Chapter 15

Aiden sat in his chair with a book, just as Tess did across from him. But while she read, he watched her and thought. In the days they had spent together, her panicked fear had perhaps almost completely faded. He could do nearly anything now. Tess no longer flinched at unexpected movements. She was not afraid of him. Clearly, because in the intimacy of their chamber, away from other people, she behaved completely normally. She laughed, communicated, had needs, moods, even demands. She knew how to voice her opinion, even put her foot down with him, or squabble a little. It did not bother her when he teased her now and then. She even threw it right back at him.

Except when it came to sex.

The moment it did, Tess changed. She became utterly yielding. Whenever he wished for something, her gaze shifted. It turned humble, receptive, devoted and aroused. He needed only begin, and in that very instant her eyes filled with submission and desire. Clearly, everything he thought of pleased her. She reacted sensitively to everything, perhaps every touch. Before the pearl necklace of her orgasms scattered, he still had to work his way to the first, but each time it grew easier. He knew with certainty that if he asked her for anything, she would do it at once. And that obedience drove him mad with desire. The moment she obeyed the first command, she did so with such absolute natural ease that he was instantly hard, ready. She controlled him like a puppet. One look from her, and he would have done anything to take her. And she never resisted.

He knew these thoughts could end only one way.

He wanted her again.

“Stand up,” he said suddenly.

Tess did so at once, book still in her hands, clearly finishing the line she had been reading. Then she straightened and gave him a light, curious look. Of course, blood rushed into his trousers.

“Undress,” he continued gently.

Pleasure flickered in her eyes. She set the book aside and began to fulfill the wish. One button after another. Her fingers were calm, her movements learned. She did not need to look down. Her gaze remained fixed on Aiden. There it was again. That devotion, that joy, that invitation. She knew long ago that the more obedient she was, the more aroused he became. And now she let him know, smiling, that she knew it, and that now was the moment she was taking him into her power. He felt it at once. The rush of blood into his loins did not surprise him, so he merely sighed aloud.