by Body, Heart
He and Barbara liked to play games. They especially liked the game they played over the summer where they had to tempt some young girl into a ménage relationship with them. Of course, the girl was always in on it, just playing along at being innocent, and the innocence was for Barbara’s sake. He preferred his woman worldly and wild, and a hell of a lot older. Innocent was vulnerable, sacred, and it took him far too close to a precipice he did not want to dance on.
But he went along every summer, let Barbara have her fun. Of course, he wasn’t untouched by the seductive lure of having Barbara and another at the same time. He enjoyed watching as Barbara worked the other woman with her mouth. Sometimes Dev would suck on the girl’s tits, sometimes he’d just jack off watching them, then Barbara would lick his cum off the woman’s skin, driving him into unbearable agony until he fucked them both.
He grew harder when he envisioned Kira here with them now. He gripped the desk, imagining Kira’s mouth on him instead of Barbara’s. His eyes closed. He had to admit, of all the women they’d shared, Kira Nestor brought something to the table he’d never experienced before, but he couldn’t entirely dismiss the voice deep inside that told him to protect her above all else.
* * * *
Kira let out a slow breath. She’d decided on the trip from Barbara’s office to her room that the rat wasn’t worth her tears. So she practiced her breathing and relaxation techniques, which always got her through midterms and finals. Somehow it wasn’t working nearly as well on thoughts of Dev.
Dropping her head into her hands, she wondered again how she’d gotten herself into this. Part of her wanted to call home, tell her mom everything and have her make it all better. However, since she wasn’t six anymore and cookies and hugs didn’t fix everything, that didn’t seem to be the best solution.
She stood and spun to the windows, her hand working the knots in her neck. The things he’d made her feel. For the first time, she’d felt that extra something that made her want to give herself to a man and he had to be a beast.
She pressed against the pounding in her head as someone knocked at the door. Moving over without much thought, she pulled the door open, only to find the rat beast on her doorstep.
Chapter 4
“You’re despicable.”
She started to close the door in his face, but he caught it and pushed inside. Before she had a chance to protest, he’d swept her into his arms and carried her precariously close to the bed, his mouth on hers like a starving man at a buffet.
Kira’s first reaction was to melt into a puddle at his feet. However, in the next second—momentarily regaining her sanity—she put her hands on his shoulders and shoved him as hard as she could.
“Get off me!”
He smiled.
“And put me down!”
After wordlessly complying, he took a couple of steps backward. That damn smile still on his lips, lips that were now wet and slightly swollen. She had a slight recollection of biting him and wished she could simply disappear.
“I missed you, beautiful. I didn’t get a wink of sleep all night. I tossed,” he took a step towards her as she stepped up on the bed platform, “and turned.” Another two steps and her knees were bumped up on the mattress of the four-poster bed, but Dev came closer still. “I made myself come thinking about you.”
Kira heard the incoherent sounds she made but couldn’t seem to stop them. She was also having trouble drawing air into her lungs. His voice was so low and his smile so sexy, she almost forgot how furious she was with him.
Almost.
“How dare you?”
She flew at him, pummeling him with the flat of her hands to his shoulders, causing him to misstep over the landing and went down backwards, grabbing her wrists and taking her with him as he did.
Now lying flat with her body draped on top of him, he wrapped his arms around her waist so fast she didn’t even see them coming, and suddenly she was immobile in the arms of the man she desired but was completely off limits.
She found herself lost in his eyes, exactly as she had been last night, and her hand moved up to brush back his hair from his forehead. He caught it, placing a slow burning kiss against her palm.
“Devlin, please.”
She was already breathless just from the feel of his body against hers, when his tongue casually caressed the heart of her palm as his stare drilled into her. She wanted to cry again. How was it a woman could meet the perfect man and have him be already taken? Wasn’t there some sort of universal rule about that sort of thing?
She shook her head. He wasn’t the perfect man. And, truth be told, she really knew nothing about him other than he could arouse her to a level no one had before. Really that wasn’t much to know about a person, but ever since last night, she hadn’t been able to see past the haze of lust he’d brought down around her. She felt very like Rapunzel, only her tower was all wonderfully hard sculpted male.
“Did you think of me?”
His other hand moved over her breast, applying just enough pressure so she’d be sure to feel it, not enough to satisfy the want that sprung to life the second she opened the door and saw him there. That was the long and the short of it. Her hormones apparently had no morals. They couldn’t care less that he was engaged to another woman, they simply wanted their share.
“I…I didn’t.”
She looked away, unable to believe she was even having this conversation. He smiled as if able to read all her thoughts and ran his tongue over her bottom lip so slowly as to be torturous, then whispered against her mouth.
“Didn’t think of me? Or didn’t cum?”
He took advantage of her gasp to slide his tongue into the wet cavern of her mouth. It slid over hers like it belonged there, and she found she didn’t have the willpower to resist him. On a moan, she relaxed her tensed body and gave in to the kiss. Knowing she probably showed her lack of experience by coming all undone over a simple kiss, but couldn’t help it. This man awoke things in her she’d never really believed existed and damn it, wrong as it was, she wanted what was being offered like nothing else...
* * * *
Dev slid her hot, wet tongue under his, tangling and mastering it. She’d put on quite a show when he’d first arrived, pushing him away, yelling. She was a tigress, this one, and he found he liked her spirit.
All the other women played coy, acted as if they were simpering maids from two hundred years ago, and whereas at the time it seemed exciting, something about the way Kira played it, half the time indignant half the time completely unable to control her wild passions, made him so hard and so hot he could barely tolerate the sensations.
He slid his hand in the top part of the halter dress she wore. Virginal white. Barbara again, he knew. Barbara always dressed them because she knew what he liked. Kira whimpered as he squeezed her nipple, harder than he needed to, but he wanted her to know he knew the games she played and this seemed like a subtle way to send that message. He rolled her hardened tit between his thumb and finger until he was able to tear his mouth away from hers and suck on the nipple instead. Both times he’d invaded her clothing, she hadn’t been wearing a bra. It had been a nice surprise both times because the woman wasn’t small breasted as several of the others had been, and he’d expected a contraption holding those incredible spheres in place.
“God, Devlin.”
Her breathing rasped, he wondered if she was one of those rare creatures with such sensitive nipples she could come just by his sucking on them.
He made one more dip into her mouth, sliding over her tongue then sucking on it. His hand ran up her thigh to her ass. He couldn’t tell exactly what she had on, but felt the lace under his fingers and shivered. White, he assumed. He was half gone, painfully hard regardless that Barbara had just fucked him with her mouth near death downstairs.
He wanted inside this woman and had never experienced such a short hold on his discipline before. Never worried about losing it and shoving into her before the time, b
ut with Kira, he wondered if he’d make it. Wondered if he could be with her without being inside her, fucking, listening to the sounds they made as his flesh slapped against hers, his balls on her pussy as he fucked her from behind, his cock entering her wet sheath and withdrawing.
Dev was brought quickly back to his senses as Kira used his solar plexus for leverage to stand. Allowing his thoughts to drift had allowed her to wriggle from his arms and he cursed himself for it.
With the wind slightly knocked from his lungs, he stared up at her in wonder as she gazed down at him. She appeared to be fuming, as if righteous indignation streamed from her pores.
Damn, she’s good.
Arms folded across that incredible set of tits, her face flushed, her lips swollen. She snapped, “Are you or are you not engaged to my employer?”
He stood and reached for her, catching her arm below the elbow, he pulled her until she was against him again. Putting his arms back around her, leaning his temple to the side of hers, he confessed, “I’m not in love with her.”
He couldn’t imagine why the hell he’d brought love into this? Was it part of the game? Something he’d thought the character she played would like to hear? Or was it what he really wanted her to know? The lines between real and fantasy had blurred, and he wasn’t sure anymore. The thought that it might be the latter sent a sliver of foreboding shooting through his veins.
Thirty-eight years old and he’d never once in all that time come even close to that crazy emotion people fought, died, and believed in to change the world. He wasn’t in love with Kira either, nor would he be. It was just a simple matter of her stoking passions in him beyond what any woman had ever done, and for him that was everything.
In fact, when the summer was over, he was seriously considering asking her to become the L'amoureux slave au sien désire simply because he wasn’t sure he was ever going to be able to get the girl from under his skin—a very dangerous situation to be sure.
* * * *
He didn’t love her?
Those words penetrated Kira’s soul. Then in a flash, her common sense kicked in. Well he doesn’t love you, either. She pulled away again.
“Why did you pick me last night? Was it a game? Toying with the help?”
Stupid though it probably was, she had to know. She watched as his expression grew stormy, his brow furrowed, and he looked mad as hell. Good. That made two of them
“I was bored to tears at another big production and went out for some air and space. I figured you had to be Barbara’s new assistant because I hadn’t seen you before, and I always know everyone invited here for the summer.
“I watched you. So enchanted by everything, swirling in your gown, and seemingly so entranced. I had to hold you in my arms, feel your skin against mine, touch you even if only for a moment. I did not, however, plan to touch you so intimately. Not that first night. I’ve never lost control like that before, but the power of the chemistry between us took me by surprise. I’ve never felt anything quite like that before. I apologize if I affronted you.”
I apologize if I affronted you?
Kira’s head hurt even more now. She wasn’t even sure what he was apologizing for, touching her in the first place? Touching her when he was engaged? While she tried to figure out what exactly was going on between them, he reached for her again but this time his reach was tender; she pulled away. It was too tender, and she knew she would never be able to resist him if he tried anything.
Agitated, she couldn’t stand still. She began to move around the room, stopping at the window, then moving to the fireplace. She couldn’t think, but she could feel, and that was terrifying her. Everything she’d been taught about rules and morality was at war with her raging hormones and her desire for this man, and she had no idea what to do about it. She’d always been taught that everything could be handled with a solid plan. She gave a cursory glance at Dev, standing by her bed, his hair hanging loose, hands fisted on his hips, the V in his white shirt left open so she could see part of his chest, part of another tattoo. No plan could handle Dev. She didn’t care how solid it was.
“Kira, there hasn’t been a moment since last night that you’ve left my thoughts.” He took a step towards her, continuing to speak softly as if coaxing a skittish colt. “Your beautiful golden hair. The way you felt in my arms.” She was still now, looking at him. He took another step. “How wet I made you.” Another step and he grabbed both her arms turning her gently toward him. “It was fun, Kira. There’s nothing wrong with a little fun between consenting adults.”
He put his fingers under her chin and pulled her face to him. He leaned his face closer to hers, his finger brushing her cheekbone.
“I don’t remember the last time I actually saw a woman blush.” He leaned closer, whispering, “I find it unbelievably sexy and arousing as hell.”
“Dev, stop.” She looked at the ground.
“You make me hard, Kira.”
He placed her hand on the evidence of that fact, and her gaze instantly returned to him, but her hand stayed exactly where he’d put it. She burned to feel his arousal without the protection of his clothes and even that she could think such a thing scared her.
“I want to fuck you, Kira. A very long time.” He placed kisses on her brow and ear. “Slow and gentle. Hard and fast. With you on top. From behind. I want to be inside you, feel you come around my dick.” He licked her neck, then nuzzled in the curve where neck met shoulder. “We’ll be so good together, beautiful.” His mouth captured hers in a soft assault. Tongues sliding together, then separating. “That’s a promise.”
* * * *
He watched her carefully. For any signs she was truly as innocent as she appeared, but saw none. Her eyes dilated, his pulse raced, but her hand held him firmly as he lengthened and hardened against it, and she showed no timidity now. He looked intently into her eyes. She was good, but she wasn’t innocent. Her lips parted and she spoke softly, “Barbara’s probably looking for you.”
Check.
He gave her a wolfish grin and slowly separated himself from her, wondering if he’d finally met his match. Her arm extended so she could cup him a moment longer, then she stepped back to the fireplace. Keeping her gaze pinned on him, her white dress—very Marilynesque—clinging to her breasts and hips, making him drool.
He smiled again, moving to the door before he pulled up that skirt and fucked her against the fireplace right now, to hell with Barbara.
Too soon.
“We have an entire summer together, beautiful. Before you get back on that ferry to the mainland, I’m going to fulfill your every fantasy and leave you satisfied like you’ve never been. Any other man in your past will be such a distant memory you’ll wonder if they were real or merely a dream...”
He slipped out the door. Kira stood completely still for a full five minutes to be certain he was gone. Her eyes filling with water, she threw both hands over her face. She was in over her head. She knew she would never in a million years be able to handle a man like Dev. He was like a tsunami washing over her, like the big bad wolf to her little house of straw. He could devour her and lay claim to her—body, heart, and soul—and there wasn’t a damn thing she was going to be able to do to stop him.
“I don’t cry,” she managed to say, around the lump forming in her throat.
She ran to the bed, throwing herself into its luxury. Maybe just for today—she did.
* * * *
For three whole days Kira was able to avoid not only Devlin, but Barbara as well. Although she couldn’t help but feel as though she was being punished for trying to get out of accompanying Dev, but if Barbara knew the truth—knew how close Kira was to crumbling into moral decay—she wouldn’t want her anywhere near her fiancé.
Unfortunately, that evening, her luck ran out. Being summoned to the formal living room, Barbara and Dev were both there, both obviously dressed for an evening out. Kira’s breath stuttered as she took in Dev’s appearance in a dark suit, his
hair pulled back with a band at the base of his neck, and was it possible his smile had become more lethal?
“Kira, I want you to have dinner with myself and Dev.”
Barbara’s smile was so innocent and sweet. She had no idea how her employee was lusting after her fiancé, or how broken her employee’s heart was.
“Barbara, I can’t. I mean, don’t you two want to be alone?”
She tried to sound convincing, hoping with all she had that her voice showed little emotion. That no one would see in her eyes the desire she had to touch him. That every night for the past three she’d wakened hot with lust and painfully aroused until her only relief came from touching herself, imagining it was Dev.
Barbara moved toward Kira, placing a motherly arm around her. “Oh, my dear, Dev and I have all the time in the world to be alone. Tonight, we are going to that restaurant I told you about. The one you said you were wanting to try. I won’t take no for an answer.” She turned to Dev. “Will we, my darling?”
Dev stares with Kira. “No, we won’t. You should come. New experiences are what life is for.” His eyes got that devilish quality to them before he added, “Don’t you want to experience new things, Kira?”
His question covered a lot more than just dinner and she knew it, but considering how her apprehension to keep Dev company the last time had gotten her into trouble, she really couldn’t see a way she could refuse.
“All right, I’ll go.”
She only hoped they didn’t think public displays of affection were a good idea.
“Wonderful, dear, I’ll have Maggie lay out your clothes. We leave in an hour. Dev, I’ll have Stuart phone ahead to see they have your soufflé prepared.”
Barbara walked to Dev, giving him a kiss on the cheek which Kira thought had all the passion of a dead, cold fish.
Stop that! Their passion is none of your business.
