Page 47 of Bared

“No,” Brickham murmured. “Not all the time.”

“Because they give the power back to their partner…in different ways?”

For a long pause, the pulses in his fingers ceased. So did the deep air through his chest. But other parts of him kept throbbing. Harder, swifter, and more unignorable than before.

“Yeah, Pixie. In…different ways.”

“Tell me.” A pair of such simple words—though they tore at her senses like talons and sliced her nerves open with equal cruelty. Her whole body shivered. For the first time, she swayed on her knees. “Please, Brickham,” she begged, rocking her head back to search his face. But there were no more tender places for her to focus on. No more flares in his gaze to guide her the right way. “Wh-What is wrong?” she demanded. “Why will you not…tell me?”

She probably imagined it, but the man seemed to sway now too. As if seeking purchase from his fall, he twisted a hand into her hair with brutal urgency. Her scalp lit up with scorching pain. It was one of the most exhilarating moments of her life.

“Because maybe, Pixie…I want to show you.”

Wait.

Wait.

Wait!

The command roared through him, over and over again, as Brick watched every captivating nuance across Jayd’s face. How she blinked those luminescent eyes. The way she worked the plush pillows of her mouth together. The rapid rhythm of her breaths, shooting faster and faster from her nose, as she absorbed the full impact of what he’d just intimated.

Of what she could shut him down from doing, any second, with a single hesitation.

A no he still had to respect. As he had with so many other submissives, so many other times before.

But holy fuck…this time, it would kill him. He was sure of that.

Because this time, it was her.

The female he’d wanted to take to one of the dungeon stations from the second they’d entered that room. The princess who, ten minutes before that, was hissing at a bully in an alley like a kitten facing a gorilla. The woman who, ten minutes before that, had captivated him at that bar, eyes full of hope and head high with plans.

A pixie-princess-woman he still barely knew.

But in so many ways already did know.

Yes, this well. This wholly. Perhaps better than he knew himself.

Which did not make this a great idea. Likely one of his worst. Oh no, it was definitely his lousiest. He’d logged enough hours with Doc Sally to see that clearly enough. The last woman he’d “known better than himself” was another sprite who had more dreams than sense and enough fire in her belly to think she could make them all come true. Yes, even crossing a messy hot zone to get to him in the dead of night. Offering him all the afghanis she’d saved for five years in exchange for his help in getting her to a new life.

Asha had wanted to open a school for girls, focusing on entrepreneurship and independent life skills. After secretly teaching herself to read, she’d devoured her father’s construction shop operations books. She’d told Brick she’d make him a table if the money wasn’t enough. She’d even offered him other favors.

He’d refused the table. And the favors. And her money.

Fate had paid him back for the good karma with ten of the most horrific days of his life.

So what made him think things would be different now? Especially now? Even contemplating a risk this wicked with a woman like Jayd Cimarron.

The princess who still dutifully knelt at his feet.

Shit.

The captivating creature who gazed up at him with such adoration and trust.

Shit.

The woman who was already such submissive perfection…

“Yes. Please, Brickham. Show me.”