THIRTEEN
DAKOTA
Kaden’s voice was dark, dripping in unpleasantness. “I’m going to give you a head start.” Shit.
I swallowed hard, slowly stepping back, and I watched his eyes narrow in on me like a predator about to hunt his prey. The vein in his neck was protruding, pulsing with every beat that passed between us.
He barely took a few strides before he was in front of me.
His demeanor had shifted from his usual nonchalant, brooding self to a more intense and intimidating version that made my stomach flip.
The low rasp of his voice sent adrenaline through my veins. “Run.”
I took one final step back before I bolted for the stairs. I could hear his slow yet deliberate steps behind me as my heart raced.
When I eventually stumbled to the top of the stairs, I whipped my head left, then right and back to the left again. I charged for the bedroom I was in, slamming the door shut behind me.
My chest heaved as I pressed my back against the door. Luckily, the key was already in the keyhole, so I locked it, trailing my eyes around the room. Shit shit shit.
With my chest rising and falling, I tried to steady my breathing as I listened closely.
It was quiet. Momentary silence.
The door handle shifted aggressively, and my heart dropped.
“Open the door,” Kaden mused on the other side.
I stayed silent, listening to him wiggle the door handle in frustration. “I can hear your heavy breathing,” he lowered his voice, and subconsciously, my breath hitched. “Now… step away from the door.”
A heavy lump expanded in my throat. “No.”
“I’ll give you five seconds to step back before I break this door down.” He was just trying to scare me. “Five.”
I called his bluff. “You won’t.”
“Four.”
“Kaden, I don’t believe you.”
“Three.” Fuck, fuck, fuck. He’s really going to break this door down.
Frantically, my eyes ping-ponged around the room, trying to find a place to hide, but I was out of luck.
“Two.”
Reluctantly, I rushed away from the door, turning to face it as I waited anxiously.
As if on cue, I watched the door break loose from its hinges, crashing to the floor with a thud so loud it echoed throughout the house.
With wide, unbelieving eyes, my body jolted back in fear, and my ass landed on the edge of the bed. Oh my G—
“One.”
Facing him, I climbed onto the bed backwards, watching him approach me with an eerie glow in his eyes. Using my hands and feet, I scurried back, but before I could reach the headboard, he grabbed my ankles with a force so strong it stung my skin, and yanked me toward the edge of the bed—toward him.
I swallowed the anxiety creeping up my throat, anticipating his next move as I clutched my robe to my body.
He reached down, placing both of his large hands on either side of my head, lowering his face to mine. His masculine scent drifted into my nose, and the hair on my skin rose, making my skin tingle.
With a heaving chest I turned my face away from him, afraid he’d see the exhilarating fear in my eyes.
He pressed his nose to my neck, deeply inhaling and goosebumps spread over my body with a shameful pulsing between my legs. Out of instinct, I squeezed my thighs together. Oh fuck, why do I like this. Sick, Dakota, fucking sick.
His face lifted until his lips hovered over my ear. The faint brush of his lips against my heated skin sent zaps of electricity through every inch of my cowering body. Keeping his voice low, my eyes nearly fluttered as he spoke. “I don’t remember giving you permission to close your legs, Dakota.”
Leisurely, he slipped his hand just past my knees and gripped the inside of my thigh, squeezing it in the process.
My teeth sunk into my bottom lip—suppressing any unwanted sounds—as my clit ached for attention.
I was confused as to why the slight fear he instilled in me excited me. Like a forbidden desire. Like a fucked up forbidden desire.
Traitorously, I could feel my thighs separating, leaving his hand mere inches from where I really wanted it.
His soft lips brushed up my jawline as he trailed his fingers higher up my thigh.
For a second I thought I imagined it, but when the searing pain shot through my veins, I moaned, arching my back off the silk sheets. His teeth ripped the flesh in my neck as he drew the slightest amount of blood, making my senses go haywire.
A rough noise escaped deep from within his throat and I gripped his hard bicep, my fingers barely wrapping around the muscle.
Within the blink of an eye, he grabbed my waist, throwing me onto his shoulder, and I yelped, bunching his shirt in my hands for stability.
“What are you doing?” I stammered as he carried me into the bathroom. He carefully set me back down on my feet—facing the full-length mirror—and I didn’t miss the glint of deviance in his eyes as he stood behind me.
The buzzing pain in my neck warmed my skin, and anxiety pulsed through every inch in my body.
His voice was hoarse, increasing my breathing. “Look at yourself.” I obeyed. “You were full of so much attitude downstairs and now look…”
I swallowed hard, feeling him tug the belt of my robe, allowing it to fall.
“You’re shaking, baby,” he whispered, pulling the robe from my shoulders, leaving me completely and utterly exposed.
He held the robe in his left hand while his right wrapped around my throat, forcing my head to fall back against his chest.
In the mirror, I watched as he trailed his eyes over my body, taking in every part of me.
He stepped closer, pushing his hips to my ass and making the ache between my thighs grow painful.
When my hesitant gaze met the dangerous fire behind his eyes, I tried to look away, but he tightened his hold on my face, forcing me to hold eye contact.
“Do you feel that?” he questioned, using his fingers around my neck to apply slight pressure to my fleeting pulse. “That’s your mind telling you to run.”
He dropped my robe to the floor.
Steadily, he trailed his fingertips from the valley of my breasts, down my stomach, over my belly button, and slipped his hand between my thighs.
I sucked in a quick breath, feeling him swirl his fingers in my arousal. “And that’s your body craving me.”
I squirmed, arching my back against his firm chest. My ass pushed against his thickening length and my eyebrows pinched together, feeling him. His thick fingers teased my entrance, and when my hips bucked, his fingers disappeared from my body.
My eyelids grew heavier until he lifted his two fingers to my mouth. I met his eyes in the mirror and immediately knew what he wanted. I parted my lips, allowing him to push his fingers in as deep as he wanted.
Keen desire lit up his eyes, so I lifted my tongue, relaxing it against his fingers. A sting burned behind my eyes, and when he started pulling his fingers from my mouth, I made an effort to swirl my tongue around them.
His fingers left my mouth with a pop and my thighs were pressed together as I watched him step back before exiting the bathroom. In confusion, I heavily exhaled, grabbing my robe from the floor. What…
I blinked. He just walked out.
I slipped my robe back on, drawing my brows together as I hurried out of the bedroom, but I immediately halted, seeing all three of them staring back at me.
My heart was pounding in my ears.
“Did she apologize?” Chase asked, and Kaden simply shook his head.
“She clearly wants you…” Logan mused, and I shifted my eyes from Kaden to him. “She wants you to punish her.”
Chase was quick to speak. “If you don’t, I will.”
That statement made the muscle in Kaden’s jaw tick.
“But I—”
“Haven’t signed the contract yet?” Chase beat me to it, slowly stepping forward until he reached me. Heavy sexual tension exploded between us as he took one final step forward, eliminating the space between us.
His broad shoulders shielded me from Logan and Kaden.
His body was firm against mine. All I could think about was watching him get undressed, revealing his lean frame. Chase could do unspeakable things to me. Because I’d let him. In a heartbeat.
His question made my stomach churn. “Do you want to be punished?”
I simply nodded.
His hand wrapped around my throat with enough grip to force me to look up at him. “Say it.”
My voice was breathless. “Yes. I want you to punish me.”
He lowered his lips mere inches from mine, and naturally, my body leaned into him as my eyes fluttered closed. I wanted him to kiss me again.
I could feel his breath on my lips, and the tingles it caused settled between my thighs.
“Then we should probably get you home.”
* * *
After breakfast, I got comfortable on my bed and went through and signed the NDA first— that one was a no-brainer.
My mind latched onto the memory of last night after my moment with Kaden. Before I went downstairs, I had gathered all my belongings, and when I found Logan, I didn’t even need to say a word. He knew.
I felt guilty because I really wanted to enjoy dinner with both Chase and Logan, but I couldn’t. Not until I overcome this odd fear of Kaden that still managed to excite me. I didn’t understand it, and needed to organize my thoughts for all of our sakes
I laid on my stomach, filling in the blank spaces of the contract just like Chase had told me to. That was the easy part. The part that scared me was the hard and soft limits, as well as the yes, no, and maybe boxes.
It felt overwhelming.
After checking all my yes boxes, I decided to give Logan a call since I was a tad bit confused by some terms.
I grabbed my cellphone and dialed his number as I hovered my pen over a couple that I was confused about.
“What’s Dd/Lg?” I asked as soon as he answered the phone.
“Good morning, Dakota,” he deadpanned, and I pressed my lips into a thin line, softly apologizing. “Dd/Lg stands for Daddy Dom, Little girl—”
“Oh,” my brows drew together for a second. Nope I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me. “How about a Sadist?”
“That’s finding sexual pleasure in inflicting pain.”
“So I’d get to spank you?” I grinned, tapping my pen against the page.
“No, Dakota—”
“How about Chase?”