by Larissa Ione
Her sharp intake of breath accompanied a blast of lust that made his head swim.
“Well,” she said, in a deep, seductive drawl, “I should hope not.” And then she kissed him.
Serena felt Josh’s surprise in the tautness of his body, but when she flicked her tongue over his bottom lip, he relaxed and drew her even harder against him
He made an erotic noise of approval when she tugged her skirt up so she could hook her leg over his, putting her core in contact with the large bulge behind the fly of his jeans. Her senses flamed, and she shivered with pleasure.
She’d made out with men before, experimenting, testing her will, each time going a little further. But she wanted so much more than she could have, and heavy petting only frustrated her.
This could end in orgasms for them both, but ultimately, she knew it wouldn’t be enough. It could never be enough with a man like Josh. With him, she knew she’d want it all.
As good as it felt to have Josh’s hand stroking her between her legs like this, so deftly that she was nearly panting, this was a dangerous game. One she couldn’t play.
“No,” she croaked. “No!” She shoved hard at his chest and scrambled away. Too close to the edge of the mattress, she fell over the side and dropped heavily to the floor. Panic weighed her down and she couldn’t get to her feet, so she crawled in a mad bid to get to the door, her skirt tangling in her legs.
“Serena.” Josh’s hand closed on her ankle, and she cried out in surprise and panic and fear. Not of him, but of what she might do with him.
“Leave me alone!” She kicked, clipped him in the chin with her heel. Her fingers brushed the door—
Josh’s heavy body came down on top of hers, pinning her to the floor. She forced herself to breathe at the realization that her charm hadn’t protected her from being caught… and it wasn’t because her charm had failed. She’d wanted to get caught.
She was in a lot of trouble.
“Serena,” he repeated, his voice a sensual purr that rumbled through the weakest parts of her. The parts that were aching for his touch. “You don’t need to fear me.”
She swallowed, going lax in his arms as he rolled so they were both on their sides, his chest to her back, his arms caging her sweetly against him. “It’s not you I’m afraid of.”
His lips skimmed her cheek, his hot breath leaving a pleasant tingle on her skin as he spoke. “Then what?” He slid one hand to her belly to twine his fingers with hers. “Tell me.”
Wetness stung her eyes. “I’m afraid of what I want.”
“And what do you want?” When she said nothing, because her throat had closed up, he squeezed her hand. “What do you want, Serena? Show me.”
Desire swirled, collided with caution and consumed it. Fighting against the force of Josh’s sensuality and her own hunger was a losing effort, and for now, just this once, she’d cede the battle. Slowly, she dragged his hand down. When she reached the juncture between her legs, she arched, involuntarily, into his palm.
“Good girl,” he whispered, and kissed her cheek even as he fisted her skirt and dragged it up her legs. His other arm was pinned beneath her ribs, but his hand was free enough to slip beneath her gauzy blouse. His fingertips tickled her skin as they pushed aside her bra. When he cupped her breast and circled her nipple with his thumb, she heaved a breath she hadn’t known she’d held.
“Oh, yeah.” His other thumb stroked the silk fabric covering her core. “I want to do this with my tongue. I will do that with my tongue. Later.”
There wouldn’t be a later. This had to be a one-time deal.
The sensation of his warm breath on the cool skin of her neck drew her out of the depressing thoughts and back to where her body tingled and her lungs pushed and pulled air that had grown thick with the desire arcing between them. His fingers found the lacy edge of her underwear, and behind her, prodding her rear, was his erection, a massive, brutal presence. Even as he tunneled his hand beneath the fabric of her panties, he ground that male organ against her. Would he come like that? Maybe she should take him in her hand and give him some relief.… She tried to roll over but he restrained her with his strong arms.
“Stop,” he murmured, going up on his elbow to lean over her and kiss her lips. “Just relax and let me pleasure you.”
Her head fell back, her lips parting, and Josh took advantage, sinking his tongue into her mouth with a thrust while at the same time penetrating her with his finger.
She moaned, rocked against his hand where his palm created a delicious pressure against her clit. He stroked her, inside and out, between her legs and in her mouth. The friction built, creating a hot burst of pleasure that streaked from her core to her breasts. Her body liquefied, the blood in her veins approaching the boiling point, and still Josh plundered her mouth and her sex, adding another finger, stretching and filling her.
Her explosion grew imminent. She perched on the edge of orgasm, a blissful, amazing place where only she and Josh existed.
He ceased the delicious thrusts and dragged his slick fingers through her slit, easing her just off the ledge. She whimpered in protest, felt his smile against her lips.
“I love the sounds you make,” he said, speeding up the long, firm strokes that only grazed the place she needed his skilled touch. “But you’re so quiet. Make some noise for me. Say my name when you come.” He skimmed his finger over her nub so lightly she nearly shattered, but the contact was fleeting, and she cried out in frustration when he denied her the release she so needed. “Say it. Say it now.”
“Yes… oh, yes… Josh… Josh!” She thought she heard him utter a raw curse, but then she went deaf and blind as the mind-blowing orgasm brought her off the floor with such force that he had to throw a leg over hers and tug her tight against him as he brought her down with the gentle strum of his fingers over her core.
When it was over, she dissolved into a quivering puddle, but behind her, Josh remained tense, his shaft throbbing against her. Wriggling around to face him, she saw that he’d closed his eyes as though in pain. She palmed him, but with a hiss, he grasped her wrist.
“No.” His jaw was a straight, grim line, and his cheek pulsed against the grind of teeth. “I can’t… can’t get off that way.”
“Ah, you mean, with a hand?”
“Yeah.” He swallowed. “Weird sexual hang-up.” He let out a long, ragged breath. “I did this for you. Not me.”
Closing her eyes, Serena rested her forehead against his chest. “Why?”
“Because you needed it.”
“I could have given myself an orgasm if I needed it that badly.”
“Not one like that,” he said, with more than a little satisfaction, and she wrenched her arm from beneath him just enough to punch him in the shoulder.
“Seriously.”
“I was serious.” When she punched him again, he heaved a sigh. “You needed the connection between two people.” He snorted out a laugh. “My brother Shade says that if you pay attention, really listen, you will know what a female needs. I always thought he was full of it.”
“Shade?”
“Nickname.”
She nuzzled his neck, taking in his musky male scent. “Like Wraith?”
“Kind of.”
She braced a palm against his breastbone and pushed back a little. “How are you feeling?”
His hand curled around hers, and he brought it up to kiss her knuckles. “Better, thanks to you.”
“You said you’d been ill like that before. What was it? Are you sick?”
“Nothing to worry about.” He pulled away, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop.
“I am worried.”
“Why?” Josh sat back against the bed, feet flat on the floor and forearms braced on his spread knees. His heavy-lidded gaze was wary. “Why would you worry about a complete stranger?”
“We’re hardly strangers now.”
He stared at her. “You know what I mean.”
“
No, I really don’t.” She shifted onto one hip and smoothed her skirt out, more for something to do with her hands than because she was worried about wrinkles. “We haven’t known each other long, but we’ve been through some pretty intense stuff. More than most people go through together in a lifetime. I like you, Josh. A lot more than I probably should.”
He cursed, which confused the hell out of her.
“What is wrong with liking you? Would you rather I hated you?”
“No. I need you to like me—” He cursed again. “I mean, shit. Just, shit.” He threw his head back and stared at the ceiling. “Just stop worrying about me, okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I worry about you?”
“Because it’s stupid,” he snapped. “I don’t need your concern. I get enough shit from my brothers.”
“Stupid? Shit? I’m giving you shit by taking care of you?” He didn’t answer, and anger roared through her. “I get that you had a horrific childhood, but you have people who care about you now, and you should be grateful.”
“You don’t know anything about my life, and you don’t want to.”
“How dare you?” She scrambled to her feet. “How dare you dismiss what I feel, as though it’s nothing?”
He let out a long-suffering sigh, as though this was all just so much inconvenience for him. “I didn’t ask you to feel anything for me.”
“Well, excuse me for being human.” She whipped open the door. “I’ll just go, since I’m stupid and my worry is such a bother to you.”
Josh cursed. “Serena, wait—”
But she didn’t hear the rest, partly because she’d slammed the door, and partly because her pulse was pounding so hard in her ears that it blocked out everything else.
Everything but the hurt.
Chapter 11
The knock at Gem’s apartment door came right on time. The table was set, the rosemary pork loin and oven-roasted potatoes were almost done, and dessert, a homemade pineapple upside-down cake, sat on the counter, looking all glazy and perfect. Kynan wouldn’t know what had hit him.
Nerves made her palms sweat as she walked to the front door. She’d put on her most conservative but sexy clothes—a flared, above-the-knee black skirt with a subdued skull-and-bones design at the top of the slit in the back, a creamy, sheer lace top, and chunky-heeled, ankle-high boots.
She was going to make him eat his rejection.
Her resolve almost flew out the window when she saw him. He looked hot, as usual, dressed in worn jeans, a blue sweater, and the leather bomber. His spiky hair was wet and he smelled like outdoorsy soap.
God, she wanted to jump on him, take him down to the floor, and ride him twice before dinner. Resisting the urge to fan herself, she ushered him in.
“Wow,” he said, as he stepped into the entryway. “You look nice.” He sniffed the air. “Something smells good.”
“Pork loin.” She led him to the kitchen. “Something to drink? Beer? Wine?”
“I don’t drink anymore.”
She drew up short as she reached for the fridge door. “Oh. Okay.” She didn’t drink, either. Not much, anyway, and she figured he was thinking that as he eyed the tattoos that circled her wrists, ankles, and neck. The magically enchanted designs prevented her demon half from rearing its evil head when she was angry or upset, but alcohol reduced her ability to control the demon inside and negated the power of the tattoos.
She turned around slowly, drew an appreciative breath as Kynan braced a hip on the counter and crossed his feet at the ankles. She let her eyes drop for just a second, to his slim hips and long, muscular legs, and then, with a shake of the head to bring her back into focus, she said coolly, “So, are you going to tell me why you left with the Army that day?”
“No small talk, huh?”
“No point in it.”
He blew out a long breath and looked up at the ceiling. “Remember how I told you I needed to find myself again?”
She nodded. “Before your Army buddies broke in, you said you were going back to The Aegis.”
“That was the plan, but the Army wanted me back. They told me they thought I was part of some prophecy.”
“Tayla mentioned something about that,” she snorted. “Do you know how cryptic prophecies are? And how often they don’t come true?”
“Yeah. I know. But I needed to find out why they thought I was involved, and if the fallen angel thing was true.”
“ ‘Fallen angel thing’?”
He met her gaze. “Apparently I have a fallen angel perched in my family tree. From way back. Probably Biblical times.”
Well, that was kind of cool. “So the Army thinks this is important?”
“That’s why they wanted me back. They didn’t really give me a choice.”
“Oh, come on,” she scoffed. “You’d have gone anyway. You and your hero complex.” It was a bitchy thing to say, but he just shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and nodded.
“I deserved that.”
“You more than deserved it.” So much for keeping her temper in check. “How could you do that to me? I mean, I get why you left, but how could you tell me you want me and then turn around and send a kiss-off message through Runa? You couldn’t do it yourself? What kind of chickenshit move was that?”
“The kind of move that sends you straight to some other guy,” he snapped.
“And you wanted that… why?”
Suddenly he was in front of her, his hands clamping down on the kitchen island behind her, penning her between his body, his arms, and the counter.
“I was in a really bad place. I missed the hell out of you, and I figured that if you moved on, I could concentrate on what I needed to do. But I should have known better, because I couldn’t think about anything but you.” He emphasized his words with a slow grind of his pelvis against her belly. “The idea that another man might have been making love to you killed me.”
“Good.” She tilted her head to look at him. “You hurt me.”
He lowered his mouth to hers. “I’m sorry,” he said against her lips, and a shock of heat sizzled all the way to her core. “I’m so sorry.”
Tentatively, he kissed her, but she didn’t kiss him back. At least, not until he swiped his tongue over her bottom lip while pushing his hips into hers, making her gasp and open up to him. Instantly, he penetrated her mouth, the hot, wet slide of his tongue against hers forcing her participation.
A slow burn heated the blood in her veins, loosened her up so that when he dragged his mouth along her jawbone and down her neck, she threw her head back and thawed completely.
“More?” he murmured against her skin.
All she could manage was a soft, “Mmm-hmm.”
Her breath caught as he swept her up and spun around to plant her butt on the table between the plates and the candlesticks.
Roughly, he shoved her skirt up around her waist and then unbuttoned his jeans. He didn’t release himself, instead turning his attention to yanking off her panties. They tore when they caught on one of her boots, but she didn’t care. He did that to her, made her forget everything except how she felt when he was touching her.
Needing closer contact, she gripped his shoulders, but he caught her wrists in one of his large hands and stretched her arms over her head. He hooked his other arm behind her waist and bent her back, dragged his tongue from her throat to where her shirt gaped open between her breasts as he lowered her to the table.
He looked at her, the raw hunger and flickering candlelight making his eyes flash. “I’m going to do you right here on the table, Gem. Can you handle that?”
“Yes,” she moaned, and tightened her thighs around his hips so her core fit tight against his cock, which had been freed from its denim prison. She could handle anything he dished out. She’d have sex with him anytime, anywhere, in any way he wanted to do it.
Later, she’d chastise herself for being such a pathetic doormat, but right now she just wanted to revel in how he made her feel. A
nd right now, he was feeling her arms, sliding his fingers down the sensitive insides until he reached her rib cage. Tingles shivered over her skin, and they only intensified when he unbuttoned her shirt to expose her braless breasts to his gaze and his hands.
She bit her lip to keep from crying out when he rubbed slow circles around her nipples and then lowered his head to flick his tongue over the tightly pebbled tips.
“You like that,” he growled. “Say it. Tell me what you want.”
“Bite them,” she breathed. “And fill me. I need you inside me.”
A shudder shook his body, as though he was relieved to have been given the go-ahead. A stab of pain sliced through her as his teeth closed on one nipple, not hard, but with just enough pressure to enhance the pleasure of his shaft stretching her entrance as he slid home.
She tightened her thighs around his waist and arched up, taking all of him as deep as he could go. For a moment he remained still, using his teeth, tongue, and hands to create the most exquisite sensations in her breasts. But too soon, yet not soon enough, he stood straight, grasped her hips, and tugged her firmly against him. Her legs dangled over the side of the table, her butt just barely on the edge.
The vulnerability of this position was breathtaking, her skirt bunched around her waist, her breasts exposed, her arms still over her head because she dare not move them. Not while he watched her with a commanding expression on his face, the orders issued through his gaze alone.
Heat from the candle flames licked her skin, tiny flicks of warmth. She longed to feel Kynan’s tongue licking her like that, swirling around her navel piercing, tracing the long-stemmed rose tattoo on her leg, stroking between her legs.
But she didn’t think she could ever ask for that. She might possess self-confidence when it came to her job, but her sexual inexperience made her too shy in the bedroom.
Closing her eyes, she rolled her hips, smiling at the sudden hiss of air between his teeth. “You’re wanting to come already?” His thumb spread her folds and found that sweet spot that made her cry out. “Can’t wait, huh?” His hips pumped once, twice, bringing her to the edge.
