A Single Glance (Irresistible Attraction #1)(23)

“Who killed my sister?” Her words are blurted out and her body tenses. “I want a name,” she adds quickly.

“I don’t have a name, but I’m looking into it and when I do – which I will, I promise you – when I do have a name, I will tell you.”

“So you’re saying you had nothing to do with it?”

“That’s another question, Miss Fawn. I’ll gladly answer it now, but then I get two in a row.”

Her wild eyes search mine for a moment as she clenches her jaw before nodding in agreement.

“Not only did I have nothing to do with her death, neither did my brothers or anyone who works for me. I have no idea why she was killed… yet.”

She swallows thickly and her forehead scrunches as she wars with whether or not to believe me.

All I can think about is the one night at The Red Room. I bet her sister told her about that night and that’s why she came searching for me and knew to go to my club.

“Move your hands above you, to here,” I say then reach up and pat the arm of the sofa. She’s slow to obey, but she does. Her nails sink into the fabric and that loose shirt slips down her shoulder again, showing me more of her soft skin. I run a finger along the curve of her arm, leaving goosebumps along my path.

“I don’t know-”

I cut off her objection. “I want to know when you’re lying to me, and I’ll do as I see fit.” My words are barely spoken, because my focus is on how flushed her skin is already from such little contact.

I take my time, moving her hair to the side so I can see her slender neck and the dip in her collar.

Reaching into my left back pocket, I pull out a simple, black silk tie and tell her, “Your wrists will be bound.” Her eyes flash to mine, and I take another sip of her wine. It’s so much sweeter the second time, not unlike herself.

Although she watches as if she’d like to object, she doesn’t. Instead all she says is, “Seven thirty-four.”

“One thing you’ll find benefits you greatly in this arrangement is that I enjoy taking my time,” I tell her, picking up her left wrist, wrapping it and then the other before tying the two together. “Your body will tell me if you’re lying to me. Your body will tell me everything.”

All the while I watch her body. How her back arches slightly, how slowly she’s blinking, how quickly she’s breathing. I’m captivated by her and I couldn’t give two shits if every word out of her mouth is a lie.

“You said you’d stop if I want you to?” she asks me and I answer with a question of my own. “Are you already having doubts?”

“Just checking,” she whispers as I tighten the knot and place her wrists back on the arm of the sofa, above her head. The nervousness colors her every move. She can’t hide anything from me like this.

I don’t ask her or warn her before I pull the blanket down, exposing her to the cool air, so at odds with her heat.

I’ll go slow. I’ll be gentle this first time and ease her into what I want.

Her hips dig into the sofa as if she’s trying to get away or hide, before ultimately relaxing. Her thighs are pressed firmly together, all the way down her legs to her ankles, barely covered by the thin sweatpants. With her shirt pulled up from the way she’s laying, there’s a sliver of her midriff exposed.

“Let me tell you a secret.” My fingers fall to just above the exposed skin, playing along the hem of her shirt and gently lifting it higher. “I often have to get answers from people. It’s what I do; it’s what I’m good at.”

It’s because of me that Carter was able to create this empire so quickly. Everyone had secrets and I was able to get them all. With a knife and ruthlessness he didn’t have quite yet. Power is limited if you don’t have the knowledge to enforce it.

Her body stiffens and the breath she releases is strained.

“When someone is put in a state where they can’t control their body, their emotions,” I say, watching her as she stares at the ceiling, waiting for her eyes to find mine before continuing, “their pain or their pleasure, they give so much away.” I let my words linger in the air before my fingers finally fall to her exposed belly. I run the tips of my fingers just inside the waistband of her sweatpants. Just barely venturing lower. “I intend to tie you down, to push your limits, and to enjoy every detail you give me about whatever it is I want to know.”

“I can say no,” she gasps as I slip my hand lower, finding the elastic band of her underwear. The way her shoulders rise and hunch with every quick breath reveals her desire just as much as it displays her need to run.

“Of course you can, but why would you deny yourself if you have nothing to hide?”

“I don’t have anything to hide.”

“Prove it,” I tell her.

“You just want to touch me.” Her words fall carelessly from her lips.

“I want to do more than touch you,” I admit to her and feel a pang in my chest. A longing that’s desperate to be spoken. “You aren’t the only one in this room who’s in need.”

At my words, her gaze drifts lower, down to my zipper and I’m sure she can tell how hard I am for her. Her mouth parts slightly and she looks away, not commenting but showing her cards all too easily.

My gaze wanders to the crook of her neck, and as she breathes, a lock of hair falls right where I’m looking.