Page 76 of The Masks She Wore

?The elevator doors dinged, and my eyes fell to her lips. “Get the helmets,” I ordered her before shoving away from the wall and heading for the doors.

?One assignment away from never having laid eyes on her. From never tasting her. Never hearing her voice. One assignment away from never knowing how much I loved the smell of old coffee left out on the counter after hours of being untouched and take out containers.

?I held the doors open as she stumbled around picking up the helmets.

?“Go to your door,” I ordered.

?I watched her with a predatory gaze, following after her as she headed down the hall to her apartment. Half stumbling, using the wall to support herself.

?She balanced one helmet between her knees and the wall as she struggled for the key.

?I leaned against the other wall, watching her. Watching her ass, watching the way she moved. She was wiggling her ass, teasing me. As if I could want her any more than I already did. I didn’t think it was possible.

?It took longer than normal for her to finally open that door.

?I followed after her, shutting it behind us, and throwing the lock over.

?I waited until she set the helmets down before I rushed her.

?She turned to face me and released a cry when she saw me already coming for her.

?Rae spun around, trying to run, but I caught her wrist, jerking her against me. “You fucked up, Rae,” I told her on a low snarl as I kicked the door shut.

?I released her only to wrap an arm around the back of her knees and lift her up, throwing her over my shoulder, the helmet clattering to the ground.

?She screamed, digging her nails into my back as I carried her to the room.

?I wasn’t sure if she had noticed the upgrades I had made to her place while she had slept before I left. If not, she was in for a shock.

?I tossed her on the bed and grabbed the duffle from under her bed. “Get undressed,” I ordered, walking it over to her dresser.

?The bed creaked. “What is that?” she asked.

?I glanced back, watching as she took off her boots, her jeans. She was swaying a bit, but despite everything she took, that adrenaline she had felt after running had sobered her up just enough. Not that it would have mattered. She was my toy. I could use her whenever I wanted now. Asleep, awake, passed out from her own doing, or tied to a cactus, she was mine.

?I turned back to the duffle and pulled out a couple shorter pieces of rope. Not as thick as the ones I used to hang certain targets, but not as thin as the ones I had used to strangle them either. No, these were just right. Perfect for wrapping up my little misbehaving bitch, only hurting her if she chose to fight back. Which, I was sure, she would.

?“Jack?”

?Fuck, I loved it when she said my name.

?I turned to her, finding her falling into the bed, not a scrap of clothes in sight.

?Her knees fell together as she wriggled deeper into the mattress, watching me carefully. “What are those?” she asked, biting her lip, hiding that little smirk of hers. She thought she had won.

?I walked over to her, dropping one of the ropes, the longer of the two, at her feet on the way. “Wrists.”

?She held them out without fight, her chest heaving, the muscles in her soft abdomen clenching, the excitement clear in her eyes.

?I almost smiled at her. Almost smiled at the idea that she was excited to have me. I never put much thought into it. We never cared for what our little toys wanted or cared for. We kept them around for a night, a week perhaps, but we didn’t care for how they felt. We took what we needed and left.

?At this moment, however, I felt…happy that she wanted this. I felt happy that she wanted me, that she was excited for whatever I had to give her.

?I carefully wrapped the rope around one wrist and then the other, tightening it down until a whimper squeezed through her lips. I pulled them up above her head, hooking the loop I had left over a thick, iron hook I had bolted into the wall above her headboard.

?Her eyes widened as her body stretched. “What the fuck,” she breathed out, her eyes finding mine. “When did you do that?”

?I ignored the fear in her voice and walked over to her legs. This one was more intricate, the knots, the way I wrapped it around her.

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