Page 33 of The Puppetmaster

The words feel like an embrace, a sweet caress that speaks to a craving hidden deep within the darkest depths of my soul.

And it only gets better when he touches me for the very first time. Other than that sudden grip around my throat at The Velvet Rooms, he has refrained from touching me skin to skin—and as I later learned, even that little choke was more than he intended.

Now he is actually touching me. It’s a gentle touch, a brush across my left cheek, journeying farther to my jawline before he moves down to my collarbone, all the while never breaking eye contact. My chest is heaving under heavy breaths, but my pulse slows with each inhale, reveling in what can only be the calm before a storm.

He leans in closer, moving his handsome face down to mine while pinning me in place with his black gaze.

“Now,” he says in a low voice, his warm breath dancing on my skin. “Let’s begin.”

Chapter 21

Raad

Alena doesn’t make this easy—neither for herself nor for me. I knew she would be different than the others. I know she has a mind of her own and a spirit that’s hard to tame.

I thought I knew what to expect with her.

But there was one thing I didn’t consider: my reaction to her.

When she turned around, disobeying a clear order by turning her back to me as she undressed, I was torn between two rivaling emotions.

It was a beautiful sight. She looked like a flower dancing in the wind. The allure of her swaying hips in that delicate lace was not lost on me, and I knew her move came with the right intention. She wanted to please me, she wanted to be a good girl for me, and she wanted to prove her worth even after I’ve already chosen her.

I like that.

But her efforts were spoiled by the fact that she ignored my direct command in order to enhance a display that needed no improvement. I can’t let that pass, especially this early on. My puppets dance how I want them to, and no other way.

She kneels before me, hope flickering in her eyes as she leans into my touch. The tip of my finger follows the outline of her feminine jaw, drawing little circles across the sensitive skin on her neck as I move down to her collar bone. Her tits are on the smaller side, her pink rose buds standing slightly erect even now. I wonder how sensitive she is there, how much she might be able to handle. She’s mine now, so there’s nothing stopping me from finding out. I could trail down farther; I could take her little buds between my fingers and squeeze, just to see how she would react.

But I won’t. Not yet. I want to drink her in, slowly, sip after sip. The wait has been long, but I don’t want to ruin it by consuming Alena like a starving person devouring a long-awaited meal.

Her chest heaves under heavy breaths when I merely suggest touching her nipples. I caress the soft curve of her left breast, barely touching her when I move my finger toward the heaving peak.

“You’re beautiful,” I whisper, and she responds with a sigh. “But too cheeky, too daring. Don’t ever try to impress me by ignoring a command. Do you understand?”

She bites her lower lip and a faint crease appears between her brows.

“You said you hate liars,” she responds, tension marking her expression.

“That’s correct.”

“Then I won’t lie to you. I can’t make that promise.”

She pauses, sucking in a sharp breath of air when I go on and take her nipple between my thumb and index finger. I’m not squeezing her just yet, but the threat alone causes her breathing to hasten.

“I like your honesty,” I tell her. “And I never shy away from a challenge. But trust me, you’ll regret defying me just for the heck of it.”

She smiles now. It’s a coy smile, playing at the corner of her mouth for just a second before she pulls herself together.

“That’s not what I did just now, was it?” she wants to know. “I didn’t want to disobey—”

“Yet, you did.”

“But not ‘for the heck of it,’” she insists.

To that, I nod. “True.”

Our eyes lock onto each other, while my finger remains closed around her hard little nub. When I pinch it just the slightest bit, she jerks up, a deep inhale following the motion.

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