“Simon, I think you’re forgetting about the fact that I have a bum leg. Or do you want to see the cripple try to exercise?”
He set his pen down and allowed the moment to sit between them as he gathered every bit of patience he had.
She fidgeted under his glare. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, she obviously couldn’t take it anymore. “What?”
“You should be very glad you haven’t signed this contract yet or you would find yourself with those pants down and over my knee. If I ever hear you use that word to describe yourself again, there will be punishment and it won’t be erotic. If I’m your Master I intend to protect you from everyone, and that includes that part of yourself that can’t help but stick the knife in. Are we understood?”
“I’m just honest with myself. I have a limited capacity. Running is difficult. My muscles were affected by the breaks. They never really healed properly.”
“And you’ve done physical therapy?” He knew the answer to that question, but he was interested to see if she would lie to him.
“No. Oddly enough my dad wasn’t big on fixing the things he broke. I was lucky that he needed something from Charlotte at the time or he likely would have let me die. I was the useless one in his eyes. Charlotte was the one he trained.”
Simon got to his feet and joined her on the couch. “You’re not useless. You’re one of the most competent women I’ve ever met.”
She laughed, a bitter sound. “Now who’s got rose-colored glasses on, Weston? I’m good at one thing and one thing only.”
“Because you don’t try anything else. It’s not too late to get the mobility back in your leg. We’ll start with yoga in the morning and then I want to work on building up the muscles around your knees to protect them. So, to sum up, all I’m asking for is obedience in the field and that you give me a shot at making you stronger.”
“And that I bottom for you.”
Yes, that was part of his plan. He needed time to show her it wouldn’t be so bad. Giving herself over to him could actually be quite pleasurable. He enjoyed taking care of a woman and she was in need. Charlotte had done her best, but Chelsea had never had a man watch out for her, never had a man who was dedicated to her pleasure in and out of bed. “Like you said, we probably won’t have much time for play.”
She laughed again, but there was a nervousness about the huffing sound that let Simon know she was very much aware of him physically, and not in a bad way. “Yeah, we’ll be too busy dodging bullets and stuff.”
He was close to her, a mere inch away from their thighs touching, but even that was far too distant for him. It was time to push those boundaries just a bit. He pulled her into his lap in one quick move. She gasped a little, but her arms came up and around his neck. “I do have one more request. Kiss me, Chelsea. Nothing more.”
Her breath was shaky and she wiggled a little on his lap, making his cock lengthen almost painfully. “You want me to kiss you? Why?”
“Because we might have to make Ian believe it. Come on, love. I want a kiss. I’m not going to attack you. I’m going to sit here and be satisfied that we’re close.” He let his arms go securely around her waist, settling her in. He stroked down her back. “It’s just a kiss.”
She nodded and stared at his lips for a moment. Patience. She required a man with a patient hand. Though his every instinct was to take over, he intended to give his little sub what she needed.
After a long moment, her hands came up as though she’d decided he wouldn’t let her fall and she could explore. She placed her palms against the sides of his face, brushing over his whiskers. He should have shaved but between the flight and getting home to find his cousins on his doorstep, he hadn’t had time. She didn’t seem to mind. She took her time, running her fingers over his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. She skimmed his eyebrows and stroked his chin. Finally she got to his mouth, her thumb running along his bottom lip.
“You know it should be a crime,” she murmured. “Most women would kill to have lips like yours. They’re really beautiful when you look at them closely.”
“Is that what you’re doing? Are you studying me?” While she took her time with him, it gave him another chance to watch her. He took in the way she ran her tongue along her lips to wet them, how the pulse jumped in the delicate vein of her neck, how her breathing had picked up. She was becoming aroused and all he had to do was get close to her.
“Sometimes when you look at a piece of code it’s just numbers on a screen and that’s all most people see. I like to study it. Those numbers mean something. They’re not just random. They make up a piece of the coder. I don’t look at people the same way, but your face says something about you. I don’t know what yet.”
“You don’t have to,” he replied. “You only have to know that you’re safe with me. Kiss me.”
She took a deep breath, seeming to steel herself, and then she leaned forward, bumping her nose lightly against his before meeting his lips. A quick brush and she pulled away. “There.”
Oh, she didn’t know him at all if she thought he would let her get away with that. “Now it’s my turn.”
She stiffened in his arms. “Your turn?”
“Now I’m going to kiss you.” He didn’t give her time to think, simply cupped the nape of her neck and gently brought her down so his lips met hers. Warmth sparked against his skin and the need to get her on her back was almost overwhelming. He could prove to her that she belonged underneath him. He could spread her wide and by the time he let her up, she would know she was his woman.
Or she would think he was her assailant. No. He molded his lips to hers ever so gently, giving her time to relax. He would play this her way for now and that meant not giving in to his very Neanderthal need to drag her away somewhere and brand her with his cock.
Very slowly she relaxed, her hands coming up to cup his shoulders as she started to respond. When her mouth flowered open, he took advantage, letting his tongue rub against hers in a slow slide.
Her chest met his, and there was no way to miss how her breasts felt, how that gorgeous ass of hers wriggled around on his lap. She moved and then she was rubbing his erection in all the right ways.
Her eyes flew open and she scrambled off his lap. Her voice was shaky, her lips a nice pink from their session. “I think that’s enough for now. I’m really tired and some of the searches I need to do could last all night. Do you think I could grab a shower and a nap?”