That thought should mortify her, but it had the opposite effect on her wayward hormones. Cat wasn’t skinny by any means, and she’d long since come to terms with her curvy shape, even if she chose to hide it under sensible clothes for work. The wild side of her that indulged in buying sexy lingerie, and bought erotica on her e-reader faster than she could read it, seemed to have been well and truly awakened by Rhys’s close proximity. Or maybe being upside down simply meant all the blood that rushed to her brain, affected her ability to act like a fully grown, responsible woman. She felt more like a giggling schoolgirl, who kept squeeing inside at being carried off caveman style, by the man of her dreams.
Would he really put her over his knee, and why did that thought make her insides tighten in need and her heart beat faster? This was insane, that’s what it was. Lusting after him from afar was one thing, but he couldn’t have meant his earlier comments of finding her hot, could he? Besides, she wasn’t ready to be another notch on his bed post, and surely that’s all this would ever be?
Men like him didn’t settle down with far too sensible school teachers who had a hidden penchant for kink. That only happened in the romance novels she liked to read. No, this was real life, and her secret fantasies of his declaring his undying love for her, were just that—wishful thinking on her part.
Rhys whistled to himself as he unlocked his front door, and stepped through. Muted lighting came on, and Cat got a brief view of tiled flooring, a narrow hallway, and steep stairs. Then the world tilted as Rhys slowly slid her down his front, grasped her ass and yanked her up onto her tiptoes. She had no choice but to make a grab for his rock hard biceps to stop herself from sliding to the floor in a pool of feminine goo. There didn’t seem to be an ounce of fat anywhere on Rhys’s body, and her pussy clenched in need, when the long, hard, length of his erection dug into her belly.
“Oh my.” Rhys threw his head back and laughed, and Cat wanted the ground to swallow her up whole. Had she said that out loud? It seemed so, because Rhys’s full lips curved into the most sinful smile, and Cat couldn’t tear her gaze away from the startling contrast his white teeth made against the dark ebony hues of his skin. Stubble grazed his jaw, and he squeezed her tender ass a few more times before he let her go and pushed her down on one of the kitchen chairs, and shrugged out of his uniform jacket.
Cat bit her lip as she got a close up view of the play of muscles under his tight vest top, and her fingers itched to explore the intricate swirls of the tattoo wrapped around his left biceps. Rhys draped his jacket over her shoulders. It was still warm from his body, and suffused by his scent, mixed in with the faint smell of smoke, it wrapped itself around her like a comforting blanket. She couldn’t suppress her sigh of appreciation. Especially as this close to him she had a direct view of the massive bulge in his jeans. Her throat went dry, and she couldn’t tear her gaze away from the outline of his long cock, straining against the worn denim. Lord, he looked huge, and she would leave a wet stain on his chair at this rate, as her pussy clenched at the thought of him inside her. Maybe he had meant what he’d said earlier then. Cat screwed her eyes shut and barely suppressed a sigh. This was insane. She had to put a stop to this, whatever this was. No good would come of this.
Rhys tipped her head up to make her look at him, and goosebumps raced across her skin at the way he groaned, as though he, too, felt this pull between them.
“Look at me, little cat.”
She could no more not obey the gentle, yet unmistakable command in those deep tones than she could stop breathing, and when her eyes fluttered open, the obvious approval she read in his amber gaze raised her temperature up a few more notches.
“That’s my girl. I’ve turned the heating up, so you should soon be toasty, and then we need to look at those scratches. In the meantime, a hot chocolate should do the trick quite nicely, right?”
He winked at her, and turned around to grab the milk from the fridge. No instant hot chocolate then, but honest to goodness hot cocoa. Not that she would need it soon, not the way her body heated and every erogenous zone she possessed tingled in his presence, as she watched him prepare the drink.
Belatedly she caught onto one facet of his last sentence.
“What scratches?” she finally asked.
Rhys turned the heat on the hob to low and turned around to look at her. Only then did she notice the long scratch marring his hand.
“Miss Pitty Pat got you? Oh no.” She made to rise from the chair, but Rhys stepped closer and with one large hand on her shoulder pushed her back down on the chair. “Ethel will be mortified. That’s so unlike her, she…” Cat lost her train of thought, when Rhys got down on his haunches in front of her. The faded denim stretched across his massive thighs, and she whimpered as he adjusted himself with one hand.
“She didn’t just get me, little cat. May I?” Before she could even grasp his full intentions, he’d pulled his jacket off of one her shoulders, taking the thin strap of her night attire with her.
Cat hissed through her teeth as he trailed his fingertips along a sore point across her shoulder, and lower still until he skimmed across the swell of her breast. Her nipples puckered into hard nubs of pure need, and the left one in particular stung like crazy. Shards of pain darted straight to her clit, and Cat squirmed on the chair as Rhys explored the long gash marking her own skin.
“Sshh, my sweet little cat, I’ll take care of that, but first let’s clean this. I don’t want it getting infected.” He flicked a glance up at her all the while keeping up the gentle exploration of her skin, until Cat was so turned on, she wanted to jump his bones there and then. “You didn’t realize she got you, did you?” he asked, and Cat shook her head.
“Too terrified of the heights?” he asked with another grin.
“No, too aware of you.” Rhys froze, and Cat knew she’d blushed bright scarlet. Time stood still, and neither one of them moved as the sexual tension skyrocketed between them. With his fingers hovering right above her still covered nipple, Cat wished he would just close the distance and do … well she didn’t quite know what she wanted him to do. This would change everything between them. Belatedly she cleared her throat and tried to backpedal to save the situation. “I mean … I … errr…”
“I know what you mean, little cat, and I feel just the same way.” Rhys trailed his hand back up until he framed her face with both of his large hands. His long fingers slipped behind her neck and massaged the tense spot at the top of her spine, and Cat was glad she was sitting down. There was no way her legs would have held her up right now, not when she was at the center of his undivided attention, and every cell in her body yearned to be taken by this man.
“I meant what I said about dreaming of you, little cat.”
****
Cat’s sharp intake of breath was music to his ears, and he grinned at the way her breathing sped up. Her musk increased, and it took every ounce of his willpower to not delve between her thighs and explore how wet she was for him.
Eyes as wide as saucers, she looked at him, and he almost didn’t hear her whispered words.
“You dream of me? Why? I’m nothing special. You could have any woman you want, and I’m not going to be another one of—”
Her eyes widened further at his frustrated growl, and she tried to pull away from him. Rhys almost gave in to the instinct to wrap his hands into her hair and to kiss the protest out of her, but, instead, he let her go, got up, and kept his hands busy by finishing off making the hot chocolate.
“Maybe I should just go, and—”
Rhys spun around and thrust the hot cocoa at her. A jolt of awareness travelled up his fingertips when they touched hers as she took the mug off him, and fell silent.
“And where would you go, my little cat? It’s the middle of the night. You’re in your fuck me night dress, which I must say was a delicious surprise about you.” He smiled as her color deepened to the most delightful blush. “It’s freezing out there, you’ve locked yourself out of
your flat on a misguided rescue mission of one ungrateful little feline, and the one person who has your spare key is fast asleep and deaf. Where exactly are you going to go to? Always assuming that I would let you walk out of here, and that’s never going to happen. Not dressed like that, anyway.”
“You can’t keep me here against my will.” Cat flung the words into the room.
He chose not to respond, just took a long swig of his own cocoa. The sweet flavor coated his tongue, and he inhaled deeply of the comforting aroma. Most men would choose a stiff drink at the end of a long shift, and Rhys was certainly not averse to drowning his sorrows, but he preferred simpler pleasures that kept your head clear. Besides, hot cocoa reminded him of the times when he was little and all of his worries were soothed by his mother’s presence and the ever present cup of chocolate.
Mother, God rest her soul, would approve of his little cat. Her dying wish had been for him to settle down and start a family, but he’d never found a woman that would make him even consider doing so, until the day Cat had walked into his station and he’d fallen instantly in love. His mother had always said it would happen, yet he had never been sure if he believed her. A single mum herself, she had nonetheless held onto the dream of living happily ever after with the one person you’re destined to be with.
Rhys swore under his breath, as the reality of his feelings hit him in the gut, and he put his cup down, mindful of the white knuckled grip he had on it. It would freak Cat out completely if he broke his mug with his bare hands. She looked ready to bolt as it was.
Instead he took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. Cat watched him through wide eyes, and she carefully took several sips of her drink. Her tense expression relaxed, and he didn’t miss her groan of appreciation—such a deep throated sound that his cock jumped back to full alert, and he crunched his jaw together. He bet she would make those sounds as he ate her out, pushing her toward an orgasm he would not let her have until she begged him for it.
Some of his thought processes must have shown on his face, because Cat’s hands wobbled, and he reached across to take the mug off of her, before she added burned fingers to her list of injuries to hold against him. He put the mug down on the table behind her and ran a hand through his hair.
Cat bit her lip and looked worried.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that. Of course you wouldn’t hold me against my will. I-I seem to not be able to act like a rational person around you. It’s just … just … oh hell.”
She looked so adorably flustered that Rhys had to laugh.
“Would it help if I told you, that you have the same effect on me, little cat?”
“I do?” she asked, and then slapped a hand over her mouth, and shook her head. “I meant what I said. I will not—”
“Be one of my women, I get that loud and clear, but tell me, girl.” She blanched as he let his voice drop, and she suddenly found the floor most interesting. The act was such a submissive tell that the dominant in him roared. “Where are all those women you seem to think I have? You can inspect my bedpost if you like.” She squirmed at that, and he grinned. “You won’t find any notches. What you will find, however, are leather restraints with your name on them, girl, and if you’ll insist on insulting me, there’s a paddle that would leave a beautiful mark on your ass for days to come. Every time you sit down it would remind you of who you belong to, and that I will only tolerate so much sass from my girl. And. You. Are. Mine.” He accentuated every word with a tap of his forefinger on the tip of her cute button nose, and Cat’s breathing turned so shallow she was in danger of hyperventilating.
“And breathe, sweet girl. I want you passing out from pleasure or happily floating in sub space, not anxiety.” Giving into the need to touch her, taste her, he bent down and brushed his lips across hers. Cat groaned, and Rhys took advantage and slipped his tongue past her lips. His cat tasted of chocolate and the unique flavor that was all aroused woman. Hic cock jerked painfully against his jeans, and his groan joined her feminine mewl when she kissed him back.
Rhys fisted his hands in her hair to angle her head to his satisfaction, and he took charge of the kiss, deepening it until all he could taste and feel was his woman’s surrender to his will. By the time he finally broke away they were both breathing heavily, and Cat almost fell off the chair as she followed him when he pulled away and straightened up slowly. His hands on her shoulders steadied her, and she blinked several times to get her eyes to focus on him. Only a small ring of moss green remained around the outer edges of her irises, her pupils so dilated that her eyes looked almost black. Oh yes, her body responded to him beautifully. There was no doubt in his mind that his cat wanted him as badly as he wanted her, if only she would shut off her brain and allow herself to feel. Her submission would be so sweet to witness, as she came apart under his hands.
For the umpteenth time since he’d seen her on that ledge he adjusted his prick away from the zipper of his jeans, and his balls drew tight as Cat licked her lips, her gaze transfixed on that action. How he wished he had the authority over her to order her to her knees and to suck him off.
Instead, he forced himself to take a step back.
“Look, it’s late, and I can tell you’re confused. I have a spare room you’re very welcome to use, and we can talk about this in the morning, when we’re not both so … fraught, I guess.”
Surprise registered on Cat’s features, and Rhys hid his grin, even as his dick screamed at him. Yeah, he might just have cock blocked himself, but fuck him, if he wasn’t in this for the long haul. He didn’t just want her to give into him, because circumstances had thrown them together, and she was feeling the after effects of shock and adrenaline. No, he wanted her to come to him out of her own free will, willing and ready to give him her submission. He wanted it all, dammit.
Chapter Three
Cat punched her pillow into submission and groaned under her breath. This was useless. She would never get to sleep, knowing that Rhys was just across the hall from her. After that mind blowing kiss and astonishing statement in the kitchen, Rhys had indeed taken her upstairs and showed her to her room she was to call hers for the night. She hadn’t known what to say or do, even if her heart had leapt in her chest like an excited rabbit at the mere thought that he was returning her feelings. The fact that Rhys was a Dom shouldn’t have surprised her. It was there in every line of his body, in the quietly efficient way he always took charge of any situation, and it certainly explained why she felt so drawn to him.
She had dabbled in the lifestyle a bit in the past, her curiosity having been piqued by reading BDSM romances, but none of the so-called Doms she had encountered via a kinky dating site had ever lived up to her fantasies. She had done her research, and she had only met up with those that actually had seemed genuine, but none of them had ever broken through her defenses. In fact the last one after a session, memorable for all the wrong reasons, had called her a brat. Cat shrugged her shoulders in remembrance. Maybe she was, maybe she wasn’t. The fact that she had snarked at him that he had done nothing to earn her submission had probably not been the right thing to do, and in any case that had been her last foray into the world of kink. Her books would have to do, until one smile from Rhys Jones had turned her insides to mush. At least, now she knew why she turned into a bundling idiot around him, and always had to fight the urge to sink to her knees. It also explained why she had been so disappointed when his chief had proclaimed him to be nothing but a player. It had given her mind the perfect excuse to stay away from the man who upset her equilibrium so much. She just knew that getting involved with him would mean she would lose herself. She was halfway in love with him already. It wouldn’t take much to tumble all the way.
Giving up on sleep, Cat got out of bed and opened her door. Rhys’s closed door called her, but she ignored the impulse and padded across to the bathroom instead. Having used the facilities, she washed her hands and face and stared at herself in the mirror.
Cat grimaced at her flushed, wide-eyed reflection. Rhys’s last words to her haunted her. He had opened her bedroom door for her, and switched on the light, before he’d drawn her close and kissed her nose. Such a simple act, yet it had made her heart beat faster, and had made her wish he would just take charge and force her into this. It wouldn’t have taken much persuasion on his part, and surely he must have known that. But, nope, the damn man insisted on leaving the ball firmly in her court.
He’d stepped away with the most sinful smile ever.
“I’m just across from you, if you want me. But be very sure this is what you want. If you knock on my door, be ready to be my sub, my lover, and my soul mate. I’m not looking for one night with you, my sweet little cat. I want you, all of you. All your passion, your soul, your submission, and I warn you. Once I have it, you’re mine, and I shan’t let you go ... unless you cry red of course. You’ll always have that option.”
The words delivered in that low gravelly voice of his had left her so aroused that she’d almost melted into a puddle of feminine goo right there and then, and it had been on the tip of her tongue to just say, “Yes, please, Sir.”
However, he had stepped away and shut the door, leaving her all wet and horny on the other side. She’d heard him move about for a while, heard the shower come on, and hearing him groan had sent her imagination into overdrive. Was he in there, jerking off? It sure sounded that way, and her fingers had sought her clit. As horny as she was it hadn’t taken long for her to reach her own breathtaking climax at the same time as something hit the wall hard, as though he had punched something in the shower. His shout had drowned out her own moan of completion, and she’d lain there trembling in aftershocks, listening to his movements. All had gone quiet, and then there had been footsteps, which had stopped in front of her door. The wood had creaked as though he had leant against it, listening out for her, and Cat had stuffed her hand in her mouth to stop herself from reacting.
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