by Dee Tenorio
“Damn it, Locke!”
His hands were at her waist, sliding her down the bed until her legs hung off the edge, then his fingers curled into the fabric of her leggings and underwear both. One swift move and they were peeled off her, flying through the air. She didn’t even know what had happened to her shoes. She didn’t care.
“I’m not going to be gentle, Susie.” Hot hands slipped behind her knees, skidding her down until her ass was just barely on the bed anymore. That was almost as arousing as the nearly guttural voice barely coming out of the man dragging her closer and closer to his incredible body. “Can’t do this the right way.”
“Why are you still talking?” she snapped, nearly breathless with need now.
He grunted, which she took for “good question” and she reached for him, expecting him to climb over her. She should have remembered who she was dealing with. His palms glided up her open thighs, pushing her legs up and lifting her wet folds to his sizzling inspection.
Then he dropped to his knees and her clit was in his mouth.
She may have screamed his name. Either that or “fuck”, she wasn’t sure which. He kept her pinned that way, ruthlessly using his mouth to make her vision double. Long strokes gave way to fluttering flicks, then some kind of undulating motion right on the little knot of nerves she decided had become his favorite plaything. Just when she thought she had a grip on the pleasure though, he went back to sucking, rubbing the underside of her clit with the tip of his tongue.
The orgasm crashed over her before she ever felt it coming.
Then doubled when he lapped inside her, drinking every wave as if she were an ambrosia he couldn’t get enough of, not giving her even a second for them to back down.
He licked up her swollen flesh one last time, finally climbing onto the bed, pushing his clothes down only enough to free himself. The thick head of his sex nuzzled her soaking folds, sliding through them like a brief caress before he settled over her and began pushing inside.
She stared up at his face, unable to look away from the pained ecstasy on his rugged features. All the while he moved deeper, inching into her, stretching her sheath to fit his width. She could barely draw breath, the fullness gliding over every nerve ending until all she could feel was him. All she wanted to feel was him… Ravenous desire unfurled, turning her body molten. She reached for him, her hands pulling at his neck. She needed to feel him, everywhere, not just within.
“Tell me I’m not hurting you,” Locke whispered. Hell, he begged and he didn’t care. Still holding himself above her, his shaft now fully embedded, he was this close to breaking. She shuddered, delicate muscles flexing around him, almost too much for him to withstand.
He had meant to do this so differently. Meant to have full control of his hunger. At least a semblance. Show her he could give all the bells and whistles he’d seen other women get from their husbands. The nice dinner, candlelight, a slow seduction. Instead he’d all but thrown her on his bed and was now a hairsbreadth from driving into her without a thought for her or the baby.
“I need,” she panted, arching under him, those beautiful breasts still barely bound within her bra. He could see the hard tips, pushing at the fabric, making his mouth water. She whimpered when he shifted with her, grinding his teeth to keep from losing it. If she would just be still for a few more seconds, he could get his bearings. He could try to be careful…
“Locke, please…”
“Please what?” Anything, he’d give her absolutely anything if she’d just be still…
Long, strong legs folded around him, her ankles hooking at the small of his back, pushing him impossibly deeper.
“Touch me.” She looked up at him, the blue of her eyes so dark with passion, yet nearly glowing, her kiss-swollen lips red and open. “I need you. All of you, like it was before.”
Before, he’d been out of his head for her, almost as rough as he was reverent. They’d damn near broken every surface in the cabin.
She flexed around him, inside and out, her hands moving up his chest. Up his neck to cup his face. Then she did it, breaking his concentration, his fucking will to do or be anything but be her slave.
“I love you so much, Locke.” Her eyes, where so many secrets hid, were clear and true, shining with proud tears that wrenched at the scars connecting his heart to his soul. “Only you. Only ever you.”
His mouth crashed down, finding hers through the blinding sensation of his body taking over. He pulled back, thrusting into her to the hilt. No finesse, no thought, just raw, driving instinct. She clung, crying out as her channel spasmed around his cock. He had no idea what he was doing now, lost in the feel of her, the hot, wet clench of their bodies continuing to strain… Whimpers turned to hoarse screams, her arms clamped around his head, her hold as unrelenting as his force.
When it finally came, the edge of oblivion swallowed him whole, the only things following him into the pristine were the sounds of his own roar and her pleased sighs.
Next time, he promised himself. Next time he’d do it right…
Chapter Nine
“Well, if you’re just gonna keep brooding about it, I’m just not going to say it anymore.”
Locke ignored the teasing tone in Susie’s voice, staring at the burning logs in the fireplace beside the deep tub instead. Warm water lapped around them, her slick body tucked neatly against his chest. His two favorite things in the world—Susie and water—finally together, and he couldn’t quite enjoy them. Not the way he wanted to.
She still plans to leave you.
He couldn’t get the thought out of his mind.
She lay in this big tub with him, her wet hair curling over his shoulder, melted like butter, smile so big he could feel it when she pressed kisses to his shoulder…and she still planned to leave. Not today, not even tomorrow, probably. But the second she got spooked again, she’d be gone.
“If you’re still mad that I ruined your grand seduction plans—”
“It’s not that.” Not that he was happy about that either. Oh, it felt incredible to have finally made love to her again, but falling on her like a ravening beast was no way to convince her she didn’t want to live without him.
“Good, because I’ve never enjoyed anything as much as I did that, and if you ruin it by being all male about it—”
How could she make him feel like a god and piss him off at the same time? “I could have hurt you.” Then he’d have had to find a way to rip out his own spleen and who would protect her then?
Susie’s laugh in the face of his snarl didn’t improve his mood. “Oh please. You’d tear off your own arms and beat yourself with them before you ever hurt me.”
Slightly mollified by her faith in him, he let it go with another grunt. Went back to looking at the gas flames behind the glass. Not as mesmerizing as the ones he liked to watch in the bigger fireplace of the living room. That one burned real logs and the flames blazed untamed, dancing in whatever direction they wanted. His mother used to say they had that in common, their love for the impossible to control. Explained quite a bit why she’d liked her kids so much. His father too. Hellions, the lot of them.
He looked down where Susie curled on her side, her hand lifting water to drip from her fingers into the bath. She was snuggled contentedly against him, draped over his body like a blanket, not a care in the world. His hand sank into the mass of her hair, smoothing it back from her face. She gave a little moan, nuzzling into his arm. The tight constriction in his chest loosened a little at the sound. So he let himself stroke the silky curls again.
She stretched her neck, offering more of herself to touch.
Greed billowed in his gut. His fingers trailed the length of her throat, satiny smooth all the way to where it joined her collarbone. He traced that delicate line, dipping into the gentle hollows beneath. Small muscles flexed as she sank onto her back, the water floating her bare centimeters over his length. Firelight reflected over the gleaming moisture on her skin, luring him
to reach farther. To stroke the wet swells of her breasts all the way down to where the water hid her dusky rose nipples from his view…
She sighed, her body arching, searching for his hand.
Beautiful. Every inch of her. The kind of beauty that entranced. That made a man wish he could hold her, could tame her until she was his and his alone…
His palm fit under the lush flesh, his thumb coursing over her nipple, earning him another moan, this one deeper. She slipped through his hold, twisting so she could face him, could drag herself over him in a full-body stroke across his skin, bringing her mouth to his. Her kiss tasted as blatantly sexual as her grasping fingers tugging at his other hand, pulling it to her other breast.
She cried out into his mouth when he squeezed, writhing against him. Water sloshed, her body continuing those sensuous movements, her belly rubbing his cock with a promise he had every intention of making her keep. Thoughts rapidly faded as she moved. As she twined around him, the taste and feel of her stealing away all but his hunger.
So much hunger…
“Don’t be mad, Locke…” Words against his mouth. Not pleas. Temptation. Seduction. Her legs parted, her knees finding purchase on either side of his thighs. She rose up, her nipple grazing his lip, daring him to follow after. Below the surface of the water, her hand encircled his cock, gripping him with an ownership that seemed to please her. Fire burned where she touched him, even more when she placed the aching head to her entrance and slowly began to take him inside. “Don’t ruin this with anger.”
His hands coursed down her body, landing on her hips as she settled to the hilt of him. His mind blurred, his senses completely filled with her until there was no room for anything more.
But the pain in his heart refused to dissolve, even as his frustration gave way to the love he had for her. Love she wouldn’t allow him to give to her. Not in any way but this. So he took it, pulling her back down to take her mouth, holding her still as he surged deeper inside her. Her hips rolled beneath his hands, setting her own rhythm for him to follow. He fought it, growling into her mouth, but she only smiled and rode him harder.
God help him, how was he supposed to fight that?
He let go, not realizing he’d been gripping her hair to hold her to his kiss. She stretched above him, free to move as she might. To leave him entirely, if she chose. Her eyes glowed like embers as she watched him through heavy lids, her body undulating like the flames he loved and had never dreamed of controlling. She danced over him, all around him, never breaking their heated connection. Using it, instead, to wring more and more pleasure from him.
She threw her head back, her hands reaching for his, her body rising and falling over and over again. He gave to her, as he always did, clasping her hands to support her as she rode him. Matched her pace, rising for her as she came down, the sensations so intense they bordered on pain.
She jerked in his hold, curving back so far her hair splashed into the water, his name echoing off the walls as she cried for him. Her sheath gripped him, shuddering strokes stealing the last of his restraint, throwing him over the edge with her. He pulsed with her, aware of nothing but the feel of her coming back down into his arms. Her breath, hot and panting against his neck. Soft kisses, soothing kisses. Her hands smoothed into his hair, cradling him as he finally laid his head on her shoulder. He held her too tightly, he knew, but he couldn’t let go.
Only a fool would try to tame her. To contain her fire. To grasp in his hands what was meant to be free.
But he couldn’t let go.
“I can’t lose you, Susie.” The words were torn out of him. He’d lost too much. His parents, his dreams, his future… To finally feel whole again only to know it could all be ripped away without a moment’s notice? To know she would choose to go?
“I know,” she whispered, holding him tight. Comforting him. If he didn’t know the droplets falling onto his cheek were from the bath water, he’d imagine they were her tears. Maybe they were, but he couldn’t bring himself to find out. Because they both knew what she wasn’t saying.
But you will…
He closed his eyes. He’d never been a man who willfully blinded himself to the truth. It had never done him any good, and he knew living with lies you told yourself were worse than any of the ones anyone else could tell you. There was no one to blame when the truth came tumbling down. And it always fell hardest in those situations.
But really, what choice did he have?
So he let her hold him. Let himself believe it could still be for forever. And then he held on with both hands.
Susie pretended to still be asleep as Locke tiptoed into the room to check on her. She’d only been up for about thirty seconds, but until she heard the click of the doorknob, she’d still been entertaining fantasies of going back into the warm cocoon. It didn’t hurt that she’d stolen Locke’s pillow, burrowing her face into his scent. Her dreams had been pleasant, to say the least. Something about a low-slung towel, inching its way down a masculine, golden-toned hip…
She smiled into the pillow, hoping he didn’t see the flush on her cheeks because he’d know exactly what caused it. Four years she’d gone without sex, and she hadn’t missed it in the slightest. Had been pretty revolted at the thought of it, truth be told. Give her free rein with her very own Viking, though, and her drive came back with dual cams and a rip-roaring V-8 engine. Maybe a HEMI. She’d blame him, but wouldn’t he just love that?
Speaking of him, Locke still stood at the side of the bed, head tilted, trying to figure out whether she was up. She almost gasped when he rammed the bed with his knee, which only gave the huge mattress a slight bounce. As it was, her bit-back burst of laughter probably gave away the game. She couldn’t help it though, this man would never be subtle.
His eyes narrowed and he leaned down to plant both hands on the bed. “I know you’re awake.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do. Your nipples are hard.”
Her eyes flew open at that, already looking down to see the barely covered little traitors tenting the sheet she lay under. Why, the arrogant jerk… “That doesn’t mean I’m awake. I could just be cold.”
Sure. Cold. In this big, feather-soft bed, covered in heavy blankets she didn’t need when he was there, in front of a fireplace that could warm a castle. From the outside.
“Got you talking, didn’t it?”
She glared at him, but it didn’t have any bite. She was too busy trying not to grin. “Maybe I talk in my sleep.”
Those firm lips of his curled and her toes followed suit. “Is that what you were doing when you were screaming my name last night?”
She laughed, unable to keep her hand from his cheek now that he was lying across the mattress, stretching to take one of his slow, delicious kisses. Her other arm slid over his shoulder, lazily pulling him closer. She loved the way this man kissed. Like she was the main course of his favorite meal and he could savor her all day long. Never rushing a moment of it.
He wasn’t impatient the way she was. She was always touching, tugging, demanding more. Demanding it now. Most of the time, he managed to slow her down, giving her everything she needed and more. But sometimes…
“If you keep this up, we’re never getting out of this bed.” He didn’t sound totally convinced of why that was a bad idea. She certainly wasn’t. “I wanted to show something to you.”
“I’ve seen it,” she murmured against his mouth, holding tighter to his shirt when he chuckled. “But some things are worth looking at over and over again.”
“Not that,” he growled, getting a good grip on her ass and dragging her beneath him—blankets and all—despite his words. Then he made her gasp by giving that same cheek a firm swat and pulling away. “You’re not derailing me with your rampant sex drive, woman. That’s how we lost the entire morning.”
“Oh, are we really calling the morning lost?” She didn’t think of it that way. Then again, attempts at echolocation would explain the
rhythmic banging of the headboard against the wall. Which she would mention to him if she thought it would earn her anything more than another grunt. Instead, she rolled onto her side and stretched. “I could derail you if I wanted.”
Derailing him was always worth the effort. And the knowledge that she could was so heady. Almost enough to make her wish she’d given in to her craving for him earlier. The last three months would have been vastly different if she’d let him in the door sooner.
That thought stole a little of her pleasure. He seemed to sense the shadows creeping in on her. He leaned down to give her one more kiss, luring her closer to his side of the bed.
“You always can, but I really want you to see this. And unfortunately, it’s something you’re going to need clothes for.” He glanced down at her breasts, which had escaped the sheet when she’d rolled.
“Ah-ha. Not stopping by my apartment first suddenly isn’t working in your favor, is it, Master Tactician?”
“There’s always pros and cons to every decision.” He kept staring, as if there were answers to be found somewhere on her nipples. “You could wear a set of my sweats.”
Was it evil that she jiggled, just to see what he would do?
Possibly, because he got off the bed like it was on fire. She bit her bottom lip, not the tiniest bit remorseful. He needed teasing as much as she needed to be playful. Intense as their time in the bath was, she knew something was still simmering under his surface. He might have calmed down, but not all his frustration was gone. All she could hope for was to make the time they had worth it for both of them.
He stiffly opened and closed his drawers one at a time, looking for something, but she had the distinct impression he had no idea what that might be.
“Find the sweats yet?”
