“The detective did tell me there was a concern.” His eyes dart away from mine as he speaks and I’m convinced he’s likely lying. It’s the first crack I’ve ever seen in his armor.
“Then let me go to the club today by myself. I’m safe there from Tony’s family. Emma wants to see me and I miss her.” I have no idea where my fight is coming from, but part of me feels like Sin would be cheering me on from the corner of the room.
“I don’t know, Harlow …” James takes a couple steps toward me and cups my face. He gently rubs his thumbs over my cheeks and his normally icy blue eyes are dark with desire. “Where did this brazen woman come from?”
“Maybe hearing you talk about me like you did to Sinclair.” I stare back up at him as he presses himself against the front of me. His arousal hits my stomach and I close my eyes, knowing where this encounter will lead.
“Forgive me?” he trails kisses down my neck and I decide to press him about the club.
“Yes, but let me go meet Emma. I’ve only seen her once since my mother was killed.”
“Well ...” He pauses and looks down at me with a darkened stare. “You want to bargain?” I inwardly brace myself for where he’s going with this.
“Depends.” I need to talk to Emma, but unfortunately, he holds the keys right now—literally. To the car, house, and any money I have in my pockets. Even my cell phone is a gift from him. If I walk out the door, I’m going by foot.
“Remember those restraints?” He curls his lip into a devious smirk and it’s clear where this conversation is headed. He wants to tie me up.
Shit.
Sexual bondage has been a sore subject since a package arrived in the mail a few weeks ago. He handed it to me, and with a sly grin, instructed me to open it. I thought he was giving me another gift, maybe a pair of shoes, since it was the size of a shoebox. Instead, it was a gift for him, a kinky set of bondage restraints with a photo of a woman bound to a bed covering the top of the package.
I asked who they were for, and he said, “You.” I tossed the package on the kitchen table like it felt deadly to my touch. He laughed while I shook my head and told him no way. He took his kinky sex contraption from the room, and he hasn’t mentioned it since. But of course, he never forgot, and now he has found the perfect opportunity to get me to cave to his wishes.
“I remember them.” A shiver runs the length of my body as he looks at me with expectant eyes.
“Here’s the deal.” He slowly rubs his hands together and my heart begins to race. “Let me tie you to the kitchen table and fuck you, then you can go meet Emma for lunch at the club.”
It’s come down to this. I’m making a devil’s deal and losing a part of my soul, but I need to see Emma today. She’s the only friend who cares enough to tell me the truth about what she thinks is best for me. I want her advice.
I begin to rationalize, giving into his option. How bad could it be to give into his desires this once? He’s never been violent or hurt me. Odd to think being tied up would later give me freedom.
“You know I have no desire to have this type of sex with you.” Honestly, after hearing him talk about me today, I have no desire to have sex with him now—kinky or otherwise.
“Please?” he begs with pleading eyes. The power between us shifts while he awaits my answer. For the first time since he has stepped into my life at the hospital, he sits in the palm of my hand.
“On one condition. You will release me from the restraints the second I say the word ‘done’. No questions.”
He wraps his broad arms around me and picks me up, cradling me. As he begins to walk, he pulls me tight against his chest. It doesn’t register what is going on until I feel the hard, cool wood of the table against my exposed thighs. His eager lips press against mine, then trail along my jaw to the sensitive area behind my ear.
“You won’t regret this. I promise,” he whispers, then kisses his way down to my shoulder. He doesn’t know it, but regret filled my heart the second his lips met mine. It’s a means to an end, I tell myself, knowing full well how crazy this all sounds in my mind.
He pulls away and gazes down at me with a desperate hunger in his eyes. “God, Harlow. I love you, baby.”
I remain silent, unable to form even a weak smile. Normally his words of endearment have an impact on me, but what he said earlier to Sin drowns them out.
“Relax, beautiful girl.” He rubs my rigid shoulders, but it’s no use. The tension will remain until I’m off this table. I just want this whole sex fantasy of his over with. He laces his fingers behind my back and pulls me to the edge of the table, prepping me for his pleasure.
“Lie flat on your stomach with your hands over your head. I’ll get the restraints.”