Page 22 of With this Ring (Mastered #7)

“Do you want me to take you to the Den?”

How did he seem to know her better than she knew herself?

As much as she wanted it, she couldn’t force herself to admit the truth.

Every touch, every whisper, every “ yes, Sir,” was dragging her deeper into emotional danger, leading her closer and closer to potential heartbreak.

Fear arrowed down her spine.

She was falling for Gregorio.

Sasha gave herself a mental shake. The idea of having a real future with Gregorio was a ridiculous impossibility.

She couldn’t even begin to imagine the reaction from her sister or her parents. He’d been such an important part of their lives since he’d saved them all.

He’d arrived to pick up her sister for a date and unwittingly walked in during the holdup. Sasha had been huddled in the back room with her mother and Adriana, shaking with fear, crying, while her father had a pistol pointed at his forehead.

With brutal calm, Gregorio had taken down one robber and disarmed the other.

That was the night she’d developed a severe case of hero worship for him.

Afterward, her sister had accepted his marriage proposal, and he’d been joyfully welcomed as a member of the DiLuce family.

Years later, their divorce had devastated everyone.

That fateful night had also shaped who she was as a human being.

She’d hated feeling helpless. When she was safely in bed, she’d vowed she’d never be a victim again.

Every decision from then on had supported that resolution.

She’d taken self-defense classes, learned to shoot, joined Hawkeye—like Gregorio—and gone through their tactical training classes.

Now, twice a month, she taught other women and children how to protect themselves.

“Tell me, Petal.”

He refused to let her hide. Even from herself. “Gregorio…”

No matter how foolish or reckless, she wanted more.

The small taste of BDSM that he’d given her wasn’t even close to enough.

Her whole life, she’d been searching for something like this.

Ordinary sex was ho-hum. She’d always wondered what the big deal was. The connection was okay, but until Gregorio, she hadn’t understood.

He’d brought her to life.

And she craved the edge of danger that he was offering.

After this case was over, she had no idea if she’d see him again, and she’d rather have the memories, even if they were woven with regrets.

“I’m waiting for you to say the words, Petal,” he prompted. “Be brave.”

Damn the consequences.

As scared as she’d been lately, she wanted—desperately—to feel alive. Up here, there was so much security, she was totally safe, able to let go and indulge.

He hadn’t pushed at all, and she appreciated that.

With a steadying breath, digging deep for courage, she finally looked at him. “I want to go to the Den.”

A slow, sultry smile crossed his face, taking years off his age. The shadows that haunted his eyes vanished. Maybe not forever, but for the moment. “Do you?”

Drawing a steadying breath, she told him the truth. “Yes.”

“That’s my girl.”

She could live and die on his approval.

“And what do you want to experience?”

“Anything.” Another spanking like the one he’d given her, the orders, his gruffness, his shocking demands. What else was out there that she’d never experienced?

“Did you want to be on my leash?”

Her stomach plunged. He’d asked that before—jokingly, she’d thought. Had he been serious?

“Naked for me? Chained to the wall?”

Like the woman she’d seen last night.

“While I shove my cock down your throat?” Adding emphasis to his question, he cupped the back of her neck. “Is that it?”

Yes. A thousand times, yes. “That sounds horrible.”

“Does it?” he mused.

Then the terrible Dom leaned in a little closer, giving no quarter.

“So why do I smell your arousal?”

God help her.

“Or did you want to be leaned over the school desk for a spanking like the one we watched together?”

“I told you I’m not a pain slut.” So why am I tingling all over?

“Mmm.”

Ferociously, she scowled. “What the hell does that mean?”

“Just noting what you’re saying.”

She huffed out a breath. “I’m serious about this, Gregorio.”

“Of course you are.”

Maybe his words were meant to reassure her. But they didn’t.

“Have we done anything you hated?”

She exhaled a shaky breath. Of course they hadn’t. “Not so far,” she hedged.

“Do you always have your safe word?”

His voice contained urgency, compelling her to answer. “Yes.”

“And are you curious about what you’re missing?” He traced her bottom lip with his thumbnail. “Do you hunger for something that you can’t name?”

Slowly, she nodded.

“Good. Then let’s get you dressed.”

And he meant let’s , as in he took care of her.

After easing her from his lap, he helped her into her clothing, even crouching to tie her shoes. When she protested, he waved her off.

“You deserve to be treated like a princess.”

His sexy, growled words shot her pulse into overdrive.

And then he asked her to return the favor.

Offering his shirt to him felt a little awkward. Then she handed him his jeans and he stepped into them.

He pulled them up, then purposefully glanced at the floor in front of him. “On your knees.”

Her tummy turned inside out.

“If I have to repeat myself, things won’t go well for you.”

His voice was filled with warning. And still, a wicked part of her hesitated. What were the consequences for disobedience? And why did she yearn to find out?

“You’re going to do what I want, aren’t you, Petal?”

The purr in his voice, the confidence… Maybe if he was just stern, she’d push him. But suddenly she wanted his approval more than she wanted to find out about the threatened consequences.

He offered his hand, and she took it, accepting his assistance as she lowered herself to the floorboards.

“I’d keep you there if I could.”

Head tipped back, she met his gaze. “Would you?”

“But nude.” He swept his gaze over her. “I never get tired of looking at you.”

“I never get tired of looking at you, either.” After licking her lower lip, she added, “Sir.”

“Fuck, Petal.” He fisted a hand into her hair.

She’d never liked having her hair pulled, until now. Until him .

At the moment it seemed as though this moment was the reason she had grown her hair so long.

“And the zipper.”

With a deep swallow, she reached for the metal tab and captured it between her thumb and forefinger.

“Not that way, Petal.” He ensnared her wrist in his strong grip and moved her hand aside. “Use your teeth.”

Sasha gasped. But she didn’t ask if he meant it because she knew he did.

With every passing moment, his cock grew thicker, and she couldn’t look away.

“Keep your hands behind your back, Petal. If you can’t remember to do so, I will tie them for you.”

“But—” The task he’d given her was somewhere between difficult and impossible.

“Don’t you have something to say?” he prompted.

Miserably, she looked up at him. “Yes, Sir.”

Then, seeming to take pity on her—at least somewhat—he fastened the buttons at his waistband.

“Now get on with it, girl.”

Since she didn’t personally know anyone who was involved in that kind of lifestyle, all this was new to her. Was that kind of relationship really like this? And if it was… She was more than just curious. She was intrigued.

When she was with Gregorio, he demanded a level of intimacy that she hadn’t known existed. He pushed her out of her comfort zone, and the further she went, the more she wanted to explore.

He released her wrist, and she clasped her hands at the base of her spine.

“This could only be better if you were naked and I could torment your pouty little nipples.”

Arousal flooded her, making breathing a challenge.

“I’m waiting, Petal.”

She had to lower herself even more to capture the little metal tab between her teeth. With as big as his shaft was, doing what he said was almost impossible.

“You really don’t want to nick any of my skin, or there will be hell to pay.”

And since she would definitely suffer if she didn’t get to have him inside her again soon, this was a warning she decided to heed.

She spent at least thirty seconds—and maybe as long as a minute—painstakingly pulling up the zipper, one metal tooth at a time.

When she was done, she sat back on her heels.

“Such a good Petal.”

Somewhere along the line, without her being aware of it, he had loosened his grip on her hair, and now he tightened it again, tugging back slightly so that she was looking up at him.

“The position you are in right now is called kneeling back. It can be a very relaxed position for a submissive.”

A submissive.

Is that what you think I am? Or was she just exploring a whole new dynamic with Gregorio?

“Kneeling up, like how you began, is perfect for times when you’re waiting or when I want you to pay attention.” His voice changed, dropping, becoming more sensual. “But when I want you helpless, spread wide with your pussy open and available to me, kneeling back is my personal preference.”

Her clit throbbed, even though she was fully clothed. No one had ever spoken to her this way.

“You can expect in future that I will request this of you more often.”

In the future.

Her heart leaped.

Was he really considering that possibility? Or were these just sex words?

He crouched in front of her, and with his free hand, he cradled the side of her head. “You were made for this. For me.” He paused, never severing the connection of their gazes. “Admit it.”

Words lodged in her throat. Because the idea scared her, she couldn’t agree. But nor could she lie.

“Now my belt.” He released her long enough to grab it, and he held it in front of her. “Put it on me.”

They were only going to walk a short distance to the Den, so he truly didn’t need it. Unless…

She remembered the woman in the private room and the way her Top had used the leather on her rear.

Sasha swallowed hard.

Was Gregorio planning to do similar things to her?

Would she let him?