He did nothing else except kiss her. But the kiss was hot, wet, full of wicked desire that made her forget the world around her. It was a kiss full of promise and she knew she was accepting whatever would follow, even though it wouldn’t be tonight.

When he stopped the kiss and drew back, he stroked her cheek. “Tonight you will sleep with me in my bed.” He nuzzled her nose with his. “I know you miss home. Allow me to hold you and you won’t be alone.” He paused. “Tonight won’t be about the bet. It’s about comfort. All right?”

Callie nodded. The man could have talked angels into giving away their haloes without a second thought. Sleeping with him would lead to other things. Her body was completely on board with that plan already, and it was only a matter of time before the rest of her went along with it.

“You shouldn’t be afraid of me. Do you understand? I won’t hurt you.” He paused as though debating with something inside himself. “Do you know what BDSM is?” he asked.

Callie nodded. She’d read plenty of romances over the last couple of years and had enjoyed the more erotic, edgy ones, the ones that made her physically react when she’d read them. But those were fantasy. You couldn’t have that with a man in real life.

“Did Hayden tell you what sort of man I am? That my desires run along those lines?”

As he spoke, she saw nearly all the barriers between them crumble. This was a piece of his private life and he was sharing it with her.

“She didn’t tell me,” Callie replied. “Do you want to do that stuff with me?” Her breath seemed to catch in her throat and waver like a frightened bird.

“You want an honest answer?” He still stroked her face, as though the touch soothed him. The late afternoon sun hit his hair, making the red gleam and seem to burn with vibrant colors.

“Yes. I want an honest answer.” She lifted herself into a sitting position, ready to face him as an equal but it only put her closer to him, making her feel his body heat. His presence was all consuming.

“I want to do many things to you. Some of them might seem frightening, but I know what I’m doing. However”—he paused as his fingers moved from her face to her hair and fisted gently but firmly in the strands—“you’re a virgin. You don’t need that sort of intensity. Not yet. And if you never want to try anything else you need only say so. The power to tell me no, that is and always will be yours, but until you say it, I will continue to come after you, Callie. Do you understand? I enjoy the chase and you’ve run me ragged these last few months. I haven’t enjoyed anything this much in a very long time. So as long as you wish it, I’ll continue to pursue you, however long it takes until you’re mine.”

His words raised a thousand questions. She wanted to know everything but she’d never discussed something so intimate before in her life.

“Ask me anything. I’ll tell you,” he promised, as though he could read the racing thoughts in her mind.

“Really?” She sat up a little more. His hand in her hair slid down to cup the back of her neck and he massaged her tense muscles.

“Yes.”

“Do you…” She weighed her question carefully. “Like to hurt a woman in bed?” She’d read some books about men who were sadists, and that hadn’t interested her at all. She wasn’t a masochist.

“I’ve caused some pain, but always accompanied by pleasure and only because my bed partner has needed it. I prefer my hand, a paddle, or a light flogger for mild punishment or erotic punishment. You know the difference?”

She shook her head.

“Mild punishment is for when you’ve done something that’s displeased me. Likely I’ll spank you with a paddle or my hand. A few stinging blows, nothing that will leave a real mark and shouldn’t bruise. Erotic punishment isn’t done for behavior. It’s done because you need it to heighten your climax. A bed partner on the verge of coming can sometimes have a more intense experience if there’s a hint of pain or even just a new pattern of stimulation. A light flogger is best for this.” He brushed teasing fingers over the side of her hip. “A master dominant can trail the strands of a flogger over a submissive’s skin so delicately that she feels she’s being kissed rather than flogged. It can warm her skin, rather than burn it. Stimulate her need for a faint sting, and then reward her with exquisite pleasure.”

Callie’s mouth was so dry she struggled to swallow. The idea of her naked, Wes wielding a flogger, just enough to make her come so hard she screamed…dear God.

“I see we have something to explore there, don’t we?” he mused with a wicked glint in his eyes. She finally swallowed and he noticed, still grinning.

“And bondage?” she asked.

The smile flashed was all wolf. “So you do know a little about my world.” The pride in his tone shouldn’t have made her happy, but for some strange reason she was.

“Well? Do you do bondage?” she prodded.

He moved so fast she could only squeak in surprise. He had her pinned on her back on the bed, her wrists held in one of his hands, trapping them above her head. His other hand rubbed her waist, playing with the bottom of her shirt. Callie struggled against his hold, shocked by how alive she felt simply by his holding her captive. Her lower body thrummed with eager anticipation.

“Does that answer your question?” He was so close to her that she could feel the energy and excitement coiling in his body as he gazed at her mouth.

“Yes,” she whispered, feeling like anything louder would destroy what was sizzling beneath her skin and his. She liked feeling on the edge with him. There was no denying that. She had been around him long enough to know that she enjoyed the way he scattered her senses, like riding through a field sending a flock of birds soaring into the sky. He shocked her, excited her, and the fear of his intensity was lessening. If she could ask questions and he’d give her honest answers, that was worth trusting.

“Anything else you want to ask?” He licked his lips, like a wolf eyeing a lone deer, but he didn’t attack. He held back, and she could see that the effort to do so cost him.

“Maybe later, after I’ve had a drink. I can drink here, right?” She couldn’t help but watch his lips as they quirked into a hint of a smile.

“I keep forgetting you’re not even twenty-one. Yes, drinking here for you is legal.” He grew serious again.

“Just because I’m young doesn’t mean I’m a child,” she said. If he wanted her, and she was finally accepting that he did, then he needed to treat her like an adult.

“Believe me, I don’t think of you as a child. Young and innocent, but not a child.”

She hadn’t thought much of their age difference, but twelve years was a long time in some respects. He’d had scores of lovers, had lived on the earth that much longer and experienced so much more of everything. Would he find her youth and inexperience tiring?

“I’ve been honest with you. Now it’s your turn. Something is bothering you and I want to know what it is.”

Summoning up every bit of her courage, she met his stare evenly. “Does it bother you that I’m not experienced? That I’m a virgin?”

One corner of his mouth twitched. “You’re very brave, Callie. I’ve never met a woman as brave as you.”

“Brave? I’m not brave,” she said and snorted. She got scared all the time. “You didn’t answer my question.”

His hand on her waist drifted upward, sliding underneath the loose shirt and cupping one breast over her bra. It was unexpected and she arched upwardly, instinctively pressing herself into his hand.

“I’ve always had women who were nothing like you,” he murmured in that seductive, caressing tone that made her melt inside. His fingers caught her erect nipple through her bra and he lightly pinched it as he talked.

With a little hiss of breath at the pricking touch, she jolted, more than ever aware of where his hand was and what it was doing.