by Leah Brooke
Julianna stiffened as his fingers started stroking her clit, inadvertently clamping down on his cock and making her anus burn.
The flash of fire hit her so hard and fast she froze, unable to move at all as she came so hard she saw stars. She couldn’t draw a breath deep enough to cry out.
The cock inside her felt even larger as she tightened on it, stretching her so intimately and making her feel even more defenseless and vulnerable. She couldn’t escape it any more than she could escape the insistent strokes on her throbbing clit, his firm hold keeping her still and forcing her to accept all he had to give her.
She wept helplessly as it went on and on, each wave of pleasure washing a little more of the ugliness and insecurity away. It left her vulnerable in ways she’d never before experienced, making her give him even more than she even knew she had to give.
He reached in and took part of her soul.
Steve lifted her, keeping her on her knees in front of him as he buried himself deep in her ass at the same time he buried his face in her hair.
“Fuck, babe. Mine, damn you.” He growled harshly, holding her pulled firmly back against him, and shot his seed deep inside her ass. “Mine.”
With a shudder, he sat on his heels, pulling her down to sit over his thighs. His cock pulsed inside her, drawing a moan from her as her head fell back against his shoulder.
His arms wrapped around her tight, the muscles beneath her thighs rock hard. “Your ass is still milking me. If I ever felt anything better in my life, I don’t remember it. I’ve never wanted a woman more.”
He cupped her breasts and stared down at her. Frowning, he reached down to wipe away a tear.
“You okay, babe? Did I hurt you?”
Shaken, Julianna looked up over her shoulder and smiled tremulously to ease his fears, while inside she struggled to shore up defenses that had been eradicated by the intensity of his lovemaking.
He’d made her feel beautiful. He’d made her feel like the most desired woman in the world, and the level of trust it took to allow him to do what he’d just done to her staggered her.
She melted into him now, loving the feel of his hard arms around her, loving the trembling of his thighs beneath hers.
His beloved face hovered over hers, his beautiful blue eyes full of tenderness and concern. “Baby, did I hurt you?”
Reaching back, she touched his cheek, gasping as the action moved his cock inside her ass. “No, of course not.” She didn’t tell him that giving herself that way had been one of the most amazing experiences of her life. She didn’t tell him that his own need to possess her completely meant that he’d taken more than just her ass.
He’d ripped away defenses that she wasn’t sure could ever be built back up again.
Minutes later, she stood stiffly under the spray of the shower as he washed her back, blinking back tears she hoped he wouldn’t notice. She had to get away from him, from both of them.
She couldn’t fool herself any longer. She’d done it. She’d fallen in love.
And knew that no amount of pleasure now would be worth the heartbreak she would face when this was over.
Chapter Fifteen
Steve couldn’t sleep.
Lying next to Julianna and listening to her breathing, he knew that at any moment, Nick would come through the door and take her away.
He wanted to spend the night with her in his arms, but Nick was even now racing to get to her.
In sleep, she snuggled against him, seeking him out in ways she never did while awake, and he didn’t want to fall asleep and miss a single minute of the time they had left. Her naked body was warm and lush against his, the scent of whatever she’d used in the shower teasing him, the combination making it nearly impossible not to wake her with his mouth on her pussy and take her again.
Although exhausted after their wild bout of sex and then shower sex, where she’d tried to put distance between them and he’d taken her again to overcome it, he still couldn’t get his cock to understand that playtime was over.
She’d been asleep for a little over an hour now and still his cock wanted more.
He wanted more, even if it was just whispers in the darkness.
The look on her face when she left the table earlier rose in his mind again. Cursing softly, he tightened his arm around her, forcing himself to relax his hold when she groaned softly in her sleep.
He’d hated to let her go, but he’d wanted to find out as much as he could about her from her sister. Each word out of Erica’s mouth made him love Julianna a little more.
Love?
Fuck. Hours earlier he’d still had doubts about her, had actually considered that she might be working with Paul Munson.
Hearing her sister talk for an hour, telling him what a disappointment Julianna had always been to her family, Steve forced himself to smile encouragingly and listened, each word making the knot of anger in his stomach get tighter and tighter.
He understood now why she was so secure in her professional life, but insecure in her personal one.
And he wanted her even more.
He’d stayed away from her as long as he could when he’d come upstairs, primarily because he’d wanted to wash away the stench of her sister, but also because he’d needed the time to cool down.
When he’d come upstairs, he learned that Mike had talked to Julianna in his absence and warned her that he and the others suspected her of being in on this with Munson. Only when he’d heard Mike spurt such ugliness, he’d realized he didn’t believe it. His heated argument with Mike about Julianna’s innocence angered him more, and they’d damned near come to blows over it.
As fragile as Julianna appeared when she’d left the table, she didn’t need to deal with him in such a mood, and so he’d waited until it subsided before seeking her out.
But the hunger for her hadn’t waned a bit.
In fact, it continued to grow as he listened to her talk with suppliers. He’d actually smiled a few times when she’d chewed into one of them, ripping the poor man a new asshole.
The passion in her voice made him even hungrier for her, the passion she let loose with her decorating but kept under wraps the rest of the time. He’d seen glimpses of it during sex, but something inside him sensed that she still held back.
He found he wanted it all. He wouldn’t be satisfied now until she belonged to him.
By the time she finally came out to the balcony, he’d wanted her with a fierceness that made it nearly impossible to be gentle with her.
The need to devour her raged inside him, making him frantic to have her, desperate to give her a night she’d never forget. He wanted to make her as wild for him as he was for her, make her want him with a fierceness that wouldn’t be denied.
He’d done it. He’d made her want him despite her attempts not to, and it fulfilled something inside him he’d never been aware of before.
She hadn’t been able to resist him, something that both staggered him and filled him with a sense of responsibility, of possessiveness that he’d never felt for another woman.
Fear for her after the attempt on her life, hurt that she’d walked out on him at the restaurant and believing he wanted her sister, anger at Mike and Erica for hurting her, and raw jealousy at her upcoming trip with Nick to the island all combined to create a white-hot need for her that he’d never experienced with any other woman.
Only being deep inside her, hearing her cries of pleasure and feeling her ripple all around him managed to soothe the savage beast inside him.
His need for her scared the hell out of him.
Hearing the soft rumble of voices in the next room, he sighed and threw back the covers, easing away from her and standing. He smiled faintly when Julianna whimpered her displeasure at the movement and wrapped her arms around his pillow before settling again.
Getting his cock to cooperate so he could zip his jeans proved difficult, but he finally managed it, inwardly cursing. He wanted to talk to Nick before he came
in to abduct her.
He needed to tell her what he’d learned from Erica and give him an update on their search for Paul Munson.
With one last look at Julianna, he fought the urge to crawl back under the covers with her and went out to share what he’d learned with Nick. Nick needed to know more about Julianna’s insecurities before he went to the island with her, things he hadn’t had time to tell him on the phone.
Grabbing his shirt, he paused with his hand on the doorknob to look back at Julianna and wondered if Nick, too, felt the bond between them grow in their shared responsibility for Julianna.
Or, if Nick had yet discovered that there would be no walking away from Julianna when this job was over.
* * * *
Julianna woke and stretched, smiling at the feel of the soft bedding against her nakedness. Delightfully sore from her passionate night with Steve, she opened her eyes, expecting to find him sleeping next to her.
“Good morning, little one.”
With a gasp, she sat up to find Nick, dressed casually in denim shorts, standing in the doorway and sipping from a cup.
“What are you doing here?”
She looked around, startled to find herself in a strange place, and still naked. Pulling the sheet up, she blinked, trying to wake up. “Where are we? Where’s Steve? How did I get here?”
Nick’s brows went up, his lips curving. “So many questions so early in the morning.”
He came forward and sat beside her on the bed, placing his cup on the nightstand next to her. “We’re on our island. It’s called Rapture, because that’s what we’re hoping our guests will find here. Steve is probably in Miami right now tracking down a lead he got regarding Paul Munson.”
Leaning in, he ran a finger over her shoulder and down her arm. “And as for how you got here, I kidnapped you.”
Finding it hard to look away from his bare chest, Julianna swallowed heavily at the pinpricks of delight racing up and down her arm wherever he touched. Her nipples pebbled beneath the satin sheet she held to her breasts, and she had to fight the urge to let the sheet fall and bare herself to him.
Only the knowing look in his eyes kept her from doing it.
Tugging the sheet higher, she propped the pillows against the headboard to lean back against them.
“So, what was the point of kidnapping me? I do have work to do, you know?”
Nick smiled and sat back, picking up his coffee once again. “Steve told me that you’d already arranged things for the next several days and that you’d lined everything up with the precision of a general. The hotel can survive without either one of us for a few days.”
He stood and headed toward the doorway again. “As for the point of kidnapping you—I want you to get the feel of this island before you attempt to draw up any designs for the rooms. All women who come to the island will have a style of dress they’re required to wear at all times. Of course, we already have designers who will have a storefront here and who are very grateful for the opportunity to make a killing selling their wares. They’ve made a few things for you to wear while you’re here. As soon as you’ve showered, I’ll show you. It adds a feel to the island that you should be aware of before you start any designs. This island is very unique, as you’ll soon learn.”
Julianna blinked, staring at the empty doorway, starting to get an uneasy feeling about all of this.
She couldn’t deny, however, that the entire situation intrigued her. With a smile, she threw back the covers, unable to wait to get started.
Freshly showered and unable to find a robe, Julianna wrapped herself in a bath sheet and left the bathroom in a cloud of scented steam to go back into the bedroom. She smiled, unsurprised to find Nick sitting in a chair waiting for her.
“Do you usually supply such a variety of toiletries for your kidnap victims?” She kept her smile in place, not wanting him to see her jealousy at the thought of him bringing another woman here. Curling her toes into the soft carpet, she held her towel in place with a hand over her breasts.
He smiled faintly and held out a hand. “Since you’re the first woman I’ve ever abducted, apparently so. Come here, Julianna.”
She moved automatically, the underlying steel in his tone and the intense heat in his glittering eyes impossible to resist.
He pulled her onto his lap, one hand sliding under her damp hair while the other hand curled around her hip as he inclined his head, gesturing toward the pot of tea on the table. “I know you prefer tea to coffee, so I had Lawrence make you some. What would you like for breakfast?”
Julianna’s hand went to his shoulder, loving the feel of sleek muscle. “Nothing, thank you. Just the tea. Thank you for remembering.”
Nick tugged the towel, letting it fall away. “As soon as you get dressed, we’ll take a walk so I can show you around the island.”
She didn’t even consider objecting to his arrogance or to his possessiveness as his hands moved over her nakedness. Ever since she woke up to find him staring at her with such hunger in his eyes, she’d experienced a sexual awareness, an awakening that continued even when he left the room.
She wanted to blame it on the warm, sultry breeze blowing through the window and sending the white, translucent curtains fluttering, or the decadent feel of everything that touched her skin since she arrived.
She knew, though, that it had nothing to do with any of that. It had to do with the man currently running his hands over her back and breasts as if he owned her.
“Nick?”
“Yes, little one?”
“I thought we agreed that you weren’t going to call me that anymore. I’m far from little.” She sucked in a breath when a talented finger tapped a nipple and curled against him, feeling almost delicate in his arms.
“To me, you’re little. Now what did you want to ask me?”
With his hands moving over her, his lips warm on her shoulder, it was difficult to concentrate. “How did you get me here without me knowing it? How did you dress and undress me without waking me up? Oh, that feels so good.”
Nick smiled and continued to massage her breast. “Steve must have worn you out. He told me what the two of you did and that you fell asleep right after your shower. And I didn’t dress or undress you. I wrapped you in a blanket and put you to bed on the plane, where you slept like a baby.”
Horrified, Julianna jumped up from his lap, a little surprised and disappointed that he let her. “Who came with us? Did anyone else see me naked? Who carried me?”
Nick came to his feet to tower over her. “No one saw you naked but me. I carried you. No one else even touched you, except Steve, who kissed your forehead before we left. Jay’s with us in case of an emergency. He, Mike, and Ron are staying in the guesthouse.”
Although he kept his voice low, his eyes flashed. “Anything else you need to know before we get started?”
Standing naked in front of him, Julianna felt even more defenseless. With him standing on her towel, she couldn’t even pick it up to cover herself. Settling for using her hands, she covered her breasts with one and her mound with the other and lifted her chin. “Get started with what? Where are my clothes?”
Nick smiled indulgently, but his eyes remained cool. “In the closet. You may choose whichever color you like today from the rack on the right.”
Curious now, Julianna moved to the closet door he pointed to, hoping he didn’t notice that her knees shook. Opening the door to the closet, she blinked, surprised to find the closet nearly empty except for a small array of colors on both sides.
Nick came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and sliding them upward to cup her breasts. “I think I’d like to see you in the blue. It matches your eyes. Will you get it for me?”
Melting under his hands, Julianna closed her eyes and leaned back against his shoulder. “Hmm, that feels good. I thought you said that I could pick the color.”
Her knees turned rubbery when he bent to kiss her shoulder and ran his hand down her center
to her mound. “The designer didn’t have time to make more than a dozen, but she’ll have more ready by the time we come here again. I made certain he had the blue ready because I wanted to see it on you. Are you going to deny me?”
Julianna laughed softly and arched against him, moaning at the feel of his hard cock pressing against her lower back at the same time his fingers delved between her folds and manipulated her clit.
“If you keep doing that, I’ll wear whatever color you want.”
Nick nibbled her ear. “That’s entirely the point of this island, little one, and exactly the lesson I want you to learn before we leave here.”
By the time the meaning of his words penetrated, the first warning tingles had already begun, weakening her knees so much she gripped his forearm for support.
“Nick, oh, God. It feels so good.”
He scraped his teeth over her shoulder and removed his hand, wrapping his arm around her waist again. “Yes, darling. I know. Now go get the blue for me.”
Julianna’s eyes shot open. “What?” She spun to face him, holding on to his shoulders and unashamedly rubbing herself against him. “Nick, please.”
She followed him, standing on her toes to kiss him, shivering when his hands went down her body. Hoping to seduce him, she pressed herself against him. “I missed you while you were gone.”
Straightening to his full height, he fisted a hand in her hair, lifting her face to his. “I missed you, too. Go get the blue, and then you and I have some things to discuss.”
Angry now, she stomped to the closet, grabbed the hanger with the blue material and stormed past him, coming to a stop when she saw the beautiful deep blue material on the hanger.
“Nick, this is beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like this. But where’s the rest of it?”
With a half smile, Nick dealt with the hanger. “This is what all women will have to wear when they come to the island. This is all of it, Julianna. Whenever you’re here, you’ll be wearing one of these, if I allow you to wear anything at all.”
Julianna allowed him to lead her to the mirror, unable to look away as he shook out the strip of material and wrapped it around her hips, fastening it with a jeweled clasp, much like the one that had been on her dress the other night.
