Page 63 of Irreversible

I can’t breathe.

All my oxygen feels like a tightly wound knot stuck in the back of my throat. “What would he do? If he had her like that?”

“You tell me.” His voice dips. “What does Chloe need?”

My eyelids flutter closed as I struggle for a full breath. “Cranberry juice.”

“What now?”

“Cranberry juice,” I repeat. “For later. Chloe always needs to have a cold glass of cranberry juice waiting for her after sex.”

Isaac makes a humming sound. “All right. Nick is adaptable.”

“Perfect.” I inhale, trying to regroup. “Where were we?”

“Nick has Chloe tied to the bed.”

“What happens next?” My voice is so low, hardly a whisper, I wonder if he heard me. I wonder if I wanted him to.

“He’d climb behind her on the mattress, run a hand over that delicious bare ass, and he’d ask her… Chloe?”

A pause.

I hold my breath.

The beat drags on longer.

Is he waiting for me?

Mercifully, before I throw caution to the wind and answer for Chloe, he continues. The low intimacy of his tone makes him feel so close, I can imagine his breath against my ear when he says, “Have you been a good girl today?”

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Ipicture her there, ear to the wall, nightgown pushed up her thighs, chest heaving in anticipation of what Nickwill do next. With my back against the wall and knees spread wide, I sink deeper into my imagination.

Of all the situations I’ve found myself in, I never imagined I’d wind up chained to a floor, trading dirty stories with a girl whose bikini-clad image has fueled the wet dreams of countless men.

There are certainly worse ways to pass the time…

“Answer me, Chloe.” Tipping my voice to a dangerous pitch, I let the demand hang there. Every word of this conversation is a dare. Everly claims she isn’t intimidated by sex, so let’s test those boundaries, shall we?

Fuck yes, I’m going to have fun with this.

A hum full of dark promises resonates in my throat. “Why do you think he has her tied ass up?”

“Oh.” A breathy sound falls from her.

“That’s right.” My fingers curl into my thighs. “Nick knows what to do with a girl like Chloe…a girl who’s spent years dreaming of a man who knows how to handle her.”

I allow myself a moment to imaginehandlingher. That smooth, bare skin; the way I could make it heat beneath my hands. The colors it would turn with every pinch and slap and rough caress. I might not have much to offer emotionally, but I have no problem giving a lady a quick and dirty foray into her darkest fantasies.

She says nothing, so I keep going, letting my mind wander out loud. “Behind her, he kneels between her spread legs, running a hand over her ass. Then, his fingers dip lower to find out if the anticipation has made her wet for him.”

She’s got to be pent-up after all this time.

“Has it, Everly?” I can’t resist asking. “Is Chloe wet for him?

“Maybe…a little.” Her pitch is lower in a way that blends sultry heat with just a hint of shyness. I can practically hear the blush rising to her cheeks. “Yeah.”

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