Boiling Point (Crossing the Line #3)(21)

Even his voice sounded unnatural. If her sharp intake of breath was any indication, she’d noticed. Noticed the change he felt taking place in himself. Before he registered the movements of his own feet, Austin was across the kitchen, stopping less than a foot from Polly, soaking in her body heat with greediness he didn’t bother to conceal.

“Y-yes.” She attempted sarcasm, but he didn’t buy it. The awareness in her gaze as it strayed to his mouth gave her away. “I’m dying to hear what you could give me that I’d consider a reward.”

Fuck it all, too many secrets fought for precedence in his brain. Untruths. This one thing, this bloody attraction to her—he couldn’t hold it back anymore. Slow seduction hadn’t worked. She was too headstrong. Too stubborn and cemented in her convictions. Which is why his casting aside of pride momentarily—in the name of greater glory—had to be done. She needed to call the shots? He would let her. Hell, his body had given him every indication that he would even enjoy it immensely.

The only one who saw right through him was Polly. She didn’t let him get away with his transgressions. Didn’t give in to his charm. There was something deliciously tempting about baring his guilt over the past to Polly without admitting it out loud. She felt the need to punish. And he needed to be called to the floor for his actions. Exhilaration followed on the heels of admitting it to himself.

Austin breathed deeply of her citrus scent and closed his eyes. “I’m aware that taking assistance from me will be a hardship for you. Until now, we’ve had an even balance of power, but I tipped the scales in my favor last night by inserting myself into your operation without consent.” He reached out and gripped her right hip, brushing his thumb across the exposed swath of skin above her waistband. When her quickened breathing told Austin she wouldn’t pull away, he tightened his hold and yanked her body against his. “My intent is to balance the scales once again by having a physical relationship with you, Polly.” He sucked his bottom lip through his teeth. “Which is a weak description for wanting to ring your tight, sexy bell so loud they’ll hear it in Russia.”

She didn’t manage to contain a whimper, and he memorized the sound like a covetous bastard. “I don’t…I don’t see how that balances the scales.”

The moment of truth had arrived, and he couldn’t let the opportunity pass now that he’d glimpsed a sliver of clarity. Focusing on her brown eyes a moment, he ignored the innate urge to hide anything that could be considered a flaw—an urge he’d been indulging so damn long—and laid his cards down on the table.

“You’ll have control over what we do together.”

Polly swayed toward him, appearing dumbstruck by what he’d offered. No taking it back now. For someone who orchestrated the outcome of every situation, handing over the reins to another wasn’t easy, but seeing her pupils dilate, feel her pulse kick with excitement, told him this was right. It was right to want what she needed. And damn, nothing compared to having her parted lips so close, her tits grazing his chest. Austin massaged her waist in slow circles, slipping closer toward her navel with each lap.

“Every encounter. On your terms. I want to be…directed by you. I want you to demand I satisfy your body, in any and every way you decide.”

As he spoke, passion glazed Polly’s eyes, but it was tempered by uncertainty. “Are you making fun of me, because of last night…what I did…”

“What you did,” Austin repeated, his thumb dipping into her belly button and sliding down, where his fingers toyed with the button of her pants. “Shoving my shirt into my mouth and perusing my body like it was for sale?” The already-scorching heat between them turned blistering. He’d never seen her eyelids flutter before, and the involuntary show of want had Austin dropping a bit more of his armor. “I…liked that treatment from you. I want more of it.”

“Oh,” she whispered, her breath hitching as he unsnapped the button of her jeans. “More. More…now?”

Austin gave a single nod, noting the color climbing her neck, wondering if she turned red elsewhere. Impatient to find out. Watching her closely for a reaction, he let his index finger trace the elastic of her underwear, but when he tried to breach the silk barrier, she gripped his wrist to stay him. Time suspended itself as they breathed into each other’s space. “Do you need me to humble myself further, Polly?”

Her swallow was audible. “It wouldn’t hurt.”

“Very well.” He clutched her panties in a turned fist and leaned down to speak just above her ear. “This is a rare instance where I’m not 100 percent sure what I’m doing. It might even be the first time in my life. I only know that when I think of you mistreating me, then making up for it rather vigorously, my cock gets stiff in a way that demands we f*ck until our bodies give out. Is it still unclear what I’m asking?”

“No.” He could hear the creak of denim as she squeezed her thighs together. “I’m accepting help from a man I don’t trust. And in exchange I—” She broke off with a head shake. “How did…how do you know I even want to mistreat you?”

“Don’t you, sweet? I saw you last night.” He trailed his lips down her neck and back up. “You’ll have free rein to neglect me. Strap me to a chair and give me a naughty striptease until I’m begging. Give me a hand job beneath the table in a restaurant and leave me on the verge of coming. Make me crazy. Make me pay for everything I’ve done. Everything you hate.” He nipped at her earlobe. “Or simply prop your sweet arse up in the air and ask for a rough bang. I’ll peel those little low-rider panties down to your ankles and orgasm you until you can’t go anymore. I’ll keep myself hard until you’ve finished on me—again and again—and I’m dripping with the evidence.”