Knave (Masters of Manhattan #1)

by Jane Henry

  But if I was honest? I needed to know I was more than a piece of ass to him. So when we got back to the penthouse, I walked quickly away from him.

  “Sabrina,” he warned, before he grabbed my hand and spun me around to look in his eyes.

  I arched a brow at him. “Mmm?” My heart was pattering in my chest and I shook a little, but I didn’t want to give away my nerves. It wasn’t fair how easily he undid me. He was so close I could see little flecks of gold in his eyes, the brilliant, fetching depth of them making my pulse race. He laced a hand behind the back of my neck and gently squeezed, and I couldn’t look away. I couldn’t even blink. I was frozen in the kitchen, my breath stilled along with my heartbeat.

  He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then looked as if he changed his mind. Before I knew what was happening, he was kissing me like he had the first time our lips met. God, the man could kiss. I closed my eyes, needing to shut out the intensity of what I felt as his lips met mine, and he pulled me into him with his hand still on the back of my neck. A gentle swipe of his tongue drew out a moan, before he pulled away and rasped against my ear, “Bedroom. Now.”

  To hell with my lofty plans. I needed him to claim me, to erase the memory of even being in the presence of Max Pederson. To stoke the fire of my blood he so easily ignited. I stifled a whimper when he pulled away from me, but he left no time for me to feel the loss, grabbing my hand and dragging me to the bedroom. The others had all either gone out or were in their own rooms, and I was grateful for the expansive space of the place. I couldn’t imagine having to be polite to anyone now. Raw need clawed at my chest as he dragged me along behind him. I skipped to match his pace. When we reached his room, he yanked me inside, shut the door, and flicked the lock, then spun me around and shoved me against the wall with controlled gentleness—firmly enough to make my heart pound but gentle enough it didn’t hurt.

  He kissed me again, his hands at my waist now, yanking my body flat against the warmth of his. He pulled my lip into his mouth and gently bit down. I melted into him as he held me, then he pulled his mouth off mine and his voice came to my ear once more.

  “You stay right there and do exactly as I tell you. You don’t make a sound. You do exactly what I say,” he purred.

  Yes, God yes, I needed this. I wanted him to force me, to take me hard, let me forget everything for just a little while.

  His eyes heated. “And if you don’t…” he took my lobe in his ear before releasing it and rasping, “I’ll punish you.”

  I could only nod my head as his large, strong hand squeezed my left ass cheek. He released me, not even kissing me now, just standing so close I could hear the pounding of his heart, his eyes never leaving mine. “Strip. And remember what I said,” he whispered. “Not a sound.”

  The threat of a punishment made me wet, my panties clinging to me. My eyes on his, I started by grasping the edge of my top and lifting it up over my head. I shivered in the air-conditioned room, and he brought his hands to my arms, gently rubbing them. “Good girl,” he whispered approvingly. I tossed my top toward the laundry basket, and reached for the clasp of my bra, but he shook his head. Once. Sharply.

  “No.”

  I paused only briefly, then slid my finger along the zipper of my jeans, meeting his gaze with a raised brow, silently asking for permission. He gave one nod. I unfastened them, pushing them down my legs and stepped out of them. He took them from me with a quick tug and tossed them to the side. There was something wickedly erotic about standing in front of him in nothing but my underwear while he stood, still fully dressed.

  He pulled me over to him, his hands on my shoulders, and when I stood so close to him I could hear the sound of his pulse, his mouth came to my neck and he kissed me there, a warm, fluttery kiss that made a shiver run down my spine before he opened his mouth and bit, his teeth sinking into the tender flesh. My mouth opened and I almost gasped, but remembered his admonition to keep quiet. It hurt for only a second, then a flood of anticipation wove its way through me. He sucked my skin into his mouth, the suckling sound making me squirm, one hand reached for my bra. His mouth still on my neck, he slipped the bra strap over my shoulder, and ran a hand along the naked skin of my shoulder. I whimpered but stayed quiet. Both of his hands came to my back and unfastened my bra clasp. My breasts swung free as he tossed the bra to join my other clothes.

  He took his mouth off my neck just long enough to whisper in my ear, “Not one sound, Sabrina.” The vibration of his voice made my sex pulse. He lifted first one breast, then the other in his hands, weighing them, his thumbs tracing semi circles over my hardened nipples. My need to be touched harder, faster, grew while he worked my nipples, pulsing arousal coursing its way through my body. The past few days had been total hell. I wanted to forget.

  “Are you wet for me?” he whispered in my ear. “If I touch your pussy will I feel how much you want me?”

  Losing myself in the moment, I whispered, “Yes. God, yes.”

  He released my breasts, spun me around, and pressed me up against the bed. “What did I say about talking?” he asked. “If I ask you a question, you nod.” He squeezed my ass so hard I came up on the tips of my toes, his other hand wrapped around my chest, holding me against him. “Do you understand me?” I nodded. He cracked his hand against my ass, a sharp slap that stung. “Then you listen. Tonight, I’m gonna make you come, but you will not make a sound.”

  I nodded, biting my lip. Jesus, I wanted this so bad. He twirled me back around and wove his hands through my hair, pulled my mouth to his for a brief kiss, before he sat on the edge of the bed and drew me over one knee, straddling him, belly down like he was going to spank me. His knee pushed up against my pussy, and I couldn’t help but writhe against him.

  “Fuck, babe,” he growled before reminding me. “No sounds, baby.” And then he brought his hand down with a swift crack, his palm marking the skin beneath my panties. I stifled a small scream, and the effort of doing what he said with the threat of a punishment made me need him even more, but the pressure of my pussy against his knee felt so damn good. Another sharp slap followed the first, and a brief thought fluttered through my mind that someone else might hear, but I almost didn’t care. It felt so good to let myself go in the moment, forget what I had to do, forget what I’d lost. All I could think about was me, over his knee, getting my ass spanked, my only focus the need to climax.

  “Good,” he whispered, so quietly I could barely hear him, “Good girl being quiet. That’s what I like to see. That’s what I need to hear.” With a smack to my ass that was more playful than painful, he said, “Up on the bed now. On your back.”

  I did as he said, pushed myself off his knee though I keened at the loss of pressure between my legs.

  He knelt over me, his eyes hungrily taking me in, from the top of my head down to my toes. “So fucking beautiful,” he whispered, capturing my wrists in his hands. He pressed them by my sides, leaned down, and spoke into my ear, “Keep your hands there. Do you understand me?”

  I opened my mouth to speak but a sharp pull of my hair reminded me to only nod. The tug skittered down my spine. Anson knew how to dominate in bed and fuck if it wasn’t making me ready to fly.

  Straddling one knee on either side of me, I felt completely dwarfed by him, still fully clothed. He leaned down and brushed his lips across the apple of my cheek, briefly graced my lips with his, then moved his mouth lower still, to the sensitive skin at my collar bone. He licked my neck, a slow, sensual swipe of his tongue followed by a nip that made my pelvis lift off the bed involuntarily, but his torso pressed hard against me. “Move those hands and I’ll punish you,” he reminded me, lifting his body up just long enough to grab the elastic edge of my panties before he released them and snapped them back. “You want me to spank that sweet pussy of yours?”

  God!

  I hesitated for a second because I really didn’t know if I wanted him to or not. I mean, what exactly did that feel like? He chuckled. “You ne
ed a demo, baby?” He pushed himself off me, ran his large, warm hand over my lower belly, then lifted it and smack! A light but stinging smack landed right between my legs. It hurt, but good, in a way that made me want more. I lifted my pelvis and he smacked me again, not hard, but firmly, my clit swelling with each torturous smack of his hand. He pushed the heel of his palm against my panties with one hand, and with the other, he smacked the bare skin at my breasts, first one then the next. It stung but my pelvis arched from the scary, sexy pain of it.

  “You like this,” he growled in a whisper, his eyes darkening with arousal and anticipation. “This turns you on.”

  Fuck yes it did.

  He lowered his weight on me, pushing himself between my legs, and when I felt his erection pressed against me, I bit my lip to keep from smiling. He wanted me. Fuck yes, he wanted me. His mouth lowered to my jaw, brushing it with a warm kiss that I felt course through me, then leaving a trail of whispery kisses on my chin, then my cheek, my temple, then lower, along the sensitive skin at my collarbone, and lower still, to the valley of my breasts. He placed his hands on either side of me as he kissed his way down. He moved his mouth to my breast and took one nipple between his teeth.

  God! I gasped and opened my mouth to tell him not to dare to bite me there, but his eyes warned me not to speak, meeting mine as he held the nipple between his teeth. His mouth parted, his teeth no longer grazing the sensitive, tender skin, and he swiped his tongue lazily across my hardened bud. I felt my panties dampen, then he pinched the second nipple lightly, but enough to make me arch my back again. I shoved my hand in my mouth. I was not a quiet lover, but I didn’t want to be punished.

  Or did I?

  His eyes still on mine while he worked my nipples, he dipped one finger between my legs.

  “Anson,” I whispered, breaking my silence, wondering what he would do. I wasn’t prepared for the way he knifed up, flipped me onto my belly, and whacked my ass three times in rapid succession. I gasped and writhed, but he didn’t let up. My skin flamed from the small but painful spanking.

  “Be quiet,” he rasped into my ear. “Do it again, and your ass feels my belt, Sabrina.”

  Fuck if that didn’t make me ready to come.

  He flipped me back over on my back and pinned my wrists with his hands. One corner of his mouth quirked up, he lowered himself to me, and both hands grasped the edge of my panties. “Want to eat you out, baby,” he whispered. “Think you can handle that?”

  I nodded like a little bobble head. What kind of question was that? Of course I could handle that. Damn him forbidding me from speaking. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to push him on his back and ride him or smack his smug, beautiful face, or…let him have his way with me.

  I felt his responding chuckle all along the surface of my heated, primed skin. He took the hem of my panties between his teeth like he was some sort of lurid porn star, but it was so fucking hot I could only watch in anticipation. He hooked his thumbs, then slowly tugged them down the length of my legs before taking them off one foot, then the next. He tossed them somewhere behind him, then came back to me.

  “Put your legs over my shoulders,” he said, lifting my knees gently, and placing them up and over, lowering himself down to me, breathing my scent in as if it somehow revived him, a deep, full breath that made his shoulders rise. He let out a low hum of appreciation before he returned to me. “Love that sweet pussy,” he said. “Jesus, you’re gorgeous.” I wanted to rake my hands through his rugged, crazy hair, or grasp his shoulders, but I obeyed, staying exactly where he’d placed me. My mouth was dry, my breathing held hostage somewhere between the last kiss he gave me and his breath on my inner thighs.

  He lowered his mouth and gave me one long, lazy, delicious swipe. He groaned. “You taste so fucking good,” he said, then he was at me in earnest. I closed my eyes, giving myself over to this, his hands raking over my nipples while his mouth worked my pussy. I’d never experienced anything so exquisite in my life, my body primed for this, ready to feel him.

  “Relax, Sabrina,” he ordered.

  I let out a breath, relaxing into the warm, sensual feel of his mouth on me. It lasted forever and was over too soon, then I came, his name frozen on my lips as I bit back sound, my body his. I came hard, one climax building on the next until he’d swept every drop of pleasure from my body. I collapsed, and he pushed himself up to his elbows, giving my thigh a playful smack.

  “Get on your knees,” he barked in a hoarse whisper. I obeyed, tenderly moving as I scrambled to do what he said. Of course he wouldn’t take me missionary. This was Anson. Thief or Saint, and Kinky Fucker.

  Yes.

  I heard the sound of his zipper coming down and turned my head to catch a glimpse of him stripping, pushing off his boxers. Then he came back to me, his eyes hungry as he anchored himself to my hips. Something clanged in the kitchen, a cabinet squeaked. Looked like someone was home. And this place really was not soundproofed, for a supposedly luxurious penthouse. I giggled into the bedspread. He lowered himself down on me and whispered in my ear, “Remember, Sabrina. Silent. Talk now, and I’ll whip your ass while they watch.”

  He wouldn’t! But the thought… Fuck, I was getting turned on again and he knew it. I heard the crinkle of a condom wrapper a second before he nudged at my entrance. I wanted him in me so badly, I ached to have him fill me. The first thrust had me grasping the bed, the second whimpering, I was so full, but I needed more, needed harder, and he knew. This was so different from before, nothing like when he’d fucked me that first night.

  For one, I was sober. For another, this wasn’t just some random hook up who was fucking me, but someone I cared about. Someone I’d been through hell with in such a short time. Someone I could trust to take control. Someone who needed me as much as I needed him.

  “Baby,” he whispered in my ear. “Fuck, yes, this is so good.” He groaned, working himself up with a rhythm of thrusts that made me dizzy with arousal. I needed this so fucking badly. I gave myself over to him taking me, my mind buzzing with nothing but the feel of him moving in me, filling me. “Gonna come, Sabrina,” he whispered in my ear, gently swiping the damp hair off my neck and planting a kiss there. He tensed, then growled in my ear, spilling in the condom inside me, his grip on my hips so tight it was painful, stifling his own groan in silence.

  He lowered himself to me and we both lay in silent reverence. After a time, somehow, in a daze, he cleaned me off, pulled one of his t-shirts over my head, then lifted the covers and scooted me under. He leaned down and planted a kiss on my temple. “Fucking beautiful,” he said. I didn’t know what was beautiful—me, what we’d done, or something else. Maybe all of it.

  “Get some rest, Sabrina. We had a shitty few days, need you to forget all that for a while. Just rest now.” He laid beside me, wrapped one arm around my chest, and pulled me into him, his whole body flush against mine. My eyes felt suddenly way too heavy.

  “Am I allowed to talk now?” I whispered.

  “Yep.”

  “So you’re not gonna spank me if I do?” I teased, my voice laced with a stifled smile.

  “Not this time.”

  “Damn.”

  His body shook with laughter and he gave my ass a playful smack. “You’re a brat,” he whispered.

  “And you, sir,” I answered in my haughtiest English whisper, “are a total rogue.”

  “Not gonna deny it. Now this rogue’s gonna go rogue on your ass if you don’t hush and get some sleep.”

  I snorted. “So lame.”

  He smacked my ass again. “I’ll give you lame.”

  “Well if you’d just—”

  “Sabrina,” he warned.

  I knew then he was serious, and I felt so tired anyway, it wasn’t worth trying to avoid it any longer. It was time to sleep. The room felt warm and comfortable and safe. I let myself relax and drift into a dreamless sleep.

  “Lox on bagels is pretty much as disgusting as eggplant.”

  I could
hear Anson’s plaintive voice on the other side of the door. I rolled over on my side and sat up, the events of the night before flooding my memory.

  “It’s not,” came Caelan’s insistent response. “Dude, have you ever even tried it?”

  “Well, no,” Anson admitted, and I smiled to myself. “But it looks gross. And fish and breakfast don’t mix.”

  “Coffee?” someone asked in the kitchen. I pouted a little. I wanted coffee. I was glad he’d let me sleep, though, and I needed a shower before I joined them in the kitchen.

  “Does Sabrina want something to eat?” I heard Caelan’s voice in the kitchen. He was so cute.

  “She’s all set,” I heard Anson’s sharp reply. I smiled to myself. The boys could have their pissing match; I was taking a shower. I pushed myself out of the bed and stepped into the bathroom over on the other side of the room. I grabbed a thick, plush, caramel-colored towel and hooked it on the hook outside the shower, pulled Anson’s t-shirt off, and tossed it into the laundry basket outside the door. As I stood under the streaming hot water, I sighed. It felt rejuvenating, taking this hot shower like this.

  “Knock knock,” Anson said, pushing the door open to the bathroom. “You in there?”

  “No.”

  “Ha ha.” I could see his shadow moving on the other side of the curtain. “You want some breakfast, babe?”

  “Yes, please. I’m starving.”

  “Caelan’s got some of those shitty bagels with that stuff—”

  “Yuck. Tastes like eggplant.”

  He laughed. “Good girl. Hey, wait. Did you hear our conversation?”

  “Maybe.”

  “This place really isn’t soundproof.”

  “Good thing I didn’t make a sound when you fucked me last night.” I bit my lip, soaping up my legs as I waited for his reply.

  “Tonight, I’ll make you scream.”

  “Ooh, I love when you talk dirty.”