Was he serious? “Oh, I’ve got control issues?” I folded my arms.
“For you, sex is giving up control. You go about your day trying to control everything. I get that. You’re compensating for what you don’t have in the bedroom with men because of one fucking pervert. So you fix your own problems, make your own money, and keep things running smoothly. Take back your life, April. You need to take back total control—that’s the only way you’re going to prove that you didn’t let him get the best of you.”
“Is that why you tie up women, because you lack control in your life?” I asked, lowering my gaze to the belt.
Confronted with the truth, Reno averted his eyes. I didn’t expect an answer because if there was one thing I knew about Reno, his fault was that he didn’t open up and share his pain with others. He was the eldest brother, and yet the youngest in the family was the alpha, which Lexi told me was rare in a family of Shifter wolves. Not only that, but Austin had decided to become a Packmaster. Reno had to give up what leadership and control he’d once had over his family and relinquish that to his baby brother.
Reno was the opposite of me. He lacked control in his daily life, so he made up for it in the bedroom by making his women submissive. He didn’t need to tell me; I could see it in his eyes.
“Maybe this isn’t going to work out,” I said, looking up at him. “We’re too different in what we need. Maybe this just isn’t the kind of thing I’m into.”
“Do you even know what you like?” he threw out there. “Because it seemed like you enjoyed what was going on in the other room, and I doubt your ex ever got that kind of reaction out of you. Am I right?”
My mouth parted to argue when he kissed me again, hard, his hands cupping my face. “Tell me you don’t like this,” he said against my lips, walking me backward. “Maybe we need to make some compromises. Let’s do this different.” The back of my legs bumped against the edge of the bed. “Get in, princess.”
A dull ache throbbed between my legs and I crawled onto the bed, aroused by how eager he was to please me. Despite my past, my present, and everything I had confessed to him—Reno didn’t care. I wasn’t damaged goods.
He collected two scarves from a bottom drawer and tied them around my wrists before securing them to the posts on the bed so my arms were spread out.
When he finished, Reno stood motionless to my left. The animal attraction pulsed between us, and his fervent gaze traveled down the length of my half-naked body.
“What are you doing?” I smiled and winked, but he didn’t budge or say a word. “Can you loosen the left one? It’s pinching my wrist.”
He obediently leaned down and loosened the material. Then he stood erect and lowered his gaze.
When your hands are tied up, things start to itch as if by magic. I began rubbing my left leg against the sheet. “My leg itches. I can’t do this tied up, Reno.”
He walked to the end of the bed, rubbing his fingers down my leg in a scratching motion.
“Higher,” I said.
His hand roamed higher to the spot behind my left knee.
“To the left. Higher…” I hissed and squirmed, releasing a satisfied sigh. “That’s it.”
When he resumed his position with hooded eyes, it clicked. I figured out exactly what Reno was doing. He’d placed me in a helpless situation but had given me full control over what happened to my body. Yet it still gave him the illusion of being in control. My heart warmed at the idea that he would change his pattern for me. Maybe it was a little kinky and out of the norm, but he understood me better than anyone else did. Tingles of excitement swept through my core and I wanted to kiss the man. He was empowering me by making sure that everything happening would be only what I allowed by my own command.
“Touch me,” I whispered.
“Where?” The sound of desire rumbled in his chest.
That was the best question I’d ever been asked. I gave it some consideration. “Kiss my neck.”
Reno sat on the bed and trailed his lips down my neck, kissing below my jaw, sucking a soft patch of skin, all while keeping his hands to himself. God, I’d never felt so adored by a man’s mouth.
“Take off my bra.”
He reached around to unlatch it, but the straps created a hindrance and prevented him from carrying out the order. He leaned over, opened a drawer, and pulled out a small pocketknife. Maybe I should have been scared, but I trusted him. With a careful swipe, Reno cut the straps and threw it on the floor.
His eyes fell heavily over me and I could tell he was using every bit of willpower to restrain himself from sucking on my pink nipples. Reno seemed smitten with them as they began to change shape and harden, as if by command of his heated gaze.
Was giving me control hurting the experience for him? I thought about a way we could do this that wouldn’t make it all about me. Reno needed some amount of control, and I wanted to entrust him with that.