Strip, he says. Like that’s so easy.

I could hate him right now. I feel like I’ve been on a damn roller coaster ever since Colin confronted me. This day with Skull has done nothing to settle all the fear and upheaval inside of me. Now, after putting me through the wringer, he just stands there and tells me to strip.

I should tell him to go fuck himself. The problem is, he’d probably just find someone to replace me. This isn’t about love. There’d be no love with Skull even if Colin wasn’t in the picture. I’m not going to get love.

The image of Colin comes to mind. I bite down the panic and, instead, center my gaze on Skull as I fumble with my pants. I eventually get them off, but it’s definitely not sexy and alluring like in the movies. I nearly fall as I kick them off. I feel stupid. I stand up straight and take a deep breath. Skull stands there not saying a thing. It’s like he’s daring me to go further, like he doesn’t think I will do this. He probably has a good reason to think I won’t. My nerve is about to fizzle out. The only thing that keeps me going is the memory of Skull’s kiss and his fingers on my skin. That gives me the courage to pull the shirt over my head. Now I’m standing here in my underwear, watching him.

“Bra first, querida.”

I take another deep breath; it shudders through my body and comes out ragged. “You’re kind of being an ass,” I tell him, reaching behind me to undo the clasp.

“I like watching you, sweet Beth. I like giving you orders and having you carry them out.”

“I’m not a servant…”

“In here only, Beth. I want you to take my direction. Do what I ask of you. Give me this and I’ll reward you. It’s my job to show you your limits and push them. My job to give your body exactly what it needs… and what it will come to yearn for.”

His words cover me softly like another form of seduction. They make my knees weak and my body respond, but at the same time they make me sad. I won’t get time with Skull, and I think I already yearn for what he can give me. Will it get worse after I actually sleep with him?

My hand covers my breast as I let my bra slip off one shoulder, then work up the courage to remove it completely. That’s when I see his body tighten, his eyes glued to me. This strong, larger-than-life man covered in tattoos and scars is totally wrapped up in me right now. He’s watching my every move. I have his complete attention and he’s filled with need… for me. Something about that strikes me deeply. I might be the one following his orders, but I feel powerful right now. I drop the bra and try to be brave enough not to dive down onto the floor and find it.

“Bella,” he whispers. I need to learn Spanish. Colin and Matthew made me take French in school because the family has homes and businesses there. Once I get away, I vow that I will memorize and learn every word so I can relive these moments. I am already sure that anything that comes after Skull will never touch me like he does.

“Skull…”

“You are beautiful, mi cielo,” he moans. “So fucking beautiful.” He’s walked up to me. His words dance across my skin as his lips gently meet my shoulder, his large hands taking hold of my hips. “You take my breath away.”

It sounds like a line, and maybe it is, but it makes me feel beautiful.

“Lie back on the bed,” he tells me.

I bite down on my bottom lip to keep from telling him I’m not ready. I lie down, letting my head fall half on the pillow and half on the mattress. The bed is unmade and the sheets are rumpled. I worry he’s had other women here, but once I lie down, his scent and cologne surround me, comforting me.

I gasp as his hands circle my knees and he pulls me back down to him. I watch him closely. He grabs the waistband of my panties and looks at me. He winks. Then, just like that, he tears them.

“I don’t have any other—”

“I don’t want you covering my property up,” he says. “You won’t wear them anymore, Beth. I want you bare under your clothes and ready for me whenever I want.”

I start to argue, but that’s something I can give for the few days I have left with him, so I don’t. He pushes my ruined underwear to the floor and positions himself between my legs. Heat zaps my body, and a mixture of desire and embarrassment flush through me, turning my skin deep pink. I can feel the heat burning in me.

“Skull, I think, I mean…” I stop talking. I don’t think I could say another word if I wanted to. It doesn’t matter because all of my words stop. They lodge in my throat, unable to move, when I feel his tongue flick against the inside of my thigh, his breath against me.

“Lie back and just enjoy, Beth,” he says, and I do exactly that—without arguing this time. I can’t argue. I feel like I might faint.