INTO THE LION'S DEN

The sound of his smooth, deep voice nearly makes my knees buckle and something about the intensity of his stare just makes it difficult to breathe and sends an entirely inappropriate shiver through me.

"I... Huh." I stammer and everything else scrambles. Excellent speech Barbara... We're back to caveman speech! But can you blame me? my brain is completely short-circuiting under his touch! He releases my chin and his hand drops back to his side, but his powerful gaze never leaves mine. "Come with me." he orders in a deep, authoritative tone that leaves room for absolutely no argument.

He turns around on his heel and immediately starts walking down the corridor. That's it? No explanation or introduction... I stare after him in confusion and I glance behind me nervously. The man from before is gone... I could just leave now...

I look back at the stranger... He doesn't even check to see whether I'm following almost like he simply expects me to. And somehow... I do! Maybe it's curiosity... or stupidity... Possibly both. But I'm just strangely drawn to the sheer gravitational pull of this man's presence, I find my legs moving on their own and I scramble to follow him... He leads me toward the end of the hall and up a dimly lit flight of stairs. "Um, excuse me!" I try to speak to his broad back as I scramble up the steps behind him, trying to keep pace with his long, effortless strides. "I'm really sorry for earlier... I'm really sorry for bumping into you like that."

​He doesn't respond.... doesn't even glance back. He just keeps walking. "Sir?" Still nothing... The man is apparently allergic to conversation.

At the top of the stairs. He stops abruptly in front of a door. Reaching out, he pushes the door open and then steps aside. He turns his head, staring down at me pointedly with those intense amber eyes, clearly expecting me to walk inside...

"Oh..."

​I swallow hard and my heart hammers against my ribs as I take a tentative, cautious step forward, passing his towering frame to cross the threshold and walk into the room.

He steps into the room behind me and the door shuts with a soft thud that sounds terrifyingly ominous.

​My legs carry me further into the center of the space and a shiver runs down my spine as I look around at the room I have just entered... Taking in the massive, plush king-sized bed draped in red silk and the heavy looking silver handcuffs attached to the polished bedposts.

Slowly, the full weight of where I am crashes down on me like an avalanche!

The room is covered entirely in deep, scarlet red tones... It looks less like a bedroom and more like some kind of seductive dungeon designed for a singular... sinful purpose! The bed in the center is so massive, it could easily fit four people!

And on a long, low glass table next to the bed, arranged neatly, is a collection of items that makes my brain completely short-circuit and my face heats up so fast I'm surprised smoke doesn't start pouring from my ears...

There are leather collars lined with soft fur... a wicked-looking leather whip with a polished handle, and silver cuffs that catch the light. My gaze jerks away and unfortunately it lands on something worse... A giant mirror mounted on the ceiling, perfectly framing the entire bed directly below.

My mouth falls open.

Why would they need a mirror there?? Actually... No... I don't want to know.

I immediately look away again and let out a tiny, choked gasp as my eyes dart to the far wall... Hanging there is a huge, hyper-realistic painting of a completely nude woman sprawled across a dark satin sheet in a seductive position, her spine is arched and her head is thrown back in a look of pure ecstasy... her fingers are buried intimately between her legs!

My face is probably as red as a tomato now as I avert my eyes from the erotic painting... Everything in this room screams its purpose... There is no misunderstanding here.

I whirl around and see the stranger is still standing there, watching me silently with those liquid amber eyes... My stomach does another violent flip!

Well... Yay for my mission to get laid, I guess?

If this room is any indication of his intentions, I am definitely going to achieve my goal tonight. But looking around now, this is looking a bit more intense than I thought it would be. A lot more intense... Downstairs, the idea of losing my virginity to a hot stranger felt like a bold, rebellious, abstract plan to escape having my first time with Pierre... But here? In this room? With... him?

A cold shiver of panic runs down my spine. I'm not nearly as brave as I was thirty minutes ago... Could I really do this? Could I actually take off my clothes, climb onto that massive red bed, and lose my virginity to a complete stranger?

A stranger who looks like he walked directly out of some forbidden fantasy?

Suddenly the stranger moves without warning and my thoughts scramble instantly as he starts to take off his dark jacket! My mouth goes completely dry...

Dear Lord! I never knew taking off a jacket could look this sexy!

His forearms flex as the jacket slides down and fully reveals his thick, muscular biceps, completely coated in intricate, dark tattoos that swirl down to his wrists...The heavy muscles in his arms flex beautifully under the red lights as he tosses the jacket effortlessly onto a nearby chair.

I stare at him shamelessly without blinking... Like a deer caught in freaking headlights... Which is probably embarrassing... But can you blame me?! Honestly? At this point I don't care... I'll probably never get the chance to see anyone this sexy ever again... I mean, he looks like something pulled straight out of a dark romance fantasy or a highly inappropriate wet dream... He is utterly, completely unreal!

Before I can even recover from his scandalous biceps, he reaches for the hem of his dark shirt and in one smooth, swooping motion, he pulls the fabric up and over his head! The shirt disappears and I almost stop breathing altogether!

Holy... Crap!

My heart rate speeds up drastically, pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs until it's hard to even breathe! My mouth falls open a little as I stare openly at the shirtless, flawlessly ripped, heavily tattooed masterpiece standing before me!

His chest is broad, his abs tightly packed and shadowed under the scarlet glow, and a dark trail of hair disappears straight into the waistband of his trousers! The tattoos on his neck extend down across his collarbones and bloom over his chest like dark ink spilling into water...

As if that wasn't enough he runs his large, tattooed hand through his tousled dark hair, shaking it out and the gesture is so effortlessly sexy that my stomach does another flip and I'm sure I'm close to passing out now!

Get it together Barbara!...

For several seconds he doesn't even seem to notice me watching... Then his gaze suddenly lifts and locks directly onto mine and I freeze!

Something shifts in his expression and his head tilts slightly... Like he's trying to solve a puzzle or like he's looking at me and finding something that doesn't fit... But then his gaze lowers to my quivering lips and something hungry creeps into his eyes.

Then he speaks, "Come here."