by Violet Paige
I thought I had him. I thought I had led him to the cliff of ecstasy, but I was wrong. He had pushed me off the ledge when I wasn’t looking.
He was relentless, stroking my walls while his tongue circled, building the kind of cataclysmic sensation I didn’t know how to experience. And just when I thought the fullness would push me into an abyss, I felt something new. Something so erotic I bucked with shock. It was taboo. It was off-limits. But the instant Vaughn’s thumb pressed against the forbidden entrance with the promise of breaching it, it was enough to throw my orgasm into another dimension. My body was wracked with pleasure.
His fingers moved deep in me, spreading wider. His cock filled my mouth. His mouth sucked on my clit and his thumb never let up, slipping farther until every part of my body welcomed him. Begged for him. Existed with pleasure because of him.
My release came in epic shattering force, catapulting me into darkness where I could only feel. Nothing existed in those few seconds but pure rapture. And Vaughn had given it to me.
As my breathing slowed, he withdrew his body from me and pivoted on the bed to face me. He pressed a kiss on my lips, sliding his tongue against mine.
His hand slipped under my back and I felt the release of the satin ribbon. He withdrew it and held it up.
“Do you trust me, Em?”
“Yes,” I whispered. I would trust him with my life, but tonight he wasn’t asking for that. He was promising a closeness I had never desired. Pure and total surrender.
“Don’t move.”
He stepped onto the floor and walked to the end of the bed. He lifted me until I was close to the end post of the bed. He reached for my wrists and I watched in silence as he made two loops around them with the ribbon and then secured them to the post with a knot.
“Are you ok with this?” he asked.
I was already dripping wet. My body ached for him. I had been launched into a sphere of my sexuality I didn’t know existed. I wanted to try more. To do more. To do all of it with Vaughn. I nodded slowly.
He lovingly brushed my hair off my shoulder and kissed the bare skin as he climbed behind me.
His hands traced my back, stopping to squeeze and massage my breasts. He coasted over my waist and along my hips, before lifting my ass in the air.
He pressed a kiss onto my back. I held the post. My eyes closed as he spread my legs.
He nudged himself between my legs and with a powerful thrust, he surged inside my body. I screamed out with pleasure, rocking into him.
He moved in and out of me with slow strokes. Each one slower than the last. I begged for more.
“Vaughn, please,” I pleaded. The pressure was intense. His cock thick inside me.
“I don’t want it to end.” His words almost sounded haunted.
He hilted himself inside me and I hissed, pulling against the tie on the bed. I was at his mercy. Like I had been only minutes before. That had been about filling me with everything he had. This was about timing. Accepting the pleasure. Lingering in it. Discovering the slowness. The rawness of his hot flesh sliding into mine.
“I don’t either,” I moaned. “I don’t.”
My body arched and quivered. Every time he pushed inside me I felt something new and different. As if we were being tied together. Sewn into each other’s skin.
The fire crackled across the room. Vaughn circled his arms around me, landing on the ribbon he tied. He pulled on the end, loosening the knot until it fell from my wrists.
He pulled his cock from me and I whimpered from the emptiness.
But just as quickly he lifted me from the bed and laid me on the floor in front of the fire.
My body burned for him. I thought I would burst into flames from the inside out, but he pushed my knees aside as he began to sink his cock inside me.
His mouth landed on mine and he pushed inside. I groaned. I clawed and grasped at him. Our bodies crawled over each other. We rode each other. We kissed and fucked. Our bodies were slick with sweat. He pushed inside me, sending me to dark and carnal places. He flipped me on my stomach, taking me from behind. Before he neared his orgasm, he rolled on his back, tugging me to straddle him backward. I knew he was watching my every thrust as I slid over his shaft up and down. His hands splayed across my ass, inching closer to the forbidden zone. I didn’t know if I wanted it again or not, only that I loved fucking him like this. I was in control of the speed and the angles. We moved in rhythm. We lost our breath. We lost our minds.
My hands caressed my breasts, massaging over my nipples.
“You drive me fucking insane when you do that, Em.”
“Good,” I teased.
I rubbed my palms over my hips before traveling back to my tits.
“Fuck it,” he growled.
He reared up, sending me forward.
“Oh God,” I squealed. His cock popped from my entrance before he spread my knees wide. I was mesmerized by the flames in front of me.
The blue and dancing light jumping between the logs. Searing and blistering as the fire licked and billowed in the grate. Just then the head of Vaughn’s shaft slid inside me as I struggled to find something to grasp. He was at a new level of animalistic intensity. It felt so incredible I hummed as my breathing turned to ragged pants.
“Oh fuck me, Vaughn. Fuck me,” I begged.
He sent a powerful stroke between my legs and I trembled with dizziness.
“Like that?” he groaned.
“Yes. Again. Please.”
“I can’t fucking stop.”
I stayed on my hands and knees as Vaughn fucked me one last time. I couldn’t last any longer. I was exhausted. I shook with weariness as he pinched and squeezed my nipple as it draped the pile of blankets and pillows we had brought with us to the floor.
“You fucking belong to me, Em,” he growled.
I bucked under him. Another orgasm was about to claim me.
“Only if you belong to me,” I whispered back to him.
“Shit,” he groaned. He pumped inside me, spilling his release in my walls. His body molded to mine.
We collapsed in a heap on the floor. The fire was down to a pile of orange coals.
“Fuck,” he whispered.
I rolled on my back. I wasn’t cold. Far from it. I was exhausted and sated at the same time. Vaughn stood to throw another log on the fire.
I watched his body in amazement. Every line of him was perfect. Every muscle. Every limb.
He took a few steps to the tray of food and brought it to the floor.
“I forgot we had food in here.” I sat up to take few bites.
“We have it all weekend.” He winked. “I didn’t really plan on leaving. I ordered the necessities: food, wine, and wood.”
I smiled. “Then why come all the way out here?” I asked. “We could have done this at my place.”
“I don’t remember you having a four-poster bed.”
I looked at the bed over his shoulder. “True. I don’t.” I took a bite of cheese and cracker and greedily gulped the wine he offered. “Do you think there’s more use for it?”
Vaughn picked up a strawberry. “At least a hundred more.” He said it with such seriousness I almost laughed.
Chapter Thirteen
Vaughn wasn’t completely serious about not leaving the room. The next morning, we had breakfast in bed. Room service delivered a full cart of pastries, fruit, and coffee. After we ate we took a shower, allowing the steam to billow around us.
“What do you want to do today?” Vaughn asked.
“What are my choices?” I dabbed shampoo in the center of my palm and ran it through my hair.
“Drive through the country side.” He counted off the options on his fingers. “Search for Civil War battlefields.”
“Really?” I eyed him.
“I did download a new crossword app.” The corners of his mouth twitched.
I rinsed my hair before pressing into the hard planes of his chest.
He laughed. “Or
we could take in the winery. It’s right outside.”
I grinned. “And turn down grassy fields of ancient battles?” I scrunched my nose.
“If you insist on wine.” He gripped my bottom, sliding me against him. “Such a smartass.”
I bit my lip, peering into his eyes. The water dripped from his lashes. He hadn’t shaved, and the stubble on his cheeks was irresistibly handsome on him. I sighed as his lips moved against mine with tender passion.
After the shower I pulled on a pair of jeans and a button-up blue plaid shirt.
The crisp air hit my nostrils when we ventured outside. We walked through the rows of grapes.
“Try this one.” Vaughn plucked a reddish grape from the vine.
“I don’t think you’re supposed to do that.” I looked around to see if anyone had noticed.
“Open your mouth.” He grinned.
“You are so very bad,” I whispered.
“You like bad.”
He touched the grape to my lips. My lips parted as he fed me. I bit into the fruit as his mouth crashed into mine.
He wrapped his arms around me, lifting me from the ground. I hooked my boots against his waist. There was fever in the kiss. Hunger. Want. Thirst for more of last night.
The world had tilted off its axis. Vaughn’s hands snaked up the back of my shirt. I struggled to find air in between kisses.
There was a restlessness between us. I didn’t know if the vineyard could hold us. If the inn could. If there was a place that could contain what we had set on fire.
My feet finally touched the soil again and I tried to find my balance. I looked in his eyes.
“The wine tasting?” I nodded in the direction of one of the tasting barns. I’d read in one of the brochures in the lobby that there were three here.
“Right.” He started in that direction. “Wine tasting.”
I settled into a stride next to him.
“Have you done this before?” I asked.
“No. First tasting.”
“I’ve done some, but not at a winery. It’s beautiful here.”
“It’s good to get away from D.C.”
“How is work going?” I always felt like I pried when I asked about his job, but there was a new connection between us.
His eyes were set on the red barn in front of us. “You know my work isn’t very interesting.”
“I don’t know that. You don’t talk about it much. You must like something about it.”
“It’s numbers. Investors. Lots of travel. There isn’t much to discuss. Very dry business.”
“Do you know of any trips coming up?”
“I don’t usually know until I have to fly out. It’s one of the drawbacks.”
“Do you think you’ll stay in the field? In investments?” I wanted to know what challenges he liked. What inspired him. Was it numbers, or was it the job he used to have? The one he never revealed.
“Let’s not talk about work. We’re on vacation, aren’t we?”
“But I—”
He slid the sunglasses from his eyes. His damn gorgeous eyes got me every time. I decided not to press him anymore.
“Do you want to go get day drunk with me or not?”
I smiled. “I do. Very much so.”
“Then let’s go.” He led me into the barn.
I didn’t expect to see so many people inside. The inn was almost empty, but the wine tasting was packed. I looked up at two crystal chandeliers suspended from sturdy beams running overhead.
Vaughn and I started at one end of the barn and listened while the sommelier explained the pairings.
We moved on to the second station when I felt my phone buzz.
“Hold on just a second.” I winced. “I’m sorry it’s work.” I stepped outside, aggravated Meg had called.
“Hi,” I answered.
“I’m so sorry to call you on your weekend away, but I thought you needed to know about this.”
“What is it?” I rushed her. I wanted to get back inside.
“Lana Foley hasn’t returned any of my calls.”
“She hasn’t confirmed the Monday deposition?”
“No,” Meg answered. “I’ve left messages on her cell. I emailed her personal accounts and I haven’t heard back for the past three days.”
I exhaled. “Maybe she isn’t somewhere where she can respond.” She was supposed to tell her husband about the baby and the senator before the deposition.
If she hadn’t talked to him yet it made sense she wouldn’t answer Meg’s calls.
“For three days? I think you need to try and see if you can reach her. Maybe she’ll answer if it’s you instead of me.”
“It shouldn’t make a difference. This is her case. If she wants to sue him, she has to show up.” I lectured as if Meg was responsible.
“But what if it’s something else?”
I could see Vaughn through the sliding farm doors of the barn. He was listening intently to the lesson on the next wine. He stood out in the small gathering. I would have noticed him in any crowded room. The way he held his frame. His strong arms. His eyes.
“It’s Saturday, Meg. Saturday.” It almost came out as a whine.
“Have I ever called you on Saturday before?” she prodded.
“No.”
“I’ll text you her number. Can you at least call? Please?”
I shook my head. Lana Foley’s case was chipping away at my time with Vaughn.
“All right. Send it over and I’ll try to call her.”
“Thank you, Emily. I just hope she’s ok.”
“Why wouldn’t she be ok?” I stopped before I let myself finish the thought. “I’ll call you right back.”
I hung up and waited for the text.
Vaughn strolled out of the barn, carrying a tiny cup. “You missed the pear apricot one.” He dropped the sexy smile. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“It’s a client. She’s not responding to us and we have a huge deposition with her Monday. I need to try to make a few calls. I’m sorry.” I looked at him with regret. I knew I was letting the outside world into our bubble.
“I’ll walk you back to the room. You can make all the calls you need to.”
“Are you sure?” I hated it. I hated work. Right now I had some not-so-nice things to say about Lana Foley.
“Of course. I’ll do some work too. I brought my laptop in case.” He tossed the cup into a bin.
“We shouldn’t be working. I’m sorry. Really sorry.”
“No apologies. Come on. I’ll get you back to the room. Hop on.”
I looked at Vaughn as he stooped to lower his back.
“Piggy back ride?”
“Hop on.”
I giggled as I jumped from the ground.
“Hang on.”
I secured my arms around his shoulders as he started to jog toward the inn. That was the moment I realized that beneath the confidence and the polished sexy exterior. Behind his smoldering bedroom eyes, Vaughn was fun.
***
I left messages for Lana at both numbers Meg texted to me. I also sent a follow up email. It didn’t make sense that she hadn’t responded to either of us.
“Do you want to tell me what’s going?” Vaughn asked. He sat on the bed with his laptop, watching me pace.
I fell onto the bed. “In the vaguest of terms I can tell you my client is trying to sue a high profile member of Congress and I still can’t find her.”
I stared at the ceiling. It sounded much worse when I said it out loud.
“Do you want to head back to the city?” he suggested.
“What?” I sat forward.
“I understand if you want to check on her. You might feel better if you’re back in D.C. It’s an important case. I assume an important client.”
“And just leave the winery?”
He closed the screen. “Are you going to be able to think about anything else while we’re here and you haven’t heard from her?” he asked.
I lowered my eyes, knowing the truth. I wanted to be the girl so wrapped up in her love life that nothing else mattered, but I cared too much about what happened with Lana Foley. I had invested countless hours in her case. Preparing for the deposition alone was the most time I had dedicated to impending litigation.
“No. I’m worried about her. The case. Meg is concerned,” I admitted. “I’m trying not to let myself think anything bad has happened. There has to be a logical explanation for it.”
I didn’t want to believe it was possible something went wrong when Lana told her husband about the affair and the baby. It made me sick to think about it. I also tried to push the nagging thought away that Senator Mitcherson had something to do with her silence. What if he found out she was preparing a case against him? What if he had interfered?
“All right. Then we’re headed back,” he announced.
He jumped from the bed and threw a shirt in his bag.
“But—” I felt the defeat in me change to elated surprise. He was sincere. Vaughn started canvassing the room, gathering our things. “You’re ok with this?” I questioned.
“Work happens. We have other weekends. You can’t take a chance like this.”
I stood from the bed and folded my sweater in half. “Thank you.”
He stopped packing and looked at me. “I’ll get you home.”
We shoved the rest of our things in our bags. I did a final sweep to make sure I didn’t leave anything in the shower before Vaughn collected the key to check out.
I looked up at the inn from the front seat. I could see our window. Something had happened between us here. Something magical and unbelievable. Something that had seeped into my soul, binding me to Vaughn in an unimaginable way.
“Ready to go?” He climbed behind the wheel.
“Not really, but I have to find my client. What if something bad has happened?”
“I can help you if you want.”
He pulled away from the vineyard and we turned onto the highway after meandering through country roads.
“Help me find her? You’re serious?” I looked at him.
