Page 15

Chapter fifteen

The minute Storm walked through the door, I could tell he was exhausted. His shoulders were tense, his face tight and unreadable, but his eyes—those dark, curious eyes—held something I’d seen more often than I liked to lately. A weight. A secret sitting on his chest.

I didn’t greet him. I simply stood at the base of the stairs and waited.

His gaze flickered to me, then away. He blew out a breath like he already knew what was coming next.

“Upstairs,” I said softly .

His eyebrows lifted slightly, along with the corners of his mouth. He held up his arm, telling me to lead the way.

He was silent behind me, but I felt his hungry gaze traversing the length of my body. All I wore was a red t-shirt. His color. I know he loved it.

The second the bedroom door shut behind us, I turned to face him.

“Take off your shirt.”

His fingers moved immediately, tugging the fabric over his head and letting it drop to the floor. I let my eyes roam over him, the muscles, the tattoos and brand. He was so sexy. And he was mine to do whatever I wanted.

“Kneel.”

His breath hitched, just slightly. Then he obeyed, sinking to his knees in front of me.

There was something so intoxicating about the way this brilliant, confident man, who dominated classrooms full of people, and who murdered people, willingly submitted to me.

I stepped closer, cupping his jaw. His skin was warm, his five-o-clock shadow rough against my greedy fingertips .

“Good boy,” I breathed.

Whatever emotional baggage he'd lugged into the house with him was a distant memory, and so was the tension. He looked up at me with lust in his eyes, daring and pleading with me to wreck him.

It was his lucky day.

“Put your hands out,” I said.

He lifted them immediately, offering his wrists to me like a gift. I reached for the chains on my dresser, cool, polished steel that gleamed in the candlelight. The leather cuffs were soft in comparison, but still stiff enough to keep him in his place.

I wrapped them carefully around each wrist, adjusting the fit to make them snug, but not painful. The sharp snap of the cuff clicking shut sent a thrill through both of us.

I stepped back to admire my handiwork, immediately aroused by the sight of his erection. God, this was so much fun. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember what I was so afraid of.

I reached for the final piece—the collar.

I unbuckled the clasp holding the thick band of black leather in a circle, slipping it around his neck until the fit was snug. My fingers brushed his skin as I tightened it just enough for him to feel the pressure.

Click .

The moment it locked into place, he let out a shaky exhale.

“Good boy,” I said, pressing my thumb against his bottom lip. “You look so sexy like this.”

“As long as it pleases you, Princess.”

“It does.”

I grabbed the chain hanging from the collar, shuddering a little when I secured it to the rings at his wrists. Now, his movements were completely restricted, wrists bound, neck tethered, man at my mercy.

I held the key to his freedom. Literally.

“How long do you think you can last like this?”

He blinked slowly. “As long as it pleases you, Princess.”

A wicked smile crossed my face as I pulled a chair over, stopping right in front of him. His eyes followed my movements as I sat, his disappointment palpable when I crossed my legs.

“I could make you wait all night. ”

He nodded.

“But I want something from you,” I murmured. “And I don’t want you to tell me no.”

“I’ll never tell you no,” he said, rough and deep.

I stared at him, really seeing him, knowing what he was saying was the truth, and yet I was still nervous. I wanted something he hadn’t been willing to give. I’d been worried about the financial piece, but maybe this would be the thing that pushed him over his limit.

“Tell me why you do it.”

Just like that, the tension returned to his face through his clenched jaw and tight lips. A shadow passed over his expression. He wanted to tell me no, but he couldn’t. He was bound and at my mercy. He couldn’t deny me.

He swallowed hard. “That’s really what you want? That would please you?”

I nodded slowly, and he sighed, realizing his hands were tied. Literally and figuratively.

“Fuck.” He flexed his fingers like it would give him some relief. “Alright. I do it for a few reasons. First off, the money is good. ”

That surprised me more than it probably should have. Professors don’t make enough to live the kind of life Storm did. The designer suits, luxury car, trips, constant dining out, and, of course, being financially dominated. That was probably the most expensive kink a man could have.

“Also,” he continued, “it was something the four of us shared.”

Like women , I thought.

“It probably won’t make any sense to you, but the bond we have…it got stronger through blood." His eyes flashed with something dark. "Other peoples’ blood.”

I stared, waiting.

“And lastly…there are people in this world who don’t belong here,” he finally said. “We don’t decide that. We just aid in their removal. Deliver the consequences.”

His honesty was unnerving, but there was also something almost… poetic in the way he talked about it.

“You know what?” He shook his head. “I forgot one.”

I leaned forward .

“I also do it because I can,” he said, nostrils flaring. “Because I have that power. And I’m good at it.”

His gaze intensified as he waited. He wanted to know if I was pleased. And strangely, I was. The unabashed way he delivered that last point left me feeling disturbingly aroused.

But I wasn’t going to tell him that.

It wouldn’t be that easy.

“I agree that some people don’t deserve to share the world with the rest of us," I said. "But what about some poor woman whose husband wants her dead for the insurance money?"

He shook his head. “No women or children. Ever.”

“Then vice versa.”

He shrugged. “That ain’t my business.”

“Do you ever feel guilty?”

His mouth twitched at the corners. “Occasionally. But I try not to dwell.”

I watched him, letting the weight of his words settle between us. Then I asked the question that had been burning my soul for the last six months .

“What do you think happened the night my brother got killed?”

Pain flickered across his face. He exhaled through his nose, shifting slightly against the restraints.

“I think about that every day,” he admitted, his voice raw with grief. “I don’t know what the fuck happened. I thought the target had some extra security lurking that we didn’t know about, but I don’t know anymore.”

“What don’t you know?”

“I wonder if it was something else…something deeper.” His body looked tense now, his shoulders tight, his forehead creased. “And if I haven’t said it before, I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry it happened on my watch.”

I felt every ounce of his remorse. It had burrowed in deep and settled into his bones.

I swallowed hard and waited, unsure of how to feel. The lines were blurry at this point. His pain was real, and completely unrelated to our little game.

I let the silence linger and stretch between us, letting it torture him, because for the first time since we started this, I understood something about myself, something that had settled deep in my bones.

There’s power in patience.

He watched me, unable to move the way he wanted, unwilling to rush me through the process. It was such a role-reversal for me, not catering to a man, not making him comfortable, not shrinking or stretching myself to accommodate his feelings and his moods.

Time ticked by slowly while I thought about what Storm told me. I barely spared a glanced at him as I pondered, smiling when the chains rattled.

He was breaking.

Finally, I bent down, cupping his jaw, tilting his face up. His pupils were dilated, his chest rising and falling.

“Thank you for being so open,” I murmured.

“Did it please you, Princess?”

I nodded.

Then I kissed him.

His lips parted, his tongue sliding against mine. The chains rattled as he tried to reach out and touch me, falling short every time, his frustration growing, right along with his erection.

I pulled back, uncrossing my legs.

“Make me cum. Lick up every drop.”

He blew out a breath as he leaned forward and pressed hot, wet kisses up my inner thighs. When his tongue finally reached its destination, I shuddered in relief.

He was so good at this.

His lips sealed around me as he sucked gently, at first, then harder. He groaned like he could feel it, too, his arms straining against the cuffs as he tried and failed to touch me.

When I came, I squeezed my thighs around his head, gripping the arms of the chair as the pleasure overtook me. This was where I wanted to be. This place, this time, with this man, was paradise, a place where grief didn't exist. Worry. Stress. Fear. None of it mattered here. Only us. Only ecstasy.

He pulled back, his bare chest heaving as he waited for his next directive, his lips glistening with the remnants of my pleasure.

So sexy.

“Get up,” I ordered .

He obeyed immediately, following me to the bed.

The cuffs rattled as I chained him to the headboard, his body spread out on the mattress, dick hard and ready. I reached into his pants and pulled it out, giving it a long, admiring look before I moved to take my clothes off. His chest heaved, his eyes hooded as he watched me undress.

“How do I look?” I asked, standing naked and exposed in front of him.

He licked his lips. “You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen.” A deep breath, then a sharp exhale. "You look like you could destroy my fuckin' life. And I'd let you."

I smiled, tilting my head. “Thank you, baby. Now, eat my ass.”

His breath shuddered out of him, his dick bouncing violently against his taut abs. “Yes, princess.”