by Hayden Wolfe
“I’m not him. Whatever he did to hurt you, know I won’t do the same.”
Her curiosity spiked. Ronnie had been trying to get her to talk for weeks. Wyn hadn’t pushed her once. “Aren’t you going to ask what he did to make me end things?”
He worked his jaw back and forth before meeting her gaze. “I want to know, but you’ll tell me when you’re ready.”
Not a question. He spoke as if he fully expected her to divulge everything to him. His confidence and patience drew her. She snuggled closer. “You’re right. I will.”
He slid his hand up her spine to settle over the back of her neck. The sensation of his roughened fingertips didn’t frighten her. Nothing about Wyn did. Well, nothing but her feelings toward him.
“I want to make love to you tonight, fall asleep with you in my arms, and wake up to your brown eyes greeting me.” He used his chin to brush a few strands of her hair away from her cheek. The hint of his beard tickled her. She shivered, and he drew her closer. “That’s not something I ever wanted with another girl. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
She heard the awe and wonder in his voice, along with his need. For her body, yes, but he wanted more. If she were true to herself, so did she. She didn’t want to push him away. He stirred emotions within her she hadn’t experienced with Dmitry. Was it love? Maybe. She’d never figure it out if she kept drawing lines in their relationship. Like it or not, they were in one.
She caught her lower lip between her teeth and nodded.
“Iona.”
He kissed her, and her heart swelled. The same feeling of deep affection from moments ago mixed with desire, leaving her weakened and strengthened at the same time. She gave herself over to him and the moment. He took, but nothing in his touch felt forced or demanding. It was the same self-assuredness she’d experienced with him from the first day they met. It appealed to her. She wanted a man who could lead her, command her, and enflame her. It was what had led her to Dmitry in the first place, but Wyn gave her more. He skimmed his hands over her body in a gentle, reverent caress, as if to remind her of what.
She tore her mouth from his. Desire slackened his expression. She brushed her thumb over his mouth. He sucked her finger between his lips and nipped the tip before swirling his tongue around it. Her breath escaped in a rush, and her lower belly quivered. Lust surged, stronger than she’d ever known.
“Take me home. Love me. All night, Wyn. Love me all night.”
He cupped her face between his hands and pressed his parted lips to hers. Their breaths mingled. Sparks skipped across her skin. “Tonight, tomorrow, the next day.”
He released her but didn’t let her go. He tucked her against his side and put the truck back into drive. His home came into view. After a moment, the truck stopped. He flung the door open, pulled her into his arms, and strode to the front door.
She kissed her way to his ear. “Hurry, Wyn.”
“Only until I get you into my bed.” He paused, his hand on the doorknob. “Then I’m savoring you. You’re going to know how I feel about you before the night is over.”
“And how do you feel?”
“You know. You just don’t want to admit it because you’ll have to accept that you feel the same. But you will. I don’t doubt that for a minute.”
“Oh.” She nearly laughed. He’d reduced her to one-word responses again.
He carried her across the living room and jogged up the stairs with her in his arms. She was small yet not tiny. He showed no sign of her weight bothering him. A thrill swept through her at his display of strength. She’d get to enjoy him tonight, then again in the morning. She didn’t doubt for a second he’d make good on his promise to love her all night. He craved her. Every time he saw her, passion flared between them.
At the top of the stairs, he turned and took her toward his bedroom. It was the only one on the right side of his house. She’d been to his home several times—not alone though, and never had she been in his room.
He pushed the door open. She shifted in his embrace and surveyed the space. She’d expected it to be large, but the open area left her speechless. Full windows faced the mountains in the distance. A deck offered a place to lounge and take in the beauty. Those details she’d noticed from the outside. She’d liked the idea of relaxing there, had yearned to see the leaves change color and see the stars at night from the vantage point it offered.
The inside of Wyn’s private retreat, however, stirred other desires.
A king-size bed sat in the middle of the room. Skylights she hadn’t noticed from outside allowed moonlight to kiss the silk sheets. Or Wyn’s naked body. She swallowed hard.
She forced her attention from the bed and the possibilities it offered and continued her survey. A fireplace took up a section of the wall. Above it hung a flat-screen television. A large couch sat in front of it. A desk filled another corner, and a sliding door no doubt led to a walk-in closet. Compared to the basic and somewhat worn furnishings in the rest of his home, the space before her gave her a glimpse of the private side of her lover, one she suspected few women had discovered.
She tipped her head back and collided with his intense gaze. He watched her with the look of confidence, hunger, and patience she’d begun to expect from him. Her pent-up air escaped in a shaky rush. “Your room is beautiful.”
He shrugged and carried her to the bed. Her heartbeat kicked into high gear. Soon they’d make love in his bed, not fuck or sleep together. No, what they’d do between the sheets would mean more, even if it ended up being raw and naughty. Tonight was a turning point in the relationship she’d refused to acknowledge existed. Deep in her soul, she understood.
Wyn offered her something no man ever had. She just didn’t know if she was brave enough to take it.
He dropped her bottom on the edge, yanking her out of her thoughts. Caught off guard, she let out an oomph and automatically reached for him, gripping his forearms. He stepped into the space between her spread thighs.
“My bed has always been cold.” He settled his hands on her hips. “Lonely.”
She slipped her fingers under his shirt and skimmed the tips across his hard abs. “I’ve seen the way women look at you. I’ve heard stories too.” She flashed him a knowing smile. “You’re quite popular.”
He undid the buttons on her top. The edges parted. Cool air caressed her skin along with his heated gaze. “And elusive.”
She snorted. “Don’t feed me any lines, Wyn. I’ve known you for two weeks. You’ve had four parties over that time, and more often than not, there’s some stranger’s car parked in your driveway.”
The corner of his mouth quivered on a small grin. He tugged the sleeves of her top, and the cloth slipped. She drew her arms through the openings. He tossed the material over his shoulder. “Have you been spying on me, Miss Volkova? Hoping to catch a glimpse of me naked?”
“Like you do to me?” She’d made a habit of stepping out onto her balcony in her panties and bra whenever she spotted lights on in his house.
Instead of answering, he yanked her bra cups down. Her breasts spilled out. Pushed up by the confines of her hooked strapless bra, a deep valley formed between them. He dipped his head and dragged the tip of his tongue between her plumped mounds. His breath heated her wet skin. Her desire surged.
She ran her hands over his head and pulled him closer. The ends of his short hair tickled her palm. She shivered. She wanted to feel his silky locks brush against her inner thigh. Wyn bringing her to release with his tongue in her core had become one of her favorite pastimes.
She couldn’t wait until he made good on his offer to eat her out, but he hadn’t answered her. She wanted to know if it excited him to spy on her as much as it excited her knowing he watched her.
“Wyn?”
With the tip of his tongue against her nipple, he glanced at her.
“Aren’t you going to answer me? Do you watch my bedroom, hoping to catch a glimpse of me naked?”
&nb
sp; He captured the hard point between his teeth and tugged. She shuddered. Her hands slid off his shoulders. “Yes.”
After the things Dmitry had done to her, his admission should’ve made her wary. It didn’t, though. The knowledge pleased her in a primal way she hadn’t expected. “I like knowing you’re watching me.”
“And thinking about you? Do you enjoy that, darling? Knowing I end up jerking off and wishing it was your body I was fucking instead of my hand?”
“Oh God.”
“That’s not an answer. Yes? Or no? Do you like the control you have over me?”
His tone demanded her compliance. She gave it. “Yes. I like knowing I can keep your focus.” She dropped her gaze to his nose. “I’ve heard you get bored easily with women.”
The implications of the thought hit her. Hadn’t she wondered that first day after they had sex by the gazebo when he would tire of her?
She inwardly groaned. She was a fool. Could that be part of her reluctance to get involved with him on any level other than casual sex? That she didn’t want to fall for him, then get dumped? Yes. She supposed in the back of her mind she was worried she wouldn’t be able to keep his attention. After everything she’d been through with Dmitry, to trust Wyn with her heart and have him ignore it when he got tired of her would crush her.
He eased back. Gaze locked with hers, he undid his pants and kicked them behind him. His cock pointed straight, hard, and long, ready to fill the emptiness inside her. To remind her of the connection they shared. To tease her with glimpses of what a full give-and-take relationship could be like, one she’d always wanted. One where if she held out her hand, Wyn would take it and draw her close, not frown and ask her what she wanted.
Such a little thing. Was it shallow of her to want it?
“You’re spoiled, Iona. You think the world will stop whenever you feel needy.” Dmitry’s voice invaded her head. Anger rose. He’d expected her world to conform to him, though.
“Look what you do to me.” Wyn’s deep voice pulled her back to the present.
She shifted her attention to Wyn. He fisted his length and stroked once, then twice more. “I get so hard and hot watching you.” A drop of precome welled at the slit, proof of his statement. “I can’t get enough of you.”
He released his shaft and yanked his shirt over his head. She followed his every move with her gaze, mesmerized by the flexing of his muscles. He dropped his hands and stood there with his legs spread shoulder-width apart.
Wyn didn’t say anything else or reach for her. It was as if he knew she wanted to sear his image and commit every nuance of their lovemaking to memory. Actually, it wouldn’t surprise her if he did know that was what she needed. He was attuned to her. Whenever she needed something, he gave it.
The warmth in her chest spread. Happiness mixed with the lust that made her body ache for his possession. She relished the feeling and drank in the sight of him. The man was more than impressive. He was drool worthy. Lean, hard muscles made up a body she had dreamed about every night since arriving in Sander’s Valley. She’d even woken and reached for him the past few mornings. Disappointment had claimed her when only cold sheets met her touch.
She wouldn’t be alone tomorrow. She’d wake up in his arms.
A tug on her hair broke her intent study. She glanced into his face. His brown eyes enthralled her as completely as his body had.
“You’re the only girl who’s made me act this way. You’re the first person I think of in the morning and the one who follows me into my dreams.” He used his free hand to trace a path from the base of her neck down the center of her chest to the button on her shorts. He popped the snap but didn’t pull the zipper. He raised his gaze and caught hers. “Everything I do or think about comes back to you. That’s a first, Iona.”
He released the firm hold he had on her hair and placed his hands on her hips. The brush of his knuckles to her skin scattered whatever response she might’ve given him in the face of his revelation.
“And all those women before you? You know when I thought about them?” He dragged her zipper down and pulled on the denim, not giving her the chance to answer. She lifted her bottom. He snatched her shorts and tossed them over his shoulder to join her shirt somewhere behind him. “They barely entered my mind unless I was with them. Some of those girls called me an asshole for that.” He shrugged. “I suppose I was.”
“Did you ever promise them more?”
He pressed his thumb to the material covering her sex, right over her opening, pushing the soaked lace between her lower lips. “Nothing more than sex. I made that clear up front.”
“Like I did.”
He closed his eyes and exhaled on a slow hiss of air between his thinned lips. “Yeah, like you did.”
Silence stretched. She couldn’t stand knowing her response put the troubled look on his face. She danced her fingertips over the ridges of his abs to the root of his cock.
His nostrils flared. He gazed at her, lips parted and hunger in his eyes.
“How did we go from a quick fuck to…”
He cupped the side of her face and brushed his thumb over the corner of her mouth. “Falling in love?”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Is that what we’re doing?”
He knelt and laid his palms on her calves. With gentle hands, he took off her panties and draped her legs over his shoulders. She propped on bent elbows to watch him. The expression on his face was one she didn’t want to miss—lust and reverence, the same as he always held for her. She took it in, and the meaning of it clicked.
Love. He loved her.
“It’s what’s happening to me.” He traced a path up her inner thigh with his parted lips, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. “Actually, I’m pretty damn sure I’ve fallen headfirst.” He raised his gaze to hers. “I promised myself I wouldn’t tell you. I wanted to show you.”
She swallowed hard. “I don’t know if—”
He licked her cleft from her opening to her clit. Her words turned into a long, shaky exhale. He didn’t give her a chance to say anything else. He captured the bundle of nerves between his teeth and nibbled.
She closed her eyes and concentrated on the sensation of his mouth working her. A tug on the erect bud warmed her deep inside. A circling swipe of his tongue skipped shivers down her spine. Her breaths came quicker. Pleasure spread. He added his fingers to the teasing. Strokes along her sensitive lips had her lifting her bottom, inviting him to do more.
He took her offer. He plunged his straightened fingers into her core at the same time as he sucked on her clit. Her orgasm hit. Clenching waves danced up her inner walls. Her arousal flowed, drenching his fingers and dribbling down the crack of her ass. It should’ve embarrassed her how wet she always got for him. It didn’t, especially in the face of his pleasured moan.
He replaced his fingers with his tongue and pierced her, over and over, dragging out her release until her thighs trembled and she thrashed under him. He eased back but didn’t let her go. With his hands under her ass, he lifted her and lapped at her spilled arousal, pushing his nose against her clit to delve deeper. She clutched his head and held him close while he ate her out. Finally, he tore his mouth away. Head tipped back on a low, guttural groan, he breathed hard.
She ran trembling fingers along his forearm. “Wyn, that was—”
“Just the start.” He leveled an intense gaze on her and swept his tongue along his lower lip. “I’m going to show you what being my girl will be like, Iona. All night long.”
On a fluid crawl, he shifted closer. His sensuous movements dragged his erection along her thigh to her cleft. He stopped with his penis nudging her entrance. Her inner muscles clenched and released. She wanted him inside her, thrusting and stroking her sensitive core. She tilted her hips, and the head of his cock breached her opening, but he pressed a hand to her belly, stopping her from impaling herself on him.
“Wyn, please.”
“I want you in my bed, darling.
Tonight, tomorrow, the next day—as long as you still feel this.” He moved his hand from her lower belly to her chest, right over her heart. “You can call our relationship whatever you want. Tell people I’m your fuck buddy, your damn sex slave. I don’t care as long as I can love you and wake up in your arms. The day you don’t want me anymore, you leave. Got it?”
There it was again. Confidence. It was written on his face. He made his demand, knew she’d agree, yet he gave her an out. It was almost as if he sensed her fear and knew that she needed the reassurance she could end things.
Her heart swelled. She could no longer deny the feelings that had grown between them. She was falling in love too.
“Yes, I got it, but on one condition.”
He flashed her a crooked smile. “And that is?”
“You do the same. The day you get bored with me, you kick me out.”
His grin widened. Triumph flared in his expression. “Okay, but that’s not going to happen. And just so you know, I’ll be telling everyone you’re my girl.”
“Your girl?”
“Uh-huh.” He lowered his hips. His cock filled her on a firm, slow thrust. Her breath escaped in a rush while his caught. He pushed deeper and deeper until he reached the end of her. His eyes closed on a rough exhale. “Sometimes I’ll call you ‘the woman’ too.”
“Your wo—”
He rolled his hips, loosening her body and scattering her thoughts. She gripped his wrists in a pathetic attempt to ground herself. She wanted to talk more before passion took over.
“Your woman?” she managed to ask.
He dragged his erection out and drove forward on a torturously slow thrust. Once seated fully, he bent his head and took her mouth, kissing her hard and stealing her sanity. On and on, he twined their tongues in a decadent exploration that left her exposed but not vulnerable. She felt treasured, as if she truly were the only girl in the world.
Finally, he broke the kiss. A wicked smile spread over his mouth. “Not my woman. The woman.”
