Page 51 of The Billionaire’s Contract Bride

He lifted her easily, setting her on the edge of the black marble table. “Tell me to stop.”

“I don’t want you to.” She panted.

“That is not what I asked.”

She looked into his gray eyes and realized what he needed to hear. “Stop.”

Damien stepped back immediately. His chest rose and fell in heavy rhythms, but his hands dropped to his sides.

The power of that silence vibrated through her—the knowledge that the most controlling man she had ever met would obey that single word.

Aria reached out, her fingers catching the front of his shirt. “Continue.”

Something fierce flared in his expression. This time, when his mouth found hers, she met him without hesitation. He removed the remaining silk with agonizing patience, waiting for every nod before moving forward. When his hand slid between her thighs, Aria tensed.

Damien froze. “Look at me.”

She met his gaze.

“Do you want my hand here?”

“Yes.”

He touched her slowly, reading every shift in her breathing. Pleasure built until she could no longer remain quiet, her voice breaking in the darkened room as he held her through it.

When the haze cleared, Aria reached for the buckle of his trousers.

Damien caught her wrist gently. “Not tonight.”

Confusion cut through the warmth. “Why?”

“Because I want your first time with me to happen when you are not trying to prove a point.”

“I have control, Damien.”

“You do.” He brought her knuckles to his mouth. “And that is why I am stopping.”

He wrapped her robe around her shoulders and carried her down the long hallway. At her suite, he set her down on her feet.

“You’re not coming in?” she asked.

“You did not invite me.”

Aria unlocked the heavy door, then paused, looking back at him in the low corridor light. “Damien.”

He waited.

“Thank you for stopping.”

His expression didn’t soften, but it opened enough for her to see the solitary violence underneath.

“Never thank a man for respecting the word no,” he said quietly. “Expect it.”

The next morning, Aria woke to the sound of work outside her door.

When she stepped into the hallway, the carpenter was packing his tools. The old electronic lock had been removed. In its place sat a sleek, reinforced deadbolt.

The inside panel required her gold key.