He reached out and brushed his knuckle along the line of her jaw. She shivered with anticipation at the gentle touch. “I always do.”
“Always?” she taunted. Womanizers didn’t think much about the future. They focused on instant gratification. It was the women who had to protect themselves and deal with the consequences alone.
“Always,” he repeated as his fingertips grazed her throat and shoulder. “I take care of my lovers.”
Sure. That had to be the real reason. It had nothing to do with giving up control. “And you wouldn’t want a gold digger to get pregnant and live off your money.”
Sebastian’s eyes flashed with agreement. “Any more rules?”
Ashley nervously licked her lips with the tip of her tongue. She wanted to create a list of rules, but her mind was blank. “No...”
“Good.” Sebastian wrapped his fingers around her wrists. His hold was firm and commanding. She gasped when he held her hands high above her head. He leaned into her and Ashley hated how her body yielded to him. Her soft breasts were thrust against his hard chest and her pelvis cradled his erection. Sebastian surrounded her.
His powerful thigh wedged between her shaky legs. “Now, for my ground rules.”
Ashley swallowed hard. She should have expected he would have rules of his own. She was ready to refuse them all, but she was secretly intrigued. She wanted to know what he demanded from a woman.
“First,” he said as he pressed his mouth against her cheekbone, “you are available to me twenty-four hours a day.”
“You don’t ask for much, do you?” she asked sarcastically as the excitement clawed up her chest.
“And you have no claim on me,” Sebastian said as he kissed his way down the curve of her throat. She couldn’t refrain from arching her neck and encouraging more. “When I want you, I will call for you.”
Now, that she had expected from Sebastian. He would decide when and where. Any affair would meet his schedule and the woman would have to learn how to adapt.
“Maybe you don’t understand,” Ashley said, closing her eyes as his hot breath warmed her skin. “I’m not the kind of woman who sits around and waits.”
“You will be with me.” His mouth hovered against her wildly beating pulse point at the base of her throat. He circled it with the tip of his tongue, silently showing that he knew how he made her feel. “It will be worth the wait.”
She took in a ragged gulp of air. “You talk big—”
He cupped her cheeks with his large hands and kissed her. She was ready to counterattack, but he disarmed her immediately. His lips were demanding as he drew her tongue inside his mouth. She was out of control, mindlessly following his lead as the desire bled inside her.
When he withdrew, Ashley saw the stain of lipstick on his firm mouth and the way his eyes glittered knowingly. “I know how much you want this. Want me.”
She was embarrassed at her response. Humiliated that he stopped the kiss. She felt scorched. Boneless. Ashley remembered feeling like this. Sebastian knew exactly how to touch her. She wanted more and yet she wanted it to stop. She needed to take control but at the same time she wanted to throw caution to the wind and see where she landed.
“Anything else?” she asked hoarsely.
His hand grazed her breast and he drew lazy circles around her hard nipple with his fingertip. “I expect total obedience from my women.”
She flinched. She wasn’t sure which part of his rule bothered her. The fact that she was lumped into a group known as “his women”? Or the obedience part? She wasn’t going to let this man—or any man—master her. She wasn’t a plaything. “Following the rules has never been my strength,” she said.
“You’ll learn. All you need is the right motivation.” Sebastian smiled as he trailed his fingertips down her rib cage. His touch was as light as a feather and yet her skin tingled with awareness.
“I can’t promise you obedience,” she said between pants. “In fact, I won’t.”
Her words made him smile. “I can make you promise anything.”
She wanted to give a bitter laugh. Slap his hand away. Tell him he was only fooling himself. But deep down she knew Sebastian could have that power, and she didn’t want to test it. “You are very sure of yourself.”