Page 25 of Good Girl

“Yes,” I gasped.

“Take off your clothes.”

11

CHARLOTTE

“Stand still.”

Every single nerve in my body was already frozen, so that wasn’t going to be a problem. Standing naked in front of a man as gorgeous as Derek wasalwaysgoing to be terrifying. In the privacy of his room, without the threat of someone walking in on us, things were more intimate than they had been in the lecture hall, but I felt just as on display. As a bigger woman, being naked in front of someone wasscary.

Derek had also removed his shirt in naked solidarity, and my mind was silenced in awe. He was slender at first glance, but with no shirt to hide muscles from view, I could see just how subtly sculpted his body was. I wanted to reach out and touch him, drag my fingertips over his firm pecs, and press my lips to his neck to see what he tasted like.

Not yet.

“When I begin,” Derek said softly, standing in front of me and giving me such a soft look that my heart would have melted if it wasn’t going as fast as a racing rabbit, “I will be working on the understanding of trust. I will communicate everything with you, but I will not stop unless you use your safe word, do you understand?”

I nodded.

“I need to hear it, Charlotte.”

Derek was so adamant about that. “Yes,” I replied, and my voice trembled slightly.

“Good. I’m going to tie you up now, understand?”

“Yes.”

“On the bed for me, on your back.”

My legs refused to follow through on my agreement. I was rooted to the spot, eager to take that leap and trust Derek yet physically unable to. There was a fear that the moment I trusted Derek, the moment I allowed myself to be in that position, that something would change and he would realize he was making a mistake, or he would see me the way Haley and everyone else saw me.

I wanted to remain beautiful and desirable, clutching at the dream of the lecture hall despite the possible reality in front of me.

“Charlotte, I will not ask you again.” Derek’s words were sudden and much firmer than before, and it spurred me into action. The commanding tone that deepened the gravel of his voice had me suddenly, desperately wanting to please him, and I quickly crawled onto the bed. I, Charlotte Lark, was on the bed of Derek Hansen. This was beyond any fantasy I could conjure in my mind. I settled on my back, and Derek began.

He used a soft red rope that was cool against my skin to bind my wrists together. They were tied above my head and connected to a small metal hook attached to the headboard. I wondered just how many people had been in this position before me and how I would compare. Derek asked me thrice if the rope was comfortable, and I agreed each time.

My heart fluttered, and I settled back against the pillows. Derek coiled another length of rope around each ankle then vanished from view. When he came back, there was a silver metal rod in his hands that had black leather straps at either end. It wasn’t until he attached the leather straps below my knees and locked the bar in place that I realized exactly what it was. The bar prevented me from closing my legs so there was nothing I could do and nowhere I could go to hide myself from his view. The rope around my ankles was then attached to the small, narrow headboard at the foot of the bed.

I had a minimal range of movement and was fully open to Derek’s hungry gaze.

My heart jumped up into my throat, and I quickly closed my eyes, trying to will the influx of nerves to calm before they overwhelmed me.

“Charlotte.”

Derek’s calm, commanding voice cut through the noise in my mind, and a warm brush of fingers skimmed over my abdomen.

“Charlotte, open your eyes.”

Part of me wanted to refuse, afraid that I would look up and see disdain in Derek’s eyes like I saw in everyone else’s. I was scared that this was a trick, that I wasn’t going to be enough.

Suddenly, Derek’s fingers gripped my left nipple and pinched sharply. My eyes flew open, and I yelped, jerking away from the pain, but I had little room to escape.

“What the...?”

“I said, open your eyes. I expect obedience, Charlotte, and ignoring me isn’t going to be pleasant for you.” Derek’s eyes were dark, almost inky black from where I lay, but there was no disdain there. There was nothing butlust, and I dragged in a shuddering breath.

“I’m sorry,” I gasped. Derek nodded once, accepting my apology.

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