Coiling her arms around his neck, she pulled herself close enough to press her face to his. ‘I thought weapons were against the rules.’

‘You wouldn’t stand a chance in the ring with me, Minx.’

‘Throw in some jello, take away the clothes and the audience and I think I might be able to pin you down.’

His smile creased his cheeks and the reverberation of his laugh made her recoil, it was the first time she had heard it. ‘You’ve got me pinned now.’

That wasn’t really true, his arms were still around her waist and although she was on top, he was definitely in control. Her parted thighs gave her premium position to undulate against the thick organ protruding from his shorts.

‘You didn’t fuck me last night.’

‘I’m not gonna to fuck you now,’ he said. ‘You’re gonna do it all by yourself.’

‘How do you manage to stay in control even when you’re underneath me?’

‘You want to please me, don’t you?’

And she nodded, realising that his pleasure was important. Seeing how she could control and influence this monolith of a man made her feel powerful in a set of circumstances where she was otherwise powerless and that heightened her own enjoyment. ‘I do, Dax… Master.’

‘I hate that word,’ he admitted, much to her surprise, but she tried to quell it.

‘Ok. What would you rather I called you?’ spreading her hands on his bare chest, she kept moving her hips against him. ‘Chief? Major? Guru?’

‘Stranger will do just fine.’ Taking a breast in hand, he squeezed then tensed his arm to arch her back giving him leave to suck her nipple into his mouth. ‘They do taste good, damn good.’

That was something close to an apology for what he’d said in front of Bruno. Every day more of the males’ dynamic was revealed, and every day she was more perplexed by it. In front of Bruno, Dax acted like she was nothing and he tried to maintain that indifference when he was alone with her.

Yet, he was far more honest than she’d have believed he would be and thought nothing of revealing the truth in these rare moments of intimacy. As far as she knew he had never lied to her. When they were alone he battled to maintain his disinterest but often failed. Sex made him honest and he seemed to demand that same honesty in return.

It was like he was only willing to have sex with her if he could be himself while he did it and he’d only have sex with the true her. He didn’t want her scared and pitiful, he wanted her fire, the truth of her personality in his bed. Outside the bedroom, and in company, he didn’t care who she was but he wasn’t going to play games in bed. Maybe he was supposed to and he just sucked at this game, or maybe lulling her into his confidence was a game all in itself.

But she could only judge the situation on what she witnessed, Dax didn’t get off on demeaning her like Bruno did. In fact, Dax seemed happier to leave the room when Bruno was exerting control over her. As long as Bruno did his work in a place where Dax didn’t have to see it then Dax could ignore it.

Whatever Bruno’s game with her was, Dax felt the need to play along with it when they were all together, because he never corrected or questioned the older man. However, when Bruno wasn’t around Dax let the shield fall, it could mean that he cared, or it could just mean that he didn’t care about Bruno when Bruno wasn’t around.

Except one thing kept nipping on the periphery of her mind, she was keeping a secret for Dax. He let her question him and talk to him as an equal in private, if she did that with Bruno he’d send her to the basement. So by not revealing Dax’s indifference to Bruno’s rules, Ivy was keeping Dax’s secret. She played along with the rules in front of Bruno and Dax didn’t get her into trouble for what she said to him, so he was keeping her secret too. In each other, they already had an ally.

‘If I call you stranger it’s like we’re not connected,’ she said, reluctantly prying herself away from his kiss. ‘It’s like we’re still in that alley.’

‘I wanted to fuck you then,’ he said, kissing his way to her throat then down in a triangle to her other breast. His arm around her shifted to whip the lower half of her suit away. Casting them aside, he ran a finger between the cheeks of her ass.

‘You said that you didn’t.’

‘I lied,’ he admitted, confirming that her assumption that he’d always been honest was incorrect. ‘Your body is hot, and you’ve got these fuck me eyes, like the only way a guy will ever get your respect is to fill that smart mouth with cock every time you step out of line.’

‘I’m entitled to my opinions, why should I shy from voicing them?’ she whispered, aroused by the idea that he’d even considered earning her respect. The speed of her heart was making it difficult to talk. Her lungs weren’t taking in enough air and she knew there was only one cure.

‘You should know your place,’ he muttered.

‘Beneath you.’

‘That’s right.’

Her fingers found their way into his shorts and when she touched his solid dick, she sighed out, making the appendage jump in her grip. The heat of her breath must have affected him because he dug his teeth into her bosom until she squeaked.

‘Sex is all you ever want from me,’ she said. Squeezing his member in her clenched hand, she removed it from his shorts and elevated her hips to prod his dribbling head onto her clit. Undulating, she merged their juices, stimulating herself with him, letting her wetness lap and lick the bulb, which was eager to conquer her. ‘Is Bruno your boss?’

‘We work for the same man,’ he said, licking her breast and rolling the peak between his warm fingers.

The bench was narrow and her feet were hooked up behind her over his thighs, it was the only thing giving her leverage, but the chance of cramp in this position was high. ‘I need…’ she inhaled, not really sure how to make the best of this position.

‘What?’ he asked, stroking up to her shoulders and down her spine with the very tips of his fingers, making her quiver. ‘What does my babygirl need?’

The pet name made her lose all cohesion and her torso fell against his, her breasts heated against his damp chest, and he swept her hair out of the way to suck and nibble on her ear and neck. Words were gone from her brain, so all she could do was take hold of his wrists and guide his hands down to her ass, where he could take some of her weight.

‘Like that?’ he grumbled and she nodded, nuzzling against his throat. Pushing her weight to her shins she rose and lined him up so that when she released the tension in her legs she sank down onto him. ‘Oh yeah, like that.’

Moving up and down, her pace was fast instantly, she didn’t want to take her time here. What he had started to burn in her made her so wet for him that their bodies wouldn’t rest or relax until they had sought completion with each other.

‘You feel amazing inside me,’ she breathed into his mouth on another kiss. ‘Dax, this, your dick…’

‘Yeah?’ he asked, gripping onto her ass and using his own strength to raise her body faster until it became a fight, he pulled up and she pushed down at the same time his body fought to remain in her.

‘I’ve never…’ Maybe it was the position, her legs were stretched so far apart that her thighs burned, and she was entirely at his mercy because his body was the only thing holding her up on this narrow bench.

‘Say it,’ he demanded.

‘Don’t ever take it away from me,’ she screamed out at the first ember of orgasm that burst in her crotch.

His roar wasn’t one of climax, but his arms clamped around her and she yelped when he stood up and slammed her onto her back on the bench, then he was pumping into her with such fierce single-mindedness that she couldn’t see man, only animal.

‘Look at me!’

Grabbing a handful of her hair, he wrenched her eyes to his and that cool iceberg in his eyes was aflame with a determined possession that fired through her like a missile aimed for her core. Shrieking out his name, she cared not about volume or about Bruno, and Dax didn’t appear too either because at the same time she arched up, her body locked in spasm around his, the boom of his orgasm shook through her and they growled together, their eyes matched in their epiphany.