Afterlife by Joey W. Hill Page A

bar.
    “None of that now.” He pressed on
    her lower back,
    putting her flat on her feet again.
    “You stay in the position
    I’ve put you. No begging for more.
    That’s for me to say.”
    He cleaned her, then took the shower
    head off its mount
    and rinsed her as thoroughly, passing
    his fingers more
    intimately over her than her husband
    had during al their
    years together. Throughout it al she
    stayed stil , though she
    quaked and shivered, and made those
    cries. She thought
    she sounded like a lost lamb, those
    tiny bleats of emotions,
    and she pressed her forehead to the
    wal , familiar despair
    sweeping back in with the thought.
    She wanted the next
    step, wanted to be clean and see what
    would happen, but
    she was afraid of it too.
    Maybe he’d cosset her, tuck her back
    into bed, and that
    would be the end of it for now. She’d
    be left feeling as loose
    and wild as she had when he left her
    studio that day. She
    couldn’t bear that. He was a man, he
    was naked and
    aroused. Surely, if nothing else, he
    would simply fuck her
    while she was stil slippery with
    soap. Then it wouldn’t
    matter what she could or couldn’t do.
    She could hold onto
    the feeling of having him deep in her
    body. Of being joined,
    however briefly, to another soul. She
    could feed herself on
    that for a long, long time.
    How many times had she explained
    to Cole that, even
    without the orgasm or natural
    lubrication, she needed that
    connection, the feeling of being
    desired, needed, fil ed?
    Jon had already made her feel that in
    spades, without even
    touching her, real y. She could pay
    him back by giving him
    what he wanted, and what she
    needed.
    She wouldn’t leave it to chance. If
    she persuaded him to
    do it now, up against the shower wal
    , he might not notice
    whatever deficiencies she had in the
    response department.
    That spiked bal in her lower bel y
    stabbed her with
    desperation, told her she had to
    clutch it now, before the
    chance slid away like a slippery fish.
    Spinning around, she intended to
    move into him, be
    blatant about what she was offering.
    But when she lunged
    at him, he caught her by the waist. In
    one astonishingly deft
    move, he’d flipped her around so her
    back was against his
    front. He held her immobilized as he
    braced his body
    against the shower wal .
    “Rachel, sshh. Easy. No.” When she
    struggled, he made
    it clear how easily he overpowered
    her. “Settle now. Stop.”
    She bit her bottom lip, squeezing her
    eyes shut. One
    hand had landed on his thigh, her
    nails digging in, the other
    clawing his forearm. “Let me go. I
    want you to do this. I
    need you to go ahead and do this
    now .”
    “No you don’t. That’s the very last
    thing you need. Al
    right, that’s enough .”
    When she hesitated at the sharpened
    tone, startled, he
    shifted, taking her arm from his thigh.
    She gasped as he
    pushed open the shower door, pul ed
    her out and in the
    same smooth movement, bent and
    hefted her over his
    shoulder in a fireman’s half-carry.
    His hand landed on her
    bottom, holding her there, her wrist
    firmly in his other grip.
    “You aren’t ready to let me do
    anything for you, Rachel.
    You’re stil too wrapped up in your
    head.”
    “No…” She gasped it. If he left her
    now, just left her here,
    she couldn’t bear it. “I’m sorry, I
    didn’t mean—”
    “Be quiet. You need a Master with a
    strong hand, Rachel.
    One who’s not going to let you do
    anything. You’l do as I
    command and that’s the end of it.”
    Chapter Five
    She was stil whirling over the
    meaning of that when he
    took her through her bedroom in a
    few determined strides.
    How a man could be bare-assed
    naked and appear so in
    control, like a warrior striding across
    his camp, she didn’t
    know, but he accomplished it. She’d
    been vaguely aware
    he’d been carrying a briefcase when
    he shouldered into her
    apartment. Now he took her to her
    foyer and barely paused
    in stride as he picked it up. As