I watched her as my words sank in, wondering if I had misjudged her strength. She was pale and her breasts barely moved with her shallow breaths.

“You can leave if you choose, Grace,” I said gently. “And even if you accept, you can always change your mind.” I shifted next to her and let go of the silken curl. It fell against her breast and seemed to startle her.

“Suffer…,” she said, almost to herself.

I took her face in my hands and pulled her gently to me. I teased her lips with mine at first, tasting her… tempting her. “Yes,” I said into her barely open mouth. “You will suffer,” I kissed her easily. “And so will I…” I touched the tip of my tongue to hers and felt her respond. Then I deepened the kiss and pulled her closer. “But not the way you’re thinking,” I said. “Not at all in the way that you’re thinking…”

I wrapped her in my arms and plundered her mouth then, wanting to ease her mind and heat her body. She was delicious and sweet, I could feel her nipples hardening, crushed against my chest. Fucking beautiful girl, I thought. You have to say yes. I can’t survive without a yes. She kept her arms at her sides, not reaching out, not trying to touch me back…

She’s fucking perfect.

But I knew she didn’t understand. There was no way she could. I’d had thirty-one years to, and I wasn’t sure I did either. But I knew I had to have her. I wouldn’t let her tell me no.

I stroked her back, the texture of her skin even softer than the silk had been. I heard her breath coming quicker and took her full, lush breast in my hand. Warm and heavy, the nub of her nipple tightened under the pad of my thumb. I heard her gasp as I caught it in my fingers, rolling it. My cock was pounding along with my heart, straining for the freedom it had waited so fucking long for.

“You’ll want me more than anything you’ve ever wanted in your life,” I whispered in her ear. “You’ll want this all the way down to your soul,” I said, as I put my mouth to the tender curve below her ear. “You’ll want me more than you’ve wanted any man, and more than whatever reason brought you to La Laisse in the first place.” I lifted her breast, pushing it up and ran my lips over the pale skin.

“And I’ll want you the same way,” I growled, burying my face in her, kissing and tasting… pulling her nipple into my hot mouth and sucking her hard.

She arched in my hands, letting her head fall back, pushing her breast deeper into my mouth. Then I felt her begin to lift her hands to me…

“NO,” I ordered, catching her nipple softly in my teeth. I felt her hands drop, and I sucked a harsh breath through my teeth.

“Perfect,” I rasped out. “You are perfection itself. And beautiful beyond belief. A week from tonight, you’ll leave here knowing it’s the truth. Never doubting it… not for the rest of your life.”

I took her face in my hands and locked her eyes to mine, willing her to give the answer I had to have.

“Tell me, Grace. Tell me now, because I won’t wait any longer.” I brushed my lips against the fullness of hers and felt the struggle rage between her mind and her body. I knew exactly what she was feeling. And exactly what she needed…

“Yes…,” she said, looking into my eyes like she might drown in them.

“Yes.”

I removed every piece of jewelry she wore, slowly, piece by piece. She stood in the middle of the room, with that golden light that La Laisse was famous for turning her creamy skin to the color of lustrous pearls. I wanted her bare, totally bare. A beauty like hers needed nothing else.

I stood back, relaxing into the power of this moment. She was mine, by her own choice. I let my gaze roam her body, smoothly, easily... like a caress. I took a deep breath, savoring the moment of ownership. The gratification of having. It was a feeling I could never get enough of.

“Turn for me, Grace,” I said, standing only an arm’s length away. She pivoted on her toes.

“Stop.”

I ran a finger down the hollow of her spine, from the back of her neck to the curve of her ass. Her legs were long for her height, with easy, graceful curves. I ran the palm of my hand to the dip behind her knee, dropping a kiss on the small of her back. I felt a delicious shudder run through her and felt my cock surge in response. Her back was beautiful, the skin smooth perfection.

I walked around her, circling her, absorbing every curve, every shadow. The way the light made the tiny hairs on her arms shine a strawberry blonde color. I lifted the weight of her hair and rolled it in my hands, turning it into a golden rope, watching her face as I did it.

I stepped closer, our bodies inches apart. I breathed in the scent of her. Warm and soft, with an undertone that affected me, maybe more than I wanted it to.

“Hold them,” I said, taking her hands in mine and guiding them to her breasts. “Take them in your hands… touch them.” I saw her pupils dilate. “Go on. You’ll obey me without hesitating.”

I watched as she cupped herself, unsure at first.

“Look at me, Grace,” I ordered. “Look in my eyes.”

She looked, her green eyes darkened with the arousal I knew she was experiencing. She cupped her full breasts in her tiny hands and squeezed them. The flesh curved out between her fingers. “Yes, that’s right,” I exhaled. “Feel them in your hands. The warmth, the weight…”

I saw her squeeze a little harder and lift them. She held them out, high and away from her body. “You’re lovely, sweetheart,” I said, committing every second to memory, wanting to give her courage. “So lovely. So perfect.”

I guided her thumbs over the tops of her nipples and they stiffened.

“Tell me how it feels,” I demanded. “Tell me what it feels like.”

I reached out to stroke her cheek.

“It feels warm,” she began. “They feel… heavy.” She lifted and squeezed, her focus turning inward and her eyes hazing over. “It’s good. They’re soft... and tender…” She shifted her legs underneath her and I smiled.

“What do you feel here?” I asked quietly, dipping the tip of a finger down her flat belly and stopping just short of her little mound. She caught her breath.

“Answer,” I demanded. “Don’t think, just answer.”

“It feels wet,” she gasped out, her head bobbing forward.

“It feels… hungry…”