Page 37 of Obsessive Cravings

“Are you serious? It’s too early for that, isn’t it? I mean, it’s only been a little over a week.”

His smirk made my legs turn to jelly. “Well, if you count the times I had you tied up, it’s been longer than that.”

I pursed my lips, shooting him my most annoyed look, which only caused him to chuckle.

“Greyson, I can’t move in with you this fast.”

He’d suggested it over our morning coffee. He’d already insisted I quit my job for conflict reasons. It didn’t look good to be fucking one of his employees and breaking his own dating rule. Instead, he set me up at the small boutique firm I’d initially interviewed with. There was something about how he made all the arrangements for me, like Mason had done, that I wasn’t comfortable with. I hadn’t known Mason had gotten me the position in Treemont until our fight, but the truth had burned. I had my degree in finance, and I was good at what I did. I’d even interned at one of the larger firms in the city. But he’d set it all up, like he’d done everything in my life. The internship had probably been him pulling strings as well.

Now Greyson was doing the same thing, treating me like I couldn’t function on my own.

“It makes sense, Riley.” He sat back and crossed his arms, ignoring the daggers in my eyes.

“No,” I said, sitting back and mimicking him.

He raised his brow, his jaw ticking. “No?”

“No.”

Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on the table, his hands clenching. “No one says no to me, Riley. It comes with repercussions when they do.”

If those repercussions involved a spanking, I would be happy to rebel. Every time his hand met my ass, it left me soaked.

Giving him a defiant glare, I said, “Well, I just did.”

I’d never seen his muscles so strained. I was resisting him, and he didn’t like it. And he didn’t know what to do about it. I was enjoying the power play and wished I’d said no to Mason more often. It had taken me years of being told what to do to find that confidence.

“You’re an aggravating woman,” he grumbled.

“I know, but you’re not changing my mind.”

He stood, the chair sliding back as he ran his hand through his hair and muttered, “Fuck.”

That’s when I saw there was more to his request. Worry sat on his shoulders. I could see it in the tension that rolled from his neck and onto his back.

“Then you stay at my place more often,” he finally said.

I’d only been there twice. It was cold and held no personality.

“I like it here. My bed is big enough for both of us.”

He glared at me. “That’s my compromise, Riley.”

Laughing, I said, “That’s a compromise? Move in with me or spend every night at my place?”

“I didn’t say every night. I said more.”

I pursed my lips. “Your place is cold and sterile.”

“Then decorate it,” he said. “Cover it in fairy lights and puffy blankets like your apartment. I don’t care. I want you there, Riley.”

Standing, I walked to him, taking his hand in mine and feeling the tension there. “Is there something you’re not telling me, Grey?”

His jaw tightened, and I could see the conflict in his eyes.

“You know,” I said. “If I’m going to decorate your house in fairy lights and fluffy pink blankets, I need you to open up more.”

He looked down at my hand in his and fingered the bracelet I never took off. The one with the delicate peonies that sat softly on my skin.

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