She tried to pull away. He kept a firm grip on her hand, refusing to let her go.
“Eat your food,” he said.
“Stop being bossy.”
He raised a brow.
“Oh, right, you’re a Dominant and I’m not allowed to speak back to you.”
“Baby, you can speak back to me but you’ve got to be prepared to take the consequences for your actions. I’ll spank your ass or deny you release until you beg for my forgiveness.” Jake shuffled in his seat in an attempt to ease the ache in his cock.
“You’ve got no chance.”
Her nipples said far differently than her lips.
“Really, tell me, Bella, how do you know about Dominants and spankings?” he asked, leaning over the table. The scents of the food would be nothing compared to the sweetness of her cream.
“None of your business.”
Jake wouldn’t have believed it if he didn’t see it but her cheeks got redder.
“Don’t lie to me.”
She returned her gaze to his. For several minutes neither of them spoke. He waited patiently for her to cave. Bella was a submissive woman through and through. She would thrive under his teachings.
“I read a lot.”
“Do you read sex books?”
“I don’t just read erotic fiction. I also…watch a lot.”
He got harder. The length of his shaft pressed against the zipper of his jeans. He stifled a curse, knowing he’d have to wait to relieve that kind of pressure.
“Wow, I’d never expect it from you.”
Gazing at the way she was dressed, he shouldn’t have been surprised. Their time together in Mixers made him aware of her hidden sensuality.
“Can we just forget about this? We both made a mistake. I’m sorry for leading you on. We can both get on with our lives and I don’t mind what happened. I’m pleased it did.”
He held her hand tighter, stopping her from talking. “Do me a favor and shut the fuck up.”
She let out a growl. “Do you always talk to women that way?” The fork she held clattered down on the plate.
“Only to really stubborn women who need a good fucking spanking,” he said, growing angry. He thought he was finally getting through to her.
“Is there a problem?” the waiter asked, approaching the table.
Jake dealt with him and groaned as Bella used the interruption to make her escape.
Pulling out two twenties, he left a large tip and charged out of the restaurant in the hope to catch her before she got away.
Let her go.
No, I can’t let her go.
Bella called to something within him and he didn’t want to let that go. It wasn’t just her submissive side or her stubbornness, there was something else about her.
You took her virginity and now she’s yours.
In all of his life he’d never been with a virgin. She’d knocked him out of the water and now all he wanted to do was take care of her, protect her, and show her how good it could be between them.
He found her walking fast back toward the library a few minutes later. Not even bothering trying to walk to keep up, he ran the short distance. He reached out for her arm, holding her gently and pressed a palm across her mouth to stop her calling out. He didn’t want any interruptions while he spoke to her. Jake hid them away around the side of a building. No one stopped them as he held her against the brick wall.
“Don’t ever do that again,” he said.
“Do what? I’ve got to get back to work. Why can’t you just leave me alone?”
“Because I don’t want to. Agree to go to dinner with me tonight and I’ll let you get back to work.” He’d never begged any woman for a date.
“No. I don’t want to date you.”
“Give me a goddamn chance to prove I’m better than what you got last night.”
She started to laugh. “Is this your biggest problem? You don’t like the fact I hated our time together.”
Jake winced. “No.”
“Liar, it is the only reason.” She shook her head, pulling out of his arms. “Leave me alone or I will tell the police you’re stalking me.”
He let her go, knowing he wouldn’t be able to convince her otherwise. The moment she entered the library his cell phone vibrated.
“What?” Jake asked, snapping at whoever was on the other side.
“Excuse me, don’t you fucking speak to me like that after you ran Maya out of here,” Chris said, snapping right back.
“Shit, sorry. This morning has not gone as planned.”
“That bad?”
“No, it’s been downright worse than you can imagine. I thought I knew all bloody women. Bella is fucking stubborn.” Jake cursed, wishing he knew the key to this one woman.
“I imagine she’s nothing like the other women you’ve been with. She stayed a virgin for this long. You’ve got no chance of getting it easy with her,” Chris said.
“I know. It still sucks.”
“What are you doing to do now?”
Jake stared in the window, seeing Bella serve another man who kept her talking. Walking away wasn’t an option for him. He had every intention to make her his woman.
Mortified, Bella couldn’t argue.
She’d been too scared to move from the wall in case she caved and didn’t end up going with him. Her virginity, to her, became a thing of hatred as well as something to keep her back from all men.
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, well, if you’d followed me you wouldn’t be fucking terrified of sex and thinking it was awful.”
Bella stayed silent. What was there for her to say?