Chapter 38
38
M aeve
“Of course you live in a penthouse overlooking the park.”
“Of course.” He smiles, ushering me inside.
“Wow,” I say, looking around.
“Impressed?”
“Bored,” I reply honestly, making him cough.
“What?”
I glance at him. “Have you actually bought even one thing for this place?”
He watches me like I’ve just fallen from the moon. “I have someone to do that for me. I don’t have time for shopping.”
“Exactly. Boring.”
He narrows his eyes. “I was told it was stylish.”
“Sometimes stylish is boring.” I shrug.
He pauses and looks around. Slowly. Assessing.
“What would you change? ”
“Nothing.”
His head whips to me. “What do you mean nothing? You just said the place is boring.”
“Yeah, but it’s yours. So.” I shrug again.
His brows draw together. “Do you mean I’m boring?”
Another shrug. It’s all I can do now, enjoying the view of his suddenly reddening face. Ezra needs some entertainment, and I’ve got plenty to give.
He doesn’t like my answer because he’s next to me in three long steps. He’s a hair away but not touching. Leaning his angry face to mine, he starts speaking. More like hissing.
“Say it again.”
“I haven’t said anything,” I reply, biting my lip to distract him. “You said that.”
His eyes lift back up to mine. “I’m not boring. You know that.”
I could just stroke his ego, but it seems to be a sharp subject for him, and I feel like playing with fire. So I rise on my tippytoes and whisper nearly into his mouth, “Do I?”
A low growl makes goosebumps rise all over my body. He’s breathing like a bull during the rodeo.
“Say it again,” he orders.
“What?” I grab his tie and wrap it around my fist. “You’ve been traveling with a tie, for fuck’s sake. Tell me that’s not boring.” I wasn’t known to be so bold before, but now the challenge is loud in my voice. I’m embracing this new person I am around Ezra because he makes me feel safe no matter how much he barks. And I’m loving it.
Quickly, his fist wraps around my hand on his tie. His other hand lands on the small of my back and pulls me into him. He’s ready and hard. Angry. Hot.
“It is not boring when you know how to use it properly.” His words are careful. In control.
I feel like daring him even more. “Do you?”
His eyelids turn heavy. The hand on my back presses me into him even more while his hips make a slow grinding gesture. I nearly melt into a puddle under our feet.
With deliberately slow movements, he leans forward and scoops me up and over his shoulder. When I squeak, he smacks my ass. Hard.
“Quiet. You’re getting what you asked for.”
“What is that exactly?” I just can’t help myself.
“I said quiet.” Another smack.
He walks—slowly—to the kitchen and puts me on the island. The marble is cold under my ass and naked thighs, but my skin is hot. He steps backward and starts pulling his tie off. Again, very slowly.
“What are you?—”
“Quiet.”
I shut my mouth, watching his movements, mesmerized by his control. When he’s done, he wraps the tie around his left arm and moves to me. I expect him to ask me to show him my wrists or something, but he doesn’t do that.
Instead, he comes close. Very close. But once again, not touching. He hunches his shoulder forward, towering over me. Making me feel trapped. Small.
He rests his left hand on the counter by my side while leaning his body into me. He’s going to kiss me, I know. So I instinctively lick my lips, getting ready for him.
But he has another plan apparently. Because his low chuckle is the only indication he’s seen my gesture. His nose comes close to my cheek, and he inhales deeply. His skin grazes over mine for a ghost of a second. He inhales again. I squeeze the edge of the counter with my hands. He moves his nose to my neck. Another inhale. I spread my legs wider, inviting him closer. He doesn’t move closer. So I move my pelvis closer to the edge. He chuckles again. His breath fanning my skin makes me shiver.
He finally steps into the space I’ve made for him. His mouth moves to my ear and the hair all over my body stands up. I swallow a dry lump in my throat.
Something wet glazes over the shell of my ear, making me shiver once again. The tip of his tongue. Then he bites, and I let out a low moan.
He does it again, and I shift, nearly falling backward. I try to catch myself but can’t.
Because my fucking hands are tied behind my back!
He grabs my shoulders before I completely fall on the counter in a very awkward position.
“What—” I mumble in the middle of my horny frenzy.
“What was that you said about me being boring?” he whispers into my ear after a quick nibble.
“You—” I growl. “You!”
“Yes?” he asks with a quirked brow, stepping backward.
“You are an asshole!” I fume, angry that I was led by him so easily.
“Never claimed to be otherwise.” His laugh is raspy. Low. It scratches the inside of my chest.
“Untie me,” I order angrily. Only making him laugh harder.
“I don’t think so,” he says, grabbing an apple from the perfectly arranged fruit basket on the table. “This,” he points at me with the same hand he’s still holding his apple, “is how I prefer you.”
I look down at myself and find a very disturbing picture. My legs are still spread wide. My hands are tied behind my back. My shorts are so wet I’m sure they’re see through at this point. I feel my cheeks flaming hot. I’m a picture of sexual distress. Caused by the evil man watching me with a knowing smirk on his perfectly unfucked face.
I avert my attention from my odd-looking self to him. With narrowed eyes, I silently promise him: the war is on.