I held her like that, my gaze drifting to her lips, soft and pink, her mouth slightly open, and I kissed her. I just…kissed her. It was our first kiss.

She made some sound, but my mouth muffled it. I walked her backward until her back was against the wall, and I leaned down to kiss her harder, tasting her, her mouth so soft, so inviting, even as she protested, or tried to. But her body gave me this, and she opened, her hands relaxing against my chest, even curling a little over my biceps. I dipped my tongue inside her mouth, the moan coming from me now as my cock stiffened against her belly. It felt like a mutual want heated our kiss. Lucia’s fingertips touched my shoulders, drawing me closer, her tongue meeting mine. Hands wrapped around the back of my neck and pulled me in. I relaxed my hold, feeling her surrender, but as soon as I did, she struck. She rammed her knee so hard between my legs that she knocked the wind out of me.

I doubled over, sucking in a loud breath as she stumbled backward, smiling.

“You want my obedience?” she taunted. “You want me to be a good little thing, do as I’m told? Fuck you when I’m told?”

I made some sound, more animal than human as fury fired me from the inside. Lucia backed away, a moment of uncertainty crossing her features before she reached her door down the hall, placing her hand on the doorknob.

“You’ve got another thing coming, Salvatore.” She turned the knob and pushed it open. “If obedience was what you wanted, you chose the wrong woman to fuck with.”

She ran into her room and slammed the door shut. I straightened, my balls fucking killing me, and reached for the key on top of the door frame. I’d installed the special lock on her bedroom door before her arrival for exactly this reason. She would not lock me out. Not in my own house. I imagined her in there right now, frantic when she discovered the missing key. I slid it into the lock and turned it, locking her in from the outside.

“Obedience is what I’ll have,” I said. “I don’t mind teaching it to you. Remember what I said last night?”

She tried the door, jiggling the handle.

I smiled at her muttered curse.

“If you betray me, I’ll punish you. This will be your first punishment.”

I left her to stew while I showered. She’d fooled me with that kiss. I’d thought she felt it too, thought she liked it. I think she had, at first. But then, maybe her own sense of duty made her attack.

Regardless, I grinned as I pulled on a pair of jeans. The thought of punishing her aroused me.