Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Stryker
The way she looks at me in the moonlight—eyes wide with want and wariness, lips parted like she’s already breathless.
Once more, a primal beast roars in my chest.
Mine.
I’ve never wanted to own someone the way I want to own her. Never felt this driving need to strip away every wall, every defense, until there’s nothing left but raw, honest surrender.
“I want you inside.” There’s command in my voice, rougher than I intend. “Now.”
She doesn’t argue. Doesn’t hesitate. Just lets me guide her back through the sliding door, the blanket trailing behind us like a cape.
The warmth of the cabin hits us, and I watch her shiver—not from cold this time but from anticipation. From the promise in my voice and the heat in my eyes.
I lock the door behind us and reset the alarm with quick, practiced movements.
But my attention never leaves her. The way she stands in the middle of the living room, uncertain for maybe the first time since I’ve known her.
The way her fingers toy with the hem of her shirt, nervous energy crackling around her like electricity.
“I’ve got to have you in the bedroom.” Her eyes darken, but when she starts to move, I catch her wrist. “Wait.”
She freezes, pulse hammering against my thumb where I’m holding her.
“Look at me, Allie.”
Her blue eyes meet mine, and I see everything she’s trying to hide—the hunger, the fear, the desperate need to let someone else be in control for once in her carefully guarded life.
“I’m going to take you apart, piece by piece”—I trace my thumb over her pulse point, feeling how it jumps at my words—“until you forget why you’re running.”
Passion blazes in her eyes.
“Forget everything except my name and how good I make you feel.”
Her breath catches.
“But I need to know you want this. Really want this. Not just the sex—anyone can give you that. I’m talking about giving me control. Letting me decide how and when and where I touch you. Trusting me to know what you need better than you do.”
She’s quiet for so long; I wonder if I’ve pushed too hard, too fast. If the walls she’s built are too high for even this level of honesty to breach.
Then she nods, just once. Sharp and decisive.
“Say it,” I command. “Tell me what you want.”
“I want…” She swallows hard, and I watch her throat work. “I want you to take control.”
“Good girl.”
The praise hits her like a physical touch. Her eyes flutter closed for just a moment, and a soft sound escapes her lips.
Christ, she’s responsive.
I release her wrist and step back, letting her feel the loss of contact.
“Go to the bedroom. Strip for me. Then get on the bed and wait for me.”
She blinks, clearly fighting the urge to ask questions or negotiate terms. “How long—”
“However long I decide.” I cross my arms, letting her see the immovable wall of my determination. “And Allie? If you’re not naked and waiting when I come in there, we’re going to have a very different kind of conversation about following instructions.”
The threat sends heat flooding to her cheeks, but it’s not embarrassment I see in her eyes. It’s arousal. Pure and undeniable.
She turns without another word and disappears down the hallway.
I give her exactly three minutes. Long enough to follow my instructions, not long enough to overthink them or change her mind.
Long enough for me to grab what I need from my go bag—another condom. Then I think of her, waiting for me, and my cock throbs. Fuck. I grab a second packet.
When I push open the bedroom door, the sight that greets me nearly brings me to my knees.
She’s exactly where I told her to be, sitting on the edge of the bed, completely naked except for that mysterious locket that catches the lamplight.
Her hands are folded in her lap, but I can see the tension in her shoulders, the way she’s fighting every instinct that tells her to cover herself or run.
“Beautiful, Allie.” She shivers at my praise. God. She deserves to be worshiped and adored. I’ll kill anyone who has hurt her. “Absolutely fucking beautiful.”
I set the supplies on the nightstand, letting her see them, letting her imagination run wild about what I have planned for her.
“Lie back for me.” I drop my voice to that a low register that makes her pupils go wide. “Arms above your head.”
“I…”
“Do it. For me. Because you want to.”
After only a slight hesitation, she complies, moving with fluid grace until she’s stretched out before me like an offering. The position makes her breasts lift, makes the locket nestle in the hollow between them, makes every line of her body a study in feminine perfection.
“Now grab the headboard.”
Her fingers wrap around the wrought iron spindles, knuckles already white with tension.
“Here’s the thing, sweetheart.” I move to stand beside the bed, close enough that she has to tilt her head to look up at me. “I could tie you up. Could use rope or cuffs to keep you exactly where I want you.”
Her breathing quickens.
“But I’m not going to. Because I want you to choose to stay there. I want you to hold on because I told you to, not because you have to.”
I lean down, bracing one hand beside her head, bringing my mouth close to her ear.
“And if you let go without permission, you’ll be punished. Do you understand?”
The word comes out breathless: “Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
Her eyebrows furrow together. “I don’t understand.”
“Yes, Sir,” I prompt.
She sucks in a shallow little breath. “I…”
“Say it for me, Allie.”
For a moment, she looks away. Then she faces me again.