His fingers stroked over the rounded curve of her breast, his expression thoughtful as he stared down at her.

“Why are you fighting me, Tess?” he suddenly asked her softly. “For two years I’ve done everything but tie you down and make you admit to wanting me. And I know you do. So why are you fighting it?”

“Maybe I want to be tied down and forced to admit it,” she said flippantly, ignoring the flare of excitement in her vagina at the thought. She had heard the rumors, knew the accusations her mother had heaped on her father’s brother-in-law for years. “Yeah, Cole, me tied down, just waiting for you and one of your best buds. Hey hon, the possibilities are limitless here.”

Her mouth was the bane of her existence. She mentally rolled her eyes at the sharp, mocking declaration.

“My best bud, huh?” He tilted his head, watching her with a slight smile.

“The more the merrier.” She moved away from him, denying herself the touch she wanted above all others. “You know how it is. A girl has to have some kind of excitement in her life. May as well go all the way.”

She was going to cut her own tongue out. Tess felt more possessed than in possession of any common sense at the moment. Tempting Cole, pushing him, was never a good idea. She knew that from experience. Yet it seemed she knew how to do little else.

“Tess, be careful what you wish for.” He was openly laughing at her. “Have you ever had two men at once, baby?”

The endearment, softly spoken in that dark, wicked voice sent her pulse racing harder than before.

“Does it matter?” She turned back to him, some demonic imp urging her to tease, to tempt in return.

She flashed him a look from beneath her lashes, touching at his hips, suppressing her groan at the size of the erection beneath his jeans. Damn, he was going to bust the zipper any minute now.

“Doesn’t matter.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I can give you whatever you want, Sugar. If you really want it. I’m flexible.”

* * * * *

Cole felt his dick throb. Damn her, he knew she had no idea how far she truly was pushing him. He could see the excitement in her eyes, a glimmer of sexual heat, of determination. Did she think she could turn him off by giving him carte blanche to do his worse? She had no idea how sexual he could get. The thought of tying her down, forcing her to admit the needs of her body, or his needs, was nearly more than his self-control could bear. The thought of introducing her to the pleasures of a ménage a trois, hearing her screams of pleasure echo in his ears, had his cock so hard it was a physical ache.

He wanted Tess to have every touch, every sexual experience she could ever imagine wanting to try. He wanted her hot, wet, and begging for his cock. He wanted her to admit to her needs, just as he finally admitted to his own. He wanted Tess, now, tomorrow, forever. However he could get her, every way she would let him have her.

Cole watched the flush that mounted her cheekbones, the flare of interest in her eyes that she quickly doused. She thought it a game, a sexual repartee that she could easily brush aside later. But it didn’t change the fact that Tess had given such ideas more than a passing thought. He could see it in the hard rise and fall of her breasts, the swollen curve of them, the hard points of her nipples. They were nearly as hard as his cock.

She couldn’t know, he thought with a thread of amusement, just how much he would enjoy doing both things with her. The dominance level he possessed was incredibly high. Introducing her to being tied down, teased, tormented, or sandwiching her between his body and Jesse’s—

He had to forcibly tamp down his lust. Not that sharing her would be easy, or would happen often, but there was a particular pleasure in it that could be found in no other sexual act. The thought of total control of her body, her desires and her lusts was an aphrodisiac nearly impossible to resist.

“Tess, you shouldn’t dare me,” he warned her carefully. “You don’t know what you could be asking for, baby.”

He felt honor bound to give her one chance, and one chance only, to still the raging desires building inside him. She didn’t know, couldn’t know the sexuality that was so much a part of him. A sexuality and dark desire he had been willing to dampen for her. But her bold declaration that she could handle them was more than he could resist.

“Maybe I do know.” He loved the breathless quality in her voice, the edge of fear and lust in her voice was a heady combination.

“I would fuck your ass, Tess,” he growled advancing on her once again. “Is that what you want? My best bud sinking in that tight pussy while I push inside your back hole. You would scream, baby.”

The idea of it was making him so hot he could barely stand the heat himself.

“Hmm…” Her pink lips pouted into a moue of thoughtfulness. “Sounds interesting, Cole. But you know, I couldn’t allow just anyone such privileges.” She sighed regretfully. “Sorry, darling, but it appears you’re out of luck.”

Oh, she was in trouble. Cole kept his expression only slightly amused, allowing his sweet Tess to dig her own grave.

“And what qualities must a man have to be so lucky?” he asked her as he deliberately maneuvered her against the wall, his body pressing against hers, not forcing her, but holding her, warming her.

For a moment, an endearing vulnerability flashed in her eyes. His heart softened at what he read there. Mingled hope and need, a flash of uncertainty.

“Something you don’t have.” He wondered if she heard the regret in her voice.

“And what would that be, baby?” He wanted to pull her to his chest, hold her, assure her that anything she needed, anything she wanted, was hers for the asking.

She pushed away from him, her natural defensiveness taking over again, that flash of pain in her eyes overriding her need to play, to tease and tempt.

“Heart, Cole. It takes a heart,” she bit out. “And I really don’t think you have one.”

* * * * *

Tess walked away quickly, anger enveloping her. It did little to tamp the desire or the raging cauldron of emotions that threatened to swamp her. Damn. Double damn. She couldn’t love him. She couldn’t need his love. Two years of sparring with him, fighting his advances and his heated looks couldn’t have caused this.

She felt her body trembling, her chest tightening with tears. Loving Cole was hopeless. She didn’t stand a chance against the sophisticated, experienced women he often slept with. She had seen them, hated them. Knowing he took them to his bed, made them scream for his touch was more than she could bear. Surely she didn’t love him. But Tess had a very bad feeling she did.

CHAPTER FIVE

Tess came awake hours later, a sense of being watched, studied, breaking through the erotic dream of Cole teasing her, tempting her with a kiss that never came. On the verge of screaming out for it, the presence in her room began to make itself felt.

She blinked her eyes open, frowning at the soft light of a candle on the small half moon table by her bed. Her head turned, her heart began to race. Cole was sitting on the side of the bed watching her, his blue eyes narrowed, his muscular chest bare except for the light covering of black hair that angled down his stomach and disappeared into— Her eyes widened, then flew back to his. He was naked. Sweet God, he was naked and sporting a hard on that terrified her. Thick and long, the head purpled, the flesh heavily veined.

Tess was suddenly more than aware of her nakedness beneath the heavy quilt. When she had gone to bed, she had thought nothing of it. Now she could feel her breasts swelling, her nipples hardening. Between her legs, she felt the slow, heated moistening of her fevered flesh. She felt something else, too. Her arms were tied to the curved headboard, stretched out, the same as her legs, with very little play in the rope. Son of a bitch, he had tied her on her bed like some damned virginal sacrifice.

“What have you done?” She cleared the drowsiness from her voice as he sat still, watching her with those wicked, sensually charged eyes. “Untie me, Cole. What are you doing here?”

“First lesson,” he told her, his voice soft as his lips quirked in a sexy grin. “Are you ready for it?”

“Lesson?” She shook her head, her voice filled with her surging anger. How dare the son of a bitch tie her up? “What the hell are you talking about, Cole?”

His hand lifted. Tess thought he would touch her, grab her, instead, those long fingers wrapped around his cock absently, stroking it. She swallowed tightly, her mouth watering, aching to feel that bulging head in it. She may have even considered giving into the impulse, if she could have moved her body.

“Your first lesson in being my woman, Tess,” he told her, his voice cool, determined. “I told you I was tired of waiting on you. Tonight, your first lesson begins.”

Tess rolled her eyes as she breathed out in irritation.

“Are you a secret psycho or something, Cole?” she bit out. “Did you just pay attention to what you said? Now let me go and stop acting so weird. Dammit, if you wanted to fuck, you should have just said so.”

He smiled at her. The bastard just smiled that slow, wicked grin of his.

“But, Tess, I don’t want to just fuck,” he said, his voice amused. “I want you know who controls your body, your lusts. I want you to know, all the way to your soul, who owns that pretty pussy, that tempting little ass and hot mouth. I want you to admit they’re mine, and mine alone to fuck however I please.”

Damn. She knew Cole was into kink, but rape?

“Cole.” She fought to keep her voice reasonable. “This is no way to go about getting a woman, hon. Really. You know, flowers, courtship, that’s the way to a woman’s heart.”

“Really?” He was openly laughing at her now. “I sent you flowers, darling—”

Her eyes widened.

“Oh yeah, with a card telling me what size butt plug to buy so you could fuck my ass,” she bit out as she jerked at the ropes binding her ankles. “Real romantic, Cole.”

She remembered her sense of horror, the shameful excitement when she read the card. She had dumped flowers and all in the trash, but kept the card. Why, she wasn’t certain.

He shrugged easily. “Practical,” he told her. “I wanted you prepared. But since you were unwilling to prepare yourself, then you’ll just have to accept the pain.”

Pain? No. No pain.

“Now look, Cole,” she warned him reasonably. “Father will be really pissed with you. And you know I’ll tell—”

“I asked your father’s permission first, Tess,” he told her softly, his expression patient now. “Why do you think your mother finally left your father? She refused to accept who he was and what he needed. I will not make that mistake with you. You will know, and you will accept to your soul, your needs as well as my own. You won’t run from me. Your father understands this, and he’s giving me the time I need to help you understand.”

Tess stared up at Cole, fury welling inside her as her arms jerked at the ropes that held her. Damn him, they weren’t tight, but there wasn’t a chance she could smack that damned superior expression off his face.

“You’re lying to me,” she accused him. “Father would never let you hurt me.”

“Ask him in the morning.” He shrugged lazily. “You’ll be free by then.”

A sense of impotency filled her. Damn him, he thought he had all the damned answers and all the damned plans. She wasn’t a toy for him to play with, and she would show him that.

“I’ll have you arrested,” she promised him. “I swear, if it’s the last thing I do I’ll have you locked up.”

He was quiet for long moments, his eyes glittering with lust, with cool knowledge.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. And I think come morning, perhaps you will have changed your mind.”