Page 39 of Reveal Me
Did I push her too hard with the spreader bar?
‘Are you okay?’ I offer her the cloth.
She stares at me for a long beat like she’s not sure what to do with it, so I place it between her legs and clean her up.
It’s official.
The woman has me doing things I’ve never done before, and it’s only the first night. Yet something about her makes me want to take care of her. Maybe because she’s not from this life. Maybe because she’s too good for it. I don’t know, and I don’t want to spend too long thinking about it.
She watches as I clean her up. ‘I’m…’ she pauses like she’s struggling to find the right word. ‘I don’t know if I’ll ever be alright again.’ She rolls her lips like she’s biting back a smile. ‘That was incredible. The way you commanded my body. The rush when you finally gave me what I needed. Is it always like that?’
Our eyes meet again. Hers are earnest and full of wonder, like a child seeing Christmas lights for the first time. Something stabs my sternum. I contemplate lying to her, but it’d probably be written all over my face.
I pause for a long beat.
I can’t admit the truth—that I’ve never felt anything close to this.
I offer her my hand. She takes it, and I help her upright, and for some reason, I can’t let it go. ‘That was mild compared to most of what I’ve done down here, but it was easily the most… gratifying.’
I’m putting it down to her innocence of this life, and rare luxury of looking at my sub while I fuck her—safe in the knowledge that she won’t fall for me. But fuck, I didn’t give any consideration to the unthinkable—that I could be the one to fall.
I shake my head.
No Sean.
Don’t be so fucking stupid.
It’s just the high of doing something so forbidden. Banging a princess has to be the most forbidden thing I’ve ever done. I have money by the bucketload, land, connections. I come from a prominent family–one which has been unfortunately shrouded in scandal over the years. Between our public feud with the O’Connors, James’s sex scandal on a yacht, Killian’s glamour model girlfriend and the stalker who set her house on fire, the tabloids definitely wouldn’t convince anyone I’m an appropriate match. Plus, I don’t have a title, and even though it's not mandatory, it hasn’t escaped my attention that every man the princess has been pictured with over the years possesses one–yes, I spent all week doing my own online stalking. I’d bet everything I own that the Queen would never allow her baby girl to date a commoner, which makes any sort of relationship between us forbidden—even without the BDSM element.
I catch myself again. Relationship. Like I told Layla over dinner, it’s an arrangement. What the fuck has got into me tonight?
Silence stretches between us as the full meaning of my admission weaves between us; understanding flares in her eyes.
I drop her hand, hearing the sound of running water overflowing. ‘Shit. The hot tub!’
Her laughter floats through the air as I rush to turn the taps off. I did mention aftercare isn’t my forte.
‘Get in. The salts will help your muscles.’
‘Are you getting in?’ She appears behind me with a hopeful expression on her features.
‘No.’ I don’t do that. ‘Put your mask back on. I’ll send two of the masseuses in with your things. They’ll take care of you.’
Disappointment flickers in those huge chocolate eyes, and I feel like a massive twat, but I can’t stay here with her. I need to process. I assumed it would be her who would be reeling after tonight, but turns out it’s me. I need to get out of here. I need to get myself together. I hate leaving already, but I can’t stay. It feels too intimate. Too much.
I do something I never do—press a fleeting kiss to her temple. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?’ I run a thumb over the back of her arm before backing away.
‘Yes, sir.’ Her tone is laced with a defiance that I don’t know what to do with. We both know what we signed up for, and it wasn’t romance. Her fingers reach for the collar and unclip it. I shoot forward again, halting her hands. ‘Leave it on until you get out of here.’ The prospect of anyone else thinking she’s free and touching her is enough to set me feral.
‘Yes, sir.’ A small smirk of satisfaction touches her lips.
The first night with her and I’m fucking obsessed with her—and now she knows it.
Fuck.
Chapter Seventeen
SEAN
