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Vicente doesn’t join me right away. My thirty minute countdown was for nothing, because at least another ten minutes go by without a word from him. I wonder if I should go upstairs. Does he not know I’m down here? Should I have told him my decision? What if Nicola is upstairs with him right now, getting ready to come down here with me?
After another thirty seconds of freaking out, I head for the stairs and jog halfway up before a large silhouette appears in the doorway.
“Where you running off to, Mariella? Change your mind?”
I put a foot back on the step below me, holding onto the railing with one hand, my other touching the wall. “I…wasn’t sure.”
“Wasn’t sure of what?” he asks, descending the steps slowly.
“If you knew I was here.”
“Oh, I knew you were here.”
I walk backward down the steps until I get to the bottom. He’s right in front of me, a smirk on his lips as his finger comes up to my chin, tilting my head up.
“I’m only—”
He cuts me off with a finger pressed to my lips. “Shh. In here, there’s no excuses or fighting. You chose to come down here because you want me. You have to admit that, Mariella.”
I pin my lips together and gaze up at him.
“Say it,” he commands.
I hesitate for several seconds before I speak. “I want you.”
He nods, pleased. “Good girl. Down here, you’re mine, you got that? You get to shed the layer of yourself that believes you shouldn’t submit and obey a man. Instead, embrace what you know you want. There’s no judgment here. No shame. I like what I like, just as you do. It’s just us, understand?”
I nod, but he arches a brow, wanting more. “Yes, I understand.”
“Good. From now on, we’ll have a word you can use to put a stop to anything that makes you uncomfortable. I want you to know it, memorize it, and use it if necessary.”
“Okay.”
He looks me up and down, a leisurely perusal of my body. “Your last name is De Rosa, so I’m gonna go with flower. That’s the word. Got it?”
I nod. “Got it.”
“Say it now and hopefully you’ll never have to again.”
“Flower.”
“Perfect. Now, I want to watch you strip.”
Apprehension climbs up my spine, threatening to take me down. I’ve never gotten undressed in front of someone before. Yeah, with my ex, we’d get naked before having sex, but always when we were already in the bed or under the covers. Plus, he was stripping at the same time, so it wasn’t like all the attention was on me. To strip for Vicente while he just watches has anxiety clawing at my throat.
I don’t say anything, instead following him to the corner of the room where a high back chair sits. It’s black leather and is both regal and masculine. He drops into the seat and watches me.
“Take off your shirt first,” he instructs, which gives me a sense of relief.
I’ve always had a hard time making decisions. Indecisive is my middle name. If someone asks me what I want to do, I can’t tell you, because I’m already worrying that it’s something they might not want to do. If someone asks what I want to watch, I think, instead, about what they might want to watch. It’s a problem, and maybe part of it is people-pleasing, but I prefer when someone else can make a decision and take the stress and worry away from me.
I begin unbuttoning my shirt from the bottom to the top as he lounges in his chair, reeking of power and dominance. His eyes follow my fingers until the last button is undone, and then his gaze is on my face. I gently tug on the sides until the material falls off my shoulders, and then I let my arms drop, allowing the shirt to float to the floor.
My breasts are on display, my brown nipples growing erect as both the air and Vicente’s dark eyes find them.
I watch as his jaw clenches, his gaze dropping to my chest and remaining there for several seconds before he meets my eyes again. With a simple gesture of his finger, he tells me to drop my shorts.
My fingers tug at the waist and pull down, needing to get them to my knees before they fall on their own. I step out of the material and kick them toward my shirt. Slowly, my eyes travel the length of his body, noticing how he remains relaxed in his chair. But when I get to his face, I watch as he drags his teeth across his bottom lip, staring at the red lacey underwear.
