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He’s standing there in a pair of riding breeches, boots, and a shirt that’s hanging open to reveal his bare chest, glistening with the sheen of an early morning workout. I try to swallow the knot in my throat as my eyes unintentionally move over his muscular frame. I always knew Judge was strong. It’s not a detail you can miss in his well-tailored suits. But knowing it is an entirely different beast than bearing witness to the broad expanse of his shoulders and the cut abs with that dark patch of hair that disappears beneath his waistband.
Oh, God. I can’t look at him like this. Judge has always been my older brother’s arrogant best friend. The type you tolerate because you have to. This feels wrong. All wrong. And I don’t know why I’m still staring at him, or why I feel a rush of heat spreading down my neck and chest.
If I had to guess, it would be because I’ve never seen a man in this state of undress. Pathetic, I know. But rules are rules. Even when I was dating Jackson, I never once saw so much as a glimpse of his chest. I wasn’t prepared for this, and I have no idea where I’m supposed to look, or what I’m supposed to do.
“Mercedes,” Judge clips my name out with all the sharp delicacy he can muster.
My eyes move to his, and it’s a mistake. Because I can see the fire in them. He’s noticed me staring. He’s noticed the flush moving over my skin. This can’t be real. Not with Judge. He’s never looked at me the way he’s looking at me right now. Like he’s about to crawl out of his skin and… devour me.
“Get up.” His voice is rougher now. “I’m not going to ask again.”
I stare at him, unable to speak. Unable to even formulate a thought. There’s a tension between us I don’t want to acknowledge. I think it’s always been there, simmering quietly beneath the surface. I always thought it was a mutual hatred, but right now, it feels like something else. Something that’s about to reach a boiling point.
“You have a way of getting what you want in life, little monster.” He steps forward with determination, and I spot something in his hand.
It takes a moment to register that it’s a riding crop. My heart slows to a heavy thud in my chest, and I try to shake my head, but it doesn’t move. I’m frozen, terrified by what he might do, and it’s a feeling I had long thought I’d put behind me. I’m Mercedes fucking De La Rosa. I don’t back down from anything. I don’t bow to anyone. But right now… it feels like that’s exactly what I’m doing when he takes another step, and I bow my head to avoid his gaze.
“I knew you had it in you.” He drags the rough edge of his thumb along my jaw, tipping my chin up so I have to look at him. “You can submit. You just need someone to guide you.”
“No.” I force the words between gritted teeth.
“Resist all you want,” he says, his voice oddly calm. “I enjoy taming wild beasts.”
His thumb skates dangerously close to my lips, and I suck in a sharp breath. At the same time, he freezes as if he didn’t realize what he was doing. I don’t know what to make of this strange interaction when things have only ever been strained or indifferent. This isn’t the Judge I know and remember. This isn’t the same man who looked at me as if I scarcely registered in his world. I had always felt he thought he was far too superior to really see me. But right now, it feels like he sees everything.
“Mercedes.” He pulls his hand away abruptly, his face adopting a neutral expression that makes me wonder if I’m seriously losing my mind. Did I just imagine that?
“Judge.” I return his name in a tone dripping with as much arrogance as I can squeeze into it.
His lip tips slightly at the corner, and if I didn’t know any better, I might think he finds this whole situation amusing. But of course, he would. He’s the one who has the real power here, and we both know it. Everything I do is for show, but I don’t care. I want him to know what he signed up for. I want to make his life as hard as I possibly can.
“Kneel.” He points at the floor with the end of his crop. “Now.”
“Are you kidding me?” I glare up at him.
“Do I look like I’m kidding?”
No, he really, really doesn’t.
“I’m not playing these twisted games with you.” I clutch the covers tighter around me. “Just leave me alone.”
His eyes move to the clock and then back to me. “You’re delaying the inevitable. Do as I say, or there will be further consequences when I get home tonight.”
“I don’t care.” I hurl myself across the other side of the bed and drag the duvet with me, keeping cover as I bolt for the bathroom. “Find someone else to torture, you sadist. Go beat one of your willing courtesans at the—”
The words come to an abrupt halt when I feel the blanket being yanked out of my grasp. It all happens so fast, I don’t even have time to steel myself before Judge seizes me and whips me around, baring my naked body to him as his eyes blaze with fire.
“What did you say?”
“You heard me.” I keep my gaze locked on his even though it feels like my heart’s about to explode. “You’re so twisted, you can’t even see it. Coming in to rescue me all high and mighty talking about discipline, when all you really want is to—”
Again, my words are cut off as he snatches me up and plants me face-first into the rug. There isn’t time to try for a counterattack. Judge is showing me his true strength, his formidability, and his ability to dominate me so easily, no matter what I might throw at him. Real fear streaks through me for the first time when he hoists my ass up and pins my hips into position with his muscular thighs, squeezing me like a vise.
“Is this what you’re so afraid of?” He taunts me by dragging the leather crop down my bare back, skating over the scars I wish he hadn’t seen.
“No!” I scream and buck against him, but he just squeezes me tighter with his legs, using his palm to shove my face back onto the floor.
“I think it’s exactly what you’re afraid of.” He hurls the words as if he derives pleasure from the fact, like he gets off on seeing me so vulnerable. “What’s the matter, little monster? Where are your accusations now?”
