Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“I don’t care who knows.” Sam’s tone was defiant as he set both packages near the shower. We were both adults, and this wasn’t last century, but I swallowed hard nonetheless. Sam was risking something for me. Maybe not his reputation precisely, but his values were on the line.
He’d wanted to wait to find the one. He had a code of honor, and he was making an exception for me. The sparks in his eyes said he’d do battle to defend me, and the softness in his touch as he reached for the hem of my T-shirt said he cared. Perhaps he thought I was the one. Laughable. And one more risk, this one to Sam’s heart. And that I couldn’t bear.
“Sam.” I drew out his name as I stayed his efforts to undress me. “I don’t think—”
“That’s right. You don’t think.” He tapped me lightly on the nose. “You wanted out of your head. Trust me here. And don’t think.”
“Okay.” I nodded. If I trusted anyone in this messed-up world, it was Sam, and while I worried about hurting him, I was also selfish enough to want to see what he had planned. When he’d pinned me the night before, I’d soared so high I’d feared for the kitchen ceiling. Sam tapping into his dominant side was not something I wanted to miss, especially when he glared at me.
“Not okay. You say, ‘Yes, Sir’ when I give an order.”
“Yes, Sir.” I hid a grin as I removed my shirt. Bossy Sam was the best Sam. All his earnestness and good intentions channeled into demands I couldn’t help wanting to meet. With others, I’d followed commands out of fear or lust or respect, but with Sam, I followed because I wanted to please him. He had a way of making me believe I could be a better person, made me want to comply for myself as much as for him, and that was new,
As new as taking a shower with another man. Once we were both naked, Sam adjusted the water temperature and pushed me into the shower ahead of him. Arranging me under the spray, he peppered the back of my neck with little kisses, the kind that made me want to follow his every direction forever.
Forever. Downright terrifying considering how a week ago I hadn’t been able to contemplate the next twenty-four hours. The thought made me restless, and I shifted against him, tensing further as he started lathering me up with some of his citrus body wash on a cloth.
“Shouldn’t I be washing you?” I tried to turn, but he wouldn’t let me. Strong. He was so damn strong, and strangely, his strength, the very thing I usually found a turn-off, made me soften my tone here to something closer to begging. “I have a thing for service.”
I tried to take the washcloth from him, but he merely laughed and popped my butt with the damp cloth. “And I have a thing for you listening.”
“Yes, Sir.” I resigned myself to the torture that was Sam being nice to me. More than nice. Taking care of me. Washing my chest and back, even delving under my arms and over my ass, a thoroughness to his actions that humbled me. In fact, the longer I stood under the warm water, the more meek I felt. I was in the presence of something bigger than myself, something I couldn’t quite name but made my breath catch nevertheless.
He washed my hair, turning my head this way and that, giving the clean strands a playful tug. “You’re not allowed to cut your hair yet.”
“Yank it like that again, and I’ll wait until New Year’s,” I promised.
Laughing, he scraped his teeth lightly along the base of my neck. “And what would you do to earn a bite?”
“I’d promise not to change shirts while at work for a week. No one has to know. Just us.” I arched up to meet his mouth. If the question had been a test, I was determined to pass it. I’d started out seeking pain as punishment, but somewhere along the way, I’d come to enjoy pain as a way of amping up arousal, the sharp edge of pleasure, the piercing spike of desire with a potent hit of submission. If I could please Sam by bearing his mark, I was only too happy to do so. “Please.”
“You do like this, don’t you?” He nipped harder, right above my shoulder blades, well below collar level.
“Yes.” I moaned on a shaky exhale. He bit me again, more lingering teeth, more sting, and I slumped against the cool tile wall. “Sam. Sir. More.”
He laughed wickedly and dropped whisper-light kisses all down my spine. “I’m in charge. Not you. Now, close your eyes.”
“Uh?” Accepting his kindness with my eyes open was hard enough. Being trapped in my head, I ran the rather real risk of my internal dialogue ruining everything. I glanced over my shoulder. With a stubborn set to his jaw, Sam seemed as determined as ever.