His Cherished Love (Cuffs and Spurs Book 8)

by Anya Summers

  “Honey, I would start a forest fire. It’s kinder to everyone involved if I leave it to the professionals.”

  “Then I would have to arrest you for arson,” he teased with a smirk.

  Rayna snorted. “You just want an excuse to get me back in handcuffs.”

  “There is that.” His gaze simply smoldered. Heat flash fried her system. She picked up her empty plate and carried it over to the kitchen sink, needing some distance. Jack was leaning back in his chair, finishing the last piece of the pizza on his plate. They’d demolished the salad. She scooped up that container and the pizza box, then packed up the rest of the pizza in aluminum foil and put the boxes into her recycling bin. When she turned to walk back to the table, Jack was there, backing her up against the counter.

  “Jack. I have to get ready for the club,” she protested feebly. Her entire body electrified at his nearness.

  “You have two hours before you need to leave.” His arms slid around her and he pressed his body against hers.

  She attempted to ignore that her body had all but liquified at his touch. “Yes, and I need to take a shower and get ready and—”

  He kissed the hollow of her neck, nipped at her collarbone. “I can work with that. Put your arms around my neck and hang on.”

  His teeth tugged on her earlobe and her eyes crossed. Screw it.

  She circled his neck with her hands. He took that as the ‘all systems go’ signal. He lifted her body up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He cupped her bottom as he carried her up the stairs to her bedroom and into the bathroom beyond. Inside the bathroom, he set her on the counter.

  “Disrobe,” he commanded, a carnal light in his eyes.

  Rayna cursed her weakness even as she did what he asked. She had promised herself this morning that she wasn’t going to see him again. That she wasn’t going to sleep with him again. And here she was, doing the exact opposite. It was like she had a little devil on her shoulder urging her to throw caution to the wind and indulge in what Jack had to offer.

  She was like a shiny new penny for him. He would get tired of her. So there really was no harm or foul with enjoying what he had to offer her. Which were orgasms. Lots and lots of world-altering orgasms.

  Rayna unbuttoned her blouse while Jack turned on her shower. She liked watching him move. The way his arm muscles flexed and rippled. Before he turned back to her, he had already removed his shirt. He gave her a heated glare.

  “Thought I told you to strip, babe. Are you wanting to be punished for disobeying a direct order?”

  She shrugged. “If you must. I was just enjoying the view.”

  The corners of his mouth turned up. “Be that as it may, I expect a little more restraint from you in breaking the rules.”

  Rayna slid off the counter, shucking off her blouse and in one move had her bra unclasped and down her arms. His gaze darkened and her nipples beaded under his hard stare. She toed her shoes off and her hands unzipped the side zipper of her skirt. She wiggled a little bit, shoving it down over her hips until she stood before him in nothing but a lace thong.

  “How’s this, Sir?” Her voice dripped sarcasm.

  “Everything, babe. I want to see your pretty bare pussy.” Jack reached in his back pocket, withdrawing a foil packet.

  Her gaze narrowed. He’d planned this tonight: coming here, feeding her yummy carbs, and then planned to seduce her. And it had worked, damn him. It was still working as she watched him hook his hands in his jeans and shove them down along with his boxers until he stood, naked and proudly erect before her.

  “Well?” He cocked a brow.

  Rayna lowered her panties until they did a free fall from her knees to the tile floor before she stepped out of the maroon lace.

  Jack erased the distance. His fingers slid around her wrist and he towed her into the shower stall. Water just this side of scorching battered her body as she entered the stall. It wasn’t a large shower, not really built with two people in mind. Jack shut the door behind them, locking them inside together. Steam built, creating a haze against the dark gray tile. Hot water flowed over their bodies. The rest of the world could fall away, and she wouldn’t know it.

  Jack slapped the foil pack onto the back ledge so it wouldn’t get caught up in the stream and then lowered himself down onto his knees.

  “Jack?” She trembled, her knees wobbly. Looking down at this big alpha, lust darkening his features, looking at her like she was dessert, made part of herself she thought she had lost, click back into place. It was hope that perhaps here, in this place, she had a future. One that wasn’t overshadowed by her past.

  He parted her thighs, then spread her labia folds with his thumbs. “Now that’s a beautiful sight. All wet, and just for me.”

  Jack leaned forward and licked her clit with a sharp flick of his tongue. She moaned. “That’s it. Come as many times as you need to, I find I’m still ravenous for your sweet cream.”

  He positioned her left thigh over his shoulder, spreading her legs wide enough for him to suck on her pussy. He held her against the wall as he began his assault on her sensitive flesh. There was no preamble or foreplay, it was zero to sixty with Rayna hanging on for dear life as the first orgasm barreled through her body. Her mewls echoed in the shower. Steam rose around them. Her hands dug into his wide shoulders.

  Holy hell, did the man have a talented tongue. He swished it through her labia, teasing and sucking on her clit to make it swell from beneath the hood before the piece de resistance, when he mimicked sex with his tongue, thrusting as deep as his tongue could reach inside her sheath. Rayna was awash with pleasure. Her hips canted and rolled under his masterful skill.

  She came again, screaming, and would have slid to the ground when her knees gave out if it weren’t for Jack. He stood, holding her body in his arms, his gaze dark with lust. He pressed her back against the shower wall, sheathed his cock with a condom, then placed the tip at her entrance. With a roll of his hips, he embedded his cock inside her sheath.

  She held on tight. With his aid, she wrapped her legs around his waist as he began to move within her. She stared at him through the foggy mist, biting her bottom lip at the bubbling heat igniting her blood as he screwed her. But it was more than just a simple fuck.

  So much more.

  Rayna felt a connection with Jack. Yes, some of it was physical passion, but she also felt him inside her chest, with a little-used organ that she’d never thought she would consider using again. He still hadn’t kissed her yet and her gaze lowered to his lips, wanting to taste him on her tongue. Well, on her mouth, anyway. And yet this, here and now, was more intimate than what they’d shared last night. She couldn’t discern why, it just was.

  Maybe it was the fact that she wasn’t restrained. But then she lifted her gaze and caught the look in his eyes. No, it wasn’t that at all. It was that he seemed to be as flummoxed by the connection between them as she. It was like they were two startled deer trying to figure the other one out; whether they were friend or foe, or if one of them would morph into a bobcat and rip the other to shreds.

  She writhed, rocking her hips and meeting his thrusts. He held her close. His thrusts turned brutal. The orgasm arched her back as it struck with all the delicacy of an elephant stampede.

  “Jack.” She screamed his name as wave upon wave of ecstasy battered her body. Her hands went into his hair as he buried his face in her shoulder while he pounded his climax out inside her, his cock jerking and shuddering in her spasming tissues. Jack thrust until he was spent. Rayna clung to him, her body floating on a sea of languid satisfaction.

  When she finally opened her eyes, Jack was staring at her. He cupped her chin and kissed her, slow and deep until she didn’t know where he ended and she began. Jack kissed her and she felt like she was home.

  Then he set her on her feet and helped her wash her body. They washed each other. It was the singularly most sensual shower she had ever taken. And by the time they were finished washing one
another, they were both so aroused, they ended up screwing each other again. She couldn’t seem to say no to him, or keep her hands off of him.

  When they finally exited the shower, the water had run cold and Rayna knew she was in deep where Jack was concerned. And she had no idea what to do about it.

  Chapter 15

  “You don’t need to drive me.”

  “I’m heading to the club anyway.” He wasn’t going to back down on this point. Travino was closing in. He could feel it.

  “But it’s not necessary,” she said, exasperation filling her voice.

  They were standing in her bedroom. Rayna had slipped on her tank top with the club logo emblazoned across the chest. And the petulant look she was giving Jack made him want to take her over his knees and spank the hell out of her.

  He played it nonchalant. “I didn’t say it was necessary, or that you were incapable of driving yourself. I’m going, you’re going, we might as well go together.”

  “There’s no reasoning with you.” She stomped back into the bathroom.

  He followed her back in there. “I’m going to run home and change, then I will be back over to drive us both.”

  “Fine.” And she turned on her blow dryer, effectively cutting off any more communication.

  He narrowed his gaze and waltzed up behind her. Pressing his body up against her back, he gripped the hand holding the blow dryer and lowered it, flicking the power off. “There something you want to say?”

  She huffed. “You’re being stubborn and irrational.”

  “Why, because I want to offer a hand?”

  She bristled. “Because you automatically assume I want or need it. I’m used to doing things on my own, Jack. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the thought, I just… I just don’t know what to do with you.”

  “I think you figured it out pretty well in the shower.”

  She blushed. “You know what I mean. I’m not a sub, not really.”

  “You are where it counts. There are plenty of independent women who are bedroom submissives. They conquer the business world by day and at night find freedom in submission. There’s nothing wrong with that or with accepting a helping hand when it’s freely given. I realize you’ve been on your own for a while and that we’re both getting a feel for each other.”

  “But I thought this was just sex.”

  He shrugged. “Plans change. I’m finding that I want more than that. I’m enjoying teaching you all the ins and outs of BDSM.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like showing you what happens to naughty subs when they smart off to their Dom,” he said, then took that opportunity to slip his hand inside the front of her jeans and panties to her pussy.

  The lips were still puffy and swollen from their latest bout. He delved between the plump labia. Finding her slick, he wasted no time on formalities, inserting two digits in her pussy.

  “Jack,” she moaned.

  He held her up against him, watching her reaction in the mirror as her eyes took on a glazed look. Her pussy gripped his thrusting fingers. His thumb swished back and forth against her clit. He brought her body all the way to the edge, her hips rocking against his hand, before he withdrew his fingers. Lifting them up to his lips, he sucked off her cream. She whimpered and he smiled at her discomfort. “Rule number one, babe, when you’re disrespectful to a Dom, you get punished. You can walk around at the club tonight without climaxing.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Did I stutter? Leave your pussy alone. It belongs to me. You will get to come when and where I say. If you behave for the rest of the night, I will reward you. If you disobey me, then I will tan your pretty backside. And it will make that first spanking look like child’s play.”

  A mutinous expression crossed her features. “And if I don’t want either of those things? If I don’t want you anymore?”

  “That brings us to rule number two: no lying. Lies will be dealt with harshly and swiftly. You get a pass this once.”

  “But I’m not lying,” she protested. He’d always thought he was stubborn, but the woman could give lessons.

  “No? What you are is indignant that I’m calling you on the carpet and making you admit things you’d rather not. You want me. Your body craves my touch. And you’ll have it, when I decide you’ve earned it. But for now, you are being punished. It’s a small punishment, really, one you will survive intact. Now, finish getting yourself ready. I will be back in a few minutes and we can head to the club. Together.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, Sir.” Sarcasm dripped from her lips.

  His hands itched to teach her the lesson, teach her what it meant to truly be with a Dom. But he backed off. He knew when he had pushed her too far. And in this instance, if he did push, it would be so that she would rebel and then he could punish her. That wasn’t fair to Rayna. He might be strict when it came to discipline, but he would never push a submissive past her tolerance level in a disagreement.

  Jack stepped back and retreated. Then, with a last glance at her reflection, he strode away. He took a few cleansing gulps of air when he stepped outside her place. Christ, he had nearly balked at disciplining her and instead simply bent her over the countertop and screwed her until they were both happy.

  When the hell had this become so damn complicated?

  Chapter 16

  Rayna knew she shouldn’t have done it the moment she did it.

  Jack’s expression was priceless. And furious too.

  He seemed to think that a little teasing would make her biddable and, let’s face it, dull and boring. But that wasn’t her. She had relied on herself, on her wits and her own skills to survive, and survive on the run, for too damn long for any guy to waltz in and think she was going to back down or hand someone else control.

  Screw that.

  Her father had controlled her life in ways she hadn’t discovered until she was working against him. There had been so many layers she had to dig through that by the time the trial was over, Rayna had truly felt like she was starting all over as a human. That she was relearning life from an entirely new, unvarnished perspective.

  She’d fought hard to become a person she respected.

  Which was why she had finished getting ready for the club at supersonic speeds and left her place. Without Jack.

  He walked onto his driveway just as she had finished backing out of hers. She even gave him a friendly wave, with her middle finger, before she drove off. She was getting far too involved with Jack. The smart thing to do, the right thing, would be to end it. To walk away and not look back, even though he tempted her with merely a glance, made her body ache with a single touch, and made her feel more than anyone had, ever.

  Rayna drove into the parking lot behind the club. She glanced around. Ever since that guy had been in the alley watching her, she had been on edge.

  It was understandable. She had plenty of reasons for a situation like that to unearth unresolved issues and cause fear. But she was also on the lookout for Jack. He wouldn’t do anything to her while she was working—at least, she didn’t think he would.

  After work? That was another story.

  But Rayna didn’t waste any time. She grabbed her purse and headed in the back entrance, then rode the elevator down and stowed her things in the employee lounge. There were tables and chairs in the center of the room. Along one side of the wall was a bank of lockers where she stored her purse and keys. Spencer always had a baskets full of snacks for employees and chilled bottles of water in the fridge. There was a small, employee only bathroom too.

  Rayna headed out into the fray, her gaze searching for a certain tawny-headed individual. Matt was already behind the bar, serving up drinks. Matt was one of those men who made every woman stop and stare. He was exotically beautiful with his Lakota heritage. His blue-black hair fell to his broad shoulders. His skin was the color of caramelized crème brûlee.

  “Evening, love. You look a little flushed. Everything all right?�
�� He cocked his head to the side.

  “Yes. It’s just been a long day already.” She gave him a smile and picked up her server booklet.

  “I hear that. You’re on the couch section tonight.” Matt nodded toward the interior part of the club.

  She grimaced. The couches were going to make tonight excruciating.

  “I know you don’t like that section, but I have to rotate you with Willa and the others. Otherwise, it’s not fair and I will hear bitching. If I hear bitching…” he trailed off.

  She held up a hand. “You don’t have to tell me. The couches are fine.”

  She lied with as sweet a smile as she could muster, especially when she wanted to go thunk her head up against the wall. Before Matt could offer a rejoinder, she hot-footed it away. Better to put her head down and get through tonight. Even though the couches tended to have way more action on them than the rest of the seating she would have to ignore it.

  Harder to do when that rat fink bastard had left her hot and bothered.

  Seeing all the hardcore sex out in the open normally didn’t faze her any longer. She had worked here long enough that it had become commonplace. But she’d never had to work a night where she was super horny because a certain Dom had left her turned on and about to climax.

  Damn him.

  Rayna averted her eyes during her first tour of the couch section. It was either that or dry hump someone’s leg, considering Master Josh had Paige between his thighs giving him a blow job. Carter and Jenna were in attendance, with his fingers at her crotch. And that was just the tip of the iceberg in the couch section.

  She was in for one hell of a long night.

  She knew the moment Jack arrived. An electric current whistled through her spine, heralding his presence. He chose one of the unoccupied couches. In his jeans, black tee, black boots and black Stetson, he looked downright edible. Her body purred and moisture flooded her sex.

  How? How could the man get her this aroused when he wasn’t even touching her?