I whimpered but nodded.
“Words.”
“Yes.” Tears welled in my eyes.
“You’re so beautiful.” He wiped at the corner of my right eye, kissing my cheek. His lips were warm against my face. “But I’m going to teach you a lesson about patience. When we get home, you’re going to be spanked. Do you know why?”
I closed my eyes and sucked in a breath. “Because I didn’t wear your underwear?”
He laughed, and I looked at him again. “Correct. When I tell you to do something, you do it.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. It was crazy how hard my dick was, even with him pressing me against the wall with my face in a hard grip. My body reacted to his forcefulness and I loved it.
“You will be, darlin’. While I punish you, you will not come until I tell you that you’re allowed. Am I clear?”
I swallowed, tingles spreading across my arms where my hair stood up while pleasure simmered low in my body and had my hard-on struggling against my pants. “Yes, husband.”
“Good, little mouse.” He finally let go and stepped back, and I gasped in relief. Grabbing his phone out of his pocket, he winked at me. The jerk looked far too pleased with himself as he dialed a number and placed the phone to his ear. “Yes, Torrence. Mr. Bouchard here. I want to buyCommitmentby Truth Duke.” He listened for a second, humming. “As I told my husband, everything has a price. Name it.”
I turned to stare at the painting, heart still hammering. My dick and balls throbbed and goose bumps tickled the skin on my arms and legs. I cuddled myself, gaze stuck on the look the men in the painting gave each other.Love. Lust. Need.They stared at each other as though they were everything to the other. It was the most beautiful thing in the world to see. Maybe one day, after I left Alton, I could find such a connection. For now, lust would have to do.
Alton’s arm wrapped around me, dragging my back against his chest. He kissed my neck, across my pulse point, and I shivered. “He agreed to a price. We’ll come back tomorrow afternoon to get it. Think of it as another wedding gift.” He bit into my skin, and I moaned, tilting my head to give him more room. A few moments later, after he’d marked me, he said, “Let’s go home for your punishment.”
12
ALTON
The thingI liked most about Noah was the way he tried to give off an air of nonchalance—triedbeing the operative word. Men like his father wore an uncaring attitude like a suit of armor, and even today Edison had been far more together than another man might’ve been in a similar situation.
Noah, on the other hand, couldn’t sit still in the passenger seat of the Jag. His face was stoic, but his knees bounced. He rubbed his belly with his hand. Maybe if he figured he had half a chance to get away with it, he would pull out that semi, which didn’t seem to be going down, and come right on the spot. He closed his eyes, and my gut heated at how sexy his dark eyelashes, which curled slightly at the ends, were against his skin. I had trouble looking away to drive. Sunshine poured in the window and made him glow.
I fuckin’ loved that he was on edge. It did good things for my ego to see a handsome man like him twisted in knots over me—not that my confidence needed the boost. My volume was set to ten, and while I wasn’t hard right now, it wouldn’t take much to be ready to fuck him. A kiss. A glance. Fuck, my shaft twitched as I stole another peek at him, then focused on the road again. I let out a long breath and fought off a smirk.
I’d been pretty damned pleased with myself when this whole business takeover came together, but I couldn’t have foreseen how much of a goddamned delight Noah would turn out to be. I’d known he was handsome, but he was far more than a pretty face. Unease squirmed through my gut, but I shrugged it off. This was a spectacular, uncalculated bonus, and who was I to complain about good luck?
My heart thumped faster. Would six months be long enough with a man like him?
Noah licked his bottom lip and snuck a peek at me out of the corner of his eye, only to whip around and stare out his window when he caught me watching him back. I chuckled, and he hunched down in his seat a bit. Checking to make sure no one was close enough to me that I’d need to switch gears quickly, I cupped the back of his neck and rubbed my thumb along his jaw. I held on too long and nearly wrecked the Jag weaving into the fast lane at the toll bridge to get onto Vert Island. I had a pass and didn’t need to get in line, but I’d been thinking about my cock instead of where we were going. The risk was worth it to see the hefty tent in his pants when I finally moved my hand back to the shifter.
Traffic was thick enough that once I hit the bridge I focused solely on the road, but just as the Jag hit the end of the toll bridge and we went over the little speed bump onto Vert Island, Noah laid his hand on the back of mine in a hint of a caress while I shifted down another gear.
“Thank you for the gifts. I understand this—” Noah flashed the bracelet. “—was to show off for the men at the Divine Conglomerate, but the painting.... No one has ever gotten me anything like that. Something I would fully appreciate. I can’t imagine how much you must’ve spent.”
I snagged Noah’s hand and brought it to my mouth, kissing the pulse point on his wrist. He smelled good, a bit like musk and vanilla. I rested my lips against his skin to feel the racing of his heart. “You’re right, I was showing off. You’re beautiful, and those diamonds go with you. They accent you, not the other way around. The real coup was having a man like you at my side.” I wasn’t sure why I wanted to flirt, but the words weren’t lies, and I’d promised myself I would do what I wanted, anything I wanted, from the moment I hit the billion-dollar mark in my ledger. I’dslaughteredmy business goals, and now I got to focus on myself and the things I enjoyed.
And the man I wanted to fuck.
I kissed Noah’s wrist and that pink I loved flooded his face. “You’re the jewel.” I teased my tongue over his skin and wished we were home already so I didn’t have to split my attention between him and driving.
“And you like owning nice things,” he said, tapping the dash. “Are you talking about me like that? It’s... silly. No one says those kinds of things.” He pursed his lips and glanced down at his lap, and my stomach flipped.
“I say whatever the hell I want, and I mean the words that come out of my mouth. Are you arguing with your husband?” I glanced between him and the road, then nipped at his wrist.
Noah flushed and shook his head, staring out his window again, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. Once I arrived home, I parked the Jag in the drive near the front doors and left the keys in it so someone else could take it to the garage. Noah was out of the car before I could get around to open his door, but I liked that initiative from him right now. I would like to see what he might do under some pressure; although, at the moment, I was feeling generous and would rather use a finessing touch rather than an iron fist. He hadn’t earned a strict punishment yet. My stomach tingled with warmth and I tried to keep a smile off my face as I snagged his hand and walked with him inside.
He stayed by my side as I led him upstairs but didn’t look at me. “The next few weeks will be hectic. Between now and Christmas, I won’t be spending as much time as I’d prefer out of the office. Your father left me a fuckin’ mess.” I was feeling pretty cheerful about everything, all things considered. It would be entertaining to dig through the Divine Conglomerate’s records, and I’d already hired a forensic accounting firm to help me. I’d be getting daily reports soon, and the more illegal shit I dug up, the tighter the noose I could choose to tie. Or not. I could be generous, if I saw fit. I squeezed Noah’s hand, and he gave me a wide-eyed look.
“You mean I won’t be seeing you much?” he asked softly.
