Goose bumps prickled her skin at the warning. She lowered her gaze, and Colby went to work untying the corset-style fastening of her dress. The backs of his fingers grazed the sides of her breasts as he grabbed the soft fabric and drew it down her body. She closed her eyes, trying to quell her nerves and self-consciousness. Colby tapped her calf and she stepped out of the dress, leaving her completely exposed for the two of them.

Colby circled around and smiled as he openly peered at her nudity, somehow managing to convey warm appreciation instead of lewdness. “That full-body blush of yours is one of the sexiest damn things I’ve seen, sweetheart.”

She dipped her head, her blush deepening no doubt. But the compliment made her feel more steady on her feet. A little sexy, even.

He turned to Grant. “I would say you’re a lucky guy, Boss, but I have a feeling you’re going to have your hands full with this one.”

Grant didn’t smile or even look at Colby. His focus was solely on her, his burning hot perusal turning her quivery and wet. His gaze tracked down to the juncture between her thighs, and she had the urge to shield herself. He’d ordered her to be waxed, and nothing but a trimmed triangle of hair at the top was left. There was no hiding how he was affecting her.

His eyes met hers. “I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Colby clapped him on the shoulder and chuckled, his easy nature a stark contrast next to Grant’s stoicism. “I’ll get these ropes set up. I’ll let you know when the group is ready.”

Grant waited until Colby left the room, then took a few steps closer. He palmed her waist, then tucked his other hand between her legs, finding her damp heat. He grazed her already throbbing clit. “You’re so fucking gorgeous right now. I wish you could see yourself through my eyes. You would never doubt your feminine wiles again.”

A harsh breath escaped her as he slipped two fingers inside her. She put a hand to his shoulder, steadying herself, his words knocking her off balance as much as his touch. “Thank you.”

“Watch how nice I can make it when you remember your manners.” He lowered his head and took her nipple between his lips, laving it with his tongue while continuing to pump his fingers inside of her. Her body clamped down around him, begging for more than his hand. She rocked her hips forward, bringing his callused thumb against her clit.

A few strokes and she’d be there.

But instead of continuing, he gave her nipple a soft bite and pulled his hand away. The corners of his mouth lifted into a sly grin. “Not so fast, darlin’.”

He put his fingers in his mouth and sucked slowly, tasting her arousal and keeping his eyes on her. The satisfied sound he made in the back of his throat lit her body on fire. “Mmm, you’re so tempting. But you haven’t earned that orgasm yet. Not with that smart mouth you’ve been using tonight.”

He took a step back, removing himself from her reach. She felt the loss of him immediately, cool, empty air replacing his scent and warmth. “I’m sorry, Grant. The thought of you tying up some other woman…”

She stopped, realizing she’d spoken her thought aloud, a thought that revealed how possessive she felt of him already.

His expression remained placid, but the flare in his eyes and the erection pushing at the fly of his perfectly tailored slacks said he was anything but. “Finish your sentence.”

She cringed but forced her vocal cords to work. “The thought made me mad. And jealous.”

He seemed to consider that for a moment, his head tilting ever so slightly. “Interesting. Kneel down.”

She responded in an instant and attempted to rock down gracefully. Her knees hit the polished wood floors with barely a sound. Yeah, buddy. She fought back a proud smile.

He nodded in approval as he walked a slow circle around her, like an animal sizing up its prey. He stopped in front of her again. “Very nice. Get used to holding that kneel.”

“Yes, sir.”

He stepped back a few feet but continued to watch her as he slipped his suit coat off his shoulders—a slow, fluid motion of a man in no hurry. He folded the jacket and laid it neatly over the arm of the couch, smoothing out an errant wrinkle. Next, he pulled at the knot on his tie, the soft silk-against-silk sound the only noise in the room. His movements stayed methodical, deliberate—his stare unyielding. With each removed item, Charli found her heartbeat ticking up a notch. She moistened her lips. Was he going to take off everything? Was she finally going to get to see all of him, touch him?

He ran the silk tie over his palm with an oh-the-things-I-could-do look on his face, and she could almost feel its smoothness against her own skin. What would it feel like against her wrists, her ankles? But he laid it across his suit coat, leaving it unused. His long fingers went to his cuff links and he unfastened the buttons at his wrists. Clink. Clink. The cuff links hit the glass side table, startling Charli.

Grant gave her a wicked smile as he rolled the sleeves of his white dress shirt up his forearms. “Am I making you nervous, Charlotte?”

“Yes.”

“Smart girl. Your instincts are better than your brother gives you credit for.” He walked over to her, the tips of his shined shoes almost touching her knees. His hand cupped her chin, forcing her face upward. “Though I didn’t appreciate your defiance earlier, your jealousy pleases me. I like that you want to be the only one serving me.”

He ran the pad of this thumb over her mouth, and without pausing to think, she parted her lips and sucked. The dark blue in his eyes went almost black as he let her lick his salty skin. Seeing his response sent a hot rush through her, an ache. Knowing she could do that to him with such a simple act felt…invigorating.

In the past, she’d hated giving blow jobs. It’d always felt like a chore or a favor. Plus, Trey had always come too fast, then wouldn’t be interested in sex for the rest of the night.

But right then, there was nothing she wanted more than to unzip Grant’s slacks and take him in her mouth. The desire to give him that pleasure was as strong as her own need to be touched. Let me please you. The urge was entirely foreign, but her hormones were buzzing too strongly for her to examine it any deeper.

He brushed her hair away from her face with gentle fingers. “This is only supposed to be an intro training. But you’re making it very hard for me to restrain myself, Charlotte, especially when you look at me like that.”

She swallowed hard. This world, his world, scared her on some elemental level. But instead of making her want to run, the fear was like a heady elixir filtering through her blood, spiking it. She didn’t want training wheels. She wanted Grant. The real Grant. “Please don’t give me the watered-down version of yourself, sir. I’m a big girl and understand the safe word.”

He shook his head as he twined her hair around his hand. Once. Twice. “I really did have you pegged all wrong, freckles. That’s a first.” His grip was snug, making her scalp sting. “The fear feeds you, doesn’t it? That’s why you’re always chasing some edge.”

She tried to shake her head, denying the accusation but not even fully processing what he was saying.

“Unbutton my pants. Let’s see if you fuck as good with your mouth as you do with your eyes.”

The sharp command was like a lightning strike to her system, sending her into some new dimension she was sure she hadn’t visited before. She did as she was told, fumbling for a moment, before getting the button undone and the zipper down. His cock pushed through the opening in his boxers, hard and thick…and pretty, if cocks could be classified as such. Oh, God, yes. No longer thinking, just acting on her own impulses, she nuzzled her cheek against him, inhaling his scent, relishing the velvety skin of his shaft.

He groaned softly, his fingers flexing in her hair. “Open, Charlotte. I need to feel you around me.”

The need spoken matched her own. She parted her lips, and he guided her into the position he wanted. His cock slid hot against her tongue, his masculine taste activating something wholly carnal inside her. She closed her eyes, savoring him for a moment, then moved forward to take more. But he held her fast.

“Open your eyes and look at me.”

She lifted her gaze to him, her insides flipping over when their eyes met. The unfettered want in his expression was like a palpable blow to her body.

“I want you to watch what you do to me.” He guided her, encouraging her to take him deeper. “And I’ll set the pace. The crowd out there can wait. I’m not ready to share you yet.”

Yet. The warning whispered through her and bloomed like a hothouse flower inside her. He was in control of her destiny here. Yes, he was going to share the sight of her with the audience, but she knew sharing could mean a lot more than that at The Ranch. She’d seen the limits checklist. Hadn’t marked no on any of those boxes. Though some of those items had given her pause, she wasn’t into half-assed. She’d agreed to give him the control, so she was going to let him use it.

She held the eye contact as she moved back and forth along his length. He took his time, the intense expression on his face a reward in and of itself. His sexuality was so raw, so close to the surface. Seeing it start to leak through that thin societal veneer fed something deep and dark within her, made her crave more. What was Grant like when he shed that layer completely?

He released the harsh hold on her hair and spanned his palms along the sides of her head, his tempo increasing. Every time his cock tapped the back of her throat, her sex clenched. But instead of feeling impatient for her own release, she was enjoying the slow burn that was overtaking her. It was like being enveloped by the sun-warmed ocean one agonizing inch at a time.

Grant’s gaze never left hers, and she found herself falling into those blue depths, their surroundings blurring into the background. It was only the two of them and this one moment. Her eyelids fluttered closed.

Grant smacked her cheek, light but attention-getting. She blinked up at him—surprised that he’d hit her face, but more shocked that it’d sent a hot dart of need straight downward.

He rubbed a thumb over her cheekbone. “That’s the risk and beauty of setting no limits, Charlotte. I get to find your edges. Dangerous game to play with me.”

Dangerous, indeed. Especially when each time he pushed at those boundaries, she found herself wanting to vault over them, to see what was on the other side.

She shifted forward and took him as deep as she could, holding the eye contact and sliding the tip of her tongue along the base of his cock. He let out a groan and she slid back, oh-so-gently dragging her teeth along his tender skin, dishing out a little bit of his own medicine.

“Fuck.” The word escaped on a harsh breath. He gripped her head again and all semblance of his cool control seemed to drain from him. She’d pushed him past his limit. His pace became a thundering gallop to the finish. He watched her eyes and fucked her mouth and said words that made her thighs damp with her own juices. Words like beautiful and sexy and mine.

The wildness in him broke through. The sight took her breath away and made every part of her throb. Her nipples brushed against the fabric of his pants with each thrust and she started to wonder if it was possible to come simply from that and the pressure of her thighs squeezing together. She moaned around him and that sent him over the cliff.

He shoved his cock deep to the back of her throat, and with a slew of swear words mixing with her name, his hot release pulsed into her. She took all he had to give, digging her nails into her thighs, and holding back her own orgasm.

After a few panted seconds, he slipped from her mouth and tucked himself back into his dress pants. His gaze skated down her body. She couldn’t slow her breathing. Her skin felt so sensitized, and everything was throbbing in time with her heartbeat. How in the hell had he done this to her with a simple blow job?

There was a sharp rap on the door, drawing her focus to the other side of the room.