Smoking Holt by Sabrina York Read Free Book Online Page A

was to die for. She ate all her slices and then, to his gentle ribbing, stole some of his.
    She’d worry about her diet tomorrow.
    When he finished eating, he slid his plate away, cupped his mug and looked at her across the table. Though they sat apart, that broad width between them, their feet had tangled throughout the meal. Bare feet tangling, she decided, was very sexy.
    “So we should talk,” he said.
    “Okay.” She took one more bite of pancake and set down her fork. “About what?”
    He tipped his head to the side and traced the lip of his cup. “Limits.”
    “L-limits?”
    “I think it’s important. Don’t you?”
    She gulped. “I suppose.”
    “Let’s start with the basics.”
    “O-okay.” Hell. She’d never had a sex negotiation before.
    “For example, I don’t do men.”
    “I do.” It was supposed to be a joke, to lighten her tension, maybe, but he didn’t laugh.
    He simply fixed her with a steady gaze and asked: “Do you do women?”
    She choked on her breath. “I…ah…no.”
    “Multiple partners?”
    “Definitely no.”
    “Good. Me either.” He reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “When I’m with a woman, she is my only focus. My whole world.” His voice cracked a little on the word.
    “I…ah… Yeah. Me too.”
    “So what kinds of things won’t you do?”
    She shook her head. “I don’t really know what we’re talking about here, Holt.”
    He nodded. “Okay. When I smacked your ass. Did you like that?”
    Heat scorched her. She turned away. His hold on her tightened. “Look at me please, Bella. It helps if I can see your expression.” She complied. “Did you like when I smacked your ass?”
    “Y-yes.” A whisper.
    “Okay. Good. That’s probably something I’ll do again.”
    “P-probably?” She burbled the word.
    He grinned, revealing that he had, in fact, been teasing.
    Oh, not about smacking her ass again. Sometime. In the near future. No. He hadn’t been teasing about that.
    “I’d really like to give you a paddling…” He shifted restlessly. But then, so did she. “I’d also like to tie you up, but before you said something about that. Have you ever been tied up, Bella?”
    Jesus. He looked so sincere. Spoke those words in such a fucking normal tone. As though he had conversations like this over pancakes and bacon all the time.
    T he thought pissed her off.
    She was so pissed off, she forgot to control her reaction to his question.
    His eyes narrowed. “You have. Haven’t you?”
    “Yes.” A mutter. It had been a dismal experiment with an even more dismal partner.
    “You didn’t like it?”
    “No.” She’d hated it. The loss of control, the creeping fear. The panic when he wouldn’t untie her. She snorted and tried to make a joke of that miserable memory. “I had rope burns for a week.”
    He stilled. “Rope burns?” A low snarl. “Why would you have rope burns?”
    She opened her mouth. Closed it again. God. She didn’t want to relive this. Not with him.
    “Why, Bella?”
    “You know. From struggling to get free.”
    His voice, when he spoke, was a slithery snake. “Why would you need to struggle to get free?” Ooh. This Holt scared her a little. She scooted her chair back. Just a bit.
    “He wouldn’t…”
    “He wouldn’t untie you? Did you ask?”
    God yes. Begged. Until her throat was raw. She nodded. Nibbled her lip.
    “Fucker, ” he growled. Bella jumped when his palm slammed on the table. Her gaze snapped to Holt’s face. She winced at what she saw there. Rage.
    She cowered a little when h e stood in a rush and came around the table. He was so big. So strong. And she felt so vulnerable right now. But he hunkered down at her feet and took her hand and kissed it gently. Reverently.
    “I will never, ever, ever, never, ever do that to you. Do you understand?”
    “Umm hmm.” She was speechless. Because all that fury, all that rage, was on her behalf. No one had ever smacked a table for her