Page 31 of Meet Me In The Dark

“Strange. A little tight, but not in a bad way.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

He hums low in his throat.

“Have you ever been in my position? As in, the one wearing this.”

His returning chuckle sends a jolt straight to my core. “No, but I am curious.”

“About?”

“You.”

That one word travels down my spine like a shiver.

“I saw you arrive tonight.” His voice curls around me in the darkness. “You looked nervous. Yet here you are. What changed?”

My breath catches as the memories come rushing back. “I saw something.”

“What did you see?”

“There was a crowd,” I start, my voice barely a whisper. “They were gathered around an archway,watching…watching…”

“Watching what?” he encourages.

My throat tightens, but I push past the nerves, and the embarrassment gives way to something hotter. “A woman. She was… on display. Bound to a bench. A man was kneeling between her thighs.”

“And what was he doing?”

“He was using his mouth on her.” My words grow breathless as I speak, and I wonder if he knows how much the memory is affecting me.

“Did you watch too?” His voice drops lower, a dark thread winding through each word.

“Yes,” I admit, cheeks blazing even as I shiver from head to toe. “I couldn’t look away.”

“Why couldn’t you look away?”

My breath quickens. “The freedom. Her surrender. She wasn’t ashamed or afraid. She was powerful.”

He’s so close, I can feel the fabric of his clothes brush my bare knees.

“And you want that too?” he asks. “To let go? To stop thinking?”

Remaining silent, I nod.

I think he crouches in front of me because I can feel his warm breath on my cheek.

“I have one rule tonight,” he says. “If this is going to work, I’m going to need you to use your words. Understood?”

“Understood,” I agree.

“So, do you want that? What the woman had?”

“Yes.”

There’s a long pause, so heavy with anticipation that my pulse thuds painfully at my temples.