Owned by Fate (Serve #1)(25)

“No.” He pushed off the jamb and came toward her, all but daring her to back away. “My bedroom is on the other side of the apartment. I don’t sleep here.”

“What do you—” Caroline broke off before she could finish her absurd question. Right. A second master suite used only for playtime. She could just envision that real-estate listing. For the bondage enthusiast in all of us. “If that’s the case…if you use this room for other things, why wouldn’t we have come in here?”

“I want you in my bed, Caroline.” Even he seemed surprised by that admission, but his dark stare didn’t waver, dipping to her naked breasts hungrily. She’d obviously upset him by coming in here, but he wanted her enough to overlook it. This is good, she reminded herself vehemently. They were back on an even playing field.

She took a fortifying breath and pointed at the ceiling. “I want to use that.”

Jonah’s jaw worked. “Are you out of your mind? You think going from being teased with a feather to hanging from my ceiling is a logical progression?”

“No, I don’t,” she returned, hating the note of desperation in her voice. No help for it. “There’s nothing logical about this.”

“I’m starting to think you’re right.” His words ended on a groan as his fingers skated up the sensitive flesh of her belly to skim over her puckered nipples. “I’m not feeling a goddamn drop of logic right now.”

“Good.” She placed her hands on his wide shoulders, pushed up on her toes to nip at the underside of his chin. “Trust me to know what I want. I want this, Jonah.”

He kissed her mouth hungrily once, then pulled back to trap her with a penetrating look. “Trust me, Caroline, to know what you need.”

She saw it happening right in front of her, that rise of power inside him. If she’d been given to flights of imagination, Caroline would have sworn his frame grew even larger, more intimidating. His voice had dropped to a pitch that made her stomach twist deliciously. Every particle in her body began to dance eagerly. Something is coming. Her head nodded once of its own accord, granting him permission to do…what?

Before she could guess his next move, Jonah scooped her into his arms and carried her out of the bedroom, his sure stride echoing through the apartment. His hard chest rose and fell rhythmically, in perfect timing with her harsh breathing. It took only moments to reach his bedroom, but it felt like an eternity. She’d graduated to a level of need that lent her no time to care about the terms. Only the means. Her naked flesh pressed to his chest felt decadent, only heightening her anticipation for more. For all of him.

As they entered his dim bedroom and Jonah set her down carefully just inside the door, she felt a fleeting hint of worry. Not over what they would do tonight but over how she would deal with the repercussions tomorrow. When one of Jonah’s hands sunk into her hair, the other gripping her bottom to lift her against him, that worry drifted away on a tide of lust. They kissed each other as though it could keep them alive. He used his grip on her hair to move her where his mouth could take the most advantage, licking, tasting, exploiting. Caroline went under and resurfaced so many times, she stumbled a little in her shakiness as Jonah walked them across the bedroom without breaking their kiss.

Behind her, a drawer opened and shut, the sound registering dimly. Then she felt it. Smooth, cool leather tracing the curve of her buttocks. Their mouths separated by a mere inch, breaths racing across each other’s damp lips. Jonah looked down at her with an expression that arrested her in its intensity. He epitomized the word dominant in that moment, gaze confident and steady, yet dosed with enough excitement to keep her from being alarmed. This was what turned him on. In turn, she felt answering flames lick across her skin, between her thighs. Everywhere the paddle touched.

“Tell me your safe word.”

“Um?”

“Dumpling, Caroline. Dumpling.” He edged the paddle between her legs, slipped it through her wetness. “Say it for me.”

“Dumpling,” she gasped. “God, that sounds ridiculous.”

He laughed softly. “You get points for creativity.”

“Well.” Caroline’s eyes squeezed shut against the riotous sensations. “That’s something.”

“I’m going to blindfold you, but not just yet.” The paddle disappeared, sweeping her with unexpected disappointment. “I want you looking into my eyes the first time I spank your pretty ass.” Teeth clenched, he ground his forehead against hers. “Don’t you dare hide anything from me, baby.”

Caroline opened her mouth to reply, but the air froze in her lungs when the paddle connected with the underside curve of her bottom. Slap. Leather, supple and giving, sent a shock of winged heat careening through her, spinning and clenching, only interrupted when the paddle came down again, slightly harder. Slap! Oh God, she hadn’t expected it to feel good, but it did. Holy hell, it did. All the pressure she’d been facing, the fear of letting everyone down, seemed to lessen with each stroke of the paddle. Absorbing her stress into the leather. Slap.

This time, Caroline moaned, struggling to keep her eyes open and focused on Jonah but failing. Just before her eyelids fell, she glimpsed blistering arousal and relief in his eyes, but she could only process one desire. More.

…

This woman is mine.