Hot and cold. Cold and hot. Brundar was a man of extremes.

It was so satisfying to have seen him getting jealous over Donnie.

As much as he pretended that their relationship was nothing more than a string of exclusive hookups, Brundar wasn’t fooling Callie.

He had feelings for her. The problem was his attitude toward those feelings. He regarded them as a curse or a disease and not something wonderful between two people that was rare and special and should have been cherished.

Callie couldn’t change him or who he was, but she could change his mind about that—give it her best and hope it would be enough.

She wanted to touch his face, caress his clean-shaven cheeks, run her fingers through his hair. But, of course, she did none of that, keeping her hands tucked between her thighs as a reminder. “This was our second fight. I would say it’s an achievement.”

Brundar’s left brow arched. “You consider an argument a good thing?”

“Sure, I do. Getting a rise from someone as stoic as you means that you care.”

Brundar kissed the top of her head. “I think you have things turned around. Both times you got mad at me.”

“True. But you took the effort to engage with me. I guess you don’t do that with others. You walk away.”

“That is correct.” Brundar seemed to ponder her observation. “I wonder why that is?”

The guy didn’t understand the most basic elements of human interaction.

“Because you don’t care what others think or feel toward you. Well, maybe other than respect. I think that is important to you. But with me, you want more than my respect.”

“You bet, I do. I want your moans, and your whimpers, and your screams.” His thumb brushed over her puckered nipple, stoking the simmer of desire his words had started.

“So what are you saying? That I make a lot of noise?” Callie teased.

“Music to my ears.” He brushed his knuckles over her other nipple.

He was teasing her back, not with his words but with his hands. To touch her over her shirt and bra instead of her naked skin was like letting her smell something delicious but not allow her to taste it. This was so like him, expressing himself through touch and not speech, probably because he was so good with the first and so inadequate with the latter.

Days without him created so much pent-up need, Callie felt like crawling out of her skin. Touching herself, which was the only relief she’d gotten for the past few days, had been pleasant at best, but she needed Brundar to take her higher. To make her wild and wanton the way he’d done before.

Sex with him was so intense that everything else seemed devoid of color and flavor in comparison.

It scared her.

What were the chances of her ever finding another man who could so perfectly satisfy her? Who could bring her to such heights of ecstasy?

As inexperienced as she was, Callie figured out that a precise match like theirs was rare. Given the huge spectrum of shades and variations, a perfect alignment was nearly impossible. She was just a slightly darker shade of vanilla, while Brundar was on the lighter shade of kink, and they were both flexible enough to stretch a little and meet where they were both comfortable.

Unless she was reading him wrong and he was holding back to accommodate her.

“Am I enough, Brundar? Tell me the truth. Are you holding back on what you want, what you need?”

He shook his head. “Not in the way you think.”

“Please explain, because I’m having an insecure moment here.”

Dipping his head, he kissed her forehead. “I told you what I need, and I didn’t omit anything. You agreed to it. Why would you think I would want more?”

That was true. The only thing Brundar listed as an absolute must was bondage. The blindfold was probably part of that. But he admitted that something was lacking.

“What are you holding back?”

He chuckled. “I have incredible stamina. If I had my way, you would need a transfusion by the time I was done with you.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“No, sweetling. I know when you had enough.”

“But what about you? I hate thinking that you’re left unsatisfied.”

“Who said anything about not being satisfied? The fact that I can go on doesn't mean I’m unsatisfied.”

Callie tilted her head back to have a better look at Brundar’s face, wondering how was it possible to want more but at the same time feel satisfied.

Was it like eating chocolate?

She was an unrepentant chocoholic. One or two squares were never enough, and she would keep coming back for more until there was nothing left. But there was a price to pay for the overindulgence, and not only in extra pounds. The nausea and upset stomach were an unpleasant reminder that she should’ve stopped at no more than one-third of a pack. Except, she usually smartened up only after the fact, not while obsessively devouring one piece after another.

Maybe for Brundar sex was the same. The fact that he could go on didn’t mean he should.

“Okay.”

“Okay what?”

“Okay, sir?”

Brundar chuckled. “And you were accusing me of unclear communication. Okay as in, I understand? Or okay as in, take me to bed right now?”

“Both. I accept your explanation, and I want you to take me to bed.”

“I will. But first, there is the small matter of your punishment.”

Callie felt herself melt into a puddle. Except, she needed a cause to make the game fun to play. “Punishment for what?”

“Let me see.” Brundar looked up as if he was concentrating on recounting her misdeeds. “First, you didn’t believe me when I told you that I haven’t been with anyone but you since we got together. Just for that, you deserve a thorough spanking. Then you suggested I was whoring myself out to club members. That’s a strapping offense, but you’re too green for that.”

Callie shivered, and not in a pleasant way. “You mean like with a belt?”

“Yes.”

“I will never be ready for that.” What could be sexy about that much pain? Not that she would know. No one had ever done that to her, and Callie was adamant about keeping it that way.

“Never say never.”

She smiled, thinking he was teasing, but Brundar seemed serious. Her smile turned into a frown. She would’ve dismissed his remark as nonsense, but the thing was, he seldom made claims about things he wasn’t an expert on.

“Why would you say that?”

“I’ve seen it before. Some start easy and never venture into darker places, while others get the taste and want to experience more. I always try to guess which camp a new member will end up belonging to, but I miss more often than I get it right. Each person is different.”

“Which camp do you think I belong to?”

“The second one. But as I said, I’m often wrong.”

Callie looked away, embarrassed even though she was sure he was mistaken. Pain wasn’t her thing. She liked the feeling she got from submitting, and a little spanking was the perfect catalyst to help her get there; bondage was too, but that was as far as she was willing to go. “I’m curious to hear what makes you think that.”

“Mostly because you’re gutsy. You don’t back away from trying new things even when you’re scared.”

True, but she was also a reasonable woman. Callie’s willingness to stretch her comfort zone in the name of experimentation didn’t mean she would abandon it for just any thrill.

If Brundar stayed around for long enough, they might find out who was right. It saddened her to think that he might not.

Callie’s arousal dissipated along with her good mood.

“What’s going on in your head?”

As usual, Brundar didn’t miss the slightest change in her. Which was weird given how obtuse he was about almost everything else.

“I just thought that you need to stick around for a while to find out if you’re right about me.”