“So sweet,” he growled against her lips, pulling back slightly. “So innocent. Haven’t you been with a man before?”
“Very few times, Master,” she admitted softly, her eyes drifting away from his. “And it has been a long time.”
He lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze, which was surprisingly gentle. “Then this will be a night to remember, for both of us. I will take great pleasure in your sexual awakening. And I promise, you will too.”
The limo came to a stop, and Katherine looked over Mark’s head and out the window to see the lighted front steps of what looked to be an apartment complex. Or maybe it was a hotel—it looked far more elegant than any complex she’d ever seen, but she knew Mark lived in Chicago so she didn’t understand why he’d live in a hotel anyway.
“Good evening, Mr. Donaldson,” the man at the front desk greeted him as they walked into the foyer. His grey eyes passed over Katherine with no comment. She supposed he saw women come and go often enough.
“Evening, Richard.”
They rode the elevator up to the top floor, and stepped right into an anteroom. Her eyes took in the arched ceiling, the marble floor, the tastefully decorated walls as he took her hand and led her to the French doors on the other side. The entered a thirty-foot living room with vaulted ceilings, lapis lazuli fireplace and a seemingly endless stretch of glass walls that offered a panoramic view of the city.
“This is a penthouse, isn’t it?” she asked, her eyes trailing up a curving staircase that led to another set of French doors she could only imagine led to his bedroom.
“Two floors, fifteen rooms,” he answered, smiling a little at the look of awe on her face. “Do you like it?”
“It’s gorgeous.” Her eyes settled on the dark brown leather couch in front of the fire place, and she wandered over to it, her lust momentarily put at bay by the sheer amount of wealth being thrust in her face. Her hands slid along the buttery soft leather as she sat down. “I would love to curl up right here with a blanket in front of the fire with a book during the winter. It would be just right.”
He smiled as he joined her on the couch. “I like curling up on here with a woman even more.” His eyes gleamed, igniting the banked coals of her desire once more. “I’m going to get something from upstairs. When I come back, I expect you to have your dress and shoes off.”
“Yes, Master.”
She watched him walk up the staircase, admiring the way his suit seemed to flow around his powerful body, and licked her lips. Only when the doors had closed did she stand up and slowly tug off her dress. It seemed absurd since he’d already seen her naked, but she was still a bit self-conscious. She placed her dress and shoes off to the side, and, standing only in the thong he’d bought her, looked around. A motion caught her eye and she looked to see her reflection in the windows. Her hair was still up, she noticed, and wondered if she should take it down. It would end up down eventually, she decided, pulling the pins from it so that it cascaded down and around her shoulders, covering the tips of her breasts. She looked like Eve, she decided, staring at herself in the glass again.
She was just placing her earrings on a side table when he came down the stairs again, carrying a small bag. Her heartbeat raced at the sight of him—he’d removed his shoes, jacket and shirt, leaving on only the pair of grey slacks. The muscles of his chest were perfectly formed as they gleamed in the light. But the smile on his lips died as his eyes landed on hers, and she recoiled as they flashed with ire.
“Did I ask you to let down your hair?” he asked softly as he approached her
“N-no, Master.” She backed up a step as he closed the distance between them, and her legs hit the back of the couch as he placed his hands on either side of her hips.
“Did I not tell you that you were to follow my orders?”
“Yes, you did,” she whispered. “Master.”
“Then why did you not follow them?”
“But I did,” she told him, confused. “I took off the shoes and dress. I didn’t realize you wanted me to leave everything else on.”
He stroked the side of her cheek gently. “I understand you are new to all this,” he told her, looking deeply into her eyes, and she relaxed slightly as she saw the anger in them had abated. “And I will learn to be more specific with my directions. But when we are together you must do exactly as I say, nothing more, nothing less. If you disobey my orders, you will be punished. And I’m afraid I’ll have to punish you now.”
Katherine gulped, her eyes wide. “Yes, Master.” What sort of punishment would he give her?