Tell Me No Lies by Delphine Dryden

that spot, anxious and self-conscious, when he returned and stepped
in front of her.
    “Okay, here’s how this is going to work.”
    She raised an eyebrow at him. He raised one back, staring
her down until she lowered her eyes. If she kept looking at him, she wouldn’t
be able to resist making a snide remark. In a straight staring contest with no
snappy comebacks allowed, Jake would always have the advantage. But if she seized
the advantage of the snappy comeback, she’d fail at the dare. Tricky.
    Determined, she kept her lips pressed together and her eyes
averted.
    “You’re not going to talk. We’ve already established that.
You’ll have to rely on other ways to communicate, and you’ll have to trust me
to pay attention and give you what you need. Can you do that, Tess?”
    She shrugged, and he shook his head. “Maybe isn’t an
acceptable answer. Either you’ll commit to this exercise or you won’t. The time
for maybe ended when we got out of the truck. I’m not asking for perfection
though. Just asking if you’re capable of trusting me to take care of you.”
    Of course I trust you, dumbass. I wouldn’t be here
otherwise . She wanted to say it out loud, but checked herself and nodded.
    “Good. Moving along…I’m going to take your clothes off now.
Once they’re off, they stay off until I tell you to get dressed again. You
won’t try to cover yourself or hide from me. For the rest of the day, every
part of your body is mine to look at, touch, play with. Do whatever I want
with. My toy. My pet. Got it?”
    Her nod was warier this time as she conceded a larger part
of herself. She felt naked already under Jake’s scrutiny and she’d only taken
her coat and boots off so far.
    Jake took his own jacket off and slung it over the back of a
chair; the leather creaked softly as it bent. “I take good care of my pets, and
I’m not into anything very extreme. Bondage, whips and things, toys, yes. No
needles or knives. I’ll never break the skin, at least not on purpose. It’s a
risk, of course, but blood’s not really my thing. I’ll never deliberately leave
a permanent mark, and I’ll do my best not to leave any bruises or welts in
places that are hard to cover up when you go out in public. As long as you pay
attention and do what I tell you, I’ll let you come.”
    Let me? How do you plan to stop me?
    “I do plan to restrain you—”
    Oh.
    “So if you have any circulation problems, bad back, trick
knees, severe claustrophobia, latex allergy, anything like that, now would be
the time to tell me. Or STDs, of course. Time-out from the dare for that.
So…anything?” She shook her head. “Good. I’ll also be using a variety of
implements of destruction on you. Sometimes because I think you need it,
sometimes because I need it. I’m clean too, by the way. And…I’ll cover
the rest as we go along.”
    She wasn’t expecting the sudden shift from talk to action,
and jumped when Jake reached up and touched her face. He pulled away for a
second until she settled, then moved in more slowly. He traced her bottom lip
with one fingertip, taking his time. When Tess swayed closer, he pulled his
hand away.
    “No. Don’t move or I’ll stop. Stay where I put you.”
    She opened her mouth then clamped it shut, biting down on
her lips to keep from responding.
    “Eyes front. Just like that. Good girl,” he murmured as he
walked behind her, and Tess shivered as a dark thrill coursed through her. She
didn’t know what Jake was doing or why she was reacting to it, but she wanted
him to keep going. More than anything. She craved it, that soothing voice, that
casual praise. And she hated that she craved it. He was treating her like a
pet, exactly like he’d said.
    Good girl? I’m not a fucking dog . I don’t want a
pat on the head from Jake fucking Hogan .
    He wasn’t patting her on the head though. He was taking her
shirt off and, god help her, she didn’t move a muscle. Not to stop, not to
assist. It was as