by Terri Austin
Iain’s narrowed eyes trailed it. Once more, he swooped down to kiss her. He was gentle this time, stroking his tongue along her lip, sucking it afterward. This was her reward for following his instructions. The way Brynn looked at it, whether he punished her or rewarded her, it was a win-win proposition.
Iain stuck his finger back into the carton. When he brought it out, he held it to Brynn’s throat and drew a line down her sternum. The cold made her shiver. So did his creativity. As Iain painted her, his hand was the slightest bit shaky.
A bolt of heat shot through Brynn when Iain bent down and followed it with his tongue. Her arms were still raised above her head. Obedient. Helpless. But she liked it that way.
Once more, he scooped a bit of the ice cream onto his finger, this time using it to circle her nipple. First one, then the other. He used his mouth to suck it off her skin.
Brynn’s legs trembled. This was a luscious game of torture. The ice cream numbed her breasts, but Iain’s tongue sent warmth radiating through her system.
When he finally raised his head, he gazed down at her, his expression inscrutable. “Put your arms down. Keep them pinned to your sides.”
She lowered her arms, impatient to see what body part he’d paint next. Her pussy was aching by now, desperate to feel him—his tongue, his fingers, his cock. She didn’t care which.
Iain threaded his sticky fingers through her hair and grabbed hold. He tilted her head back, sucking and nibbling his way from her neck down to her breasts. Brynn longed to touch him, feel the ripple of muscles against his back, sift her fingers through his short hair. But she did as he’d ordered and kept her hands at her sides. She bunched them into fists, her body so sensitive right then, she trembled.
“You’re good at obeying, aren’t you, darling?”
She merely nodded, not trusting her voice at this point. Because if she opened her mouth, she’d beg him to fuck her. And she’d learned the hard way that Iain was unpredictable. Sometimes he would give in and take her so hard she couldn’t remember her own name. Other times he would hold out, keep her waiting, delay her orgasm until she nearly sobbed for relief. Begging was too much of a gamble.
Only one thing about their lovemaking remained constant. Iain was always in control. Of her. Of his own reactions. He never lost himself in it the way Brynn did.
Now Iain knelt before her and rubbed ice cream over her ribs and around her belly button. Brynn gasped at the blast of cold and sucked in her stomach. By the time he’d licked her clean, she was about to collapse on the floor.
But Iain set the carton aside and lightly bit her inner thigh. Brynn’s head fell back as she moaned. God, she wanted him. Needed him. He wound her up, time after time, until she was a basket case. In those moments, fulfillment became her sole reason for existing.
“Spread your legs apart, Brynnie.” She did so immediately, but her knee almost buckled. Iain caught her and propped his hands on her waist, literally holding her up. Then he parted her folds and lapped her. His tongue slipped inside her, and he flicked it wildly while his thumb found her clit.
Brynn instantly fell apart. She couldn’t hold back anymore. Her hands shot out and found his head, holding it right where she wanted. If Iain hadn’t been supporting her, she would have collapsed onto the floor. Delicious tingles of pleasure radiated throughout her body.
Each orgasm Iain gave her was different. Some were mellow, some were all-consuming. By varying his technique, he could elicit a different response. But no matter what route he chose, he always made her come.
Once the tremors subsided, Iain still didn’t let up. His thumb continued to flutter over her swollen clit. His tongue still swirled inside her. Brynn felt that now-familiar sensation start to ramp up again. Where before she could barely have one orgasm, now Iain played her body like a well-tuned instrument.
Passion built on itself, working its way through her system once more. Soon, another surge of pleasure, twice as intense as the first, blew through her like a fire, consuming her. Brynn gasped for every breath she took.
Her body was still shaking when he lifted his head and gazed up at her. “I thought I told you to keep your hands at your sides.”
“I’ve been a bad girl, Iain. I’ll totally let you spank me, but first, I need a minute to calm down. That last one was a doozy.”
“No.” He rose, walked to the side table, and shoved his hand into the orange hand-blown glass bowl. Since last weekend, he’d started keeping condoms strategically stashed throughout the apartment and her house as well. “No minutes. No resting. And tomorrow, when you can’t walk because I’ve fucked you so hard, you’ll thank me.”
Arrogant Brit. God, how she loved it.
He rolled the condom on as he walked toward her. Brynn watched him in the semidarkness, her eyes playing over his hard muscles. She needed to draw him like this, with bright pops of neon flashing over him.
Iain drew to a stop in front of her and, without a word, placed his hands on her ass and lifted her up. She wrapped her rubbery legs around his waist while he drove into her and kissed her at the same time, swallowing her cry.
This was exactly what Brynn needed. To be possessed by Iain. He didn’t hold back as he slammed into her over and over. That was okay. Brynn liked it when he got rough. She held on, clinging to his shoulders, lost in the pleasure. And the emotion. When Iain was deep inside of her, she felt the bond between them strengthen. It wrapped around her heart, tight and unshakable, drawing her closer to him. He was a part of her now.
He gazed down at her, wearing a fierce frown, gritting his teeth as he sought to stave off his own orgasm. “Brynnie. God, you feel good.”
He felt good too. When he finally let himself go, his cock jerked inside her and his hips bucked. She gazed up at him, past his corded neck and his raised chin. She loved him so much.
Iain looked down at her, never breaking eye contact as he continued to shudder. “Brynn.”
Afterward, he held her. She rested her head against his chest, heard the unsteady thump of his heart. She wanted this to last forever—this closeness, this feeling of being cosseted by Iain Chapman.
He brushed his lips over the top of her head. “I’ve never met anyone like you, Brynn.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Oh yes, pet. Very good.”
She lifted her head and gazed up at him. “Why couldn’t you sleep?”
He paused. “Work. Just…thinking about a particular problem I have.”
“Can I help?”
He was quiet for a long moment. “No, I don’t think so. We should probably get a shower, wash off the stickiness.”
This was frustratingly familiar. Iain could open up to her, share things about his past or his relationship with Marc, but when she brought up his business, for some reason, he shut Brynn down. Maybe he was afraid she’d lecture him again.
He carried her to the bathroom, still buried inside her. She wanted him to trust her, the way she’d come to trust him. “You can tell me anything, you know. I promise I won’t quote from a manual.”
He didn’t laugh, as she’d intended. “Don’t want to talk about it. It’s something I have to figure out meself.”
Feeling chastised and dismissed, Brynn said nothing when he finally slid out of her. Instead, she turned her back on him and flipped on the shower. She reminded herself again that even though she was crazy about him, they hardly knew each other. Not really. And his business was his own.
Still, she felt hurt. Rejected. Brynn had lost her heart to Iain. She only hoped he’d handle it with care.
Chapter 17
Brynn was having the worst Monday imaginable. It had started out well enough, with Iain kissing her breasts, sucking them, laving his tongue across her nipples until she woke up writhing, the dark gray sheets in a tangle around her legs.
Wet and ready, she’d reached for him. They didn’t play games in the mornings, and he didn’t waste time, either. Entering her in one slick motion, Iain thrust his hips forw
ard, withdrew, then did it again—over and over with dizzying effect. Brynn’s loud moans filled the silence as she wedged a hand between their bodies and, using one finger, circled her clit. She came in minutes. Iain had opened that door for her. Brynn didn’t know if it was simple biology or if the love she felt for Iain mixed with her body’s response.
After her gasps subsided, Iain increased his speed. He stroked faster and faster, shuddering and hoarsely moaning in her ear. Afterward, they lay together, their bodies cooling as dawn broke out over Vegas and long shadows fell across the room.
Brynn didn’t want to go to work. She’d rather stay there with him, wrapped in his warmth, sated and drowsy, until he was ready for another round. But since having sex for the rest of the morning wouldn’t pay the mortgage, Brynn kissed his shoulder and crawled out of bed. She glanced out the window, catching a glimpse of the Strip on her way to the bathroom. The city, so lively and chaotic every night, looked a little tawdry at dawn. Litter lined the street and the bright neon lights began to dim as the sun rose. This was her town, and even at its shabbiest, Brynn loved it.
After a quick shower, she threw on a purple peasant skirt and a lavender blouse. She and Iain moved around each other in a badly choreographed dance. She’d bumped into him twice, once at the bathroom sink and once at the coffeepot. She’d nearly spilled her travel mug all over the floor. She managed to pull her hair into a fishtail braid and grab her things before finally heading for the door.
Iain stood in the living room, a bemused expression on his handsome face. “You’re forgetting something, pet.”
Brynn stopped in her tracks. She had her bag, a bagel secured between her front teeth, a full mug, and her keys. “What?” she mumbled.
Fixing his cufflink, he stared at her with raised brows. “I need a kiss good-bye, don’t I?” He moved forward and bussed both of her cheeks and her forehead, then brushed her neck with his chin. “You’re meeting me for lunch at the bistro, yeah?”
“Uh-huh.” Then she flew out the door and made the long elevator journey to the lobby. The concierge now knew her by name. Brynn nodded and smiled. It should have been weird, staying there most nights, nodding at Iain’s neighbors every morning, but though it wasn’t home, being with Iain was worth it. Despite the ugly furniture.
She navigated rush-hour traffic and got to the office by eight. But the minute she entered, Brynn’s day turned from stressful to shit. Her computer was dead. No noise from the hard drive, no blinking cursor, just a horrible, blank screen. Brynn turned it off and tried again. And again. Oh no. This was bad. This was worse than bad—this was catastrophic.
Whipping out her phone, she called the off-site IT guy and, in a panic, explained what happened.
“Sounds like a complete hardware failure,” he said. “Tough to know until I can see it. I’ll be by sometime this afternoon.”
Anxiety had Brynn grasping her braid. “No, I need you now.”
“Brynn, babe, I’ve got five people ahead of you.”
“So escalate the ticket. Bump me to the front of the queue.”
After some begging and an offer of two hundred in cash, he promised he’d make an appearance that morning. Her computer was old, the software obsolete. She’d inherited it from the last poor sap who’d constructed curriculum.
Working the kinks out of her neck, Brynn slogged to Cass’s office and knocked on the door.
“Enter.” Cass stood with her back to the window, staring at three cocktail dresses draped over the desk. “Oh good, Brynn, you can help. I need to decide on one and return the other two.” She grabbed the black satin with a ruched shoulder. “What do you think?”
“Cass, my computer’s dead. I can’t access any of my work. The IT guy is coming to pick it up soon, but in the meantime, I have nothing. The animation for the Pampered Pooch franchise, the manual on how to close a sale, my notes on the car dealership—all of it’s gone.”
Cass placed the dress back on the desk. “Didn’t you back everything up?”
“Yes, of course. I back up my data every Friday afternoon. But since my computer’s fried, it doesn’t matter. Even if the IT guy can revive it, I don’t know how long that will take. What are we going to do?”
Cass fell into her chair. “See if you can use Paige’s or Lori’s computer.”
“They don’t have the software I need. If you authorize me to get a new computer, I’ll have to get new software too. What I’ve been using is too ancient for a new system. All of the due dates are going to have to be pushed way back. This could take weeks.”
Cass sat staring at her desk. She didn’t speak. She didn’t blink. After several minutes passed, she placed her head on the orange satin dress and began weeping.
Brynn snatched it off the desk and flung it at the chair. Cass couldn’t return a dress covered in mascara stains. “Oh God, Brynn.” She lifted her head and tears poured from her eyes. “I thought I could handle it all, but I’m up to my neck in debt. I barely make payroll every week. The vet’s threatened to stop treating Nef if I don’t pay my bill. What am I going to do?”
Things were as bad as Brynn had feared. She walked the narrow path to her boss’s desk, careful not to step on anything or accidentally knock over a stack of folders. She halfheartedly patted Cass’s shoulder. “You have to get some kind of financial person in here to straighten it out. Today.”
“Who? I can’t afford to pay anyone.”
“My brother-in-law might know someone.”
Cass pulled back, shaking her head so hard, the baby fine curls sprang around her head. “No. Word will get out. Everyone will know. I’ll be a laughingstock in the industry. I’ll find a way, you just have to be patient. We’ll get a computer next week.”
Reality and her boss didn’t always see eye to eye. This was one of those times. Brynn bent down and patted Cass’s knee. “Of course everyone is going to find out. There’s no way around it. But this can’t go on. You’re barely solvent. If you don’t call someone today, I’m going to have to quit. I can’t continue to support your bad choices.” For once, Brynn stood her ground and didn’t feel bad about it. Cass needed a dose of tough love.
She gazed at Brynn with watery eyes. “You don’t mean that.”
“I do.” Brynn had been a fool to trust Cass for as long as she had. She’d made excuses for her boss, put up with her manipulations, and worked her ass off for nothing. If Cass didn’t change, they wouldn’t last another week. “You need someone to look over all the financials, put you on a budget, and get this company back on track. If you’re not willing to do that, I’m out.” Brynn had clients who liked working with her. She could go freelance, and she’d be fine. It was Paige and the rest of the team she was worried about.
Cass dabbed her fingers beneath her eyes and nodded. “I guess I have to. Call your brother-in-law. After all this is over, we’re doing tequila shots.”
Brynn rose and retraced her path to the door.
“Have you ever thought about having a roommate, Brynn?”
“Not a chance.” It flew out of Brynn’s mouth before she had time to craft a more diplomatic answer. With her hand on the knob, she glanced back. “I mean, I like my space.” Having Cass and her cat as roommates or living in my tiny office for a month—no showers? The hovel won.
“Right. I guess I should cancel my date tonight. A new one. He sounded like a winner. He owns a Corvette and only has one ex-wife.” She started sobbing again as Brynn quietly left.
Paige waited outside the door and followed Brynn into her office. “What’s going on? And don’t say ‘nothing.’”
Though she hated delivering bad news, it was time for Brynn to be honest. Paige deserved to know the truth. “Cass is in deep financial trouble. She said she could fix it with the big contract from Blue Moon.”
“How much trouble?” Paige’s face turned chalky.
“Get-your-résumé-in-order kind of trouble.”
Paige stumbled backward. “How long have you known?”
Brynn hesitated. “A couple weeks.”
“Weeks? You’ve known for weeks, and you didn’t tell me?”
“I’m so sorry.” Brynn rubbed her aching forehead. This day was getting out of control faster than a loser on a winning streak.
“I thought we were friends, Brynn. I have bills and rent and school loans to pay off. You should have told me.”
“Cass promised me she’d get back on track.”
“Huh, and when was the last time she kept her promise?” Paige made a show of peeking under the desk and looking behind the bookcase. “I don’t see that assistant she’s been promising you. You’re a sap, Brynn. And a bad friend.”
A bad friend? Brynn had never been accused of that before. “Listen to me, please. I’m going to talk to my brother-in-law and see if he can recommend a financial advisor. We have clients. The sales team has leads. Let’s not give up.”
Paige thrust her jaw out and crossed her arms. Brynn didn’t need to consult her Body Language and You manual to know her friend was right at the edge of mutiny.
“Please?”
“What choice do I have? If I quit without having another job lined up, I’d be an idiot. At least if Cass lets us go, I can collect unemployment until something else comes along. But that doesn’t make things okay between us, Brynn. That was a shitty move you pulled, not telling me sooner.”
“I’m so sor—”
She didn’t get to finish, because Paige had already slammed out of her office.
Brynn fell onto her chair and, snatching up her phone, dialed Trevor.
“What is it?” he answered. Surly. If she had to use one word to describe Allie’s husband, that would be it. He wasn’t that way with Al and the boys, but with the rest of the world, he was full of surl.
“Hey, Trev. How’ve you been?”
“As ever.” His dialect was the opposite of Iain’s. Cold, crisp, and supremely snooty, his accent alone would make any commoner feel inferior. And Brynn was about as common as it got. “What do you need?”
“A financial guru at rock-bottom prices.”
