Page 91 of Take Me Under

He stumbled back as Zeke loomed over him.

“Get lost,” Zeke growled, his voice low and dangerous. The man tried to peer around him to take another photo, but in one violent motion, Zeke knocked the camera out of his hand. Pieces scattered all over the concrete.

I gasped.

“Hurry up. We need to get inside,” Anton advised. He didn’t seem rattled by the intrusion, but his grip tightened around my wrist as he pulled me forward, his pace quickening. I stole a glance at him as we entered the grand lobby, catching the tense set of his jaw and the flicker of irritation in his eyes.

“What was that all about?”

“It’s what Zeke has been warning me about. I just hope that guy wasn’t tracking us from the club.” He exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “Things might have to change in the days and weeks ahead.”

I didn’t ask what he meant bythings. I already knew the answer. If I was going to continue being with him, even if we agreed it would only be for a short time, that meant accepting everything else that came with his world—and his world didn’t allow for anonymity.

We reached the private elevator that would take us to the penthouse, I stepped inside and exhaled the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. Anton reached for me, placing his hand possessively on my hip. The air inside the elevatorsuddenly grew tense, but it wasn’t caused by the intrusive reporter. This was something else—something darker that had been left unfinished from the club.

I could feel the heat radiating from Anton. His hand flexed on my hip. It was a reminder that he could touch and take if he wanted to, and that I’d willingly give without question. I wasn’t sure when or how it had happened, but I already knew I’d lost pieces of myself to him.

When the doors opened to the hotel’s penthouse suite, I was awed once again by its breathtaking vaulted ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the city. The décor was sleek, modern yet indulgent, with deep leather furnishings and gold accents that screamed exclusivity.

I crossed the entryway, barely giving myself a moment to consider my next move before Anton’s presence consumed everything. He seemed everywhere all at once. The energy from the club hadn’t waned. If anything, it had intensified. The unadulterated lust, the restraint, the denied orgasm, and boundaries that neither one of us had a chance to voice all invaded my senses at once.

I turned to him, my pulse seeming to falter at the look in his eyes—carnal, shrewd, hungry.

Anton took a slow step forward, backing me up against the nearest wall, his hands bracing on either side of me. His lips curled in a way that made him look dangerous.

“Tell me what you want, Serena.”

I swallowed, remembering how I’d felt in the club. When I was there, I’d surrendered in the same way the woman in the flames had. I’d given into my desires without restraint, and I wanted to go back to that moment. Lifting my chin with a confidence I didn’t really feel, I looked him square in the eye.

“I want all of it. Do what you said you were going to do tonight. Take the lead.”

“Do you know that that means?”

My breath hitched, anticipation snapping through me like a live wire.

“Not exactly. But I want to find out.”

“Then follow me.”

My pulse quickened with every step I took toward the bedroom. Anticipation curled low in my stomach, a delicious ache that tightened with each passing second. My breathing became shallow and uneven, half from nerves and half from an acute awareness of what was to come. I wasn’t afraid, but I was on the edge of something I couldn’t define, and every part of me burned to experience it.

When we reached the side of the four-poster bed, Anton turned me to face him.

“Take your clothes off. But leave those fuck-me shoes and thigh-highs on. And this.” He paused, reaching up to touch the ruby heart at my neck.

“The necklace?”

“Yes. I like seeing you in jewels. It will also serve as a reminder that you’re not like me, and I need to take things slow.”

My eyes widened and my already rapid heartrate intensified, unsure what he meant. I closed my eyes.

Trustfall.

This was what I wanted. Reaching up, I tugged at the zipper near my neck. The little black dress pooled at my feet, leaving only my thigh-highs, bra, and panties. Anton eyed me appreciatively. Then he stepped back and pulled his phone from his pocket. He fiddled with it for a moment until music filtered from the wireless speaker on the dresser.

The low, sultry bass ofPleasureby Two Feet pulsed through the room. Each strum of the guitar slid temptingly over my skin, creating a mood not all that dissimilar to that of the club. In just a few short seconds, the air in the room started to sizzle like the wick of a bomb waiting to go off. It was more than just sensualbackground music—it was a promise and a silent invitation, charging the space until I felt ready to combust.

Anton returned to me, a wicked gleam in his eyes.His gaze skimmed up and down my body, fanning the fire building in the pit of my stomach. I loved the way he looked at me.

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