Her lips form a stubborn line. This girl. When she’s all in, she’s all in. I hope she’s sure she’s all in for us. I don’t know what we would do if she left us.
Or rather tried to leave us. I wouldn’t be the only one not willing to let her go.
I hold her hand between both of mine and search her eyes. “If you want, we can try to up it a notch tonight, but I’d rather do it when we have more than a few hours stolen in the middle of the night and preferably not with parents down the hall.”
Her eyes darken and sparkle. “Explain to me what you like. You want my submission and me to call yousir. Binding me so I can’t move. Spanking me, pinching me. What else?”
Fuck. My cock hardens uncomfortably against my zipper. Thinking about doing all those things to her makes me want to drive her to a spot and show her exactly what I can do to that body.
“What do you need from me, sir?”
I glance around to make sure no one else is listening and lean in, drawing her closer.
“I get pleasure from causing pain, kitten.” I brush her hair behind her ear and she shivers. “I don’t want to hurt you unless it causes you pleasure or release as well.”
“It’s not so much a particular act you need?”
Smirking, I nod. “You finding pleasure in the pain I provide will be enough. I don’t want to frighten you or turn you off to it entirely, which is why we’ll go slow.” I cock my eyebrow, curious. “Are you enjoying the welts on your ass from the belt?”
Her cheeks pinken. She wets her lips. “Every time they ache, I think about everything that happened that night.”
“Does it make you want more, kitten?”
Her eyes widen. “Yes, sir.”
“Good.”
The server clears his throat as he holds two pizzas, waiting for us to notice him. He’s only been there a moment, but Harper seems startled and drops her gaze to the table.
I tell him which pizza is whose and he sets them down, returning with some napkins. Harper takes a bite, but her cheeks are still flushed.
“He didn’t hear anything,” I assure her. Her gaze jerks up to mine. Shrugging, I grin. “Even if he had, you have no reason to be embarrassed, kitten.”
She blows out a breath. “I know, but it’s still new and odd.”
I lift my pizza. It’s time to change topic. “How were the girls with the list?”
“Good.” Harper chews before adding, “They were able to eliminate a few girls and mark a couple that have the potential to be after you guys for whatever reason.”
I study her like I always do. Her eyebrows pinch together and she focuses on her food. She’s uncomfortable.
“You decided to take on the girls’ side of the list. If it’s too much to handle?—”
“No, it’s not too much.” She sighs and wipes her hands on her napkin before giving me her full attention. “How would you feel if you had to go through a rundown of every guy I had sexual experiences with?”
“First, you would have had to have some...”
She glares and I hold my hands up in surrender.
“While I would want to know and maybe give those guys hell, it wouldn’t have mattered because you’re ours now.” I run a hand through my hair. “I wish this whole thing wasn’t anissue, kitten. It sucks that we can’t trust guys we used to call friends. That the whole ecosystem is shifting.” I glance around the restaurant. “You changed us for the better. You are changing us. It’s causing havoc because it’s new and different, but we’ll get to the bottom of whoever is trying to use you to get to us.”
Something catches my eye and I glance at the basketball table. Alex and Trace have their heads together. My phone buzzes with an alert. One of the trace programs Jack has running pings on my screen.
Zach:
Meet tonight 8
My phone says it’s seven forty-five. By the time the others have a chance to rally, they’ll be too late. None of them have eyes on the guys. That means I need to follow those two dickheads to the meeting point. Fuck.
