CHAPTER SIXTEEN Burning
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Burning
I barely ate anything, barely tasted a single bite.
My stomach was already full for some reason.
The suffocating tension and sinful way he was analysing me was tremendously nerve-racking.
I already felt like I was losing my mind.
Like he wasn’t just closing in but swallowing me whole, leaving nothing behind.
He hadn’t touched his plate yet. Not even the salad.
Not the main course. Nothing. Just the wine.
Deep red, rich and smooth liquid he sipped nonchalantly.
This was definitely an effortless game for him.
I could tell the way he was so confident and shameless while being a pervert.
I didn’t miss when he tilted the glass against his lips deliberately before lowering again.
It was getting on my nerves for all the bad reasons.
On another note, his eyes never left me. Not even for a second.
I swallowed hard, slowly putting the fork down. My throat was too tight and dry, while my clammy hands shook. I felt exposed and watched. Like a deer in a hunter’s sights, the bow was already drawn and the arrow pointed straight at my heart.
He casually leaned back, exhaling softly as his fingers lazily ran over the rim of the glass before setting it down. A quiet hum left his lips, dragging over my skin like silk and sin.
“Are you done?”
I didn’t trust my voice, so I just nodded.
He hummed again, deeper this time, slithering down my spine and wrapping around my lungs, squeezing the breath out of me.
I peeked at him through my lashes, wondering what was going on in his head. He was unpredictable to the point I couldn’t trust my own thoughts with him. He had this strange control and way to make me obey him, no matter what.
The monster in front of me set his glass on the table and shifted. I shifted with him unconsciously. With his same unbothered grace, he uncrossed his legs, spreading them wide.
My stomach bottomed out.
My breath hitched as he ran his thumb over his lower lip as if he was deep in thought. His stormy grey eyes darkened, taking me in, devouring me piece by piece until I was sure he’d burned me into his memory, and I didn’t want to know how I appeared in his eyes.
I was so ready to beg him to give me some more time to prepare myself, both mentally and physically.
I was ready to crush my self-respect and plead with whatever I had left in me.
Hell, I was even ready to trade anything to have some more time.
But he seemed to read my thoughts. The slow smile turned into a malicious grin as he drawled. “Crawl.”
I blinked. Wondering if I heard him right. Or even if I heard him at all. I did hear him though. I knew I did. But…
“Pardon?”
His expression didn’t change; if anything, his smirk deepened. Lazily, he patted his thigh once. “Crawl to my lap.”
My stomach twisted violently with the same intensity his eyes were raking over me with. My skin scorched, and I felt my face burning with shame. Was he serious? Yes. Yes, he was.
He leaned forward just a fraction, enough that I could see the way the candlelight carved out the sharp angles of his face. That jagged scar and that sinfully filthy mouth. Those goddamn eyes that held nothing but amusement laced with darkness.
He was enjoying my panic.
Enjoying the way I stared dumbfounded at him, wide-eyed with my breath uneven and my hands gripping the fabric of my dress so tight my knuckles ached.
I opened my mouth, ready to refuse, but his expression stopped me cold.
This wasn’t a request.
My pulse pounded as he tilted his head, running his tongue along his bottom lip like he had all the time in the world to see me unravel and get on all fours.
Lies. He didn’t have any patience. I knew it.
The only reason he was being patient right now was because he knew I’d do it.
One way or another. Even if it ended up with me being on the ground with his hand in my hair, forcefully or willingly, he was giving me a choice here.
His way, or mine, which in reality was his way also.
“Dolcezza,” he murmured, voice like a dark promise. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
I could feel it. The shift. The thin line I was forcing him to cross. One that wouldn’t end well for me.
Something in me screamed to run. Another part? The traitorous part? It shivered. With anticipation, fear and dread. I knew if I made a run for it, my legs would give up on me.
His patience was wearing thin. I could see it as his fingers tapped against the armrest. Tick. Tick. Tick.
I was playing with fire. And he was the fucking inferno.
Obedience.
The word tasted bitter on my tongue. Every part of me rejected it. I didn’t want to do this. I shouldn’t, but there was no other way.
None.
He was the immovable force. The unshakable pillar. The lion watched its prey thrash in the trap, knowing full well there was no escape.
I was cornered completely. My mind ran through every possibility, every alternative. Could I say no? Would he let me leave? Would he let me breathe, exist without any consequences?
No.
I knew that already. I’d always known.
A sharp pang hit my chest as my fists curled. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair. And yet, my body moved before my pride could stop it.
Slowly and painfully, I uncurled my fingers, letting go of the last shreds of my resistance tangled in the silk. Shaky breaths shuddered out of me as I slowly lowered myself.
The wooden floor was cold beneath my palms as I pressed them down, my knees following next. Shame burned through me. I could feel the heat crawling up my throat, sinking its claws into my chest and ripping out the flesh.
I kept my gaze low, refusing to see the satisfaction I knew would be painted all over his face.
My insides churned as I shifted onto my knees completely. Humiliation curled, and I suddenly couldn’t breathe. This was what he wanted. To break me. To strip me down until I was the perfect submissive woman in his eyes.
My spine straightened even as my body trembled while I crawled to him.
I crawled until I reached him, everything in me breaking with each second. I wanted to hide away from him. This man was crazy, insanely horrifying.
Just when I was close enough, I stopped.
“Look at me,” he ordered, and even with no heart to obey him, I did it.
The look on my face pleased him, and he cradled my cheek with his large palm. There was no other physical contact, but still, it was enough to unravel me. He leaned, invading my personal space until his mouth was barely an inch away from my earlobe.
“That’s my good girl.”
My face turned red. All I could do was flutter my lashes as he caressed my ear.
“Come closer.”
I was already between his legs, on the verge of touching his thighs, so when he slightly nudged me to his body, I shivered in response before my hands involuntarily landed on his muscular thighs for balance.
The moment my hands touched him, I was taken aback by the solid muscles under my palms. It was laughable how my entire palm was barely half the width of his thigh. He was tall, broad-shouldered and muscular, but I never imagined him to be rock solid.
That only heightened my terror. This man could crush my skull with his one hand.
As I lifted my eyes, I was suddenly hit by the realisation of where my mouth was. I yelped in fright, trying to back away when his hand moved from my earlobe to the back of my neck, keeping me in place, closer to his crotch as he shifted the side of my face to nuzzle the tent between his thighs.
Laughter bubbled from above, and I instinctively clutched onto his thighs. My chin was lifted as rough fingers on his other hand angled my face upward. The hand on my neck loosened its grip as he reached between us, and I heard the unmistakable clink of a belt followed by the sound of a zipper.
And I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Either I’d lost my mind, or he simply had the magnetic presence that was daring me to break eye contact. And trust me, there was nothing but unbridled lust and something wild in his gaze.
“Take out my cock.”