Page 36 of Take Me Under

My body purred as Anton invaded my senses. Without thinking, I gave him my unvarnished opinion.

“She’s a woman who understands and accepts who she is. Unafraid to bend to her own needs, she defies societal norms and takes what she wants, owning her pleasure without seeking permission.” The words tumbled out of me, making me feel exposed and vulnerable.

And then, unexpectedly, tears pricked at the corners of my eyes when I realized how much the marble statue revealed about myself. I wasn’t her, but I wanted to be.

“What else?” he asked, the heat of his words like a caress over the shell of my ear. The air turned heavy, and it felt like Anton and I were the only two people in the world.

“I-I don’t know,” I stammered.

“I think you do. You’re just holding back because of the stigmas surrounding pleasure and fantasy. There are far too many of them. Why live life pretending pleasure—in all its forms—doesn’t exist? I want you to let go of everything you know and tell me what you desire.”

My heart raced as I considered his demand. What I was thinking—what I was feeling—seemed sacrilegious. But I told him anyway.

“I want to be her. I want to know what that kind of unashamed pleasure feels like.” The words were barely a whisper. I should be horrified by the revelation, yet I wasn’t. Ididn’t know what it was about this man that made me divulge so much raw emotion. For a moment, I wondered if it was because I knew he would understand.

“I want you to do something for me.”

“What?” My breath hitched as his mouth moved to hover over mine. His lips couldn’t have been more than an inch away.

“Trustfall. Can you do that?”

That single request was as smooth as velvet. The cautious side of me warned that I was approaching dangerous territory, but I didn’t care to listen to it. It was all too easy to let every ounce of my self-preservation to slip away. Unable to stop the word from slipping from my tongue, I gave him the answer he was searching for.

“Yes.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Anton

Asurge of victory came over me, even though I’d only just begun the battle. The odds of her being here—directly outside my club—had to be slim to none. Yet here she was confessing her desires, her gaze as potent as the flames she’d created. Perhaps I was wrong to assume she wouldn’t be accepting of Club O and all the forms of salacious behavior that accompanied it. It was time I stopped asking myself who Serena was, and dig deeper to find out.

I released her hand to wrap an arm around her slim waist, pulling her tight to me. My free hand came up to cup the side of her neck. Her pulse was racing.

“You shouldn’t be so quick to trust me, princess. I’m not a nice guy.” She inhaled sharply, but she didn’t pull away. Her stormy blue gaze never wavered. “When I see something I want, I make it mine. And I want you. In my bed and screaming my name. Does that scare you?”

Her breath caught again, as if she were surprised by my brutal honesty, but there was no mistaking the desire swirling in her eyes.

“No. Not afraid. I’m just…” She paused, seeming to search for the right words.

I took us a step forward, forcing her to move backward until she was pressed against one of the stone columns flanking the driveway to Club O. My cock ached painfully. All I wanted to do was carry her into one of the private rooms of my club and fuck her until I sated this irrational need that I had for her.

But I didn’t do that. Instead, I pressed my body close to hers and placed my hands against the stone on the sides of her head. When she closed her eyes in silent surrender, I nearly groaned. With her caged between my arms, I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

I was gentle, making the kiss a complete contradiction to my crude words and hard cock. But that was the point. I knew Serena couldn’t be rushed. I just want to give her something to think about.

I didn’t use my tongue, but focused on her pouty lower lip, pulling it into my mouth briefly before releasing her. I stared into her eyes to see a raging ocean reflecting back at me. Serena would be fire in bed. I was sure of it, and in that moment, I’d never wanted to bury myself in a woman more. I took a deep breath, restraining myself from shoving those tight pants down her hips and doing exactly that.

I cupped the side of her cheek.

“I will have you eventually, princess. I want you in a proper bed when I take you, someplace where I can take my time worshipping your body.”

She angled her head to the side, cradling it in the palm of my hand.

“My flight back to Italy leaves on Friday,” she whispered.

I studied her. I didn’t know if that was a statement of fact orif she was trying to send a message that we only had one more day. Whether we ended up in bed or not, this wouldn’t be the end—at least not if I had anything to do with it. I had to see her again.

“What are you saying?” I asked.

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