Page 55 of Deeply Examined

She’s drawn to it.

And God help us both if she ever finds out just how deep mine runs.

With the kiss in the bathroom and now with her in my secret room, I’ve broken all my rules. Just like I’d break myself for her. Just like I’d fight for her, kill for her.

I’m not a good man. I know that. All the dark desires that swim in my heart. I view the world with a mixture of distrust and hatred. But I tried to be a better man for her sake. I offered her a way out of this.

Like a gentleman, I let her choose.

Now she stands before me nearly naked and trembling. A sacrifice on the altar of our mutual lust. I grin, knowing she doesn’t fully understand how there’s a part of me I keep caged at all times, a wild feral beast that claws at my insides. No, she doesn’t understand what she’s just unleashed.

Not yet.

But she will.

“You’ve wanted this for so long,” I murmur, my voice low and dangerous. “Do you like what you see?”

She hesitates, then nods, but her throat bobs as she swallows hard. Her nerves betray her.

I step closer, brushing my fingers lightly over her bare shoulder. “Good. Because now that you’re here, you should understand something.”

She turns to face me, her eyes wide, searching mine.

“This room,” I say, letting my words hang in the charged air, “isn’t just about desire. It’s about trust. Surrender. And once you step into my world, there’s no stepping out.”

Her lips part, a mix of fear and exhilaration crossing her face.

I glance around at the shelves lined with carefully arranged instruments and to the sleek leather-topped examination table that I had custom made so it’s wider and longer than usual. Big enough for two people to lie on it. My gaze moves to the polished mirror above the sink that gleams in the bright light. My reflection stares back, my eyes alight with dark anticipation.

This is my world, laid bare before her.

Can she handle it?

Chapter thirteen

Jessica

West goes to the wall of cupboards and drawers. He gets out a cloth gown, the kind that you get in the clinic with ties in the back. I’m only wearing a bra since he ripped off my underwear back at the gala. Just like in a real doctor’s office, this room is cold, so I’m grateful for the small amount of warmth the gown provides when he wraps it around my shoulders.

“Why don’t you look around?” West’s voice is a soft, sexy purr.

Hesitantly I follow him, eyeing the medical equipment with trepidation.

“It’s okay,” he encourages. “You can explore.”

I open the drawer closest to me, the one on the end. It glides out silently. My sharp inhalation is loud in the room, where the only other sound is the hum of the security monitors. Inside the drawer are neatly arranged dildos that go from small to large. West’s eyes are on me, likely trying to gauge my reaction, but I don’t look his way. I’m too focused on the contents of the drawers and cupboards that I open one after another. There are sex toys: vibrators, handcuffs, ropes, and other items that I don’t recognize, next to rows of medical instruments. West says the names as I run my fingers over their smooth surfaces. “Forceps, retractors, hemostats, EKG leads…scalpels.”

I hold up something that looks like a tiny version of the jumper cables you use to start a car when the battery dies. “What’re these?”

“Nipple clamps.”

“Oh.” My cheeks heat at that, and a forbidden sort of arousal swirls low in my belly.

Another drawer has whips and what looks like a riding crop.

I jump when West speaks directly into my ear. He’s snuck up on me yet again.

“I don’t get those out much. If I’m going to spank you, I’d rather use my hand.”

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