"Ha!" She slid off the sofa too, laughing. "Let's get you begging for a change."
"I dare you."
She crawled over him on her hands and knees. When he reached up to touch her, she pushed his hand away, then grabbed his wrists and pinned them to the floor, as he had often done to her. Teasingly, she kissed his lips, brushing them with the tip of her tongue. He laughed up at her, his eyes aglow. "In two seconds I could have you flat on your back pleading for mercy."
"Not in this fantasy. This time you're helpless, and I'm in control. Do you want me?"
"You know I do."
She shook her head so her hair lashed him across his face and neck. Then she lowered her body along the length of his. Her mound found his cock, and she moved provocatively against him, deftly avoiding his attempts to claim her.
He groaned his frustration.
"Mmm. I'm beginning to see why you like this masterful stuff, tough guy. It feels good to see you helplessly writhing with lust."
"Just wait 'til I get you back to my place. There are devices in my dungeon that you haven't even seen yet. When it comes to the masterful stuff, you're strictly an amateur."
She found a tender spot on his shoulder and let him feel her teeth. He made a low sound in his throat and arched against her, aiming his cock at her cleft. She evaded him again, laughing softly. "Take it easy. I like it slow, with lots of preliminaries."
He laughed. "I know exactly how you like it."
She slid down on him and dropped fiery trail of kisses from his chest down to his inner thighs, where the skin was almost as tender as her own. She avoided his penis this time, although she did devote some loving attention to his balls. His body moved erratically, in little jolts, every time her tongue found a new spot to probe, but she never continued any caress long enough to grant him his release.
He was breathing in shudders when he finally said, in a voice made unrecognizable by passion, "Fine, I'm begging. I need you now."
She grabbed his cock and stroked him, kneeling over him, helping him find the place. Then she slowly lowered herself onto him.
"Oh yeah," he whispered, wrapping his legs around her to draw her closer. For the first time since she'd started teasing him, he brought his hands into action, stroking her shoulders, her back, and digging his fingers into her bottom.
For several seconds they lay still. Despite her need, she was conscious of a deep sense of peace, merged with him thus, flowing together like two drops of water. He, too, seemed to find a momentary relief from his tension, even though fulfillment was yet to come.
"I love you, babe. We're perfect for each other, you know that?"
"We are." She withdrew slightly, then rocked back on him until the tenderness in his eyes changed back to lust. He lifted her enough to get his hands on her breasts, bringing her lower body arching more tightly against him. She moaned as he squeezed and tugged on her nipples. Her body began to move with his in an erratic rhythm that quickly built to ragged bursts and thrusts. She lost awareness of her surroundings as she felt herself caught in a web that grew ever tighter until it burst apart, flooding her with pleasure.
Stephen stayed with her, riding the crest a moment behind her, whispering her name as he went rigid in her arms, his pulse careening against her lips.
For a long time afterward, they were silent and content. The only sound was the occasional hiss and crackle of the dying fire. Then she raised her head to grin down at him, saying, "I expect to see masterful women in your novels from now on."
With a quick, clever motion, he flipped them both over so she was trapped beneath him. She laughed and strained against him, enjoying the still-erotic feeling of his body pinning hers to the carpet. His lips feathered her eyelashes, her cheeks, and the corners of her mouth as he said, "Don't get cocky, bright eyes."
"I love you, Bart."
"I'm not him," he said intensely. "Listen, I'll tell you the real difference between Bart and me." He paused, his expression becoming serious. "Bart's girl refuses to stick with him. Mine, I hope, is going to opt for the happy ending."
Her tongue went thick. "What are you asking?"
"I thought you might want to move in with me."
"Stephen..." Her hands combed through his hair and held his face still, just above her. "You mean it? You want me to eat with you, sleep with you, live with you in your splendid seaside isolation, be there even when you're writing?"
"That's what living together usually involves. There'll be a few other requirements too, don't forget, such as cooking an occasional meal. You can cook, can't you, darling?"
"Not as well as you," she said wryly.
"It'll be easy during the summer, but for the fall I guess we'll have to keep both houses. Or give up your rental and buy a second place in Whittacre. I can be there with you during the week, while on the weekends we can escape to the seaside."
"That sounds perfect."
"So that's a yes?"
"Yes, Stephen, of course it's a yes!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck.
"I should warn you that when you're there I'll keep you imprisoned in my dungeon. There's this cage I'm thinking of having constructed. Very cruel and restrictive. I want you naked in chains."
She giggled and punched his shoulder playfully. "You are so full of shit, Master. No cages. Jeez. Next it'll be a rack. I keep expecting you to build one."
"I'm not that handy. But I suppose I could hire someone. If you really, really want one, that is."
She couldn't stop laughing. "I love you so much. Sometimes it still seems like a dream that you love me, too."
"Idiot," he teased, the warmth in his eyes flooding her with love. "I knew as soon as I met you all those years ago that someday you were going to be my partner in life."
"Oh, sure."
"Really. I loved your ass even when you were too young for me to fuck."
"Your ass is pretty cute, too," she laughed.
"You know what I think we should do this summer?" he said after a while. "Rent a wind surfing rig for a few days in honor of the afternoon we fell in love."
"I'll bet you still can't keep your balance."
"You'd lose. I want you to know I now have mad wind surfing skills."
"You probably wiped out that day because you wanted to kiss me and chose that as an excuse to take me in your arms and—"
He stopped her mouth with a kiss. "I've never needed an excuse for that."
Viola closed her eyes, luxuriating in the feel of him, the warmth of him. She had never felt so at one with any human being before, and he was to be hers, forever.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. We're having a guest for dinner tomorrow night at my place," he said a little later when they were curled up together in her brass bed.
"Hmm? We are? Who?" She was nearly asleep.
"I've invited your father. He said yes. He's bringing the wine."
Her eyes opened wide. "My father is coming to dinner?"
"Yeah. He and I have been talking. We're kinda getting to be friends again."
She was dumbfounded. "I thought you hated each other?"
"Oh well, you know. Water under the bridge and all that. Deep down, I always liked the guy. And I think he liked me. Deep down I think maybe I wanted him for my own father."
"Wow. Are you, like, at peace with the whole world now?"
"Yup. I'm at peace with the world," he said lightly. "How about you? You happy? You feel safe and secure and loved?"
"So much," she agreed, kissing him gently and holding him close until they both fell asleep.
The End
Author's Note: Stephen Silkwood, the hero of The Dangerous Hero, has previously appeared in two other stories of mine—Blazing Nights and A Kiss is Just a Kiss. He was mentioned briefly in my romantic suspense novel, Uncover Me. Stephen is a friend of Kate, Jeff, Max, and Nick, who are all main characters in my novels. However, The Dangerous Hero is a standalone novel. You do not have to read the other books before reading this one
.
Max's story and Jeff's story will be coming in 2015.
For more information about these novels and all my other books, please check out my website at http://www.lindabarlow.com
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LINDA'S BIO
Linda Barlow is the author of 25 novels, with more on the way. She lives in New England with her kinky spouse (who sleeps during the day, which has often made her wonder if he's a vampire) and their equally enigmatic and nocturnal cat.
Linda is a USA Today bestselling author. Her novel Leaves of Fortune won the Rita Award and Fires of Destiny was a finalist for the same award. She loves reading, writing, computer games, and dark chocolate.
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