Free Betting on Fate by Katee Robert

soon as she got her wits about her, but he didn’t plan on giving her the chance. He paid, tipping the man well, pushed to his feet, and held out his hand for her. She barely had time to slip her hand into his before he was towing her behind him, out of the restaurant and onto the street.
    Will had every intention of hailing a cab, but he made it all of three steps before he had to give into the desire to touch her. He pulled her into his arms, his attention landing on her lips. He didn’t make a habit of kissing his submissives. It sent the wrong message and complicated something that didn’t need to be complicated.
    But he might die if he didn’t taste Penelope right that instant.
    So he did. He took her mouth even as he cupped her ass to line her hips up with his, showing her just what he thought of her being a little tease. She went soft in his arms, eagerly opening her mouth to take him, her tongue meeting his halfway.
    He took the two steps to bring them flush against the alley wall, grinding against her until she moaned for him. There was nothing he wanted more than to yank up her dress and take her right there against that wall. It wasn’t a punishment, and it wasn’t a reward—it was something he needed more than he needed air to breathe.
    A whistle brought him out of his lust haze. He lifted his head and found they’d acquired an audience at some point. Two college-aged kids stood a little way down the block, nudging each other and grinning like they’d just won the lottery. Penelope’s eyes were glazed over and she arched against him in an attempt to take back his mouth. He almost let her. Will didn’t mind an audience, but not like this .
    He stepped back and gently guided her to the curb where he hailed a cab. It was on the tip of his tongue to rattle off his home address, but he changed his mind at the last moment and went with Serve. Things were already confused enough without taking her home with him. At the club, they would be able to retain at least the semblance that this was because of the arrangement and not because he wanted her so badly he was tempted to make a move right there in the cab.
    He managed to control himself until they reached their destination. He kept a hold of her hand as they made their way to the elevator and up to the second floor. There, he paused, reality intruding.
    Public sex wasn’t discouraged by any means, but it wasn’t something he indulged in. Ever. But taking one of the private rooms almost defeated the purpose of coming here in the first place. He was losing control. He hadn’t had it since their food arrived, and the fact he’d almost taken her against a damn wall was clear evidence that he needed to put on the brakes—and quickly.
    So he let go of Penelope’s hand and took a step back. “Strip.”
    She blinked. “What?” When he waited, she shook her head as if stepping out of a daze. “Ah, right. Yes, Sir.” She put an ironic edge on the last word, as if she knew exactly what he was doing.
    It unsettled him, even as he told himself that it was fully within his right to guide things to his satisfaction. He folded his arms over his chest and watched her slip out of her dress. Once again, she wore nothing underneath. If the public nudity bothered her, she gave no sign, and he battled down the strange urge to cover her up. It didn’t make the least bit of sense, especially considering he’d never had a problem with other submissives being stripped in the main play rooms before. “Your collar?”
    She pulled it out of her purse, and warmth kindled in his chest at the knowledge that she carried it with her. It was par for the course, but it still pleased a deep, secret part of him. The same part that wanted his marks across her skin and to fuck her until her entire world narrowed to him and only him. Irrational. Insane. Definitely dangerous. But he couldn’t kill those urges any more than he could end this arrangement before the seven days were up.
    He