Bane

by Brenda Jackson

She whispered his name against his neck and the heat from her breath set off a fire in the pit of his stomach. Her arms tightened around him and he refused to let this moment pass. She needed him and he wanted to be needed.

  “I’m here, baby.”

  She pulled back slowly, meeting his gaze and holding it. “It was an awful dream. They came for us, and you wouldn’t let them take me. You put yourself in front of me. To protect me. And the man raised his gun to shoot. They were going to shoot you and I felt so helpless.”

  He slid one hand to the back of her neck and used the other to push several strands of hair back from her face. He saw fear in her eyes, and more than anything he wanted to take that look away. “It was just a dream, Crystal. No one is here but us, and no one is going to shoot me.”

  “B-but I...”

  “Shh, baby. It’s okay. I’m okay. We’re okay.”

  He leaned in close to kiss the corners of her lips but she tipped her head at an angle and his mouth landed over hers. Instinctively, she parted her lips at the moment of impact and he swept his tongue inside her mouth to kiss her fully.

  They’d kissed a couple of times over the past twenty-four hours, but nothing like this. There had been a hunger, but tonight this was about taking care of an ache. He deepened the kiss to taste her more fully as desire quickened inside him. She whimpered, and the sound was so unlike the one that had awakened him earlier. This one sent sensations jolting through him, filling him with the awareness of a sexual need that he felt all over.

  And when she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck it became the kind of kiss that curled a man’s toes and made his entire body get hard. She tangled her tongue with his in a way that made every cell in his body come alive and he could only moan out loud.

  A swirl of heat combined with a heavy dose of want overtook him as he continued to ply her mouth with hungry, languorous strokes of his tongue. There was only so much of her he could take without craving more, and his desire for more was nearly eating him alive, driving him insane.

  And he didn’t want to just kiss her. He wanted to make love to her the way a husband would want to make love to his wife. He wanted to taste her all over. Feel his hands touching every inch of her. And reacquaint himself with being inside her.

  Exploring her mouth this way was making his already aroused body that much more unrestrained. It was hard to remain in his good-guy lane and stay in control. Especially when she was returning his kiss with just as much bone-melting fire as he was putting into it. Explosive chemistry was something they’d always shared. Nothing had changed. The taste of her was incredibly pleasurable as always. To his way of thinking, even more so.

  Unable to take any more, he broke off the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers while releasing pent-up breath from deep in his lungs. “Crystal.” He wasn’t sure why he needed to whisper her name at that particular moment, but he did.

  “I’m here, Bane.”

  Yes, she most certainly was, he thought, breathing hard. He briefly considered giving her another kiss before tucking her under the covers and returning to his bed, but for some reason he couldn’t do that. He wanted to continue holding her in his arms, so she would know she was safe here with him.

  Bane shifted their bodies so they were stretched out together in the bed, and as they lay there beside each other, he wrapped his arms around her. “Sleep now,” he whispered softly, trying to ignore how the angle of her backside was smacked up against his groin. He had a hard-on and there was no way she couldn’t feel it.

  She began writhing around in the bed trying to get comfortable, and each time she did so he felt his engorged erection get that much harder. Finally, after gritting his teeth a few times, he reached out and cupped a firm hold to her thigh. “I wouldn’t do that too often if I were you,” he warned.

  “Why? Because you want me?”

  With a guttural hiss, he positioned her body so that she was lying flat on her back. He loomed over her and looked down into her eyes. “What do you think?”

  She broke eye contact with him for a mere second before returning his gaze. “I think I might not be as good with that as I used to be.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “It’s been a while. Five years.”

  A smile curved his lips. “Are you saying that because you think that I might not be as good as I used to be, as well?”

  Surprise leaped into her eyes and she exhaled sharply. “No. That never crossed my mind.”

  “Good. And just for the record, the thought that you’re not as good as you used to be never crossed mine, either.”

  “Not even once?”

  He stared at her in the lamplight. Her features were beautiful, the look in her eyes intense as she waited on his answer. “Not even once,” he said, meaning every word. “But I have been wondering about something, though,” he added, breathing her scent deep into his nostrils.

  She lifted a brow. “What?”

  “Can my tongue still make you come?”

  * * *

  Bane’s words caused Crystal to squeeze her eyes shut as sensations, namely memories of him doing that very thing, assailed her. She always thought Bane’s mouth should be outlawed. And it didn’t take much to recall everything he used to do, while licking her from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet, paying close attention to those areas in between.

  Especially those areas in between.

  “Open your eyes, sweetheart.”

  She did and her gaze met his. Held it. She felt the sexual tension mounting between them, easing them into a comfortable and mutual existence where memories were surrounding them in ways they couldn’t ignore or deny. And at the exact moment his fingers shifted from her thigh to settle between her legs, she knew just what he’d found.

  A woman who was hot and ready.

  Crystal wasn’t exactly sure when the amount of time they’d been apart no longer mattered to her. The only thing that mattered was that he still wanted her after so long. That he hadn’t been with another woman just like she hadn’t been with another man. It was as if her body was his and his was hers. They had known it, accepted it and endured the loneliness. She hadn’t wanted any other man but him, and now her body was demanding to have what it had gone without for quite some time.

  “Do you know how many times I lay in bed at night and envisioned touching you this way, Crystal?” Bane whispered.

  He shifted his hand and his fingers began moving, sliding inside her, and automatically her thighs eased apart. “No, how many?” she asked, loving how the tip of his fingers stroked up and down her clit.

  “Too many. Those were the times I had to take matters into my own hands. Literally. That’s how I kept from going insane. But I like this better,” he said as he continued working his fingers inside her, causing a deep ache to spread through her. “The real thing. No holds barred.”

  No holds barred. As he stroked the juncture between her thighs, Crystal couldn’t recall the last time she had felt so electrified. For so long, she had mostly ignored her body’s demands, except for those rare occasions when she couldn’t and had resorted to self-pleasure the way he had.

  But Bane’s fingers were not toys. They were real, and what they were doing to her was as real as it could get. The sensations being generated inside her were so intense she actually felt air being ripped right out of her lungs with every breath she took. Her heart rate had picked up, and she felt as if she was being driven off the edge, falling headfirst into one powerful wave of pleasure.

  “You like this?”

  Before she could answer, he reached down, sliding his free hand beneath her shirt and settling it on the center of her stomach. She felt the heat radiating from his touch and began writhing. “Hey, it’s okay, baby. It’s just me and my touch. I want to put my imprint on you everywher
e,” he whispered.

  Did he think his imprint wasn’t already there? She was convinced his fingertips had burned into her skin years ago. And when he pushed her T-shirt up, she felt a whoosh of air touch her skin, especially her breasts. She wasn’t wearing a bra and could feel the heat of his gaze as he stared down at the twin globes.

  “Hmm, beautiful. Just as I remembered. Do you have any idea how much I used to enjoy sucking these?”

  Yes, she had an idea because he used to do so all the time. At one point she’d been convinced his mouth was made just for her nipples. And now, when he used his tongue to lick his lips just moments before lowering his head toward her breasts, she could actually feel a fire ignite inside her. She felt her nipples harden even more. And all it took was one look into his eyes to know he was about to devour her alive.

  He buried his face in her chest and took her nipple easily between his lips. Then he began sucking hard. She wasn’t sure if it was his fingers working inside her below or his mouth torturing her nipples that would do her in first. When it happened, she had a feeling it was both.

  “Bane!”

  An orgasm tore through her immediately and she couldn’t hold back the scream. But he was there, capturing her mouth with his, smothering her deep moans with his kiss. Still, he didn’t let up, his fingers continuing to work her, rebuilding a degree of passion within her that she could not contain. And when he released her mouth, he began licking her skin from the base of her chin, all over her breasts, down past her stomach all the way to where his mouth met his fingers. He pulled his fingers out of her only to lift her hips to bring the essence of her toward his mouth. The moment his tongue slid inside her she shuddered, filled to the rim with flames of erotic desire.

  She pushed on his shoulders but he wasn’t letting up. It was as if he was a hungry beast who intended to get his fill, and when another orgasm ripped through her, she cried out his name again. For a fraction of a second, she was convinced she had died and gone to heaven.

  But she was quickly snatched back to earth when she felt him lower her hips and remove his mouth from her. Then she watched through languid eyes as he stood and began stripping off his clothes before reaching down to practically tear off hers. A raw, primitive need was overtaking him. It stirred the air, and she could see it in the passion-glazed eyes staring down at her. She felt the heat in every part of her body.

  “That was just the beginning,” he whispered as he slid a condom on his engorged erection. “Just the beginning.”

  And then he was back, spreading her thighs, looming over her, and when their gazes met, she saw what she’d always seen when he’d made love to her. Love. Pure, unadulterated love. Bane still loved her and she knew at that moment that no matter what they’d gone through and what they were going through now, she still loved him, as well.

  She reached out and slid her hands up his back, feeling the deep cords of his muscles and flinching when she came to several scars that hadn’t been there before. But before she could even imagine what story those scars told, he was taking her mouth again, pulling her in and consuming her with a need that was demanding her full concentration. On them. On this. Never had she been filled with such overwhelming desire, need and passion. She wanted him. Her husband. The man who had been her first and only best friend. The man who’d always had her back and had defied anyone who’d tried keeping them apart.

  He ended the kiss to stare down at her. “You ready?”

  She looked up at him, dragging in a deep whoosh of air filled with their heated scents. “Yes, I’m ready.”

  And then, holding tight to her hips, spreading her thighs even wider, he slid inside her.

  * * *

  Bane pushed into Crystal all the way until he couldn’t go any farther, not sure where his body began and hers ended. The only thing he knew was this was home. He was home. He had been gone five years and that was five years too long. But now he was back and intended to remind her just how good they were together. Remind her why she was his and he was hers.

  His blood was boiling, and at that moment it seemed as though all of it had rushed to the head of his erection buried deep inside her. He felt compelled to move, to mate, to drown even deeper into her sweet, delicious depths. He felt her inner muscles clamp down on him, begin milking him, and he threw his head back and growled. Then he began moving, pumping into her, thrusting over and over again until her climax hit so hard that he was convinced they would have tumbled to the floor had he not been holding on to her tight.

  “Bane!”

  “Crystal!”

  Never had he wanted any woman more than he wanted her. Nothing had changed. But in a way, things had changed. They were older, wiser and in control of who they were and what they wanted. No one could dictate when and where they could love. The sky was now their limit. And as he continued to rock his hips against hers, thrusting in and out of her, working them both into yet another orgasm, he knew that this was just the beginning, just like he’d told her.

  He wanted her to feel every hard, solid inch of him; he wanted to rebrand her, reclaim her. And when another climax hit them both, this one more earth-shattering and explosive than the last, he met her gaze just moments before claiming her mouth, kissing her with a hunger he knew she felt. The ecstasy was bone-deep, mind-blowing, erotic.

  And when he released the kiss and she screamed his name once again, he knew that no matter what, Crystal Gayle Newsome Westmoreland was his destiny. He knew it with all his heart.

  Fourteen

  Crystal slowly opened her eyes and squinted against the bright morning sun coming through the open window blinds. She shifted her gaze to Bane, who was down on the floor doing push-ups. She watched and listened to him keeping count. He was up to three hundred and eighty and his entire body was glistening with sweat. She dragged in a deep breath, thinking the man had more energy than anyone she knew.

  That was just the beginning...

  He had been deadly serious when he’d issued that warning last night. He had proved that yes, he could still make her come with his tongue. Nothing had changed there. And what he was packing between those fine legs of his wasn’t so bad, either. She had barely recovered from one orgasm before he’d had her hurling into another. She didn’t recall him having the ability to do all that before. At least not in such rapid succession.

  She switched her gaze to the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was almost nine. She had slept late and didn’t have to wonder why. It had been a late night and early morning with Bane. He had the ability to make her body want him over and over again, to satisfy her each and every time.

  This morning she felt sore, but at the same time she felt so gratified and contented she had to force back a purr. She couldn’t stop smiling as she shifted in bed to stretch out her limbs, feeling the way her body was still humming with pleasure. If his goal had been to make up for all their lost time, he definitely had succeeded.

  “Good morning. It’s nice seeing you smile this morning.”

  She glanced back at Bane. His deep, husky voice sent erotic shivers down her spine. He had finished exercising and was standing across the room with a cup of coffee in his hand. His feet were braced apart, his sweats hung low on his hips and his chest was bare.

  “Good morning to you, too, Bane. You gave me a lot to smile about last night,” she said honestly.

  “Glad you think so.”

  From his smile she knew he was pleased by her admission. She saw no reason to pretend regret when there wasn’t any. And Bane of all people knew there had never been a shy bone in her body. However, seeing him two days ago after all those years had given her pause. She had to take things slow and get to know him all over again. It would be a process and, as far as she was concerned, making love was part of the process.

  “I wanted to wait for you to wake up before ordering
breakfast,” he said, placing the coffee cup aside to come sit on the edge of her bed.

  She pulled herself up, being careful to keep the bedsheet over her naked body. “You didn’t have to do that. I’m sure with everything...and especially those exercises...that you must be hungry.”

  “Starving.”

  “Then, let’s order.”

  “Okay, but this first.”

  He leaned down and pulled her into his arms. It didn’t bother her one iota that her naked body was revealed in the daylight. She recalled having a problem with Bane seeing her naked before since she’d always thought she didn’t have enough curves to show off. Now she did.

  He kissed her and she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss. She could feel every hard inch of him, all solid muscles, and immediately thought back to last night. Her pulse began hammering inside her veins. Only his kisses had the ability to do that to her. If she didn’t put a halt to things, she was liable to short-circuit. Like she had last night.

  Typically, she wasn’t a demonstrative person, not in the least. However, last night had been a different story. She could blame it on the fact that she’d gone a long time without having sex, and once she was getting some, she was like a woman starving for more and more. Bane was a man who had no problem delivering, and she had experienced one orgasm after another. Yes, she could definitely say last night had been off the charts in more ways than one.

  She broke off the kiss at the sound of her stomach growling. She chuckled. “I guess that’s my tummy’s way of letting me know it needs to be fed.”

  “Then, I’ll order breakfast,” Bane said, standing and reaching for the phone on the nightstand. “Anything in particular that you want?”

  “Pancakes if they have them. Blueberry ones preferably. Maple syrup and bacon. Crisp bacon. A scrambled egg would be nice and a glass of orange juice.”

  He looked at her and grinned. “Anything else?”

  “Umm, not at the moment. And while I’m waiting, I’ll take a shower and put on some clothes.”