He steps back, crossing his developed arms over his chest, and his muscles stretch beneath his shirt. “All of it.”

I hastily unhook my bra, letting it join the dress. My nipples instantly peak, and it’s less to do with the cold air and more because of his heated, dark gaze. He looks on the verge of either devouring or spanking me.

Or maybe devouring me while spanking me.

A shiver crawls its way up my spine as I hook my fingers in either side of my panties and slide them down my legs so they’re piled with the rest of my clothes.

By the time I stand again, a noticeable tremor is racking my body. What the hell? Why does it feel like my first time with him?

Or ever, actually. Because I don’t remember being this nervous or turned on the first time I had sex.

The fact that he’s only watching, not attempting to touch me, adds a different type of anticipation, one that coils at the base of my stomach and spreads all the way to my core.

“Now what?” I ask in a small, breathy voice that surprises even me.

He shakes his head once. “You don’t get to ask that. In fact, you don’t get to ask anything. This is your punishment, so if I tell you to stand like that until tomorrow, that’s exactly what you’ll do.”

He wouldn’t be so cruel as to do that.

Though…he did say I angered him, so maybe that’s exactly his plan.

A weird sense of apprehension engulfs me and I attempt to grab my arm with my hand, but Adrian shakes his head again. “Drop it.”

I do, trembling as I remain completely exposed. Everything is visible to him from my abdomen scar to the older leg scar to the few stretch marks I have due to pregnancy.

Sometimes, I feel self-conscious about my body, especially since the end of my career. I’m no longer the toned, thin dancer with athletic legs and slim figure. Though I haven’t gained much weight, I’m not as fit as I was six years ago.

However, Adrian has never looked at me any differently. Not only has the hunger persisted in his gaze, but it also seems to intensify every time he touches me sexually.

It’s been years, six long years, filled with all sorts of things that should’ve turned him off, but he’s never looked at me differently from how he does right now.

With raw lust.

With a furious need to touch me.

I guess that’s how I’ve always looked at him, too, even when I haven’t wanted to show it. But for me, the arousal comes hand in hand with my feelings for him. I’ve wanted him more ever since I realized how irrevocably in love with him I am.

“Turn around and walk to the bed,” he commands.

I do so, adding a gentle sway to my hips as I feel his wild gaze on my back and ass. I can sense his need for ownership even without him having to say it.

“Get on your knees at the foot of it, face against the mattress and ass in the air.”

I suck a deep breath into my starved lungs and drop into position. He didn’t even touch me, but the friction of the duvet against my breasts makes me stifle a moan.

Adrian’s presence behind me is as real as air, impossible to ignore or live without.

The sound of him unbuckling his pants echoes in the silence of the room and I dig my fingers into the mattress when I turn around to watch.

“Eyes ahead, Lia.”

I comply even as I release a frustrated breath. Why is he the only one who gets to watch?

Dictator.

“Grab your ass cheeks and spread them. Show me that tight hole.”

I choke on my own breath for a second, my fingers trembling as I obey the command. God. He’s so full of perverted orders today. The fact that he’s never told me to do this before adds more stimulation to my already slick core.

And he hasn’t even touched me.

I’m pulling on my ass cheeks, fully aware that my back hole and the juices coating my pussy are in his direct line of view.

“You need to learn a lesson on not questioning my decisions, Lia.”

“But—”

“Shhh. If you’re going to open your mouth to disagree, it’s better if you keep it shut.”

I feel him kneeling behind me, his warmth radiating down my back and exposed flesh. “I’ll start with your ass and then your pussy before I whip you, and then I’ll go back to the beginning and do it all over again.”

My breathing crackles and my thighs quiver at the image he’s painted in my head.

“It’s been a long time since I fucked your tight ass, hasn’t it?”

I nod into the mattress.

“Use your words.”

“Yes…”

“How long?”

“Three months.” Since before I thought I was Winter.

“You’ve been counting, my Lenochka?”

I can feel the blood rising to my ears, nearly bursting them. “Yes.”

“Mmm. You miss being fucked in the ass until you scream, don’t you?”

I swallow.

“Answer.”

“Yes…I do.”

“Tell me to fuck you.”

“Fuck me, Adrian.” I don’t even hesitate, the words falling from my mouth so naturally.

“But that means you’ll enjoy it when I want to punish you.”

“P-please…”

“Maybe we can come to a compromise then.” He shifts behind me. “Don’t move.”

I don’t, my heart thumping with increased intensity as he repositions himself. A cool liquid covers my back hole and before I can focus on the lube, Adrian grabs me by the hip and slams inside me in one go.

I gasp, my nails digging into my ass with the force of his thrust.

Holy. Shit.

I can feel him buried so deep in me, his cock pulling at my hole with a savageness that actually hurts.

“I told you. This is supposed to be a punishment.” His hot, dark whisper assaults my ear as he drives into me with ferocious vigor. My upper body slides back and forth on the bed with each urgent move.

I attempt to grab the mattress for balance, but Adrian’s voice stops me. “Don’t even think about releasing that ass. Keep holding it for me.”

He pulls out slowly, almost halfway, then rams back inside in sync with my scream. I try to wiggle, but he slaps my ass, wrenching a throaty mewl out of me.

“Move again and I’ll turn this ass red while I fuck it, Lia.”

His words spark against my flesh and rattle into my bones. And the only thought I have is that maybe I want that.

Maybe his depravity matches mine after all.

Otherwise? Why is my pussy dripping wet at the promise of his brutal punishment?

The pain soon mixes with pleasure as he shoves back in, his hips rotating to hit a deeper place with each thrust.

His free hand finds my swollen clit and he works it with masterful twists and strokes that leave me panting, begging, and unable to breathe properly.

It’s unbelievable how much of a hold he has on my body, how he can levitate me to a state of complete abandon in a matter of minutes.

But I guess it’s not only my body that he’s able to possess in this exhilarating yet frightening way.

It’s also my heart and my soul.

It didn’t even matter when I thought I was a different person. I fell in love with him all the same and I’m starting to think there’s no way out for me after all.