by Selena Kitt
He lifted each of her legs and placed her calves on his shoulders. The spiked heels added an element of risk that he enjoyed.
After placing his cock at her entrance again, he surged forward, sliding in.
"Crap!" She yelped. "I think you'd better rename this one the Holden Holy Hell position."
"No worries. We'll practice until you get it." He placed an arm across her knees, holding her.
As he pulled back, he saw her hands were curved into the bedding, and he wasn't sure it was just to hold on.
Her eyes drifted closed as she gave herself over to him.
He leaned forward to play with her nipples, then moved upward to run a finger across her bottom lip, wanting her to know how much he appreciated her.
"Oh, Sir."
"Go ahead and take it."
Her pussy pulsed, and he gritted his teeth to avoid ejaculating in that instant. Instead, he let her ride hers out. She used his shoulders for leverage to change the angle slightly.
She opened her eyes as she came, and he liked the way heated cognac seemed to spill across the hazel.
It—she—could become an addiction.
After she'd ridden out her orgasm, he finally allowed himself to climax, a sensation that seemed to come from the depths of his balls, emptying them in a satisfying way that masturbation never could.
A final shudder nearly toppled him, and he shook his head.
By slow measures, he eased himself from her pussy. "Bend your legs." Before she could protest, he plucked the plug from her ass.
She sucked in a deep breath.
He walked to the bathroom, cleaned up, then returned to her with a warm, wet washcloth.
She reached for it.
"I've got it," he said. "Let me."
"I…"
"The correct response is 'yes, Sir.'"
"Yes, Sir," she replied, sounding more dutiful than agreeable.
"Your pussy is nice and red. We should keep it that way." After washing her, then going into the bathroom to rinse the washcloth, he climbed into bed and pulled her close.
"What's that against my ass?" she asked a few minutes later.
"What do you think?"
"You can't be ready again?"
"Seems I am. It can wait."
"You're accustomed to controlling your body's needs."
"A necessary habit, yeah."
"The life you lead is dangerous."
"It can be," he agreed. He adjusted her position so that she faced him.
"So why do you do it? Why did you join?"
"I wanted to map my own future." It was interesting that, with few exceptions, once he'd joined the military, he'd probably had less of an opportunity to chart the course for his life. But it had gotten him away from home, from his father's relentless need to control. Long before he was born, the old man had decided Pierce was going to follow in his footsteps. That meant a business degree from a respected undergrad program in the state and an even more prestigious grad school in Pennsylvania.
Enlisting had been Pierce's best opportunity to flip his family the bird.
His father had been furious. Gerard Holden could have arranged, through his cronies, for an admission to a military academy. At least that way the Holden name wouldn't have been tarnished.
"And you stayed in because?"
"Turned out I was pretty good at it."
"I'm sure. When you focus on something, you're pretty intent."
"Complaints?"
"Not a single one."
"Good."
She snuggled against him. Protectively, he cradled her as she slept.
Sometime during the night, he woke up with a hard-on, and he realized she was awake. He grabbed a condom, and they made love. That was something he wasn't sure he ever remembered doing with a woman. Sex, yes? Even sleepy, languorous sex. But nothing like this.
Maybe because he was so relaxed, he slept all night, something he never did.
* * *
"So. Did you go home with him?"
"What?" Ella blinked. She hurriedly glanced around the patio, hoping none of the anniversary party guests had heard her friend and praying that no one knew she and Pierce had spent the night together. Surely he wouldn't have told anyone?
"I want the details." Morgan clamped her arm on Ella's elbow and dragged her off to one side.
"About?"
Morgan rolled her eyes. "Braxton."
In relief, Ella exhaled. "There are none. I didn't go home with him."
"Thank God. He gives me the heebies."
"What don't you like about him?"
"He didn't honor a sub's safeword at a play party I was at." The words; masculine, calm, familiar made desire arrow through her.
Pasting on a false smile, one she wore almost all day, every day during the work week, she turned to face Pierce.
Bravado fled when she saw him in a suit.
"Ignore my brother," Morgan said. "He says inappropriate things."
He was in dark gray, with a silver tie, and snowy-white shirt. Ella wouldn't have believed it was possible for him to look any more devastating than he had in denim, but he did.
His slender but unbelievably muscular body looked even more devastating in the tailored silk.
"Ella," he said, easily. "I'm glad you're here."
"I wouldn't have missed it," she lied. She absolutely would have missed it, happily. Showing up was agony, something she wouldn't have done if Morgan hadn't sent a text begging her to come. Since she dealt with her own set of parental issues, she understood.
"Is that true about Braxton?" Morgan asked him.
"It is."
"Ick." Then she put her hands on her hips "Wait. What were you doing at a BDSM club, anyway?"
"Mom's waving," he said. "I think she's trying to get your attention."
"Again?" She sighed, looking toward the kitchen where Laurel was standing next to the caterer.
Their mother had a glass of wine in hand.
"I'll be right back," Morgan promised.
"That was mean," Ella said, frowning at Pierce.
Unrepentantly, he grinned. "Mother's going to need something sooner or later."
"Still…"
"You didn't return my text. You didn't call."
A million emotions zinged through her. And she wished she hadn't allowed Morgan to lead her into a quiet corner. She was too close to Pierce, too overwhelmed by his scent of determination. "Honestly, I wasn't sure I was going to come."
"Why?" He scowled.
"Because of last night."
"I've gone into battle with better intel than this. Help me understand."
"It was wonderful. And a one-night stand."
"Why would that stop you from being here?"
"Do you need briefings on everything?" she asked, annoyance replacing the angst she'd woken up with.
She hadn't needed to find his note to know she was alone. When she'd awakened, the silence in the house had echoed. And there had been emptiness in her heart.
Ella had told herself it was better that way, that there were no good-byes. That she could file away her memories and pull back her shoulders and pretend she wasn't affected by the scene they'd shared.
He'd programmed his contact information into her phone and had left her a message asking her to call him when she was awake. She'd gone back and forth half a dozen times, debating what to do. In the end, the decision had been easy. To assure herself she wouldn't make a fool out of herself later, she'd deleted both the text and his number. "Last night was awesome. Thank you."
"It was better than that," he said. "There was a connection."
"Let's not pretend it was anything more than a hot scene, okay?" She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling.
"Pretend?" A frown burrowed between his eyebrows. "What, exactly, are we pretending?"
She had a sense that if they were alone, he'd be more persistent in his search for answers. "That it meant anything to either of us or that it will ever
happen again."
"It sure as fuck meant something to me." His voice was tight, irritation punctuating his words.
"I didn't mean to insult you."
"Yeah. You did."
She lifted her hand to reach for him but then dropped it back to her side.
"Is there a reason we can't be friends?"
A big one, for her, at least.
She snagged a glass of wine from a passing server. She noticed Pierce was carrying around a bottle of water.
After taking a drink to steady her nerves, she admitted, "I told you I'm looking for a relationship. I need someone who will be around, who will sleep with me, stay the night, create a future. We both understood that." Now if her brain could convince her heart.
"How about one who lights up your ass? How about one who leaves stripes across your thighs? Or crops your pussy and inflicts the right kind of pain?"
"Pierce…" Because she couldn't resist the memories, she added, "Don't."
"So that's it? Your fear of being hurt is worse than your fear of taking a chance?"
She squared her shoulders. "Take a chance? With someone who's leaving tomorrow? Who goes on missions so top secret that no one knows what he does? Who's only in Colorado every few years? What would that mean? We'd play again this afternoon and that you'd disappear at dawn?" When she was even more attached to him? When she had even more experiences to forget?
"What would it take?"
This was why she shouldn't have come to the party. He was so much easier to resist if she wasn't looking at him, seeing how handsome he was, remembering the feel of the cane punishing her skin while she was mesmerized by his stunning blue eyes. "It's impossible," she said, wishing it were anything but. "A relationship takes a lot of work and commitment from two people. You are not in a place to be involved with someone like me. I'd demand more than you could give. I want forever, a future. The same things that went wrong for you before will go wrong again."
"Say you'll at least talk to me, answer my texts?"
"You'd be relentless."
He grinned. "Possibly."
Maybe she could, after some time had passed, after she sorted her life back out again. "Not immediately."
"You're a tough woman, Ella."
"I never said otherwise." She brought up her chin a notch. "We've both been honest with each other."
"It wasn't a criticism."
"No?"
"Tough is good. I admire your resolve. I might not like it, but I respect it."
Tears stung her eyes, and she fought them back.
"And I like the way you take the beating you asked for."
"Now you're not playing fair." She recalled his tactic to get rid of Morgan.
"Never do. Especially when I want something."
"Am I the first person to tell you no?"
"And the last," he said.
Morgan returned, and the intimacy was lost.
Ella stayed until toasts had been offered to the Holdens. And in the exuberance of champagne glasses tinkling and shouts of, "Cheers!" she escaped.
In the car, alone, she dropped her forehead to the steering wheel and gave in to the tears.
His words, though, weren't accurate. Ella had never been tough, that was her biggest problem. She was a coward trying to save herself from an even greater hurt later.
* * *
"Something you want to tell me?"
Jolted, Pierce turned toward his sister. But he couldn't resist one last look at the car disappearing down the road.
How the hell had he allowed her to leave? And what in the ever-loving name of God was he going to do about it?
Ella Gibson was an intriguing mixture of innocence and defiance. All of her emotions danced in her eyes. Not everyone could see it, he was certain. But he could.
"You're not as smart as you think you are."
"Oh?"
"I knew Mom didn't want me. So that was a ploy for you to be alone with Ella. I want to know what happened last night."
"Why would you assume anything did?"
"Oh, for crying out loud." She rolled her eyes. "I saw you watching her at the bar. And you stayed at the Neon Moon even after I left. I don't need to be a mathematician to know that two plus two equals four. Start talking."
"Morgan, don't you have someone else to bother? Aren't you supposed to be a hostess or something?"
"Oh my God."
"What?"
"You've got a thing for Ella."
He remained silent.
Her mouth fell open. "You… And Ella? Does she like you the way you like her?"
"I can't speak for anyone other than myself."
"But?" she prompted.
"Nothing."
Surprising him, she placed her fingers on his sleeve.
"What are you going to do?" she asked.
"Have you always been so nosy?"
"Isn't that what little sisters are good for?"
"Go bother someone else."
"Let me know if I can do anything."
He nodded tightly. Pierce solved his own problems. Always had.
With Ella, there was only one thing that would work. As she'd said, she'd been honest about it. He would have preferred that she compromised. In his perfect world, she'd wait for him, either here or at his place near Fort Bragg. He'd give her as much time as he could. Having her to come home to would be mind-blowing, giving him focus, grounding him.
Now he understood all the men who entered into relationships, despite the challenges and the odds.
Falling for her had humbled him.
He tightened his grip on the water bottle.
Well, fuck.
His mind reeled, knocked sideways by a blow he'd never seen coming.
Pierce was left with only with one mission and one outcome. Pursuit and capture. Good thing his training had left him competent at both.
Chapter Five
I've been thinking about having you in the Holden Holy Hell position. Soon.
Relentless.
Damn it. Damn him.
With a sigh, Ella dropped her phone back on top of her planner. She'd known Pierce would be relentless with his text messages, and he had been.
For three months, she'd tried to forget him.
But that was nearly impossible with the way she thought about him every time she entered her house. She'd remember the way he'd stood near the fireplace, watching her walk down the stairs. Or the way he'd fucked her, then later made love to her in her bedroom.
Still, she might have had some success if he'd left her alone.
Because she sent all of his calls directly to voice mail, he reached out with text messages. Every day in May, after he'd left, he'd contacted her at least once. Then, from the beginning of June and into the second week of July, she hadn't heard from him at all.
During that time, she'd gone insane. She didn't know whether he'd lost interest in her or whether he was deployed. And if he was, when he was coming back. Not knowing whether he was safe destroyed her.
When he'd finally contacted her, she had started to shake. It wasn't until he was safe that she'd admitted how much she cared.
It would have been easier to block his number. She could have saved herself significant heartache that way.
Her phone dinged again. She considered ignoring it.
No matter how many times she told herself to do just that, her fingers and curiosity overrode her brain's orders.
With a sigh, she picked up the phone. Relief flooded her when she saw the message was from Morgan.
You're coming to a meeting of the Carpe Diem Divas. Happy hour. Tonight. No excuses or I will come drag your depressed ass out of your house. Fiesta Ole! I-25 and Arapahoe. Five o'clock. And this is happy hour. Happy hour. Which means you have to act happy. For an hour.
Ella shook her head. Actually, this text was as annoying as the ones she'd been receiving from Pierce. There were times she wasn't sure whether to hug Morgan or to smother her with a pillow. She was def
initely Pierce's sibling.
Before Ella could respond, her phone lit up again.
p.s. I know where you live, and I have a key.
She laughed.
Morgan was right. Ella was not behaving like herself. She went through the motions, arriving at the office on time, working hard, going to the gym three days a week, but she'd lost interest in many of her pursuits. She'd refused a couple of dates. And she'd turned down numerous invitations from Morgan. But another night of Netflix and ice cream was not going to make her feel better.
After replying that she'd be there, she added a note to her planner.
She had to leave work a few minutes early in order to arrive on time and when she walked into the restaurant's bar section, she discovered Morgan, Ava, Jennifer, and Eden already sipping margaritas. She took the only empty chair and grinned when she saw a frozen drink at her plate, too.
She took a long drink of the sweet and sour beverage, then shook her head at the bite from the tequila. "Is this a double?"
"No," Ava said.
"You just don't get out much," Morgan replied.
"I'm here now," Ella said. "Where's Noelle?" Though she wasn't an official member of the Carpe Diem Divas, Ella was sometimes invited if they were meeting at the south end of Denver. The Divas had started as a few friends supporting each other through recent breakups. Even though Noelle was now happily married to one of the area's renowned Doms, the group was so committed to each other that they didn't want Noelle to leave.
"She and Joe are getting ready for a play party tomorrow night," Jennifer said. "I think Logan and I are going. Would you like to attend?"
"Uh." The invitation stunned her, but not as much as her reaction. "No. I mean, thanks."
"Aren't you into that BDSM stuff?" Ava asked.
Jennifer pointed her straw at Ava. "It's not that BDSM stuff. You should give it a try."
"Oh, fuck no. Ain't no man spanking this ass." She wriggled in her seat.
"You might like it," Morgan said.
"I'll leave that to the rest of you kinky bitches. I'm just looking for a man who likes to eat the kitty like his life depends on it. Which it might."
"Oh my God!" Ella roared.
People from other tables glanced in their direction.
"Speaking of… How was your date last week?" Eden asked.
Ava shook her head. "Could barely introduce him to the kitty. Never did get him to pet it."
