Free Bound to be Tested: Emergence, Book 3 by Becca Jameson

didn’t move quick enough, he nodded at the couch, one eyebrow raised as though he didn’t appreciate having to repeat himself.
    Lori shuffled around to the couch, keeping her gaze locked on Jude. Goddamn him.
    Somehow she managed to make it to her designated spot and grasped her thighs with her hands. She struggled not to bite her lower lip. He loved it when she did that. He punished her for it, but he loved punishing her. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
    She did squeeze her knees together, though. That would get his goat.
    Jude wandered, examining everything in sight. With his back to her, he made her wait.
    “What are you doing here, Jude?” Lori asked, emboldened by the knowledge that he didn’t own her anymore.
    “I moved back.” He strolled behind her.
    “I see that. Are you here to stay?”
    “Depends.”
    On me .
    “I’d like to.” He leaned over the back of the couch and twirled a length of Lori’s hair in one hand. “Your hair is longer.” He dropped the lock. “What made you try topping?” he asked as he ran a finger down Lori’s neck.
    She shivered. “It just kind of happened.” And it’s none of your business .
    “Have you been with anyone else?”
    God, he was bold. That bastard. She knew what he meant. The unspoken “since I left” hung in the air. “It’s not really any of your business.” There, she said it. “Where have you been?”
    Ignoring her question, he leaned in closer to her ear. She could feel his warm breath on her skin. “Lori.” He spoke the single word with authority. She wanted to slap him. She also wanted him to fuck her.
    “Sir?” God, why had she said that? The word came out from habit.
    “Have. You. Been. With. Anyone. Else?”
    She shook her head and lowered her gaze. “Not exactly, Sir. I tried, but—”
    He stood and wandered in front of her again.
    Dammit. He was assessing her. She loathed him at that moment. And she wished to hell that emotion overrode her other feelings toward him. The reality was, dead or alive, he owned her. He would for the rest of her life. Their souls were entwined. It wasn’t a bond she could break even if she never saw him again. No one would ever meet the standards he met in her eyes.
    “What do you mean, you tried?”
    She swallowed. “I worked with several Doms at the club.” None of them were you .
    “I see.”
    Did he?
    Lori squirmed. She felt uneasy about letting Jude top her so easily. It had unsettled her last week and that feeling hadn’t eased.
    “So let me see if I’m reading this situation correctly.” Jude sat on the coffee table, his knees inches from Lori’s. “You’ve been dabbling as a Domme in my absence because you couldn’t find a man who could make you feel the way I do.” He narrowed his gaze at her, but his statement wasn’t meant to mock her. His expression was serious. His brow furrowed. He was truly assessing her position.
    Lori’s entire body shook. “I’ve been a Domme for over a year, Jude.”
    “That may be, and I think it’s fabulous you’ve experimented with other aspects of the lifestyle. But you aren’t now , are you?” He leaned into her space to catch her gaze. “Your body language speaks for itself.”
    After a few moments he continued, “Have you enjoyed being with a woman?”
    “Yes.” She couldn’t lie to him. It wasn’t in her.
    “She’s very attractive, baby. You have excellent taste in women.”
    Lori said nothing. She lifted her gaze, her eyes taking him in.
    “You’ve forgotten most of my rules.” He stood. He towered over her when he did that. “Or simply chosen to tempt me.”
    Both . She was well aware she was challenging him. And he was coming through. If he called her to task, he still had it in him.
    Jude stepped away, and Lori regretted his absence. She wished he had touched her, held her face.
    “I like it,” he declared.
    What?
    “But I’m not going to tolerate it, as tempting as it is. If you come home with me, you can leave