Page 3 of On His Terms

“How much information do you want?”

He captured her chin, ignoring the way she’d tipped it stubbornly.

She was tall, especially in her spiked fuck-me heels, but he still towered over her by several inches. Since she was accustomed to looking men in the eye as they spoke, having to look up was a little disconcerting. For one of the first times in her life, she felt small, overpowered.

His fingers were strong and firm, as unrelenting as the glint of steel in his eyes. “I’ll tell you when I’ve heard enough.”

She tried, and failed, to hide her shiver. For the first time in her life, she wondered if she’d set her sights too high. He’d seen her subterfuge and cut through it—despite the fact she’d become a master at it.

Once she exhaled, he released his grip.

When one of the servers came near, she signaled for a glass of wine, needing the fortification. She had no problem at all promoting others or her firm. But exposing her secrets? That required courage.

She took a long drink of her wine, then held on to the stem as if it were a lifeline. “I didn’t know I liked kink until one of my boyfriends blindfolded me.”

“What did you like about the experience?”

Several Doms and subs moved into the living room, and she looked around nervously.

“Eyes on me,” he instructed.

You’re relentless. She caught a glimpse of what he might be like as a trainer, and it terrified her as much as it intrigued her.

“Or excuse yourself now.”

She looked up from where she’d been staring into the depths of her wine.

He missed nothing.

“I liked that I had no idea what would happen next. My hearing seemed heightened. And when he touched me, the sensation was magnified.”

“Go on.”

“One guy would sometimes swat my bottom when I passed him.” She had no idea this would be so embarrassing. There was nothing sexual about the conversation, rather, the facts were somewhat clinical. But that didn’t stop her from blushing. “Last Halloween, I attended a BDSM party. Compared to this…” She swept her hand around. The gathering at Master Damien’s house was for people who lived the lifestyle. “It’s clear now that most of us were just dabbling. We wore outfits we bought at the costume store, but afterward my date tied me up for the first time. It was just to his bed, and he used a light whip on my ass. I liked it. Well, enough to explore more, but he said it really hadn’t worked for him all that well. He didn’t like hurting me. Even though I promised him he hadn’t.”

“You’re telling me most vanilla guys aren’t interested in spanking an ass like that?”

She blinked.

“I noticed you when you first came in, and you wore that skirt hoping I would.”

“Yes,” she admitted. “I did.” It was one size smaller than she bought for business meetings, and she’d never wear it out in public. The material hugged her rear so tight she was nervous about sitting down.

“So show me.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Lift your skirt to your waist, turn around, spread your legs as far as you can, then bend over and grab your ankles.”

For a moment she could hardly breathe. He said nothing further and he looked unconcerned, as if it didn’t matter to him one way or another whether she did as he said. She recognized the order as his first test.

He extended his hand to take her glass. That was probably for the best—she was suddenly afraid of dropping it. He slid the stemware onto the mantel, then used his thumb to tip back his cowboy hat.

She pulled up her skirt and she was grateful she’d worn a thong. Exposing herself to a stranger was far different from playing with a man she’d been dating.

Master Alexander continued to say nothing. She realized then that he was a man of few words, and he didn’t repeat himself. There was no cajoling from him, no teasing, no ‘Oh, come on, Chelsea, have a little fun.’ This man was a Dominant all the way to his core.

Mouth dry, she turned away from him and followed the rest of his instructions. For at least sixty interminable seconds, he said nothing. Her heart thundered. The tops of her shoes dug into her ankles, and blood rushed to her head.

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