by HELEN HARDT
But I would go slowly.
Every deep dark part of my soul raged within me, ordered me to tear every shred of clothing off of her, to tie her beautiful hands to my bed posts, blindfold her, spank her beautiful ass until it was bright pink and she was begging for me to fuck her senseless.
How I wanted her. I wanted to show her the pleasures my darkness could give her.
But not today.
When I ripped my mouth from hers to take in a gasping breath, she grabbed both of my cheeks and pierced me with her green-eyed gaze.
“Tell me what you want tonight, Jonah. Anything, and it’s yours.”
I groaned, and my cock grew even larger. “You have no idea what you’re asking for.”
“But I do. I know there’s a shadow surrounding you, a dark side that wants to come out when we’re together. You once told me that I would surrender to you eventually.”
“I meant that when I said it, but the situation is different now.”
“Why is it different? Because of what I’ve been through? Trust me when I say this to you again. I am truly feeling better now than I ever have since Gina’s death.”
I believed her. I did. But I still didn’t think she was ready to experience everything I wanted. In fact, I knew she wasn’t. But I could start. I could initiate her slowly. “All right,” I said. “Get up off the bed. Strip for me, Melanie. Take off your clothes for me and present your body to me.”
She smiled. And then she got up. “Will you strip for me after I’m done?” she asked quietly.
Clearly she didn’t understand who was the master in the bedroom. But she would learn. And if it would please her today, I would strip for her. “We’ll see,” was all I said.
She fumbled a bit, pulling her shirt over her head, trying to be sexy. She was sexy, always, no matter what she did.
When she unclasped her bra and let her breasts fall free, she bit her lip. “I wish they were bigger.”
I stood, my hard cock pulsing against my jeans. I went to her and cupped her perfect tits in my palms. “I don’t ever want to hear you say that again. Your breasts are perfect. Your body is perfect. I love every inch of it. You are beautiful. So fucking beautiful.”
She closed her eyes and let out a tiny choke. Then she opened them. “No one has ever made me feel as beautiful as you do.”
“We haven’t talked a lot about our past relationships, and we don’t need to start now,” I said. “Suffice it to say, whomever you were with didn’t deserve you.”
“I love you, Jonah.”
“And I love you.” I kissed her cheek, and then I sat back down on the bed. “But you still need to strip for me.”
She bent down, unzipped her ankle boots, and kicked them off. “I wish I knew how to be sexy for you.”
“All I want is you, sweetheart. Just strip for me. Show me that you’re mine.”
She unzipped her jeans and shimmied out of them until she stood before me only in her ankle socks and beige cotton panties.
I pulled her toward me then, sticking my face in her covered vulva and inhaling. “I can smell your scent, Melanie. You’re wet. I can smell that you want me.”
“Oh my God.”
“You want to please me? Stop wearing cotton panties. I want to see that beautiful ass and beautiful pussy in silk and lace. In a thong riding up those ass cheeks.”
“Oh my God,” she said again.
I inhaled once more. She was ripe. So ripe for me. I couldn’t help myself. I twisted those panties and ripped them right off of her.
She gasped.
I slid my tongue between her legs, tasting a drop of her sweetness. I savored her, every ounce of her. She was everything to me. I had never known a feeling like this. She couldn’t leave me. She just couldn’t. I would not allow it. I wouldn’t survive.
I forced the thoughts from my mind and slid my tongue through her slick folds once more. “Your pussy tastes so good, baby. Do you have any idea what you do to me?”
She sighed, the melodic sounds drifting to my ears.
“Tell me, baby. Tell me you know what you do to me. Tell me you know how I hunger for you.”
Another sigh. Then, “I know. I know what I do to you.”
I nipped at her clit, and she jerked against me.
“You like that, sweetheart?” I asked.
“Yes. God, yes.”
I had to taste more of her, every crevice of her.
I grabbed her hips and turned her around, laying her on the bed. I disposed of her socks quickly and spread her thighs, diving in. I sucked at her, ate at her, drinking every ounce of sweet cream out of her beautiful pussy. And then I flipped her over.
“You have a beautiful ass, sweetheart. So gorgeous.” I caressed her soft globes, longing to give her just a little smack, to make her ass the slightest shade of pink. I held myself in check. I would bring her in slowly. I slid my fingers through her slick folds, and then upward, over her puckered hole. This would probably be new to her, and it might be a good way to start. It wouldn’t involve bondage or spanking.
I nudged her pink opening. She gasped, but didn’t tell me to stop.
“Such a pretty little asshole, baby. I’m going to lick you here now, okay?”
She nodded.
I stuck my nose between her gorgeous cheeks, giving her pussy a slick lick, all the way up over her tight little hole. My cock was straining against my jeans. I was tempted to stop and undress, but not yet. Right now I was going to give her the rimming of her life, most likely her first. And it would be one she would never forget.
“Has anyone ever licked your ass before, baby?”
“No,” she whimpered.
“That’s because it’s mine—your virgin ass.” My lips and tongue burned with the first touch. With one hand, I unbuckled, unsnapped, and unzipped my jeans, freeing my aching cock. Then I spread her cheeks farther apart and sucked on her cute little hole.
She mewled into the comforter, her hips undulating.
Yes, she liked it.
When I thrust two fingers into her wet pussy, she bucked beneath me, moaning.
“Oh my God, Jonah! Oh my God!”
I massaged her G-spot as I continued to lick her sweet ass. When she clamped down on my fingers, I knew she was about to climax.
“I’m coming! Jonah. I’m coming.”
This time I didn’t hold back. I gave one cheek of her butt a light smack. “That’s right, baby. Come. Come for me.”
When I saw the rosy flush on her ass, my cock pulsated. I was damned near a climax, and I hadn’t even touched myself.
I continued probing her asshole, finger-fucking her pussy as I milked the last drops of her orgasm from her. Then I took some of her wetness, slid it upward, over her hole.
“I want to put my finger in your ass, sweetheart.”
She trembled a bit.
“Okay? May I?”
“I… Yes… God…”
I got her asshole good and lubed up with my saliva and her wetness and then slowly breached the tight ring of muscle.
A swift intake of breath.
“It will be good. Just relax.”
When her trembling stopped, and the muscles around my finger relaxed, I thrust in farther.
She let out a soft sigh.
“You’re so hot, Melanie. God, I want to fuck you right here. One day. One day I will.”
She tensed for a few seconds.
I pushed two fingers back into the wet heat of her pussy. “I’m going to make you come now, with my fingers in your pussy and your ass. I want you to scream my name when you come, Melanie. I want you to fucking scream my name.”
She whimpered.
“Do you understand? You understand that you’re going to scream my name?”
“Yes. Yes, I understand.”
I began fucking her with my fingers both in her pussy and her ass, using reverse rhythmic strokes. Her little ass got red, flushing from the intensity of the heat I was invoking from her body. M
y hard cock throbbed between my legs. I ached to shove it into her pussy, her ass, her mouth—everywhere. But this was for her. A big step for her. I was going to see that she enjoyed it.
She writhed beneath me, bucking her hips, until I felt the familiar clamping of her muscles on my hand.
“You’re going to come now, baby. You’re going to come when I tell you to.”
“Yes. Want to come…”
“Come. Now,” I said through clenched teeth.
She clamped around me, spasming.
“Jonah! Jonah! I’m coming for you!”
“That’s it, sweetheart. That’s it. Scream my name.” I thrust and thrust into both holes, slowing down as the spasms subsided. I itched to bring her to one more climax, but this was her first time with anal play, and I didn’t force it.
When I withdrew from her, she flattened on the bed onto her belly and whimpered.
I worried for a moment that I had worn her out. But she turned over, her eyes blazing with green flame.
She spread her legs. “I need you now, inside me. Please, Jonah.”
I couldn’t help the big grin that split my face. “Since you said please.” I thrust inside that burning hot pussy.
“Ahh,” I groaned.
She held me tightly in the paradise between her legs. Nothing like it. But still I wanted more, needed to be deeper inside her. I pushed her thighs forward, maneuvering her calves so her ankles were over my shoulders. And I thrust into her—balls deep within that hot pussy.
Already my whole groin was tightening, getting ready to spill. I didn’t want to come yet, wanted to hang on, but—
“Baby…” I released into her, pounding her deeply—harder, harder, harder—until the last drop had squeezed from my cock.
Always so much more with Melanie, so much more than the normal release. A deliverance. A pilgrimage to a higher plane. A fucking salvation.
I moved to the side of her so as not to crush her with my body weight.
She didn’t move to cuddle with me right away. Had I taken it too far tonight?
But before I could voice my thought, she turned toward me.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Thank you? Whatever for?”
“For showing me a little bit of who you are. For not being afraid to let me see that part of you.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but she shushed me.
“I’m not naïve, Jonah. I know this is only the beginning. I won’t say I’m ready for everything. Thank you. I love you, and I want to know you. This is part of who you are. And for the record, I enjoyed it very much.” She smiled.
A warm glow permeated me. I turned and met her gaze. “I love you too, and thank you for letting me share this with you.”
I thought about the diamond choker in my top dresser drawer that I had originally intended to offer to her as a collar, to bind her to me as my submissive—at least in the bedroom. And even though I knew she might leave me once I told her the truth about that fateful night when I had neglected to take her phone call, I still wanted her to have it.
It was hers. It had been since the moment I’d seen it in the glass case at the jewelry shop in Grand Junction. No one else would ever be able to wear it.
It was hers. Only hers.
Chapter Twenty–Four
Melanie
Without saying anything, Jonah rose from the bed and walked over to his chest of drawers. I couldn’t help smiling to myself. He had done things to me tonight that I’d never imagined. Yes, I knew they were only the beginning. Despite my reservations, I had enjoyed myself. I wanted to know him. I wanted to know his deepest most secret parts. And I wanted to please him.
I had seen some of his depth tonight. That thought made me very happy.
He came back, holding a velvet jeweler’s case. I gasped.
“I saw this a few weeks ago,” he said. “It was made for you. I knew it as soon as I saw it. I love you. I want you to have this.”
I trembled as I opened the case. A choker of diamonds set in white gold. Or it could be platinum for all I knew. “Jonah…I can’t…”
“You can. And you will.”
“But the cost…”
“The money means nothing to me. You know that. You don’t owe me anything for this, Melanie. It’s a small payment for everything you’ve done for my family.”
“Payment? I’ve been paid.”
He shook his head vehemently. “That came out all wrong. I didn’t mean it that way. It’s not any kind of payment. I just want you to understand the cost means nothing to me. When I saw this necklace in the window, I knew you had to have it. It was made for you. Here, let me.”
He took the box from me and removed the beautiful piece of jewelry. He gently clasped it around my neck. “You look like a Scandinavian princess, Melanie. You’re absolutely stunning.”
I gently fingered the piece. I couldn’t even begin to guess how much it had cost. I had been revolted by a seven-hundred-dollar nightgown. I was no doubt wearing a luxury car around my neck.
“Before you start complaining about the cost, you are worth every penny. You’re worth every penny of my fortune. And you’re worth even more than that. You’re priceless to me, Melanie. I love you. And I don’t want to be without you.”
I hurled myself into his arms. “I don’t want to be without you either, Jonah.” And I didn’t. Not ever.
I hoped I could be enough for him. That I could satisfy all his desires. Because I would not ask him to change. Not ever. He likely enjoyed things I had never even thought about and couldn’t comprehend. But I would please him. And God bless him, he was willing to go slowly with me.
He gently laid me down on the bed. “Please, Melanie. I want to feel you next to me. I want to know that you’re mine.”
I sighed against his shoulder, snuggling into him. “I’m yours. For as long as you want me.”
He went rigid for a moment.
“Is anything wrong?”
“I’ll always want you,” he said. “Always.”
* * *
Lucy woke us up with tickles and licks Sunday morning. It was early, only a little after six, and Jonah had to check on some things at the ranch. He kissed me on the forehead. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
I still felt good. Better than I had in so long. I trembled a bit at the thought of staying alone for a couple of hours, but he wouldn’t be long. He had to get back and shower, because we needed to be at Talon’s house by ten.
“I’ll be fine. Just hurry back, okay?”
This time he kissed my lips. “I will.” He winked. “And don’t shower until I get back.”
I chuckled as he left. I lay in bed for a few moments, after urging Lucy to join me. I might have dozed off a bit, but then I got up about an hour later. I put on Jonah’s robe, went to the kitchen, and let Lucy out. He had left a pot of coffee on, so I poured myself a cup and then looked around the kitchen until I found the dog food. I made sure Lucy had food and water and then sat down to drink my coffee. I had taken only a few sips when I walked to my guest room.
My folders and papers were still scattered over the floor. I hadn’t heard anything from Officer Lee or anyone from the police department in Grand Junction. Had they questioned Dr. Cates? As far as I knew, Erica Cates was still in the hospital. I decided to call the hospital and check. A quick phone call confirmed that she was still an inpatient in the mental health unit.
If my new theory had merit, perhaps Dr. Cates was not behind the attack on me. After all, if Gina did not commit suicide, but instead had been murdered, the same person who murdered her had probably attacked me.
I doubted that Dr. and Mrs. Cates had killed their own daughter. They might have been neglectful parents, but they didn’t strike me as murderers. Of course, they still could have been behind the attack on me because they still thought their daughter had committed suicide on my watch.
Again, though, they didn’t strike me as murderers. They might hate me, but did
they have the ability to kill me?
I didn’t think so.
But her uncle? The uncle who was supposedly dead? Granted, just because he was a child molester didn’t mean he was capable of murder. But it made it a whole lot more likely.
Dr. Cates had told me that a friend of Gina’s—and I couldn’t remember the name he used—had told him Gina had been in love. At the time, I’d thought Dr. Cates was referring to Gina being in love with me, but now I wasn’t so sure. Just as Gina had given me no indication that she was suicidal or that she had feelings for me, she had also given me no indication that she might be bisexual or gay. Had she been in love with a man? Or had her friend been exaggerating?
I needed to get the name of the friend, and I needed to talk to her.
Dr. and Mrs. Cates would not talk to me. I felt certain of that. So maybe I would take Jonah up on his offer to hire some private investigators to look into this. And maybe one day I would be able to repay him for it. I had gone through life so far without taking anything from anyone, and I didn’t plan to start now.
I didn’t think about my own parents much. They were a lot like Gina’s, truth be told. They had both been professionals and probably should’ve never had a child. They gave me the necessities of life, and I never wanted for anything…except their love and affection.
Funny that they should pop into my mind right now. I hadn’t seen them in nearly ten years, and we rarely communicated. I had put myself through college with scholarships and student loans. My master’s in psychotherapy had been fully funded with a teaching assistantship stipend. I had paid my student loans off quickly and then saved up money for a down payment on my loft. My parents could’ve helped me, but I hadn’t wanted their money.
That was one of the reasons why I had wanted to help Gina so badly. I had come from a home like hers, but of course, I had been much luckier than she had been. While the mental abuse and neglect from my parents had taken its toll, at least I was never physically or sexually abused by anyone.
I walked into my bathroom and shut the door, looking in the full-length mirror. I dropped Jonah’s robe around my shoulders into a puddle of silk on the floor, and then I forced myself to look at my naked body. My ankle was still bruised but wasn’t giving me much trouble as long as I didn’t push it, and my hands were still scratched up but were healing nicely. However, those things were not what drew my gaze.
