Page 38 of Addiction

“Care to rephrase that, little girl?”

She leapt at the volume of his voice and spinning on her heel, she was stunned to discover he was right there beside her. In the haze of her woe, she hadn’t even heard his journey from the island to her place by the window.

“I’m not hungry, sir.” Her pulse sprinted at his abrupt proximity and unthinkingly, she wiped at her tears, alarmed that he was witness to her upset.

“What’s wrong?” His fingers caught her wrist, urging her hand from her face as his gaze bored into her.

“I just…” Embarrassed to have been caught crying, her gaze lowered down his rock-hard abdominals to the tiny towel he’d insisted on donning.

“What?” His tone was even, though he didn’t release her wrist.

“I don’t like the way you tease me, sir.” She forced herself to meet his eyes that time, gulping back her humiliation.

“Are you denying how much you enjoy this dynamic?” He signaled between them, his hand lifting to catch her chin lightly between his thumb and forefinger. “Because teasing and degrading you is a part of that, little girl, and don’t you dare try to tell me you don’t take delight in it. Your pussy gives you away every damn time.”

Shit.

The muscles between her thighs clenched at the certainty in his voice, and naturally, he was right. She might not have known it until the day their paths collided, but Tucker had left her in no doubt—she did relish the denigrating treatment.

“It’s not easy to admit those things out loud sometimes.” She wished she could break his spell and look away from the weight of his gaze, but his fingers meant that was all but out of the question. “That’s all, sir.”

“Is that why you’re sad?” His brows knitted as his thumb shifted to stroke her tear-stained cheek.

“It’s all just a lot.” That was an understatement. “Alexander dumping me in the middle of nowhere and meeting you.” She sighed, her eyes closing briefly.

“Am I that bad?” His tone was sardonic.

“No, sir,” she insisted as her gaze flickered open. “It’s just I don’t understand why I like the things I do, and—”

Moving like lightning, he tipped her chin and captured her lips for a slow and sensual kiss. Her knees buckled at his sudden intensity, his body moving to pinion her against the ledge as she sagged.

“Stop overthinking.” His voice had shifted to a deep purr as he drew away. “We are what we are, and by some miracle, we’ve found someone else who reciprocates our proclivities.”

Her head spun as she drank in his words. Tucker was right. Despite everything, she’d had the amazing good fortune to have found someone who could nurture this need within her and send her rocketing to the stars on a daily basis. She might have spent her entire life searching for a man like him, yet ironically, it had been her useless father who’d steered their courses for collision.

“You’re right.” She pressed her palms against his chest.

His words were a revelation. All the time she’d spent resisting and running from him, and as it transpired, Tucker understood her in a way nobody else ever had.

Her mind was quiet as the realization washed over her.

He understood her.

“Do you want any more of your soup?” He inched away from her body, his arms still holding her up as he waited for her decision.

“No, thank you, sir.” She was resolved to see this thing through. Whatever sizzling energy existed between them, it had been tangible enough for her to choose to come this far with him, and with a little courage, she was sure it would see her through whatever he had in mind to torment her with next. “I’m ready for your verdict about what comes next.”

“That’s good, little girl.” The corners of his mouth tugged north at her conciliatory tone, but the hand that grabbed her tender backside left her in no doubt about who was in charge. “I’ve made up my mind.”

Chapter Sixteen

Humbling the Wildcat

Tucker

He waited as she drained another glass of water before clearing the crockery into the basin. There would be time to clear up properly later, or maybe he’d wait for one of his staff to do so. It didn’t matter. At that moment, all Tucker could think about was making sure she was okay before he buried her straight back down to the depths of his depravity.

She was calm as he guided her back along the corridor and polite when she stepped into the bathroom to empty her bladder. On the surface, she looked ready to comply, but the building tension around them expressed their true fraught energy.

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