“Pierce!”
“Sweet Lord, this feels...” his sharp intake of breath said everything. He inched into her heat a little and waited for her body to accommodate him. Then she backed her hips into him until she had more than half of his length firmly lodged inside—all in one motion.
She tensed at the impalement, then she moistened the area, cupped her buttocks, squeezing them around his exposed length, cocooning him in an extended wave of heat.
Pierce moved within her, and she whimpered. Was it in pain or ecstasy? He waited a moment. Too long. Raven moved forward slowly, then backed into him, taking more of him into her.
He steadied himself, gripping her hips, and kneading her soft flesh, using it to brace himself to move with her, within her. The heat within him built to a dangerous, overpowering level.
Raven moved with him, quickening the pace as each thrust forward made her body jerk with the force of his power. “Pierce. Oh, God, Pierce!”
He drove into her.
She screamed his name, her hips moving frantically towards him.
A low, animalistic groan parted his lips as he buried himself deep inside her, thrusting to meet her, the tight walls enveloping him.
Their pace quickened. She could feel the heat come and go, come and go, come and go—all the while he held onto her body as if his next breath depended on this erotic connection, and at that moment, it certainly did.
Pierce came in short, hot bursts that filled her body to the point that it overflowed as his thrusts quickened.
“Good God!”
It had never been this good for her. She’d never had an orgasm so…fierce, so violent, so intense.
She remained strangely still as he stayed inside her, jets of semen still flowing forward as his body jerked a few more times before coming to a complete halt.
With his breathing still returning to normal, he reached out to touch her. “Raven?”
When she didn’t answer, his heart stopped.
“Raven?”
She began to cry, sobs racking her body. He cursed himself, pulled out, turned her to him, and looked into her eyes “Raven?”
Pierce drew her to him, burying his face in her neck. “I’m so sorry, Raven. I never meant to hurt you. God, I never meant to hurt you—”
She pushed him away a little, breathing in short gasps. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re crying. I thought—”
“I always cry when I have an orgasm as explosive as that one. Even ones I give myself.”
Pierce didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
She let out a breath. “I mean, those first three must have been appetizers, because this one—Oh. My. GOD!!!” She started sobbing all over again.
Pierce held her tight for several minutes, then reached down, massaging the area just below her abdomen.
“I think we’ve found a position that works, huh?”
Pierce answered with a low, throaty chuckle.
She looked down at the bed and grinned. “I don’t think sleeping on your side of the bed will work tonight.
He followed her gaze. “I don’t think any side of this bed is a good bet.”
Pierce carried her to the guest room, covering them with the blanket as he curled her back into his arms.
Raven closed her eyes, allowing the feel of him to surround her like a tide washing onto the shore. She loved that he continued to massage the area just above the hairs leading to her delta, helping the little spasms of pain that she hadn’t mentioned to subside.
He had held her heart captive with every waking moment, and her body had finally followed suit.
She leaned up and kissed his cheek. He answered with the stroke of his palm against her buttocks as she surrendered to peaceful dreams.
❤ ❤ ❤
As the sun began to rise, Pierce uncurled from Raven’s warm body and lightly stroked her with his hands to gently wake her.
“It’s against my religion to get up before 6 a.m.,” she mumbled.
“What religion is that?” he asked.
“The church of I’m on vacation and should be able to sleep until my eyes open of their own accord.”
Pierce placed a gentle kiss on her neck. “Never heard of that church.”
“Obviously.” Raven turned back over.
“Come on, woman, shake a tail feather, we’re going to be late.”
“And what exactly are we supposed to be doing today?” she grumbled.
“Snorkeling. Turtle Island.”
“Right.” She snuggled into the pillow and didn’t move.
“Raven!”
“Yes, Daddy,” she moaned.
His dick flexed. “Shoot, I like that! Say it again, baby.”
“Will it get me an extra thirty minutes of sleep?”
“Nope.”
“Then you’re SOL, dude.”
Pierce gave her rear end a kiss, followed by a swat. “In that case, get your gorgeous ass up.”
Raven rolled out of bed, laughing on her way to the shower––with a sexy little dip in her hip. Pierce could only grin.
An hour later, they were at Maalea Harbor and falling in line behind a small crowd waiting at the dock. The crew from the Frogman greeted them, gave everyone a few rules, identified the first-timers and the certified divers, then took off for the island.
As the catamaran cut through the waves, Raven marveled at the vibrant colors of the water, which ranged from teal to aqua to sea foam. Pierce held her in front of him, and she could almost swear she felt his body relax enough to fall asleep. Serves him right for getting us up so damned early.
The crew entertained them with a bit of island history before docking at a point not far from Turtle Island.
The moment Raven’s foot touched the water, she froze. Memories of gym class and her fears of the deep end of the pool resurfaced. The ultimatum had been to either fail the class or dive in and retrieve the brick at the bottom. She had failed—the first and only time in school when she had done so. After that day, nightmares of hundred-foot deep pools with no shallow ends or land for safety had followed night after night. Only sheer determination and a single opportunity given by the teacher to reverse that F, had forced her to try again.
Raven had closed her eyes, dived in, and held her breath until she reached bottom, then grabbed the brick all the while, fighting the rising panic as she pushed to the surface. Still, that success had done nothing to quell her fears of being in large bodies of water. Skinny-dipping in the shallow end she could do. Sitting on the edge of a pool with her feet in for fun—that was a given. Walking her ass into the deep, dark ocean was out of the question.
Only a few stragglers remained on the boat. Pierce, already floating in the water, had his arms outstretched, inviting Raven in. Yet even his nicely built arms didn’t quite equal the safety of staying on board. “Pierce, I think you’re going to have to do this by yourself.”
“Raven?”
She shook her head. “I can’t handle this much water.”
“Just hold onto me.”
“I…I…I can’t!” She moved aside, letting others pass. “I can’t.”
“Here, take one of these,” a little freckle-faced, cinnamon-haired boy said, handing Raven a bright pink foam stick. “The noodles will keep you floating.”
She looked skeptically at the stick that did not reassure her by any stretch of the imagination. “Thanks, but,” she tapped the boat’s hull, “I think I’ll stick close to home.”
Pierce moved back toward the steps a little, wading in the water with an ease that she envied. “Raven, come to me.”
“I can’t do that,” she shrieked, her panic rising.
“Just look at me, move forward, and wrap your arms around me,” he said softly. “Come on. Now.”
She panicked. “Who are you supposed to be? Jesus with that walk-on-water stuff?”
“Actually the true translation is along, not on, but we won’t get into that.”
“You’re supposed to be giving me confidence here.”
“What I’m giving you is honesty,” he corrected. “I’ve got this under control, honey.”
She was inching forward, stretching her arms out to him and struggling to connect with his hands before the fear stabbed at her like no time she could remember. “Pierce!”
“Trust me, I’m not budging, baby,” he encouraged, moving her forward. “You’re doing fine.”
A wave brought the water swelling around her. She yelped, “PIERCE!”
Grabbing her with both hands, he brought her into his arms. She instantly wrapped her legs around his waist, hanging on for dear life.
“It’s all right, baby,” he soothed.
She buried her face into the curve of his neck and shoulder, shaking like full winter had come upon them. “Pierce, I can’t do this. I can’t do this!”
“You are doing this, see?” With that, he moved her a little further away, and panic set in once again.
“Pierce!”
“I’ve got you, baby,” he whispered. “Trust me.”
She peered over his shoulder. Every inch away from the stairs seemed like a mile. “I want to go back!”
“One more second, okay?”
She gripped him tighter, giving him a mild, “ ‘Kay.”
He pulled her on top of him, allowing their bodies to float for a few moments as they drifted to a hidden area on the side of the catamaran. “Trust me, Raven.”
She only nodded.
“Close your eyes.”
She closed her eyes tight, feeling a sudden pressure on her lips as Pierce’s tongue demanded entrance. Through half-open eyes, Raven watched his head as his tongue traced an outline of her lips.
“Mmmmm,” she moaned, and her body relaxed even more as she allowed him full access.
He purred in a husky voice, “Didn’t you get enough of this last night?”
She moved her hips toward him. “Someone’s trying to make up for lost time.”
Pierce pulled away, grinning. He moved the material away from her core, guiding himself inside to the tip of her delta, and teasing her pearl to the point that she gasped and trembled with pleasure. He inched himself upward as he held her in his arms, her back to the white planks of the boat and her legs crossed behind him. When she arched toward him, head back in pure abandon, mouth parted in wanton expectation, Pierce abruptly pulled out, saying, “Now we can go back.”
She blinked, gripped his hips so he stayed in place, and glared at him as she sputtered through clenched teeth, “You leave me hanging and I…will…whip…your…ass!”
Pierce answered with a low, husky laugh before thrusting upward into her heat and finishing what he had started.
Twenty-Three
When they returned to the suite, a message notice flashed on Pierce’s iPhone, as well as Raven’s.
“It’s Eric.”
“On mine, too.” Raven went into her voicemail, listening to several of Eric’s attempts to remain calm as he left one message after another. She looked over her shoulder at Pierce. “He says for me to have you call him right away. He sounds upset.”
Raven watched as Pierce listened, frowning as the message went on. Before she could comprehend what was happening, Pierce’s expression went blank, then he threw his phone on the bed.
Raven’s heart sank. She was instantly by his side. “What’s going on?”
“Sim called in every one of MEG’s employees and fired them on the spot—at two o’clock in the fucking morning!”
She followed him to the living room and slumped on the sofa right next to him. “You have to go back.”
He nodded, a vein throbbing at his temple.
Raven jumped up. “I’ll be ready in ten minutes.”
“I’ll call the pilot and Vinah.” Pierce pulled her into his arms. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
“It’s not your fault. You said dinner.” She held his face in her hands. “And it’s been so much more than that. I can’t thank you enough.”
Pierce waited a moment. “I know I have to take care of this, but finish out this vacation in New York with me.”
Raven shook her head. “We’ll have to do it another time. I have to get back to my life, too.”
“Please?” He kissed the top of her breasts. “With me on top and you squealing on the bottom?”
She trembled with delight and belted out a dirty little giggle. “Now you know that’s not the position that works for us.”
He released her breasts from the bathing suit.
“Pierce, we have to go,” she whispered huskily.
“Will you stay with me, baby? Just a little while longer?”
He kissed her, but she still shook her head. If she spent any more time with Pierce, her heart, mind, body, and soul would be in serious jeopardy. What she was feeling for him had far surpassed love a long time ago—and that terrified her. What could possibly be stronger than love?
Pierce lowered to his knees, trailing his lips across any exposed skin along the way. He parted her thighs and cupped her buttocks as he brought her center squarely in line with his lips. The first flicks of his tongue against her pearl almost made her knees buckle. The second his tongue swirled round the opening of her center, she surrendered her body to him. Minutes later, with all the teasing, tasting, and nibbling, she was shaking with the force of an orgasm so powerful, she blacked out for a few seconds. “I’ll stay!” she shrieked, shuddering as another orgasm slammed into her. “I give in!”
He stopped, stood, and grinned.
That satisfied grin only lasted a few seconds as she glared at him and stormed away.
❤ ❤ ❤
The flight back was a far cry from the mysterious yet wonderful one they had taken days earlier. Raven barely spoke to him, and nothing he said to coax her into light conversation made a difference. As the car took them from the airport to his home, he tried not to focus on what could have made her so angry. Instead he took in his surroundings. Pierce remembered how Sim had teased him about staying in Harlem, despite having enough money in the bank to live a ghetto-fabulous life-style. But Pierce could not, and would not, give up the place where he’d grown up. There were too many good memories for him there.
Central Harlem was still populated by folks who’d been in the same buildings and apartments for generations. The old brownstones and walk-ups were intermingled with new condos and trendy restaurants. Although Pierce could remember a time when white folks wouldn’t set foot in the area, in recent years, some of those brownstone and limestone buildings had been renovated and started attracting families and young people of all ethnic backgrounds.
The area was still home to many musicians, writers, and photographers. The Harlem Studio Museum, the Schomberg Center, and the Apollo Theatre were rich in Harlem history. Hip-hop, the music that was a small part of MEG’s bread and butter, was also alive and well in Harlem.
Between the artists, the lifelong denizens, and the new breed of Harlemites, Pierce truly felt he’d found his home. He didn’t care what anyone said—with its classy venues alongside the mom-and-pop shops and street vendors, Harlem felt more diverse and eclectic than Manhattan. Pierce could step outside his door and satisfy any itch or craving he had without heading all the way downtown and he liked it like that.
The driver pulled up to Pierce’s brownstone and brought their things into the foyer. The entire house was decorated in hues of red, black and silver, and showcased Oriental and African art, leather furniture, and mahogany woodwork, all blending with warmth and simplistic efficiency. Raven scanned the living room, taking in the black, and gray granite fireplace with a silver plasma television perched on top. Pierce took her hand and led her through the fully equipped kitchen and up the staircase, past the two guest bedrooms, then to the top level, which housed an office—and Pierce’s master suite.
Raven’s jaw dropped at the opulence of his California king bed draped in suede and leather with Egyptia
n spun silk underneath. The bath had a Jacuzzi tub that fit Pierce’s beefy body to a tee and could easily accommodate a guest or two.
Still taking in her surroundings, she uttered her first real words since they’d left Hawaii, “From the outside, I would have never thought this place was so…artistic, so beautiful on the inside.”
Pierce was proud. That was exactly what he was going for. Tough Harlem exterior, warm, earthy and modern interior—a blend of both worlds: his parents’ and his own style. He leaned over the tub, switched on the water. “Why don’t you take a dip while I whip us up something to eat?”
She looked at him and only nodded, as if she’d already said too much, and began to undress.
Damn, Pierce thought as he left the room. She was in a funk again. Would those strange bouts of silence between them ever end?
After he was finished in the kitchen, he brought the tray up and joined her in the Jacuzzi, where they took turns feeding each other the meal he had prepared. She still hadn’t said another word to him, and he missed the sound of her voice. He missed the warmth in her touch. When he reached out for her, she still came willingly to him. He kissed her slowly, passionately, and she kissed him back, but something within her had changed—her wall was up again. The very thought that she could leave and have no emotional or physical ties to him worried him to the point that he couldn’t think straight.
“Raven, come on now. You’ve punished me enough for what I did. Talk to me.”
She placed a finger to his lips, reached for his hands, and led him from the water to the bedroom. Soon, their bodies melded together as he held onto her, searching her eyes for some sign of forgiveness. But he found only a coldness that startled him.
Raven walked to the bed, flipped back the leather and suede comforter, and lowered herself onto the sheets so that she was totally exposed to him, touching herself in a way that made his mouth water. Then she moved into the position that had brought him the most pleasure, allowing the moisture to seep beyond her center.
The Pleasure's All Mine Page 20
