Page 14 of A Risk Worth Taking

The room is dark.As I expected it to be. To get into the backroom, we had to walk to the end of the hall and go through a pair of large, black, wooden doors that took us into a darkened area where the music disappeared and was replaced with a low, seductive tune meant solely to fill the silence. We passed several doors and then stopped at door number one. If I wasn’t so nervous, I would’ve made a joke about selecting the prize behind this first door.

Lincoln pulled a keycard out of his pocket and pressed it to the access box. The light turned green, and he opened the door. For a moment, I could see inside the room because of the bit of light coming from the hall, but all I could make out was a bed before we stepped inside, where the room was shrouded in darkness.

My eyes are still adjusting, so I can’t see Lincoln, but with his fingers still threaded in mine, I can feel him. He squeezes my hand and then I’m tugged toward him, my body not stopping until it’s pressed up against his own.

“Can I take your mask off?” he asks, running his finger along my jawline.

“No,” I say, wishing I could tell him otherwise. “I want this to be completely anonymous.”

“All right,” he concedes. “What are your hard limits?”

For a second, I’m dumbstruck, wondering why he’s asking me that. But then I remember where we are—at a sex club—and since this wasn’t planned, and we don’t know each other, we don’t know what each other is willing and not willing to do.

Shit. I clearly didn’t think this through. He owns a damn sex club—of course, he’s into kinky shit...and he’s going to expect it. Only there’s no way I can give him what he wants. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to go through with sex, let alone allow him to do other things to me.

When I don’t respond, he backs up slightly. “If you don’t want this...”

“I do,” I choke out, “but...I’m new to all of this. My prior experience wasn’t—” I swallow nervously, unsure how the hell I can explain to him what’s going through my head.

“Wasn’t what?” he prompts.

“It wasn’t good,” I tell him truthfully. “That’s why I’m here. I want to be with someone who knows what he’s doing. Who will show me what good sex feels like, and then, like you, I want to walk away.” I release a sigh of relief at having told him the truth. He may not know it’s me, but at least I was honest with him as much as I could be.

When he doesn’t say anything right away, I worry he’s going to walk away—and I wouldn’t blame him. This isn’t what he was expecting at all.

But then he gently pushes me backward until my back hits the wall, and his breath feathers across my face. “If there’s anything you don’t like, you need to speak up. Tell me. Being inthe dark means I can’t read your features, and sometimes our bodies and minds don’t react the same.”

“Okay,” I breathe, realizing this is happening. I’m about to have sexwillinglyfor the first time, and it’s with Lincoln fucking Alexander.

With his fingers still linked with mine, he raises our hands above my head, forcing my face to tilt to the other side. With my neck exposed, he places an open-mouthed kiss to the sensitive spot just below my ear and then trails more kisses along my heated flesh, across my jaw, and then places one more to the corner of my mouth. My entire body shivers in response, and he chuckles darkly at my unbridled reaction.

“Tell me what was bad last time,” he whispers against my lips, “so I can make sure it’s better this time.”

“Everything,” I croak out, not wanting to relive what happened to me years ago, wanting to stay in the moment with Lincoln. “Please,” I beg, “just make it feel good...makemefeel good.”

At my words, his mouth connects with mine. The kiss is firm yet gentle. Hard but still somehow soft. Our lips curl around each other, moving in tandem. Lincoln’s tongue seeks entrance and I welcome him, sighing into the kiss as we taste one another. I wasn’t sure how it would work with us both wearing masks, but they do nothing to deter the way we want each other.

All we’re doing is kissing, but it feels like so much more. My body is on fire, the apex of my legs is clenching with want, butterflies are swarming my belly, and my heart is racing in the best way possible. I’ve never felt like this before, and it gives me hope that I’ll be able to get through this without freaking out. That the trust in him is enough to make me feel safe with my emotions.

I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don’t realize the kiss has ended until I hear Lincoln whisper into my ear, “You taste so good. Can I find out if you taste as good everywhere?”

Oh, fuck. “Yes.” I nod frantically, even though he can’t see me.

He unlinks our hands, and his touch disappears, reappearing seconds later with his fingers skating down my arm and stopping at my breast. He pulls down that portion of my dress, along with my bra cup, and exposes my nipple. The cool air causes the peak to harden, and when his wet tongue circles the tip and then sucks, I let out a heady moan, my eyes closing as I relish in the pleasure.

Big mistake.

The second my lids close, and Lincoln bites down on my nipple, images ofthat nightsurface.

The force.

The begging.

The agony.

The pleading.

I try to push the flashbacks away, but they’re too strong, feel too real. Every ounce of pleasure is replaced with the memory of pain. My moans are on the verge of morphing into a cry for help.

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