“I’m unarmed. You can do a strip search if you want.”
“You’re built like a marine. If you blew on me too hard, I’d probably fall over and break an ankle.”
I wrapped an arm around her lower back, tugging her to me until our mouths were inches apart. “Tell me to leave, and I won’t fight you.” I dipped my head to the base of her ear, nibbling gently and saying, “Or tell me to lick your cunt into oblivion. You get to choose.”
“This is such a bad idea.” Even as she said it, she was taking my hand, leading me up the steps and to the front door.
This is such a bad idea,I echoed to myself.
I never came back for seconds.
Never let myself get carried away.
Bad things happened when a monster like me lost control, even for a moment.
But it was too late. I had already lost the battle, the control I prided myself on slipping as I closed the door behind us.
Chapter 7
Four
Tara
“Doyoutrustme?”The question burned hot against the nape of my neck. It was absurd to even ask. I didn’t know Isaac. How could I trust him?
Then again, he was standing in the living room of my rental, hands roaming over my bare stomach. That put us in the deep end as far as trust went.
“Yes,” I whispered, and strangely, it felt true.
I trusted him in this. To give me what I needed—the distraction he promised. Isaac was good at distraction, and I didn’t see the harm in letting myself indulge one more time.
That isn’t true at all. I could list eight dozen ways this could go wrong, but with each step toward the door, they mattered less.
What was the point of living if I didn’t enjoy the finer things in life?
Like the stroke of Isaac’s tongue beneath my ear, or the caress of his fingers along the side of my breast.
Isaac took the fabric tie from the waist of my blouse and handed it to me. “Strip first, then lie on the bed and cover your eyes.”
I took the slip of fabric, hesitating. Maybe I wasn’t in the deep end yet. Maybe I was still standing at the edge of the water, debating the plunge. It was dark and murky, everything unknown. This felt dangerous, a risk I shouldn’t be taking when I had only just found the shore.
With Isaac, drowning was almost a guarantee. I knew myself well enough to realize I couldn’t do uncomplicated and unattached.
Or maybe I could. Maybe that was the real way to heal.
Isaac gave me the choice. He gave me thepower.
This ended when I wanted it to end. It endedhowI wanted it to end.
I walked into the dim bedroom, making a show of peeling off my skirt. When it came to my bra, I tossed it through the bedroom doorway, letting Isaac know I was following his instructions.
The bed was a queen with a simple quilt and two pillows. I positioned myself in the middle, dropping my head onto one pillow and tying the fabric tight over my eyes.
With my vision gone, every other part of me came alive. My skin tingled with anticipation, ears open for the faintest sound of Isaac coming for me.
His presence filled the room—and somehow he was silent.
A finger trailed lightly over my stomach. A whisper of breath over my cheek.