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W hat was she doing here? Alice hesitated at the door. Nerves made her fingertips tingle unpleasantly. Her heart thrummed in her ears erratically.
The bar hadn’t changed, except for one thing: it was packed.
Right and left people sat around or stood, chatting amicably, almost drowning out the suave music.
The knot in her stomach began to tighten.
Someone could approach her, speak to her, and then what?
Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea.
She took a step back. Suddenly, she felt it.
His gaze was like fire calling to a moth.
She turned toward the pull. How he had known she’d arrived was beyond her, but there he was, waiting.
He stood at the doorway to the VIP area.
Their gazes locked. Her fantasies didn’t do him justice.
Today he wore a white shirt open at the top, giving an enticing glimpse of his chest, along with dark jeans.
His hair was pulled back into a man-bun, adding to his attraction.
She swallowed hard. He beckoned her with a finger, and she moved forward, her feet almost moving on their own accord. She stopped a hair’s breadth away from him. His grin undid her, and her breath jammed in the back of her throat.
“Good girl.”
She almost moaned at the words. So simple and yet so powerful.
No one had ever called her a good girl. All her life, all she got was constant criticism.
As a child she was told she was not good enough.
Bullied by her peers, she was too fat, too tall, too weird.
Her parents always thought she didn’t study enough.
“You should be getting A+, not A- or B+. It’s not good enough.
” As an adult at university, she had had teachers telling her she could do better.
Her classmates criticizedher work. It wasn’t good enough.
Nothing ever was. No one had told her shehad done well.
That it was enough. No one had praised her and called her a good girl.
Except him. This man, this stranger, for that was what he still was, had reached within her and drawn out an aching need she had ignored for years with two simple words.
“Come in, Baby Girl.”
Alice followed him inside without a word.
She didn’t know what to say or how to act.
Doubts still assaulted her. What was he expecting of her?
Would they just kiss? Have sex? Maybe he didn’t want any of that.
Maybe this was some kind of game for him.
After all, he was a wealthy man, older than her by at least fifteen years, and she was nothing more than a puppet in his hands, a mere toy to play with and later discard. Could she even do this?
“Sit.” He pointed at the dark leather sofa in the room and headed to a minibar in the corner. She obeyed. She sat stiffly, watching him as he poured two glasses of brown liquid. He handed one to her. “Drink.”
Abruptly, her sense of preservation snapped into her. “What is it?” She cleared her throat. “What is it?” she repeated.
“Cognac. Drink a sip.” He took one himself. “It’ll help you relax.”
“Why do I need to relax?”
He gave her a lopsided smile.
“Because you’re so nervous if I were to touch you right now, you’d snap like a wooden board.
Drink,” he said again. A shiver ran through her.
Had he lowered his voice or was it her imagination?
She swallowed drily and glanced at the glass in her hand.
What if it were drugged? She had been watching him prepare it but—
“I didn’t put anything in it. I don’t need to, Alice.
Coming here has been your own decision, and what’s more, in case you have any doubts, I would never dare hurt you.
” He paused. “Not in that way.” The sly grin that crossed his featuresmade her cheeks warm and this time she did take a sip.
She coughed, surprised at the strong flavor.
He chuckled. “I take it you hadn’t drunk this before. ”
“No,” she said. Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. He handed her a handkerchief and took the glass from her, replacing it with another in seconds. “Drink. It’s water.”
Trusting him, and uncomfortable with the burning in her throat, she gulped down the contents. The cool liquid soothed her immediately. “Thanks.”
“I will never hurt you, Alice.” He stared at her, and she shivered involuntarily. She dropped her gaze, nervously toying with the empty glass in her hand. Her mind reeled with a jumble of thoughts she couldn’t organize. She surprised herself when words formed on her tongue and tumbled out.
“But you want to.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement.
Axel nodded. “Very much so. I want to tug on your hair and spread your mouth around my cock. I want to tie your hands over your head and spank you until your entire backside is red as a rose.” He took in an audibly shaky breath.
“I want to hurt you, but I also want to love you.” Without giving her a chance, he continued, “I want to caress every inch of your body, hold you in my arms, and keep you safe from all harm, both outside and inside.” Axel tapped his head.
“I want to make you forget your pain, your fears, and just enjoy, live the moment with me.”
Alice stared at him wide-eyed. He spoke of more than sex. She tried to make sense of everything he’d said, but only the last words seemed to stick with her.
“I want to make you forget your pain, your fears, and just enjoy, live the moment with me.”
“I don’t know if I can do that,” she whispered.
“Living in the moment,” she hurried to explain.
Dread clawed at her neck, scratching its way downward.
She attempted to push it aside, focusing on the rest of his confession.
Sex. Being tied, spanked, but also caressed.
Her pussy tingled. “Well, and the rest ... I’ve never—”
“I will teach you,” he assured her. Axel crouched so he was staring at her eye to eye.
“I will keep you safe, Baby Girl.” He cupped her cheek, and she bit back a gasp.
Soft, velvety spirals of electricity seemed to shoot from his fingertips onto her flesh.
Warm and delicate, they invited her to sink further.
“Every time you touch me...” she murmured. She placed her hand over his. “I just ... I don’t understand.”
Axel nodded.
“I know, and there’s a lot for me to explain, but this is not the place. Would you be willing to come to my home?”
Alice stared at him. Her mind was turmoil, but even though apprehension still twisted her gut, the warmth in his gaze was a welcome pool she dove into instinctively.
“Yes,” she heard herself answer.