Page 9 of Hard Ride
I ignore her sarcasm. “You remember what I was like all those years ago. I was a scary motherfucker, and I don’t blame you for leaving. The dungeon was a lifesaver for me. It taught me how to manage and control myself. How to have what I want, but in a safe way for me and my sexual partners.”
She gazes at me warily, and I let her study me. I let her see my honesty. I’m not hiding anything or holding anything back. What I demand of my subs, I demand of myself, because after all, the only way any of this works is through total honesty.
“That doesn’t mean I still want you,” she says, throwing the words at me like a challenge, and itisa challenge. Because of course she still wants me.
“Oh, Katherine.” I give her a wolfish smile. “Come on, now.”
She flushes even deeper, and I remember that flush. She could never hide it, not with her pale skin. “You remember those times?” I go on, keeping my voice low, pushing her a little.“When I held your hands down beside your head and I fucked you like that? You came so fast and so hard, you left me behind.”
Her red lashes come down, veiling her gaze. Her knuckles are white in her lap, and I know she remembers. She remembers every second.
“Have you ever come like that again?” I ask softly, pushing her further. “Have you ever screamed anyone’s name the way you screamed mine? I can make you come like that again. I can make you come so many times you won’t even remember your own.”
Her chest is rising and falling, fast and hard. She’s staring fixedly at her hands and no doubt trying not to give in to me. She doesn’t want to acknowledge those needs of hers. Perhaps she’s afraid of what that makes her, and I want to teach her that it makes her a goddess. Just as mine makes me a god. We belong together, she and I. We always have.
“Coming is easy,” she says, determinedly casual. “Anyone can do that.”
“If that’s the case, then why not say yes?” I ask. “But this is a one-night offer. You know who I am now. You know what I am. So, if you choose to walk out that door tonight, that’s it. You’re gone for good.”
She flicks a glance up at me. “What do you mean?”
I stare back. “This is me, Katherine. I want what I want, and I won’t compromise. But if this is truly not what you want, then you can leave. I won’t stop you. You can’t change your mind and come back, though. It’s now or never, sweet girl.”
Giving a time limit can be helpful for making decisions, though if she walks out now, I’ll probably follow. Now she’s here, I can’t bear for her to leave.
Her eyes flare at the sound of my old pet name for her. “Tate, this is?—”
“Too fast? You need more time?” I interrupt. “You know already what decision you’re going to make. Your body has made it for you. It’s just going to take a couple of moments for your mind to catch up.”
“Oh, fuck you,” she snaps, but there’s a lack of heat in the words.
I smile. “You can certainly fuck me, but only if you earn the right to do so.”
She snorts. “So, you want to have sex? That’s basically what you’re saying, right?”
“Essentially,” I reply. “But this time we’ll be doing it my way.”
“Is there any other way but your way?”
She’s being flippant, trying to minimize the tension, but I’m not going to let her. “You don’t have to pretend,” I say. “The Katherine I knew was braver than that.”
A strange expression crosses her face, but it’s gone before I have time pinpoint what it is. She looks away again, her jaw tight.
You can ask questions,” I go on. “You can ask any question you like, and I’ll answer honestly. None of this works without honesty.”
She’s silent a moment, then she finally asks, as if the words have been forced from her, “Okay, fine. So…. howdoesit all work?”
“It works like this. You give me your total submission, which means submitting to me in every way, both mentally and physically, for the length of the scene.” I pin her gaze with mine, so she understands. “Submission is a gift. It’s an exercise in trust. As a Dom, I have to keep that trust, that gift, safe. And in return, I will take control of your body and your mind, and I will give you pleasure beyond anything you’ve ever experienced.”
She blinks but doesn’t look away.
“But I get nothing if you don’t give me your submission first,” I continue. “It’s a power exchange. You get to give up control for however long you want, which means you don’t have to do anything, you don’t have to make any decisions, and you let me do all the work. And I get to take that control. I get to dominate you, while keeping you and your trust safe, and that gives me enormous pleasure.” I pause. “But again, if you don’t give me that gift, I don’t get a fucking thing.”
“But you could just take it, couldn’t you?” she asks, her expression guarded.
Instantly, I’m on high alert. It’s a valid question, but now I’m wondering if she had an experience with a Dom that wasn’t good. It would explain her fear and her reluctance to admit that she’s submissive.
“No,” I say flatly, making sure she understands. “It’s not submission if it’s taken by force, and that’s not what I’m into. I want the gift, Katherine. And I want you to give it to me willingly.” I stare at her. “Did that happen to you? Did someone take it by force?”
