CHAPTER 3 #4
“I can't wait until you're over my lap, squirming and begging for mercy, with that smug smile wiped off your pretty little face.” He grips my face in his hands and lightly trails his thumb down my cheek.
It goes to my lower lip and then pulls slightly.
For a split second, he moves his thumb into my mouth.
I'm so shocked. I don't know what to do. My lips instinctively wrap around his thumb. A second later, his thumb is out of my mouth.
“Good girl,” he says, smirking. My entire face turns even hotter. I can't believe I just did that. I can't believe I just sucked his thumb in public. I look down at the floor, my heart racing and the wetness between my legs intensifying as he turns and walks away.
I stand there fidgeting as he goes to the bathroom. Should I leave? I ask the question as if it's a legitimate one. I know I'm not going to. I should, but I'm not going to.
I'm mesmerized by this man. In fact, I don't know if I could leave even if I wanted to. I feel like my legs wouldn't listen to my brain.
After what feels like an eternity, he comes back, smirking. My legs suddenly feel weak.
“So you didn't run away, Mary. I have to say, I'm a bit surprised.”
He cocks his head to the side and smiles lazily. Annoyance and pride flicker through me. How the hell am I supposed to respond to that?
“Well, I'm surprised you actually own a clean shirt,” I say. “Why do you look so different today, by the way?”
“How do you know I don't look like this all the time?” he asks.
I shrug. “Just a guess.”
“Oh, are we playing a little guessing game now, sweetheart?” he asks, stepping up to me and placing one hand on my hip.
“Maybe,” I whisper.
“Oh, you're shy now, are you?”
I shrug.$1“Maybe,” I say coyly.
“I'll take that as a yes,” he says. “And since we're playing a guessing game, it’s my turn now. And my guess is that you've never been properly put in your place. Am I right?”
Steam and lust boil in my veins. I’ve never been this incensed and attracted to someone at the same time.
The more he tries to goad me, the more I want to prove him wrong.
On an intellectual level, I know what he’s doing.
He wants to rile me up. And it's working. I’m reacting exactly how he wants me to. I’m like putty in his hands.
But you know what? I don’t care.
I’ve spent years caring about what everyone here thinks. Except for Christine, there’s not much about this place that makes me feel free.
Everyone is pretentious and condescending.
What happened last week—when the man attacked me and everyone else ran—confirmed that.
So why should I let their gossip control me? If I’m going to make one reckless choice tonight, I want it to be my choice.
I cock my head to the side. “Maybe,” I say, shrugging again. “Why do you care anyway?”
He smirks. “I think you know exactly why I care, little girl.”
I bite my lower lip and watch his eyes scan my body hungrily. I notice a bulge in his pants, and an excited thrill runs through me. I feel scared, like I’m about to step out into the unknown. But it’s a good kind of scared.
“I care because I've been thinking about all the ways I’ve planned to punish you ever since you flashed that bratty little smirk at me.”
Fuck. I inhale sharply. I can't let him know he's rattling me, though.
“Sure,” I say with a fake scoff, “like that will ever happen. In your dreams, maybe.”
He raises his eyebrows.$1“Are you sure this is the road you want to go down? You're playing a dangerous game right now, little girl.”$1“I think you're the one playing games,” I say.$1“You talk a big game, but is that all it is? Talk? I'm starting to think you're all show, no substance.”
I can't believe the words coming out of my own mouth. I feel like I'm watching myself from across the room. I'm saying insane things right now. I'm riling him up. I'm goading him. Is this what I want? On some level, yes. On another level, I have no idea what the hell I'm getting myself into.
“Oh, trust me, baby girl. I can do much more than talk, and you won't be doing much talking yourself once I have you on your knees.”
His eyes drink in my body, and the butterflies in my stomach intensify. I feel hot everywhere. I can't believe this is happening.
I shoot him my own smirk. “Prove it,” I say softly.
His pupils dilate, and his jaw hardens. I notice his Adam's apple bulge as he swallows. I don’t know how this guy manages to make swallowing look sexy, yet somehow, he does.
“You better be sure this is what you want,” he says slowly. “Because once you take a bite of this poisoned apple, there’s no going back.”
I hold his gaze, my heart thumping so fast I’m afraid I might have a heart attack. “You got your metaphors wrong, sweetheart,” I say patronizingly. “I’m supposed to be Mary, remember? Not Eve.”
He chuckles.$1“You really are a brat, aren't you?” he asks.
I inhale and hold my breath. We stare at each other, no one moving. I squeeze my legs together tightly, feeling slickness between them.
Then, all of a sudden, I’m staring at the floor, and it's moving.
“Where ar—”
Warm flesh lightly smacks my linen skirt.
“Don’t make a scene,” he growls quietly.
A nervous thrill runs up my spine.
Holy shit.
This is really happening.
He carries me through the crowded kitchen and out the back door.