Page 101 of Captive Audience
I exhaled a ragged breath. “But you’re drunk.”
“Not that drunk.”
“What are you asking for, Wildfire?”
Her brow pinched. “I…I don’t know.”
“Then I can’t help you.”
She groaned. “Why are you making this so difficult?”
“Because I’ve seen you wake up full of regret before, and I don’t ever want to be the cause of that again. So, unless this is about you and only you, I’m not doing it.”
She stared at me, lips parted. “What does that mean?”
I pressed my knuckles against the counter but stayed between her thighs. “It means you’re in charge. You tell me what you want, and I’ll do it. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
She couldn’t be angry with me later if all I did was follow her orders.
“You’d let me be in control?”
“Aye. For you, I would.”
Her gaze searched mine. “Whatever happens tonight, it won’t change anything between us.”
“If that’s what you want. Tomorrow, you can go back to hating me. But know this. Every time you walk past me. Every time you smile, or laugh, or fucking breathe near me. This”—I caught her hand and placed it over my racing heart—“is what you do to me.”
A flush crept up her neck, and the boldness from earlier returned to her eyes. “In that case, take off the rest of your clothes.”
39
ASHA
Rook didn’t hesitate.
He toed off his tennis shoes, shoved down his shorts and boxer briefs in one smooth motion, and stepped out of them without a hint of shame. When he straightened to his full height, naked, hard, and utterly tempting, my breath caught in my throat.
Every inch of him was sculpted muscle and coiled strength, all tattoos and heat and raw male confidence. And his cock—my God, this man’s cock—had me salivating.
I had to be insane to have agreed to this. But the wine still buzzed through my veins, wrapping everything in a warm haze. It made me braver than I was. Brave enough to do reckless things and pretend they didn’t matter.
Just one night. Just this moment.
No promises. No consequences.
Except…that wasn’t really true.
Because if this meant nothing, why was I shaking? Why were my fingertips tingling, and why was my stomach a playground for a thousand butterflies?
I hadn’t forgiven Rook. Not fully. But something had shifted inside me. And this ruthless, possessive, maddening man had offered me the one thing I’d never expected from him.
Control.
And maybe I needed that more than I wanted to admit. MaybeI liked the idea of being in charge for once, of deciding how far we went and how fast. This way, I held power over him.
And I so wanted to wield it.
My gaze dragged over Rook’s body again. He was breathtaking. An impossible blend of brute force and restraint, danger and beauty.
