with a new lens.

I’ve never gotten into scene observing, yet there’s something about sharing this with Penny that feels different than the dozens of times I’ve been here without her.

“You’re so sexy, Penny.”

She is on the verge of a sexual awakening, and I have the luxury of being a part of her journey. She is the forbidden fruit that I shouldn’t want, yet it’s everything I crave.

Slowly, I unbutton the top button of her shorts, and then the next one. Leaning her head back, Penny’s lips search for mine. I unite with hers, sliding my tongue deep into her mouth, taking whatever she is willing to give—and a bit more.

Now that I already crossed one, I want to push all those boundaries. I want all of her.

Every single inch.

Sliding down the zipper, I work a hand into her skin-tight shorts, moving it lower and lower, until I can palm her lace-covered pussy.

And I do—hard.

“Yes,” she says breathily, leaning on me for support.

I rub upward, causing Penny to lift to her tiptoes to mirror the movement. Her body melts into mine, and I feel and smell the arousal trickling out of her and soaking into the fabric.

“Yes, Princess,” I coax, while massaging my free hand up over her bare stomach. “You like the feel of my hands on your body?”

Relaxing her stance, Penny moans her approval, and it’s those soft sounds of pleasure that are coming from deep in her throat that coax me to continue.

I’m the devil possessing the angel, staking my claim on her and crossing the line that can no longer be seen.

This is wrong, and yet I have no power left in me to stop it.

With the heel of my foot, I push open her legs to widen her stance to give me better access to the hot spot between her thighs.

The hand massaging over her bra takes a detour underneath, enjoying the way her nipples are hardening just from my touch.

“You are fucking perfection.”

Penny shifts her weight from foot to foot, wiggling her bottom into my crotch as she squirms from the pressure I’m applying with my hands.

“I want…”

“What do you want, Princess?”

I widen her stance further with another kick to her heel. I know what she wants before her brain can even comprehend it. I can feel her desires trembling through her.

But I want her to say it. I need that verbal consent when this is still so new to both of us. I need that reassurance that I’m not entirely a monster.

“I want your hands”—she wiggles her delectable ass against me again—“inside my panties.”

Fuck, yes.

Moving my hand up and out of her shorts, I rest it on her stomach.

She is soft in all the right places, and I want to savor this moment and commit it to memory.

With concentrated slowness, I peel back the waistband of her scrap of panties and slide my hand inside the warmth radiating between her legs—all while pinching her nipples and alternating sides.

“Hmmm…” Penny hums, resting more of her weight onto me.

Her soft tuft of hair gathers stickiness from the liquid leaking out, and a part of me can’t wait until I can shave her bare so that every touch I give her will be exaggerated in feeling.

“You are primed and ready.”

“Yes…” She allows the ending sound to linger.

I can feel Penny’s pulse quicken as we press against one another, every curve of her delectable body fitting perfectly with mine like a puzzle.

My lips move to her ear, as I nibble on her lobe. “I’m going to have so much fun making you mine.”

“Hmm… I want to be yours. And you mine.”

Flashbacks of memories flitter through my vision, and I push them away. I need to stay in this moment—in present time—and not think back to the last person I thought was mine .

Because if my mind fully goes there, I’ll remember just how damaged I really am.

Penny rotates her hips in a rolling motion, humping herself on my hand, as her ass cheeks tease my cock that is hardening to a painful level behind her.

I feel like a teenage boy who can come in his pants if she continues these simple but effective movements.

Curling my middle finger, I press it against her opening.

“Do you touch yourself here, Princess?”

“Yes.”

“Do you use your fingers or your toys?”

Her breath hitches. “Both sometimes. It depends on my mood.”

My finger lingers at her entrance, barely inside her heat. “How many fingers can your little pussy swallow?”

She pauses as she leans back farther into me. I bend my knee to use as a seat for her backside. “Just one.”

“Just one?”

“Yes.”

“And why no more?”

“Because I’m too tight.”

I swirl my finger at her opening, stretching her gently. “Yes, you are tight. And we’re going to have to work at getting you to accept more. Okay?”

“Okay. I’ll try.”

“That’s my good girl.”

With gentle precision, I slide my finger deeper inside, groaning over her tightness. Using my other hand, I massage and knead the fleshy globes of her tits, making her feel good.

Penny’s leather shorts have shimmied down her thighs, making her lower half immobile.

And I’m not complaining.

I love her like this. Warm and relaxed and pliable.

Moving my finger in and out, I push along her pussy walls, testing their elasticity.

“Your pussy feels like a vise on my finger, Princess. You sure you want my cock to stretch it out? Because once I have a piece of you, I’ll demand access to your honeypot all the time.”

“I don’t want anyone else to take me. Just you.”

In an instant I go from being overcome with pleasure to being overwhelmed with jealousy.

“I will bury anyone that dares to try to steal what I have claimed as mine. So, heed my warning over any desire inside you that thinks it’s funny to tease me over something I refuse to share."

“What happens if my sexual appetite is stronger than yours?”

I huff out a laugh. “Doubtful.”

Shifting against me, Penny kicks her shorts off from around her ankles, discarding them against the wall of the viewing area.

Placing her foot on the bench, she silently urges me to go deeper. “It feels so good, Collins. I want more than just a finger. I want to be stuffed full.”

“Fuck,” I hiss. She has no freaking clue what she is doing to me right now, other than annihilating my self-control.

My finger pumps inside her a few more times, before pulling my hand out of her panties, helping her back into her shorts, and buttoning her up.

Facing me, she lets out a pant. “What? Why did you stop? I, um, I?—”

I place my still glistening finger against her lips, silencing her. Then I trail my tongue along the length, sucking up all the juices and ending at her lips. I encourage her to do the same with the other side, joining mouths in a kiss so deep I think I might suffocate.

When we finally detach, I suck in oxygen and try to steady my breathing. “Tonight is about testing limits, and I plan to learn all of yours. Come,” I say, tugging her hand and leading her to the next viewing area that features several threesome acts in session.

When I turn to move to a new area, Penny halts my movements. “I want to watch.”

“Do you now?” I ask, captivated by her unveiled interest.

Perhaps this has always been a fascination of hers, and I’m just learning it now. Something tells me I’ll be learning a lot about Penny. I can honestly say I don’t know much about her sexual preferences, except that she was intrigued by the spanking scene I was doing with her new friend. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t itching for the opportunity to leave my mark on her ass cheeks, making a stinging reminder for her to know where I’ve been.

My cock stirs at just the thought, as Penny stretches up to kiss me. I savor her taste on my tongue. She is a sensual goddess who leads with her heart, when she isn’t using her sassy personality to mask her fears.

I might put up with her boldness right now, but I won’t allow her to dictate things in the bedroom. I’m too much of a demanding bastard to give in to her pouting lips and sad eyes.

I won’t allow her to skip meals or mistreat her body. Getting enough rest will be a requirement, and seeing her therapist regularly will be nonnegotiable.

Being with me is not easy—even on temporary terms.

“Care if I join?” a masculine voice asks.

“Sure,” Penny says to the male, as I feel my temper rising.

“No,” I answer gruffly.

Why the hell is he initiating and engaging with us?

My eyes size him up, wondering why he is even interrupting our private moment. “We are just watching.” My words come out as a snap, and it’s then that I notice both my bracelet and Penny’s are lit with a green glow. I capture her wrist in mine as the guy scurries off to find another couple to join, his face looking a bit confused.

“Bummer,” Penny whines but I know it’s a facade.

“You’re a sneaky little thing, aren’t you?”

She has the nerve to feign innocence. While her experiences may be limited, she knows exactly which buttons of mine to push to get me to react. And it’s working, because I’m about to turn her over my knee and tan those supple ass cheeks that keep bumping into my cock at every chance they get.

“Just trying to have fun,” she simpers, watching me as I change both of our lights to red.

“Your independence and resilience are commendable. But don’t deliberately try to defy me, just to test my reaction. You won’t like it. And if you think I wouldn’t dare make a scene out in public just to prove my point—you are wrong.” My eyes level with hers. “Oh, and Penny?”

“Yes, sir?”

“I don’t share.”

“Then why did you participate with Daphne of all people? She has had a taste of every male here I imagine.”

I scratch along the side of my cheek. “Let me rephrase. I won’t share you.”

“But you will exercise double standards? That’s some strong, toxic male energy you have harboring, don’t you think?”

“I won’t share myself either,” I clarify.

“So, we have a deal?”

“No.” I suck in a breath. “Not until we at least go over the terms and understand all the pros and cons. This isn’t something I jump into impulsively.”

Penny nods and bites at her bottom lip, clearly deep in thought. She looks so freaking adorable, despite the rest of her body looking like it needs to be worshipped and dominated all at once.

“Well, when are you going to enlighten me?” Craning her neck, she trails her tongue up my neck, settling her lips at my ear. “All of this sexual energy in this place is making me”—her voice turns gravelly with need—“ horny .”

And on that note, I grab Penny’s hand and walk us back to where we removed our shirts. My body shields hers, preventing any members from getting a look at the girl who is chiseling away at all the walls I’ve built around myself.

I help Penny into her halter shirt and tie the straps at her neck extra secure. Then I pull my shirt over my head. We exit the viewing booth, walk down the hall, and descend the stairs. I guide her through the orgy forming on the dance floor and into the locker room where we both grab our personal belongings.

“How did you know I’d be here tonight?” she asks quietly.

“I knew from the look in your eyes the last time you were here that you didn’t get your curiosity quenched. I figured round two was in order. Plus, I know that you have a few items on your goal list that you want to knock out.”

“You should have never looked at that private document.”

“I know.” It won’t stop me the next time though. I’ll just get better at not making it known to her that I did it.

“So you came to spy on me?”

“The last thing you need is to be trusting some stranger here to fulfill a fantasy that you may think you want in theory, when in reality you get freaked out by it.”

“And you are having me watched by that other guy too.”

My eye twitches. “I always have backup plans. So, yes.” I don’t even deny it, as there’s really no point.

“That’s really creepy.”

“It’s really necessary. Just trust me. And I haven’t hid the fact that I’ll be continuing to do just that.”

“Well, the person needs to seek out an ophthalmologist because they suck. I was able to get here and inside without being stopped yet again.”

“And that reckless behavior will actually have a deliverable punishment if you pull a stunt like that under a contract—if we have one.”

“Fine.”

“And that mocking tone will as well.”

“Fi—” And then she stops and glares at me when it finally sinks in.

“You’ve made a lasting impression on Yuri and Michael with your charm. There’s no way they’d be able to turn you away from here no matter how many threats I make.”

“Well, maybe you just aren’t that scary.”

I feel the corner of my lips rising with a smirk. Then I laugh. “Maybe.”

Penny allows me to lead her to the lockers and then out of the building, where we are greeted again by Michael.

“Leaving so soon, little dove?”

Penny gnaws on her lip and looks down at her feet. “Appears that way,” she says quietly.

Where did my sex vixen go? She can’t possibly be getting shy—can she?

“I’ll see to it that she is home safely,” I confirm, and then guide Penny toward my parked car.

On our way there, I nod my greeting to a few members who just arrived.

“Why do you know everyone it seems at the club? You have sex with all of them?”

“No, Penny,” I say with a chuckle. She really is hung up on who I have and haven’t had sex with. “But you have quite the imagination.”

“Well, then what?”

I motion back toward the venue. “I’m an employee there.”