Page 57 of Necessary Cruelty

I fist my hands in his hair, urging myself to shove him away.

But I don’t.

This is Vin like I’ve never seen him. On his knees. Anyone else in this position would seem like a supplicant, like the one without the power. But even kneeling at my feet, he is somehow still the one in control.

A spark of pleasure tightens my belly as his tongue teases at the seam where my hip and thigh meet. I breathe out in a soft sigh. His name catches in my throat, but I won’t say it because that would make all of this real.

I struggle to remember what kind of underwear I’m wearing. So many of them have bits of elastic coming undone or tiny holes ripped in the fabric. Sexy panties are another indulgence that has no place in my life. Hopefully, he won’t be able to tell how shabby they are in the dark.

Vin nips my skin with the edge of his teeth. The shock of pain makes me jump. “Stop thinking.”

But I have to focus on something else, anything else. Because he is making me crazy.

I don’t realize I’ve spoken out loud until he murmurs against my skin.

“Not crazy enough.”

He shifts the crotch of my panties to the side, gliding one finger down my wet folds. My head falls back against the wall behind me as I stare up at the ceiling and try to remember that we’re enemies.

Then he forces two thick fingers into me, excruciatingly slowly.

“Oh, God.”

“It’s Vin, actually. But I believe in freedom of religion.”

His fingers push in and out of me, so deep on the upstroke that his knuckles grind against me. I take deep breaths through my nose in sharp gasps, wondering if I’ll pass out. Then his thumb shifts higher to rub the thin strip of fabric covering my clit.

Stars burst across my closed eyelids.

“And now for that kiss.”

His fingers are gone. Before I can mourn the lack of contact, he leans forward. My gaze shifts down, but I see only a mess of dark hair. He presses his mouth against me, flicking his tongue with the same rhythm as the sharp edge of a thumbnail that scratches against my clit.

The small bit of pain has me thrusting my hips forward. Vin’s free hand grips my waist, pushing his thumb into the hollow bone of my hip and forcing me to be still. His tongue pushes deeper, but his thumb continues the same maddeningly slow rhythm, easing the pressure when I shift my hips to entice him into pressing harder. He just barely grazes me through the fabric, enough to keep me spiraling higher, but not send me over the edge.

He presses a closemouthed kiss against my clit through the soaked fabric of my panties.

Vin shifts away, and his fingers thrust inside me again, the movement almost leisurely. I look down the line of my body to find him staring at me, eyes narrowed and fierce as they land on my face.

“What do you want?” he asks.

I glare down at him, my expression enough of an answer. What the fuck do you think?

“Beg me to let you come.”

The words come out in a hiss as he thrusts his fingers deeper. “Not on your life.”

“What’s the magic word?”

“Asshole.”

“Maybe later.” He places another gentle kiss on my clit through my panties, leaning away when my hips jerk toward him. I’m seconds from orgasm. Then he pulls his fingers out of me and cool air rushes over the wetness on my skin. “Only good girls who do what they’re told get what they want. Remember that for next time.”

Vin laughs at the expression of shock on my face as he rises smoothly to his feet.

My body is on fire. The inferno burns so hot it doesn’t matter that the manor’s thermostat is set to negative fifty degrees. His satisfied smile makes it clear that he has every intention of leaving me like this. That realization is like being doused with a bucket of cold water.

Passion isn’t the only emotion that burns hot.

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