I pull out of her and note some of my cum oozing down her crack. I walk over to the other side of the table to undo the end of the rope anchored to the leg. She doesn’t move. Removing the hood and ball gag, I lift her jaw to meet her gaze and see that her eyes are glistening.

I don’t like the conflict of emotions in me right now. I don’t want to be feeling anything but righteous anger toward her. To support that, I ask, “What’s the matter? I fuck you too hard, Bridge?”

Still breathing on the heavy side, she doesn’t answer.

I replace the ball gag into the case, along with the hood. Standing behind her, I yank her up by her hair.

“You know you came without permission,” I growl. “That means we’ll have to add weights to the nipples clamps.”

She looks nervous but doesn’t protest.

“You think your nipples would be up for that?” I inquire as I run a finger over a nipple through her dress. She looks fuller than she did two years ago, especially in the chest. Her breasts look large on her, almost as if she got implants.

“You get augmentation surgery, Bridge?” I ask, reaching to grope a breast.

She shrugs away from me and looks down. “No. I just…put on some weight.”

I grab her chin and make her look at me. “You’re not lying to me, are you?”

“Why would I lie to you?”

“Yeah, why would you? ’Cause you have something to hide?”

“Something to hide…? Darren, I—I made a mistake. About us.”

I cross my arms. “You did? Is that why you’re on a date with Josh?”

“That was—my friends convinced me to— Wait, you know his name?”

It shouldn’t matter one fuck who she goes on a date with. When I’m through with her, she can date a thousand guys. I’m done with her.

But first, I have to claim what’s mine.

My son.

CLAIMED DARKER

Excerpt

Chapter 1

DARREN

Present

Hovering over her body, still tied face-down to the basement table, I don’t have to see into her face to know that the wheels are turning in Bridget’s head. I knew from day one she wasn’t stupid. Even when she threw her drink in my face. One wouldn’t expect that kind of action from the cerebral type—the type I don’t usually involve myself with—but Bridget is…unexpected. Nuanced. Sometimes thoughtful, sometimes impulsive. A good girl out in the world but naughty as hell in the bedroom. I wonder if she’s still like that, two years later.

Fuck it. It doesn’t matter what she’s like. I’m done with her. I’m sticking with simpler women. Women who don’t overthink things, who don’t challenge my scruples, and who don’t dare to pull a disappearing act on me.

But before I leave her to her fate, I’m going to make the most of what’s mine. I’m going to use her body till she can’t move a limb. I’m going to blow past her limits, even the hard ones, because limits—and safe words—are built on respect and trust. And she broke both those when she skipped town with my son.