Page 221 of Those Who Are Bound

Elliott

Elliottcouldhaveswornshe passed out for a second as Jonah watched her. But she was still on her feet.

He made a little wave with the rope he was holding. “Why didn’t I know about this?”

Unable to meet his piercing gaze, she looked at the rope. Strangely, it was easier. That was a first. “I don’t know what you mean. I’ve told you I have a… complicated relationship with rope.”

Because playing dumb was going to get her out of whatever this was? And, “this.” What did he mean by that? Becks obviously had a hand in this, but how much had he divulged? How many secrets did he let loose?

That she liked to be tied up? Not a big deal.

That she used to make him re-enact horrific scenes?Thatwas a big deal, probably bordering on psychosis.That her proclivity led to death?

Why was he even standing here, looking like he wanted to fuck the life out of her?

“How many times have I told you I’m a rope master?”

A small, desperate sound escaped her, which had her biting her lower lip. In her peripheral vision, she saw him tilt his head to gain her attention. She glanced up hesitantly. Not because she was nervous about anything he would do to her, but because she was waiting for her own destructive impulses to kick in.

Because he didn’t know.

“Ropes are a tool, my medium. I respect them. I trust them. If I can use them to bring you pleasure, it only increases their value for me.”

A breath escaped her. And here came that part of herself that wanted to challenge him. Her entire body vibrated, and again, her mind started creating impossible designs of how the rope could be used. On her. On him. Oh, especially on him, if only to humble the look he had right now.

“You don’t understand,” she started. But how did she explain that she was a freak, a monster?

Especially when he was looking at her likehewas going to devourher?

A slow grin that she could only define as primitive turned him into the wolf she’d fancied him to be almost from the start. Black hair, black beard, glittering green eyes. It was like he’d transformed in the time she’d known him into what he’d been meant to be all along.

A match for her.

Straightening off the jamb, he prowled into the room. Her immediate instinct was to retreat, but she stood her ground; the fighter in her refused to back down. The challenge he presented, thinking he could come in here and so easily sway her…

Well, wolf. I’m not a kitten.

She jerked her chin up; battling fiercely with herself to maintain composure when she felt the rope against her stomach. She shivered. He lit up at the reaction, watching closely; studying. Another simple snaking of the rope along her tummy had her sucking in her breath.

It was her kryptonite, it weakened her, it excited her. She was powerless against the carnal sensations that raced through her at the simple contact. Hiding it was impossible. But it didn’t mean she was going to buckle and fall to her knees in front of him, the supplicant at his altar.

No, if he wanted her on her knees, he would have to put her there.

“Take off your clothes.”

She scoffed in his face. “Did you think you would waltz in here, dangle some rope, and I’d turn into some submissive type? Do you think that’s what happened to the others?” Raising up on her tiptoes, she matched him nose to nose. “Becks left out some of your training, Preacher Man.”

He cocked his head, a confused look on his face. Looking her over again as though to assess her, his eyes met hers and he cocked his head the other way. “Hmm.”

“Hmm,” she mimicked, frowning back.

Quick as a whip, he reached out and spun her around. Before she could protest or do more than shimmy her shoulders, her forearms were bound with the rope behind her back.

“Hey!” She struggled even as her body lit on fire. Every pull against the rope sent delicious sensations skittering over her skin, increasing the throbbing between her legs.

Jerking her back against him, he growled into her ear, “Don’t mistake me for a man of God in your bedroom, Elliott. Here, I’m not that man. But Iwillhave you on your knees.” He knocked the back of hers, sending her down.

“Jonah!” she cried out. But it wasn’t in protest; she’d never been more aroused. He’d been a rough lover in the past, but this was new. He gathered her hair, drew it back, and secured it.

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