Page 80 of Choke

Not a question. A demand.

My eyebrows furrow at this, at the expectation.

“How exactly would you suggest I do that? I don’t have your phone number or address. Should I send out smoke signals? Fly a message through the sky and hope you see it?”

He smirks, taking another step into the room.

“Well, you could have messaged me on Instagram.”

Right. That.

I blush at him calling this out. I forgot that Aleks outed me for being a creepy Instagram stalker. I want to pick a fight and scream that he has no right to know anything about me or my plans, that he’s done nothing but play games that I don’t know the rules to, but he continues.

“So, what will I do with you?”

He doesn’t sound angry; he sounds hungry, and my breathing kicks up a notch.

“I want to punish you. I want to teach you how my woman should act.”

His… woman?

Tingles spread across my skin, leaving it flushed and covered in goosebumps. I can’t take another edging. I think I’ll die. Even at this moment, the thrum between my legs threatens to make me buckle.

Is it hot in here?

“Take off your clothes.”

It’s a demand. One I could deny. One I should deny. The house is full of people who love me. Aleks would throw him out in a heartbeat if I called for help. But I don’t move—my pulse pounds. I don’t need help. My hands move from my thighs to the hem of the shirt I’m wearing, and I pull it slowly over my head before moving to my shorts, hooking my thumbs into the waistband and pausing. His chest rises and falls in quicker succession, and his gaze is fixed on my bare chest.

I notice the movement in his shorts, the way his dick presses against the material.

“Keep going.”

I shift and work my shorts down, leaving myself standing bare and exposed before him, and I fight the urge to cover my tummy.

God, he can see all of me.

The roaring silence returns, and he stares at me for an eternity. I would give anything for a pathway into his thoughts. What does he see when he looks at me, at my body littered with tattoos? He’s hard,but that doesn’t mean he likes what he sees. I’ve heard men talk about their conquests over the years, and it doesn’t always take physical attraction for a man to get hard over a woman. Sometimes, it’s simply a biological response to a naked—

“You’re so fucking beautiful…”

Oh… my…

My eyes drop to my body—the rise and fall of my breath, the heat pooling between my legs. I know I’ll do whatever he wants. Now. Tomorrow. Next week.

He can take it all with my blessing.

“Crawl to me, Lex.”

Don’t immediately comply.

Make him think you’re fighting back.

I arch a brow, my voice smooth, slow, wrapped in silk.

“I beg your pardon?”

Something flashes in his eyes as he responds, “Oh. Beg.” A dark chuckle, the sound dragging heat down my spine, “Not yet, but you will.”