Page 9 of Dancing With Temptation

When he placed his hand in hers, she stroked the end of the crop against his palm.

“This flap of leather is soft, it feels nice, but when it hits your skin...” She flicked the crop just enough to get his attention without causing pain “...it can be either painful or stimulating. It’s your job to figure out which is which.”

“I see. This isn’t as simple as I thought. From the sounds of it, there’s a lot of danger involved.” He looked around the room again, worry evident in the way his eyelids tightened up.

“Which is why there needs to be trust,” she answered immediately. “You have to put effort into this if you want to get the most you can out of it. You can’t just tie some rope around my tits and spank me with that plastic paddle and expect anything but boredom from me. You could damage my skin in very nasty ways if you aren’t careful.”

She watched him, waiting for him to work out whatever it was that had driven his thoughts inward, not on her. There was a lot to take in and a lot he’d need to do if he wanted to bring her into this room and do more than fuck her on the table. Was he prepared for that challenge?

“It’s a little scary, but I suppose anything that involves ropes, whips, and restraints would be.” He looked down at her, his eyes sure now.

He was the one that invaded her space now, backing her up until her hips bumped at the massage table. She looked up at him, her own excitement rising as she saw how intent his eyes were, how determined his mouth looked. “I want you screaming for my dick, Roxie. I want you begging me to fuck you. But most of all…”

Her breath caught in her chest as he spoke, as he drilled into her brain and probed around with eyes that could pierce steel. She was barely able to think as she waited for him to continue.

“I want to hear you whisper my name as you come apart around me.” He almost whispered that last part, almost brought her to her knees.

It wasn’t very often that a man could captivate her like that, not often at all, and Lincoln had done it with mere words. He might be more dangerous than she’d thought. Time to take control back, before this went further than she wanted it to.

“Then you’ll have to work for it, won’t you, Lincoln?” She crooked her left eyebrow and moved away from him, just enough to catch her breath while still facing him.

“I think I might, yes. You won’t make this easy if I know anything about you.” His gaze was still intense, burning into her soul, but she was able to smile without melting into a pool of fascinated goo at his feet.

“Well, good things don’t come easy, do they?” She backed away from him again, further this time, until she stood in the doorway, peering in at him.

Did he realize she needed to get away from him before she broke her own rules? A quick glance showed a steady gaze with less heat burning from his eyes. Fuck, this was going to be hard, and it shouldn’t be. She’d hated Lincoln when they were children, back in the good old days when her family lived minutes away from his.

Well, maybe hate was too strong. She couldn’t stand to be around him because he’d always teased her, called her princess because that’s how her parents had treated her: as if she were royalty. But that was another memory she didn’t want to think about so she pulled her eyes away from his and put her hands on the doorframe. She wasn’t sure if it was to keep her from running back into the room with him or to make sure she didn’t allow herself to run away in undignified haste.

“I’ll stay in here for a bit, I think.” He said, waving his right arm around to indicate the room. “Do some studying.”

The lilt of the remnants of his English accent was more pronounced, as if he knew how the sound drew women in. Her in, at that moment, she thought wryly. “That sounds like a plan. I’m going to check my phone, make a few calls.”

“If you need anything, you know where I’ll be. And would you like me to cook dinner?” His teasing smile, the one she was used to from him, was back in place and she decided he might do alright with this stuff, after all. He’d performed well last night, even without training, she reminded herself.

The thought renewed the flush on her skin and her need to run away, but she forced her feet to stay still. “Sure, that sounds nice. I’ll come down when I get finished with my calls.”

She’d call Wendy and Emily to let them know where she was for the moment, but that was an excuse more than anything. She also needed distance from Lincoln. It was too late to back out of the contract now, even if she really wanted to. She’d look like a coward if she put a stop to it all and that was one thing she had never been.

“Oh, by the way? I still hate you, contract or no.” With a wave of her hand, she left him finally and walked back to the living room.

“Of course, princess, I didn’t expect that had changed at all.” He chuckled behind her. Before, that mocking chuckle would have infuriated her, but now? Fuck, it made her body tingle in places it definitely shouldn’t.

This was probably going to be one of the biggest mistakes of her life. She had far too many secrets, secrets that she would never tell Lincoln or anyone else. Secrets that she’d hide forever, no matter what it took. Somehow, she’d have to guard those secrets from Lincoln. And maybe try to enjoy what he had to offer her in the process. Maybe.

5

Lincoln

Lincoln sat up against plush pillows, his duvet covered in papers, pens, and the tablet he used for personal matters. He had a laptop for personal use, but right now, the tablet sufficed. He had a document open on the tablet, inserting the items Roxie—still Chloe to him—had requested in the margins of the sample contract she’d printed for him.

He couldn’t believe he was actually considering this. When she first said she wanted a contract he thought she was joking. Seems not, he mused as he picked up the final paper and went over her neat handwriting with narrowed eyes. He wanted to get this right, wanted to make this work, even if he thought it was silly.

Perhaps it wasn’t so silly, though. He’d wondered about the forceful way she said some things earlier. She would break the contract if he stepped over the line. Didn’t that go against the whole dom/sub idea? He wasn’t really looking to break her brain and make her a slavering slave, but he did want to learn to play with her, get down and dirty with her.

Which was just another sign that the old Chloe he used to know was gone. Memories of her dancing ballet again wanted to push that knowledge away, say it wasn’t true, but it was. That innocent, sweet girl was gone. In the place of that frightened girl was an independent, capable woman who feared little.

Lincoln didn’t want to think about the experiences she’d had that had made her into that new woman, not because he couldn’t bear to know she’d been hurt but because he’d want to strangle whoever had crossed a line with her. Prison wasn’t in his future, not if he could help it, so it was best not to think about men like her ex-boyfriend and let his team handle it. Tanya and the others could deal with the situation.