His tongue stroked over her finger before he slowly pulled off. She was panting hard as he caught her hand, turned it, and pressed a kiss to her palm. Then he lowered her hand to the bed. Shifting, he lowered himself between her legs, and swiped his tongue up her slit.
She let out an inarticulate sound as she jolted under him. He threw an arm over her waist, using his fingers to spread her open to give him room to flick his tongue over her clit. Cateline did the only thing she could. She grabbed onto his hair, desperate for something solid to grip, and held on for the ride.
Chapter Ten
Cateline tasted like nothing he could have prepared for. Shade breathed in her scent for a moment in a vain attempt to wrestle some more control. Settling his mouth to her clit, he began to suck, flicking the tight nub with his tongue from time to time in an effort to make her as mindless as he currently was.
Watching her stroke herself had made his entire body hum with need. It had been a battle to let her go as far as he had. Any more and he’d likely have come like a teenager in his pants the first time with a girl.
The little sounds she made now spurred Shade on. Leaving her clit for the moment, he lapped at the liquid her pussy gave to him. He pushed his tongue between her smooth folds to gather more of the taste sweet. Returning his mouth to her clit, he slid a finger, then a second one into her pussy to pump them slowly.
Her inner muscles clamped down around his invading fingers, squeezing tighter the more he sucked on her clit. Cat made soft and highly erotic sounds. Shade had to press his aching cock to the bed hard to keep from coming when she let out a greedy plea for more while tugging harder on his hair.
In the next instant she went over the edge. The bite her short nails created on his scalp sent a shiver through him as she arched her back. Shade slowed, but didn’t let up until she finally collapsed. Her chest rose and fell quickly as she sucked in air.
Finally lifting his head, Shade slowly withdrew his fingers to lick them clean while she watched him from under lowered lashes. Her face was flushed from her pleasure, the color down her chest and across her upper breasts. Such a pretty color. He found himself shifting his body to brush his lips over the heated flesh.
Easing his weight over her, he brushed a kiss to her lips before nibbling on her throat. Her arms and legs looped around him, pulling him in closer to her heat. Shade could feel her swollen, wet folds against his cock. He needed to bury himself deep inside her body.
With that thought held tight, he shifted enough to find the side table, and pulled open the drawer. Grabbing a condom from the new box, he carefully, but quickly, tore through the wrapper. Condom in hand, he rolled it down his aching cock before settling back over her fully again. Her arms tightened, and with a hand in his hair, she drew him in for a kiss.
Shade went willingly. Anything she wanted he’d gladly give to her. He slid a hand up to collar her throat gently, using his thumb to tip her chin up before he took her mouth. Angling his head to take her mouth deeper, he practically purred when she kissed him back, everything in him enjoying the sensation their dueling tongues created.
He broke the kiss a moment later to take a breath. Cat yanked him right back down as soon as she’d taken her own lungful. The little wench actually bit him. Jerking his head back he ran his tongue over the spot while she smirked up at him. “That wasn’t very nice, kitten.”
Her smile grew bigger. “What are you going to do about it?”
The playful, saucy answer had him grinning back at her. “Oh, I will come up with some way to punish you for that later.” Palming her pussy, he thrust two fingers into her sheath, and then kissed her again. He pumped his fingers into her hard, and fast. The little sounds she made spurred him on. All the while, she attempted to squirm under his weight and had his cock rubbing to her thigh, increasing the ache.
Cat’s mouth moved like she was trying to form words. The glazed look in her eyes assured him she was in the moment with him. Nibbling on her throat, he brushed his thumb to her engorged clit. It was a damn good thing he had his weight over her or she might have twisted off the bed she bucked that hard.
“Shade,” she said. “You’re fucking killing me here. I need more.”
Since he wanted more too, he took it. Drawing his fingers free from her pussy, he toyed with her clit for a moment. After lifting her leg up over his hip, Shade settled between her legs. “Look at me,” he demanded.
When her honey-colored gaze collided with his, he pushed his cock against her slick entrance. Her body grasped at his cock the moment he slipped inside. Cat’s mouth dropped open on a moan, and she took his arms in a tight hold, digging in with her short nails. It was perfect.
Pressing in deeper, Shade clenched his teeth in an effort to stave off his orgasm. She was snug, hugging him tight with her hot little pussy. He hiked her leg up a little further, his fingers massaging her thigh gently.
Cat grabbed onto his hair, and tugged him back into a kiss. He took the moment to wrestle for more control. Not that easy given her internal muscles were squeezing him tight. Sucking on her tongue, he began to move. A slow withdrawal followed by an equally slow thrust. She gave a low moan each time he pushed in deep. The sounds she made drove him a little crazy.
She broke the kiss on a gasp, her fingers holding tight to his hair which meant he couldn’t go in for another kiss without losing a chunk or two. It was tempting, but watching the expressions developing on her face held more appeal. Especially the closer she came to release.
Shade locked his gaze with hers to watch for any small change. He didn’t want to miss a single thing. This was their first time together, and he fully planned on committing every sound, every sensation, and every movement she made to memory. Then he’d attempt to top it all.
Cupping a breast, he massaged it in time with his thrusts. Unable to stop himself, he dropped his head to flick his tongue to her tightly budded nipple before pressing kisses along her throat. A small nip to her jaw had her jolting, and then tipping her chin down to get a kiss. Shade thrust his tongue in deep while pinching, and tugging on her nipple.
Each tug had her pussy clenching tighter around his cock. It was getting hard to think, to control his movements. Then she bit his lip hard enough to sting, and it put a strain on the chains that held his more dominant traits back. Capturing her hands, he pushed them over her head. With one hand he held them in place, leaving him a free one to do what he would to her.
His fingers wrapped around her throat and he gave her another kiss, fully in control. Licking, sipping, and tempting her with everything he could. Cat’s body twisted under him, straining to get closer as he pushed them both toward the edge.
He tore his mouth from hers to suck in a ragged breath, and tightened his hold on her throat. She tipped her chin up with a delicious moan filled with need that snapped the last restraint holding him back. Shade gave in to the need inside and took her. Hard, fast, furiously. His hips moved at a rapid pace that soon became an audible sound of damp flesh slapping to damp flesh.
Cateline’s eyelids slowly lowered, and she bit her kiss swollen lower lip. “Look at me,” he demanded. It was more a growl than anything else, but it worked.
Her eyes snapped open, and she met his gaze squarely. Glazed, and slightly unfocused, she stared up at him. Desperate need written all over her face.
“You are mine,” he told her.
Cat’s lips parted on a breath, and then she arched up with a scream. Her internal muscles clamped down hard around his cock. A sensual vise tormenting him for each push and pull. Finally he couldn’t stand it a second more, and let himself go.
Her name tore from his throat in a strangled sound. Shade’s body filled the condom as he collapsed over her quivering form. Pressing a kiss to her jaw, he let her go to wrap his arms around her. When her own arms slid around his sweaty shoulders, he buried his face to her neck.
“Mine.” The nearly soundless word from her shook him to his core. Squeezing her closer, Shade
stroked a hand over her shoulder in slow circles.
This was only the beginning. She was back where she belonged: with him. He would do whatever it took to keep her in his life, and to show her how truly special she was to him. Cat was, after all, his everything.
Chapter Eleven
For the next month Cateline floated on a cloud. Both at work, and during her weekends spent with Shade. He’d arranged with the other guys to keep the weekends free as much as they could manage. Their manager, Christine, was on board, too. Something about a happy Shade was a productive Shade.
Cat couldn’t argue with that since Shade was definitely happy, and he had helped the band write another three songs since she’d come back into his life. She wasn’t conceited enough to believe it had anything to do with her. She did seem to be helping with relaxing him, but that was as far as she’d go with accepting his productivity.
Not that the songs were yet ready for public consumption, but they were definitely coming along. Only one weekend hadn’t gone quite as planned. The guys had been called into the studio to lay down another track because the previous one had something on it making it unusable. With their tight schedules, they’d had to do it over the weekend.
Cat hadn’t minded in the least. She’d gone along to see what they did during a session, and learned a lot about the process involved in turning a first inkling into a full-fledged song. The bonus was being able to watch the guys working smoothly in studio which had actually been rather interesting, too. Quite different than when they were out on stage. There was still that wild energy there, but in a more mellow way. They joked around, played with different sounds and notes. They had fun. From the band members to the crew working the sound boards were not exempt from the hilarity.
Setting her travel mug down next to her computer, she quickly shrugged off her jacket, and stashed it along with her purse. A quick glance at the schedule showed no changes by her boss to his insane day. He had back to back meetings with staff members up for review for the next three days, including one with her as well. With that unsettling thought in place, she quickly checked the voicemail, and her emails for anything he needed to handle before collecting the hard copy files for all the staff on the morning docket, and headed into his office.
To alert him of her presence, she gave a quick knock at the partially open door and then stepped inside. When she’d first started with him she would have waited for him to acknowledge her. A huge time waste since the man more often than not had his phone surgically attached to his ear. The only time he didn’t have it strapped to his head was when he was face to face with someone.
Simon Ackerman was old fashioned in some ways. He believed that when he was talking to someone, the sole attention should be in that moment and on that person. He was as technologically hip as the next person, sometimes more so, but technology could only take a deal to a certain point. A good solid hand shake, eye contact, and truly listening to the other person was what had made him into the successful individual he was. At least according to an interview he’d given Forbes magazine three years prior.
Cat set the files on his desk in the clear space to the right of his blotter. Stepping back, she waited while he finished his call. “Problems?” she asked.
“The usual bullshit,” he muttered. “What’s first today?” he asked.
“Files for you to go over prior to starting the staff reviews. You have about forty minutes before the first one.” Cateline handed over his phone messages written out on various colored sheets. The soft blue was non-urgent, buttercream was semi-urgent, and the mellow pumpkin shade was the most urgent. “Only two calls you’ll need to deal with prior to the first staff member coming in. The others can wait until you have time.”
He nodded while glancing through them. “Shit, yeah, this one I better call back.” Simon reached for his phone while she collected his coffee mug.
Leaving him to make the first call, she went to the executive breakroom to start a fresh coffee pot. Simon was always in two hours before Cat got there. But no one in their right mind ever drank the sludge he brewed. Anyone who valued their stomach lining waited to swipe the good stuff until she was in and had the pot going.
After taking him a cup, she settled down to deal with the items on her list for the day. Her own assistant wouldn’t be in until eleven. As a working mom, Lori only did part-time hours to ensure she was there to see her son off to school, do her own household chores, and then still get off with time to spare to pick him up in the afternoon’s. Simon had been unsure about the set-up, but since it was working out perfectly for, Cateline he couldn’t complain.
Lori was a hard worker, and extremely efficient. If she could get over the terror she felt whenever Simon was on a rampage, she’d be fine. Poor thing still froze up despite Cat’s assurances that Simon was all hot air.
“Hot air by the gallon,” she muttered under her breath with a smirk.
Over the next two hours she answered almost all of the emails, and showed staff into Simon’s office. From their expressions when they came out, she knew who had been told what. If she hadn’t been the one to take notes last week when Simon had prepped for these reviews, she’d still have known merely from their expressions.
Simon ran a tight ship. While he did not expect perfection, he did expect quality work during the hours someone was in the office. As long as an individual did his or her absolute best, yet still failed, he wouldn’t find any fault. Sloppy or lazy workers, though, were his biggest pet peeves. He felt that he gave one hundred and ten percent, the least everyone else could do was the same in their own unique way.
It was why there would be several jobs on the line, three outright firings, and a half dozen promotions in between the regular pat on the backs, and pay increases. The only review Cat didn’t know the outcome of was her own. It was scheduled to be the last for the morning, and he’d had the file since she’d pulled them all the week prior.
The ringing phone tugged her mind from the worrying she couldn’t quite control. “Ackerman Developments Limited, Mr. Ackerman’s office, Cateline speaking. How might I assist you today?”
“Fucking hell, you have that prim, and proper voice down to an art form.”
Shivering at Shade’s voice coming over the line, Cat couldn’t stop the grin that pulled at her lips. “You like that do you?” she inquired. Another staff member walked in, and she checked her off the list before waving the woman to a seat. “It’ll be five minutes, Gerry. Coffee’s fresh in the breakroom if you’d like some.” The woman shook her head, and sat down with a smile allowing Cat to return her attention to the sexy rocker on the phone.
“I’m interrupting aren’t I?” he asked.
“A little bit, but that’s okay. What’s up?” she asked curiously.
“Christine let us know that she’s finalized all the details for our international tour. This one’s going to be different than the others since we’ve broken our silence with the media. She’s got our schedule packed full between shows with radio interviews, a couple TV shows, and things I’m going to have to look up to figure out what the fuck they are.”
“When does it start?” Cat’s heart was up in her throat. The thought that he’d be heading overseas where she wouldn’t be able to see him made her tense with worry.
“We fly out December first,” he said softly. “The first show is in London on the fifth. Christine wants us to have a couple days to adjust to the time change, and a buffer in case there are any issues with customs for us bringing in our shit for the shows. All the gear will go out mid-November, but if anything’s missing in action, it gives her time to find a fix.”
“Wow,” she whispered. “Hang on a minute.” Sticking Shade on hold, Cateline was in a fog as she showed Gerry in for her review, and made sure the employee leaving Simon’s office was okay. He’d received an ultimatum to get his shit in gear, or he’d be out. The older gentleman was understandably upset.
“Sorry,” she said once she’d pic
ked up the phone again. “So I’m not going to see you for Christmas then?”
“You could always come see me,” he told her. “We have the Christmas show on the twenty-fourth in Paris, and then we’re off until the twenty-seventh for our second show in the city of lights and love. If you can convince your boss to give you the time off.”
“Actually,” she started before stalling. “He closes the offices for two weeks over Christmas every year. If he didn’t, I don’t think the man would ever take a day off. The only other time he has permanently etched in his calendar is the week surrounding his wedding anniversary.” Cat knew there was a story behind that one, but she didn’t feel it was her place to ask. She could guess having met Simon’s wife. Talk about a woman who knew how to keep her workaholic husband in line.
Shade let out a purring sound. “So you could come party with us then.”
Cateline pondered the idea for a moment. Then the other line started to ring. “Shoot, hold up a minute.” She quickly took the call, and then got back on with Shade. “Let’s talk about it tonight when I call. I want to think on this a little,” she said. At his pained sound she added, “But it could be manageable. I’ll talk to you tonight. Be good.”
“Kitten, you know I’m always good.”
She snorted at his words. “Right, should I dig out that news article from last year?”
“That was a complete fabrication, absolutely no truth to it. Still can’t believe Christine didn’t get that pulled. Crap, now I have to get back to work. Talk to you tonight, kitten.”
“Bye,” she said with a grin. Hanging up, she shook her head. She would never get over the effect Shade’s voice had on her. The man was dangerous in the best way possible.
Chapter Twelve
The Bass Page 6
