Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
SILVER
S ome of the shock had faded by the time she was settled in a booth with Beckett, who immediately nudged a glass of water her way.
“Hydrate.”
“Bossy,” she mumbled, lifting the glass to her lips.
“So I’ve been told.” His grin was quick and surprisingly boyish, so at odds with his hardass Dom persona she had to blink to be sure he hadn’t been replaced by someone else when she wasn’t looking. “Tell me a bit about yourself, Silver.”
“If you’re friends with Ice, I imagine you’ve heard plenty about me already.”
“You’re not wrong.” The admission was easy, with no hint one way or another as to how he felt about what he’d heard. “But I’m not interested in your history with Elias. I’m interested in you.”
There was something in his eyes, something that threatened to draw a person in and drown her in the intensity of his very soul. If her mind hadn’t still been so stuck on Ice, she would have been more than happy to let herself drown.
One more thing to be pissed at her supposed best friend for.
Later. Right now was just for her and the man who had paid an obscene amount of money for a few hours of her time. “What do you want to know?”
“What kind of things do you enjoy? Do you like pain, or are you more about giving yourself over to someone?”
Do you want me to hurt you, or do you just want to be Daddy’s little fucktoy for the evening? She wasn’t so distracted by Ice that Beckett’s words didn’t have an effect on her. Need flared between her thighs, not nearly as intense as when Ice was around, but enough to have her shifting in her seat a bit to try and relieve the ache.
“Both, I suppose?” Frowning into her water, she considered the question. “I don’t know, really. Nobody’s asked me that before.”
His eyebrows rose a fraction. “Not even Elias?”
“No. Ice always just seems to… know.”
“Ah.” Another of those disarmingly sweet smiles. “He has that way about him, doesn’t he?”
“What way?”
“Like he knows what you’re thinking before you even think it.”
“Yes!” Sitting up straighter now, Silver slapped a hand down on the table. “That’s exactly it! How does he do that?”
“I don’t know, but I’ve found it to be both comforting and infuriating, depending on my mood.”
“Ugh, tell me about it.”
“That being said…” The sweet smile disappeared, replaced by a stern look that had Silver swallowing hard in response. “You should know what you enjoy. It’s a basic tenant of the kind of play we engage in, Silver.”
Again with that deep, dark something in his eyes that had a flush rising to her cheeks. Thank god they were only doing a scene together, because she couldn’t imagine being lectured by him for real. “I do, Sir. Um. I like bondage, and I do enjoy pain. Impact play is a personal favorite. I like…” She trailed off, letting her mind wander. “I like it when I don’t have to be in control of any of it. I like being able to turn my mind off and just obey. Or not, depending on my mood.”
“That’s a good start. Thank you.” Leaning back against the booth seat, he tapped his fingers on the wooden tabletop.
She waited for him to ask another question, or to tell her what the plan for the evening was. But he didn’t. He simply sat there, his gaze traveling the room as if he was looking for someone.
Waiting for someone.
Sonofabitch.
But before she could give voice to her suspicions, one corner of his mouth tilted upward. “Ah. The last member of our party has arrived.”
Beckett slid sideways, making room for Ice to join him on the bench, a matching smirk on his face. “Thank you, Beckett. And thank you for taking such good care of my purchase for me.”
Fury turned the edges of her vision red. “ Your purchase?”
“Yes. Beckett has been handling some investments for me recently, so it seemed like a good idea to have him oversee this purchase as well.”
Being talked about like she was nothing more than a thing to be bought and used twisted her stomach into knots—and they weren’t all bad. If it had been anyone but Ice talking about her like that, she would have thrown her drink in their face and walked away, auction be damned.
But it wasn’t just anyone. It was Ice. And the thought of being used by him, of being treated like his personal toy was everything she hadn’t dared to want for so long.
Not that she was about to let him see how he’d affected her with this little charade. It was an asshole move, making her think he didn’t want her, and she had every intention of making him pay for it. “I see.”
Fire flashed in Ice’s eyes. “You don’t. But you will.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
The men across from her shared a look before Ice leaned across the table. “It means I promised you that if I saw you up on that auction block, you would regret it. And you’re about to learn the hard way that a Daddy always keeps his promises.”
Ice
Watching Silver’s eyes widen with shock never failed to please him. Especially in moments like this, when that shock was accompanied by her squirming in her seat, her mouth falling open to allow for her breath to come in short, sharp pants.
“You wouldn’t.” The words were breathless, letting him know that at least some part of her secretly hoped he indeed would follow through on his promise.
As he had every intention of doing.
“I would. And I will.”
Her next inhale was shaky, making her breasts quiver, silently begging for his touch. “You have no right?—”
“I have every right, girl. Unless you call your safeword, you are mine for the rest of the night.” And because the contract they’d both signed did not actually define ‘one night’, he was using his own interpretation of night as ‘until the sun rises the following day’. It was a nice little loophole Beckett had discovered for him, and he planned to exploit said loophole to his every advantage. “Which means, if I want to punish you for being a defiant little brat, I absolutely have the right to do so.”
God, he’d forgotten how beautiful she was when she was angry, like some avenging angel practically glowing with righteous fury. “You’re an asshole, Elias.”
“I don’t disagree. But unless you want to be wearing cane marks for the next week, I suggest you stop with the name-calling and use my proper title instead.”
Nostrils flaring, she gave a jerky nod of agreement. “Yes, Sir.”
“No. Not that title. The other one.” The one he’d specifically told her not to use the night before. But that had been when she’d just been his friend who’d had a little too much to drink sitting at his kitchen table.
Now she was his and he had every intention of taking what he wanted.
He saw the moment his demand clicked in her mind. “Fuck no. I’m not calling you… that.”
Rising from his seat, he rounded the table, hauling her up to her feet. Fear danced with anger and need in her eyes, fueling his own aching desire. “Yes, you are. Do you know why?”
“Why?”
“Because you are mine, Amanda Sterling. Bought and paid for. And you are going to fulfill every filthy fucking fantasy I’ve had about you since I was sixteen years old. Starting with my proper title.” Pulling her more tightly against him, he leaned down and nipped at her full bottom lip. “Now, be a good girl and say ‘Yes, Daddy’.”
It felt like forever, trapped in a silent battle of wills as he watched the struggle play out on her face. She was a brat, always had been, but she was a smart brat. And smart brats picked their battles.
Was this really the hill she wanted to die on?
He got his answer when he felt the fight leave her on a long, dramatic sigh. And everything in him crowed with triumph at her next words.
“Yes, Daddy.”
“That’s my good girl.” Ducking his head, he took her lips in a proper kiss, his heart threatening to beat out of his chest when she sank into him.
Kissing her was everything he remembered from their night together and more. Heat and need, yes, but with a hint of sweetness he hadn’t stopped craving in all the months he’d been apart from her.
When he finally lifted his head, her eyes fluttered open, and he was pleased to see she looked as dazed as he felt.
“The pit,” he murmured, loosening his hold on her arms to run his fingers up and down the soft skin. “We should go down to the pit.”
“Counteroffer. You take me back to your place and we can spend the rest of our night fucking each other silly.”
He let his lips curve up in a slow smile. “That sounds like an excellent plan.”
“Yeah?” Hope lit her eyes, so bright he almost felt bad for what he was about to do.
Almost.
“Yeah.” Leaning in, he dropped his voice to a low whisper. “After Daddy punishes you for being such a defiant little brat.”
“Asshole,” she growled in response, her eyes narrowing with pure aggravation.
“I’ll be adding that to your tally, girl. Come on. I saved us a spot downstairs.”
“You can’t add tallies if I don’t know what the rules are.” Despite her grumbling, she fell into place beside him, her arm looped through his as he guided her down the metal steps. “It isn’t fair.”
“I shouldn’t have to tell you that calling your Dominant names is against the rules, Silver. You know better. Don’t you, girl?”
To his delight, a pink flush colored her cheeks as she dropped her head. “Yes, Sir. I do.”
“Do you still think it’s unfair for me to punish you for breaking that rule, then?”
“No, Sir.”
Pausing at the bottom of the stairs, he turned to her, gripping her chin between his thumb and forefinger so she was forced to look up at him. “What are you supposed to be calling me tonight, Silver?”
Wariness crept into her eyes. “Every time? Seriously?”
He hadn’t originally planned to push the issue. But seeing how annoyed she was by the title gave him such perverse enjoyment he couldn’t seem to help himself. “Every single time, girl.”
“I’ll call you Daddy if you stop calling me girl .”
Amused that she was still attempting to negotiate, he ran the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip. “Why does it bother you so much?”
“Why do you want me to call you Daddy?” she shot back, her lip curling up in a snarl.
Tightening his grip on her chin, he forced her head back further. “That’s not how this works, Silver. Tell me why you dislike the term ‘girl’ so much.”
“I just do.”
“Not good enough.” There was a reason, he could feel it. And some instinct told him he needed to know what that reason was. “Tell Daddy why it bothers you.”
Jackpot . He knew he’d taken the right path when her expression immediately softened. “Oh, you don’t fight fair.”
“So I’ve been told,” he said with a low laugh. “Don’t make me torment it out of you, Sil. You’re already in enough trouble and I would hate to revoke your orgasm privileges for the rest of the night.”
“I just don’t like it.” Her voice pitched up to a whine, and he had to force himself not to grin at the pitiful sound.
“Why?”
“Please don’t make me say it out loud. It’s embarrassing.”
“Good.” Now he did allow himself the grin as her brows drew together in confusion. “You’re fucking adorable when you’re embarrassed.”
“I am not adorable. You take that back.”
“Adorable. Like a little baby bunny. Now, be a good little bunny and tell Daddy why you hate being called ‘girl’ so much.”
The pink flush in her cheeks had darkened, and her bottom lip pushed out in a pout that was, as he’d said, adorable. “You call every woman you scene with ‘girl’. It’s just not… special.”
Ah. And the puzzle pieces finally clicked into place. “And you want to be special.”
“It sounds stupid when you say it like that.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Cupping her face in his hands, he leaned down to brush a kiss over her pouty lips. “You are special to me, Mandy. And if you need a different ‘title’ from me to prove it, then I’m happy to oblige, baby.”
It was worth that small concession to watch her eyes light with pleasure. “Thank you… Daddy.”
“You’re welcome, baby. Now, let’s get you up on a cross so Daddy can teach his babygirl what happens when she disobeys.”