What Alex Wants The Complete Duet (What Alex Wants #1-2)

by E. M. Gayle

  The large window above the rim of the tub, although I’d have to refer to it as a hot tub due to its size, looked like it latched and opened to the outside. The frosted glass allowed a lot of light into the space but currently blocked my view and left me curious.

  I stepped into the giant white tub and reached for the latch on the window. I pushed it open and gasped at the view in front of me. Sand so white it nearly blinded me led from this side of the house to the open ocean not more than two hundred feet from where I stood.

  For a half a second I entertained the idea of climbing out the window and making a run for the water. I could already feel the sun-kissed heat on my face and the cool, soft grains of sand between my toes.

  Then I remembered I still had no clothes on. My travel attire had consisted of the blanket I’d been sleeping under when Alex grabbed me and nothing else. I’d need at least a bathing suit. There were some places I didn’t want to get sand stuck in.

  I scrambled back away from the window, stopping long enough to check myself in the mirror. Alex always liked to maintain reasonably strict rules for my attire or lack of attire when we were in private. How many times had he told me how much he loved my body and that having it accessible for his pleasure kept my mind in the headspace I so desperately craved?

  Something he wasn’t wrong about.

  I turned sideways and frowned. In the time since making the biggest mistake of my life by telling Alex I loved him, I’d noticed the pounds slowly creeping on. At first it seemed no big deal as I’d struggled my entire life with weight management and bounced often between a size twelve and fourteen. Especially during times of stress.

  At the ten pound gained mark I’d grown concerned because it was happening so fast and I’d finally paused working long enough to consider the cause.

  I cupped my breasts and lifted them. By far my favorite benefit of weight gain, if there truly was a benefit, were the boobs. So what if my stomach had thickened or my thighs widened, I now had a nice fucking rack.

  I clamped my lips to suppress a giggle and stepped back. Time to get this show on the road, and while I was at it, find a gallon or two of water. Eventually necessity would override stage fright.

  I flung the door open. “I really think I need some clothes at this point. I certainly hope you brought me some…” Alex stood six feet in front of me with his hand raised and a scrap of magenta cloth hanging from his fingertips. My eyes widened.

  No. It couldn’t be.

  “What the heck is that?”

  Chapter 17

  Harper

  He stared down at the material for a second before meeting and imprisoning my gaze with his. “It’s a bikini. I figured you’d want to get dressed to go outside.”

  “A what?” I snatched the two pieces from his fingers and held them up. “You want me to put this string on and go out in public?” Was he certifiable?

  Alex’s eyes narrowed and his eyebrows climbed to his hairline.

  Shit. I knew that look and did not want to go there.

  My shoulders sagged as I capitulated to his wishes. As much as I dreaded how this tiny suit would look on me, I hated disappointing my Dom even more. And he was definitely in sexy Dom mode.

  Although in my defense I had technically broken up with him the night before even if he refused to accept it.

  I stepped into the bottoms and tried to ignore the way the skimpy fabric sunk into the extra flesh on my hips or the way it cut slightly into the more recently pronounced curve of my stomach.

  Maybe I didn’t need that test to be sure after all. The evidence was right in front of both our eyes.

  A satisfied hum came from Alex. “You look just as beautiful as I thought you would.”

  Before I could think it through, a gush of air pushed through my lips in an obvious sarcastic gesture. Thank God I’d cast my gaze downward so I didn’t have to see the new disapproval in his eyes.

  “All right, kitten. What is going on here? Didn’t we get past this ages ago? You know how perfect I think your body is.” He’d cupped my chin and forced me to meet his gaze. “I know we’ve been through a lot lately, but this kind of petulance is not your norm. What is going on?”

  I shrugged and looked skyward, fighting the familiar burn behind my eyes. Weight gain, mood swings and crying at the drop of a hat. My test results crystallized in my brain before I’d even peed on the stupid stick. Did he know too? Was he testing me? If he’d been in my bag, how could he have missed the box?

  “Stress I guess. More exactly stress eating. I’m sure you’ve noticed the weight gain. Your sexy size twelve is now a not quite as sexy fourteen.”

  He pursed his lips and the expression that crossed his face reminded me of a storm about to explode on the horizon.

  “Take that bathing suit back off and get on the bed now,” he ordered.

  Caught off guard, I stared blankly at him. I’d basically just told him how uncomfortable I was in his stupid bikini and he wanted me to do what now?

  “I’m not kidding here, Harper. Safeword or get your ass on my bed. I want the usual position. You on your back, legs spread as wide as you can get them.”

  For a second I actually considered sticking my tongue out at him. Yes, I was being a brat but not feeling sexy in my mind at the moment did not equate with a free-for-all sex session.

  But he’d done nothing to warrant my use of a safeword in all of our time together and I wasn’t going to go there now over clothing. There were many times in the past he’d commanded his now favorite position and I’d willingly accepted his demand. Collar or not, I’d always belong to this man. Slowly, I peeled the offending fabric from my body and methodically walked to the bed and climbed on.

  Alex stood at the foot and glowered down at me. I knew he’d never strike me in anger, but I didn’t know quite what to think of his thunderous expression. The waiting for him to say something dragged on and it took every ounce of willpower not to squirm. Eventually I couldn’t take it anymore and closed my eyes.

  “I don’t think so, Harper. Look at me. There will be no hiding anymore.”

  Apparently, he had no intention of cutting me a break. With more than a little reluctance tugging at my insides, I opened my eyes and met his gaze.

  “You were curvy the first time I laid eyes on you at the Glass Kat Club in your adorable uniform, passing out cupcakes, and my dick got so hard I thought I’d go blind from the ache.” He touched the inside of my bare ankle and a zing of electricity shot straight to my pussy. “The first time I got my hands on these naked curves, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.” He slowly traced a path on the inside of my leg to my thighs. “Your acceptance and response to a practical stranger blew my mind. Don’t you get that? Every time we’re together I’m drawn to you, the most fuckable woman I’ve ever met.”

  Some of the wall around my heart I’d tried to build to shield myself crumbled. Alex wasn’t the kind of man to say something he didn’t mean. There were times he hid behind silence, but he never lied. I trusted that implicitly. Otherwise I’d have never accepted his necklace or his terms.

  My gut clenched as I reminded myself about my now bare neck. Like a fool I’d given the most important thing I had back. For the first time in our relationship, Alex hadn’t been the one to strip me bare… I’d done that to myself.

  A pinch to my inner thigh sent sudden pain signals straight to my brain. I gasped.

  “You’re thinking too hard about this. Or you’re not paying attention. Either way, it doesn’t have to be this difficult.” With both hands, he gripped my thighs and managed to spread me another few inches.

  My muscles screamed, my clit throbbed and my stomach clenched. What the hell were a few pounds when I had a man like this between my thighs doing whatever the hell he wanted while I laid there and encouraged him?

  With my body open and available there was simply no way to hide my arousal. A fact he regularly liked to expose. The dirty rotten bastard.

  I bit bac
k a curse as his fingers worked their way around the edges of my pussy while obviously taking care not to touch any sensitive parts. He’d drive me mad as usual and if I wasn’t careful I’d end up as desperate and unfulfilled as I’d been on the plane.

  “Are you sore from last night?”

  I was but that didn’t stop the ache building in my core that didn’t want to be denied again. “I’m fine.”

  Alex sighed. “The cursed fine. If you never spoke that word again it would be too soon. Fine is a famous code word for women and one I don’t want to hear. Now answer my question appropriately.”

  I took a deep breath because he was right. “Yes, I’m a little sore, but I don’t want you to stop.”

  “Much better. Now give me your hand.”

  I reached for him, loving the way his much larger hand wrapped around mine. Actually, any and all contact with him felt pretty damn good right now.

  “Feel how hard I am for you.” He wrapped my hand around his thick erection and I gloried in how incredible he felt. Thin, soft skin over rigid steel. I could already imagine it stretching me as he sank deep. “By all rights I should be spent today, or at least sated, yet I’m as hard for you now as the day I laid eyes on you. You do this to me, Harper. You and this body.”

  While I began to pump my hand along his shaft his hands roamed across my body. First his hands spanned my waist while sliding up my ribcage and then he stroked and caressed my breasts. There was nothing urgent this time in his movements as he took his time touching me everywhere.

  After several minutes of lifting and kneading me, his touches drew closer to my nipples that now ached for his attention. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long. He squeezed each nipple gently over and over again until I writhed under him.

  When I moaned his cock swelled in my hand. Oh God that felt good. I’d caused that reaction all on my own.

  His easy movements and loving caresses had moved me into a place where I needed to be more connected to him. “May I have a kiss?”

  A quiet, low growl sounded from his chest before he leaned forward and dove into my mouth. Unlike his slow moving hands, his lips and tongue urgently sought more. The more he kissed me and touched me the easier it was for me to remember the truth about what he enjoyed about me. Particularly my curves. He’d never lie about that, or anything else for that matter. He wanted me and it was up to me to put my insecurities aside and let him love me.

  I slipped further into a dreamlike haze brought on by his attentions and the ever-increasing rate of my arousal. He wasn’t even touching my pussy and I wanted to come.

  Alex shifted and pushed my hand away moments before he resettled between my thighs. In a slow but smooth movement he began to slide into my aching center.

  Ohhh.

  I couldn’t breathe he felt so good. This slow, controlled stroke created an entirely different sensation. A prolonged sense of being filled beyond capacity. Despite my soreness, it honestly didn’t hurt. On the contrary. My inner walls were already contracting against his invading cock.

  “Don’t forget to breathe,” he warned.

  “I—I can’t.” Once he became full seated he began a similarly slow withdrawal that seemed to light up even more sensation rich nerve endings than before. I’d died and gone to heaven. Nothing felt this good. Nothing. I clung to his back for dear life while the rest of me lay frozen in ecstasy.

  With his hands on each side of my face, Alex imprisoned my gaze while he filled me again and again. “This is mine. Body and mind, you are mine. No matter how your body changes it’s always going to be mine.”

  Unlike the many times we’d been together before, this felt different. With my body filled to the brim and his eyes locked on mine with a torrent of emotion filling them, he claimed me. There was simply nothing else to call this kind of intensity as I unraveled around him while he drove us both over the edge in a slow, friction-fueled connection that I never wanted to stop.

  Maybe in his own way, he sort of loved me too…

  Chapter 18

  Alex

  “So, whose island is this anyway?” She dug her toes into the white sand and stared out across the horizon when she asked her question. After the most mind-blowing sex of his life and a decadent breakfast out on the terrace, they’d joined hands and headed out to the beach. Her wearing his chosen bikini while looking a lot more confident about it, not to mention hot, and him in a pair of plain green swim trunks that seemed to make her happy as she kept sneaking glances at his abs that made his mind melt every time she looked.

  “A friend of mine. I explained to him that my precious sub was about to run off to some Florida resort and he suggested I use his island immediately to set you straight.”

  She turned and stared at him. “Seriously? I thought the only person who knew about me was Jeremy.”

  And there it was in a nutshell. At least part of it anyway. He gripped her chin and turned her to face him. He hated when she deliberately avoided looking at him when she wanted to discuss something that made her uncomfortable. “No, kitten. Jeremy is not the only one who knows about you. I have several friends from the club who have seen us together.”

  “Ahh, yes. Club friends.”

  She looked like she was struggling to maintain her composure, but the slight shake of her voice gave her away. “You know how important it is to me to keep the private side of my life separate from everything else. I don’t like to live by traditional rules, but sometimes public perception can often make or break a business deal.”

  She nodded as if she understood, but he didn’t believe she did.

  “Is it just business? What about your family? You never talk about them. I didn’t even know you had a brother until Viktor Sokolov told me I was a pawn in your fight.”

  Cold swept through him. He’d been avoiding this discussion most of all. “I told you about my father’s death. What else would you like to know?” he asked.

  She lifted her head and met his gaze. “Does anyone in your family know about me?”

  God, the pain in her eyes before he even answered started to shred his heart. His need to compartmentalize his life had taken a toll on her and he’d not even noticed. Fuck.

  After several seconds went by before he answered, Harper scrambled to her feet and headed back to the water’s edge. Alex sighed. He knew he had to open up to her about the rest of his life or they’d never move on together. But the anger forcing its way to the surface made his temper short.

  “My family doesn’t know because most of them are vindictive, dangerous bastards who don’t deserve to know a woman like you.” They were only a few feet apart but he’d raised his voice to ensure she heard him.

  She whirled back to face him. “What?”

  “Seriously, Harper. My stepfather’s a selfish prick who only cares about making some sort of twisted name for himself in a dangerous business that I don’t want you anywhere near. My stepbrother…” This was the part that was going to get him in trouble with Harper and he knew it. But he still didn’t want to reveal too much because her life was worth more than all of them put together.

  “You knew about the night I met Ronin?” she spoke quietly, asking the one question he didn’t want to answer as she sank to her knees.

  “I did,” he said, pausing before saying anymore more. “You left an impression on him that night and he got obsessed with you. That he couldn’t figure out who you were or how you got into his party drove him fucking crazy and was a pleasure to watch.”

  Her head jerked around and she looked up at him with her hand hovering over her eyes to shade her from the sun. “What are you talking about? I left that night before things went too far. I did nothing for him to be obsessed about.”

  “That’s where you are so very wrong, Harper.” He reached down and hauled her to her feet, pulling her against his chest. If he was going to be honest, then he would have her close as he did. Part of him wanted to make sure she couldn’t run and the other wanted her to feel what
she did to him. What she obviously did to Ronin too. Although the thought of Ronin ever getting his hands on Harper made rage boil in his veins and thoughts of murder dance at the edges of his mind. That fucker would never touch what was his. “Just being you is enough to make a man obsess. You may be a kick ass chef and baker with a hell of a business reputation, but to a man like me, or Ronin and hell, for that matter Jeremy, you exude submissive need. It brings out certain instincts that make us want to not only protect the fuck out of you, but it sparks the darker needs that inspire us to do bad things to you.

  Very bad, kitten,” he whispered.

  He took a deep breath against her neck and inhaled her sweet, sugary scent. “Every time I smell your skin I want to lick every inch of you until you scream my name then I want to mark you with my come. When I look at you, I ache to feel your lush lips wrapped around my dick as I rub your sensitive little clit until we both have to explode. And when I touch you, I can only think about getting so deep inside you that you can’t get me out. That’s what you do to men like me.”

  Her breathing increased tempo and he chose to hide the smile of satisfaction that gave him—for now.

  “Why was it a pleasure for you to watch him go crazy looking for me? Because of your feud?”

  Alex had to close his eyes and grit his teeth against the husky tone of her question. Her words were asking one thing, but her body was already clamoring for something else.