“You’re locking me in now?” she laughed.
“Stop making jokes,” he replied. His eyes were so cold and harsh that it seemed as if she’d insulted him directly.
“I was just—“
“Enough,” he interrupted her. “It’s time to deal with your behavior.”
“I’m sorry I threw up in your limousine,” she said, taking a step backwards. “I’m not used to drinking, I didn’t know it would make me so sick.”
“Your apologies are like a slap in my face,” Cullen said. His jaw twitched.
“What do you want from me?” she said, feeling frustrated.
“You know what I want.”
Her nipples stiffened and immediately she was wet. So wet.
“I’m doing the best I can, Cullen.”
He stepped forward and leaned towards her, and for one amazing moment, she was certain he would kiss her. She wanted his lips, wanted to feel him, his skin on her skin.
But instead, he spoke bitter words. “You take advantage of my generosity. You want the rewards of my attention but you refuse to deal with consequences. This is unacceptable.”
Ivy stared into his eyes, feeling her frazzled nerves start to give way under his scrutiny. “Tell me what you want me to say. I’ll say it.”
“You already know what I want,” he said, stepping closer. His lip curled.
She wasn’t sure. Did she know what he wanted?
Control.
Of course, control.
And he wants to teach me lessons.
What about what I want? What about my fears, my insecurities? Do I count for anything?
“Maybe I’m not strong enough,” she replied. Her voice quivered. “Maybe you should find someone else to teach.”
Cullen shook his head once and reached out his hand, caressing her cheek so softly it nearly broke her will. And then his fingertips grazed down, down, sliding down her neck, to her breasts, down further, sliding down her belly, before finally withdrawing.
She shuddered involuntarily.
“You can’t fool me, Ivy,” he whispered. “This is for your benefit as much as it is mine.”
“But I don’t even know what you’re going to do. I’m afraid that you’ll be angry if I fail you again—“
“You need to tell me now. This is your last chance. Yes or no.”
“What if I get scared again like I did yesterday?”
“Trust me,” he said. His diamond eyes glittered.
Ivy wasn’t sure if she could go through with this. But when she thought of his lips, his soft caress, her entire body became loose, ecstatic, wet, her every cell wanted it to happen.
The pull was unstoppable and her attraction to him was so intense that it seemed to be short-circuiting every piece of equipment in her brain. She couldn’t think straight.
“I’ll try again,” she whispered.
“You’ll do better than try,” he growled, grabbing her by her hair, pulling on it just hard enough to yank her head back. He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Won’t you?”
“Yes, Sir,” she answered, as his hand gripped her breast and tugged on her nipple, and just his fingers pinching her nipple was enough to flood her with excitement. She’d never in her life been touched like that.
Her thighs spasmed as she felt juice flood the private place between her legs.
“Oh, oh—Cullen,” she said, aching for him.
“Your behavior last night was unacceptable,” he said through grit teeth. “And now you must have consequences.”
“I’m sorry, Sir,” she said, begging a little. She wished she could beg for everything, beg to be fucked. Beg to be taken by him in any way he wanted.
He let go of her hair and moved away, watching her, his nostrils flaring and hunger in his eyes. “Take those clothes off,” he said. “They remind me of what you did last night. Your drinking, your dancing with other men. I wan those clothes out of my sight.”
“You want me to take everything off?”
“Remember your manners,” he scolded.
“You want me to fully undress, Mister Sharpe?”
He nodded. “Full undressed. Everything off. I want to see all of you, Ivy.”
She took a deep breath, like when she was a teenager going up on the high diving board at the pool. She’d always been too scared to dive from the fifteen-foot diving platform.
How many times had she climbed up there, stood at the edge and then backed away, unable to jump off?
Too many to count.
And now here she was, standing in front of Cullen Sharpe, and he was asking her to take what felt like a much bigger leap from a much higher platform. Closing her eyes, she felt at the precipice of a cliff, and below she couldn’t even see the water.
But she knew that she wanted the CEO’s touch, and if she didn’t do this, he might never touch her again. And that wasn’t something she could deal with. Ivy wanted him too badly to turn back.
So she started to undress in front of his hungry eyes.