by Tawny Taylor
She received the last. His cock breached her entry in a hard, quick thrust, and she shuddered at the sudden pleasure. Desperate to take him deeper, she wrapped her legs around his hips, changing the angle of his entry so that every stroke, out, in, out again, produced a shock wave through her whole body.
A fingertip pressed against her clit, and she clenched her inner muscles around him. A shuddering, tingling, whole-body orgasm was only a few thrusts away. With every thrust, every flick of his finger, her body tightened, heated, until she was trembling, her skin slick with sweat, her pussy clamped tight around his invading member.
His cock thickened, and she could hold back no longer. She relinquished with a moan and a sigh, and let his quickening pace extend the tingling pleasure of her orgasm. He caught her hips between strong hands, fingers curled, and lifted them, driving into her fiercely, until he too found his release. He came with a shuddering, throaty cry, drove into her a few more times and then lowered himself onto her, leaving his cock buried deep inside.
Now, that was the way a quickie should feel.
When he wrapped her in his arms, she smiled to herself, closed her eyes, and enjoyed the moment, knowing it would end too soon and they would become what they had been.
Husband and wife in name.
Partners in bed.
Acquaintances in life.
She wasn’t sorry. She wasn’t sad. As he kissed her forehead, stood, pulled up his pants, and left her, she told herself this was enough. She had everything she had ever hoped for.
Absolutely everything.
The next morning, she found a box sitting on her night-stand—the kind that came from a jewelry store. The top of the box was embossed with a swirling, interwoven D and A.
Drako’s logo.
Inside, Rin discovered a small velvet box, and inside that a pair of gorgeous diamond drop earrings. The bigger stones, a perfectly matched pair, were an intense yellow; the smaller stones that sat on the earlobe were clear, colorless. The combination was breathtaking.
She’d never owned anything so precious, beautiful.
She smiled at the irony. Where would she wear them? A party? The club? A date?
An idea came to her, and she smiled.
She’d plan a special surprise for Drako tomorrow night.
Yes, it would be perfect.
11
Rin could feel the shadows as they swept over her bared skin. They were cool, satiny, not at all unpleasant like she’d expected. This quiet, secluded place, bordering still, deep waters, was the perfect setting. She just hoped Drako would find her earlier than later. She was counting on Lei to give him the note.
They’d fallen into a routine already, after only a few days. Routines were good, when it came to certain things. Dressing for work. Paying the bills.
But not marriage. Not sex.
Tonight, instead of finding her in the den, her book in her lap, he’d find her here, at the very back of the property where the river scented the air and fireflies danced in the inky night. And instead of finding her wearing a frothy concoction of lace and satin, she was wearing nothing but the gift he’d given her.
Earrings and a smile.
Thankful it wasn’t a cold night, she stretched out on the soft throw she’d spread on the ground and plumped the pillows she’d brought to make things comfy.
The snap of a twig up the hill told her someone was on his way down. Moving quickly, she lit the single lantern she’d brought—ambient lighting was always good. The moon was nothing but a mere sliver tonight, but she looked forward to doing this again, maybe in the fall, and seeing Drako’s beautiful body illuminated by nothing but the light of a fat harvest moon.
“Rin?” He was close now, near enough for her to make out his shape in the still shadows. “What’s this?”
“A surprise.”
“A surprise, you say?” When he stepped into the soft lantern light, she swallowed a sigh. The weak illumination cut shadows across his face and over his body, but instead of looking strange or scary, he looked even more gorgeous. “Hmmm, this is a surprise.”
“Well, I figured I owed you.” She tucked her hair behind her ears and fingered her earlobes, hoping the light would reflect off the diamonds. A million tiny stars flickered around them.
“You don’t owe me anything.”
“Thank you. They’re beautiful.” Since he was still standing, she patted the ground beside her. “Will you join me? It’s such a lovely night, so clear. I discovered something while I was waiting for you to come home.”
“What’s that?” He sat beside her, allowing her a good, close look at his eyes. She was quite ecstatic to see the glimmer she was so fond of in their depth, the one that promised all kinds of carnal pleasure.
“If you lie down and look up, you can see thousands, maybe millions of stars.” She reclined onto her back and looked up. “I’ve never seen so many.”
He lay down beside her. “You can see even more if you get farther from the city.”
So glad she’d come out here, she inhaled the sweetly scented air and smiled. “Will you take me away from here someday? To see the stars?”
“Maybe. I don’t get away very often. But it’s possible.” He rolled onto his side and propped himself up on a bent arm. With one index finger, he drew a tingly line from the base of her throat, down between her breasts, to her belly button. “Rin, you are full of surprises, aren’t you?”
“I try.”
He cupped her cheek and bent down to kiss her. The kiss was as impossibly beautiful as the heavenly show above them, and she let herself savor every brush of his lips before welcoming his tongue into her mouth.
His sweet flavor danced on her taste buds. His intoxicating scent teased her nostrils, and his heat warmed her skin.
A silly thought popped into her head but just as swiftly popped out, and once again, she was adrift in a current of sensation. Scents of earth, water, flowers, grass, and man. Sounds of insects whirring, birds calling, water lapping at the bank, and her own shallow gasps as Drako kissed her collarbone, her shoulder. The feel of his clothes grazing against her heated skin, his thumb teasing her nipple to an aching, tingling peak, the warm tightness coiling deep inside her body.
She reached up, pushed her hands under his shirt, and traced the lines cutting the muscles of his abdomen into a series of sloping planes. Up, she moved her hands, to his broad chest. When a fingertip found a tight little nipple, he growled softly and nipped her, sending a blade of pleasure-pain slicing through her system.
“When I saw you that first night,” he whispered, his voice breathy, “I thought I knew what you were like. I was wrong.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No, not at all.” One of his hands skimmed down her body, finding the heated juncture of her thighs.
“Tell me what did you think I was like?”
“Two-dimensional. Predictable.” He parted her labia and flicked her clit softly.
She quivered as a heated chill swept up her spine. “Mmmm. So glad you believe you were wrong.”
“So am I.” He pushed two fingers inside her, and she arched her back and bent her knees, sliding her feet apart. When he withdrew his fingers, she rocked her hips back, and when he plunged them deep inside for a second time, she thrust them forward. He hooked them, applying just the right amount of friction against that spot inside, and sparks lit up behind her closed eyelids.
This time, she didn’t want a quickie. She wanted the pleasure to last.
“Will you take your clothes off? All of them?” she asked.
As torturous as it was, having him stop fucking her with those fingers, she was glad when he stopped. Off came his shirt, revealing the glory of broad shoulders, arms that looked strong enough to lift her with ease, and that unbelievable stomach. Down came his pants, and she was gifted with the lovely sight of thick legs. Finally, off came his boxer briefs, and she was staring at the thick cock she was desperate to feel filling her.
They had little time together, and every moment, every second, was precious. She wanted to make the best of whatever time she had with him.
She sat up, and before he could get her back down on the ground, she cupped his testicles in one hand, curled the fingers of her other hand around his cock, and took him in her mouth.
Just as he had last night, he grabbed her hair, trying to use it to control her. But this time, she didn’t let him. When he pulled, she pushed forward, taking his cock deeper into her throat. And when he pushed, she pulled back until the flared ridge circling the head slipped between her lips and only the tip of him remained in her mouth. It wasn’t easy, fighting against the laws of physics, but thankfully, he quickly gave up, dropping his hands to her shoulders. His fingertips curled, his nails pressing into her skin, but the slight sting only amplified her satisfaction.
This time, she’d have him quivering, on the verge of losing control.
She realized, though, what a foolish notion that was all too soon. Just as she was certain she was setting the pace, he yanked away from her. In the next breath, she was flat on her back, her legs pushed wide apart, her bent knees forced up toward her shoulders.
If she had been in control of him a moment ago, she wasn’t anymore. Now he was in control of her. And the first time his tongue flicked over her clit, she was both oh so glad and oh so frustrated by that fact.
Things only went from bad to worse when he continued to perform magic with that mouth. With tiny nips and flicks of his tongue, he made every cell in her body vibrate. She tried to touch him, caress him, but he made it close to impossible. All she could do was dig her fingernails into his hard shoulders and shiver, quiver, and sigh through his assault.
When he added a couple of fingers sliding in and out of her burning pussy, she all but cried out for mercy. The senses that had once been keen became clouded. Smells didn’t matter. Sounds. Tastes. She was being pulled deeper and deeper into the throbbing pleasure he was churning inside her, and like a swimmer caught in a strong undertow, she couldn’t find a way to the surface.
She couldn’t speak, but if she could, she would have pleaded with him to release her. Especially when the torment continued on and on, to the point she thought she couldn’t endure another second . . . and then beyond that. It seemed he read her body somehow, knew when the heat was getting too great and how much to back off. She tumbled through the darkness, completely at his mercy, until, finally, he stopped.
In that instant, she felt as if she was floating up, to the surface, but before she’d caught her breath, he wedged his hips between her spread thighs and entered her slowly. One fraction of an inch at a time.
All thoughts of prolonging the pleasure were banished from her mind. Now, as he began to thrust in and out in a steady rhythm, everything she felt and thought revolved around one thing—release. The tension inside was building so quickly, she trembled all over.
This time, she would hold him tightly to her as she came. He was supporting his upper body with straight arms. She looped her arms around his neck and pulled, coaxing him to rest on top of her. It felt so right, having his weight settled on top of her, his heat searing her skin, his breath caressing her face. As she rocked her hips in time to his thrusts, she kissed his shoulder, savored the salty taste of his skin.
So close. Almost there.
Eyes shut, she dragged her fingernails down his back, and his rib cage vibrated beneath her fingertips as he growled. This was one feral, powerful man, and she ached to see him at his wildest, all of his dark fury unleashed. Would he ever strip away the restraints and let her see him as he truly was?
That was the last thought she had before her brain shut down entirely. Her orgasm started as a tiny tingling spark, but it didn’t stay that way for long. In a heartbeat, her entire body was shaking, her pussy spasming. Pure carnal bliss coursed up and down, up and down, buzzing from the soles of her feet to the roots of her hair. Those zapping charges increased when Drako found release, and his hot cum filled her pussy. She clung to him, arms wrapped around his neck, legs around his hips. For one glorious moment, she was one with him.
She had no idea how long it took for the after-sex glow to cool. She was only grateful for the fact that Drako didn’t hurry away like he had the last two times. Instead, after he pulled his softening rod out of her, he rolled onto his back and lay beside her, eyes closed, arms resting at his sides.
They didn’t speak for a few minutes. It was nice, a simple pleasure she’d never shared with anyone.
“I made an engagement ring today,” he said. “For a customer.”
“I bet it was beautiful.”
“Sure. They always are.”
She heard something in his voice. What was it? Cynicism? “But. . .?”
He rocked his head from side to side. “When I saw them together the first time, I could tell it wasn’t going to last.”
“Really?”
“His fiancée isn’t marrying him, she’s marrying his bank account. That’s what most of them do.”
“Does it bother you? Selling jewelry to men who are marrying women who don’t love them?” She didn’t want to point out the obvious because she knew there was a point to this conversation and she wanted to hear what it was.
“Yes and no. I don’t feel sorry for either of them. Most of the time they’re using each other. They get what they deserve. But it’s hard to watch people make that kind of mistake, over and over, when they could have so much more.”
“What could they have, Drako?”
He sat up and looked down at her. The lantern’s soft glow gently caressed his features, giving them a softness they didn’t normally possess. “Are you sorry you married me?”
“No, Drako.”
“Are you certain what we have is enough?”
She wanted to tell him yes, absolutely, but she couldn’t. She wasn’t certain, though she was trying damn hard to convince herself it was. Instead, she said, “I think it is.” When he didn’t respond, she continued, “If I hadn’t married you, who’s to say I would have found the perfect man and had the perfect life? I’m convinced perfection doesn’t exist. And I think you’re saying the same thing. What marriage is perfect? Human beings have strengths and weaknesses, failings and triumphs, and so does everything created by man.” She curled her fingers, fisting the soft material beneath her.
“Yes, but . . .” He didn’t finish the sentence, instead leaving Rin wondering what he was thinking.
She sat up, looked down at him. “Drako, I made a promise to you, and I am going to keep it. I don’t know you very well yet, but I believe you are the kind of man who keeps his promises too.”
“Yes.” He sat up, shoved his fingers through his hair. The action made him look confused or frustrated.
“Are you sorry you married me, Drako?”
“No, as long as you tell me you’re happy.”
“I’m happy.” She hoped she sounded sincere.
“You don’t wish you could have more?”
Her fingers moved to her earlobes. She touched the earrings and smiled. “More? You’ve done so much for me already.”
“I’m not talking about things. I’m talking about. . .I can’t love you.”
“I know, Drako.” She rested a hand on his arm and looked him in the eye. “You were honest with me from the start. I went into this knowing what to expect.”
“Then it’s good enough.” He stood, lifted his shirt, but instead of putting it back on, he wrapped it around Rin, after helping her to her feet. Then he snatched the throw they’d been lying on; gave it a good, hard shake to remove the leaves, grass, and twigs; and wrapped it around her too, leaving the lower half of her legs free so she wouldn’t trip. He took one look at her bare feet and grimaced. “Didn’t you
wear shoes?”
“No. It’s okay. My feet are tough.”
He scooped her up in his arms like a gallant prince and carried her, cradled to his chest, up the stone pathway, into the house, and all the way into her bedroom.
She wouldn’t tell him how amazing it felt, having him take care of her like this. He treated her like she was delicate, fragile.
He treated her like he loved her.
She touched her earlobe as he turned away. “Drako.” When he glanced over his shoulder, she said, “Thank you for the gift. They’re lovely.”
He looked at her for a handful of tense seconds, then nodded. “You’re welcome.”
12
Everything was in place.
Sitting in a white van that would blend into the surroundings and was packed with surveillance equipment, Drako motioned to his brother and said into the microphone, ���Okay, let’s send them in. Are you sure there’s no risk of poisoning?”
Malek sat next to him, turning to face the equipment on the opposite side of the van. “The FBI’s being very tight-lipped about their investigation, but Wilkerson told me they think someone spiked some pastries at a coffee shop he frequents downtown. An agent took some donuts from his house and is sending them to the lab for testing.”
“Okay, then.” Satisfied there would be no danger of the two men becoming sick, Drako ordered them to move in.
Down the street, the two men—their stand-ins—exited a black SUV and walked into the Chimera’s abandoned headquarters, their conversation carried from hidden microphones to Drako and Malek’s headphones wirelessly.
This had to work. Drako was sure of it.
After talking with his brother, Drako had concluded that Oram had paid a visit to this place for a very different reason than he’d first thought. Oram hadn��t been looking for something; he was trying to draw them there, into a trap.
What Oram wanted, he would get.
