Page 24 of With this Ring (Mastered #7)

Am I really doing this?

Being here at the Den with no one else around unnerved her more than just a little. Yet, would she have had the courage to ask him to play with her in front of a club full of people? Most likely not.

He turned the lights to a low, inviting setting, then turned the sound system up loud. Music thumped from the speakers and vibrated through her, ratcheting her anxiety one notch higher.

In the living room, he turned to her. Gently, he cupped her shoulders and rubbed with slow, reassuring motions. “Your safe word always applies, Petal. We will not do anything that you don’t consent to.”

She nodded. Because of their history, her trust in him was absolute. He meant everything he said. And the awful truth was…she had no idea how much longer they had together. Days? Hours?

If she were honest with herself, she’d admit that thought scared her more than anything they might do together. She hated the idea of living with regret, wondering what might have happened if she hadn’t been able to shove her fears aside and seize the opportunity that he offered.

“Yes.” She nodded. “I want this.”

His slow, approving smile sent heat tumbling through her.

“In that case, strip for me. Show me what’s mine for the taking.”

Her fingers were nerveless as she removed her jacket.

Avoiding his gaze, she dropped it onto a nearby chair. He gave her a silent commanding nod, telling her to continue.

Taking a breath to steady her nerves, she crouched to untie her tennis shoes, then toed them off before removing her socks.

Even though she was not short, losing the inch or so of height made her feel slightly more vulnerable.

“Raise your arms.”

His voice was ribboned with impatience, and he drew her sweatshirt off and tossed it on top of her jacket.

“Oh. Did you want me to move a little faster, Sir? Am I being too slow?” She tried—and failed—to hide her smile. His impatience was uncharacteristic, letting her know how much she affected him.

His lightning-fast reactions caught her off guard.

In an instant, he was seated in the chair, and she was across his lap, her rear in the air. Fighting for breath, wondering what had just happened, she scrambled to place her fingers on the floor for stability.

Without warning, he brought his hand down on her buttocks. “Sir!” Because she was wearing jeans, she didn’t feel the sting as much as if he’d landed on bare skin. “Gregorio!”

Frantically, she kicked and squirmed, and he clamped her legs between his stronger ones.

“I think that’ll teach you, my little Petal.” He helped her up, turning her to face him. “What do you think?”

“Yes, Sir,” she said obediently because he expected it, not because she meant it. She’d definitely learned something… To push him even harder. She adored seeing the crack in his iron control and knowing that she did it to him.

“Now, shall we continue?”

Pretending to be contrite, she kept her voice low and respectful as she responded, “Of course, Sir. Anything you say, Gregorio.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly, as if questioning her response.

“In that case…” With his hands on her waist, he helped her to her feet.

But he remained where he was, sitting with an ankle propped on top of his opposite knee.

Heaven help her.

He was in charge and looking dangerously handsome. She could scarcely think when he looked at her through his deep, intense eyes.

“I’m waiting, little Petal.” Warning wound its way through his soft words. “Finish undressing.”

Emboldened by his earlier reaction to her, she took her sweet time unfastening the top button of her jeans and pulling the zipper down.

Then, her gaze on him, she wiggled exaggeratedly, slowly drawing down the jeans. Once they were around her ankles, she bent to pick them up. Then she tossed them in his direction.

He snagged them out of mid-air.

Wondering who this bold version of herself was, she turned her back to him and swayed from side to side as she lowered her panties. “Is my rear red, Sir?” She reached back to rub the skin. “I mean, it feels a little sore from your spanking. So I’m sure my skin has to be pink, at least.”

He growled, and she grinned triumphantly.

So that it appeared she was being the perfect submissive that he thought her to be, she unhooked her bra. Then, with the piece of lingerie dangling from a finger, she pivoted back to face him. “It must be cold in here, Gregorio.” She cupped her breasts and ran her palms over her nipples.

“Jesus.”

“Can you see how hard they are?”

In a flash, he was on his feet, devouring the distance between them. Restraining his strength, he clamped his hands around her upper arms. “Want to push me, my Petal?”

Oh, yes.

His eyes blazed with passion, and a pulse ticked in his temple.

God, she needed this—him, what they shared.

He kissed her hard, deep, leaving her breathless, her knees weak as he fucked her mouth with his tongue, possessing, claiming.

This passion between them was the piece that had always been missing in her life.

“You’ll be the fucking death of me, Sasha,” he said when he dragged himself away from her.

Good. She didn’t want to go down alone.

“I can’t get enough of you.”

She’d never get enough of him.

He swept her off the floor and carried her to the kitchen island and placed her on the cold stone.

With a shocked gasp, she attempted to escape, but he forced her down onto her back.

“Time for you to learn another lesson.”

He captured her ankles and placed her feet flat on the surface. Then he used his elbows to force her knees apart. “Keep your pussy exposed. It’s mine, and you’ll do as I say.”

She shivered, and not just from the cold.

No matter how much control she thought she had, it was nothing more than an illusion. She only had the power that he granted her.

Chastened, she squirmed just a little, trying to get comfortable. But not even for a second was she tempted to use her safe word.

“Stay where you are.” He leaned over her. “I’ll be back in less than thirty seconds.”

She read the promise in his eyes, and she nodded.

His footfalls were heavy on the wooden floor.

Being here, alone, exposed, nervous about what he had planned, her mind spiraled, and she struggled to bring her breathing under control.

She hadn’t experienced anything like this.

Never even imagined that this kind of experience even existed.

In such a short amount of time, he’d shown her the world.

“Keep your knees apart,” he called across the distance.

How had he known that she’d moved? Maybe it was a guess, or maybe he just knew her.

Moments later, she noticed the ceiling cameras. Of course. She had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Even if she could, she wouldn’t want to.

A few moments later, he was back, holding things she couldn’t quite make out, beyond a small bottle and strips of thin leather.

He placed the items above her head, where she couldn’t see them. Curiosity drove her mad. He dropped his bag on one of the stools, then pulled out the gigantic dildo that he had selected earlier.

Frantically, she shook her head. “No, no, no.”

With annoying masculine superiority, he grinned. “There are ways to punish bratty subs that have nothing to do with spanking, which I think you might like a little too much.”

So she didn’t admit to exactly that, she clamped her mouth shut. Having his hands on her was a dream come true.

He cleaned the toy.

Once it was dry, he started to pump dollops of lubricant on top.

Horrified and helpless, she watched as the gel made its way down the silicone. “You can’t seriously be planning to put that in me.”

“Absolutely I am.”

She struggled to gulp back her knot of fear in her throat. “There’s no way that’s possible?”

“It is. And you’re going to cooperate.” He paused and raised an eyebrow, as if unconcerned how she responded. “Unless you prefer I also insert a butt plug in your ass.”

Instinctively, she drew her knees together.

Reacting ridiculously fast, he forced them back apart.

“I’m waiting for your answer, little Petal.

Up to you entirely. You can relax and let me fuck you with this, or you can fight me, and I’ll shove a butt plug in you so quickly that you won’t be able to breathe.

” He grinned in a way that told her he’d enjoy that. “And then I’ll fuck you with this.”

She swallowed hard.

“Before you ask if I’m serious, you know I would do exactly that.”

For a moment, the word halt flitted through her mind, but she let it go. “There’s no way it will fit.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “I think you had that same fear about my cock going inside you.”

“The two can’t even be compared.”

“My darling Petal…” He feathered strands of hair back from her face. “I gave you plenty of opportunity to pick all of tonight’s implements. Did I not?”

She hated when he was right.

“You hesitated, and there’s a price to pay for that. Still, you’re lucky I didn’t choose five on your behalf.”

“You do have a mean streak, Sir.”

He seemed totally unconcerned. “Do I?”

In a way, his inflexibility was comforting, even though she’d never admit that to him. She always had the ability to call a stop to any of this at any point. But the fact he didn’t offer any quarter meant she was free to turn over control to him.

Ever since that night at her parents’ restaurant, she’d been on guard, always waiting, watching for threats. The ability to trust someone else, if only for an hour, was the greatest kind of freedom.

“Will you be able to keep your knees apart for me, or would you like to use a spreader bar?”

Even though she wasn’t exactly sure what that was, she definitely didn’t like the sound of it.

“Keep in mind, if you choose that option, there will be a price to pay. In BDSM, mercy has a price.”

“Mercy?” she sputtered, wide-eyed with disbelief.

“When you’re fighting against yourself, your instincts, wanting to protect yourself from what you know is coming, you’ll understand what I mean.”

His expression was filled with foreboding.

“Which will it be?”