Knight's Game

by Gibbs, C C

Sometime later, Kate felt the world return by slow degrees: sound, marginal perception, smell – God, she loved Dominic’s shampoo if that was what made him smell so good: musky and sweet, with a faint undertone of cedar that reminded her of home. She opened her eyes.

  ‘Did you enjoy yourself?’

  She gazed up into Dominic’s handsome face and amused blue gaze. ‘You feel smug, don’t you?’ But her voice was languorous, soft with content.

  He shook his head, the faint movement dislodging a sweep of black hair he’d shoved behind his ear. ‘Just useful.’

  Her smile was serene. ‘Modest too.’

  He shrugged. ‘You’re always easy. You know that.’

  Knowing how wrong he was – she’d never climaxed with anyone other than him – she chose to change the subject rather than admit her one and only passion to a man least likely to appreciate the confession; he had women falling all over him. She expected he always had. ‘Your hair’s longer,’ she said, redirecting her thoughts and the conversation.

  ‘I was too lazy to have it cut.’ And too indifferent when his life had been totally fucked.

  ‘I like it.’ She reached up and slipped the errant tress behind his ear.

  ‘I like everything about you,’ he said, simply.

  ‘Good, because you’ve become my drug of choice, my addiction, my greatest pleasure.’ She gave him a shaky smile, her dispassionate intentions countermanded by her non-conformist heart. ‘You can’t leave this time,’ she whispered.

  ‘I won’t.’ He didn’t even question his promise or debate who had left whom. In fact, he was seriously considering locking up Katherine and throwing away the key like some depraved throwback from an earlier age. Or perhaps like a megalomaniac – which was closer to type for the freewheeling, unbridled, exempt-from-rules Dominic Knight.

  ‘Oh, Lord.’ She made a face. ‘Feel free to jerk me back to reality when I get too demanding. I shouldn’t have said that.’

  ‘Say whatever you want. I mean it. Most of the world tells me what they think I want to hear. You’re different.’ He touched her cheek gently. ‘In every imaginable way.’

  ‘And I like your every-imaginable-way world-class orgasms,’ she said with a lift of her brows, intent on restoring the dynamic to playful rather than lay her heart at his feet where it would most likely be trampled. ‘Really, I can’t thank you enough.’

  His practised smile was instant and effortless. ‘So, we did good?’ He smoothly slid the provisional dildos free.

  Her smile was angelic.

  Or maybe it was just her wide-eyed look of wonder that conjured up words like angelic. A concept he would have found unthinkable short weeks ago.

  ‘It was a thousand times better than good.’ She lazily stretched as though recalling lush sensation. ‘God, I missed you – and all this … the defenceless desire, the insatiable need’ – she smiled – ‘the mind-blowing happy endings.’

  While locking up women and angelic smiles were aberrant considerations in his life, that he understood with unequivocal clarity – hot sex; hot, intense sex. He’d missed that too. ‘I’m not going anywhere,’ he said, quietly.

  Her smile was wobbly again, his earnestness affecting her tenuous hold on good judgement. ‘I’ll probably drive you away I’m so crazy needy.’

  ‘I like your crazy.’ Bending low, his dark hair falling forward to frame his face, he brushed a kiss down the fine bridge of her nose. ‘I have from the first. So you won’t drive me away.’ He arched one brow. ‘And just so we’re clear, you won’t be leaving any time soon either.’

  ‘I can’t.’ She ran her fingers down his arm and said in a breathy little hiccup, ‘I’m truly addicted.’

  He grinned. ‘You just like to fuck.’

  ‘I hope that’s not a problem.’ Her voice was teasing again; there were certain rules to this game.

  ‘I hope it’s not a problem when I fuck you twenty-four/seven.’ A purposeful statement without a hint of teasing.

  A flicker of unease in her eyes. ‘You’re kidding.’

  ‘Uh-uh.’ He reached for the tie on her left wrist, pulled it free, reached for the second tie.

  ‘You can’t mean it.’ Her apprehension was plain.

  ‘I do.’ He pulled the second tie loose and shot her a bland look. ‘You’re my constant wet dream, baby.’ Revealing his emotions was a radical departure best managed in small doses. He’d admitted more of his feelings in the last few minutes than he had in his lifetime. He preferred the familiar world of sex and more sex. That was his comfort zone.

  ‘If you didn’t sound so scary, I’d say thank you.’

  ‘Believe me, I should be thanking you. I’ve never been so horny. Come on,’ he said, picking her up and putting her on his lap. ‘Let’s see if those ben wa balls turn you on when you walk. And then I’m thinking my dick, your big tits and a couple of orgasms. Don’t panic,’ he quickly added. ‘Two – as in yours and mine. Yours first, of course, because I’m not stupid.’ He slid his index finger inside her for a quick check; nothing distracted her like sex. And he’d had enough touchy-feely talk for one night.

  She caught her breath, uttered a small throaty moan on cue. Then another, as he slid off the bed, the pressure of his forearm on her bottom wedging the silver spheres deeper. ‘You OK?’ he said, setting her on her feet.

  ‘Not really.’ She drew in a breath, her knees had gone weak, a high-wattage delirium was jolting her senses in a tumultuous frenzy.

  He politely held her upright until her agitation diminished. Then he said, ‘Good now?’ as though understanding perfectly the finite pitch and measure of her arousal.

  She nodded.

  He dropped his hands. ‘Now don’t move without my per—’ He caught himself. ‘Just relax for a minute.’

  She smiled faintly. ‘Good save.’

  ‘I’m walking a damned tightrope tonight, baby,’ he murmured with a lazy smile. ‘No question.’

  ‘Consider it a learning experience,’ she purred.

  His gaze was suddenly blast-furnace hot. ‘Maybe for us both,’ he said with exaggerated courtesy. Then he turned away, walked across the bedroom to a linen-covered sofa set against the wall and sat, facing her. Stretching out his arms along the sofa back, he slid down on his spine, spread his legs slightly, his perfectly formed erection fucking beautiful, Kate thought like a genuine, grade A addict. ‘OK, baby.’ He crooked his finger. ‘See if you can make it this far.’

  She shook her head. ‘I don’t think so.’

  ‘Those ben wa balls are small.’ He spoke softly. ‘You can do it.’

  ‘What do you mean small?’ She could feel them with every feverish nerve; she was creamy wet and antsy.

  ‘As in not large,’ he said with a flicker of a smile. ‘You can take more. You know you can. We don’t have to argue about that. Now, come to daddy, baby. Move slowly. One step, then two.’ He pointed to the floor before his feet, then looked up. ‘Got it?’

  ‘I hope that’s not an order.’

  ‘Would that be a problem?’ he inquired silkily.

  ‘Maybe. Why don’t you come here and fuck me instead.’

  ‘Because that’s not the way it works.’ His voice was patently tolerant, as though explaining particle physics to a novice.

  ‘You said—’

  ‘Trust me, baby. I know what you want. If I keep this up, you’ll come just standing there. You like orders.’

  ‘So do you.’

  He smiled. ‘Then we’re good. I give the orders, you take them and I’ll keep you climaxing all night. And tomorrow too, although …’ Time enough to mention San Francisco when they were on the way to the airport. Right now, he had to take care of her pussy and his dick ASAP. Seriously, he was about to explode; self-control had its limits.

  ‘What about tomorrow?’

  ‘I’m going to be fucking you tomorrow. Did I not say that?’

  ‘Finally,’ she said pettishly, ‘I won’t have to beg for your dick.’

&n
bsp; His gaze was laser-sharp. ‘You still don’t have any goddamn patience,’ he said coolly.

  ‘And you still know how to be a prick,’ she said in a voice that would have cut glass. ‘For your information I’m not interested in your control freak issues.’ She smiled tightly. ‘Call me selfish.’

  The distance between them was suddenly acrid with spleen.

  The silence equally caustic.

  A five count later, Dominic’s small sigh barely rippled the air. Sliding upright in a silken flow of bronzed muscle, he raked his fingers through his hair, dropped his hands and flicked a finger in Kate’s direction. ‘Have it your way then. There’s condoms in the drawer behind you. If you don’t care about your latex allergy, I don’t see why I should.’

  When she turned, her gasp brought him to his feet in a flash and a second later, he was holding her upright, two of his fingers deep inside her, pulling out the ben wa balls. Tossing them on the bed, he dipped his head and whispered in her ear, ‘I warn you, I’m only doing this once with a condom. I have long-range plans and they don’t include you being out of commission with some latex allergy. So no argument. Agreed?’ Lifting her, he seated her on the edge of the bed, frowned. ‘I need an answer.’

  ‘Do I have a choice?’

  ‘You always have a choice,’ he said, clipped and curt.

  She gave in to his cool stare and nodded.

  ‘Christ, dealing with you is like rewriting The fucking Art of War,’ he grumbled, leaning over and pulling open the drawer on the bedside table. Grabbing a foil-wrapped condom, he ripped it open.

  ‘Don’t use that. OK?’

  About to toss away the foil, he shot her a startled look.

  ‘I don’t mean to be difficult.’

  ‘You could’ve fooled me.’

  She was all huge, pleading eyes. ‘Just don’t. Please?’

  He stared at her. ‘You’re killing me, babe.’ His jaw twitched, he swallowed hard – twice – the silence between them suffocating, his personal freedom at stake, every basic instinct screaming dissent. Then he swore softly, tossed the packet and condom back in the drawer. ‘I suppose if this is make-up sex, you get to make the rules,’ he said gruffly.

  ‘Thank you.’

  He rolled his eyes. ‘Hold the thanks. This might not take more than thirty seconds the way I’m feeling.’

  ‘I hope not. Sorry,’ she added quickly.

  ‘You better be. You’re the girl who never even came with Andrew or what’s-his-name. Don’t expect me to be on a time clock.’

  ‘Sorry. Really. You’re always wonderful.’

  He finally smiled. ‘Polite humility? I’m impressed.’

  ‘And I’m grateful.’

  ‘You’re just grateful I’m better than Andrew.’

  ‘In a thousand different ways,’ she said sweetly. ‘Although speaking of Andrew, I have a question?’

  ‘Could it wait?’ If he was actually participating in a game of Russian roulette, he’d prefer a quick orgasm to compensate for the sword of Damocles hanging over his head. Shoving her into the middle of the bed, he pushed her down.

  ‘Andy tells me he’s in Greenland,’ Kate said, ignoring Dominic’s question, gazing up at him with a lift of her brows. ‘Did you do that?’

  ‘Maybe.’ Placing his hands, palm down, on either side of her arms, Dominic leaned over, swung his legs up and settled between her thighs in a smooth reverse push-up that showcased his swelling biceps. He nudged her legs wider.

  ‘He has a girlfriend there. Did you do that too?’

  Guiding his erection to her slick, glossy sex, he stopped and looked up. ‘Shit. I wish I’d thought of that.’

  ‘So you really are managing my life?’

  Intent on getting off, he eased the head of his dick forward just far enough to make his point. ‘What happens if I say yes?’ His deep voice was silken, assured. ‘Are you going to cut me off?’

  ‘Damn you,’ she whispered, stirring her hips faintly, so he slipped in deeper, so the delicious flesh-to-flesh friction burned away minor resentments. ‘As if I could.’

  ‘OK then, yes.’ After which he effectively ended the conversation by plunging hilt deep into Kate’s ripe, welcoming body with a business-like combination of finesse, authority and a seriously spectacular hard-on.

  Dominic’s carnal groan was gut-deep and brute. Kate whimpered at the head-banger hysteria electrifying her senses.

  A long, simmering silence fell.

  ‘You’re sure you don’t mind my insisting … on no condom?’ Kate’s voice, softly apologetic, broke the stillness.

  Discarding a number of rude replies, Dominic reminded himself that he was currently snugly engulfed in the human equivalent of paradise and capable of a few seconds of politeness. ‘Of course I mind.’ Like he minded this conversation. ‘But my dick has trouble saying no to you.’

  Kate smiled up at him. ‘That’s sweet.’

  He sighed softly. ‘Look, babe, fucking you isn’t a real imposition. Although I might make you pay somewhere down the line for this goddamn gamble.’

  ‘You were willing to gamble last time,’ she reminded him. ‘How about I have a turn?’

  ‘It’s OK to make mistakes so long as they’re new ones. We keep making this one, baby, we’re going to be in trouble.’

  ‘I am an accountant. I can crunch numbers.’

  ‘Could we talk about this later?’ he said. ‘I’m having trouble focusing on more than one thing right now.’ Smoothly flexing his legs, he marginally withdrew, then swung his hips forward again and drove in until she was chock full and blissfully sighing, and he was wincing from a super sensory wallop to his nerve endings that made even calculated risks like this one worthwhile.

  ‘Later’s good.’

  ‘Jesus Christ.’ He laughed. ‘Am I doing something wrong?’

  ‘I felt that.’

  ‘Feel this, baby.’

  And from that point on, he made sure that she no longer had breath to speak.

  But she felt each slow, gliding, perfectly measured invasion and gasped at the plunging depth of each powerful downstroke, the ravishing ripples spreading outward in a sumptuous wave of ecstasy, offering her consecutive glimpses of shining nirvana. She clung to him, his back muscles flexing and moving beneath her wide-spread fingers, the musky fragrance of his hair brushing her face, the warmth of his body offering palpable comfort and content after her weeks of deprivation. And panting, needy, obsessed, she trembled with longing, whimpered for release.

  Her breath was warm on his shoulder, her impatient pleasure sounds a potent drug to his senses, stiffening his already rock-hard dick, powering his next plunging thrust, and the next and the next as he forced himself deeper, buried himself in her velvety warmth and ravished, seduced, dazzled her senses.

  Until quivering and nearly unstrung, she looked up, opulent and flushed, her gaze half-lidded, and begged, ‘Please, please …’

  His eyes wide and clear, he dipped his head, kissed her rosy cheek and whispered, ‘Anytime, baby.’ Then he smoothly took her over the edge in a billowing, sweet-scented delirium, followed with his own surging climax, spilling into her succulent sex, freely if not wisely.

  Moments later, while Kate was still floating and aglow, he dipped his head, kissed the hollow behind her ear and in the grip of some manic lust said in a warm hum against her skin, ‘I’m going to jack off on your tits. You don’t have to move. This one’s for me.’

  In one smooth motion he withdrew, rested his weight on his hands, swung his legs up and knelt, straddling her waist.

  Just watching the easy, coordinated power, his muscles tense and flex, his lean athletic body move into position with such single-minded intent triggered an insurgent fascination deep in some evolutionary female reflex. Not only was his visual splendour arresting, Kate thought, but his determined wilfulness kindled a sharp, primal response that instantly jolted her senses. Her nipples immediately swelled on cue, hot desire blazed through her body, her s
ex throbbed in wistful longing and she moaned softly. Shameless in her greed.

  Dominic smiled faintly. This was going to be short and sweet – no games, a purely selfish climax. Maybe next time. ‘You want some of this, baby?’ He gently stroked her taut nipples. ‘It looks like it.’ Effortlessly balancing a hair’s breadth above her ribs, years of surfing forging enviable leg muscles, Dominic drew his erection away from his belly, forced it down between her breasts, and said, ‘Hold it there.’

  As her fingers closed hard around the swollen crest of his dick, he sucked in a breath. ‘Easy, easy, or this is going to be over in a hurry.’ Capturing the outer flare of her breasts in his palms, he pressed his hands together and her soft, resilient flesh framed his rigid length. ‘I got it now,’ he murmured.

  His hair had fallen forward, obscuring most of his face, although with high-pressure sensation beginning to surge through his brain, he may not have seen her anyway. And as her hands slipped away, he focused instead on tactile satisfaction. ‘Do you want my cum all over you? That’s not actually a question,’ he murmured, his lashes drifting downward, shutting out the world. Gently thrusting into the cushiony silk of her flamboyant cleavage, he eased back as the head of his dick touched her neck, then swung forward again and with a soft sigh, settled into a highly gratifying rhythm.

  But ultimately the sound of Katherine’s frenzied breathing registered in the small portion of his brain not completely consumed by feverish sensation and he remembered that he wasn’t alone in his unremitting horniness. He didn’t sigh, although he would have liked to. Instead, he summoned his manners, or perhaps he cared enough about Katherine to summon them. ‘Here, baby,’ he said indulgently, taking her hands and positioning them. ‘You hold your tits. There, tight, like that, so I can feel it. That’s the way. Now you can come along for the ride.’ Gently squeezing a nipple with one hand, he reached back with the other, found her swollen clit, slid his finger deeper, targeted her soft, cushy G-spot and murmured, ‘How’s that? Feel good?’

  Her wispy sigh ended in a soft, low groan. Beyond words at the moment, she nodded yes in the event it mattered to Dominic.

  He got the message, slid in a second finger.