Page 55 of The Rules of Playing with Fire

Sitting back in my chair, I interlaced my fingers. “I do, but you don’t.”

“What if I do?”

“Then all you have to do is ask.”

She left the plush couch to pace along the length of the room, her eyes bouncing over the tasteful but unremarkable artwork on the walls.

“Okay, I’m asking,” she said, turning to me with a grin that was part embarrassment, part mischief. She crossed the room with cautious steps as I stood and anticipated her next move. The moment she rose on her toes to kiss me, I placed my finger on her lips. Taken aback, she withdrew a few steps before I gently gripped her arm.

“You left on your terms, Sona, but you come back on mine.”

“Terms? What kind of terms?”

“Non-negotiable ones,” I replied, holding my stern face.

She placed a hand on her hip. “Playing hard to get, are we?”

I tugged at my cuffs and walked into the bedroom. I knew she’d follow me. There was a reason I was fully dressed in a jacket, trousers, and a tie. This game was about power and trust, and I was about to buy myself some.

I took the throne of the enormous armchair in the bedroom while she stood by the bed.

“Now,” I said, crossing my right leg over the left. “You have two options. One, you undress completely and play with yourself until I give you permission to stop.”

A deep, annoyed frown appeared on her forehead. “While you sit there and watch me?”

I steepled my hands and cocked my head.

With hands on her hips, she lifted her head up. “Absolutely not. Rejected. What’s the other option?”

“Option number two is I tie you up and have my way with you until you’re ready to accept defeat.”

She slipped her hands down her sides as her face glowed with delight. “I don’t see why I would object to that.”

“Don’t get cocky, Dr. Thomas. Your pleasure will be in my hands. I’ll let you have it when my conditions are fulfilled.”

She frowned and lifted her hands back to her hips again. “Is there a third option?”

“The third option is we part ways now.”

Her mouth gaped as I held the cold-blooded look on my face.

“You’re not serious!” she managed.

“Those are your options.”

“You are ruthless.”

“And a bastard, yes. Just how badly do you want me, Sona?”

She locked her eyes with mine, blazing me with her fiery stare. Then, with her undaunted gaze trained on me, she lowered herself to the edge of the bed. Taking her sweet time, she unzipped her ankle boots, tore down her tights, and flung her panties across the room.

“Tie me up, Cowboy. You forgot I was a naval cadet. You’ve got nothing on me.”

I stood. “Good choice. Now, lose the rest of your clothes,” I ordered, but she threw a leg over her knee and pushed her palms into the soft mattress behind her.

“You want control? Come do it yourself,” she said.

Determined not to yield, I held a stern face. “Strip, Sona, or we call it a night. Remember, this time, it’s on my conditions.”

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