The Savory Taste Of Restraint

Punishment

“Tell me to stop.”

I couldn’t.

Damon looked at me for one long second like he already knew that before I even answered.

Then he pulled me off the counter.

My pulse jumped when my bare feet hit the marble floor.

“Come here.”

The command came low and sharp enough to send heat straight through me.

He grabbed my wrist and led me through the dark hallway toward his room, every step making reality feel farther away.

This wasn’t teasing anymore.

This wasn’t harmless.

And somehow that only made my heartbeat worse.

The bedroom door shut behind us softly.

Damon turned toward me slowly, towel still low on his hips, damp hair falling slightly over his forehead.

“You wanted attention tonight,” he said quietly.

I swallowed hard.

“You watched me.” His eyes locked onto mine. “Touched me.” Another step closer. “Pushed until I lost patience.”

Heat crawled over my skin.

He pointed toward the edge of the bed.

“Sit.”

I obeyed immediately.

Something dark flickered across his face at how fast I listened.

“Hands in your lap.”

My thighs pressed together instinctively as I did it.

Damon watched the movement carefully before dragging one hand through his damp hair.

“You don’t touch yourself,” he said calmly. “You don’t touch me.” His gaze dropped slowly over me. “You sit there and behave.”

Every word tightened something low in my stomach.

Then he stepped away.

And slowly untied the towel.

My breath caught instantly.

He didn’t rush.

That was the problem.

Everything about him felt deliberate.

Cruel almost.

Like he enjoyed watching me struggle.

And god, I was struggling.Damon stood near the dresser, slow and deliberate as he grabbed a toy. He stared at me, eyes dark as he sat back in the chair. Legs spread. Eagle style, he began using the toy on himself

And he made sure I watched.

Every movement felt intentional now.

Cruel almost.

The low lamp beside the bed cast warm shadows across his body as he adjusted the expensive watch around his wrist, completely composed while I sat at the edge of his bed trying not to fall apart.

“You’re quiet now,” he murmured.

I swallowed hard. “You told me to behave.”

A faint smirk touched his mouth.

“Are you?”

Heat climbed into my face immediately.

His eyes dragged over me slowly before he moved closer again, stopping directly in front of where I sat.

Too close.

The tension sharpened instantly.

“You look overwhelmed,” he said softly.

“I’m not.”

“Liar.”

The word settled low in my stomach.

Damon reached forward then, fingers brushing beneath my chin before tilting my face upward.

“Look at me.”

I obeyed instantly.

Something dark flickered across his expression at how quickly I listened.

“You keep pretending you don’t know what you’re doing,” he murmured. “But every time I touch you, you look like you want to give me complete control.”

My pulse stumbled hard.

He leaned closer.

Close enough that I could feel the warmth of his breath against my mouth.

“What would you do with it,” he asked quietly, “if I gave it to you?”

The question alone nearly unraveled me.

My breathing turned uneven immediately.

Damon noticed.

Of course he did.

A low sound left him under his breath before his thumb brushed slowly across my lower lip.

“Open.”

The command came soft.

Dangerously soft.

I obeyed before thinking.

His eyes darkened instantly at the sight.

Then he spit in my mouth.

“Good girl.”

The praise hit harder than it should have.

Then suddenly I made the mistake of grabbing his chest and pulling him into a kiss.

That was what broke the last fragile thread of restraint.

Damon kissed me back immediately—hard, possessive, rough enough to make my head spin.

One hand slid into my hair while the other gripped my thigh tightly.

“Bad girl,” he muttered against my mouth. “Always pushing.”

The words sent heat straight through me.

Then just as quickly—

He stopped.

Pulled away.

Breathing uneven now.

Actually affected.

His forehead rested briefly against mine before he stepped back entirely.

Distance returned painfully fast.

“You don’t get rewarded for disobedience,” he said roughly.

And then, to torture me further, he calmly turned away and sat the toy aside as he continued getting dressed. I sat there flushed, shaken, and completely obsessed with him.

I grabbed the toy curiously, and it was still spinning. A suction toy..

I looked up at him and, I noticed he was watching my every move

He walked toward me slowly.

Every step made the air harder to breathe.

Then he stopped directly between my knees.

“You think I don’t notice every little thing you do?” he asked quietly.

His hand slid beneath my chin, tilting my face upward.

The dominance in the gesture alone nearly unraveled me.

“You’re sitting here imagining things,” he murmured. “And you’re getting frustrated because I’m not giving you what you want.”

The embarrassment burned almost as much as the truth.

Because he was right.

I wanted him to touch me again.

Wanted him to lose control the way he had in the kitchen.

His thumb brushed slowly across my lower lip.

“Look at you.”

The softness in his voice somehow made it worse.

“You want praise for misbehaving?” he asked quietly.

I couldn’t answer.

His eyes darkened at my silence.

Then suddenly his hand gripped my jaw firmer.

Not enough to hurt.

Enough to control.

“You walked into my room while I was showering,” he said lowly. “Stood there watching me like a temptation I was supposed to ignore.” His jaw tightened slightly. “And now you’re sitting on my bed looking at me like you want me to reward you for it.”

My pulse was completely uneven now.

He leaned down closer.

Close enough that I thought he might kiss me again.

Instead he whispered—

“You have no idea how difficult you’re making this.”

The confession hit hard.

And right before the tension could snap completely—

A phone buzzed sharply on the nightstand.

Damon went still.

I watched his expression change the second he picked it up.

Reality.

Just like that.

His jaw hardened slightly as he read the message.

Then he looked at me.

Different now.

Controlled again.

“What is it?” I asked quietly.

A pause.

Then—

“Your parents land tomorrow morning.”

The words settled heavily into the room.

Business meetings.

Dinner.

A full weekend together beneath the same roof.

Everything dangerous between us suddenly felt painfully real.

Damon stepped back slowly, distance returning almost immediately.

The warmth disappeared from his expression first.

Then the tension.

Then him.

“We’re done for tonight.”

The coldness in his voice hurt more than it should have.

I stood slowly from the bed. “That’s it?”

“Yes.”

Too fast.

Too controlled.

Like he needed the distance before he did something reckless again.

I left the room with my chest still tight from everything he almost did.

And somehow that felt worse than if he’d touched me at all.

⸻

The next day felt wrong from the moment I woke up.

Damon barely looked at me.

At breakfast he discussed schedules with staff, answered calls, talked briefly about my parents arriving later for the weekend meetings.

Nothing else.

No tension.

No teasing.

Nothing.

Like the night before never happened.

It drove me insane.

By afternoon, Isla dragged me outside to the pool.

“You’ve been weird all day,” she said while tying her hair up.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re lying.”

I rolled my eyes and slipped into the water before she could keep interrogating me.

The cold felt good against overheated skin.

For a while we swam and talked normally, music drifting softly through the backyard while sunlight reflected across the water.

Then suddenly—

I felt it.

That familiar weight.

Watching.

I looked up instinctively.

And there he was.

Damon stood on the balcony outside his office, one hand resting against the railing as he looked down toward the pool.

Toward me.

Even from this distance, the intensity of it hit instantly.

His gaze moved slowly over my body in the water before returning to my face.

My pulse immediately lost rhythm.

For a second neither of us looked away.

Then—

He disappeared back inside without a word.

And somehow that was worse.