Unconditional (Masters and Mercenaries #5.5)(29)

Sleeping with her wouldn’t change anything. He still couldn’t give her what she really needed, but maybe, just maybe, they could make this weird relationship work. They could have a life here in the club. The hours he spent with her would make the rest of his days worthwhile.

“Yes.” She didn’t hesitate. He was rapidly learning that hesitation wasn’t something she did. Ashley might be submissive, but she could damn straight make a decision.

She’d decided on him. It did weird things to his heart. It made him remember he f*cking had one. It was like it had stopped beating all those years ago, but Ashley had it sputtering, fluttering like a machine that someone was priming in the hopes that it would work again.

Her hand came up, touching his cheek. “It’s okay.”

He stared at her. It was okay. She made it okay. He pushed through the door and into the room.

He let her slide to the floor, making sure she was balanced. “Get out of those clothes.”

Her breath hitched, but her hands went straight to the hooks on her corset, pushing them in and then releasing the clasp, revealing her creamy skin to him.

Keith took a step back, his calves hitting the bed. The room was dimly lit, but he could see every inch of her flesh.

So beautiful.

She stepped out of the tiny skirt he’d given her to wear, and she was naked in front of him. She stood there, obviously uncomfortable, but she would have to get used to that. They had four weeks left on their contract, and he would see her naked as often as possible.

Four weeks. Four weeks and then he would have to find a way to get her to sign another contract, one that kept them in the club but gave him rights to protect her.

“Keith?” Her voice was a little shaky. “Do you want me to get dressed again?”

“No.” He shoved the worry aside. Live in the moment. That was what he did. The future never really showed up anyway. He was always in the moment and this was his moment with her. “I might never want you to get dressed again. Turn around. Slowly.”

Her shoulders relaxed and she started a slow pivot.

Curves and soft feminine flesh. He sighed at the thought that all of it belonged to him. It had been a long time since he’d had his collar around a woman’s throat. It was the only thing she was wearing now, a delicate silver chain. It hadn’t been cheap, but now he was struck by how much more she deserved.

“Stop.” He was sick of just watching. Just watching was giving his brain too much time to think. The last thing he needed was to get contemplative. She was turned away from him and he walked to stand right behind her.

Her sable brown hair hung past her shoulders, a blanket covering her. He gently pushed it to the side and studied the delicate column of her spine, running from the nape of her neck down to a heart-shaped ass. His fingers traced the length, causing her to shiver a little.

He breathed her in, memorizing her scent—flowery where her hair met her shoulders, but he couldn’t miss the spice of her arousal.

This was what he’d been desperate for. He needed to indulge himself in her, touching and caressing and penetrating. What they had wasn’t enough for him. He needed more. More of her. More of being them.

Dangerous thoughts, but he let them run through his head because nothing mattered except wrapping himself in her.

He smacked her ass suddenly, unwilling to put off the moment a second longer. “You cursed.”

Her cheeks had clenched a little, but she relaxed again. “Yes, I did. I need to stop that.”

“You asked me to help you.” He didn’t care if she cursed like a sailor, but she was trying to correct the behavior. “Go to the bed and present yourself to me.”

She turned without a word and he watched as she moved to the big bed that dominated the room. Proving she was a good student in and out of the classroom, she placed her hands palms down on the cover. Her legs went wide and her back flattened. Perfect presentation. The work they’d done over the past weeks showed up in the relaxed, fluid lines of her body as she prepared to accept his discipline.

So different from the young woman who had claimed she couldn’t come. Ashley had learned to accept pleasure, to anticipate it. Even now he could see the way she was trying to draw him in, to attract him with the curves of her body, the seduction of her sex.

He could have told her she didn’t have to try hard. He thought about her all the time. Taking a long breath, he walked over and placed a hand on her ass. “I didn’t like turning around and not seeing you behind me.”

“I’m sorry, Sir. I had to yell at Ryan, and I wasn’t sure he would follow me into the bar to allow me to do it. It was very important to me.”

Little brat. He smacked that ass hard, loving the excited yelp that came out of her. “Is that right?” Another smack. And another. “I didn’t think I had to explain the rules to you, but I’ll make them clear again.” Smack. Smack. “When we’re in this club, you stay at my side unless told explicitly that you’re allowed to leave me.”

He couldn’t stand the thought of some * Dom hitting on her, and they would. She was so soft and innocent that every Dom in the place would be all over her. And she was his, damn it. Inside this f*cking club, she belonged to him.

“Yes, Sir.”

Smack. Smack. Smack. Her bottom was getting the prettiest pink sheen to the skin. “If you need to turn your harpy scream on Ryan, I’ll make sure he shows up on time.”