“Mrs. Grey, you look lovely this morning.” I press my lips to her cheek.
Her eyes search mine. “Thank you for taking care of me last night.”
“I like taking care of you. It’s what I want to do.” Always.
“You make me feel cherished.” Her smile warms my heart.
“That’s because you are.” More than you’ll ever know. I grasp her hand and she winces. I release her immediately. Shit! “The punch?” I ask.
I knew I should have hit that prick again.
“I slapped him. I didn’t punch him.”
“That fucker! I can’t bear that he touched you.” My temper flares.
“He didn’t hurt me—he was just inappropriate, Christian. I’m okay. My hand’s a little red, that’s all. Surely you know what that’s like?” She smirks, laughing at me as usual, and my brief burst of anger dissolves.
“Why, Mrs. Grey, I am very familiar with that. I could reacquaint myself with that feeling this minute, should you so wish.”
“Oh, stow your twitching palm, Mr. Grey.” She runs her fingertips over my cheek and then tugs the little hairs of my sideburn. I’m not sure I like the feeling. I take her hand and kiss her palm.
“Why didn’t you tell me this hurt last night?”
“Um, I didn’t really feel it last night. It’s okay now.”
Ah, yes. Alcohol deadened the pain. “How are you feeling?”
“Better than I deserve.”
“That’s quite a right arm you have there, Mrs. Grey.”
“You’d do well to remember that, Mr. Grey.” And there’s a challenge in her tone.
“Oh, really?” I roll onto her and grab her wrists, holding them above her head. “I’d fight you any day. In fact, subduing you in bed is a fantasy of mine.” I kiss her throat, wondering what that would be like. The idea is arousing.
“I thought you subdued me all the time.”
“Hmm, but I’d like some resistance,” I murmur, running my nose along her jaw, wondering if she’d ever agree to that. She stills beneath me and I know I have her attention, and possibly her interest. Releasing her hands, I lean up on my elbows.
“You want me to fight you? Here?” she whispers, trying to contain her surprise.
I nod. Why not? I’ve always wanted to do this but couldn’t—because I couldn’t bear to have anyone touch me.
“Now?” she asks.
I shrug. Part of me can’t believe she’s even entertaining the idea, but I’m thrilled that she might. I nod again, as my dick grows rigid against her soft flesh. Ana toys with her bottom lip as she gazes at me, and I know she’s considering the notion.
“Is this what you meant about coming to bed angry?”
Yes. Exactly. I nod. “Don’t bite your lip.”
She narrows her eyes, but there’s a flash of amusement, and possibly desire, in their depths as her pupils enlarge. “I think you have me at a disadvantage, Mr. Grey.” She wriggles beneath me and flutters her lashes, and I want her all the more.
“Disadvantage?”
“Surely you’ve already got me where you want me?” Her smile is coy as I press my eager cock against her.
“Good point well made, Mrs. Grey.” I kiss her quickly and roll over, taking her with me so she’s astride my belly. She grabs my hands, pinning them to the bed on each side of my head. Her eyes sparkle with carnal mischief, and her hair tumbles down over my face. She shakes her head to torture me, the ends of her hair tickling my face.
“So, you want to play rough?” she asks while she teases me, her groin skimming over mine.
I inhale suddenly. “Yes.”
She sits up and releases my hands. “Wait.” Reaching for the glass of sparkling water I left for her on the nightstand, she takes a long draft, while I skate my fingers in circles up her thighs to her ass. I give it a good squeeze. She leans down and kisses me, pouring cool water into my mouth.
“Very tasty, Mrs. Grey,” I murmur, trying to contain my excitement at our new game. Placing the glass back on the nightstand, she grabs my hands from her behind and pins them on either side of my head once more.
“So I’m supposed to be unwilling?” She sounds amused.
“Yes.”
“I’m not much of an actress.”
I grin. “Try.”
Leaning down, she kisses me once more. “Okay, I’ll play,” she murmurs, and I close my eyes, inwardly rejoicing as she skims her teeth along my jaw. I groan deep in my throat and move, quickly, pinning her beneath me. Ana cries out in surprise and I make a play to grab her hands, but she’s too quick. She pushes against my chest as I try to part her legs with my knee, but her thighs are firmly clamped together. I capture her wrist, but she grabs my hair with her other hand and yanks it. Hard.
Fuck. This. Is. Hot.
“Ah!” I twist my head free and stare down at her.
Her eyes are wide and wild, her breathing erratic.
She’s turned on, too.
It’s a torch to my libido. “Savage,” I whisper, my lust laced through each syllable. Ana is unleashed—she tries to wrest her hand from mine as she attempts to buck me off. I grab her free hand with my left, so I have both of her wrists pinned above her head, leaving my right hand to linger over her body. My fingers travel down, my aim to lift the hem of her T-shirt, but I love the feel of her flesh beneath the soft material. Her nipple is hard, ready for me, and I greet it with a tweak.
Ana yelps and tries in vain to buck me off once more.
I lean down to kiss her and she turns her face away from me.
No.
I clasp her chin and hold her in place while my teeth graze her jaw, as she did to me earlier. “Oh, baby, fight me.” My voice is husky with need.
She twists and writhes one more, trying to free herself, but I keep my hold on her and it’s such a kick—a heady, euphoric feeling of dominance. Teasing her lower lip with my teeth, I try to invade her mouth, but suddenly she softens beneath me, granting my tongue access and kissing me back, her passion taking me by surprise. I release her wrists, and her hands are in my hair while she wraps her legs around me, her heels at my ass, pushing down my pajamas. She tips her pelvis up to me as we kiss. “Ana,” I whisper, her name a talisman as she bewitches me. We’re no longer fighting. We’re surrendering to each other. I cannot get enough of her. She’s on me, I’m on her. We’re lips and tongues, and mouths and hands.