He reached out, his fingers between my legs. I held my breath, so tense as I waited for him to make contact. There was a slight squeak — the sound of his fingers swiping across the hood. He didn’t touch me at all, but lifted his hand so I could see the shine on his fingertips. “You see, filthy girl? That’s all you. Already dripping on the hood you’ve been tied to.” He brought his finger to my mouth, tapping lightly against my lower lip. “Open up.”

I pressed my lips tightly together, shaking my head.

“Well, Jess,” he said, his tone mockingly disappointed. “If you’re going to insist on keeping your mouth closed, I may as well give you a good reason.”

He disappeared from my side as he went back to the trunk. After a brief moment, he returned carrying a tall white candle. It was slim and looked like the type of thing my mom loved to put around the house at Christmas.

“What’s that for?” I said.

His answer was to nudge the base of the candle against my clit, rubbing the wax over me for several moments before he pressed it inside. I bit my tongue, striving to keep myself silent as he pumped the candle in and out.

When he used his opposite hand to rub my clit, I broke almost immediately. I gasped, my mouth opening, and his hand snapped out to catch my jaw, fingers hooked into my mouth. I couldn’t close without biting him, which I gladly would have done.

It was like he read my mind because he leaned close to my face and hissed, “If you bite me, I’ll bite you back.” The viciousness in his tone sent a clear warning, so different from his usual joking attitude. He slipped the candle out of me, setting it between my teeth before he withdrew his finger from my mouth. He pulled a lighter from his pocket, holding the candle in place as he lit it.

“Better not let it drop,” he said. I had my teeth clenched into it, but if I dared to open my mouth, I’d drop the burning candle on my bare chest. I could taste myself on the wax, and I groaned, wriggling in protest. “Since your mouth is occupied, tap your hand three times on the hood if you need to call red. But I don’t think you’ll be stopping me.”

My eyes widened as I realized the candle was already beginning to drip, wax streaking down the side as another bead quickly formed at the tip. Vincent ran his hands up my inner thighs, igniting a ticklish shiver. But that shiver betrayed me. The bead of wax trembled and fell, landing right between my breasts.