In the Den by Sierra Cartwright Read Free Book Online Page B

used to it. Warmer?”
    “Thanks, yes.”
    His rugged handsomeness stole her breath. She’d wondered what he looked like, but the first glance of his bare chest exceeded her expectations. A smattering of hair arrowed downwards to disappear beneath the waistband of his jeans. She was tantalized, aching to touch him.
    He eased her down to the floor and held her close.
    Looking up at him, she said, “I suppose I should take care of you now. Give you a blowjob or something.”
    “I’m not done with you yet.”
    “Oh. Right. You need to tie me up before you fuck me or something equally diabolical.”
    “You can relax. I don’t typically beat women until the second date.” He snagged both glasses of wine.
    Curious, she followed him into the living room and joined him on the couch that faced the fireplace. She tucked her legs beneath her and accepted the merlot. “This is an odd dungeon,” she said.
    “Building your anticipation.”
    “Uh, I’m good with never seeing it.” Until tonight, she’d had no idea he had a sense of humor. That made her appreciate him all the more. “But I am puzzled as to what we’re doing.” What hot-blooded man wouldn’t want to screw immediately after licking her cunt?
    He faced her. “Talking.”
    “Talking?” With her being so exposed and his bare chest?
    “That’s the most important part of submission. The physical connection matters, but I’m considerably more interested in your brain than anything else.”
    “I’m not sure if you’re being serious here.”
    “Very much. When you fully offer yourself to me, it will mean you’ve shared your emotions, your fears, vulnerabilities. Everything.”
    She laughed. “Good luck with that. That’s what I have my girlfriends for. I don’t do that with men.”
    “You prefer they keep their place, under your foot?”
    “That sounds harsh.”
    “But true?”
    She took a sip of her wine and allowed her hair to fall forward to hide her expression. As he had earlier, Damien brushed back the strands.
    “I’d prefer you look at me when we talk.”
    She met his gaze and wished his eyes weren’t that shocking shade of blue. He seemed to see into her, as if intent on prying out all her secrets. Despite the room’s warmth, she shivered.
    “When did you become a Domme? After a bad relationship?”
    “So you became a Dom after a woman challenged you? You had to become a big, bad alpha male to prove something?”
    Maddeningly, he kept his calm.
    “I’ve always been a Dom,” he responded, his voice as easy and well-modulated as it had been all evening. “There wasn’t a moment or an event. It’s not the same for you.”
    “What makes you all-knowing, all-seeing?” She scooted away from him. To his credit, he let her go.
    “Because of the way you snapped at me just now.”
    “I didn’t.”
    “I touched a nerve, Milady. I can live with that. In fact, I was hoping to do it. I meant it when I told you I want to know everything you’ve never shown anyone else.”
    “I was engaged,” she said. “Until Joseph cleaned out the account we’d opened together.” She tipped back her head. “We were saving for the wedding and for a house. Before he left, he maxed out my credit cards as well. And the worst thing about it…”
    “Go on.”
    Damien hadn’t tried to placate her or comfort her. He was simply listening.
    “I freaking knew better,” she finished. “Dad vanished before I was born, and my mother struggled her entire life, working two jobs to support us. I should have learnt from her, but I didn’t. I fell in love and was goo-goo starry-eyed.” She slid her glass onto the coffee table. “Once was enough.”
    “It seems like a leap from a guy being a dick to you being a Domme.”
    “I decided I would be in charge of my life, make my own decisions after that. I wanted to be equal in every way.” Todd’s words, though, haunted her. Had she bypassed equal and gone for control freak?
    “All of your relationships