by Riley Murphy
She was too responsive. That was the problem. He had no business messing with her, but now that he’d started, he wanted more. He couldn’t help it. Seeing her all bundled up was wreaking havoc on him. More so than if she was totally naked and spread for his pleasure.
“Give me your mouth.”
He pushed his hand up higher, so eager to get into that lace he didn’t feel her shift until her soft hand clamped over his.
Her voice was a long way from sounding convincing, when she said, “Don’t.”
Keeping his hand firmly in place, he leaned into her. Forcing her back and back some more until she was beneath him. “Let go of my hand.”
They stared at each other for a quiet few seconds. She was unsure. On the fence about what to do. He could tell. And even though he knew it was an unfair advantage, he pulled the heated “do as I say look” and fried her with it.
Her eyes widened and then squeezed shut. Perfect. She capitulated. He’d use the opportunity to close the distance and get better acquainted with her. Breathing into her ear, he coaxed, “Colin, be a good girl now and let go of my hand.”
The moment he spoke her name she groaned and he didn’t fight the urge to capture her lobe between his top and bottom teeth for a sensual tug. She tasted like fresh strawberries.
“We shouldn’t…you shouldn’t do this.”
“Why?” He kissed her neck, grateful now for that tightly wrapped bun of hers. It gave him unlimited access to her silken flesh. “It feels good doesn’t it?”
“Yes.”
It was his turn to physically react. Her languid reply made his cock swell and fill with need.
“But…” She sighed and angled her head in a silent bid for more of his mouth. “Something’s wrong. Mmm… This isn’t right. We barely know one another.”
He nipped and licked a path from her collarbone to her ear. “All the better. Haven’t you ever hooked up with someone where—”
He was going to say something about the sex being mind-blowing but she stiffened beneath him. “No.”
No? Leaning back, he was almost afraid to ask, “You have had sex, haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
Monumental relief washed over him. “I’m glad.” He used his other hand to brush the back of his knuckles down her cheek and marveled. Her skin was so soft. “Let’s see how this goes, okay?”
“Excuse me?”
“Let go of my hand and let me do what I have in mind to do.” When she looked as if she were going to protest, he added, “You can say no anytime you want and when you do I’ll stop. You have my word.”
Colin was in serious trouble. All she’d wanted was a little understanding and now she was getting more than she’d bargained for. Because even though initially she’d taken this job for the money, the more she read about the lifestyle and some of the powerful men within it, she’d become intrigued. As she dug deeper and explored the different facets of BDSM and the philosophies behind it, the more convinced she was that she had a few submissive qualities herself. It was an exciting thought until she met two of the three Dom partners nearly a month ago. She’d been expecting special. They were both gorgeous and polite. In the end, though, they turned out to be just two more guys she wasn’t attracted to.
But once she met the third partner this afternoon? She got her tall order of special.
She’d run through the gamut trying to deal with Mr. Sex-personified. She was hopeless when it came to men in general and there was nothing general about Ethan White. He had a way of looking at her that made her think she was in trouble, but in a really good, secret, want-to-be-held-accountable way. The instant she’d met him her body had begun to hum. As if his presence brought on some kind of heightened sexual anticipation. The zings and thrums low in her belly just kept on coming. Which was insane and probably explained why she’d been acting crazy since being introduced to him.
She’d thought she’d be able to deal with it, but then they’d gotten locked in together and it became a matter of survival. She’d gone from desperately trying to escape him. Total fail there. To attempting to pull off sassy and confident. Miserable fail. To throwing a little bitchy at him. Utter fail. And now she was succumbing to pathetically needy and her common sense was nowhere to be found? Good Lord, she wasn’t actually thinking about agreeing to this? She’d never let herself live it down if she did.
He gently tugged on her chin and she was forced to look at him again. The moment she did she was instantly struck by the serenity of his expression. He boasted a solemn confidence that put her right at ease, causing her to let go of his hand and breathe, “Okay.”
Epic fail.
“Such a brave girl.” He kissed her chin, her cheek and ear. “Relax your legs for me, honey. That’s right.”
“Ethan…” It was as if she had no will. No, more like no willpower. How could she? He stroked her through her panties. Pressing against places…doing things to her.
“You like that, don’t you?”
“Mmm.” She was sinking, drowning in a sea of long-denied sensations and loving it. Screw living it down, she was going to live it up.
“Colin, if I let you come this way you have to promise me something.” He continued his assault. Pressing and rubbing and circling.
“Oh, yes…” She’d promise him the world providing he didn’t stop what he was doing to her now.
His words came low and husky to her ear, “Promise me if I let you come this way you’ll fuck me afterward. I want to bury myself in your hot little pussy until you scream for me to stop.”
The sensitive muscles between her legs squeezed up tight and shivered. “Yes…mmm.”
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, I promise… I promise.” She didn’t want the thrilling sensations to end. She’d give him anything as long as he continued. Anything. It felt too good.
Fisting his shirt in her hands, she pulled at him. He was so close that his warm breath bathed her face. Their lips only a hairsbreadth apart and she was dying to get her first taste of him. Heart pounding. Nipples tightening in a delicious ache. Her legs opening as she—
“Sir?”
One moment she was sprawled, mindless with need, and the next she was assaulted by clarity. She blinked back to reality and wiggled out from underneath him. Shooting up and away from the desk, she kept her back to the door and yanked her skirt into place.
“Yes, Decklan.”
“I wouldn’t have interrupted, sir, but there’s a situation outside.”
“Situation?” Hearing this she latched on to the distraction and spun around. “What kind of situation?”
She didn’t wait for his answer as she hurried forward to get her shoes. Casper was out there somewhere.
Ethan growled, “What kind of situation are we talking about?”
“The guests have broken the agreement.”
Colin had one shoe on and paused before putting on the other. “Agreement?”
Ethan sighed. “Yes, the wedding party is primarily bikers from several different states and counties. We’d been warned that two factions were at odds, which was why we’d arranged an agreement between them ahead of time.”
She shoved her foot into her shoe and murmured, “I need to get Casper.”
“How bad?” Ethan stalked past her and ordered, “You stay here.”
“It’s a full-out brawl.”
“Brawl? I’m not staying here. Casper is out there along with my equipment.”
She tried to rush by him, but he caught her arm “I’ll see to them. You stay put.”
“No.” Jerking her arm free she kept on going. He wasn’t her keeper.
“Sir?”
“Colin.”
She recognized an angry tone of voice when she heard one, so she quickened her pace.
“Ms. Reneaux.”
Glancing over her shoulder, she noted he was following her and even though he wasn’t rushing, his stride was twice the length of hers. Inevitably he’d overtake her.
Remaining calm, she turned and continued walking backward. “I appreciate your concern but I can take care of myself. Besides, I need to find Casper.”
“No. I want you to stay inside.”
He was nearly within reach of her, which blew the last of her remaining calm out of the water. Doing an about-face, she took off running. “I’m sorry,” she yelled, as she turned a corner, “but Casper is my responsibility.” She refused to think about all the other reasons she was running from him because none of them were good.
A minute later she burst through the front doors and skidded to a halt. The pristine gardens looked like a war zone. All manner of guests were fighting and wrestling. A number of women rolled on the ground by the gravel walkway while a group of burly, leather-clad men attempted to pull a guy away from his victim whom he was drowning in the fountain.
“Casper?” She scanned the melee. Searching the area where she’d set up her stuff, she saw the tripod there, but her camera was gone. “Casper!”
He was nowhere in sight. She brought her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun and examined the expanse of ground between the potted shrubbery and the patio. Nothing. She checked back to where they’d positioned themselves and studied the area. Casper’s tool bag and gloves were gone. That was a good sign. It meant that he’d made a purposeful departure. If he’d been forced away from his position he would have abandoned those items.
A huge clap of thunder exploded and she fell back against one of the four columns on the porch. A resounding silence followed, which was odd because the courtyard was still alive with activity. She gave herself a shake and swallowed to unblock her clogged ears. The action had no effect as the buzzing continued to roar inside her head.
Automatically her palms covered her ears and she would have completely lost it if Ethan hadn’t grabbed hold of her. He checked her from head to toe. His mouth was moving and even after she dropped her hands she still couldn’t hear a thing.
“What?” she shouted as panic set in. What if she was deaf? “I can’t hear you.”
Suddenly his voice penetrated the vibrating hum. “Asshole’s got a gun. Stay here.” He spoke calmly, pressing her back against the pillar. “Stay right here. I’ve got to find out who’s packing before someone gets killed.”
He took a step and she stopped him. “I can’t find Casper.”
Something caught his attention. “Stay here.” She nodded and a split second later he catapulted over the porch banister, heading toward the drive. Without thought she rushed to the railing.
That’s when she saw him. “Casper. No.”
Some bald guy with a tattoo on the back of his head was trying to take the camera from him. Casper refused to give it up and the guy hauled back, ready to swing. Ethan made it there just in time and launched himself between them, blocking Casper with his big body just as the blow landed, catching him between the shoulder blades. Colin winced, but Ethan didn’t take any notice. In a flash, he was facing his assailant, lips pulled back in a cold smile. He head-butted the guy with one snapping thrust, cleanly knocking him out.
It wasn’t over, though. Baldie had friends. A wiry young guy had just snatched Casper’s tool bag and was going to take off with it when he spotted his bud’s dilemma. He let loose a cry, dropped the bag and ran full tilt at Ethan. They went down fast and rolled a few times before Ethan had him pinned. He didn’t hesitate to use the advantage. His powerful fist crushed the guy’s nose, forcing it into a grotesque angle as blood streamed out of both flattened nostrils. Judging by the force of the blow she wouldn’t have been surprised if the fool were missing a few teeth.
Ethan got up and dusted himself off as if the two fights had been nothing more than an inconvenience. When he gave Casper a lopsided grin and Casper returned it, relief flooded her.
Anxiously she waited for them to join her on the porch. When they came within earshot, she was a little shocked to discover that Ethan was in the middle of a pep talk. “Come on, buddy. I checked the camera. It’s not damaged. You need to let it go. We all nap on occasion. It’s not your fault. No harm, no foul. You saved the most expensive piece of equipment and you’re okay. That’s all that matters.”
Those kind words made her smile and spying the relief on Casper’s haggard face, she melted.
He gave Casper one last pat on the back and said to her, “You can go out the back way. The way you came in. Do you remember?”
She nodded.
“Good. Gag clause, remember? If anyone asks you about what you saw you say nothing.”
“Understood.” She’d signed that paperwork, she knew the drill. This wasn’t her first event catastrophe. After all, she worked mainly with families so emotions usually ran high at times like these. Hadn’t her own attempted wedding ceremony turned into a nightmare? “Are you sure things won’t settle down enough to get back on track?”
“I’m positive. At this point I’m hoping the local police don’t show up after the gunfire. We were trying to keep this low-key.” He stalked to the stairs and had one foot down a step before turning back. “Go home, Ms. Reneaux. Go before trouble follows you.”
She gulped and draped a protective arm around Casper. She knew what, or more precisely, who, the trouble was he was referring to. Searching his dark eyes, memorizing the lines and chiseled perfection of his face, she nodded, grateful that one of them had some sense.
She was still following his form as he weaved through the crowd when Casper whistled, low and long and shook his head. “You don’t do mild and meek for anyone, girlie.” He grinned. “But The Hypnotist certainly got you all mesmerized.”
She blinked and gave herself a mental shake. Pulling Casper along with her into the mansion, she halted just inside the doors. “Wait, what did you say?”
“He’s the one they call The Hypnotist. The Dom with special powers around women.”
Her mouth dropped open and it took her a second to collect herself enough to snap it shut. Well, that certainly explained why the instant she’d met him she’d been hooked. Why when she was locked in the room with him all she’d wanted was his hands on her. The guy was a master of seduction. He oozed testosterone and pheromones like most guys sported post-workout cologne.
“Is something wrong, Collie?”
“No, no everything’s fine.” A huge splash and a couple of cracks sounded and she winced. “Let’s get out of here.”
She wasn’t going to think about her vow and how close The Hypnotist himself had come to seducing her into breaking it. Winding through the halls, she tried to convince herself to be happy. She should be ecstatic. She’d been saved from making a complete fool of herself with the one man who was purported to be able to make women climax with words alone.
Purported? Now that she’d met him? There was no purported about it. She was positive he could do this with very little effort. Because he had something. Something deeper than dreamy good looks. Sure, his thick, black hair, piercing green eyes and to-die-for sculpted with a capital “S” body helped, but it was the calm power. The confident and self-possessed attitude that made a mere guy a man. A real man. A desirable man. And that’s why she needed to stay the hell away from him.
“What’s Rita going to post about this? Her followers will be looking to see how the new owners made out.”
Colin ushered him to the back exit, threading through the cars in the staff parking lot until she found theirs and said, “Not to worry. She’ll think of something.”
But she feared she wouldn’t because all she could think about at the moment was how easy Ethan had made her forget her vow. How quickly her ex-fiancé’s betrayal was replaced by the feel of Ethan’s hand between her legs. How the heat of his breath in her ear calmed her. The scrape of his teeth along the column of her throat excited her.
And when she remembered the promise she made to him and would have kept had they not been interrupted, she groaned.
“Are ya sure you’re all right, Collie?”
No
. “Yes.”
Chapter Two
“I’m surprised you weren’t arrested.”
Ethan accepted the snifter of brandy from David and sat down. “Thanks to Decklan. He was the one who had the place secured before the police showed up.”
“What the hell were you doing there to begin with? I thought we’d agreed to leave the staff in charge for the ‘unofficial’ day.”
He waited for David to sit before answering, “I went to save an innocent.”
“Ah.” David took a sip of his cognac and nodded. “That I can understand. Was she in the wedding party?” Lowering his glass, he speculatively examined him. “She wasn’t the cause of the brawl was she?”
Ethan wasn’t surprised by David’s candor. His friend called it the way he saw it. Honest and abrupt was his thing. “You know that’s not my style.”
His friend and partner shrugged. “You’ve been uninspired in the Dom department for quite some time. Even before you and Jade called it quits. She was a good cover for your lack of passion, but now that she’s been out of the picture for nearly a year, I thought you’d snapped out of whatever the fuck you’re going through. Shoot me. I’m worried.”
Ethan had been wondering when the topic was going to come up again. He knew his friends were curious. Hell, he’d worried himself. Until the other night with Colin, his instinct to control and totally possess a woman had all but vanished. His time spent trying to do right by Jade that last year had nearly ruined him. “I’m good. Things are different. I’m different.” He thought about his interest in Colin Reneaux. Really different. “Jade is no longer an issue.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear that. Now, why were you there?”
“Because of you and Ted and the ridiculous bet you made.”
“Bet?”
“The woman I had to call and talk into changing where to start the venue, remember? You and Ted failed in that endeavor. That’s why you guys made the wager. Truthfully, I was curious about her.”
When David scowled Ethan thought he’d said too much so he added, “Yes, I didn’t think she’d stand a chance against you two. Although once I met her in person I changed my mind.” He put his drink down and stretched out his legs. “I could see the attraction.”
