The Player

by Kresley Cole

  "A man to prove himself to me." I could say those words believably. Even though I knew my hurdles were simply too high.

  "Then I won't fuck you. But that doesn't mean I can't touch you. I need to give you pleasure so much I ache." He reached for me.

  "Here?" In the Carousel? We were alone in this darkened area, but for how long?

  "Here."

  CHAPTER 11

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  Dmitri grazed the backs of his fingers over my jawline, then down my neck. "You could not be lovelier."

  I trembled as he traced my collarbone. His hand continued lower. He unzipped my dress until my breasts threatened to spill out--exactly the way I'd imagined when I'd designed it.

  His hot hand slipped inside, cupping me. I arched to his touch, and he bit out something in Russian. I could have sworn I'd heard his name at the end.

  Was he talking to himself? My question and concern dissipated when he rubbed his thumb over one nipple. Jolts of pleasure shot through me as he rolled the peak, lightly pinching. Then harder.

  With a last tug, he moved to my other breast and kneaded it. "Spread your legs wide for me."

  I let one knee fall open.

  He ran his other hand up my inner thigh. Higher. He brushed his knuckles along my sensitive skin. Higher. He reached my wet pussy. "You're not wearing panties?" he snapped. I thought he'd be delighted--not infuriated. "Which man was to enjoy this surprise? The one you were dancing with earlier?"

  "Maybe next time you'll call me."

  "Maybe I will teach you to want only me." His half-crazy expression was back. "I am the only one who knows what you need."

  Hadn't I already suspected he was my key? Apparently, he suspected the same. "Tell me what I need, Dmitri."

  "I'm about to show you."

  "But I want to touch you." I dipped my hand down.

  "Ah-ah." He seized my wrist, placing my hand on his chest. "This is for you alone."

  "Maybe you think I'll get so turned on I won't care if you fuck me."

  "I want to see you that abandoned." His voice was low, his eyes hypnotic. "But tonight I'm only touching you, Vika. Submit to my wishes."

  Vika. The endearment of my name. Strike sexy. He was molten. At that moment, I yearned to submit to this man. But a show of resistance was in order. "Why am I always the one feeling vulnerable? I've shared more of myself than you have."

  "Share? What if I tell you a secret? Would that suffice?"

  "Try me and see."

  In a husky tone, he said, "I jerked off in the limo on the way back from your apartment. I wanted your taste on my tongue when I came again. Two strokes later, I ejaculated into my cupped palm, licking my lips for you."

  A breath shuddered out of my lungs. I repeated his words: "I never want to stop seeing that in my head."

  He might've given me a micro-smile, but it faded when he teased my entrance with a fingertip. "Do you want it inside?" Somehow he grew even harder beneath me.

  "Yes," I panted. "Yes. . . ."

  He adjusted my body so we faced the same way, my spread legs over his knees, his hands resting on my thighs. "Then raise your arms and clasp your hands behind my neck. Keep them there no matter what I do."

  I had no choice; I obeyed.

  "Good girl." In reward, he sank his middle finger between my soaked lips.

  I cried out as my pussy contracted around it.

  He gave a rumbly groan. "Ah, God, you are tight. And so slick for me. You love to come, don't you?" He rotated his finger inside, stirring me. Then he began to wedge in a second one. "There you go," he rasped. "Take them for me into your sweet little pussy. Do you want me to finger-fuck you? Then take them both deep."

  That dirty talk in his sexy accent made me melt!

  With his other hand, he pressed down on my pubic bone and above, which made the fingers inside me feel even bigger. He withdrew them, then thrust. Again. And again. "I would give anything to replace these with my cock."

  My body ached for that hot, swollen rod. Though he hadn't touched my clit, I already neared the brink. "Dmitri, I need to come!"

  He ignored my plea, never increasing his maddening pace. He twisted his fingers as they plunged, then twisted them again as he withdrew.

  I marveled at his skill. Even as he gave me more pleasure than I'd ever felt, in the back of my mind, I wondered how I was going to live without this.

  As if he'd read my thoughts, he said, "You're going to have to keep me around just for this. You fingered your pussy in the shower, but you can't do this to yourself. You can't twist and get deep, hitting all these sensitive spots."

  "Make me come, please!" Or fuck me. I imagined him impaling me on his big, pierced dick.

  "I will. Eventually." He made a beckoning gesture deep inside me.

  I shot upright. "Oh! Ohhh. I can't take much more of this!" I could bring myself off in a nanosecond, was tempted to. Yet I kept my arms back. "I know what I said about sex, but I didn't mean it! Do you have condoms? I'm on birth control, but we should probably double-up."

  Between breaths, he said, "I've never had sex without one, so I can with you." He wasn't lying.

  "Does that mean we're going to?" My tone couldn't have been more eager.

  He groaned again. "I would do murder to fuck you. Think of what I'd do to possess you completely."

  I gasped--because I didn't think he was lying about that either.

  "Which means I must keep my word."

  I panted with frustration. He'd kept me hovering right at the brink for what must be years! "I'm going to come apart!"

  "That's the idea. This is BDSM," he said at my ear. "Dominance, edging, play. I won't always whip you." He withdrew his fingers.

  "Nooo! Need those. Put them back in."

  He used two fingers to make a V around my clit, trapping it, pressing the sensitive nub outward.

  I undulated over his lap, his cock. "Touch it," I whispered, "touch it. Baby, please, please touch my throbbing clit."

  With a growling sound, he used his other forefinger to slowly rub the exposed flesh.

  My head lolled back against him.

  "You would do anything for me right now, wouldn't you, beautiful?"

  I made unintelligible sounds. He owned me. He controlled me.

  This man had broken through all my barriers until I was nothing more than raw, dripping need.

  My approaching orgasm felt bigger than ever before. Deeper.

  Frightening.

  Right when I was about to crash over the edge, I spied a man enter through the curtain. "S-stop, Dmitri. We're not alone." I dropped my arms.

  The guy--a blond surfer type--told someone unseen, "Back here."

  A pretty redhead and a handsome dark-haired male followed. They looked as buzzed as I felt. The trio sat across the room from us in another booth. The two men put the redhead between them.

  They would be able to see me from the waist up! My tits were nearly spilling out, lit by the glowing collar I wore. "You can't do this!" I hissed to Dmitri, even as I rolled my hips.

  "They can't see underneath our table. Do you really want me to stop?" He kept rubbing. "Say, 'Dmitri, stop touching my pussy.'"

  I couldn't say the words, couldn't do more than whimper.

  The three glanced over. Dmitri's arm was moving. They had to know what he was doing.

  The guys cast me wolfish looks, and their hands caressed down Red's body. She met gazes with me, then her eyes shot wide. We were both getting fingered in this room--and we both knew it.

  Red's lids soon grew heavy. She didn't seem to mind an audience.

  Did I look as turned on as she did? Was Dmitri aroused by the girl? I glanced at him. His eyes were locked on me.

  I murmured, "I can't let you do this."

  "Of course you can." He was a devil in my ear, mesmerizing me with his thrall.

  Of course I can. No! Vice, get hold of yourself.
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  "We won't be doing anything they're not," he continued. "This situation heats your blood, doesn't it? Then surrender to it, Vika. To me. Put your hands behind my head again."

  Such a vulnerable position in front of others.

  "Do it, or I won't let you come."

  Nooo! Shaking, I reached up and locked my hands again. In reward, he pinched my nipples through my dress, giving me a shock of sensation. I had to stifle a cry.

  Red put her arms back too, but the dark-haired guy upped the ante, tugging down her sheath dress to bare her perky breasts.

  The girl liked being exposed. She arched her back, and I could tell she was rocking her hips on her partners' fingers.

  As I stared, her hands descended--as did the zipper of my dress. Dmitri was going to bare me too? This couldn't be happening.

  I wanted to die of humiliation. Or come. Again everything got confused in my mind, and the embarrassment fueled my arousal.

  I tensed to stop him, but then I realized both of Red's hands were moving under the table. She was jacking off both guys.

  While all three stared at me.

  "This is . . . wicked," I whispered. Forbidden.

  "Submit to me," Dmitri grated. "I am giving you what you need--because you are a wicked girl."

  Dmitri was making me into one. Suddenly, I was arching my back. "Yes, yes . . ."

  He peeled the dress wide, uncovering my tits.

  The others' reactions--hooded lids and parted lips--made my nipples even harder. Dmitri himself was virtually a stranger to me, and now three others were getting a show.

  "Feel how wet you're getting!" he murmured, doing those heavenly/sinful things with his fingers. "You crave their eyes on you."

  I did! This primal need to be controlled by him--and watched by others--pulsed through me.

  Sensing my surrender, he nuzzled my ear. "Doesn't it feel good when you do as I say?"

  My moans grew constant. I was going to dissolve in front of these strangers. I shook so hard my breasts quivered for my audience.

  Dmitri pulled my head back to his chest with a decisive tug on my hair, which made me--and Red--cry out. "You want them to know how wet you are, don't you?" He delved those two fingers deep inside me as his thumb worked my clit.

  "Ahhh!" So close, so close . . . Oh, dear God, four people were going to watch me come.

  "Shall I show them my fingers glistening from your pussy?"

  "No, nooo." My face heated just to think of it. Showing my tits was one thing--I'd been known to flash them myself--but not something so intimate!

  Yet Dmitri brought his soaked fingers up, revealing them by the light of my neon collar. Red gave a cry at the sight and writhed. The dark-haired guy groaned, and his body jerked. The blond bit out a curse, gritting his teeth, struggling not to come.

  I went wild. Couldn't catch my breath. About to lose my mind. "Gonna . . . scream. Don't let me . . . scream."

  "I won't. Just take a taste. Then I'll bring you off." His other hand took over, frigging my clit as he brought his wet fingers to my mouth. With his hot breaths against my neck, he commanded, "Suck."

  So fucking forbidden. Would I really do this in front of others? I couldn't form sentences. "How . . . you . . ." I trailed off, whispering, "What's happening to me?"

  "Obey, Vika."

  With a cry, I leaned toward his fingers. I sucked them, tasting myself. My eyes rolled back in my head, my hips grinding against his other hand.

  In an agonized tone, Dmitri bit out, "They're watching you. Staring. Show them how much my wicked girl loves to come."

  I mindlessly licked his fingers as he withdrew them.

  He clamped that palm over my mouth. With his other hand, he shoved his fingers into me and vibrated his grip--

  Edge. Over. RELEASE.

  I exploded, screaming against his palm as my body spasmed. His mouth was at my ear, his voice ramping up the strength of this already blinding orgasm. He told me how beautiful I was. How he'd never forget this sight or the feel of me unraveling in his arms.

  He told me I was perfect.

  Floating. Bliss. This man.

  In time, I came down from the strongest climax I'd ever had. That I'd ever dreamed of having.

  He uncovered my mouth. Still murmuring praises, he lovingly petted me until I had to move his other hand away.

  All I could hear was our breaths. I buried my face against his neck and inhaled his scent. I licked his skin as gratitude and affection bloomed inside me.

  The music of the club grew louder and louder.

  The club.

  Reality returned. I'd orgasmed that violently. Here. In front of strangers.

  I gathered the courage to raise my face. Red was out of breath, her breasts heaving. She'd collapsed against the brown-haired guy, and he had his head tilted back. The blond was gasping, had obviously just come.

  They'd all gotten off while watching me.

  Mortification overwhelmed me. I couldn't face them.

  And Dmitri? I turned to him. His pupils were blown, his jaw clenched. He looked crazed to come. Our interlude wasn't even over.

  I guessed he planned to fuck me right on the table. The thought made me whimper with need--and that alarmed the hell out of me. He could have done anything to my body just now.

  Anything.

  Even though I'd trusted him to protect me, had asked him to. Another man betraying me.

  I hadn't wanted him to betray me.

  I yanked on the zipper of my dress, putting it back to rights as best as I could. "Let go of me." Escape.

  "Vika?" He sounded baffled.

  I struggled against his hold. Between gritted teeth, I said, "Let. Go."

  He finally released me, and I scrambled up.

  "What's wrong?" He adjusted his stiff cock with a wince.

  "You were supposed to look out for me. Not talk me into putting on a show for strangers!" Unable to meet the others' eyes, I rushed from the room.

  Dmitri was right behind me. "Just wait, Vika!"

  "Leave me alone!" I zigzagged through the crowd to get to our table. Karin and Benji peered up at the huge Russian behind me.

  "I'm going home!" I told them. I grabbed my purse and headed toward the exit.

  Before I could hail a cab, Dmitri caught up with me outside and snared my wrist. "Come back to the hotel with me!" His expression said he was about to lose it. That lifeline look now scared me. "We will talk--"

  "I trusted you, and you took advantage of me! I don't ever want to see you again!"

  "You do not mean that." His eyes darted, as if he had no idea how to handle this rapidly deteriorating situation.

  Pete, Benji, and Karin rushed out of the club, gazes bouncing from me to Dmitri.

  In a low tone, he said, "Come with me, Victoria. Now."

  I yanked my arm from his grip. "Just leave me alone!"

  My family would ask questions later. For now, they were in protective mode, flanking me.

  Pete stepped in front of me. "Mr. Sevastyan, this would be a good time for you to go."

  His eyes locked on Pete, and his face turned deadly, as if he was about to tear out my cousin's throat with his teeth. "Do not ever get between me and her." His fists clenched and unclenched. "You do not want to do that, Peter."

  Anyone would've been terrified, but Pete didn't back down. "We can all pick this up tomorrow when tempers cool, huh?"

  Dmitri turned to me, losing his murderous look. His brows drew together, but I shook my head. "I told you--I never want to see you again."

  His eyes dimmed, and that wrecked me. Even though I hated him at this moment.

  "As you wish." He turned and left.

  I watched his towering form striding away, scarcely noticing when tears began to fall.

  CHAPTER 12

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  Pausing at the door to my parents' modest ranch house, I adjusted the basket of dirty laun
dry on my hip and listened.

  Pete said, "You'd have to see the way Sevastyan looks at her."

  "He looked that way before she told him to piss off forever," Benji pointed out. "Sevastyan did something in the back of the club that she was not down with, and he got the message loud and clear."

  I'd refused to tell them what had happened. This morning, as the events from the night flooded into my hungover consciousness, I'd thrown an arm over my face. I'd gotten sexually Svengali-ed by Dmitri.

  I was in Benji's camp. I didn't think the Russian would call. I replayed the light dimming in his eyes and felt a pang. How could I have become so attached to the man in two nights? Especially after what he'd done to me?

  I'd cried over that asshole. I hadn't cried even when I'd ended things with Brett!

  "I'll lay ten large he calls," Pete said.

  Benji answered, "I'll take that action."

  I yanked open the door, striding into the living room to glare at everyone.

  Pete sat in a careworn recliner, practicing cards on a TV tray. Benji was on the lumpy family-size couch with camera parts spread over the coffee table. Mom and Dad sat next to each other on their love seat. She sewed a dress; he worked on his laptop.

  Karin had just deposited Cash into his playpen by the couch; he gurgled in welcome. Gram and Russian Al sat at a fold-up bridge table, drinking sherry out of little crystal glasses and playing chess.

  Through the sliding glass door, I could see my aunts and uncles out by the pool with all their kids. Though my younger cousins were mini grifters who already cheated at Marco Polo, I would still dominate the water.

  After laundry. I cocked the basket higher on my hip. "You guys are betting on me? Like I'm a doped horse?"

  Mom set aside her sewing to give me a hug. "Technically, the boys are betting on Dmitri. He's the doped horse in this scenario." She'd covered the circles under her stunning chocolate-brown eyes with an expert application of makeup, but I recognized the scent of the brand. Of course she wasn't sleeping, was too worried about Dad.

  "Let's don't say Dmitri's name again, okay?" I muttered, my head hurting me worse than a busted flush.

  Benji snorted. "You want us not to talk about the elephant in the room?"

  Al piped up. "Very beeg elephant." He stroked his long gray beard. Maybe he grew it so long to make up for his bald head.

  "Victoria, dear," my grandmother said, "why don't you explain to us exactly what happened in the club with your rich Russian gentleman?"