She melted. Those words were honey to a submissive. He’d proven he could be both harsh and extremely caring today. She was exhausted.
And she was falling for him. Hard.
Chapter Twelve
It was late when they left the club. Conner knew Sabrina was tired. She nearly dozed in his car.
He set his hand on her exposed knee and squeezed. “Come home with me.” He carefully spoke so she might not be sure if he’d asked her a question or given her a command.
“Mmm.” She rolled her head to face him as he glanced at her. “You think that’s a good idea?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? I know we’ve only been seeing each other a short while, most of that time rocky, but I’ve made my intentions clear. I want you in my life. I want you in my bed.”
Her eyes were wider when he glanced at her again, her bottom lip between her teeth as she mulled over his proposition. She was no longer lounging in a doze. “Would you be mad if I said no?”
He took several deep breaths before he spoke. “I think confused would be a better description. Not angry. Frustrated perhaps.”
“It’s all happening so fast, Conner. A week ago we were at each other’s throats.”
He smiled. “No. No. You were at my throat. I was completely focused on getting in your pants.” He tried to make light of the conversation, while inside he fought the urge to demand she see reason. She was his. He didn’t see any reason to put off the inevitable. He wanted her in his home. He wanted to be with her every chance he could.
“See? That’s just it. We had a great evening tonight. Not going to deny it. Dinner was lovely. But it was essentially our first date—the first time we’ve ever sat down and had a normal discussion without fucking or fighting. I’ll admit, it worries me.”
“The fucking or the fighting?” he asked jokingly.
“Neither. The serious parts. When we’re fighting, my heart races and my blood boils, and frankly the more red I see, the more I want to fuck. And when we’re fucking, I lose all sense of reason. It scares the shit out of me.”
He jerked his gaze toward her. “Did you just cuss at me?”
She groaned. “Conner. God. Let up on that.”
“Not going to happen, sweetheart.”
She blew out a breath.
He thought it prudent to address what she’d said instead of her deliberate defiance. “What do you mean you ‘lose all sense of reason’?”
“I’m not sure I make good choices. You scramble my brain, easily. One look from you, and I melt.”
“And this is a bad thing?” He stopped at a light and turned to face her.
She shook her head. “Never seems like it at the time, but later…”
“Later what?”
“Later I feel…weak.”
“Weak? You? We are discussing Sabrina Duluth, right?” The light changed. Conner pulled forward into the intersection and then made a decision he hoped he wouldn’t regret. He headed for his house. He needed to straighten out her misconceptions, and he didn’t intend to put it off another day.
“Yes.” She didn’t find his words funny. She faced the front and didn’t comment as he drove, even though she had to know he wasn’t aiming for her house.
Five minutes later Conner pulled into his driveway, pressed the button on his garage door opener, and slid into the garage. When he shut the car off and turned again toward her, she looked livid.
“So that’s it? You asked me if I would come home with you. I said I wasn’t comfortable with it. And you did it anyway?” She crossed her arms over her chest and shut herself off from him.
He hated that nonverbal act, but he needed to ignore it for now. “No, that’s not it. I’m not trying to be an ass, but I do want to talk to you. I don’t want to drive you home and drop you off in the middle of this discussion. It’s important.” He opened the door and got out of the car.
Sabrina didn’t move while he rounded to her side and tugged her door open next.
“Really?” She glared at him.
“Yes, really. Please. Come inside.”
She humphed as she unfolded herself and stepped out.
Conner led her to the door and pushed the button to close the garage while he let her inside. For a second he wondered how she would perceive his home. He’d been a bachelor for twenty years. He wasn’t one of those disastrous messy guys, but he did realize he also wasn’t Mr. Tidy. Luckily, he had a cleaning woman who came every other week and kept his house presentable. And she’d been there yesterday.
Sabrina said nothing. In fact, her arms were once again crossed under her chest, exactly how he detested, and then she spewed more cuss words to seal the deal on her defiance. “This is fucked up, Conner. You’re bullying me.”
He grinned behind her. He couldn’t help himself. His cock literally stiffened when she disobeyed him. Suddenly he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. And he never wanted her to change. Her defiant nature was half the reason he’d fallen for her so hard and so fast.
While she’d been in his class in the spring, he’d lusted after her. When he’d fucked her in the bathroom at King Pizza, he’d lusted after her. But throughout all that, his drive to have her had been mostly physical.
As soon as she’d confronted him at the club and then at the arena, his attitude had changed from lust to something much deeper. She wasn’t a pushover. And he didn’t want a pushover for a life mate. He wanted someone with a spine that could stand up to him when he was a tyrant, call him on his overbearing tendencies, spar with him. Make him work for it.
Not that he frequently intended to let her win or have her way, but he enjoyed the battle.
He felt more alive than he’d ever felt in all his years.
Who would have thought one tiny woman twelve years younger than him could wreak such havoc on his entire system?
He turned her and pressed her back into the kitchen counter, his hands on her shoulders. He hadn’t turned on the lights. The dim illumination from the small light above the stove allowed him to see her expression. Closed. Pissed. Insolent.
He knew it was a bold move, but he chose his next words anyway. “You do realize your ass is going to be very sore tomorrow, right?”
She rolled her eyes, but said nothing.
“Drop your arms, Sabrina. And may I recommend you not speak again unless you can control your tongue. Because I assure you I can control how hard I strike your ass and how many times.”
Her arms fell to her sides slowly. Her gaze was on his chest. She didn’t lift her face.
“Good. Now we’re getting somewhere.” He stepped closer, pinning her, his hands easing down her biceps until he set them on the counter on either side of her. “Now, I want to talk. I want you to hear me out. I also want you to engage in the conversation. Respectfully and without cussing. Clear?”
She didn’t answer.
“Sabrina. Are we clear?”
“Yes, Sir.” Her words were a mere whisper. She shifted her feet. Her chest rose and fell a few times as she took several deep breaths.
“You’re aroused,” he blurted before he could stop himself. Holy shit. He knew she was. God is good.
Sabrina said nothing, but she squirmed some more and balled her hands into fists at her sides.
“Sabrina, look at me.”
She hesitated and then lifted her gaze. Her face was impassive.
“I know you’re mad, and we’re going to hash that out, but I want you to be honest with me. Is your pussy wet?”
She stiffened.
“I’m trying to be a gentleman here. I’ll give you about five seconds to answer my question, and then I’m going to check for myself.”
She chuckled. Not in a good way. “A gentleman? You’re a total bastard.” She pressed on his chest, shocking him, and ducked quickly under his arm to escape. She stomped through his kitchen and into his living room, slapping her hand on the wall and dragging it across until she found a li
ght switch and flipped it on.
Conner followed her, fighting a grin. He ignored her blatant defiance. “Answer the question.”
She spun around and put her hands on her hips. “No. I’d rather not. You said you wanted to talk. Talk. And then take me home.”
Conner opted to challenge her. “Five…four…three…” He stepped forward as he spoke, closing the distance between them.
Sabrina stepped back. “You wouldn’t.” Her eyes widened. She rounded the couch and stood behind it, gripping the back.
“Two…one…” He reached out with one long arm and grabbed her, wrapping his arm around her waist. He was so much larger than her. Did she think she could take him on in a battle? In the blink of an eye, he had her pressed over the back of the couch.
Her arms flung forward to break her fall, landing on the couch cushions, but her feet came off the ground.
Conner stepped between her legs fast, nudged her thighs wider with his knee, and leaned over her body to set his cheek against her ear while he used his free hand to push her short skirt over her ass and then cup her pussy. He paused a moment and closed his eyes as he stroked his two middle fingers through her folds and gathered her immense wetness. “Oh, baby.”
Sabrina moaned.
Conner removed his hand and stood her upright on wobbly legs.
“Bastard,” she muttered.
“You could have just answered the question,” he whispered into her ear, well aware of the shiver that shook her body from head to toe as his lips landed on her neck. Reluctantly, he stepped back and grabbed her hand, leading her around to the front of the couch and then tugging her down next to him. He turned to face her.
Sabrina’s skirt flipped up as she sat. She kicked off her heels. He knew her naked ass was in direct contact with the cool leather of his enormous black couch. She didn’t react, however.
“I thought it was clear we were together, baby.” He took her hand and lifted it to his cheek. She wasn’t being super receptive to him and wouldn’t meet his gaze, but she let him manhandle her a bit. “Look at me.”
Gradually, she tipped her head. “We are together, Conner. That doesn’t mean I want to move in. Normal people date, you know, like on weekends.”
“We aren’t normal people, and you know it.”
She closed her eyes and then opened them again. “You know what I mean.”
Conner released her hand and cupped her face with both palms. “You’re mine, baby. You’ve admitted as much yourself.”
She bit her lip.
“What? Did you lie?”
“No. It’s not that I lied. It’s that when I’m naked and exposed with you, I’m totally yours. There’s no way to deny the magnetic pull you have on me.”
“And it’s not there when you have your clothes on?” He furrowed his brow. What the hell was that supposed to mean?
“I didn’t say that.” She blew out a breath. “Conner, you’re intense.”
He chuckled. “I know this.”
“You suck the oxygen out of a room.”
“Are you saying you can’t breathe?”
“I’m saying I can’t even think. When I submit to you, it’s like I’m under hypnosis. I’m not myself.”
“Who the hell are you then?” Could she be more confusing?
She squirmed free of his hands and turned her entire body to face him, scooting back to lean against the arm of the couch.
He lowered his hands to her thighs and leaned closer, not willing to give her as much space as she thought she wanted. “Sorry. Go on.”
“I don’t suppose you have a bottle of wine?”
Jesus. The woman was all over the place. Conner shook his head to keep up.
Her face fell.
“Oh. I didn’t mean to imply I don’t have any wine. I was just trying to get the cobwebs out. You have me spinning.” He stood. “I’ll get you some wine.” He headed for the kitchen. Maybe alcohol would loosen her up and get her to make more sense. “Red or white?” He called over his shoulder.
“Red. If you have it.”
He grabbed a bottle of Merlot, quickly extracted the cork, and returned to her side with two glasses in one hand and the bottle in the other. He poured both glasses, set the bottle on the coffee table, and handed her the liquid fortification.
Sabrina took a long drink. “Mmm, that’s good.”
“Glad you like it. It’s one of my favorites.”
“I didn’t figure you for a wine drinker.”
“What did you figure me for?” He smiled, thankful she was relaxing.
“Beer? Or Red Bull.” She giggled.
“I love it when you laugh. You should do it more often.” He leaned back, sitting much closer to her this time and reaching over to play with a lock of her hair.
She dipped her head into his hand. And then she took another sip.
Thank you, wine.
Sabrina grew serious once again, tracing the top edge of her glass with one finger.
He wanted to suck that finger into his mouth. “So, I’m suffocating you?”
She rolled her shoulders and sat up straighter. “No. It’s not that. I enjoy being with you. Tonight was awesome. Well, except for the part where that other woman wrapped her arms around you like she owned you.” She grinned.
“Were you jealous?” He tried not to smirk. Score one for himself if she was jealous.
She furrowed her brow. “Maybe. I’m not sure jealous was the right word, but I did see red.”
“I’m not with Missy. I’m with you.” He shrugged. Surely that much was obvious. “Trust me, you’re not in competition with Missy.”
“That’s good.”
“What else is eating at you?”
“It’s weird. I need to get used to your domination. It’s confusing me. I’ve never been with anyone who practiced outside of the club. It’s always been more of a hobby than a life choice.”
“I see. Well, I’ve also told you it’s been a very long time since I’ve had a submissive outside the club myself. So we’ll figure this out together.”
She nibbled on her lower lip.
“You said you felt weak. You realize that’s jacked up, right?”
She furrowed her brow. “Now you’re gonna tell me how to feel?”
He shook his head. “Not at all. I just want you to understand who holds the power in this relationship.”
She chuckled and took a sip of her wine.
He let her hair cascade through his fingers and danced them down her arm, watching as goose bumps arose in their path. “Sabrina, you’re misinformed. The submissive always holds the power. I’m at your mercy. It may seem as if the opposite were true since I make the rules and I dole out the punishments when you break them. But you’re the one in complete control.”
“How do you figure that?”
“The power is all in one little word: no. Or red.”
“That makes sense,” she mumbled.
“I know I’m a harsh Dom. I really like control, and I’ll expect you to turn it over to me. But the firmer the Dom, the stronger the submissive. You see?”
She nodded.
“I don’t expect you to submit to me twenty-four seven, but can you trust me to recognize when it’s appropriate and when it’s not while we forge this path together?”
She nodded again.
“Try to relax. Turn the reins over to me. That’s a huge ask. I’m requesting that you trust me enough to know when’s a good time to dominate you and when it would be better to give you space.”
Sabrina licked her lips.
He wanted to lick them also, but thought better of it for the time being. Instead he reached for her free hand and held it in his, tracing his thumb over her knuckles. “Stay.” It took herculean effort to put himself out there like that. If she said no again, he would take her home, but Lord how he wanted her in his bed.
She took another drink of the wine. “Do you always strong-arm your submissives like this?”
&
nbsp; “No. I’ve never met one I wanted as badly as I do you.” Now his heart was lying out between them for her to trample or accept.
She sucked in a sharp breath. “How many women have you brought home from the club like this? No. Fuck. Don’t answer that.” She jerked her hand back.
“None.”
“What?” Her gaze darted to meet his. “Seriously?”
He nodded. “I’ve had a few relationships that lasted longer than ours over the years. Of course. You have to know that. But it’s been years since I’ve had anything serious enough to want her to sleep in my bed. I bought this house five years ago. No woman has slept here.” Please change that tonight.
She continued to stare at him, shock written on her face. Finally she swallowed. “Will you negotiate about the cussing?”
He smiled broadly. Really? That was her main concern? “No.”
She rolled her eyes.
“In fact, I’m not going to go easy on you at all. You’ve ruined my plans for the night with your mouth. I want you to stay. And I want you to do it knowing I’m going to spank you hard and leave you needy.”
She gasped and then drew her legs closer to her body.
“The idea makes you wet.”
“You can’t know that by looking.”
He cocked his head to one side. “Are we going to have this discussion again?” He grabbed her wrist to feel her pulse and then dropped it. “Oh yeah, very wet.”
She didn’t move.
“Admit it, or I’ll check again. And you know I will.”
She took another drink of wine. The glass was almost empty now.
“I’m not a fan of hesitation, Sabrina.”
“Fine. Yes. I’m aroused. Every time you mention spanking me, I get hornier. Happy?”
“Immensely.”
“So, the plan is, you want me to stay so you can spank my ass and leave me wanting? Who would agree to those terms, knowing the outcome was not in their favor?”
“You would. That’s why I’m so smitten by you. That’s why you’re mine.” He set his own glass on the coffee table and took hers from her hand to do the same. And then he leaned into her space, forcing her to recline against the plush arm of the couch, and took her lips in a gentle kiss.
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