“It might be rough,” he says softly. “And I don’t know if you need rough right now.”
Heat sizzles through me, my pussy clenching around nothing as I imagine Connall getting rough with me.
His nostrils flare, and he sucks in a deep, slow breath. “Maybe I’m wrong, and rough is exactly what you need.”
“We should find out,” I manage, my heart beating like a drum.
His lips tilt into a delicious smile. Then he moves so fast, I can’t even track him.
In a heartbeat, he has me flipped against the bookshelf, pinned there by his body. His fingers close around my wrists, and he plants them on the book in front of us.
“Don’t move your hands, Lou.” His breath is warm and ragged against my ear.
He’s so much bigger than me, so much taller. On instinct, I let my head fall back against his broad, warm chest. His hands come to my waist and lift me off the ground, bringing me up high enough to slide onto my knees on the top of the low bookcase.
“Better,” he grits out, splaying his fingers over my stomach. He moves them up between my breasts until he reaches my throat. His grip is unforgiving, tiny stars dancing behind my eyelids as he pulls my head to the side and buries his nose just beneath my ear.
“Dirk asked me to work with you for weeks, and this is why I said no.” His tone is full of his wolf’s deeper bass. “Because I want you with a desperation that claws at my insides. I want to be a caveman, Lou, and fuck you right here on top of my books. Then I wanna feed you and drag you to my home and fuck you again. I put together a treatment plan of things for us to discuss, and it did not include playing around like this. This is in no fucking way anything remotely resembling therapy.”
“We’re complicated,” I wheeze as his teeth close softly around the side of my neck. “Give me my fucking kiss.”
He bites harder, but all it does is send heat flaring between my thighs, my clit throbbing in time with my heartbeat.
“Now,” I demand, trying to rock my ass against Connall’s body.
“Or what?” he growls, raking his teeth down the line of my neck. “You didn’t give me a timeframe for it.”
I gasp and clutch at the hand still holding my throat. “I wanted it the moment I asked!”
Connall laughs, and it’s then I know what he means about being dominant. He won’t give me what I want without the words. He’s getting off on this fucking edging. My first instinct is to be bratty about it, and he said he loved bratty women, so I snarl and shove him away. “If you won’t give it to me, I’m leaving.”
He laughs again, but his fingers only tighten. “Good, Lou. Get mouthy so I can punish you like the brat you are. Throw my paints around. Make a fucking mess. Taunt me. Because what happens when you’re in trouble will be so fucking delicious.”
Anger and heat war inside my mind. But I almost laugh at the idea he gave me. Grabbing one of the open cans of paint, I toss it at the wall. It hits with a clang, paint splashing across the white surface.
Connall’s fingers tighten as he growls in my hair, “I was kidding about the paint, Lou.”
But I’m fired up now. He pushed me, and now he’s gonna get me in full Lou form. Plus, we sell a cleaning potion at Alkemi so I can sort this out pretty quickly once we’re done. I’m just gonna have fun making a damn mess.
I lash out and grab another can. Before I can toss it, his hand comes to my wrist, closing around it. But he’s not quite quick enough, and the paint sloshes down the side and over both of our hands.
Snarling, I shove us both backwards and slip off the bookshelf. Connall matches my snarl, staring at me with eyes full of heat. Purple paint drips from his hand and the flecks of the first color spatter across the bridge of his nose.
I give him a superior look as I whip a hand out and brush three cans onto the floor. “Oops.” Batting my eyelashes, I step into the paint and stomp my feet, sending splashes of it all over the books and floor.
Connall slips both hands into his jeans pockets, watching dispassionately.
I shoot him a taunting look. “The paint was your idea, Connall. How far do I go?”
His lips curl into a wicked grin. “As far as you like, Lou. You seem to be having fun, and every can you drop is an extrapunishment. The more, the better. I’ll have my fun when you’re done having yours.”
I grin. “You keep saying punishment, but so far all I see is?—”
Paint-covered hands are around my throat before I even finish the sentence, green eyes flashing with lust. “Drop another, and another, Lou. Please. Because the punishment I have in mind is gonna be so fuckin’ beautiful.”
I reach to my left and grab a small can of yellow, tossing it right at his shirt. It hits and splatters. He straightens and pulls the shirt over his head, revealing miles of taut abs and pale skin dotted with tiny freckles.
“Actually, that’s enough,” he commands. When I reach for yet another can, he squeezes my throat so hard, black stars fill my vision. “I said, that’s enough, Louanna.”
