Page 55 of Heart of Stone (Dark Billionaires)

“Loads of the boys on our estate used to do the same,” Kate leant into Warren. “I remember badgering Warren and my brother to take me on my bike, complete with pink streamers and stabilisers.”

Shaking her head, Alison smiled at Warren fondly. “I wish our lot had had stabilisers. Would have saved us endless grief. During the summer, half of the boys would end up down A&E with mountain biking injuries. The first time Aldous went with them—the only time—he broke his collarbone.”

Kate winced compassionately, but Warren’s hand pulled on her waist. “Alison,” he said suddenly, smiling as Sarah approached them. “I don’t believe you’ve met my mother, Sarah.”

“No,” Alison said warmly. “How wonderful to meet—”

“Come on,” Warren whispered into her ear, pulling her away from the older women.

Kate glanced back, but the two were sharing a laugh. “Don’t you want to say hello to your mum?”

“I already saw her before the party. But I’ve got plans for you, kitten.”

Warren politely but firmly fended off other guests as he directed them out of the marquee. They were forced to pause to greet people, and Kate forgot their names as soon as they were spoken.

They soon left the carpeted paths laid out for partygoers, migrating to the stone path that would lead them inside. Just beyond the treeline, Kate spied security personnel lurking. The longer she looked, the more guards she saw. She would have sighed with relief, had her blood not been racing at the prospect of Warren isolating her from the rest of the party.

Once inside, Warren pulled her into a room she’d never been in before. A lounge, dashed with warm coral tones. He slammed the door behind them, catching her in his grasp to growl in her ear. “Your safe word is pepper.”

“Pepper,” she repeated, hiding the excitement that the mere prospect of a safe word brought with it.Pepper. Pepper. Pepper.

She had no warning before he unzipped her dress, the material sagging open around her. Warren shoved it to the ground as though its existence had personally offended him, leaving her standing only in her heels and lacy pants. “Warren!” she cried, outraged.

“If you didn’t want me to act like an animal, you shouldn’t have worn that fucking dress.”

Kate bit her lip. She shivered as Warren circled her with a predatory gaze, though it had more to do with the idea of being prey than her state of undress.

He paused directly in front of her, reaching almost lazily into his pocket. Panic flared inside her when he drew out a penknife, but she remained still as he approached. The blade caught the light, throwing it into her eyes.

“Although I approve of your choice of bra,” he murmured, trailing the blade across her nipple.

The sharp prick made her whimper. The questionnaires had discussed the use of blades—which she had consented to—but she wasn’t expecting it to be the first thing he explored. Kate gasped when the tip found her other nipple, flicking back and forth. “I’m… I’m not wearing a bra.”

“Exactly.” Warren pinched her nipplehard, prompting her to cry out. “Goodgirl. I’m tempted to mark you here with the blade, just in case you forget who you belong to.”

A strangled noise escaped her at his touch, followed by a quick gasp of relief when he let go.

Her reprieve was short-lived, however.

Warren hooked his fingers into the side of her underwear, slitting the fabric with the knife. He repeated the process on the other side, easily pulling the scrap of lace away from her body. Holding her gaze, he bunched it up in his hand and brought it to his nose, inhaling deep. “Damp already?” he taunted her.

She nodded—then yelped when she felt the cold bite of the knife’s blunt edge between her legs. Warren moved it slowly along her folds, grinning at her whimper when it hit her clit. “Warren,” she squeaked.

He only smirked, bringing the knife to his lips and licking her taste off its blunt edge. He quickly put it back in his pocket, letting his hand rest around her neck. “Kneel.”

Kate’s shoulders were the first to relax, as though that single word changed everything. She let out a cool, calm exhale before gracefully dropping to her knees. The carpeted floor hit her, hundreds of fibre strands caressing her all at once, but the only thing she was able to focus on was Warren.

His rough fingers lifted her chin with unexpected tenderness. “Spread your legs.”

She obeyed, feeling so exposed it was maddening, but he rewarded her with a loving smile.

“You’re perfect,” he whispered, visually perusing her body at his leisure. Smirking, he stepped away and leant against the back of the room’s Chesterfield sofa. “Take out my cock, kitten.”

She went to stand up, but his voice made her pause.

“Ah-ah,” he chided. “Crawl to me.”

The order should have been humiliating. Infuriating, even. But even as that thought crossed her mind, a darker, more intriguing thread overruled it. Her body began to crawl before she’d had a chance to wonderwhyshe found this so arousing.

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