Page 90 of Regret

“Why is me trusting you so important?” Her voice sounded strained as he continued to move his fingers against her.

“Because I feel something for you, Scar. It’s scaring the shit out of me, but I do. And I know you feel something for me too. Don’t deny it.”

Scarlet swallowed hard as his eyes bore into hers. “Are people like us even capable of feeling anything, Ace?”

Then he pushed his finger inside her, taking her by surprise, and she stumbled forward, grabbing onto his shoulders. Every sensual part of her was throbbing, aching…demanding.

“You feel that, don’t you, Scar? The way your body is drawn to me, the way it responds to my touch? Whatever this is between us, it’s starting to consume us both and you know it.”

He placed a soft kiss right at the corner of her mouth. “Give me this. Just tonight, surrender that fight of yours and let me have control. I need it with you, Scar.”

“So do I,” she whispered. “I need control too.”

“No. No, you don’t. What you need is to give it up. You need to let go. You pretend like you need control, but you don’t. Let me take it from you. Give me your control, and let me show you that you can trust me.”

With his finger still working her between her legs, he gripped her waist with his other hand. She closed her eyes, allowing his touch to take her closer to the edge.

“It’s not that easy for me, Ace.”

Softly he kissed her collarbone. “I know. But just try.”

She leaned her head to the side, exposing her neck, offering him more of her skin to taste. Somehow this man had the power to ease the pain inside her, to silence the voices. She would be lying if she said she didn’t want to surrender to him. “Will you tell me why you need control so badly?”

He stilled, his mouth just below her ear.

“Tell me, Ace, and I’ll give it to you. I’ll give you control.”

She could feel his warm breath against her neck, but she also felt the tension radiate from his body. This was hard for him, opening up. But if he wanted her to let down her defenses, he needed to do the same.

“Tell me, please.”

His lips touched her neck. “Because sex is the only thing I can control. I can’t control life…and I sure as hell can’t control death. Sex, your body, your pleasure are the only things I know how to control. That’s why I need it.”

Everything inside of her screamed for her to let him do this, to let him take control. Yet a part of her fought it, and it was a part of her she wished she never had. She wanted to be normal, like any other woman who wanted to be with a man uninhibited. To let a man touch her, take her, worship her…love her without having all her demons screaming inside her head. But would she be able to do it? Would she be able to surrender?

There was only one way to find out.

“Okay,” she whispered, her voice lacking the confidence she always had. Her heart was pounding, her insides coiled tight. She was nervous, maybe even scared. But she had to do this. She owed it to herself to at least try.

Hunter removed his hand from between her legs. “Lay down on the bed.” It wasn’t a request. She could see it in his eyes, the way they darkened, how he stared at her with so much hunger and intensity. He craved it. He needed it. And she had to give it to him.

With small, slow steps back she moved toward the bed, never taking her eyes off his. Her mind was still screaming at her, telling her to stop, but she chose to listen to her heart, telling her to give in…just this once.

As she lay down on the bed, she watched Hunter walk around it. Like a starved predator his gaze swept over her naked body. There was so much heat, so much untamed carnal need swirling around him, she felt it all the way inside her core, causing her to writhe on the sheets.

He stopped next to her. “Grab onto the rail of the headboard behind you.”

“What are you—”

“No questions, kitten. You’re giving me control, remember?”

She bit her lip, desperately trying to push back her natural instinct to be stubborn and demanding.

He opened the bedside drawer and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. When she saw the metal glint under the faint light, her heart almost leaped out of her chest.

“No. I can’t.” She shook her head, the screaming voices inside her head yelling at her to stop. But Hunter leaned over her, gripped her cheeks while puckering up her mouth, and kissed her hard. So hard for a moment it took her breath away. His tongue swept through her mouth, claiming every corner, tasting her, leaving her no choice but to lose herself in his kiss. So lost in his taste, his scent, his undeniable dominion over her body that it was only when she heard the click of the cuff that she realized he had slipped the metal around her wrist.

She sucked in a breath, panic threatening to choke the air out of her lungs. “Hunter, I can’t.”

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