Chapter 7 Bit #2
I let go of her wrists. “I’ll be happy to take you home so you can pick up a few things, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay there alone. Not until we find out who was at the gate last night. I’ll call Vader, err, the sheriff later and see what they know.”
“I have to talk to someone at the bank today. I figured it would be better to show up in person rather than calling.”
“Good plan. What else has your mind racing this morning?”
She smiled for the first time since I opened the bedroom door and joined her in the kitchen. “Coffee?”
I chuckled. “That, I can help with.” I walked to the cupboard where I kept a French press, dumped the grounds into the bottom, then added water to the electric kettle that sat on the counter. “Old school isn’t as quick, but it tastes a helluva lot better.”
“I should probably get dressed.” When Eberly walked in the direction of the bedroom first, then turned toward the living room, where we’d left her sweatshirt, I caught her wrist.
“Don’t.” I let go of her hand, snaked my arm around her waist, pulled my shirt that hung to the middle of her thigh up, and cupped one cheek of her bare bottom. “I like you this way.” I squeezed her flesh and pulled her body flush against mine. “A lot.”
Eberly’s breath caught, her eyes drooped closed, and she brought her hands to my shoulders when I moved her hair out of my way and kissed the soft skin beneath her ear.
As much as I didn’t want to, when the kettle whistled, I let her go and poured the hot water over the coffee. Since Eberly hadn’t moved, I returned to her and put my arm back around her waist. “Now, where were we?”
“You were, um…” She put her fingertips on her neck where I’d kissed her.
“You like that?”
She nodded.
“Let me hear you say it.”
“I like it.”
“What do you like?”
“When you kiss me.”
I leaned forward and pecked her cheek. “That?”
She smiled. “Not as much.”
“As what?”
“When you use your tongue.”
“I see.” When I kissed her in the same place I had before but trailed my mouth down the banded muscle of her neck, Eberly shuddered and pressed her body harder against mine.
After taking a deep breath, I buried my face between her shoulder and jaw. “As much as I want to continue what we’re doing, there are things we need to talk about first.” She stiffened in my arms and tried to wriggle away, but I tightened my hold on her waist. “I didn’t say you could go anywhere.”
“Trevino, I haven’t…God, I can’t even say it.”
I brought my other hand to her face and cupped her cheek. “I think I know, and it’s one of the reasons it’s imperative we talk first.”
“I feel so stupid,” she said barely above a whisper.
“Let’s start there—no more calling yourself names or referring to yourself in a disparaging way. If you do it again, there will be consequences. Do you understand?”
Her eyes blazed. “Consequences?”
“You heard me. Next, when you and I are together like this, there are certain ways I want you to address me.”
Eberly’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Do you remember what you said last night when I told you to get under the covers for the second time?”
Other than the sweet flush of her cheeks, she didn’t respond.
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Say it again.”
When she whispered, “Yes, sir,” my shaft pulsed.
“When I tell you to do something, I need you to obey me.”
“Obey?”
While I might’ve worried about her response, her hardened nipples and dilated pupils were proof enough that it excited her.
“If it’s something you have a very good reason to not want to do, you can say so. It doesn’t mean I’ll change my mind, but I will listen. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good girl.” I stroked her cheek with the pad of my thumb. “I understand that some of this may be new to you.”
Eberly lowered her gaze. “Not some. All.”
“Look at me.” When she did, I continued.
“While your physical responses convey your arousal, right now, I need to know what you’re thinking.
If you have concerns, I’ll address them.
More, if proceeding in the way I’m laying things out for you isn’t something you want, this ends now.
I’ve warned you more than once that I am not the man for you.
My expectations—my demands—may be more than you can handle, but being in control is the only way I know or want to be. ”
“Okay.”
I raised a brow. “Maybe it would be best if I gave you some time to think this over.”
Eberly shook her head. “I don’t need time. Except I do have a question.”
“I’m sure you have many.”
“Am I supposed to call you sir all the time?”
My eyes softened, and I reached down and pinched her bottom. “Right now, I’d be happy with occasionally.”
“Sorry, err, sir.”
“How about this? We’ll work up to it. When I need it, I’ll say so.” I let her go and lowered the plunger to filter the coffee grounds, then got two cups from the cupboard. “How do you take it?”
“Black is fine, thanks.”
I handed her the cup, then opened the refrigerator, grabbed the container of almond milk, and added some to the frother.
“Can I change my mind?”
My breath caught, and I looked over my shoulder at her. “About?”
“How I take my coffee.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “You had me worried for a minute.”
Eberly set the cup on the counter and rubbed her arms.
“Are you cold?”
“A bit.”
“Wait for me under the blanket on the sofa. I’ll bring our coffee in and light a fire.”
Her eyes met mine. “Yes, sir.”
When she left the room, I looked up at the ceiling. No matter how much my brain was screaming at me to end this now, my heart wasn’t willing to listen. Nor was my cock. Wanting Eberly had morphed into needing her, and that wasn’t something I could ignore.