The way he stares at my lips sends prickles of warning and anticipation over my skin. He’s hard, his steel-like length nestled between my naked legs. The heat of his skin burns me through his trousers, sending me spiraling again, making me forget where I am and what I’m doing. I barely resist lifting my hips to chase after the friction. A desperate need compels me to relieve the ache that starts pulsing in my lower body.
“Tatiana.” He says my name like an admonishment.
I hate how breathless I sound. “What?”
“You said the first point was that my men don’t need to respect you or me. What’s the second one?”
“Why would you want to protect me? I don’t see how that serves your interest once you’ve gotten what you wanted.”
He shuts down right in front of me, his unreadable mask slipping back into place. “You have a short memory. I already told you Noah needs you.”
That’s not the only reason. There’s something he’s not telling me. Before I can question him, he lets my hands go and moves down my body.
“I owe you a punishment.” He utters the declaration in the same way he’d discuss an impersonal business contract. “As the idea of having your ass spanked triggers a panic attack, I’ll have to think of something else.”
I want to deny that I had a panic attack even though he witnessed my breakdown for himself, but my words dry up when he pauses with his face between my thighs, and that something else becomes clear.
“Dante.”
I whisper his name in protest, not wanting him to go down that road. I’m too scared I may like it, that I’ll lose control and not have enough strength to say no. Already, my clit is swollen and my folds are slick with arousal. After all, I know how skillful he can be with his mouth.
“No?” He raises a thick, dark-blond eyebrow. “I’ll give you another option. Take off your T-shirt.”
I shake my head, not trusting my voice to speak.
“Is that a no?” He rubs his chin over the inside of my thigh, his stubble sending goosebumps over the sensitive skin. “You’re not going to show me those pretty tits?”
If my insult lacks enthusiasm, it’s not because I don’t mean it. “You’re vulgar.” I’m simply too busy fighting my reaction to put any effort behind my words when he bends my knees.
He chuckles, his deep voice reverberating against my flesh as he stops right where my thigh meets my ass. “You didn’t think so before when I stripped you naked. You were shy, but you were never a prude.”
“Maybe you turned me into one. Maybe you made me realize how overrated sex is.”
“Oh, darling.” He clicks his tongue. “Lying doesn’t sound good on you.”
“You should go finish your breakfast with Noah.”
He lifts his head and watches me from under his lashes. “Are you giving me orders?”
“It’s merely a suggestion.” I feel crappy for using Noah as an escape, but there’s more on the line than just my self-preservation now. “But a wise one.”
“You’re not getting away without your punishment. I reckon your pussy isn’t ready for another spanking so soon.” He fixes his gaze on my lips again. “How about a kiss?”
“No,” I bite out, alarmed at the hunger that sparks in his eyes.
If he kisses me, I won’t be able to stop him. I’m tied up. He can do with me whatever he pleases, but somehow, kissing seems more dangerous than fucking.
His smile is wicked. “I guess that leaves this.”
I try to close my legs and straighten my knees, but he only pushes his palms on my inner thighs and spreads my legs impossibly wider. My muscles burn from the stretch. I’m too open, too exposed. I want to fight, but then he flattens his tongue on my clit, and I’m free-falling.
Oblivion swallows me whole. Like a greedy beast, it catches me between its sharp claws and shreds me to pieces. I’m helpless against the onslaught, my legs shaking and my arms straining in their bonds.
I’m so sensitive, I only need a little stimulation to explode, but Dante knows how to keep me on the edge with soft, languid licks that drive my need higher until I think I’ll die if I don’t come. He dips the tip of his tongue between my folds, barely parting me, teasing me mercilessly as he licks my opening like candy only to deny me what I need by ending with the lightest flick on my clit.
Just when I’m about to beg him for release, he sinks his teeth into my folds, biting into me as if I’m a juicy apple. A cry leaves my lips. The nip of his teeth is sharp on my clit. Unforgiving. The bite of pain skyrockets my need. I’m falling apart in his mouth, my moans of ecstasy and whimpers of pain making him double his efforts.
It’s worse than before. Better. Different. More punishing. More intense.