Guard (The Underground Book 3) (27 page)

Neither of those women needed to be combing the streets with a giant target on their chests, but especially not a reporter. First chance he got, Mikhail would alert Taylor so either she or someone else from the FBI could head over to Belinda’s office and talk some sense into her.

“Okay. I’ll see you then.” Haley tossed the phone on the bed and dropped the clothes she held next to it.

Finally, she gave him her full attention. “I need to get dressed.”

“Yep. If you intend to leave the apartment, I’d advise you do so.” Did she seriously think he would leave the room?

She blew out a breath, her shoulders slumping. “Look, Mikhail, I have a lot on my mind. Can we not argue?”

“Who’s arguing?” If she thought they had been arguing at any point, she was in for a rude awakening when they finally did have a fight. “I haven’t said a word.”

“You don’t have to. It’s written on your face.”

“What is?” He wanted to reach out and haul her in between his legs. Oh, who was he kidding? He itched to swat her ass. Hard.

She cocked a hip out. “You don’t want me to go to work. You don’t think it’s safe. And you think you can bully me into staying home. But it’s not going to work. You can’t control my every move. Just because we fucked a few times doesn’t mean you’re in charge of my life. I’m a grown adult. I have a job. Responsibilities.”

“Fucked a few times?” His voice rose as he stiffened, curling his fingers around the edge of the mattress.

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Played. Had sex. I know this is my fault, and you probably think I’m a cock tease for pushing you away. Maybe I am.” She shrugged. “But I need my life back. I need normal. Kneeling at your feet and pretending to be your slave is not normal. It was a fun game. It’s over.

“I have to go back to my regularly scheduled life.” She reached for her panties, glanced at him, shrugged, and then dropped the towel.

Her exquisite body made him lick his lips. He would never have described her as a tease before. The thought hadn’t entered his mind. But now…
Now
she was a tease.

He grabbed the panties out of her hand before she could bend down to put them on, and he tossed them across the room.

Her mouth fell open as she faced him.

Before she could utter a single syllable, he held up a hand to stop her. “Don’t say another word.”

She started to speak again and then thought better of it and pursed her lips.

He struggled to contain his anger. The last thing he wanted to do was add fuel to her fire by getting pissed. After a few deep breaths, he spoke. “First of all, please do not diminish what we have by calling it fucking and shrugging your shoulders at me as if I had enacted a scene at a club with a stranger I never intended to see again.

“Second of all, I never said you couldn’t or shouldn’t go to
work
today. Not once. So don’t put words in my mouth.

“Thirdly, what we have together isn’t anyone’s
fault
. It just is. We met. We have chemistry. We got together. It’s human nature. Please do not try to belittle it as if it doesn’t exist all the sudden because you’re scared.”

She flinched, dipping her head toward the floor and then drawing a circle on the carpet with one toe.

And it didn’t escape his notice she was naked and her nipples stood erect a foot from his face.

He would give her kudos for not trying to cover herself.

“I know we jumped into the deep end of the pool fast and then stayed under water playing for probably too long. I’ll take the blame for that. But you can’t deny we fit. We mesh. So don’t even try.”

She sniffled once but didn’t move otherwise.

He lowered his voice, softening his tone. “We’re amazing together. Even though you hadn’t visualized yourself in a BDSM relationship before we met, it happened. Would it have happened if we’d met under different circumstances? I don’t know.

“But instead of looking at it as something wrong you need to escape, why not view it as the stars aligning at just the right moment in time.” What was up with his sappy metaphor? “It takes courage and strength to submit to someone, and you have both.

“I get that you’re scared. I’d be worried if you weren’t. That’s why I sat back yesterday and let you think. But if you want to throw what we have away because you’d rather not face your submissive side, I won’t let you.”

She gasped.

“That’s right. You think I was bossy before? Wait until you see me trying to get you to see reason. You think I’ll just leave? Walk away because you’re too scared to face this? I won’t. I’ll fight for it.”

She sniffled again and then reached up and wiped the back of her hand under her eyes.

Tears? Shit. He’d never made a woman cry before. Was she scared? Or was he being too hard on her? He didn’t think so. He was just showing his cards.

And maybe calling her bluff?

He stared at her for a moment and decided to take that angle. “I won’t leave. I’m not going anywhere. If you need time, you can have it. If you want to test me, go for it. You want to sass me and put on a full brat routine, I’ll still be here.

“Nothing you do is going to make me give up.” He lowered his voice again, almost to a whisper. “You mean that much to me. I don’t care how quickly this happened. When I know something’s right, I just do. And you do too.

“I’m never going to dominate you roughly in public. It raises eyebrows and brings unnecessary questions. Not everyone understands this lifestyle. But if you want to spend your days pushing me, I’ll be happy to spend your nights punishing you.” He worried about those words. Were they too much? He watched her closely.

She shuddered and pressed her legs together.

Oh, fuck yes
.

He switched to a sultry tone. “It will be strange at first, us figuring out how the puzzle pieces fit together. Developing a method that suits us both in and outside the apartment.” He took a chance and reached out to stroke the tips of his fingers down her arm.

Goose bumps rose. She didn’t step away, though. And if he wasn’t mistaken, her nipples had to hurt from being so tight.

“You can spend as many days as you want testing me, but at the end of every one, I’ll still be here next to you. You might even ease up on the sass after a while when your ass gets too sore to sit down.”

She tucked her lips between her teeth, but not before he heard the faint whimper that escaped.

“I’m a Dom. I’m not even a part-time Dom. Can’t say I keep it to the bedroom. You know that. You like it too. It’s a soft place to fall when you can turn your power over to someone else and let them handle things. I bet you spend your days directing the universe at work. When you leave, you’ll find it so relaxing to give that power to me.”

He wrapped his hand around her wrist gently and gave a slight tug to get her to inch closer. “Give it to me, baby. Submit to me. Stop trying to fight it. Let me make you feel good. Relaxed. Cherished. You know in your heart that’s what I’m offering.”

She stepped closer, nodding, her chin still tucked low, her gorgeous red curls covering her face.

He gave her a minute to think.

“I don’t want to lose myself.”

“I know, baby. And you won’t.” He pulled her the last step, tucking her between his legs and flattening her chest against his. He was glad he didn’t have on a shirt, but he wished he wasn’t wearing his jeans, either. His cock was rock hard. “You’re still you. You’re just adding this new experience to the mix. It’s scary at first. But I’ll help you through the transition.” He brushed hair off her forehead but let her keep her chin dipped.

She wasn’t ready to meet his gaze yet. Another sniffle. Another swipe of her hand under her eyes. “I’m sorry, Sir,” she muttered.

He breathed easily for the first time in almost twenty-four hours. “I know you are. Next time don’t shut me out. Talk to me. I’ll help you through this. I’ve seen it before. I know a little about what you’re feeling. It’s jarring to find out you’re submissive when you had no idea. And I’ll cherish this gift for the rest of my life.”

She sucked in a sob. “You won’t leave.” She stated that more as a fact she’d just acknowledged than a question.

“Never. I’m patient. I’ll help you work through anything.”

“With your palm.” For the first time, he saw the hint of a smile cross her lips.

He dipped his head to make sure he was reading her right. “As often as you require.”

She snickered briefly. “You say that as if it’s my choice.”

“And it is.”

Finally, she lifted her face. “You think I’m going to start asking you to spank me?”

“First of all, spanking you would hardly be a punishment since you’ll probably come every time I do it. But to clarify, when you act like a brat, that’s your indirect way of asking me to take punitive action at the first convenient time.” He grinned.

“I think you misread me. I’m just trying to assert my independence and let you know you can’t direct every aspect of my life.”

“Nope. Because although the lines we’ll establish in this relationship are still a bit blurry, you know without a single doubt that when you sass me, you’re doing it to goad me. And I’ll punish you when we get somewhere private.”

She gasped. “How can you know that?”

“Because you have repeatedly said and done things in front of me to test my dominance. You’re feeling me out. It’s natural. I expect it.” He leaned closer until their faces were inches apart. “And I won’t disappoint you. If I let your sassiness slide, I wouldn’t be living up to my end of the bargain as a firm Dom.”

“I have not ever disobeyed you in order to test the flexibility of your hand.”

“You sure about that?” He wrapped his fingers tighter around her wrist and reached around to hold it at her lower back. “You didn’t waltz around here in a towel, yapping on the phone about wandering around in the dark at night with your girlfriend, and then drop your towel on the floor in front of me to test me? Test my dominance?”

She didn’t respond.

“Uh-huh. Thought so. You have done everything possible to get me to respond to you with force for twenty-four hours.”

“Why didn’t you?” She swallowed.

“I did. Here we are. Granted, at first I wasn’t sure what to make of your insolence. I knew you were thinking. I knew I had thrown a lot on your plate in a short amount of time. So I thought I should give you some space to think things through.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have let you go to bed frustrated, but I had my reasons. Namely that I wanted you to know if you clamp your mouth shut and give me the silent treatment, my reactions might be unpredictable. I might let you go to bed needy and alone. That’s punishment in and of itself.”

“I didn’t like it.”

“I know. I didn’t, either. But I’m still here. If you thought I might leave, you were wrong. Part of you was testing my commitment. And it’s strong. You can’t shake me with a little silent treatment. It’s bratty, and I’ll call you on it. But my methods might not be what you expected.”

She pushed out her lower lip in a pout. “You held me, but you didn’t touch me intimately or say anything.”

“Yep.”

“It was aggravating because I didn’t know what you were thinking.”

“You mean like I didn’t know what you were keeping bottled up inside all day?”

“Okay. You’re right.” She let her shoulders slump.

“I don’t need to be right. I just need to be dominant. And I was. You didn’t get what you wanted.”

“Except you stayed.”

“I stayed. You gonna test that very often? Because it was boring as hell. If you have concerns or thoughts, I’d rather you brought them to my attention and we sorted them out together next time.”

“Okay…Sir.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” He glanced at the clock. “Now, what time do we need to leave the apartment to get to your work?”

“You’re going with me?”

“At least until I know you’re safe and you promise not to leave the premises until I get back.”

“I need to be there at nine.”

“It’s only seven thirty. Why did you get up so early?”

“I couldn’t sleep. I was worried.” She bit her lower lip.

He reached with his free hand and plucked it out with his thumb.

“Sorry, Sir.”

He stood, still holding her hand behind her back, and circled behind her. “Lean over the mattress.”

She tugged her hand, bending at the waist after a second’s hesitation.

“No. Reach back with your other hand, bend your arms, and hold your forearms together.”

She did as he instructed, awkwardly setting her cheek against the mattress.

“Good. Now spread your legs for me.”

She inched them apart.

“Wider, baby. Don’t make me tell you more than once. When I say to spread them open, do it far enough you’re sure I won’t have complaints the first time.”

She took a bigger step, barely keeping her balance.

“How do you think I should punish you?”

“I don’t know, Sir.”

“If I spank you, can you keep from coming?”

“I don’t know that either, Sir.”

“I appreciate your honesty.” He stroked one finger down her spine until she moaned when he reached her crack. “How wet are you?”

“Very, Sir.”

“You’re so sexy when your skin is all flushed with arousal, and I love the way you can drop into subspace in seconds. One simple command, and you’re mine to worship.”

“It’s unnerving, Sir.”

“You’ll get used to it. It’s hot as hell. Makes my cock harder than ever.” He adjusted the poor tortured shaft as he spoke. If he didn’t release it from his jeans soon, his pants would be filled with come.

“I’m going to spank you, but I’m going to do it hard. Not the soft touch you’re used to that makes you wet and horny. It’s going to hurt. You might even cry. But I want you to learn from this experience. Don’t shut me out. Don’t sass me. Don’t play games with me.”

He leaned over her back and whispered in her ear. “Because there’s nothing you can do that will make me walk out the door and leave you. You don’t need to test that theory. Instead, I’ll show you how much you mean to me every time by punishing you. It won’t be pleasant, but it will be just what you need to be reminded who’s the dominant in this relationship. We clear?”