Chapter 4
Killian
He wasn’t a man used to feeling off balance. And yet, she had him wobbling, unsure of his next move with a single sentence.
Then that’s what I’ll call you.
Simple. Straightforward. No coy smiles or hint of artifice. She didn’t act at all like a kink virgin despite her claims, and the dichotomy of it was throwing him off his game.
Shaking off the unsettling feeling, he stepped forward, feeling more certain of himself again when she straightened, her eyes widening ever so slightly at his advance.
“If you don’t have any other questions for me, I’m going to kiss you now,” he murmured, tracing a single fingertip along her jaw.
She shivered, and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. Regardless of how easily she’d knocked him off-kilter, she wasn’t entirely immune to his charms.
Good.
Leaning in, he let his lips hover just over hers, his breath caressing her skin as she sucked in a sharp breath. “Do you have any more questions for me, your highness?”
“No.”
“The correct answer is ‘No, Sir’ or ‘No, Daddy’.”
Another quick little inhale. “Why?”
A brat? Or just curious? For now, he’d give her the benefit of the doubt, since she had told him she was new to all of this. “Because it’s polite. And because you want to be a good girl for me. Don’t you, princess?”
They were still so close he swore he could taste her, and he watched her gaze rake over his face. “What if I don’t? Want to be a good girl, I mean.”
Perhaps she was a brat after all. God, could she possibly be any more perfect?
Taking hold of her face, the tips of his fingers digging ever so slightly into her cheeks, he leaned in, dropping his voice to a low growl. “Then Daddy will have to punish you.”
Oh, she liked that. Her pupils blew just at the mention of it, and another of those delicious little shivers wracked her body.
He let the moment stretch, let her imagination work her into a frenzy—and he could, indeed, see the wheels turning as her eyes shifted back and forth—before he spoke again. “Be a good girl for me, princess,” he murmured against her lips. “I’d much rather reward you than punish you tonight.”
Another interminably long silence, and then—“Yes… Daddy.”
Fuck. Releasing his hold on her face, he slid his hand into her hair, taking hold and yanking her into him, his lips crashing down on hers. A sharp inhale of surprise, and then she surrendered, melting into him with a soft sigh that nearly snapped what little control he had left.
But he forced himself to take his time, to explore her mouth with his, tasting the lingering tartness from the wine he’d poured for her. And as he did, she grew bolder, kissing him back with an unfettered excitement that gripped him in a way the most experienced lover never had.
When he very reluctantly lifted his head, he nearly groaned at the sight of her, all glassy eyes and swollen lips.
She might actually be the death of him. But fuck, what a way to go.
“Turn around.”
Blinking up at him, she tilted her head ever so slightly, her eyes darting back and forth again. “Why?”
“Because I told you to, and you’re Daddy’s good girl.”
Her pupils, which had already eaten up most of the pale-blue of her irises, widened even further. “I am?”
“You are. Now, turn around so I can get this damn dress off you and see what’s mine.”
“I shouldn’t like that,” she muttered, but she did as he’d instructed and turned her back to him, one elegant hand reaching back to swoop her hair off her neck.
“But you do.” Reaching for the zipper on her dress, he tugged, slowly pulling it down to expose more and more of that creamy, beautiful skin.
He made sure to let his fingers graze her spine, and was rewarded with a delightful little shiver.
“You like being told what a good girl you are.” Dipping his head, he brushed a kiss over her shoulder, and fuck him if she didn’t actually whimper in response.
“You like giving yourself over, letting someone else be in charge. Don’t you, princess? ”
“Right now? Yes.” No coyness, no pretense. Just a simple, straightforward answer that seemed to wrap around his cock and tug.
“Good girl. I appreciate honesty.”
“So you said.”
“Mmm.” With the zipper down, he let his fingers travel, exploring every inch of her back as he nudged the silky material from her, baring her inch by tortuous inch. “Some things bear repeating.”
It took a moment to work the dress over the generous swell of her hips, but when all the emerald shimmied to the ground, leaving her bare but for the white satiny bra and matching panties, he nearly fell to his knees and wept at the sight of her.
Perfect. And all his, at least for tonight.
Another delicate shiver racked her frame and he again pressed a kiss to her shoulder, this one meant to soothe rather than arouse.
“What color are you, princess?”
“Color?”
Jesus, she really was new. Which meant he had no damn business touching her, but he was too far gone now to change his mind. “Color. Like a traffic light. Green to go, yellow to slow down, red to stop entirely.”
“Doesn’t yellow mean speed up and see if you can beat the red?”
The thought of her racing against the light, another car bearing down on her had the edges of his vision going red as he slid his hand around her throat.
“Your safety is not a joke to me, little girl.” He let the steel infuse his voice, let himself be the man he couldn’t help but become when someone he cared about was in danger despite knowing she was only his for the night.
“If you aren’t going to take my questions seriously, we will end this right now. Understood?”
Beneath his palm, her throat moved, and for a moment he considered tightening his grip. Cutting off that precious flow of oxygen until she understood exactly how fucking serious he was.
It took more restraint than it should have to wrestle those particular demons back. But he left his hand there, firmly enough for her to understand that he could deprive her, if he wanted to. And if she wasn’t willing to be honest about her state of mind, she wouldn’t be able to stop him.
She couldn’t stop you if you really wanted to hurt her. Such a delicate little thing, all at your mercy.
No. That wasn’t who he was. Not here.
Realizing she still hadn’t answered him, he pulled her more firmly back against him, her soft flesh pressing up against his aching cock. “I asked you a question, princess. Do you understand that I will not tolerate you not taking your personal safety seriously while we play?”
“Just while we play?”
If she’d been his, the answer would be wildly different. As his woman, his babygirl, she’d have rules to follow. Rules and routines and demands on her time and body she’d submit to or face his discipline.
But considering it was unlikely they’d ever even see each other again after tonight, he’d have to settle for her submission in this one arena only. “Just while we play,” he confirmed, though it made his chest ache with want to say it.
Silence stretched between them again, heavy and expectant as he waited for her to surrender.
To submit.
And then, finally, her soft “Yes, Daddy.”
That clawing beast inside his chest immediately calmed at her words, though it was still there, prowling inside him, waiting for another chance to pounce. “Good girl. Now, what color are you?”
“Green, Sir.”
“And what color do you use to let me know something is wrong or you need me to stop?”
“Red?”
“Very good girl. Let’s get the rest of these clothes off you so Daddy can eat that pretty pussy until you scream.”
Aria
Good girl.
She was pretty sure those words were going to be imprinted on her very soul by the time he was through with her. And she wasn’t entirely certain how she felt about it.
Never give a man control over you. When he’s done with you he’ll just toss you aside like yesterday’s trash.
Her mother’s voice played over in her mind, old tapes she knew weren’t entirely true and yet she couldn’t seem to turn them off.
But this was different, wasn’t it? She wasn’t handing her entire life over to him. Only her body, and only for tonight. Then she’d go back to being the badass feminist her mother had raised her to be, bowing to no man.
Ignoring those tapes playing in her mind, she closed her eyes and simply let herself feel as he traced his lips over her shoulder again, down her spine while his clever fingers went to work on her bra.
And then that little bit of protection fell away, leaving her clad in nothing but the cute panties Lottie had given her, even though she hadn’t technically been a bridesmaid.
Rough hands landed on her shoulders, surprising her.
To look at him, you’d expect a man who never left his office, never so much as picked up anything heavier than the pen he used to sign his checks.
But his palms were rough, calloused in a way that spoke of a man who wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.
The contrast of it fascinated her, made her wonder who he really was behind the pretend name he’d given her. Master O. Was O an initial? Or did it really stand for something ridiculous like Master of Orgasms?
“You’re thinking too hard,” he murmured in her ear as he turned her to face him.
“What makes you say that?”
“Your shoulders tensed up.” A smile curved his lips, sending her heart tripping against her ribs as the gesture transformed him from good-looking to devastatingly gorgeous.
“And there’s this little crease here, right between your brows.
” He rubbed his thumb over the spot in question, and she immediately felt herself relax, felt some of the tension drain from her body. “What color are you, princess?”
Again with the damn colors, when all she wanted was for him to get on with things. To show her everything she’d been missing out on while she busted her ass in school to graduate a whole semester early and with honors. “Green, Sir.”
“Nothing worrying you that I should know about?”
Definitely not. Her issues with her mother had nothing to do with him or what they were doing in this room. “No, Daddy.”
An emotion she didn’t recognize flashed in his eyes at the use of his title. “Good girl. Take your panties off and hand them to me.”
Right. Panties off so he could eat her out, like he’d promised.
But she couldn’t move. Frozen in place, she tried to will her hands to move to her panties, to pull them down, to hand them to him as he’d asked.
No. Not asked. Commanded.
Was that why she couldn’t do it? Because the part of her programming that was so dead set against being controlled couldn’t, wouldn’t bend to the part of her that wanted so desperately to be a good girl?
To be his good girl?
When she didn’t immediately move to do as he’d asked, he raised a dark brow, and everything inside her quaked. “Is something wrong, princess?”
“I–I don’t know. I’m not being a brat, it's just, it’s harder than I expected it to be.”
“Ah.” His smile widened, leaving her with the distinct impression he was laughing at her. “It is much easier to be acted upon than to take part in your own submission, isn’t it?”
Submission. A word she’d been taught to hate, and here she was, hunger clawing at her belly just because he’d spoken it out loud. “I guess.”
“You’re not the first submissive to experience this struggle.
Which is why I’m demanding it of you.” Gripping her chin between his thumb and forefinger, he forced her head back, forced her to look up into those bright emerald eyes.
“I don’t simply want a willing body in my bed, princess.
I want you to be right here with me, engaged in every second of what we do together.
It isn’t enough for me to taste that sweet pussy.
I want to taste your complete and total surrender. Take the panties off. Now.”
Everything about him shifted on that final command.
His voice, his grip on her chin, his eyes.
It all became harder, more demanding in a way that sent her heart racing.
That hunger she’d been wrestling with dug its claws in even deeper, and she knew she wasn’t going to leave this room until she’d slaked it.
“Yes, Daddy.”