Burn (Breathless #3)(19)

“Now it’s my turn to ask you twenty questions.”

“Hey, I didn’t ask you twenty.”

“Close enough,” he muttered.

She sighed. “Okay, okay. Ask away.”

His gaze immediately went to her neck. To that pale ring where the collar had rested. It had been the first thing he’d noticed when she’d walked out of the pawnshop, and he hadn’t dared to get his hopes up. But the fact that she’d accepted his dinner invitation, even if he’d blackmailed her, and that she didn’t wear the collar tonight as a barrier between them, told him that she was at least intrigued by this thing between them. Whatever the hell it was.

“Why aren’t you wearing the collar?” he asked softly.

Her free hand went immediately to her neck, and consternation shone brightly in her eyes. But she remained quiet, lips firmly pressed together.

“Josie? Why aren’t you wearing the collar?”

She sighed. “I’m not seeing him anymore.”

He had to work hard not to react to that piece of news. He’d suspected as much, but he hadn’t wanted to jump to any conclusions.

“What happened?”

She pulled her hand away from his, dropping it into her lap. She looked down, refusing to meet his gaze. He waited, not letting her off the hook. This was too important. He wanted to know everything.

“Did you break it off or did he?” he finally asked.

“I did.”

“Want to tell me why? What happened, Josie?”

Her head popped up, her eyes flashing. “You’re what happened, Ash. You.”

Chapter seven

There was no faking Ash’s surprise. She’d definitely caught him off guard with her outburst. His eyes narrowed and he leaned farther over the table. He was still holding one hand, and he covered her free one, his palm sliding over the tops of her knuckles.

The man was lethal. With every touch, he seduced her, and she doubted he even knew it. Or maybe he did. Maybe he knew exactly what he was doing.

“I didn’t happen,” he said in a low voice. “Because if I did, you’d be in my bed right now.”

His voice was a husky growl, sliding over her skin until the hairs at her nape stood on end.

She tried to pull her hands away, but he held firm, not allowing her to escape.

“You happened,” she refuted. “That day in the park. You made me question everything. And I didn’t like what I discovered as a result.”

“And that being?”

She shifted, uncomfortable with his close scrutiny. She didn’t want to be having this conversation. It was too intimate. It was too . . . revealing. Ash was a man that if you gave him an inch, he’d take a mile.

“What did I make you question, Josie?”

It was equally clear that he wasn’t going to back down.

“What that collar signified,” she said, finally relenting.

“What do you mean by that?” he prompted gently.

She blew out a deep breath. “The things you said, what the collar meant to you and what it should mean to me. I realized that. After. I thought about it a lot. And when I went to see Michael to find out what that collar meant to him, he didn’t even notice I wasn’t wearing it. Now, maybe I’m wrong, but I’d think a man wouldn’t like the fact that a woman took the collar off. I mean if it’s supposed to mean everything you implied.”

“You’re not wrong,” Ash said.

“It’s a game for him. Maybe it was for me too,” she whispered. “He told me I was taking things too seriously. That the collar was fun, but meaningless. It’s like he was role-playing and none of it was real. And when I realized that, I also recognized that I didn’t want a game. But at the same time, I don’t know if I want it to be real. I think . . . with you . . . that it would be very different. With a man like you, I mean.”

“It’s not meaningless,” Ash growled, his face drawn into a scowl. “And hell yes it would be different with me. But you know what? It would be real. And it would mean something.”

“What would it mean?” she asked, her lips trembling as she stared back at the intensity in his eyes.

“It would mean you belong to me. Only to me. That you would submit to me. That I’d take care of you, provide for you, make love to you.”

He could have no idea the effect his words had. That they reached deep inside her and called to a part of her she hadn’t known existed. With Michael, it had been a game. She could see that now. Two people playacting. Going through the motions for a thrill. There was nothing wrong with that, but it wasn’t what she wanted.

But the thought of being with Ash, of belonging to him in the sense he was talking about, scared her. He was overwhelming in every sense of the word.

“I think you know I want you, Josie. I certainly haven’t made it a secret. The question is whether or not you want me and what I can give you. But you also need to think about all I would take. Because I take a lot. I give more, but I take everything.”

She swallowed, her hands trembling beneath his. He curled his fingers tighter around her hands and squeezed gently.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’ll think about it,” he murmured. “At least give me that.”