Page 41 of T is for…

“And if I don’t back out?”

“You want me to tell you what I have planned for you?”

“Yes.”

“Too bad.” Another grin. “In or out, Patel?”

“In,” she said without hesitation.

“Good girl. Now stand up.”

He guided her into a standing position. He didn’t let go, sitting forward and holding her hips as she shook out her legs. She wasn’t as young as she once was, holding a kneeling position more difficult now.

“You can drop your arms.”

He rose as she shook out her arms, and then Nathan laced his fingers with hers.

“Trust me?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s time to go.”

Chapter 10

Given that the entire club had shown up for the game announcement, it wasn’t surprising that they didn’t end up in a playroom off one of the three named courtyards. Instead, Nathan led her to a bedroom in the separate hotel-esque building on the expansive Las Palmas grounds.

What the room lacked in specialized BDSM furniture, trunks full of equipment, and dramatic lighting, it made up for with a relaxed, intimate feel. The dark-wood floor and exposed beams contrasted with the pillowy white linens and plethora of fat white pillar candles.

Most of the candles had turned on with the flick of a switch. Only the half dozen candles safely inside tall, straight-sided glass holders on the heavy wood mantle above the Spanish-tile fireplace were real. Those Nathan lit with a long-necked lighter, and the faint scent of cedar and wax filled the air.

A wide, black iron candelabra, probably meant to go down the center of a mission-style dining table, was set in the fireplace, in place of logs. The glow from the battery-operated pillar candles set on each wax pan was nearly indistinguishable from the glow coming from the real candles, and together, they cast a half-moon of warm light over the floor in front of the fireplace.

If Tara had been even slightly less aroused, she would have campaigned for them to put on comfy robes and take a seat by the fireplace. There was one overstuffed piece of furniture, either a very wide armchair, or a narrow love seat, set at an angle facing the fireplace. It was enough for two, though they’d be squished.

Tara could picture it. Nathan would slouch back, his long legs sprawled and spread. She’d sit sideways, her legs across his, her butt nestled into the space between his thigh and the arm. Then he could prop his book on her leg. They’d done it before, most recently when they were stuck together at an airport and had found themselves a quiet corner. She’d laid out her shawl to protect herself from the dirty airport carpet and lay down, legs draped over his thighs, and he’d propped a book on her shins. Normally she wouldn’t have been able to sleep on the floor of an airport, surrounded by sound and strangers, but she’d drifted into a light sleep because Nathan was there, and she’d known she was safe.

Steering away from that thought, she rubbed her arms to get rid of the goose bumps. He’d helped her put on her shoes and robe before they left the library, but the thin robe wasn’t much defense against the light breeze that swept over the open ground between the main courtyards and this building. Though all around them were the soft hills of the Malibu canyons, the ocean wasn’t far away; it’s presence making itself known in the slight bite of cold contained in the breeze, cutting through an otherwise warm night.

Nathan turned to face her, closing the drawer in the waist-high dresser he’d been peering into. “Cold?”

“Not really.”

“Then take off the robe.”

The walk had taken the edge off her arousal, and she’d expected some transition to ease back into the scene—a conversation, maybe some light touches.

But his tone was low and serious, his brows pinched in a frown as he looked at her robe.

Tara slowly undid the knot in the sash, then paused, remembering what he’d said back in the library.

I want you to fight me so I can hold you down. Make sure you feel exactly how helpless you are because I’m more physically powerful than you.

Tara looked at him from under her lashes. “Make me.”

Nathan inhaled hard, eyes going wide as his gaze jerked up to hers. Tara lifted her chin, looking at him in challenge rather than submission. He took a step toward her, but paused, still hesitant.

They’d both admitted this wasn’t normally how they played, but she wanted this. Wanted it so badly that the want made her reckless and wild.

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