She pauses her movement. “Toys?” The interest in her eyes is a dangerous thing.
“Yes, as is customary for any new Mountain Haven wife, I have another gift for you if you come out.”
She cocks her head skeptically. “But I’m so enjoying this gift right now, and this seems like a trick to get me out of this room.”
“No tricks. The toys really exist. As do the books. I could read one to you if you’d like.”
“Your voice is grating. I’m much more likely to come if you’re silent,” Harlow taunts.
“That wasn’t the case last night.”
She looks away but continues to move her hand between her thighs. I want to tie those hands to my headboard and make her pay for teasing me. I want her screaming and writhing and coming, and I?—
I stalk away, rolling out my shoulders to try to rid myself of the restless desire pounding through me. Divine-dammit. The blessing from Kennymyra is going to be the death of me. I’m practically panting for Harlow, and she’s going to hide in her safe room forever. This was supposed to make her feel some sense of security, but I clearly miscalculated.
I grab the gift box, yank the large satin ribbon free, and walk back to stand in front of the doorway. I tilt the box so she can see what’s inside it.
She stops her ministrations immediately, her gaze fixed on the toys. I wonder if she’s ever used something like this. They’re a bit prudish for such things in the city, but Harlow has shown an interest and some knowledge of our rituals.
I run my fingers over the thick, bumpy glass shafts. “These go inside you.” I lift the silk ties. “These shorter ones are used to fasten your wrists, and these longer ones for your thighs or ankles. Or I have a room with a bench I could strap you to if you are worried about silk burns on that pretty pale skin.”
She licks her lips, transfixed by the items in the box.
Watching her reactions is making me crazy. The second she leaves that room, I’m going to make her pay.
When I lift the small riding crop from the box, she flinches. It’s barely perceptible.
“I didn’t know about your preferences when I purchased this,” I said. “I thought I had you pegged as a woman who would like a little sting.”
As soon as I toss it to the side, she resumes her movements, but I know what I saw. That flinch, combined with my knowledge of her scar, fills me with infernal anger. I want to say something, but it’s going to take a lot more to get her to open up and confirm my suspicions.
That seems unlikely to happen, considering that I can’t even get her to leave this room.
She lets out a low moan. “And the book?”
“It’s handwritten stories. Some of the fort storytellers’ most requested tales.”
She licks her lips. “People request explicit stories in public?”
I grin. I have her. “They do at the Raining Star Bar. It’s the fort’s storytelling bar. So much of our history was passed down through stories told around campfires, but not all of those tales are factual. Many of them were purely for entertainment purposes. The tradition remains alive and well for lore of all kinds.”
There’s genuine curiosity in her eyes.
I shake the box lightly. “I knew you would like your gifts. Now, why don’t you come out here and I’ll make sure you enjoy them.”
Finally, she surrenders her game, and an annoying prickle of excitement sparks to life in my chest. She rises from the plush chair.
As soon as she steps over the threshold, I’m going to drag her to the bed by her hair. I’m going to do everything I would have done last night if I weren’t so focused on disarming her with gentleness.
She crosses the small space and pauses a few feet from the doorway as if she’s afraid I’ll somehow reach in and snatch her.
A wide smirk spreads over her face when she realizes I can’t. “This is a really generous present, my wolf. The perfect gift. How unfortunate that you can’t enjoy it yourself.”
She lifts the fingers that were just inside her to her mouth and sucks them clean with a look of obscene pleasure on her face.
Then, she slams the safe room door in my face.
30
