A single finger traced her lips, and she instinctively opened her mouth to take it in, to taste it, but it was gone in the next instant.

Cool air greeted her chest as he opened the trench coat, one button at a time. He slid it off slowly, exposing her to his gaze. Her heart beat triple time and she held her breath. He was looking at her, half-naked right now, and not seeing his face was killing her. Her nipples went taut and achy as a low sigh of appreciation escaped him, his minty breath washing over her face.

“Very nice, Ms. Mack.”

She willed him to touch her then, squinting tight, hoping he would do that magic thing again where he seemed to read her thoughts. Her hopes were dashed as she sensed him moving away, taking his body heat and mouthwatering scent with him.

Next came the heels. He unbuckled the slim ankle strap with exquisite slowness that unearthed memories of the garter incident and she shuddered. If tonight ended even half as spectacularly as that one had, she could die happy.

“Stand,” he muttered, his voice thick and gritty. The single-word command shouldn’t have sent a rush of moisture to her core, but it did. She obeyed without question, using the bed to guide her and then rising to her feet.

His warm breath stirred her hair as he gripped the leather waistband that stretched across her hips. He tugged the pants down to her ankles, patting her bottom lightly, urging her to step out of them.

She stood like that for a long time. Stock-still, back straight, breasts thrust forward, hoping against hope that her body pleased him.

“I believe we have a problem, Ms. Mack.”

Her heart dove to her toes and all the defenses she’d let drop snapped back into place. She crossed her arms over her chest and took a step back. His hands closed over her shoulders, halting her backward motion.

“Don’t ever cover yourself from me. You’re too beautiful to hide,” he murmured softly before his voice regained strength and the cold edge of her nemesis, Mr. Welter. “The problem is that, to my understanding, you should be naked right now, should you not?”

She could hardly think over the relief flooding through her. He seemed to really like her body, so then what?

She was naked, besides…she sucked in a breath, realizing her mistake. She’d been in such a rush to get here on time that she’d slid on underwear out of habit without giving it a second thought. And who could blame her? Leather and vaginas weren’t meant to co-hab without some sort of buffer. Surely that was a rule somewhere?

“I asked you a question, Ms. Mack.”

She struggled to come up with an explanation that would suffice, but only managed a whispered, “Yes.”

“I’m sure we can both agree you deserve to be punished for this.”

His voice was quiet, but his deep, authoritative timbre still seemed to vibrate through her. It wasn’t a question, so she didn’t think she was on the hook for a response, which was a good thing. She didn’t know whether she agreed or disagreed.

Her brain was 100 percent certain that, if she had a vote, she would have cast it for “no punishment.” But her body wasn’t so sure. Her skin felt too tight, like it was awaiting something astounding.

“Grab hold of my shoulders,” he ground out. She complied, reveling in their breadth and strength under the crisp cotton of his shirt. God, she’d forgotten he was still fully clothed. The thought should have bothered her, but instead it added to the fantasy. She was entirely at his mercy.

She gripped his shoulders more tightly as he dropped lower. Kneeling?

“Back into the shoes.”

Ah, he liked the shoes, then. A tidbit she would tuck away for future use, maybe. A secret thrill ran through her and she meekly did his bidding, waiting patiently as he fastened the buckles. When he was done, his fingers trailed up her calves in a slow, winding caress that had her digging her fingers into his shoulders.

They skittered up her thighs before playing at the thin straps of her panties. With a quick tug, they came apart in his hand with a snap and she gasped. At this rate, she wasn’t going to have any left.

“Last. Time,” he growled, rising to his feet. “When you’re with me like this, I want your pussy bare and ready for the taking.”

Her mouth went dry and she nodded.

“Now sit, and move back against the bedpost.”

She lowered herself back to the bed and scooted until she felt the cold rails of the iron headboard.

“Give me your wrists.” His voice was gruff, like he was in pain, and she wanted to pull the blindfold from her eyes…read his thoughts. But she didn’t. Instead, heart pounding, she did as he requested, waiting, anticipating the cold steel of cuffs, but it never came.

He crossed her wrists, and guided them high above her head, binding them together with what could only be the tattered black lace of her offending underwear, and tied them to the metal rail. Then he was gone again. For another long moment, there was silence, even more deafening than the last time, and her head whirred with possibilities. What next? How far would he push her? Her stomach clenched with a need so sharp, it hurt. God, she wanted him. But she could do nothing about it but sit and wait.

There was a rustling sound in the far corner of the suite, then a clatter. She perked up as his footfalls grew nearer.

“Open your mouth,” he demanded.

Excitement lanced through her and she parted her lips. Something frozen pressed against her mouth, smooth and hard, and his voice greeted her again. “Swipe your tongue around it. Suck it.” His voice was clipped. Urgent. The need to blow him away with instruction-following skills after the whole underwear debacle made her take to the task like a fucking champ. She closed her teeth around the smooth, square-shaped object and sucked lightly. No taste. No smell.

Ice.

Cold water trickled down from her mouth, over her chin, and she shivered when droplets skittered down her neck.

Her hand twitched to wipe her chin but she was met with the taut reminder of her imprisonment. She shouldn’t have worried. In the next moment, a calloused thumb was tracing the line from her jaw to her lips, collecting the errant droplets. How long would he make her wait this time? Or would that be her punishment? Maybe relief from the ever-building ache would never come.

The sound of her swallowing seemed to echo through the room and she closed her teeth over the chunk of ice and bit down, cracking it in half. His low, harsh laugh only fanned the flames of the fire building in her.

“Watch those teeth, Ms. Mack.”

He pulled the ice away and just as she wondered what was next, he trailed the cube down her throat, and lower, circling her collarbones, leaving a chilly path of electricity in its wake. He brushed over the tops of her breasts, once, twice, before rolling the fast-melting cube over her taut nipples.

Beads of water rolled down the curve of her breasts as he went, circling the aching peaks until a moan broke from her lips. Her skin burned with need, her blood boiled under the surface, and even the ice couldn’t dull her flames. The contrast was deadly. With every droplet of water, her need only grew more intense.

“Tell me again, little thief. What were you saying about taking a woman against her will? A woman who”—he tweaked her nipple tightly between his warm fingers and she arched into him helplessly—“had no interest in me, a man like any other, at all?”

His ministrations became relentless as he played the ice over her straining breasts until they went almost numb from the near-excruciating cold, and then massaged and plucked at them with his big, warm hands. On and on it went, until her head tossed restlessly against the pillow and she struggled against her restraints.

“Rafe, please,” she whispered.

He blew out a long shuddering breath. A second later, his molten mouth was on her, his tongue laving her chilled flesh, sucking her nipples hard in a steady rhythm that made her hips flutter in counterpoint.

“Ah, fuck,” she moaned, too far gone now to care. She strained harder, intent now on freeing her hands from their bindings to no avail. He could be her only respite and the pleas tumbled freely from her lips. “Please, please, I do want you.”

He growled with satisfaction but his mouth continued its torture as a rattle sounded by her ear. Soon another ice cube joined the party, slipping over her rib cage, sliding over her stomach, circling her belly button. His tongue followed close behind, the polar temperature dueling with the damp heat for her attention.

“Spread your legs.” The words alone might have been enough to push her over the edge, but she held on, waiting for his next command. Desperate to please him as much as he was pleasing her.

When the ice circled her clit, she screamed and bucked so hard, the bed rail squealed in protest. He did it again, brushing it lightly against her overheated flesh like he was painting her with a brush. Water mixed with her own wetness and pooled between her thighs, trickling down her slit.

“Tell me, Ms. Mack.” The words sounded like they were wrenched from him with a crowbar. Rusty, guttural, and raw. “Why are you so fucking wet for a man you have no interest in?”

She writhed helplessly against him, dying to squeeze her thighs together, to add that last bit of pressure she so desperately needed to push her over the edge, but she knew better. This was her punishment, and she wasn’t about to add on to her sentence. Surely he was almost done?

She leaned back, sucking in air through her nose and blowing it out through her mouth. She could do this. She’d almost managed to convince herself when he slanted his mouth over her and plunged his tongue deep. A low scream built in her chest and she tensed, ready to tumble, but he tore his mouth away one moment too soon and she nearly wept.

“I’m sorry. I-I shouldn’t have said that to you. I shouldn’t have worn the panties.” Her overloading brain floundered wildly for more things to apologize for. Anything to make him finish it. To slip a finger inside and work her until she was over the edge, cover her swollen clit with his mouth and massage it with that skillful tongue until she went spiraling into oblivion.

It was so close, she could touch it. He thumbed her clit lightly, the touch so much but not nearly enough. What did he want to hear? What would free her from this sensual torture?

She stilled and held her breath, desperately trying to feel past the hands intent on killing her with pleasure so she could focus in on him. He was breathing at least as hard as she was. The hand that caressed her shook with need. This was as much of a torture for him as it was for her. So how to throw him over the edge?

“I need it.” The words tripped from her lips in a whisper. “I need it so bad. You want it too, don’t you? To push that thick cock into me?”

His responding grunt was punctuated by his finger parting her and sliding into her.

“Feel it? How hot and wet I am for you?”

His finger pressed forward, rewarding her with another shallow thrust. She bounced her hips lightly and moaned.

“Fuck it,” he snarled.

Elation soared through her as the bedsprings creaked. A zipper sounded, then the rustle of clothes before he returned to the bed, rough hands gripping her ankles. His strength was a constant, like one wrong move could break her, but she couldn’t muster even an ounce of regret over that fact.

He lifted her legs high into the air, folding her in half until her toes nearly touched her nose and her ass was off the mattress. Then, without so much as a warning, he thrust into her with a muttered curse, his huge cock battering its way deep into her tight channel, a brutal possession.

It should have hurt, but she was so far past ready, there was nothing but razor-sharp pleasure as her body stretched to accommodate him. He held himself still for a long moment, his cock twitching inside her, setting off tiny tremors. Then he started to move, working himself in and out at a torturous pace. The drag of his flesh against hers almost too exquisite to bear.

She was dangling by a thread, preparing for free fall.

“Do you want to come on my cock now, Ms. Mack?” His voice was so low, it could’ve belonged to a stranger. But it didn’t. It was Rafe and her body was aware of every inch of him as he took her. Her mind whirred, searching desperately for a part that was still capable of thought.