Page 40 of Beautiful Scars

“On your back.”

A tremor chases through me. He moves silent as a cat when he wants to. I never heard him coming up behind me. I set the bottle down on the nightstand and climb on the bed without looking at him.

Who the hell knows what he would see in my eyes if he did?

I’ve barely laid down before he snatches my wrist. I bite back a protest when he hauls my arm toward the leather restraint, and suppress a shiver when he leans over me and grabs my other wrist to repeat the process.

This close, the smell of him is everywhere. Cigarettes and mints and his own masculinity. No sweat, but with the air-conditioner running down here, the air is chilled.

I expect him to move away, but instead he takes a seat beside me and reaches behind him.

“Now open that pretty mouth of yours,” he says, fighting a smirk and facing me as he lifts a hand. A silver ball gag dangles from his fingers.

Crap.

I know I’m past the point of rejecting anything he wants to put anywhere right now, but a fuckingball gag?

“If I can weigh in here,” he says, his voice dropping to a dangerously low rumble. “I’d open my pretty little mouth and let the nice man put in whatever he wants.”

My mouth opens, but he stops about an inch from my mouth. Instead of putting in the gag, he runs a thumb over my bottom lip. I stop myself from biting his fucking finger off, and instead close my eyes as he slips his thumb between my lips.

When he rubs it against my tongue, that sensation is mirrored deep inside my core.

My body goes rigid.

Oh my God. How am Ienjoyingthis?

But before I have a chance to analyze that shit, he pulls out his thumb and uses it to wet my lips.

He could have just asked.

Instead of being angry, a slow fascination builds in my mind.

Hecouldhave asked.

Maybe I’m not as far off script with my original plan as I thought. If there’s even a chance he’s attracted to me, then why the hell am I hesitating? And this time he’s the one coming onto me—

The metal bit clicks against my teeth as he wedges it between my lips.

Yeah, should’ve realized all of that before I lost my ability to speak

There’s a wicked gleam in his eyes. “Comfy?”

“Mmmffmmmm,” I reply. And rather diplomatically, all considered.

“Hmm,” he says, exhaling his warm, sweet breath over my face as he stares at my mouth. “It suits you.”

But before I can even try and flutter my eyelashes at him, he’s gone.

* * *

Only when it’s time for another cigarette does he bring the photoshoot to an end. Somehow it’s too soon, because I’ve only just been able to convince myself that I’m going to seduce Cillian.

He comes over with a cigarette dangling from his mouth and sits next to me as he unbuckles the gag from the back of my head.

I work my jaw as he leans to the side to put it on the nightstand.

“Huh,” I murmur, as if to myself.