The Dom Who Loved Me (Masters and Mercenaries #1)(20)

“You’ve made me crazy for days.” He ran his tongue along her lower lip. She groaned in response. Every nerve in her body seemed to be coming alive. “You are the most damned flirtatious woman I’ve ever met. I swear if you use that honey voice of yours on the delivery guy again, I’ll have to kill him.”

Grace gave into the urge to run her fingers through that thick mop of his. He usually kept it ruthlessly slicked back, but now it was a sexy mess. She loved the silky feel of it under her fingers. She’d longed to be this close to him for days, and now she could see he was perfect even with no distance between them. His face was chiseled perfection. Even the shadow of his beard tickling against her cheek felt like a sweet sensation. “I don’t mean anything by it.”

She’d just always been a flirt. Pete hadn’t really noticed. He hadn’t been the jealous type. Sean seemed like the jealous type. If she belonged to him and he caught her flirting, he might not laugh it off. He might…he’d said there might be punishment later. That one phrase did all kinds of things to her libido. God, why had he said that? She wondered if she could talk Sean into spanking her. He might think she was a complete pervert. How would she explain that she read a lot of erotica and had a few wicked fantasies? She would have to settle for vanilla sex. It would still be so good.

“Why do you think I let that poor delivery guy live, baby? I know you’re just being your sweet self, but Grace, I am very possessive. You need to remember that.” His voice was light and teasing. He pulled her flush against his body, his hands cupping the globes of her ass as he walked them toward the shallow end of the pool. Now his chest was out of the water. The white dress shirt was plastered against his skin. It molded to the hard, ripped muscles of his chest that spoke of hours spent in a gym. He looked down at her, studying her face. “You look like you could eat me up.”

Grace lowered her eyes, embarrassed to be so very open. It was hard to know how to play this. It had been so long since she’d dated. It had been twenty years since she’d been in an intimate situation with any man other than her husband.

“Hey.” Sean set her on her feet. Without her heels, she came to the middle of his chest. He was so big he made her feel small and delicate. He cupped her chin and forced her to look up at him. The light of the pool illuminated his gorgeous face, making his light blue eyes seem darker, more powerful. “I love the way you look at me, Grace. It makes me feel ten feet tall, and I definitely want you to eat me up.”

He lowered his mouth to hers, and this time there was no gentleness. His kiss dominated. His tongue thrust in and tangled with hers in a bold imitation of what she was sure his cock wanted. Grace softened against him, letting her hands explore his rock-hard chest as he kissed her. His mouth slanted over hers again and again. Their tongues slid in a silky dance. His five o’clock shadow scratched lightly against her, but she loved the feel of him. He pulled her into the cradle of his body, placing the long line of his erection against her belly. His hips rolled, a blatant invitation to play. It wasn’t an invitation she intended to refuse.

She was lost, ready to wrap her legs around his lean waist and take him right then and there. Grace buried her face in the skin exposed on his chest. She kissed him there, her hands pulling at the buttons of his shirt, hating the fabric that kept his skin from hers. She wanted her hands on him, feeling the warmth of his flesh and the hard play of his muscles. She wanted to sink her nails in and leave her mark on him.

Sean pulled away abruptly. His sharp tone of voice cut through the soft haze of her lust. “No, Grace. You are not in charge.”

Her feet found the bottom of the pool. She hadn’t realized she’d been depending on him for balance. She felt vulnerable again, without the comfort of his body surrounding hers. She’d heard him, but the only words that really registered were no and not. She was making an ass of herself. How could she have thought he was serious? He was just being playful. He was probably really surprised she’d taken him seriously. She was a forty-year-old widow with sagging boobs and ten extra pounds that wouldn’t go away. He was a Nordic god. Grace tried to make her way around him.

“Stop it.” His voice was a sharp bark, and his arm went around her waist. “I’m not putting up with that. We’re going to get the rules in place before we get started.”

“Just let me go, Sean.” She didn’t want to hear about his rules.

“No.” When Grace looked up at him, he seemed a bit savage. “Did you treat your last Dom like this, sweetheart? Did he let you manipulate him? That won’t happen with us.”

He picked her up and set her on the side of the pool. She could feel her face flaming with embarrassment. He’d mentioned Doms. Why would he do that? What had he heard about her? Only a few people knew about her fantasy.

The smooth tile was slightly cold on the cheeks of her ass. Her feet dangled in the water, leaving her feeling exposed and vulnerable. She quickly tried to cover her breasts. Her fence was high, but it felt wrong to be naked out of the water.

Sean’s hands grabbed hers and pulled them away from her chest. “Don’t you dare. You need to pick a safeword right now.”

“What?” She felt her mouth drop open. He was asking about a safeword? “I don’t understand.”

How could he know? What would he think? He’d asked about her Dom.