"Caleb, what did you do?" she demanded, snatching up his hand. "I swear to God, all men do is punch each other!"
"It's called communication."
Was that a joke? If it was, she wasn't amused. At all. "That isn't funny."
He pulled his hand away, but Maddie always got the distinct impression that he liked it when she fussed over him. "He swung first. I didn't start it."
"Oh, and I'm sure that you were completely innocent."
"He had it coming," Caleb murmured darkly. "I only wish that I'd gotten in more hits."
"Caleb!"
"Don't try and distract me. I'm not done with you," he said, shoulders bunching. "If you ever do something this stupid again, I swear that I'll-"
She didn't know what prompted her to say it, but she found the words slipping from her lips before she could stop them. "Tie me up with all your rope so I can't leave the house?"
She knew that she shocked him. All the breath left his lungs in a hiss, eyes widening slightly. There was no mistaking the sudden lust in his gaze and it left Maddie reeling.
"Don't give me ideas, princess," he warned, his voice husky. The mood in the room had changed so swiftly that Maddie grew dazed. His body seemed impossibly hot against her own. Her nipples pebbled in reaction, so much so that Maddie wondered if he could feel them against his chest, even through her bra.
"Why bother with rope when you have your nice, shiny belt?" she whispered, referencing the night he'd tied her to the desk in his office.
He sucked in a breath and then rasped against her ear, "Keep teasing me, princess, and I'll have you bent over my knee so fast you won't know what hit you."
"Oh, trust me, I'll know what hit me."
His eyes narrowed and Maddie knew that it was game over. She'd tugged on the tiger's tail and now she would pay for it.
* * *
Caleb couldn't believe what he was hearing, but he was reacting to Maddie's words as if she were whispering dirty, filthy things into his ear. His cock pulsed in anticipation.
The woman in front of him had put him through the wringer. Not just tonight, but ever since they'd first moved in together. Living in such close proximity to her and not being able to do anything about it was the purest form of hell. She'd made it all too clear in the beginning that she wasn't interested in pursuing anything physical with him. Caleb had understood. She'd been overwhelmed with her changing situation, with the pregnancy, with school, so he hadn't pushed her.
But he was nearing his limit. He'd fantasized about all the wicked things he wanted to do to her, imagined tying her up in such a way so that her perfect breasts were at his mercy-and oh, he'd be merciless-and her sweet pussy was on display for him. He'd stroked his cock to release so many times these past couple months that he couldn't even fathom keeping count. Every time he saw her, or brushed against her, or smelled her soft scent, he wanted to rip her fucking clothes off and bury himself inside her to the hilt. On the counter in the kitchen, against the hallway wall, on the hood of his car, on the bench in the garage, he didn't care. He was like a man possessed. He had never been more attracted to a woman in his entire life.
He'd pushed himself to work harder as a distraction. He'd tried to tire himself out at work so that the moment he stepped foot in the house, he went straight to bed. Then he'd wake up the next morning and do it all over again.
He'd never made a move because she'd never given him any indication that she was ready for something more. But dammit, she was flirting right now and if that wasn't a suggestion, he didn't know what was.
The feeling of Maddie's soft, warm body pressed against his own, knowing that she could feel the way his cock hardened against her stomach through his jeans, was almost his undoing.
"Don't start something you can't finish, princess," he warned, his voice barely more than a growl.
"But I never got the chance to finish last time," she quipped, big brown eyes staring up at him. When the true meaning of her words hit home, shame made him flush. No, she hadn't finished last time, indeed, because he'd been too busy coming his brains out to make sure that she did. "Why, Caleb Montgomery, are you blushing?"
Fuck.
She was teasing him and enjoying it. And Caleb didn't know whether he should spank her until her ass was bright red or make her come her fucking brains out just to prove a point.
There was only so much a man could take …
So he settled on option two. She was finally giving him the sign he'd been looking for. Now, it wasn't only about his desire, but his masculine pride.