by Faye Avalon
When she reached out to the waistband of his jeans, he stayed her hand. Beth looked up at him. “Don’t you want me to undress you?”
“I want you to do as you’re told and get down on the floor.”
There might have been a frisson of panic at Marco’s demanding tone, but more than that there was a bolt of excitement, a thrill that shimmered through her at being at his mercy.
And a deal was a deal. He’d made her climax as she’d begged him, so she owed him what he wanted. Complying with his instruction, Beth dropped to the floor, aware that it felt decidedly decadent to be completely naked while he remained fully dressed.
Hell. Her pussy had started to throb again.
As she settled herself on all fours, she saw Marco take a tie from his pocket. He moved behind her, dropped to his knees, and pulled her up until her back was to his chest.
Beth felt the graze of his cotton polo shirt against her bare flesh as he wrapped his arms around her. “I want to blindfold you,” he growled against her ear. “Okay?”
Another tiny shiver of panic reverberated down her spine. She’d never been blindfolded before. But she trusted Marco and knew he’d never hurt her. She’d felt the same sense of panic when he’d suggested anal sex, but remembered how he’d coaxed her, waited until she was sure, until she was ready for him. It had been the most amazing experience.
“Beth?”
She nodded, looked up as he brought the tie over her head and in front of her face. She closed her eyes and seconds later the room went dark as the silk covered her eyelids.
Acutely aware of him behind her, Beth swallowed. What was he going to do?
Then she sensed him moving, followed the masculine scent of him as he came to stand in front of her. She was still on her knees, her hands redundantly at her side.
“Cup your breasts,” he ordered. “Offer them to me.”
She lifted her chin as if she could see him from beneath the blindfold, then did as he said. It seemed like an eternity before he spoke again, but Beth knew he hadn’t moved.
“Now touch your pussy.”
She released her breasts and slid her hands seductively down her body, wanting to put on a show for him.
“Are you wet for me?”
“Yes.”
Another interminable silence. “Lie back on the floor. Bend your knees.”
She did, widening her knees and letting her fingers brush at the junction of her thighs.
Above her, his heavy breaths scored the air, and she could imagine his chest rising and falling with the effort.
Once more Beth wondered where Marco had been all her life.
****
Shit. His cock ached like a bitch. He wanted to drive into her, satisfy them both, but he’d dreamed of touching her, pleasuring her until his name left her lips on a desperate plea.
She stretched her arms sinuously over her head, pushing those delectable breasts in his direction. He lost it.
Dropping to his knees, he yanked down his zipper and his aching cock sprang free. “Keep your arms over your head,” he demanded when she started to bring them down. “And don’t move them until I say.”
With his hands on her knees, he pushed them up toward her chest, opening her wide to his gaze. To his cock.
He shoved his hand in the back pocket of his jeans and found the foil packet. He looked at her as he sheathed himself, all the while the pulse and jerk of his erection urging him on.
She jumped at the first touch of his cock against her opening, her mouth opening as her tongue came out and she licked her lips.
Damn. How in hell was he supposed to hold back now?
He pushed inside her, his hands on the floor to either side of her body giving him the leverage to pump her hard and fast. Her whimpering breaths caught his rhythm, deepening his own pleasure, and her knees remained high and wide, allowing him the deepest access to her most intimate place.
She’d opened herself to him. She’d opened her body, her mind, and given him a gift perhaps even more precious. Her trust.
The realization pushed through his sensual frenzy and jolted the center of his chest. In the region of his heart. Thankfully he couldn’t question the unprecedented reaction further, because he came like a train.
He stayed inside her, letting his heartbeat slow, his pulse recover. Since the warmth in his chest hadn’t diminished with his climax, and if anything had strengthened, it troubled him.
Slowly, he withdrew and rolled onto his back beside her, wincing at the icy feel of tile against his heated flesh.
Turning his head, he looked at Beth. She still had her arms over her head.
That feeling around his heart intensified. Shit. “You can bring your arms down now.”
After she had, he shoved himself up onto one elbow and unfastened the tie covering her eyes.
She blinked a few times, then turned to look at him. Her smile was sultry and satiated. “You sound gruff for someone who just had his way with me.”
He couldn’t quite manage to return her smile. He felt shaky, disorientated. As if he’d been the one blindfolded. He lay back, hoping it would help the feeling pass. Maybe he was still suffering the effects of Friday night’s hangover.
“That was amazing,” she cooed as she rolled onto her side to snuggle against him. “I loved it.”
He didn’t answer. Couldn’t. He felt as if he’d been hit with a brick and his brain didn’t quite function. What the hell was going on?
When Beth shivered and wrapped her arms around his middle, he found his voice. “You cold?”
“Mmm. A little.”
Perhaps a warm dip in the Jacuzzi would help them both. Marco stood and lifted Beth into his arms.
“I can walk.” She laughed as she wound her arms around his neck. “You weren’t that good.”
He narrowed his eyes as he looked down at her. The feel of her plump breasts against him, the sight of her beautiful ass in the mirror. Damn. He was growing hard again. “It’s not wise to tell a man that.”
She caught her lip between her teeth and tightened her hold around his neck. “Are you okay? You sound upset.”
Reluctantly, he set her on her feet beside the tub. He took her hand and placed it against his burgeoning erection. “Does that answer your question?”
She gave him a smile, but there was uncertainty in her eyes. Hell. He hadn’t meant to distress her. With his eyes on hers he bent to pull off his boots, then stripped out of his polo shirt and his unfastened jeans.
Taking her hand, he stepped into the tub and coaxed her in beside him. The motor had stopped, so he pushed the button at the side to set off the jets. Within seconds the water was bubbling and sending out wafts of steam.
He drew Beth onto his lap, widening his legs so she could sit between them, his erection pressed to her back.
Easing the damp hair from her shoulders, he kissed her neck.
She tilted her head and gave a contented purr when he wrapped his arms around her. The bubbles slicked over her breasts, just visible above the water. Her nipples were hard and he flicked his thumbs over the tight buds.
“I love how you touch me,” she whispered, closing her eyes. “Nobody ever touched me the way you do.”
When Beth’s hand slipped below the water and he realized she was about to touch herself, he flicked her hand away. “That’s my job.”
She smiled, snuggling back against him. “You didn’t think so a few minutes ago.”
“I do now.” He caught her chin and tilted her head so he could kiss her. Her mouth felt hot and damp from the steam and he couldn’t get enough of her.
She pulled away, stood, then dropped down to straddle him. Marco had to shift as she’d caught his cock making him wince a little. He reached down, trying to ease his discomfort, when Beth tapped his hand away.
“And that’s my job.” She smiled wickedly, licking her lips as she wrapped her hand around his length.
“You do it so well.” When her hold slack
ened as she glanced beyond the tub to the floor, Marco dug his fingers into her hips. “Hey.”
Her gaze came back to his. “Sorry. I was just looking for that tie.” Another wicked grin. “I thought I might use it on you.”
“Not right now.”
“So it’s okay for me to be defenseless, but not you?”
Shit. Didn’t she know he didn’t need a tie around him to feel defenseless? Didn’t she know he’d been sick at the thought that their month was rapidly coming to an end? Didn’t she know the guys had ragged him and Ethan about being pussy-whipped, especially when after Friday night at a strip club some of the group had found themselves a woman to end the evening, while he and Ethan had hotfooted back to the hotel to call their women?
Defenseless? He was a fucking mess.
The feel of Beth’s hands landing on his shoulders interrupted his painful musing. She touched her lips briefly to his. “You drifted away.”
“Gathering my strength,” he improvised. “You’ve worn me out.”
She touched her fingers to the silver loop in his ear and sighed. “I can’t believe all the things we do.”
Since her hair was wet now, he drew it back from her shoulders. “Too much for you?”
“No. What I mean is I can’t imagine ever feeling safe enough with any other man to do the things we do together.”
Maybe she had used that tie after all, and had slipped it around his neck. He could swear he felt the noose tighten.
She tilted her head, considering him. “You’re very sweet the way you take care of me.”
Sweet? He’d never been accused of being sweet before, at least not by the women he’d dated. Heartless. Fickle. Pushy. Plus a few other choice accusations came to mind. But never sweet.
Now he felt weirdly embarrassed. “You’re biased. Good sex does that for a woman.”
She laughed. “I always thought I could take it or leave it. Sex, I mean.”
“And now?”
“Now I seem to want it all the time.”
“Praise be.”
She laughed again, a light tinkle of sound that once more nudged at the corners of his heart. “I probably shouldn’t be boosting your ego anymore than necessary, but I have to admit that James never did half the things to me you do, and even if he had, he wouldn’t have had your expertise.”
Ridiculous, but his chest actually puffed out. “Too late. My ego is well and truly boosted.”
“You deserve it.” Her finger continued to slide along his lower lip, her breasts bobbing lightly in and out of the water giving him flashes of her darkened nipples. His cock responded with a painful jerk.
Hell. He’d never enjoyed sex as much either. And that was some admission.
“Amber came by yesterday.”
He tried to ignore the tension that moved into his spine. “That so?”
“We had coffee. She brought blankets and stuff for the Center.”
Marco only nodded, unsure where this was going or what she anticipated his response would be.
“We talked about a whole lot of things, including my paranoia about you and her.” She paused, eyed him in a way that alerted him to the fact he was about to get lambasted again. “You didn’t tell me about her suggestion.”
What the hell? Amber had actually told Beth about the foursome? He’d been expecting another grilling about his relationship with Amber, but had never anticipated Amber would voice her insane proposal to Beth.
Not that Beth seemed particularly fazed by it. In fact, she was actually smiling at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t see the point, seeing as no way in hell was I agreeing to it.”
“Oh really?” Her eyebrows rose and she leaned back. “No way in hell? What if I’d really wanted it?”
“There’s no fucking way any other man’s getting his hands on you. Certainly not Ethan. And I would have thought you’d have vetoed the idea of me and Amber.”
He trailed off as Beth’s face paled and her eyes went wide. “What have Ethan and Amber got to do with it?”
Fuck. Shit. Damn.
“Are you saying Amber suggested that Ethan…” She scraped her hands through hair. “The four of us? Hell, how could I be so stupid?”
Marco couldn’t think of a thing to say that wouldn’t inflame the situation, so he just tightened his hold on Beth’s hips and held her stony gaze.
“And you didn’t think to tell me about this yourself?”
Marco already knew he was in deep shit, but damned if he was going to be made the bad guy here. “Like I said, it wasn’t going to happen. It was a damn fool proposition. Ethan didn’t want it any more than I did.”
“Oh, and you and Ethan have the final say in all this, do you?”
The shit piled so deep, he feared he’d need a shovel. “That’s not what I meant.”
“What you meant was you’re making the decisions for me. Didn’t you think I’d want to know about it? Or didn’t you want to have to choose between your former and current lover in the sack. Bit of a dilemma for you? Which one of us to fuck first.”
He dug his fingers into her flesh. “For God’s sake, Beth…”
She stood so fast, water whooshed over the sides of the tub. “Go screw yourself, Marco.”
Watching her grab up her clothes and storm from the bathroom, Marco knew he was already screwed. And hell, he didn’t deserve it. How couldn’t she know he’d already made his damn choice? That memories of being with Amber had paled at the first taste of Beth’s lips on his. At the first flash of those blue eyes as she’d stared out at him from a wash of red paint.
No. He didn’t deserve her wrath, not in that respect. But maybe he had been remiss in keeping Amber’s fool idea from her. He got out of the tub, pulled two towels from the rack and snatched up his jeans.
Looked like he had some explaining to do. Fuck. Where was a damn shovel when you needed one?
Surprised the bedroom door was still on its hinges after she’d slammed it so hard, Marco opened it and saw Beth with her back to him trying to zip up her dress. “Beth—”
“If you’d wanted to exclude me any more, you couldn’t have done a better job. You knew how I felt. Knew that I felt on the periphery of what you shared with Amber. Yet you had no compunction in sharing something else with her that excluded me.”
“That wasn’t my intention. There’s no reason for you to feel that way.” He handed her a towel, which she immediately tossed on the floor.
“I’d thought discovering James had an affair with my sister was the worst sort of betrayal, that nothing could ever come close.” She turned and he almost winced at the desolate look in her eyes. “You know what? This is close. For some damn reason this is close.”
“I didn’t want to upset you.”
“You lied to me by omission. How am I supposed to trust you wouldn’t do it again given the opportunity?”
Something snapped in him. “I’ve tried every damn thing to make you feel okay about what happened between me and Amber, but you can’t—won’t—let it go.” He yanked on his jeans. “I’m sorry about what happened to you, that you married a bastard who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. Even sorrier for what your sister did. It sucks. The biggest. But if your insecurities are going to keep getting in the way of what we have, if you’re going to watch for conspiracies and betrayal around every corner, then I don’t know what else to do.”
“Neither do I.”
“Make a choice, Beth. You either trust me or you don’t.” His voice was dead calm, defying the turmoil beating inside him. Her admission that she didn’t trust him had sliced him in two, but every ounce of strength he possessed stopped him reaching for her. “It’s that simple. Decide.”
When she didn’t answer, but drew in a breath and closed her eyes, the reality of it squeezed painfully around his heart. “It’s okay, bella. Your answer’s loud and clear.”
Chapter Fifteen
Pulling extra shifts at th
e Center didn’t do much to help drag Beth out of the doldrums, nor did accepting invitations to join her co-workers for post-work drinks.
Nothing seemed to push Marco completely from her mind. He was always there. When he wasn’t filling her head, he was on the fringe of her thoughts or in the miniscule spaces between them.
Two week’s ago she’d walked out of that hotel room. Since then he hadn’t called, hadn’t emailed. Which was for the best. Except she couldn’t shake this awful sense of loss.
Philip, the Center’s animal behavioral therapist, walked past as Beth was completing the volunteer dog-walking roster in the main office. He came over and sat on the edge of her desk, as if settling in for a companionable chat. “Now what put that frown on such a gorgeous face?”
Beth smiled but she knew it didn’t reach her eyes. Philip had joined the staff one week after Beth, and they had struck up an immediate friendship. He was married—happily—with two grown children both at university. “Just thinking.”
Philip smiled back. “How’s Roscoe doing?”
At the thought of the huge mastiff who now shared her home, Beth enjoyed a little lift in her heart. “Really well. He’s a big softie at heart. He sleeps through the night now and slobbers all over me when I come down in the morning.”
Philip chuckled. “Better stop him doing that or your boyfriend will get jealous.”
Since most of the staff knew of her relationship with Marco, Beth didn’t question Philip’s assumption they were still together. She’d kept it quiet, not yet ready to deal with the anticipated commiserations and pitying looks.
“I’ve tried stopping him, but he doesn’t seem to get the message. Not that I’m overly worried right now, not after what he’s likely been through.” She thought of the marks of neglect they’d found on Roscoe, the sores around his neck where he’d likely been chained up for hours at a time. “I’m happy to give him his way for a while, let him learn he can trust me.”
To be honest, right now Beth was grateful for the affection. It felt like a huge hole had been blown in her heart that no amount of canine adoration would fill, but it helped. A little.
