Page 123 of Carnal Wagers

He groaned. “I love it when you beg so prettily.”

I backed up against him, but he thrust a finger inside me and shoved me forward. One finger wasn’t enough, but it was better than nothing, and I rocked against it.

“Please.”

He pumped himself faster. His mouth parted and twisted, a sign he was close. So much closer than I was.

“Not yet.” I moaned, grinding against the sole digit. “Please, not without me.”

His muscles corded, his jaw clenched, and he grunted as ropes of blistering, sticky cum painted my backside. I groaned in disappointment and slipped my hand between my legs to get myself there, still riding his finger.

“Uh-uh-uh.” He dragged my wrist behind my back, his mouth to my ear. “That would defeat your punishment. Naughty little secret keepers don’t get to come. They get stained in cum instead.”

With that, he shoved himself off me and stepped away.

“Now clean yourself off so we can go on that walk.”

I balked, slack-jawed, and teetered upright. “You’re joking. What the hell was that?”

“Take this as a lesson. I’m not a man to mess with, Alice. Not even by you.”

His cum ran over my panties and down the backs of my thighs while my insides quivered with need, but he tucked himself back in and zipped up his pants with a smug, disgustingly self-satisfied look. Mortification blistered my face.

“Oh, so that’s how it is?” I stomped after him through the kitchen and slammed my hand against the fridge door when he reached for a chilled water bottle. “How about the fact that Arthur and Smiles out there won’t let me leave without your approval? Is there a lesson in that too?”

“They’re here for your safety.”

“If that were the whole truth, they would guard me, not keep me locked in.”

“Oh, stop your fussing. You’re not a captive.”

“Great. Then I’ll change and leave. And neither they, nor you, have anything to say about it.”

As I turned to leave, he caught my arm and whirled me back around. Gone was any sign of the calm and ruthlessly collected man I met almost two months ago. Instead, a range of emotions colored his narrowed glare.

“That’s not how this works.”

“Let’s make one thing crystal clear. I’m here because I want to be. The moment that changes, I am out.”

“I won’t let you.”

I tossed my head back and laughed.

“Try me,” I seethed. “I’d do many things for you, but I’ll never ever be your prisoner.”

“You walk out there without me, you’ll be dead within a week.” His yelling soared to the rooftop, and it still didn’t match my fury.

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s a promise.”

I chuckled incredulously as my internal bullshit indicator surpassed its red-lined limit. To think, I’d been all worked up and worried about a name twenty minutes ago.

“How about we test your promise right now?”

I stormed into the bedroom and into the walk-in closet. I tore a pair of shorts off a hanger and tugged them quickly up my legs, then shoved a pair of underwear, a shirt, my phone, laptop, and chargers into a tote purse. Cillian watched placidly in the doorway, arms crossed, as if I wouldn’t subdue him if I had to. A few vials of my concoctions clacked at the bottom of my purse, one filled with a temporary paralytic that might come in handy.

“How about I go out there right now and see how long I’ll live? I’ve only managed it for thirty years so far. A week can’t be that difficult.”