Page 129 of Stand: Part One

With my hands clutching his shoulders, I poured myself into that kiss, letting it warm my blood until I was hot with need and drunk with even more inhibition. The drug still racing through my system made it easy to disconnect from reality and focus on the now.

With every swipe of his tongue, the confidence to experiment with an incredibly dangerous man grew at an alarming rate.

Deep down, I knew the power I held over him. I’d tasted it plenty of times but never really fully indulged. Fear kept me at the edge, reminding me that if I crossed the line, I might lose my footing and stumble into the arms of a monstrosity I’d foolishly created and couldn’t control.

The memory of my crawling for him in our bedroom came to mind. I was the one on my hands and knees on the damn floor, but I could see that man’s fucking soul bowing to my sway, his focus entirely mine to dominate.

And that really pissed him off.

I hadn’t said a single word, but he punished my mouth with his cock all the same, furious that he could be so easily seduced by me. We both got our egos bruised that day.

But if Darren thought I was seducing him then, he had no idea what I was capable of when the gloves of caution were finally ripped away.

And truthfully, neither did I.

But he’d just recently given me permission to find out, hadn’t he? To lie to him? To make him believe it? He was practically begging for me to claim him, to own him so completely.

And if there was one thing I was damn good at, it was giving Darren exactly what he needed. So own him, I would.

With opportunity striking the match, who the hell was I to withhold the kerosene?

With Darren’s lips influencing a reaction I’d normally fight to constrain, I followed through on my drug-induced instinct.

Instead of fighting for the sake of stubbornness, instead of submitting for the sake of survival, I took my power and matched him, meeting him passion for passion.

And fuck, did he notice.

On a deep groan, his hands dug into my hips, his chest pressing against mine like he couldn’t get me close enough. Pushing up on my hips, I raised myself, forcing him to crane his neck to meet my demands, just like I had in that bathtub.

And for a moment, I could feel him giving in.

The more I touched him and the more I shifted my hips into his lap, the more I could feel him slipping deeper and deeper into the palm of my hand.

The man thought he was letting me run the show, thought he was still in control, but power didn’t always come in the form of physical strength.

Sometimes it came in the form of a single kiss. A single touch. A single glance.

And in the open palms of a desperate man, that power was mine for the taking.

And I. Fucking. Took.

Darren’s erection pressed into my pelvis, the bulge looking like it was ready to rip through his pants. Raking my nails down his chest, he growled into my mouth when they reached the hard length of his cock.

“Belt. Now,” he ordered, his voice thick with lust.

After practically shoving my tongue down his throat, my hands reached for his belt, releasing the buckle and immediately attacking his zipper, yanking it down in quick succession.

Pulling back, Darren grabbed the already low neckline of my dress and ripped the fabric wide open, my bare breasts spilling out into his waiting hands.

I gave vibrant life to the moans I normally revolted at revealing, letting them compete with the booming music just outside the curtain.

Darren’s groan vibrated through my skin as he took one of my nipples between his teeth, his tongue slathering against the sting that sent my blood rushing straight to my clit.

“Oh, fuck,” I moaned, arching my back and pressing more of myself into him.

I ran my hands through his hair, gripping and tugging, completely ruining the style he’d combed it into earlier. Tightening my fist, I yanked him back by his hair, a hiss fresh on his lips that I cut off with my own, attacking his mouth like it was mine to devour.

He responded in kind, his hand reaching for the hair just above my nape and wrenching it down, tipping my chin up and exposing more of my throat. He kissed his way down my jawline, biting and sucking hard enough to leave behind the marks he would admire in the morning.