“I’d take it off the list, then.”

“No kidding.”

He stored his leftovers in the fridge and pulled out a Coke, then circled the counter to sit beside her.

“You don’t have to look for a place right away.” He popped the top on the Coke. “You’re welcome to stay here, even if you decide not to take me up on my offer.”

“That wouldn’t be awkward?”

She kept her eyes on the laptop screen, but she could hear the shrug in his voice. “We’ve been not sleeping together for years. Why would it be awkward now?”

It would be awkward for me, she thought, and blurted out, “I thought about what I wanted.”

He set his Coke on the counter. “Did you?”

“Yes.” She closed the laptop and turned to face him, her hands clenched together in her lap. He was perched on a stool, his legs sprawled out in front of him as though he hadn’t a care in the world. But his eyes were sharp, his attention squarely on her.

“And what did you decide?”

Here we go. She drew a deep breath, then blew it out slowly. “I want you to rape me.”

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Cade had been prepared for Olivia to answer his question a lot of different ways, but he hadn’t quite imagined that. He felt as though all the blood had drained out of his head and into his cock, leaving him disoriented and glad to be sitting. When he finally found his voice, it came out in a wheeze. “Jesus Christ, Olivia.”

She winced. “I probably should’ve said that differently, huh?”

He thumped his chest to get his lungs working again. “It’s fine. Probably just a minor heart attack, nothing to worry about.”

“Sorry,” she said, chewing on her lip in a way that was not helping the blood get back to his brain. “What I meant was, I’d like to explore consensual non-consent play with you.”

“Yeah, I got that.” He reached for his Coke and took a long drink, hoping it would cool the sudden fire in his blood. “Is that how you usually approach negotiations?”

“I’m a little rusty. It’s been a while since I played with anyone new.”

“For the record, it’s better to work up to it. Start out with some small talk, maybe a joke.”

“Okay. Knock-knock.”

His lips gave an involuntary twitch. “Who’s there?”

“Someone.”

“Someone, who?”

“Someone who wants to fuck you.”

It was a terrible joke, but he smiled anyway. “Just fuck?”

“No.” A hint of color bloomed on her cheeks, but her eyes were clear and steady. “I want it all.”

“Consensual non-consent,” he said, wanting to make sure there was no misunderstanding.

“Yes.”

“I’m not rescinding my rule about casual play,” he warned, watching her expression carefully.