Page 66 of His to Possess
“I’d think hard about disobeying me in this room,” he says in that same easy, talking-about-the-weather kind of voice. “There are so many tools I could use to punish you in here.”
My heart is going to beat out of my chest, I swear to god. I take a deep breath, trying to remind myself that I want this. That I had specifically asked for it.
Besides, Philip’s words remain clear in my head.“You say the word red at any time, and whatever we’re doing stops. This is the most important part.”
I’m safe with Philip. And that, more than anything else, has my hands moving to the hidden zipper at the side of my dress.
I’ve just straightened from removing my panties when he finally turns back around. He stills, eyes moving up my naked body in a slow, lazy perusal. He grins wolfishly, as if he likes what he sees.
“You’re fucking gorgeous,” he says, clearly and firmly. “You know that, right?”
I shrug, wishing I had a piece of clothing to fidget with. The urge to cover myself is suddenly overwhelming.
Philip is across the room in a flash, taking my hands and pulling them away from my body, like he knew exactly what I was about to do. “Don’t ever hide from me,” he says firmly.
I nod, but don’t meet his eyes.
“I asked you a question, love,” he says, voice more gentle. “You know that you’re beautiful, don’t you?”
“I…um, I guess?”
He frowns. “How is that possible?”
“Because I didn’t want to be,” I blurt out, then immediately regret it. This is already getting way too close to topics I don’t want to talk about. And from the way Philip stills, I think he gets that.
“Why didn’t you want to be beautiful?” His voice sounds careful. Guarded.
“Because…it seemed dangerous. To draw too much attention to myself.”
“Because you worked in a bar?” he asks, and I could cry with relief at the lie he just supplied.
“Yes,” I say. “I didn’t want that kind of attention from the men who came there.” It’s actually not a complete fabrication. It just doesn’t mention the real person I was afraid of. The one whose house I lived in.
Philip lifts my chin, his eyes searching my face. “You know you’re safe with me, yes? You know I would never hurt you?”
I cast a glance at the wall of whips and raise my eyebrow. He laughs. “Fine. I’ll only hurt you as much as you want me to.”
I smile back, relieved that he didn’t seem to pick up on the fact I was trying to distract him from the thing I really didn’t want to talk about.
“Shall we get started?”
I nod, feeling a little more eager than nervous now. When Philip takes a step back and removes his tuxedo jacket, the eagerness gets stronger. Why is that so hot? Even without his jacket he’s still completely dressed. But he’s loosening his tie and then rolling up his sleeves, and my knees actually feel weak with how much it turns me on.
He runs the silk of his tie between his fingers, assessing me. “I think something easy to start with,” he murmurs, more to himself than to me, as he circles me. It feels predatory, the way he’s looking at me as he towers over me. When he takes my wrists, pulling them behind my back, I can’t help but shiver.
“What should you say if you want me to stop?” he asks from behind me.
“Red.”
“Very good. You say red, everything stops.” He runs the silk over my wrists and I realize what he’s about to do. “You can also say no, or stop, or wait. Tonight is about trying this out. Understand?”
I nod, more eager than I thought I would be. “Yes.”
He tightens the tie around my wrist, his lips coming to my ear. “One rule you will obey—I’m sir in this room.”
A delicious shudder runs through me. “Yes, sir.”
He pats my bottom. “Good girl. How does that feel?”
