where the darkness ended and we began.

16

mature content ahead

Of fucking course he owned the penthouse and the entire building for that matter.

My jaw was practically glued to the floor from the moment we stepped out of the private elevator. The decor was dark and lethal, all slate greys and deep navy blues. The first thing that grabbed me was the floor to ceiling glass; the Seattle city lights below looked like a carpet of fallen stars. I walked toward the window, completely lost in the view and the sheer scale of his success.

"Are you done?"

Dear lord can he ever keep his mouth shut

"'Are you done?'" I mimicked him, trying to drop my voice into a deep, arrogant rasp. I failed miserably. I started pacing the room, feeling out of place. "What exactly am I doing here, Theodore? I'm not exactly dressed for the occasion."

It was true. I was wearing my old university hoodie, baggy sweatpants, and sneakers, with my hair shoved into a messy bun. Theodore walked toward me, but stopped just outside my personal bubble. He handed me a glass. I sniffed it, whiskey.

He definitely looked like a whiskey man.

He took a slow drink, his dark blue eyes locked onto mine. I knew what he wanted. I was just a booty call to him, after all. "I'm not exactly in the mood," I lied.

His face shifted into a look I couldn't quite decipher. His eyes darkened, becoming two pools of midnight. He set his glass on a nearby marble table and started approaching me with slow, intimidating steps.
A predator who had finally cornered his prey. I instinctively backed away at the same pace.

"What did you say to me?" he asked. His voice was terrifyingly calm as he tilted his head to the side.

I moved back, but my heel caught on something. I tripped, landing hard on the floor. I looked around, confused—there were two decorative steps I hadn't noticed in the dark. Theodore was right in front of me now, towering over me while I was down. He rested his left leg on the step next to my hip and crouched down until our faces were only inches apart.

The eye contact was heavy, suffocating. My breath hitched, and that familiar, traitorous tingling started between my thighs. Safe to say, I was definitely in the mood now. Am I messed up because this is actually turning me on?

Before I could answer myself, he grabbed my arm and hoisted me up so I was standing flush against him. "Be careful what you say, doll. Especially when it's a lie. Am I right?"

I nodded immediately, which only seemed to piss him off.

"Was it a lie?" he whispered. His voice was so raspy I only heard it because of how close he was.

"No," I managed, lifting my chin. He pushed his face even closer, eliminating almost every bit of air between us.

"I love a challenge," he said with absolute seriousness, an excited glint in his eyes. He looked like a man who knew exactly what he was about to do.

Don't I know it
He loves a good challenge, since we were kids.

"What are you going to do about it?" I challenged, my voice a quiet dare.

He didn't answer with words. He hoisted me up like I was a discarded backpack, throwing me over his shoulder. I had a very clear view of his ass as he started walking toward a door at the end of the hall.

"Where are we going? You know this is technically kidnapping! You randomly showing up at my apartment and then—"

I was interrupted by being tossed unceremoniously onto a massive bed. I scrambled to sit up, but he was already there, standing over me like a caveman ready to pounce.

"Do you ever shut up?" he asked, sounding genuinely annoyed. He lowered himself onto the bed, his hot breath fanning against my neck. "You know I need to hear you say it."

"Say what?" I breathed. He didn't answer; instead, he started leaving soft, hungry kisses along my jawline. An involuntary moan escaped my throat.

"I-" i start saying but i couldn't manage to get the words out of my mouth.
The way they were both soft and hungry needed to be studied. I was being taken to another dimension. I was sure that he was going to leave marks.

"Yes?" he teased, his lips inches from mine. That motherfucker knew exactly what he was doing to me.

I was done talking. I had an itch, and I needed to scratch it. I pushed up with all my strength, knocking him back, and just jumped him. He caught me with ease, and we went at it. I was kissing his neck, pulling at his hair, while he made quick work of our clothes.

He dropped me back onto the pillows, looming over me with that infamous, jagged smirk. He pushed me back toward the headboard, pinning both of my hands with just one of his. In a flash, he had them tied to the rail with my own bra. Then, he unbuckled his leather belt and looped it over my mouth, locking it to the headboard as a makeshift gag.

"If I hear a single peep from you, you're getting spanked," he threatened, his voice dark. "And each time will be harder than the last. Maybe then you'll finally learn to shut up."

I hated how much I liked the threat. My eyes drifted down to his frame—he was built, and he was ready. "That's too big!" I tried to say, but it came out as a muffled hum against the leather.

His head snapped toward me. "What did I just say?"

He didn't flip me over. Instead, he grabbed my legs, hoisting them over his shoulders so I was floating in a diagonal position, my weight supported entirely by him. He started to spank me, the first was a warning, but the ones that followed were hard, stinging, and rhythmic. I fought the moans with everything I had, feeling my skin burn.

"That's just the first round, doll," he panted, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. He looked like a god in the moonlight. "Are you going to be a good girl now?"

I shook my head no. I couldn't help myself.

He let out a low grunt, grabbed my thighs, and spread them wide. He went for my neck again, sucking and biting, marking me so everyone would know exactly whose territory I was. Then he moved down, his tongue finding me. I started to fold my legs, but he gripped them tight. "Don't you dare."

He looked up at me one last time, his eyes wild. "Get ready."

He thrust in, and I let out a muffled scream against the belt. "I'm not even all the way in, doll. Take it like a good girl."

He was right. When he finally seated himself fully, my eyes went wide. He started slow and steady, but the pace quickly turned frantic. He reached up, gripping my tied hands with his, and began to thrust with a feral intensity. I couldn't contain the moans anymore; they were vibrating through the leather.

He grunted, his hand moving to my neck, his thumb tracing my pulse. "You like that, don't you?"

He began going even faster, his head buried in the crook of my neck. He lifted his gaze, his eyes boring into mine. "I want to watch."

As if his words were the trigger, I came hard, a muffled scream tearing through me as my body went rigid. I felt my muscles finally relax, the exhaustion hitting me like a physical weight.

Theodore wordlessly began freeing my hands. I moved to stand up, fumbling with the belt at my mouth.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked.

"To the bathroom," I muttered, my voice raspy. "Where is it?"

He pointed toward a door across the room. "While you're in there... clean up."

I didn't have the energy to argue. I just grabbed a discarded shirt and headed for the door, my legs feeling like jelly.

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