These Damn Suspicions Read Online Free Page B

work, I’m okay with it.”
    “Let go of my leg, little miss.”
    When I released him, Callum picked up the nearby cushions and reassembled the couch. Then, sitting down, he beckoned to me. I crawled over, knowing how much he liked that, and heat flooded his expression.
    “Hand me the collar and get into position.”
    This was an order he’d used before, when he’d used collars on me during scenes—and occasionally just because he liked seeing me wear one. I knelt with my back to him, gathering my hair out of the way so he had easy access to my neck. Then, changing my mind, I leaned back on my hands and looked up at him with my head tilted as far back as it would get.
    “Question, Sir?”
    He looked amused at my position. “I figured you’d have one or two. Stay like that while you ask.”
    “Does the lock work?”
    Callum fingered the padlock and nodded. “I’ll give you one of the keys, but it’s only to be used if you need the collar off and I’m not around. Otherwise, I’m in control of that lock, understand?”
    “I promise, Sir.” I almost didn’t want the option of having a key, but I knew it wasn’t practical. In my line of work, unscheduled overtime wasn’t a regular occurrence, but it happened often enough that I’d need some control over my collar.
    “We’ll see how you do with the collar at home, then if there are no problems we’ll see about something more subtle you can wear at work. A necklace, a ring…”
    “A tattoo?” I suggested.
    Both of Callum’s eyebrows went up. That was rare—he usually only bothered with one. “Seriously?”
    My muscles were beginning to ache at the position I’d contorted myself into, but he’d ordered me to stay as I was, so I gave him the best ‘ are you kidding?’ look I could upside down.
    He grinned and relented. “Sit up and turn to face me.”
    Relieved, I did as he’d asked. “If the tattoo idea pleases you, Sir…”
    “What if I want complete autonomy over what the tattoo looks like and where it goes?”
    I just knew he was working an angle. “If it’s the words ‘Little Miss Badass’ in giant letters on my forehead, I’m calling my safeword.”
    Callum gave an exaggerated sigh of disappointment, and I stuck my tongue out at him.
    “Do that again, and I’m putting a clothespin on it,” he threatened, with a note of token Dom sternness so I’d know he was serious, but not pissed off. “And possibly some fig-flavoured jelly.”
    I put my tongue back in my mouth immediately. That did not sound like fun.
    “In all seriousness, Sir? I’ll consider your specifications as long as I don’t totally hate the design of the tattoo.” I might have been submissive, but there was no chance in hell I was getting an ugly tattoo, even for my Dom.
    “That’s all I ask.” He regarded me for a second longer, as though he couldn’t believe I’d agreed to something so permanent, let alone suggested it.
    Then he shook his head. “Stand up, strip naked, then kneel again.”
    I opened my mouth to speak, glancing around me at the unfamiliar surroundings, but Callum cut me off.
    “Yes, little miss, I’m sure we’re not gonna be interrupted. But even if I wasn’t, I’d still expect you to follow the order. Naked. Now.”
    His Dom voice always got me tingly, and the look that went along with it was equally sexy. I didn’t waste time replying, just wriggled out of my clothes as quickly but provocatively as I could, not bothering to fold them, just tossing them aside into the sea of packing chips.
    By the time I’d knelt again, Callum had unlocked the collar and opened a tiny, subtle hinge that allowed it to be placed around the wearer’s throat. “Into position, little miss.”
    Turning my back on him made anticipation rush through me. I twisted my hair into a thick, wavy rope and held it up, leaving my neck bared to his gaze and his touch.
    Callum rested his hand around my throat for a second, squeezing as firmly as possible without