Page 17 of Wicked Bonds

She’d suspected he would, had fantasized about what he’d do when he found out. Those fantasies had led to ecstasy and enhanced need. However, there hadn’t been time to properly sate herself.

These last few months had been a whirlwind of protecting Stas.

“Yet you found time to spy on me.” Balthazar uttered the words in a voice that promised sex, his grip on her hips tight. “Fascinating.”

She really wanted to shove him out of her head, to keep him from hearing these secrets.

“Liar,” he accused, his tongue tracing the shell of her ear. “I think you wish I would have heard your thoughts while you watched.”

She swallowed, refusing to admit that out loud.

However, it wasn’t needed.

He could hear the truth in her mind.

“Would you have wanted to join?” he asked softly. “Or was the fantasy for me to finish, find you, and indulge in a new round?”

Both, she thought, squirming. She’d pictured both avenues of that fantasy, preferring the latter more than the former. Because his prowess always won out, giving her the best of him after warming up with the others.

His teeth skimmed her throat, his hardness a beacon at her back that she longed to touch. But he held her effortlessly in place, forcing her to keep her focus on the wall.

Men frequently tried to dominate her, to take control, to prove their sexual worth over her own. She usually laughed, allowed them to try, and then taught them a lesson in bed.

Except Balthazar was different. His confidence came from a place of worth, cemented in experience and bolstered by his compassion.

He meant his sensual threats.

He always followed through.

He also possessed the ability to play this game just as well as she did.

Which only made it that much more fun. And dangerous, too.

“Put your palms on the wall,” he instructed. “Above your head.”

She considered denying him, just to see what he would do next. However, she complied because it was exactly what he desired. How he would toy with her. Persuade her. Subdue her instincts.

Leela knew everything about Balthazar—his likes, his methods, his seductive technique, hisstamina—which provided her with the ultimate advantage in this situation.

Her knowledge allowed her to play him just as thoroughly as he played her. Because she could anticipate his every move.

“How long have you been watching me?” he asked, a hint of wonder in his tone.

“Long enough,” she admitted. She’d known of his existence for millennia. But it wasn’t until Brazil that she’d allowed herself to truly meet him.

He hummed against her neck, his palms sliding up her sides in a slow movement. “When did you become my personal voyeur, Leela? Before or after Brazil?”

After.

But technically before, too.

She’d watched him before, been impressed by his game, and then moved on.

However, the last few months, she’d done more than watch. She’d…indulgedherself afterward.

“Indulged yourself how?” Sensuality caressed his tone, eliciting goose bumps down her arms. His fingers brushed the swells of her breasts, causing her to inhale sharply, the need inside her singing for more.

He touched her with the knowledge of their past, making her wonder what he remembered.