Page 16 of Strange Seduction (Strange #2)

When he finished, I glanced down at the bear. It was perfect—cute and simple, but with just enough warmth. The heart was a soft, almost pastel pink with the faintest curve of the “T” in the center, the edges a little frayed from the hand-drawn look.

I smiled, satisfaction curling through me. “That’s… exactly what I wanted.”

Theo gave me a small, almost shy smile. “I told you I’m good.”

As he cleaned the area and set down the tattoo machine, I could still feel the adrenaline rush from the tattoo coursing through me.

“Teddy,” I said, leaning back, breaking the comfortable silence between us.

“Yes, my love.”

I played with the fraying edge of the chair. “I did some research on this before, but I wasn’t sure I was gonna do it. Now I think I might.”

Theo looked up, his brows furrowing as he looked at me. “What do you mean? Research on what?”

“Well, what if I got a piercing?”

He raised an eyebrow, a slow smile tugging at his lips. “A piercing, huh? Where?”

I tilted my head towards my thighs sheepishly. “Down there.”

Theo froze for a moment, his eyes widening slightly as if he wasn’t sure if I was serious. “You want a piercing… there ?” he asked.

I nodded, but he was still questioning it.

“Why?”

I shrugged casually, my hands resting on the edge of the chair. “Why not? I’ve read up on it and liked the look and benefits of it. Might as well do it if we’re already here.”

His gaze lowered to between my thighs. “What are the benefits?”

I smirked. So easy to read.

“I could tell you. But I think it’s best if we find out together.”

Theo’s gaze flickered to Ciro to see if he was listening in. He was, but didn’t look surprised—more amused than anything.

When Theo faced me again, I could see the hesitation cross his face.

He took a deep breath. “You want me to do it?”

The look of uncertainty was on full display then.

“Well, Ciro can do it if he’s more experienced,” I offered.

Theo’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked between me and Ciro, and the uncertainty vanished into thin air.

“No way in fucking hell am I letting Ciro anywhere near you like that, Carmen. Are you crazy?” he stated boldly.

“Why not? He’s the pro. I’m sure he’s done it before.”

Theo’s jaw tightened, and his eyes darkened. “No. Fucking. Way.”

I raised an eyebrow, giving him a playful smirk. “How else am I supposed to get it done?”

Theo’s hands flexed at his sides, his expression hardening. “I’ll do it.”

My gaze flicked to Ciro, who appeared with his arms crossed. “Boy, have you ever pierced anyone before?”

Theo shrugged nonchalantly. “I did my eyebrow.”

I blinked, processing this new bit of lore. “Wait, you pierced your own eyebrow? I didn’t know that.”

He gave me a cocky grin. “Learn something new every day, don’t cha?”

I learned a lot of new things today, actually.

I nodded slowly. “Well, that’s your face, Theo. This is my pussy. You better not fuck it up.”

“Correction, it’s my pussy,” he countered. “And I won’t.”

Ciro raised an eyebrow. “You’re seriously gonna let him do it?”

I shrugged casually. “He’s gotta deal with it if it’s messed up.”

Ciro let out a low whistle. “Christ. I wish my girl trusted me like this.”

Theo shot him a glare. “Shut up and go outside. I don’t want you looking at her.”

“That’s fine by me,” Ciro muttered, holding up his hands as he backed away. “I want full deniability anyway.”

He disappeared into the hallway, and suddenly it was just the two of us.

Theo turned to me, eyes serious now, voice low.

“This is a lot of trust, Sweetness. You sure?”

I met his gaze head-on.

“Don’t,” I said slowly, enunciating every word, “Fuck. Up.”

Theo smiled. “I won’t.”

He crouched down between my legs, his hands steady as he made sure everything was sanitized, prepping for the piercing.

My heart raced. This was different. More intimate than I expected, which was weird considering he had his face between my legs most of our relationship. But as his fingers gently parted my thighs, I realized I trusted only him with this.

“Last chance,” he said.

I nodded. “Do it.”

Theo’s hands were surprisingly gentle as he marked the spot, his fingers brushing over me in ways that made my body tense despite the anticipation.

“Alright,” he murmured. “Here we go.”

The sharp pinch of the needle took me by surprise, and I gasped, clutching the side of the chair for stability.

The pain wasn’t unbearable, but it was definitely there—a dull ache that shot through me, settling deep in my core.

My fingers dug into the fabric beneath me as I exhaled slowly, trying to control my breathing.

“Fuck,” I hissed under my breath, trying to hold still as the jewelry was getting put in.

Theo’s grip on my thigh tightened, his eyes never leaving the work he was doing.

“Thank you for trusting me,” he said softly, though his voice had relief in it.

I winced as he secured the jewelry, the sensation still sending ripples of discomfort through me.

“Yeah, yeah, fuck you,” I muttered through clenched teeth, my voice shaky from the pain.

Theo’s gaze stayed focused on what he’d just done, and for a moment, he didn’t say anything. His eyes darkened as he took in the sight of the piercing, the gleam in them shifting from concentration to something possessive.

“Fuck, baby,” he breathed, his voice barely audible as his gaze lingered between my legs.

The feeling of his eyes on me was more than enough to send heat rushing through me, despite the pain still pulsing in my body.

“You’re soaked.” Theo continued, using his thumb to spread me so that he could get a better view. “Like, really fucking soaked.”

Oh. It was working already, huh?

He looked up at me. “Did you cum from this?”

“I—I don’t know,” I answered honestly, just as shocked as he was.

“Fuck…” he dragged.

Ciro appeared after a while, his hands covering his eyes as he addressed the awestruck Theo. “Yo, you gotta wait at least three weeks before you do anything.”

Theo didn’t respond immediately, his focus still on me, as if the world outside the two of us didn’t exist.

“Theo, did you hear me?” Ciro pushed.

He exhaled slowly, then finally nodded. “Yeah. I heard you.”

Ciro shook his head, a small sigh escaping his lips. “You’re a fucking handful, you know that?”

I got up and pulled down my dress, my entire lower half still raw. Theo helped me keep my balance, but it was his quiet, determined gaze that made me hold my breath.

“Trust me, it’s fine,” Theo said, his voice low but steady. “We’ll wait.”

Lie.

Ciro dropped his hand and raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced, but he didn’t press it further. He just gave Theo a pointed look before turning back to his work.

I tilted my head back, meeting Theo’s gaze. “You okay?”

For a moment, I could see the storm of thoughts running through his mind—just under the surface—but then, just as quickly, he softened. A small smile curled at the corners of his lips. “Yeah. I’m good.”

˙???˙

As soon as we stepped onto the penthouse elevator, his lips dragged up the hollow of my neck. My head tilted back on instinct, breath catching as his hands fisted the fabric of my dress, tugging it up.

“Teddy…” I whispered, barely able to get it out. “Ciro said not yet.”

“I’m not waiting three weeks, Carmen,” he murmured against my skin, voice gravel-thick. “I don’t have you for that long.”

“Still. The same day?” My fingers curled around his wrist. “I don’t want it to get infected—”

“It won’t get infected, baby,” he cut in. “I’ll take care of it.”

His hand slid the dress higher, grazing my thighs now.

“Teddy…”

“Shh,” he hushed me, mouth brushing my collarbone.

Then, the elevator dinged.

Salvation.

I moved fast, slipping out of his grasp, but before I could take a full step forward, his hand caught a fistful of my hair—a tight grip. With a firm tug, I stumbled backward, right into his chest with a breathy gasp.

“You wanna run?” he said, voice low in my ear. “Then run to the room and get ready for me.”

My heart dropped to my stomach. “Ready? How?”

He smiled.

I could feel it without seeing it.

“You’re a smart girl, Sweetness. You’ll figure it out.” He pressed a kiss behind my ear. “Now go.”

I turned, slowly. “You’re not the boss of me, Theo. And since when do you decide what we do and when?”

Theo didn’t blink. He leaned forward, eyes heavy in warning. “You really wanna play with me right now?”

That shifted something in me.

Not fear.

Not heat either.

Just that dizzy middle ground where I wanted to push back and see what happened when I did. So I stayed, and that amused him.

He tilted his head, his jaw tense with restraint and a playful smirk.

“Gimme two minutes,” he said. “And I’ll be right with you.”

I stared at him for a little longer before I walked away.

“Oh, and Carmen?” He called after me. I just stopped and looked over my shoulder.

“I am. The boss of you.” He said with finality that sent a chill down my spine. Instead of replying, I just walked away—because yeah, I proved my point.

So, I did what I was told and I went to the room. If I knew Theodore Clayton like I thought I did, ‘get ready’ meant taking it all off, except for the panties. Which I did.

He didn’t take two minutes, though.

He took only one.

The door opened behind me as I studied myself in the mirror and shut with a quiet click. I turned and found him with a silver champagne bucket in his hand, ice glittering inside.

I raised a brow. “Ice?”

“Good for the swelling,” he said, setting it on the nightstand.

His eyes found mine, and my pulse skipped.

“Lie down, Sweetness.”

The words sounded like a request and a command wrapped in one. Like he was simply asking, but it was too demanding for me to disobey. So I did as he said and got on the bed.

Carefully. Slowly. Stretching across the sheets to tease him.

Theo stood over me, his body blocking the light of the lamp on the nightstand. Without a word, he pulled me closer, thumb hooking on the delicate fabric of my underwear before sliding it off and taking a deep sniff before discarding it.

Then—

“Now show me,” he demanded. This time, there was no request in his tone—just pure dominance and control. Maintaining eye contact, I spread my legs in front of him. My fingers were trembling slightly as they traced the delicate curve of the fresh piercing nestled between my legs.

The metal was cool against my skin, a complete contrast to the heat pooling low in my belly. I could still feel the slight sting from the piercing, but beneath that, there was a new pulse.

“Tonight,” he murmured, his voice low and husky, “I’m going to worship every inch of you. And this—” He flicked the piercing gently, and it made me wince in pain. “—I’m going to show you just how much I love it.”

My heart hammered in my chest, anticipation flooding through me.

“It stings, Teddy.” I pouted.

“I know,” he comforted me with a soothing hand on my thigh near my new tattoo.

When I winced at the burn, he hushed me.

“Shh…” His hand went to the bucket on the nightstand and pulled out an ice cube. “Just relax, okay? It’ll feel better soon.”

“How—” I was cut off by him placing the cube in his mouth.

“Trust me,” he said, then pressed a final, lingering kiss to my lips before settling between my legs.

Slowly, he pressed his mouth against me. I arched instantly as his cold lips parted to envelop the new piercing. The ice rubbing against my swollen clit was a sensation I’ve never experienced before. It was so intense that I jerked and bucked against Theo’s face as he struggled to hold me still.

When I finally settled, he pressed the cube against me again, and I moaned deeply.

“Fuck, Teddy…”

His mouth was too busy giving me salvation for him to answer. When I looked down, his eyes were trained on me, watching my reaction as he worked. I couldn’t look away from our standoff. Between the ice, his mouth, and the piercing, I was held hostage.

I bit my lip to hold back a gasp, fingers tangling in his hair as the tension coiled tighter and tighter inside me.

His hands steadied me, thumb stroking the sensitive skin just above my core, grounding me even as his tongue flicked and swirled expertly, tracing cold lines through my nerves.

Every flick, every press of his lips, sent pulses of pleasure rippling deep.

The way he took me made me unravel.

I arched instinctively, pressing closer to him, needing more of him. He hummed softly, a sound vibrating against me that sent heat straight to my core. His hands slid further down, fingers slipping inside me slowly, perfectly timed with his tongue’s motion.

“Teddy,” I breathed, voice thick with need, “please… don’t stop.”

That made him deepen his attention, lips and tongue moving with urgency as he pushed the remaining ice around carefully.

I was his, completely, and the way he worshipped me through the piercing made me feel a way I never had before.

My body tensed, spiraling toward the edge, and making me grind against Theo’s mouth.

Then the flood hit. I clenched and shook against him, a wave of release that left me trembling and breathless in his arms. Theo didn’t falter; he held me through it, steady and sure, his fingers still curling inside me as his mouth traced soft kisses along my skin.

He smiled widely and leaned up to kiss me deeply. “I want you to come to work with me.”

I blinked, caught off guard by the sudden change in topic. “Work?” I asked, still out of breath.

He nodded. “Yeah. I wanna show you something.”

I exhaled as the last of the orgasm escaped me. “Okay. I’ll come.”

He kissed me again, and I knew this was only the beginning.

He brushed my hair behind my ear.

“Can I eat you out again?” His voice dropped to a soft, almost pleading tone. “Please?”