Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
God, she was stunning.
Theodore stared as she stood in the center of the room, her shimmering blue dress falling to the floor, fiery red waves of hair spilling down her back.
Her long white fingers clenched and unclenched in both anticipation and fear.
Finally, he’d be able to satisfy this primal craving to claim her.
She was his for the next three nights and would obey every command.
The bargain made not only gave him her body, but her inner soul.
It was more than he’d ever expected.
“Do you want me to undress?”
A smile touched his lips at her faintly trembling voice. “I’d like to ask you a few questions first. When was the last time you had a man fuck you?”
She jerked back at the crude word, but Theo caught the gleam of excitement she couldn’t seem to hide. Yes. She liked dirty talk, but was afraid to indulge.
“It’s been a few years,” she said.
He lifted an eyebrow in surprise, then took a few graceful steps toward her. “Your choice?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“No reason.” His lips tightened in disapproval. Hailey hesitated, then seemed to remember the terms of her bargain. Her words were reluctant. “My parent’s believed sex was wrong. I grew up on the notion that the act was something behind closed doors, something to be ashamed of.”
“Go on,” he urged, taking the time to light a cigarette. Sometimes, he loved to indulge in the vice he’d quit years ago, and this weekend was all about chasing pleasure. He was patient as she gathered her thoughts.
“I heard stories from others, stories of wild encounters that left women helpless for more. I was scared. I never wanted to lose any control over my life, afraid I’d become a man’s play toy and then be left behind. I decided it would be easier to ignore sex and go after the things that were safe.”
He took a deep pull on the cigarette and blew out the smoke in a lazy circle. “Do you ever pleasure yourself?”
A blush stained her cheeks when she thought of the torturous nights and her dreams. “No.”
“But you’ll leave these reservations behind for our bargain?”
She nodded. “If you command me to.”
He gave a slow smile. Pink flushed her cheeks, and he realized there was a lot he hadn’t known about Hailey.
Particularly that she may have some submissive tendencies that could be teased out.
He intended to take his time offering up various sexual scenarios so he knew what turned her on.
He’d played with taking a dominant role in the bedroom before, but always craved more.
Maybe this was as much his opportunity as hers.
“Good. I admire control in a woman. The proper control can extend sexual pleasure for hours on end. Take your dress off.”
Her fingers fumbled slightly on the back zipper.
The tab slid down and the hiss cut through the silence.
The material pooled at her feet. She wore a black garter belt and sheer black stockings with heels.
A black lacy bra molded her breasts. Her breathing became heavier, but she managed to stand quietly before him.
The smoke drifted through the room and mixed with the scent of her arousal.
God, he couldn’t wait to taste her. “Let’s go over the rules. ”
She blinked but remained still.
“Keep your gaze on me at all times. Listen to what I ask. If anything I do is too much, or you want me to stop, say red.”
“Why not no?”
“Because you may say no out loud but still crave me to continue. To push your barriers. It may excite you to know I’m not listening when you say no. That way, I know red means we stop immediately. Or you can ask me to slow down. Do you feel comfortable with that?”
She nodded.
“Good. When you hear the bell signaling the end of the party, you’ll put your clothes back on and leave without another word. I’ll meet you back here tomorrow night. Agreed?”
“Yes.” She barely whispered the word.
“Take off your bra. I want to look at you.” She unclasped the garment and dropped it on the floor.
Her white breasts were heavy and ripe, tipped with pale pink nipples.
Minutes ticked by as he drank his fill. A delicate flush washed over her body, almost as if she felt his hot gaze on her like a touch.
“You were made to have a man touch you. Take your hands and caress yourself. That’s right, feel the pointed tips of your nipples.
Now imagine my own hands on you, my tongue licking at them, biting them.
I would spend a long time just working your breasts, Hailey, refusing to touch any other part of your body.
Now slide your underwear down and leave your garter and stockings on. ”
He watched her chest rise and fall in tortured breathing.
Caribbean blue eyes blazed at him, a mixture of shame, anger, and wanting, but she never took her gaze from his.
The panties slid down her legs. Fiery red curls beckoned him from across the room, and his cock throbbed to thrust inside her tight, wet heat.
He stroked himself lazily as he watched her, enjoying the anticipation of what was to come like fine wine.
“You’re so fucking perfect. I want to show what you’ve been missing by not exploring your own body.” He loved the struggle on her face—the obvious need for more and reluctance to be exposed. “Slide your hand down your belly. That’s right. Place your palm between your legs. Do you feel the heat?”
Her eyes half closed, obviously fighting herself. “Yes.”
“Are you wet?”
She shuddered but remained in control, not moving. “Yes.”
“Good. Let’s test this will power, shall we?” He studied the graceful curve of her neck, the slight color on her cheeks. Her lower lip trembled, as if hating to give up her control but determined to stick to the bargain.
Theo softened his tone. He knew she was afraid and wanted to calm her. “You remind me of one of the paintings on the wall, with your red hair and lush body. I need to see more of you,baby. You belong to me for the next three nights, and I intend on enjoying every inch of you. Part your legs.”
She stiffened. He waited. Then she widened her stance.
Theodore sucked in his breath at the sight of her delicate pink lips, slick with moisture.
He ground out his cigarette and forced himself to stay where he was until he gained control.
God, how he wanted to stick his tongue up her wetness and taste her.
Spread her legs wider and thrust into her clingy heat until her screams echoed in his ears.
He laughed low with pleasure. And he would.
But not tonight. Tonight was about foreplay, and he intended to enjoy the torture.
He'd waited over a year for her; one more night would only heighten the climax.
Slowly, he closed the distance between them. Like a predator in flight, he circled around and allowed the folds of his cape brush against her naked buttocks. Hailey shuddered, desperate to keep her hunger in check.
Yes. Tonight, there was one lesson to be learned.
Tonight was about teaching her to surrender.
He stood behind her, placing both palms on her shoulders.
Breathed in the scent of vanilla and coconut; breathed in the heady scent of female arousal.
He let his fingers slide through the thick strands of hair that fell to her curvy ass.
With slow, easy motions, he continued the soothing ritual until he sensed her muscles begin to relax.
Then he cupped a fistful of the silky fire and used the ends like a paintbrush over her body, as if preparing a canvass.
With quick, teasing strokes, he touched her nipples, then moved away.
Caressed the side of her breasts. Traced her cleavage.
Tickled the sensitive underside of her neck.
When he finally let her hair drop, he placed both hands underneath the curve of her naked breasts.
“There are times for control, and times for surrender. Your stubbornness has become your prison. Do you remember how good it feels to have a man’s hands over you?”
Slow, barely-there touches urged her to lean in to his caress. He deliberately avoided her nipples and followed the path he’d traced before, using his fingers instead of her hair. Cupping the heavy weight, Theo squeezed lightly, testing the pressure, teasing a moan from her throat.
Her head slipped back to allow him more access. “That’s it, baby girl. Let go and let me touch you any way I want—let me show you what you’ve been missing.”
* * *
Hailey was losing her mind.
Her nipples grew taut and swollen, aching for more.
Her heart thundered like a pack of thoroughbreds, and a sluggish, honeyed warmth pooled in the pit of her stomach, throbbed between her thighs, and made her knees grow weak.
Her lids slid closed as she allowed herself to sink into the sensation.
Long, tapered fingers touched her breasts, then gently plucked at her nipples, circling round and round as he urged her arousal to climb higher.
She craved his tongue on the hard tips of her breasts, craved his fingers plunging inside her dampening heat.
Frustration built but he seemed content to let her body quiver in need.
Warm hands slid down her stomach, explored her belly button, the crease of her thigh, the curve of her hips.
They stroked over her buttocks as his foot kicked her legs further apart for his exploration.
Seething tendrils of sensation nipped at her control and her entire world narrowed to this one man and the need for more of him.
For years, she’d been able to fight her desires, but tonight, as she felt his hot gaze on the private part of her, the wildness was unleashed.
His fingers separated the cheeks of her buttocks and slipped between them.
A rush of wetness met him, and Hailey bit down on her lower lip to keep from crying out.
Still, he didn’t stop there, didn’t allow her a moment of sanity, but pushed her further as he whispered in her ear the things he would do to her, with his tongue and lips and teeth and cock.
The cool folds of his cloak swirled around her open legs until he stood before her; his gleaming eyes taunting the control she had built for herself.
Never pulling his gaze from hers, he knelt, dragging his palms from her buttocks to the V between her legs.
With gentle motions, he parted her swollen lips and exposed her completely.
“What do you want?”
She shook her head hard, as if to deny her own wanting. “Oh, please,” she gasped. “I need...”
“Not yet. You’re not ready enough.”
A choked sob rose from her throat. Every part of her throbbed, and she let herself beg as her hips rocked forward in a demanding motion.
He soothed her with his voice, but his touch stoked the fire, as his index finger slid over the swollen nub just once, then stretched inside of her, the tight channel making way for him as a rush of wetness met his entry.
Hailey knew she had never wanted anyone as badly as she wanted him in that moment, and within the loss of control came a surrender; an acceptance of her female sexuality she had never felt peace with.
Theodore was overcome by the need to possess her completely.
The fantasies he had spun over the past year faded away, replaced by the reality of her sheer beauty and honesty.
He knew then it was not only Hailey being taught a lesson in control.
He ached to end the masquerade right now and make love to her without his mask.
Instead, he pressed his face to her stomach until the impulse passed.
He murmured against the smooth skin of her belly; breathed in the musky scent of her as he removed his finger and let her settle back.
Her entire body pulsed like an instrument about to be played, and within himself he felt stretched to the limit of control.
Her blue eyes were wild; drugged. She gasped for breath, her nipples hard little points straining for his mouth, her clitoris so swollen only the tip of his tongue could make her come.
He couldn’t remember another time he had wanted a woman more; couldn’t remember when he’d reveled in such an abandoned response from just his touch. Halfway tempted to rip off his clothes and take her right now, he hesitated a moment.
A bell rang out.
Silence filled the room. A moan escaped her lips.
“You may put your clothes on.” He paused. “We’ll meet again tomorrow.”
Hailey blinked at him in confusion. Her body shook with the need to orgasm.
He watched as she opened her mouth to protest and ask him to finish.
God knows, if he would’ve indulged both of them since he was at the edge.
But she managed to reclaim control, as if realizing what she’d agreed to.
She pulled her clothes back on and dressed without a word.
Then she walked past him and out the door.
She followed everyone through the massive doorway and waited her turn to board the ferry.
The damp, musky scent of her arousal rose to her nostrils.
The other guests bumped against her as they obeyed the rules of the party.
At dawn, every guest was escorted back to their various hotels.
No one was allowed to return until the following night.
Hailey felt eyes upon her as she was about to step off the dock. As she settled down in the boat, she looked up and directed her gaze to the second-floor balcony off the right corner of the mansion.
A masked figure was barely visible, but she caught a glimmer of white which gleamed from the distance.
The shadows closed around him and fought to reclaim its territory.
When the ferry chugged through the calm waters, the figure turned and disappeared from the balcony, and Hailey wondered briefly if the whole night had only been an illusion.
But as she sat on the ferry and started to her hotel, she realized she had been flung over the edge of her sexuality. There was no going back. The thoughts of what her Phantom was going to do to her burned through her body with shame and hard-edged desire.
There would no sleep tonight.
Only anticipation for tomorrow.