Chapter 8

• With the Devil? That already sounded like a horrible idea, and yet Kathryn found herself sitting up straighter in his lap when she should have been ripping the car door open and throwing herself into traffic in order to escape this mess.
• But just like Daniel had said; she was interested and it made her furious with herself.
• She hated that his touch was like a shock to her system. She hated that it reinvigorated her and left her aching for more. And she especially hated that she knew she was going to cave in and make a deal with him because as much as she hated him and everything he represented, it had been so long since anyone made her feel even slightly what he'd managed in one single night.
• Besides, what was her alternative?
• Not make a deal with him and still have to relinquish everything to him until he grew tired of her anyway?
• Try to run away again and possibly get the only family she had known for years killed?
• Her fate was sealed, her first attempt to escape was botched before it really even started, and now she wasn't even sure she could try and flee again.
• Not if it meant putting Rain in danger. She might talk a big game and claim she despised the biker for what he'd done, but she understood the predicament they'd both been put in.
• Because of Daniel and her sticky fingers.
• "I might have bartered for you, but I've never been with a woman against her will. I won't start with you."
• Where the hell was he going with this?
• "I expect your obedience, Kathryn, but I won't be with you until you beg me to."
• Her hands dropped from his shoulders and she slid off of his lap, settling back into her seat as the car pulled into a parking garage.
• "You won't touch me at all?" Why did that disappoint her?
• Daniel smirked. "I didn't say that. I plan to do many things with your body before and after you decide to let me in."
• "Will you hurt me? Physically?"
• Daniel shook his head, shifting slightly so he was facing her head-on. "I won't hurt you unless you ask me to, and even then, it will only be to further your pleasure."
• "What if I don't want to do something that you tell me to do? Do you plan on making me? You hold all the power here, I'm not naïve."
• "Do you know about hard limits?"
• "You mean in terms of BDSM? Yes."
• "Select a safe word if you don't have one already. Anything that you find to be too extreme, you can use it and we'll stop what we're doing. But I will warn you now, Kathryn. If you abuse this safety net I'm giving you, I might be inclined to forgo it."
• Kathryn looked out of her car window once more before sighing and turning back to Daniel. "Why are you even giving me these options? You could just do whatever you wanted anyway."
• "I could."
• "Then why don't you?"
• "Because I know that you don't want to surrender yourself to me, and it will be all the sweeter when you do."
• Fat chance of that happening.
• "What's the deal you're offering?"
• "I won't be with you until you're ready, but you're not allowed to touch yourself. You're not allowed to climax unless I make you. If I found out that you have, there will be consequences. If I find out you've used another to climax, there will be consequences."
• Kathryn stiffened.
• "What kinds of consequences?"
• Daniel shrugged, his face an expressionless mask she couldn't hope to decipher.
• "It depends on my mood and the severity of what you've done."
• "Okay," Kathryn found herself saying. "Okay."
• ........
• Kathryn wasn't sure what she'd been expecting when Daniel led her into his penthouse, the door clicking softly shut behind them.
• Maybe a corner filled with strange artifacts, or a list of people that owed him various things throughout the city written in code on his wall. Maybe his entire living room would be one large control room and he planned on tossing her inside.
• Instead, his home was very masculine in nature. Gray walls, sleek black appliances, a backless black leather sofa that looked extremely modern. A large TV that hung on the wall. A black piano in the corner. Dark gray hardwood floors and a fantastic view of Chicago.
• It was all so normal for someone who essentially ruled over this city and spent his days building up organizations or ensuring they crumbled to the ground.
• Security personnel lingered outside in the hallway, and even Stefan had escorted them up before departing for the night, though Kathryn had a sinking suspicion Daniel didn't need the added guns to take out someone who broke into his house.
• Men like him didn't get to where they were in life without being fully capable of defending themselves. Ruthlessly. Indiscriminately.
• It was one of the many reasons she should have been running for her life or screaming her head off in terror that she'd been essentially kidnapped and forced to be here.
• But she'd grown up in this life, and unfortunately Kathryn knew what her options were now that she'd been passed around like a football. A few years ago she might have cried and thrown a fit, begging him to have mercy and release her.
• Not now.
• Now, she just had to deal with the fact that this was her new normal, at least for a little while. And she'd agreed to his deal, so she'd play his game until he grew tired of her and then she'd leave and never look back.
• Hopefully she'd have several mind blowing experiences before then as well.
• "I'll have some things sent over for you later this morning," Daniel said, leading her toward the left side of the penthouse. "My room is through here. It is off-limits to you."
• He led her past the closed door and Kathryn knew she'd be snooping through his drawers at the first possible opportunity.