Page 167 of Guarded King

A laugh bubbles out of me. “It’s bizarrely perfect.” By the time we get back to his apartment building, any tension he held when we left his mother’s house seems to have eased.

Since we’re in his personal car, we park in the garage under the building, though there isn’t even a glimmer of concern that he’s doing it because he wants to hide me away. Not after he’s already walked me through the foyer of his building with ourhands joined for everyone to see. He even kissed me openly while we waited for the elevator to arrive.

He kisses me again now as we ascend to his penthouse. Already, he’s made a habit of putting his hands on me as often as he can, and I do the same. And as always, by the time we get to the top, I’m ready for more of his touch.

He backs me across the living room, never taking his hands or his mouth off me. Once we get to his bedroom, he doesn’t waste any time stripping me out of my clothes, then shucking his as well.

“Lie down.” The intensity in the way he’s looking at me is unlike anything I’ve seen from him before. It sends the best kind of shiver down my spine.

As soon as I’m on my back on his big bed, he picks up his discarded pants and pulls the leather belt from its loops.

My heart lurches and my breath stalls. He’s not going to ask to use that on me, is he? I’m not very good with pain.

As if he can read my mind, his expression softens. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I have no intention of marking your pretty skin with anything but my mouth.” He holds the belt up. “Will you let me restrain you? Just your wrists, nothing else. And I’ll untie you the minute you tell me to.”

Oh god. My hips squirm at the idea of being restrained and at Roman’s mercy. I don’t have to even think about it. I know I’m safe with him. “Okay.”

With a smile curling his mouth, he leans over me, taking my hands in his and looping his belt around my wrists.

“Keep them over your head.”

My pulse flutters at the base of my throat as I do what I’m told.

Once he’s bound them together, he steps back and assesses me. “So beautiful.”

I arch my back at the admiration in his voice.

Angling over me, he grazes his lips over mine once, twice, before pressing deeper. His kiss scorches through me, and when I moan, he growls his approval.

His mouth moves to my jaw, then my neck, and his hand slips between my legs.

I gasp in response to the sensation, and he focuses on my face, watching my reaction as he runs his fingers over me. He trails them softly over my inner thighs, then slides them into my slick heat, circling my entrance, before slowly dragging them up and down—but never with any pressure where I need it.

I angle my hips, desperate for more, but he only pulls away.

“Roman.”

His eyes flare. “Don’t move, and I promise I’ll make you feel good.”

I lace my fingers and press them into the mattress, waiting with bated breath as he dips back into me.

“You’re fucking dripping, sweetheart.”

When he strokes his finger over me again, my thighs quiver.

“This perfect little cunt needs to be fucked badly, doesn’t it?”

I squeeze my eyes shut and stifle another moan.

With his warm hands pressed into my inner thighs, he pushes them apart, leaving me wide open for his perusal.

“Hmm. Which hole should I fuck tonight, do you think?”

My eyes fly open, and I get lost in his dark stare.

“Does the thought of being fucked in the ass scare you?”

Pulse racing, I wet my lips. Does it? Maybe, but not as much as I thought it would. Not when it’s Roman.

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