by J. L. Beck
Then she best be ready to get burnt.
Chapter Seventeen
Isabella
My eyes popped open as a hand rubbed against my shoulder. I wanted to moan but pushed the desire away. Darkness shadowed the room, and as my eyes adjusted to the light, I realized Jared was standing before me. He was naked, his boxers gone, his cock pointing straight at me.
“You have been pushing your luck, Isabella. Pushing me mentally, emotionally, and now physically.” He spoke the words with force as if he were on edge. I wanted to smile, simply because I knew this would be the last straw for him. He would break at the will of my touch.
His finger skimmed over my skin, and I heaved a breath in as I lay there exposing myself to his wickedness.
Jared stared at me for a few long moments, his eyes gliding up and down my body numerous times. I felt like he was taking a mental picture of me with every swipe of his eyes.
“You’re much more beautiful than I had ever thought you would be.” His voice was deep, sending a tremble through my entire body.
“I want you. I don’t want to fight this anymore.” My words were final. I knew I would never take them back because I saw something inside of him I felt every day inside of myself. I might not love Jared right now, but I cared deeply for him and given the opportunity, I could love him one day. Possibly, if we both allowed ourselves to give and accept that love.
His eyes darkened, his fists clenching and unclenching. He was fighting it, fighting me.
Sitting up, I pushed myself off the mattress and crawled to the edge of the bed on my hands and knees. His cock was jutting forward, stiff and ready for me causing my core to pulsate with dark desires.
“So what’s your move?” he asked, his cockiness dripping off him in waves. I had never willingly bared myself before, yet my confidence was through the roof.
“Bringing you to your knees.” I smiled gripping his thickness in my hand. My tongue flicked out wetting my lips. The hardness of it frightened me but did nothing to inhibit me from moving forward. To have him inside of me thrusting, it fueled my need, turning it into an unbridled passion.
“No…” He growled but made no move to pull away. I waited a moment and then another before leaning in closer and licking the tip. It was smooth like velvet, soft against my tongue. Maintaining my grip, I sucked him in and out of my mouth slowly, only taking what I could handle. After all, I was no pro at this.
“Fuck…” The raspiness of his voice vibrated through me as I smiled against his cock. Before I could take him back in, it was as if something in him snapped. In a blink of an eye, I was pinned to the mattress on my stomach while my hips were being gripped and pulled to the edge of the bed.
“I have thought about eating the fuck out of this pussy since the first day I met you. I wondered if it would glisten just for me…” he trailed off as his finger glided up my inner thigh, stopping at my entrance briefly before entering me slowly. I could feel his warm breath against my bare flesh and then he was burying his face into my center as he sucked my clit into his mouth.
“Ahhh…” The moan slipped past my lips with ease, my body filling with emotions I had never felt before. Every touch of his lips and flick of his tongue against me, each suck and push of his finger heated me from the inside out with a tingling sensation that was building deep within me.
“Come. Come for me.” His voice was animalistic giving me the last push I needed to fall off that cliff. A shiver ran through my body as an array of lights formed behind my lids. I felt as if I could feel everything at a heightened rate, my body still exploding as Jared’s lips slid against the skin on my back.
“I’ve tried fighting it. Tried pushing you away but I can’t anymore. I can’t keep fighting against whatever this is that is taking place between us. Every time I say no, the universe finds a way to push us back together...” I understood his emotions and it was at that moment I realized I didn’t want to save him. It had never really been about saving. It was about making him whole again, about picking up those lingering pieces of heart and putting them back together, about opening up those old wounds and burying myself deep within them.
I was being carried away by my own emotions, feelings swarming at every angle.
“I want you,” I whispered, pushing back against him. I didn’t care that it was my first time. All my inhibitions were running wild. All I cared about was I was here at this moment with Jared and it would be him bringing me pleasure with each slam of his hips on my own.
“Good,” he stated, his voice coming out wicked. “I didn’t ever want you to see this side of me.” He flipped me over so I was on my back in the center of the mattress. Then he leaned over me, the muscles of his body taut and tight as they strained against his flesh.
“I want to see all the different sides of you, the dark, the light, the sides you never want to show people. I want, too,” I confessed, not realizing I had done so out loud until he spoke again.
“We’ll see if you still feel that way and want to stay after I’m done with you.” There was a warning to his words as if he expected me to walk away after all of this was said and done. I smiled letting him know his scare tactic hadn’t worked. I still wanted him, if not more now than before.
I watched intently as he reached over to the nightstand that sat by the side of the bed. I could hear him rummaging around but stayed still, the anticipation of the unknown causing worries to run rampant through my mind.
“Lift your hands and place them on the bed railing.” I did as I was told, his tone causing me to shiver. Jared was unable to control what we felt for one another. He commanding me right now was his way of regaining that control back. A red rope appeared in his hands and my stomach fell. Was he going to tie me up?
“Don’t look at me like I’m going to hurt you. I would never hurt you,” he whispered into my ear wrapping the silk around my wrists and securing me against the bars. Every rub of the fabric against my skin heightened my senses as the softness of it mixed with the hardness of Jared rubbed across my chest and belly.
“Please...” I begged and pleaded, my eyes bleeding into his. His fingers trailed down my chest and between my breasts, his fingers grazing my nipples as he passed them. He was taking his sweet time with me, savoring every touch as if it would be his last.
“Doing this…” His hands gripped my thighs as he centered himself at my entrance, “changes nothing between us.” I could feel him pressing against me and my insides quivered in every way possible. I didn’t care about the words he was saying because I knew they weren’t true. He was trying to protect himself, and I would let him think as he did for a short time.
“Do you understand?” His words were tense, and I shook my head yes, all while knowing this changed everything. Sex changed everything for me.
With his hands on my hips and his eyes locked on mine, he entered me as slow as humanly possible. I watched his body quiver with restraint as he tried to control himself.
Pain filled my belly, causing my hands to lock up and my body to tremble uncontrollably. Without thought, I squeezed my legs together as if I could make the pain go away while clamping my mouth to close in hopes no sounds would leave my lips.
“You didn’t tell me…” He growled, pulling out and pushing back into me as tenderly as possible. The push caused more pain to radiate throughout my limbs, causing the softest whimper to fill the air. Unable to handle the sting of him pushing past my barrier and the emotions surging through me, I turned my face away from him. Shame was riddling me, pushing the happiness away. His hand reached up, cupping my cheek so I had no other choice but to look at him.
“You should’ve told me.” He pulled out and re-entered me slowly, causing a whimper to escape my lips. His mouth descended downwards, swallowing my moans as his own. In that kiss, there was so much passion, so many secrets, so much love, yet so much hurt. In that kiss, I had every answer I ever needed. Jared might have been struggling with processing his feelings for me, bu
t all I needed was this. When he kissed me, it wasn’t he kissing my lips, but him leaving an indent upon my soul.
With soft and subtle strokes, the pain subsided and in its place pleasure bloomed. His hands painted a picture against my skin that only we could understand. His lips devoured me, speaking to me without a single word. His body spoke the things he could never say.
My panting breaths mixed with his groans filled the air, causing my libido to go through the roof. Every slick inch of him could be felt in my womb. Our bodies mingled together, the slaps of our skin hitting one another were a song of pure pleasure.
He mended the broken pieces of me while I held us together like glue.
“Angel….” he said, placing a feather light kiss against my forehead. I could feel him pulsing inside of me and then a drop of wetness fell from his eye landing against my skin. In that one drop was his will to hold onto the past—he was letting it go.
As he came, he filled me with happiness, love—but most of all self-worth. I may have been promised to another man, bought and traded against my will, but I would never regret meeting Jared.
“Thank you,” I said aloud, wanting him to know him taking this part of me made me eternally grateful. He had no idea the power he held over me.
“No. It’s I who is grateful. You pushed me to my limit. Forced me to feel again and for that I am forever grateful.” I smiled just as he pulled out of me and rolled over to lie down beside me. He tucked me into his chest with his palm placed against my skin. The warmth of his flesh against mine calmed my roaring emotions.
His arms trembled around me as he held us together, binding us as one being. Jared was the one thing I had always wanted. He was that thing on the other side of my fear. He gave me that chance to open up, to be loved and cared for, and I in turn, took his hate and wove it into a love story so deep and true.
He had imprinted himself upon my heart.
Chapter Eighteen
Memories from just hours ago filtered into my mind, the force of them wrapping me in a blanket of warmth. Her moans and pants for more and the sweet nothings that fell from her plump lips reminded me of how much I didn’t deserve her, but how much I craved her. Being with her was like heaven and even if I knew I would be sinning a thousand times over by being with someone as great as she was, I would still do it.
She had a way of making my chest swell with feelings I had never felt in my entire life. She was attempting to heal old wounds, ones that had formed and scabbed over, again and again until a scar formed. She wanted to be my saving grace, and looking at her right now, I knew I would let her. She would be the person to piece me back together.
I glanced down at her sleeping form, her hair a wild disoriented mess of darkness, similar to my soul. I pushed some strands away from her face, tracing the contours of it with my finger, my nose gliding against the side of her cheek. Taking a deep whiff, I could smell my scent covering her body. I had claimed her. I had made her mine.
Pulling away, I continued to stare, but without touching her. She was an enigma, a woman who had been taken against her will and forced into a life she neither wanted nor understood. She was fearless, diving into the bastard I claimed myself to be. Ready to take on the world, if only to see a smile shine from my face.
She deserved more, better.
The thought entered my mind before I could push it away. I knew the honesty of the thought even if I refused to admit it out loud. My heart wanted her, to keep her as my own. My mind told me I was far too flawed, broken, and undeserving of someone as her. There were jagged pieces from my past that had the potential of cutting anyone who got too close.
She stirred awake, her eyes blinking open. The sun had just started to rise, and I wanted to give her a chance to rest, as there would be no controlling myself around her now. One taste of her would never be enough to extinguish the cravings she caused within me.
“Good morning,” she moaned, stretching in such a way that had my eyes gliding over every single piece of uncovered flesh.
“Morning.” I smiled, placing a kiss against her lips.
The air between us was a draft as if something was in the way. Her nose scrunched up, and lines of frustration started to form on her face.
“What’s a matter?” Concerned she may have actually realized just exactly what kind of douchebag I was.
Isabella hesitated for a moment, her mouth opening, and then slamming closed. She chewed on her lip nervously before speaking. “It’s just that last night you said this doesn’t change anything.” She seemed to be watching me, waiting for me to say something to her.
“I lied to you when I said it wouldn’t because it does. It changes everything. You might be able to walk away, you might be able to wash away my memory, but in my mind, you will always be the most perfect person I have ever had.”
The frown that marred her lips made me feel like the world’s biggest jackass for saying such a thing last night. I knew the moment my cock pressed into her everything had changed. I was just trying to convince myself it hadn’t. As I said, my mind knew the truth, but my heart still wanted her, and so I took without disregard.
“Isabella…” I let her name roll off my tongue. This time when I said it, I saw her and not the memory of my mother.
“The moment you walked through the front door was the moment everything in my life changed. It wasn’t just about unraveling you and becoming one with you. I was on my knees, and melting in your hands the moment my eyes landed on you.” My words lingered in the air between us, and before I could allow her to say anything, I needed to finish.
“I was half a man then, incapable of loving, or so I thought. You changed me, you molded the broken pieces together, you healed the scars that covered my heart, and you held me together when I felt as if I was falling helplessly into the deep end.” My words were spoken straight from the heart. The feelings that accompanied them had never been more real. Call me a sap ass, but I was falling in love, and I didn’t even care that there was a chance I could be hurt again. There came a time when you had to let the past stop defining your future.
“I…” She seemed flabbergasted as if she wasn’t even sure what she wanted to say. “I know that sex can change things between people...” She trailed off, but I lost track of her words. My eyes focused in on her, my heart beating out of my chest as I reached out to her. She was worried for legit reasons, but she wasn’t aware of the power she held.
“You rescued me from myself. In a way, you became my anchor. So though I might have fought against your desires to be anything more than what we were in the past, I always knew it was you my heart wanted.” I gripped her face, bringing it closer to my own. The closeness of her body was causing my cock to grow stiff again. Would I ever get enough of her? She was intoxicating, overwhelming me with every turn.
“Jared…” She said my name in a throaty moan. I was just about to flip her over and have my way with her when my phone blared from the nightstand, the ringtone one I used strictly for work.
“Fuck. Hold on a sec.” I placed a kiss on her cheek and untangled myself from her body, missing the heat of her skin immediately. Picking up the phone, I hit the answer key and waited for my boss to speak.
“Jared.”
“Xavier.” I greeted him in the same tone he did me.
“We have a job for you. I need you to pick up a man in Shillington and bring him here to French Island.” I wanted to sigh into the phone. Of course, work would rain on my fucking parade. And just when I found the one woman who I would gladly stay in bed with all day.
“Time and price,” I asked as I got up out of bed, shucking on a pair of pants as I went. I could hear Izzy’s protests, so I shot her a wink over my shoulder. I hated I had to work, but I knew this was important. If Xavier was contacting me by phone, it meant someone had asked specifically for me as a driver.
“Thirty minutes from now. Two grand. Didn’t say what he needed just asked for you.” Xavier’s voice was firm, as it alw
ays was.
“All right, text me the details. I’ll let you know when I have him picked up.” I hung up the phone throwing it onto the bed. Izzy’s eyes were drilling holes into me as I moved around the room attempting to find a shirt. I could hear her moan, and when I looked over, I caught sight of her touching herself. She was spread eagle on the bed, her knees drawn up at an angle that showed me her soaking pussy.
“I wish it was you doing this…” she trailed off, inserting one finger and then another into her pussy. The room grew hotter with every stroke she made. Without hesitation, my pants hit the floor and I fisted my cock in my hand.
“Fuck that sweet pussy…” I urged, kneeling on the edge of the bed as her eyes drifted closed and her pace upped. The grip I had on my cock tightened as I stroked it forcefully.
“Ahhhh…” I could tell she was almost at her peak, so I went faster.
“Imagine my cock deep inside of you, drilling into you at a relentless pace, making every inch of you mine from the inside out…” My voice was now a growl as my own release lingered right on the surface.
“Fuck…” I heard her sweet little mouth say as her motions became jerky and her knees began to collapse. We kept our eyes trained on one another as I jerked my release onto her body. I smiled down at her as she gave me a sleepy grin. I have never been so fucking turned on in my life.
I cleared my throat. “Get you and that beautiful ass out of this bed and jump in the shower with me. You’re coming with me to work.” She smiled and moved from the bed slowly as if she didn’t want to move at all. We showered quietly washing each other—bodies and hair. Then I got dressed and made us coffee placing it in to-go cups. We hadn’t really spoken while showering or getting dressed, and honestly, that was fine with me. My body had said everything it needed to say.
As we made our way out into the garage and then into the Tahoe, she asked, “Who are you picking up?”
