"Stop!" She digs her elbow into my side. "Don’t do that."
“Are you using your safe word?” I scrutinize her features.
She shakes her head without hesitation.
I relax, then twist my lips. "In case you haven’t gotten the memo, darling wife, you don’t tell me what to do."
She pouts, and all I can think is how I’d love to see those lips wrapped around my cock. Not until I pleasure her first. I slide my arm down her side and squeeze the top of her thigh. "Your body drives me crazy."
She seems taken aback. "I have no idea why. It’s not like I’m particularly good-looking or stand out in any way or?—"
"Hush, that’s my wife you’re talking about."
A flush fills her cheeks. She likes it when I call her 'my wife.' Interesting. What else turns you on, little Raven?
As I hold her gaze, her blush deepens. "Stop looking at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you want to eat me alive."
"Given a choice, I’d have your pussy for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but for now, I’ll settle for getting to know every inch of your tight little body."
"Jesus"—she shakes her head—"you have a filthy mouth."
"And you love it."
A look of worry threads her gaze, then she nods slowly. "I do, and I can’t understand why."
"What’s to understand. We are debased creatures, one step away from animals, who are more honest than us. They give into their passions, while we pretend we don’t want the things that are hardwired into our DNA."
Her forehead furrows. "You mean, your wanting to dominate me?—"
"—and you wanting to be submissive to me?—"
"—is the natural order of things?"
"I mean"—I lower my chin so I can stare into her eyes—"I’ve wanted to make you mine since the moment I saw you. I mean, it was inevitable that a consensual BDSM relationship would be at the heart of our marriage. I mean, all the experience I’ve gathered over the years ensures I’ll make every time we fuck more memorable than the last for you. I mean?—"
She swallows.
"—that before the night is out, you’ll be my wife in every sense. And before the week is out, you’ll realize you can’t live without me. And before the month is out, you’ll have forgotten about your life before me."
Her breath hitches.
"I’m not going to stop until you realize there’s no escaping this bond between us."
"And if I refuse?"
"Do you want to refuse?" I search her features. "Do you want to deny yourself the chance to find out how far you could go in search of your own pleasure? The kind only I can grant you?"
She draws in a breath, then looks away. "You mean, the kind Felix would not be able to."
I tighten my hold on her hip, and when she winces, I release her. "Don’t bring a third person into this relationship."
"We met because of a third person."
I set my jaw. "I’d have met you anyway. It so happens, the sequence of events worked out the way it did."