I swallowed hard, almost too afraid to speak after that close call. “You did…these things?”

“No,” Blake answered swiftly.

I looked up, silently questioning him. 

“I’ve always preferred the privacy of a room.” He gestured upward with his index finger. “Upstairs.”

I looked back to my lap, violently cursing myself for asking. I bit my lip, wanting to puncture the skin with my teeth. Jealousy would make me ugly indeed.

“How does that make you feel?” Blake thumbed my lower lip, freeing it from the tense vise of my teeth.

“Terrible,” I admitted bitterly.

“This is the past. You…only you are my future.”

I wanted to believe him. But… “Don’t you ever think of this place?”

He relaxed his embrace, putting a small distance between us. I allowed it, but I didn’t like it.

“Sometimes. Mostly when I’m thinking about you, the things I want to do with you. I won’t lie. Places like this can be…inspiring. I was driving over here in a blind rage, and I couldn’t help but imagine the things I could do with you here.” He tipped my chin up. “What really scared me was the thought that someone else wanted the same thing.”

I wanted to look away, shameful and embarrassed, but he didn’t let me.

“You’re strong and willful. I respect that, and God help me, I love you for it, but do not ever…ever fucking do anything like this again.”

I nodded as much as his grip would allow. I’d never set foot in this place again. Certainly not without Blake, and apparently a collar, just to make damn sure men like Remy stayed hands off.   

“I won’t,” I said weakly.

“I don’t believe you.” His eyes were hard and emotionless.

“I promise—”

“You’ve made me this promise before. Remember, the one where you agree not to throw yourself in harm’s way for the sake of saving me, or in this case, simple curiosity? Is punishment or the threat of it the only way to get your attention, Erica?”

The sense that we were falling into place filled me. He’d been shaken, seeing me here. Despite everything, he seemed almost at ease now. In control. Calm and commanding in his world.

“Answer.”

“I’m sorry. I was stupid to come here without you. I just—”

“You just do whatever you goddamn want anyway. Isn’t that right?”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I fought his words along with the string of regrets rattling through my brain.

Then he kissed me.

My fractured thoughts vanished the instant our lips touched. Rough and pent up, the kiss was all consuming. I lost myself in it. His tongue breached my lips, tangling with mine. Never had I wanted Blake to be the man touching me more than now.

We struggled for air, breaking the kiss only long enough to catch a breath before coming back to each other. His hands were everywhere, stilling me by the hair. Then down my chest, the heel of his hand lingered over the hard point of my nipples pressing through the dress. My eyelids became heavy, my nipples tender and needy to the point of pain. Desire was a living thing, blazing under every touch, demanding more. I needed his skin on me. I needed relief from all of this.

I gasped against his lips when his hand found its way between my legs and he coaxed his way up the center of my thighs. I clenched them together, wanting his touch, but not here…

“Do you want to be punished? Is that why we keep finding ourselves in these situations?”

I shook my head, suddenly uncertain of my answer. He slid his hand to the hot apex between my legs and nudged them apart. I squirmed, but he was firm. Bypassing my panties, he dove into the place where I was soaked with arousal. A soft cry left my lips. I pressed my chest against him, wanting him closer, wanting his body to somehow shield the world from the way he was turning mine upside down.

“Fuck.” He parted his lips slightly, his eyes going dark.

He retreated and lifted me over so I was astride him. My dress slid up and I struggled to push it back down. I was completely open for him. Lust and shame battled for real estate in my brain. What was he doing to me, and why did a little part of me undeniably want him to?

“They’ll see,” I whispered in a panicked hush. 

“No one can see us.”

His kissed me again, and I forgot my vulnerability. His tongue drew a decadent path from my ear down my neck where he sucked hard at my collarbone. He was marking me. I wanted him to.

I moaned. My hands stopped fighting his advances and went to his shirt. Fisting the fabric, I held onto him, as if somehow he could anchor me through this storm that he’d created inside of me. He stroked my wet flesh, thumbing my clit and plunging his fingers deeper into my pussy. I fought the impulse to arch my hips into his movements as I would have had we been anywhere else.

“Blake, we shouldn’t.” My voice seemed far away, lost in the riotous emotions that outweighed any words.

He was silent, using his mouth instead to kiss me breathless. All my reservations were in vain. The need to come overwhelmed the voices in my head shouting at me to stop this madness.

He nipped at my lip. I shrieked at the flash of pain. His eyes were dark, lust and fire burning in their depths.

“You’re right, we shouldn’t do this. I should be punishing you, not fucking you. You make me break all the rules, Erica. I just want to see your face when you come. I want to hold you when you fall apart.”

His fingers curled up, grazing the sensitive spot inside of me that made me see stars. I sucked in a sharp breath, my entire body seizing.

“Blake, oh God. What are you doing to me?”

I was going to come. A flick of his fingertips would send me over, and I was helpless against it now. I surrendered to the chase for more of Blake’s touch, my hips moving in time with every little shove. This was crazy, but all I could do was feel.

Fuck it. I wanted the world to know he was mine and I was his. I didn’t care who was getting flogged or sucked, and I didn’t care who was watching them or us. Remy or Tessa or any of the other nameless faces. The only person in my world was Blake.

“Blake. Oh no, I’m coming.”

“That’s right. Come so I can take you home and fuck you until you scream.”

His thumb worked a tiny magical circle over my clit and I was lost. I bit down on his shoulder, determined not to cry out. I couldn’t be one of these people.

Using his hips for leverage, he went deeper. A helpless, shuddery cry left my lips as the orgasm tore through me, stripping me of everything that didn’t matter.