Zero Control

by Wilde, Lori

  He scored another point. “Touché.”

  “Dammit,” she mumbled.

  “About that secret…” Their sabers clashed.

  “I don’t have any secrets.” Her voice sounded reedy, breathless.

  “I know you’re lying,” he said, attempting to rattle her into telling him the truth right here, right now.

  “Okay,” she chuffed. “You’ve got me.”

  He held his breath. Was she going to confess?

  “I have fenced since high school.”

  “I knew it,” Dougal went on, in spite of the disappointment knotting his chest.

  She recovered from her slipups, returning full force, dazzling him with fancy footwork, her mental strategy, her lightness of action, her point control.

  And just like that, she scored again.

  They dueled in a smooth, loose rhythm as if they’d been fencing together for decades. Thrust and parry. Lunge and defend. Feint and deceive. It was like great sex with all their clothes on.

  By the end of their allotted time, they were flagging and breathing heavily. Roxie seemed to be losing steam—her saber wasn’t held as high as previously. He had her if he wanted to take her.

  Did he want to do her in? His killer instincts said yes.

  Unless this was another deception.

  They rounded on each other. She was weakening. His competitive instincts, his familiarity with the saber, his desire to prove her wrong about the foil drove him in for the final point of the match.

  He lunged with the brute force, take-your-opponent-down-as-soon-as-possible strategy he’d been taught.

  Roxie parried, sank back.

  Dougal came on strong, prepared for her riposte. It didn’t come. Aha, he had her for sure. He made one final lunge.

  And suddenly the tip of her saber was centered squarely at his breastplate.

  He stared down in disbelief, the pressure of her weapon pressing against his chest. How had that happened?

  “The true art of fencing,” Roxie gloated, triumphantly ripping off her mask, her face flushed, her black hair spilling over her shoulders, her blue eyes snapping with delight, “is to make the other guy run into your point.”

  12

  “GREAT JOB,” DOUGAL TOLD HER after their last demonstration of the day as they were returning their supplies to the equipment tent. “You put me through my paces.”

  “Thank you.” She smiled. “I really enjoyed it.”

  He looked at her and he just knew she simply could not be involved in the stuff he feared she was involved in. His gut and his heart were urging him onward, even if his mind was telling him to be cautious. No matter why she’d been in that office, he was sure she had a good reason. A reason unrelated to the computer sabotage. He couldn’t deny his need for her. It overrode everything else. He had to have her. Had to speak with her. They needed a long, intimate talk to clear the air.

  “You know,” he said, “this is our last real evening together. The flight leaves at 6 a.m. on Monday.”

  “I know.”

  “I was hoping we’d get to spend it together.” Damn if he didn’t feel as nervous as a schoolboy. She looked into his eyes, and Dougal’s gut sent him that same message it had that first day on the plane: She’s the one you’ve been waiting for.

  “I’d like that. We can order room service.”

  He reached out to touch her arm. “I was wondering…” He trailed off, not knowing how to broach the subject.

  “Yes?”

  “If it could just be you and me.”

  “Of course.”

  “No,” he said. “Just you and me making love. No props, no costumes, no role-playing. Just Roxie and Dougal unplugged. Honest, open. No secrets. No hidden agendas.”

  She looked decidedly nervous, although he was determined not to read anything into it. “But…but I thought you liked our role-playing.”

  “I do,” he said. It was just that they’d been donning so many masks he wasn’t sure who the real Roxie was, and before he made up his mind to extend this relationship outside the realm of Eros, he wanted her to be herself with him. No roles, no guises, nothing to hide behind. “But for tonight I’d like it to just be us.”

  “Um…okay.”

  “Sevenish?”

  “That sounds great.”

  ROXIE COULDN’T BELIEVE how nervous she felt. The thought of making love with Dougal without the armor of costumes scared the dickens out of her. She’d be fully opening herself up to him. What if plain old Roxie couldn’t please him the way Muse or Lady Sarah or Dungeon Dominatrix or Elizabeth Bennet or apple-eating Eve could?

  To help calm her nerves, she took a hot bath with lavender soap and sipped a cup of chamomile tea.

  She’d just dried off and gotten dressed then when the doorbell rang. She ran a hand through her hair to smooth it and scurried to wrench open the door. It was Dougal with the room-service cart.

  “Hey.” Dougal wriggled two fingers at her.

  “Hi,” she smiled.

  “You smell good.”

  “So do you.”

  He set up their meal in front of the window with a view of the gardens. She giggled when he took the lid off the platters, revealing chicken Marsala, tossed salad, bruschetta and walnut brownies for dessert. To wash it all down, they shared a bottle of rosé. They sat nibbling off each other’s plates like longtime lovers.

  “I hate that our time together is coming to an end,” he said.

  “So do I.” She dabbed her mouth with her napkin. “But I had no expectations beyond this.”

  “Really?” He looked as if he didn’t believe her.

  “I had a great time with you, and I think you had a great time with me. We can just leave it at that. You don’t have to make me any promises.”

  “What if I don’t want to leave it at that?”

  She inhaled sharply. Don’t toy with me, she wanted to say, but instead she just said, “Oh?”

  He reached across the table and took her hands in his. “I…it’s been a long time since I’ve had such fun with anyone.”

  His gaze sizzled straight through her, melting any resolve she had about keeping things casual. When had she started hungering for more? This wasn’t good. The sexy environment of Eros’s resort had put romantic notions into her head. Notions that had no place in her real life. When Dougal found out the truth about her…Roxie gulped. How had she ended up in this fix?

  Suddenly he let go of her, pushed his hand through his hair. “You…you don’t feel the same way. Aw, hell, I’m an idiot.”

  “No, no, I had a wonderful time. It’s just that you’re an Eros employee. I’m on vacation. It’s—”

  “A bad idea. You’re right.” He looked as if she’d drop-kicked him.

  She felt as though she’d drop-kicked herself. If she wasn’t here under such sneaky pretenses then she might have had the romance of her life. As it was, fantastic sex was the very best she could hope for. But when she looked at him she couldn’t stop herself from longing for more, wishing she could have a real relationship with him. God, she’d messed things up so badly.

  “This is hard for me,” he said.

  “And you think it’s a cakewalk for me?”

  “No, I don’t, but I think we owe it to ourselves to fully explore the potential here.”

  “Dougal, I…”

  But she got no further. Dougal pulled her to her feet and clamped his mouth over hers, and she was lost. Roxie’s body awakened like Sleeping Beauty’s to Prince Charming’s kiss. No wait, scratch that. She’d promised no role-playing. She was Roxie awakening to Dougal’s kiss.

  Suddenly she was aware of everything, all her senses attuned. Dougal tightened the embrace, crushing her soft breasts against his muscled chest. There was no missing the hardness of his erection.

  This was wrong. This was crazy. There was no cause to compound the problem. Why was she kneading her fingers along his spine? Why was she throwing back her head, exposing her throat to his hungr
y mouth? This could only end badly. She tried to wriggle away, but it was a tepid effort. She’d waited years for someone like him to come along, and she didn’t want to fight it.

  His teeth nipped lightly at the tender skin underneath her chin. Like an arrow to a bull’s-eye, he’d found her secret erogenous zone. She sucked in a breath. How could this be wrong when he seemed to know exactly what to do to turn her inside out?

  Just when he had her writhing mindlessly in his arms, Dougal pulled back and stared down into her face, his eyes black with a lusty sheen. “You’re so beautiful.”

  She felt her cheeks heat. She’d always thought her skin was too pale, her nose too small, her cheeks too round to be classically beautiful, but the way he looked at her made her feel like the most attractive woman on earth.

  In that moment she forgot about why this was wrong. All she could think about was how much she wanted him. Roxie ached to feel his hands skimming over her bare skin, longed to hear him call out her name in the throes of ecstasy.

  He was everything she’d ever dreamed of. She could live the adventures she’d had to put on hold to raise Stacy. Her secret desires, right here, right now—it was all within her grasp. But no matter how she might wish otherwise, this relationship couldn’t end well.

  “I want you so badly I can’t breathe,” Dougal whispered. “I want to make love to you tonight, slow, soft and easy. I can’t stop thinking about you, Roxie.”

  “Dougal…” She should say no, but when it came to him she was so weak.

  “Please,” he cajoled, and then he kissed her again and she knew the time for total honesty had passed. Her body swirled with need. Stunned, she realized she didn’t care about the consequences. All she wanted was to have him here, now, and not think about tomorrow.

  Still kissing her, Dougal guided her down the hallway and waltzed her to the bed. He eased her onto the duvet, his mouth never leaving hers. His fingers undid the buttons of her blouse. He slipped it off her shoulders, then skimmed his palms over her back to coax open the clasp of her bra.

  While he was undressing her, she was frantically clawing at his shirt.

  “Hey, hey,” he said, finally tugging his lips from hers. “Slow down. Soft and easy, remember.” The gentle expression in his eyes lit her up inside. “I want to savor this.”

  She pulled her bottom lip up between her teeth and whimpered.

  He chuckled. “Never fear, sweetheart. We’ll get there. Just give me time to pull out all my best moves.”

  She reached for the snap of his jeans just when his mouth found hers again and branded her with fresh, sizzling kisses. He shucked off his pants and boxer briefs, and it wasn’t until then that she realized somewhere along the way he’d kicked off his shoes. He stood on the floor; she sat on the edge of the bed, her heels hooked over the bed rail.

  “What happened,” she whispered, tracing the puckered scar at the top of his right thigh. She’d seen it before, but had never asked him about it because it seemed too personal a question, but if they were on the verge of taking things to the next level, she wanted to know.

  “Huh?” He blinked groggily and saw where she was staring.

  She reached out a hand to touch the silvered wound, but he flinched, stepped back. “Don’t.”

  “You were shot?” She looked up to meet his eyes.

  “Yes.”

  She wanted to ask him what had happened, but the look on his face warned her off. She dropped her gaze and instead took in the sight of his jutting, erect penis. It was a glory to behold.

  Here in the soft glow from the bedroom light, she could appreciate just how gorgeous he was. Lowering her head, she lightly touched her tongue to his tip.

  Dougal hissed out a long breath as if he’d been scalded. “Oh, yeah, that feels so sweet.”

  She took him in her mouth.

  “As good as that feels, sweetheart, if you keep that up I won’t last a minute.”

  Roxie drew back, looked up at him, at his scarred leg, his flat abdomen, his naked chest, his broad shoulders and then up to his dark eyes. He was so masculine. So strong.

  Lower and lower she kissed, headed for dangerous territory.

  He threaded his fingers through her hair. “No, no,” he protested weakly.

  “Yes…” She kissed him. “Yes.”

  Another kiss.

  Then her hand was on him, stroking his throbbing head.

  Roxie dipped her head and she tasted his flesh. Instantly wet heat gushed through her body. The muscles deep within her pelvis tightened. Her heart beat faster, and she surprised herself by how quickly she grew slick.

  She slid down the length of his body, savoring the salty taste of his hot skin—tasting, licking, exploring the mysteries of his body.

  He moaned when her lips closed over his shaft. He tasted so good! She felt an electrical current run through her as she licked him and reveled in her feminine power.

  She loved him with her mouth, caressed him with her tongue, coaxing him to the edge of ecstasy. His body was as tense as stone.

  “Not yet,” he whispered. “Not yet. I want to be inside you.”

  “Come here,” she said.

  He didn’t protest when she took his hand and pulled him down on the bed beside her. His eyes were dark with lust, and she spied goose bumps tracking up his arm. She grinned wickedly.

  Now where had she put that condom? A quick search and she discovered it had slid onto the other side of the duvet while she’d been undressing him. She tore open the packet with her teeth, and palmed the round rubber ring.

  She stood up only to discover her legs quivered like running water. She quickly turned and straddled his knees, her own knees digging into the covers.

  He’d braced himself on his elbows and was watching her intently. He was the most beautiful specimen of manhood she’d ever seen, and she could hardly believe he was here with her.

  His eyes met hers and his gaze was so raw, so primal, she had to look away and calm herself before she could proceed.

  Trying to look casual, as if she did this all the time, Roxie ran her hand up his thigh.

  He groaned and the sound served to resurrect her hunger.

  Tentatively she reached out and stroked one finger down his chest, while the other hand—the one with the palmed condom—went up to touch the head of his cock.

  He felt heavy and large in her hand. She thrilled to his bigness. Dougal’s penis was at once velvet soft and hard as steel, an erotic combination of texture and heat. She could feel the blood pulsating through his shaft.

  He groaned again, and she felt more than saw him fall back against the pillows. She took her time. Touching, kneading, stroking. He moved his hips. She could feel the muscles of his buttocks tighten. He wanted to thrust.

  Teasing, she lowered her mouth to his tip.

  “Don’t…” he warned. “I want to be inside you and if you put your mouth around me, I’ll blow it.”

  “Just a little taste,” she said and swirled her tongue around the head of his penis.

  He sucked air into his lungs in an audible gasp. She could feel him struggling to hold on to his restraint. “Roxie…”

  The taste of him was both savory and sweet. A unique flavor, all Dougal. She licked him like an ice-cream cone, seeking to arouse but not to set off an inferno.

  She stroked his balls while she licked, and his body stiffened. “Do you like that?”

  His answer was nothing more than a hard grunt and a short, rough nod. She played with him a bit longer, feeling his penis grow to an impossible length.

  When his balls pulled up tightly against his shaft she knew it was time to pull back, let his heart rate settle down.

  “Roxie…” He breathed her name, pure awe in his voice. “You’re a vicious goddess.”

  She rocked back on her heels, grinned at him.

  “Come here.” He pulled her into his arms.

  “Wait.” She moved back just enough to roll the condom down over his erection.<
br />
  “Now,” he said. It was a command, not a request. “Get on top of me.”

  Her knees were anchored on either side of his waist and she was dripping wet for him. He wrapped his hand around her neck, tugged her head down to plant a hot kiss on her mouth.

  Roxie melted into him. He tasted like her, and she tasted like him. It was a sexy combination that fired her up all over again.

  He settled his hands on her hips and guided her down on top of him. They both hissed out air in unison as he filled her up and she engulfed him.

  She set the pace, slow and deliberate, driving him mad.

  “Hurry,” he urged.

  “Nope,” she murmured. “Payback’s a bitch.”

  “You’ve got a cruel side, babe.”

  “It’ll be worth the wait,” she promised.

  “Two can play this game,” he said, and roguishly reached up to pinch her nipples between this thumbs and index fingers.

  Fire shot down her nerve endings from her breasts to her feminine core. “Devil,” she dared.

  “Don’t forget it.” He laughed.

  He moved beneath her, arching his hips, thrusting her high. His hands roved over her waist, her back, her belly and back to her breasts. At some point it felt as if he had a dozen maddening hands.

  She tried to hold him off, to make him wait as long as possible, but then the clever man slipped his fingers between her legs and found her pleasure spot.

  “No fair,” she cried weakly, but all she got in response was a wicked chuckle.

  He wriggled his finger and she couldn’t hold off any longer. She rode him as if her life depended on it.

  Then just before she was about to have her mind-blowing orgasm, he placed both palms around the sides of her head and pulled her down to stare deeply into her eyes.

  They gazed straight into each other’s souls.

  At the same moment, he thrust as hard into her as he could, and the earth shifted and Roxie spiraled out of control.

  His face contorted, but he never stopped looking at her, never stopped thrusting her over the edge until they both exploded in simultaneous bliss.

  Her body spasmed. Jerked.

  He clutched her to him. He was shaking all over.