Jaden slides behind me on the chaise longue. Large thighs embrace mine. The fireplace flames dance a pattern of light across the caramel of my arms. He places an index finger on each shoulder tip, then runs them lightly down my arms. I almost swoon.

“Oh, I want you, little dragon. And I think you want me. We never did finish with the rules.”

His tongue draws a delicate line along the back of my ear. Heat rushes everywhere.

No, goddammit. I would not make it this easy. Jaden shuts down on me whenever he goddamn well pleases. Well, two could play that game. I shrug my shoulders. He wraps those hands around my biceps.

“You don’t like rules, do you, Dracaena?” His hot breath sends another torrent of shivers running through me.

A huge net catches my voice in my throat. “No.” I sound about as sexy as a frog in heat. I clear my throat, determined to stay on top of this man.

“Yet you have so many of your own,” he purrs in my ear. Wet starts to ooze between my legs. Embarrassing. I cross my ankles.

He places a large hand on my inner thigh, gently moving my legs apart. “Don’t hide from me, little dragon. You’re too beautiful to hide.”

Oh shit. I’m gushing now. And pissed off at my lack of self-control. In one effortless movement, he pulls me back against him as he settles on the chaise thingy. Fuck, he’s graceful. But I can’t think about him. I need to concentrate on my own breathing. That and making sure he doesn’t take advantage of me. You know he won’t. I punch BG aside. She obviously doesn’t have the best common sense. I sit up and turn to face him. “What are these rules, pray tell?”

Now he’s running several fingers up and down my good thigh. Damn Kat. I should never have let her talk me into wearing this. BG is simply delighted.

“I told you. With our sex, I get to call the shots. With your Sub training program, I get to call the shots.”

“Nuh-uh, not with my training program.” I hang on to this as if it’s a life preserver. After all, who knows what he might throw me into? Like, I have no idea how kinky this man is. Who knows? I try to ignore the curls of excitement running through my clit and vagina. No, under no circumstances . . .

“I tell you what, why don’t we give it a trial run tonight. You always have your safe words. Use them if you’re not happy with anything I’m doing.”

I look at him curiously. Safe words. But if I can use the safe words, that puts me in control. I eye him warily. Men can be such bastards of deceit. “Oh right, like I haven’t heard that before and lived to regret it.” I haven’t, and Jaden knows it, but no need to bring that up now. The edges of that magnificent mouth quirk.

“How do I know you’ll stop?”

Those amber eyes study me for a moment, eyes filled with heat and something else I can’t identify. He places my hands on his chest, one directly over his heart. He cups my cheeks ever so gently and pulls my face down to within a hair of his. Fuck . . . It’s a Vulcan mind meld. I freeze as the heat from his lips meets mine. Yet, they don’t touch. We don’t move.

He lets the shields down. Lust and something dark and needy almost obliterate my senses. Underneath, a beacon of honesty and integrity shines through. This man’s word is his bond. I can trust him, implicitly.

“Because I give you my word.”

I become liquid as the depth of his feelings bursts through me. There is no end to the solid base of his belief. You have the ultimate say. His thought rings through my head. I want him to kiss me so badly, but he just sits there, in suspended animation. I twitch; I ache to move.

“Any other rules?” I breathe the question out, unsure whether he hears me.

He pulls back, and I almost blanch at the intensity of his gaze. “Just one, but it’s an extension of the ultimate rule. And what is that?” He holds my head tight in his grasp.

I can play dumb. I should play dumb. Guys hate smart chicks.

“Tell the truth.” The words leap from my mouth before I can stop myself.

Something about this man turns me into a puddle of verbal diarrhea.

He tips my head back a fraction, studies me intently. “And?”

Frig. And what? “Master?” My voice jumps thirty-seven octaves as I wimp out on hopeful.

That damned eyebrow does its thing again. “Not quite.”

I shut out that penetrating gaze for a moment. He might not be an empath, but it sure feels like he’s inside my head sometimes. I breathe . . . one, two, three . . . and it hits me.

“Always tell the truth.”

Those lips descend on mine. He kisses me for an eternity. Until I’m gasping for air. Until I feel like I’ll fly through the sky on the magic carpet of his longing. He pulls back. He’s not even breathing hard. The bastard. I give a nod to my love-hate affair with the knife-edge of his control while I bask in the freedom from mine. He walks me over to the edge of the bed, unzipping my dress, pushing the straps off my shoulders and over my hips. I step out of the puddle at my feet. I stand naked except for the lace sleeve covering my scar.

Jaden stands in front of me, motionless. Waiting. Giving me control over what is to come. Proving he is a man of his word, that I can trust him implicitly. I bow my head. He takes off his clothes. We stand naked and close.

“Show me what it is you want.” He runs his fingers under the soft swell of my breasts. “Not what you think I want. I won’t be your excuse.” He pushes his body hard against mine. “Tell me.” The command hardens my clit. I stand frozen, stupefied. Nobody has ever cared what I want, so I haven’t given it a moment‘s thought.

I want it fast and hard. I want you to suck me until I scream. Then I want you to fuck me until I beg you to die. I’m too fucking horny to shut down my own melodrama. Right about now, I wish he were a telepath and could read my thoughts.

“I want you to take away bad memories.” I want to give myself to you.

He murmurs as his tongue continues its journey down the side of my neck. “And just how would you like me to do that?”

I say nothing; after all, what is there to say? No way in this world am I going to tell a man what I want. Only sluts do stuff like that. I push the thought back in the closet. I want to be with this man. Feel the pleasure he can give me.

A growl ignites a flood of adrenaline. My eyes fly open.

“One more rule. You stay with me, and only with me. Got it?” He slides his hand over my breast and tweaks my nipple.

Oh, I got it, all right. Don’t make a sound. Don’t react. Speech is beyond me. I moan.

“And how would you like me to do that?” He pulls me onto the bed until I lie on top of him, his enormous erection prodding my stomach. He kisses me again, sucking the life right out of me. Turning me into molten lava. Please don’t make me say it. Just do it. Just don’t make me think. My body screams for him to take charge, blowing away any degree of caution.

“I’ll tell you what I think you want. You want me to use my tongue to make you writhe and squirm.”

He rolls me onto my back and latches onto one nipple, then the other, paying homage. There is no other word for the absolute eternity of sucking and nibbling. When I’m almost panting, he comes up for air. He cups the back of my head in his hand searching my eyes with his.

“You want me to taste just how delicious you are, to feast on your rapture. You want me to take you to a place you’ve never been before. And then what, Dracaena? Can you tell me what you want then?”

I want you to plunge your cock inside me. Hard. Don’t stop. Even if I flinch. Just ride through it with me. Take me to another place. But I can’t say it. I breathe hard, almost gasping. He slides his hand underneath and grabs my butt cheek, sending another set of shockwaves rippling through my system. He uses my butt to rock my vulva against his hip. Wet flows down my thighs. I sigh against his lips. He pulls my head up.

“Oh no, you’re not getting away with that one.” He moves his hips in counter rhythm to what he’s doing with mine, increasing the friction.

I want to take that huge cock inside me, right here, right now . . . even if it hurts.

“After I’ve licked you, what do you want?”

His underlying urgency brings me back to surface. It hits me like a blow. He needs this one last thing from me. One thing that will set him free. Then he can return the favor.

“Fuck me.” I tip my head, so I’m looking directly into the blaze from his eyes. “Take me. Make me yours.” I close my eyes against the brilliance.

Lightning strikes as his tongue hits my clit. I surge back against the strong current, then settle into it, letting the vibrations curl deeper and deeper around the base of my clit. All thought of anything nasty disappears as I feed his hunger . . . and mine. I open to the electrical storm taking place in my body. A distant part of my brain watches the particles come together in the nucleus of the storm. Then, like a tornado, the funnel cloud goes from apex to the eye of the storm. Building, building.

But it seems as if it’s taking forever. I start to lose it. Glimpses of memory seep in. I tense. I’m a failure. He surges up in my face and rubs lips wet with my juices against mine.

“Don’t leave me, little dragon. Stay with me. Taste how good you are. I could suck you all day. Give me this gift.” He sucks my lower lip into his mouth. I moan with the pleasure. I do taste good. Even better on his lips. I sink back. He replaces my lips with my clit. Sucks deep and hard. Insistent, until I have no choice but to relax into the onslaught of endorphins rushing through every atom in my body.

A vibrating pulsing grabs my groin. Everything suspends in the eye of the storm. Then, I shatter. My body hums with electricity. I arch my hips into his face, screaming and writhing as wave after wave crashes over me. Contractions shudder through me. Still, he latches on, won’t let go. Until I scream with the excess of sensation. He moves his lips back a fraction of an inch, his breath still hot against my dripping, convulsing sex. Something possesses him with almost scary intensity. In one beautiful movement, he’s on his feet, sliding on a condom.

I grab his biceps, pull him down, and grab his goods. And oh what a package it is. The first one I have ever delighted in holding. I almost stop at the wonder of it, but a fire deep inside calls.

I position the tip at the entrance of my calling lust pool. He drives in. To the hilt. I arch as his large size ripples through me. He stills a moment, allowing the pinch of pain to turn. He moves slowly, carefully, letting me adjust to the newness of it. Find the pleasure. Sink into it. The burn for more returns with a vengeance. My hips take on a life of their own. I meet him, thrust for thrust. The crescendo rises as we become savages to our mutual need. As we step away from the memories that haunt us, at least for a while.

Without warning, Mount Clitoria erupts again. I writhe as powerful contractions rack my body. Minutes pass, and still, he keeps on with the relentless pounding. My orgasm goes on and on . . . until I just might die of a coronary, albeit happily. Another eternity passes. I shove back hard and pull away. I have to stop. I push on his chest and dislodge him. He stops immediately and tilts his head slightly. His searching gaze meets my desire.

Jaden gets up and walks to the other side of the large bed and yanks me over until my head tips off the bed. He pounds his engorged cock into my craving mouth. I moan as his massive member hits the back of my throat, tickling my gag reflex. He’s rough. I love it. I growl and suck him deep into my throat. He leans forward onto the bed, head thrown back. Growl matching mine.

A tremendous feeling of control washes over me. I’m almost lost in the revelation. I control this man’s orgasm. I can make or break him, at this very moment. I love and revere the power it gives me. He, in turn, gives me just what I need.

I take my time exploring. Licking, nipping, tasting my first mouthful of good food. When I can’t resist my hunger, I take him deep into my throat. I scream his name in my head as he comes, pounding into my open mouth. Jade . . . my gem.

He stretches out on the bed beside me and pulls me onto his chest. He wraps the comforter around us, sealing us into a blissful cocoon. I know he’ll leave, but he hasn’t left yet.

“You know I’ve never been to the south of France.” Jaden’s baritone soothes my languid thoughts like a peanut butter cookie. Random.

“Me neither.”

He pulls me a bit closer and kisses the top of my head. “We should do that.”

So much to explore with this man . . .