“What does that look like? A selfish Phantom.”
“I like being in control. I enjoy taking care of people. I like turning off the parts of your brain that are anxious and stressed. I like knowing that all you can think about are my fingers in your hair.” When his eyes met mine again, this time, they were electric. “When you make yourself vulnerable with me, Ophelia, it lights me up.”
My heart fluttered.
“I know this must sound like a lot of roleplay,” he said, “but it’s serious to me.”
“Men have always wanted me. But sex and pleasure…it’s never been something I’ve been allowed to want. Does that make sense?”
“It does.”
“But with you, I feel like I have…I don’t know…”
“Permission to want?” he guessed.
“Yes. Exactly.”
“So, what do you want, Ophelia?”
“Everything I have coming to me. I don’t want to stop. I don’t want you to take it easy on me. I can take it. I want to keep learning. What comes afterDrop?”
He motioned. “Give me your words.”
“Mercy. Drop. Give. Eyes. Pray.” I thought about it. “We’ve done all of them exceptGive. I’m still not clear on that one.”
“It’s your pleasure trigger,” he said.
The coffee bean grinder went off and momentarily drowned us out. There were people all around us, but Phantom didn’t seem to care. He openly talked about S&M and kink like it was the most natural thing in the world. I liked that about him. When the grinder stopped, I said, “Go on.”
“From now on, I don’t want you to cum without my permission. You’ll learn to cum on command, and only then.”
The thought of him controlling my orgasms sent a thrill through me. “What if I want to cum tonight?”
“Ask me.”
“Can I cum tonight?”
A grin slid over his mouth. “Not now. Ask me when you get home. After you’ve been riding your vibrator, and your legs are shaking, and your thighs are soaked. Then, you may call me up and ask for permission.”
I swallowed. Hard. “I’m not good at hearingno.”
He didn’t flinch. “You will be.”
Fuck. That promise made my thighs clench under the table.
“The code is 2077,” he said.
“The code…?”
“For the door. This Friday. Seven pm. I’ll see you then.”
“What if I want to see you before then?”
His smile faded. He looked tired, suddenly. He explained, “Phantom and Ophelia…they’re creatures of the club. They can’t exist outside of it.”
“Why not?”
He looked around himself, as though the café was some strange novelty and he was taking it in. “This is more daylight than I’ve had in months,” he admitted.
