The Cornerstone by Kate Canterbary

fingers dove through his hair as my mouth met his.
    He reached between us, unfastened his belt, and popped the buttons on his jeans open. His clothes soon joined mine on the floor. He brought me to his lap, his erection tucked against my belly, and kissed up my neck and over my jaw to my mouth. My body had plans of its own, rocking against Will’s cock and drawing rough gasps and grunts from him.
    “You want this?” he said with clenched teeth.
    His jaw was locked and his fingers were digging into my hips, nearly painful, and I pressed my lips to his throat. “You went to the trouble of breaking into my apartment. You must want this,” I said against his skin.
    Will’s hands moved from my hips to my shoulders, and he pulled me away from him. Light from the television flickered around us but neither of us stopped to turn it off. He cupped my face, angling me until we were eye to eye. “If you don’t want it, I don’t want it. Simple as that,” he said.
    I nodded, and pressed myself against his chest. His arms came around me and I bit down on my lip to keep it from trembling.
    There was a second where I nearly lost my balance, where I almost dropped all the balls I was juggling. That tiny drop of decency from him threatened to bring me down right here, and I was this close to sobbing in his lap.
    I was lucky; I had incredible therapists who helped me escape the mental stranglehold of my father’s abuse. They taught me to conquer the degradation and crippling powerlessness, and they made me believe that I deserved a healthy sex life. It required years of reminding myself that sex wasn’t dirty or wrong, and there was no shame in wanting it, either.
    That didn’t mean the paralyzing fear never paid me a visit. It stayed in the background, always reminding me to protect myself.
    Until Will told me I was safe with him.
    “Use your words, peanut. I know you have them.”
    I fought my way back from that dark corner of my mind to focus on the heat of his cock against my belly, the security of his arms, the desire throbbing in my veins. He was right; I had the words now, and with those words, I was always in control.
    Even when I let him take charge.
    Pumping his cock twice, I shifted and sank down over him. “Yes.” My head lolled back on my shoulders and I released a deep, starved moan that had been burning for the satisfaction of feeling Will seated inside me again. “This.” My nails raked over his scalp and fisted around his hair, jerking his head back. “You.”
    Will’s eyes drifted shut as I started rocking into him. His hands found my waist and held me, letting me take everything I needed.
    “I hope you’re enjoying this,” he said on a shuddering breath.
    “Not going to last?” I asked.
    “All right, peanut, that’s it,” he murmured, his palm connecting low on my ass.
    The moment I was about to grind into him, he lifted me off his lap and tossed me on the bed. I landed in a contorted pile of girl, my body folded in the least sexy pose imaginable, my hair sliding from its tie, and my head buried between a stack of pillows. Before I could right myself or hit Will with a bitchy comeback, he yanked the blankets and sheets out from under me. He spanked my ass hard , flipped me over, and anchored my hands above my head.
    “You’re done talking. You’re done thinking. Close your eyes and shut it all down.” His other hand trailed down my inner thigh, and with one quick movement, he slapped my pussy. Slapped. “I’m the boss here.”
    Oh.
    Yes. Yes he was.

Chapter Seven
    WILL
    Fifteen months ago
    R egardless of which country or time zone I was in, I woke up with the dawn. It was a habit that annoyed the shit out of me when I was on leave, but today was different.
    Today I opened my eyes and found Shannon’s head on my chest, her hair spilling over her shoulders and her lips pursed in the sexiest pout I’d ever seen.
    Spending the night with her wasn’t part of the plan. Neither was fucking her