I could feel it without seeing it.
“You’re a smart girl, Sweetness. You’ll figure it out.” He pressed a kiss behind my ear. “Now go.”
I turned, slowly. “You’re not the boss of me, Theo. And since when do you decide what we do and when?”
Theo didn’t blink. He leaned forward, eyes heavy in warning. “Youreallywanna play with me right now?”
That shifted something in me.
Not fear.
Not heat either.
Just that dizzy middle ground where I wanted to push back and see what happened when I did. So I stayed, and that amused him.
He tilted his head, his jaw tense with restraint and a playful smirk.
“Gimme two minutes,” he said. “And I’ll be right with you.”
I stared at him for a little longer before I walked away.
“Oh, and Carmen?” He called after me. I just stopped and looked over my shoulder.
“I am. The boss of you.” He said with finality that sent a chill down my spine. Instead of replying, I just walked away—because yeah, I proved my point.
So, I did what I was told and I went to the room. If I knew Theodore Clayton like I thought I did, ‘get ready’ meant taking it all off, except for the panties. Which I did.
He didn’t take two minutes, though.
He took only one.
The door opened behind me as I studied myself in the mirror and shut with a quiet click. I turned and found him with a silver champagne bucket in his hand, ice glittering inside.
I raised a brow. “Ice?”
“Good for the swelling,” he said, setting it on the nightstand.
His eyes found mine, and my pulse skipped.
“Lie down, Sweetness.”
The words sounded like a request and a command wrapped in one. Like he was simply asking, but it was too demanding for me to disobey. So I did as he said and got on the bed.
Carefully. Slowly. Stretching across the sheets to tease him.
Theo stood over me, his body blocking the light of the lamp on the nightstand. Without a word, he pulled me closer, thumb hooking on the delicate fabric of my underwear before sliding it off and taking a deep sniff before discarding it.
Then—
“Now show me,” he demanded. This time, there was no request in his tone—just pure dominance and control. Maintaining eye contact, I spread my legs in front of him. My fingers were trembling slightly as they traced the delicate curve of the fresh piercing nestled between my legs.
The metal was cool against my skin, a complete contrast to the heat pooling low in my belly. I could still feel the slight sting from the piercing, but beneath that, there was a new pulse.
“Tonight,” he murmured, his voice low and husky, “I’m going to worship every inch of you. And this—” He flicked the piercing gently, and it made me wince in pain. “—I’m going to show you just how much I love it.”
My heart hammered in my chest, anticipation flooding through me.
“It stings, Teddy.” I pouted.
