Free Dominated: The Enforcers 2 (The Enforcers Series) by Maya Banks Page B

justified even if extreme.
    She’d seen his expression when he’d admitted his fear of her being used to weaken him. As if the idea of her being hurt or abused in order to extort from Drake devastated him every bit as much as he’d devastated her by his actions. She wasn’t the only one hurting and reeling from the events of that night. His eyes had been utterly bleak and he’d looked . . . defeated when he’d begged for her understanding and forgiveness.
    Her stomach clenched, because she hadn’t given him either. Yet. She was still too afraid to trust him. She was still in self-preservation mode, afraid to make herself vulnerable once again and open herself up to pain and betrayal.
    Oh, Drake, I’m so sorry.
Tears pricked her eyelids, but she refused to ruin the moment by giving way to the tears threatening to fall.
    Drake had laid himself bare to her. He’d put himself at her feet, and a man like Drake was not someone to ever humble himself in front of anyone, man or woman. And yet he’d done just that. He’d risked everything. His pride. All to make things right with her. And she hadn’t offered him anything except wariness. Certainly not mercy, understanding or forgiveness.
    Peace descended as she decided to right the wrongs between them at the very first opportunity. She would wait for just the right opening and give Drake what he’d given her. She’d bare her soul and strip herself as bare as he’d stripped himself so they were on equal terms and footing. If such a proud, powerful man could go to such lengths to humble himself, then she could certainly do the same and give back to him what he’d given her.
    If it turned out she was wrong—about Drake, about their relationship,about everything—then she wouldn’t have a single regret for doing the right thing. She couldn’t control his actions, his decisions, his thoughts or feelings, but she could certainly control her own and use them in a loving manner.
    Her heart fluttered with hope, swelled with need and ached for fulfillment only Drake could provide. Five days was such a short time and yet it had seemed an eternity of loneliness and a lifetime to grieve for all she’d thought she’d lost. Now she had a second chance. The opportunity to right previous wrongs. Both of them did. And she planned to make the most of this chance and show Drake how very much he mattered.
    “You look miles away from here,” Drake murmured as he laid her on the bed.
    She flushed, but he didn’t chide her or even ask what she’d been thinking. Instead he began divesting her of her clothing, pausing to kiss and caress each new area of flesh exposed. By the time he stood to remove his own clothing, she was panting breathlessly, her body tingling with desperate need unlike any she’d ever experienced.
    Her gaze fed hungrily on his muscled physique, his wide shoulders and broad chest. His jaw was lean and chiseled, his eyes fiery with answering hunger and need. Heat rose in her cheeks and spread through her body when his straining erection bobbed into view.
    He was rigid, his cock bulging, the veins heavily distended, and his erection lay flat against his lean abdomen pointing aggressively at his navel. Moisture beaded the dark plum-colored head, and she licked her lips without even registering she was doing so.
    He groaned and closed his eyes, his chest heaving as if he were trying to maintain control. “You’re killing me, Angel. Do you know the last five days have seemed like an eternity without you?”
    She smiled at hearing his words that echoed her exact thoughts of just moments before.
    “And that I lay here every night, aching, missing you with everybreath?” he whispered as he came down next to her on the bed. “That I couldn’t sleep for wondering where you were, worrying whether you were safe. God, all I could see was your face after what I did to you. And the fear that kept me awake was that even after I found you, you wouldn’t forgive me, that