His lips curved into a smile. “Good girl.”
He leaned away, and the sudden distance between them was like having a bucket of ice water thrown at her. And he probably knew that, too, she thought glumly.
He really was a sadist, a beautiful, fallen angel who refused to go to heaven because he was having too much fun torturing naïve mortals like her.
It was a terrifyingly sexy truth, and even more terrifying was that she really did like being tortured.
The silence that followed wasn’t exactly tense, but it wasn’t comfortable either.
“Would your parents mind if you don’t go home for spring break?”
Surprised at the question, she blurted out, “Are you saying you want me to stay?”
His gaze bored through her. “You already know the answer to that.”
Oh. She swallowed. Gosh. He wanted her to stay in town for spring break.
“T-they won’t mind,” she heard herself say.
“Good.” His tone was filled with satisfaction, and his smoldering gaze promised her a reward for giving him the answer he wanted.
Her toes curled. Was it bad that she was excited about the reward, even if it meant being tortured again?
“Do you have a place to stay here?”
Lane hesitated, thinking about her flat, which she had unfortunately sublet to a friend for spring break.
“Tesoro?”
A crazy idea occurred to her, and Lane heard herself say, “Well…I can think of a place.”
“I can take you there.” Angelo raised his cup to take another sip. “Where is it?”
“Wherever your place is.”
Chapter Six
Angelo choked on his coffee and quickly set it down. Whatever happened to his shy and old-fashioned Lane? When he saw that she was serious, he said flatly, “That’s not possible.”
She frowned unhappily. “Why not?”
His gaze narrowed. “Is it not enough that I said so?”
“Maybe,” she said slowly, “in other cases it would be, but not this. So why not?” And Lane held her breath, wondering if he was going to spring some awful surprise on her, like maybe he had a secret girlfriend hidden somewhere, and that she was just the rebound—
Angelo leaned forward and nipped her lip.
Oh!
When he pulled away, he murmured, “Punishment for thinking silly thoughts.”
Oh.
Gosh.
Was it bad if she was already thinking of ways to get punished again? Then she saw the way he was smirking, and she knew he had read her thoughts. She blushed, he laughed, and she sighed, muttering, “You’re such a sadist.”
He only smiled. “When you say that, my Lane, I know you only mean to say, I am everything you want.” He inclined his head in acknowledgment of the compliment. “So thank you for the words.”
His arrogance left her speechless, but eventually amusement won, and she said helplessly, “You’ll always have the last word, won’t you?”
“Naturally. It is how things should be between us—”
An idea occurred to her, and she said carefully, “Because you like torturing me?”
He eyed her curiously. “Is this a trick question?”
“You do, right?”
“If I say yes?”
“Then…” She took a deep breath and said cunningly, “If you let me stay in your place, just think about it! You can always torture me—”
Angelo laughed. “Tempting, my Lane, but no.”
“But think of the endless opportunities,” she insisted.
“It’s heartbreaking to say no, but…no.”
“But—”
“I’m saying no for your sake,” he said bluntly. “The kind of lifestyle I lead is not for someone like you, tesoro.”
“Are you talking about…that?”
She paled. “Are you talking about being…that?”
His eyes bored through hers. “You can’t even say it, and yet you want to live with me, the embodiment of…that?” He mimicked her tone with the last word.
She didn’t hesitate, saying in a rush, “Sadist, masochist, sadist, masochist, sadist, masochist,” and practically turning them into a tongue twister. “There, I’ve said it. Now can I stay with you?”
He shook his head.
“Please.”
Ah. Angelo crossed his arms over his chest as he studied her broodingly. She might not be knowledgeable about the ways of a Sub, but she was already doing just fine. No master could resist that kind of look coming from his Sub, and clearly, his Lane instinctively knew this.
“May I say make something clear first?”
She nodded slowly, his courteous tone putting her on guard.
“You do understand, tesoro, that although I intend to be your lover, and we will be exclusive while we are together, it does not mean you are my girlfriend?”