“The guys said you were close to an overload. Is there anything I can do to help?”
His head turns my way slowly. The look in his eyes gives me pause. It’s primal. Almost feral. I suddenly feel like I just walked into the den of a predator...and I’m the prey.
“I don’t think you’re ready for what I need, little ghost. Best leave now while I still have a tight leash on my control.”
There’s a sense of desperation that filters through the block he somehow erects around his own emotions. It shouldn’t make my toes curl or cause my body to flush with need, but it does. He must sense it too as his nostrils flare and his fists clench.
“Fate,” he rasps. “Please.” It sounds like a warning and a plea, all in one.
There’s no hesitation, no more uncertainty. He needs me, and I won’t let him suffer alone. “Let me help you,” I whisper as I step into him, our bodies a mere breath apart.
He still doesn’t make a move, but I can feel his resolve weakening as his grip on his control loosens.
“What do you need?” I ask. “What can I…” I don’t get to finish the sentence before he’s moving. I’m backed against the wall, his hard body covering me as he raises one hand, roughly grabbing my jaw and forcing my shocked eyes to meet his.
“You don’t have any idea what you’re up against here, Fate. This is your last chance. Leave and come back when I’ve slept this off.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Stubborn goddamn woman,” he curses before his mouth smashes into mine.
The kiss is harsh, consuming, and hot as all hell. His hand slides from my jaw down to my throat, his grip tightening slightly. Not enough to completely block my airway, but enough for me to know just who’s in control here.
He pulls back, his breathing labored as his heavy-lidded eyes meet mine.
“You’ve been a very, very bad girl,” he growls, and I swallow harshly. Not out of fear, but out of an arousal so intense, I’m soaked and my pussy is throbbing from a single sentence. “Do you know what happens to bad girls, little ghost?”
I shake my head, completely unable to speak. I’m so lost in this version of Knox that I’m pretty sure my brain is malfunctioning.
“They get punished.” He pushes off of me, just far enough that he can spin me around, my hands coming up to brace against the wall just in time to save my face from meeting it. His hands grab the bottom of my dress and push it up past my hips.
His swift intake of breath echoes around the quiet room before a string of curses leaves his lips. “You’re not wearing any fucking underwear.”
He says it like an accusation, and I grin despite the seriousness of the situation. I don’t know what to say in response to that because it’s pretty damn obvious that I’m bare.
“Fate, I…” He trails off. He must take my silence for reluctance. It’s not. My body is practically shaking from the shared need flowing between us. There’s still anger wafting off of him, sure, but his desire for me is overriding all of my mental functions.
He takes a few steps back. At his retreat, I risk a glance over my shoulder. He’s standing at the end of the bed, his eyes rolling down my legs and back up, lingering on my ass. He can probably see my wetness as I’m pretty damn sure it's starting to trickle down my thighs.
“I’m right here, Knox. Tell me what to do.”
He shakes his head as if to clear it, his eyes coming up to meet mine. The look is hot enough to set this entire place ablaze. “Come here,” he commands.
He may not have Cole’s power, but my body doesn’t seem to know that. I slowly straighten and push off the wall, turning to walk toward him, my dress still bunched up around my waist. He swallows, his eyes never leaving the apex of my thighs as I stop just in front of him.
“Turn around and place your hands on the bed.”
My eyebrows shoot up. He can’t really mean to…
“The longer it takes you to obey, the worse this is going to be for you.”
I turn slowly, placing my palms down on his silky comforter.
“Do you know why you’re being punished?”
“Because I left without telling anyone?” I ask softly.
“Twice.”
I gulp. Shit. I forgot about that. “Right. Twice.”
“And what did I say would happen?”
“You’d bend me over your knee.”
“But I think I like this view so much better.” His fingertips trail up my outer thigh. “You’ll count them. If you don’t, I’ll start over.”
Fuck. I didn’t know I was into this, but I really, really am. Pretty sure I’m dangerously close to an orgasm from the anticipation alone. I can’t speak, so I nod. No sooner does my head dip than his large hand is landing with a smack against my ass. My fists clench in the comforter.
“What do you say, little ghost?”
“One.”
Another smack, this one against the opposite cheek.
“Two.”
The next one is harder and has me jerking forward, the heat from his palm leaving a path of fire along my skin.
“Fuck!”
“That’s not counting, little ghost. Do I need to start over?”
“Th...three.”
The next few come in rapid succession, and I struggle to keep counting. My body is strung tight, one spark away from erupting into flames.
When his hand lands on my ass again, the slap echoes around the room and I groan, my body falling forward and my chest hitting the bed. My grip on his comforter is so tight that I’m scared I’ll rip the damn material as an orgasm shoots through me.
“Tsk, tsk. Did you just come?” he asks, his husky voice telling me he’s just as turned on by this as I am. His fingers trail along my inner thigh, skimming over the wetness there as two fingers slide through the obvious evidence of my release. “Oh, you really are a naughty girl, aren’t you?”
His palm runs across my ass, spreading heat in its wake, and I suck in a breath. He chuckles, the next two hits landing with resounding smacks, one on each cheek. My ass is on fire, and I probably won’t be able to sit down for a week, but I count them both. Nine. Ten.
As I struggle to steady my breathing, I hear the zipper on his jeans as he lowers it, the fabric sliding down his legs and landing with a light thump on the floor. My pussy clenches with a whole different kind of anticipation.
“You can’t ever leave us like that again, little ghost. You’re our heart, and without you, we’d all be lost,” he says softly.
Tears suddenly fill my eyes. I didn’t mean to hurt them; I just needed them to let me in. To know that I’m just as capable as they are. To trust me. Even thinking that last part sounds totally ass backwards in my head. You don’t earn trust by going behind someone’s back. Isn’t that the very same thing I’m fighting them for? And then a trickle of guilt works its way in as I remember the book. Shit!
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“Sorry’s not good enough.” His hand grips my hip as he steps into me, sliding his dick through the wetness that he finds between my thighs. “You don’t get to come until I say. Do you understand?”