by Leigh, Lora
Tears filled her eyes as perspiration dampened her body. She fought against his hold, twisting, surging against him, needing. Oh God, she needed. So bad.
He pulled back again, ignoring her tight, smothered scream. Pausing at the entrance to her pussy, he stilled for a moment, letting her work herself on the crest. Her juices coated the condom-covered flesh as she stared down at where they met.
She pushed closer, gasped, cried out as he buried deeper, then deeper yet as his hips surged forward, his cock tearing past that last veil of innocence.
Rogue stilled. Her eyes flashed to his face from where he was buried inside her. Burning heat and liquid pleasure seemed to enfold her. She felt as though she was drowning in the contradictory sensations as she stared into the hard, savagely honed features of his face.
“I told you,” he grimaced. “Mine. Deny it, damn you.”
Rogue shook her head. She wouldn’t deny it. She wouldn’t confirm it. She didn’t know what belonging meant, and she was certain he had no idea what it meant to own that part of her.
He could have this. This was exquisite. It was desperate. It was real. This need, this burning hunger, every part of it. This she understood.
“Damn you,” he cursed again, pulled back, and buried fully inside her in one hard, long stroke.
He buried into her entire being. Rogue felt a flash stroke of emotion that made no sense as he moved over her. The cuffs fell away from her hands and she was touching him, holding him.
Locking her arms around his shoulders, wrapping her legs around his hips, her head tilted back and a low, drawn-out cry left her lips. He was moving hard and fast inside her now. Once he breached the barrier of her virginity, he didn’t let up, he didn’t stop.
His fingers tangled in her hair, turned her head, and his lips were on the column of her neck. Hard, fierce kisses, the scrape of his teeth, a nip, and the quick, hard thrusts inside her were the catalyst. The explosion when it came destroyed her. She felt parts of herself dissolving, burning, turning to ash. She couldn’t scream, she could barely breathe.
Eyes wide open, staring blankly at the ceiling as a heated kiss was pressed to her neck, and she felt herself free-falling. She was lost to the sensations burning around her, through her. She was lost to Zeke, and she was very much afraid she just might truly belong to him in ways that might end up terrifying her later.
“Ah God!” A harsh exclamation left his lips, his thrusts became harder, ratcheting her release higher until she felt him shudder. Felt his kiss at her neck become more fierce, hotter. Marking her. He had marked her. Again.
Rogue tightened her hold on him, keeping him to her as she clenched through the final tremors of her release, and exhaustion began to claim her.
Her legs slid to the bed, but her arms remained around his neck. She didn’t want to let him go. She didn’t want to lose him tonight.
“Don’t leave yet,” she whispered, her voice slurring from the exertion and the pleasure. “Not yet.”
“Not yet,” he agreed, his lips caressing her ear. “Not even soon.”
She wanted to whimper as he pulled back. Instead, she loosened her hold and let him move, watching as he straightened from the bed and headed to the bathroom.
She was surprised when she heard the shower running and disappointed for the few seconds it took before he returned to the bedroom.
“Come on, naughty baby.” He picked her up in his arms before she could protest and carried her to the bathroom. “We’ll shower and see if you won’t let me sleep a few minutes tonight.”
She cuddled against his chest rather than protesting that he was the one that was keeping her awake. She didn’t want to protest it, she loved it. Craved it. She wondered if she would ever have enough.
Zeke had a feeling he would never have enough of the fiery-haired little hellion he carried to the shower. Placing her on her feet, he crowded her into the glass stall before closing the door and letting the water fall over them.
She stared up at him, her expression slumberous, and he swore his chest clenched in response to it. When had any woman affected him as this one had? He had never showered with one before. He had never soaped a washcloth and cleaned another woman’s body as he was washing Rogue’s. And she had never been cared for in this fashion.
She was a virgin. Untouched. Untried. Unmolded. Her body would fit his alone now, she would always remember his touch, always know who had been the first.
Damn, pride swelled as hard and thick inside him as his dick swelled between his thighs. She had waited. He didn’t want to fool himself into believing that she had waited for him, there lay disaster. There lay a relationship that could end up destroying the balance he had found in his life.
Holding back with her hadn’t been easy. He had freed just enough of the dominance inside of him that he could be easy with her now, gentle. But it wasn’t enough. He wanted so much more. He wanted her so wild she didn’t know her own name. He wanted her screaming out for him. He wanted her swearing she belonged to him, and to him alone.
And once she did, he asked himself, what then? Could he swear himself to her?
As he watched suds slide sensually from the slender line of her back, over the pale, full globes of her ass, the question taunted him. He had promised himself he would never vow his soul to another woman. He had done that with Elaina. With their marriage he had given her parts of himself he hadn’t been comfortable letting go of at the time. And over the years, he had learned to regret it.
He couldn’t let regret stain whatever was developing between him and Rogue. Ignoring his own needs wouldn’t work. As he watched the suds cover her rear, his teeth clenched at the needs that began to fill him again.
He couldn’t let her go. Not yet. And he knew whatever this was between them, it would be nothing as it had been with past lovers. He wouldn’t be leaving Rogue’s bed when dawn broke. He’d be lucky if he managed to get to work on time. Because he was hungry. Because this need clawing at his guts warned him he wouldn’t know a measure of satiation for many hours yet.
Pushing her hair farther over her shoulder he laid his lips at her neck, stroked the soapy rag over her ass before hanging it on the shower rack and catching her wrists.
He heard the breathy little catch as he flattened her hands against the shower wall and pressed her legs apart with his foot.
“I want you again.” He had to have her again.
Bending his knees, he gripped the stalk of his cock, eased it against the swollen lips of her pussy, and tested her readiness.
He had to clench his teeth to hold back a yell of pleasure. Fuck, she was tight, hot. So damned good. With slow, easy thrusts this time he pushed inside her until she gripped him to the hilt.
Without the condom, the heat of her pussy was electrifying. It sizzled around his cock, caused his balls to tighten with the need for release, and sent a shock wave of pleasure tearing up his spine and back down again.
Have mercy. She was killing him with pleasure. She moved against him, rolling her hips, stroking her slick, hot flesh over his erection, working him in deeper, easing away from him, then teasing him to thrust hard and deep inside her.
Gripping her hips, Zeke held her still, plunged inside her, and lost himself. He couldn’t hold back, he couldn’t take her slow and easy, not yet. Not until the hunger ripping him to shreds had eased a bit more. He needed her fast and hard, desperate and screaming.
“Zeke!” she screamed, her voice hoarse, fierce. She was coming apart in his arms, clenching around his cock, exploding around him with a force that left him fighting back his release long enough to jerk free of her.
With one hand he pumped the hard flesh until his semen spilled to her back. The other slid up her hip, to her breasts. He rubbed her nipples, cupped a breast, and lowered his head to the shower wall above hers. His emotions felt jumbled, sharp. He couldn’t get a handle on them, he could only let them free, let them flow with the same jagged sensations he felt as his semen pumpe
d from his cock.
“Fuck. You make me crazy,” he growled, jerking at the pleasure that tore at the fragile bonds of control.
“Not yet,” she said, her breathing heavy, almost a gasp as she rubbed her head against his chin. “Give me a day or two, then I’ll really show you crazy.”
He almost smiled, because he had a feeling it could definitely get worse. It could definitely become addictive. Rogue was his weakness, and he had known it for years. Zeke wasn’t certain exactly what he thought about having a weakness. But he knew what he thought about having Rogue. And that might be the part that really worried him.
TWELVE
Rogue had never slept with a man. Hell, she had never slept with anyone, and she hadn’t expected to fall asleep after they returned to the bed. But Zeke was as inexhaustible as he was rumored to be with his lovers. As though the same wildness that tortured her filled him as well, and the only way for him to extinguish it was in sex.
Which was fine with Rogue. By the time he had her the third time, she was exhausted and slipped easily into his arms and into sleep, never imagining he would still be there when she awoke the next morning.
She wasn’t a dawn kinda girl. The morning sun was high in the sky before wakefulness had begun intruding on the heated, comfortable slumber she was enjoying.
Her pillow wasn’t too hard, it wasn’t too soft. Evidently she had managed to ball her blankets up in front of her again, something to hold on to through the night, because her arm was resting across something.
Something that moved slow and easy. Something that breathed. It wasn’t her blanket.
Memories of the night rushed through her then, flushing her face as she remembered how tirelessly Zeke had taken her, and how she had met each thrust. At times she had been forced to bite her tongue to hold back the pleas for something more. Something … just more.
It wasn’t that she didn’t orgasm. Oh boy, had she orgasmed. Satisfaction had definitely not been a problem. But there was an underlying restlessness she still hadn’t managed to figure out.
“Wake up, sleepyhead.” Zeke’s voice was scratchy, still a little drowsy.
“Not time yet.” She almost smiled. “I don’t go to work until tonight.”
He grunted at that. “Yeah, Janey’s still glaring at me and Alex is laughing his ass off because he caught me waiting on you the other night. I should spank you for that, Rogue.”
Her buttocks clenched involuntarily at the threat. Okay, so she had well fantasized about Zeke spanking her more than once. One of those erotic little spankings she had read about a time or two. She had a lot of fantasies where Zeke was concerned.
“Hey, you were the one waiting.” She rolled to her back and stared up at him, her heart racing as he propped his head on his hand and remained on his side, watching her. “You could have driven me home if you had shown any interest in doing so.”
A dark brown brow arched. “I’ve been showing decided interest of late,” he pointed out. “Even my son managed to notice my interest.”
Heat built in her face at the reminder of exactly how interested Shane knew his father was now. She rolled back to her stomach and buried her face in her pillow at the reminder.
“Go to work,” she mumbled.
He chuckled, his hand settling on her back beneath the sheet, his fingers rubbing at her hip.
“Shower with me.” She felt his lips at her ear, a tender kiss that reminded her of the aches she could feel in the tender parts of her body.
The thought of showering with him definitely aroused her interest though. As well as other things. She felt herself growing damp, felt her clit awakening and tingling at the thought.
“Shower only.” He nipped at her ear before she could turn to face him. “Other activities can wait until tonight.”
She stared back at him, seeing the amused curl of his lips, the warmth in his eyes. He was sexy like this, playful and seductive. His short hair wasn’t long enough to really get mussed, but it wasn’t as perfectly in place as it was when he’d arrived at her office the night before.
“Maybe I don’t want to wait until tonight.” She let her hand settle on his chest before allowing it to slide down, caressing along his abdomen and moving lower.
“Minx.” He caught her hand. “We’ll play later. This morning, we have to talk.”
“About what?” She was more interested in exploring his manly body now that she had it in her bed.
“Your bartender.”
Rogue stilled. The steely quality of his voice assured her that play-time wasn’t going to happen right now. Evidently Zeke was no more pleased with Jonesy this morning than he had been the night before.
“I’ll handle Jonesy.” She shrugged. “I’ve been dealing with him for several years now, Zeke. I don’t need your help.”
“I didn’t ask you if you needed my help.” His voice hardened.
“I said we’re going to discuss this. The discussion will involve how quickly you’ll be firing him.”
Rogue flipped the sheet off her and rolled to the edge of the bed before standing, fully nude, and stalking to the chair across the room that held her robe.
“Get your shower; I’ll fix your coffee,” she told him, ignoring the anger that wanted to flash hot and wild inside her.
“Coffee won’t settle this, Rogue,” he warned her. “Your bartender wasn’t just disrespectful last night, he was threatening.”
“And you know nothing about him.” She turned as she belted her robe snugly. “I’m not firing Jonesy, and I’ll warn you right up front, Zeke, I don’t take orders worth shit, so you may as well stop right now.”
He was sprawled in her bed as though he had slept there for years rather than hours. She had always wondered what it would be like to awaken beside Zeke; she hadn’t expected this.
“The next time he threatens you, he may not live to regret it,” he warned her as he rose from the bed, naked and aroused, his cock standing out proudly from his body.
The sight of it had her mouth watering, her pussy dampening. No man as arrogant as Zeke should look so damned good while he was pissing a woman off.
“I’ll make sure you’re not around the next time then.” She smiled back at him with brittle mockery. “I know how to get along with Jonesy, Zeke. This isn’t something I need you to take care of for me.”
A scowl creased his face, and even that made him look damned hot. Hell, she shouldn’t have to deal with an irate Zeke while she was still remembering the touch of his hands and his possession from the night before.
“Do you need me to take care of anything for you?” he growled.
Her gaze dropped and she let a teasing smile shape her lips. She could think of several things he could take of. His scowl only deepened, his lips set in a firm line, and he turned and stalked to the bathroom as she stared at him in surprise.
Damn, Zeke might be pissed off, she thought in amazement. She had never seen Zeke pissed off. It tempted her to stalk right into that bathroom behind him and join him in the shower.
Unfortunately, having never seen Zeke pissed off, she fought herself, wary of pushing him further. There was a glimmer of warning in his eyes before he turned away. A look that had her tummy jumping in excitement even as she decided to tread very carefully for a while.
He was right about one thing though. She was going to have to deal with Jonesy. What had happened last night hadn’t really frightened her, but it had concerned her. Jonesy had been uncharacteristically angry with her. It wasn’t like him to lose his temper to that degree over so little.
Shaking her head, she left the bedroom and headed for the kitchen. She put on a pot of coffee, put some packaged Danishes she had bought at the store the day before on the small kitchen table.
Zeke had to force himself away from her. The farthest he could get was the shower. It was that or push her against the wall and plow into her with all the frustrated lust building inside him. Except that was the only thing she seemed to think
he was capable of doing for her. Fucking her. Son of a bitch, he could feel karma biting his ass now.
For years, he had wanted nothing from his lovers but sex. Now, it was all he could do to keep from demanding more than that from Rogue. It was a situation he was going to have to fix.
Would that give her a whole new insight into the man she wanted as a lover? The one and only time he had let his emotions and his control free and had taken Elaina as he had taken Rogue last night, she had cried for hours. He’d felt like the lowest form of a man to walk the face of the earth for months afterward.
It hadn’t mattered that her body had responded. It hadn’t mattered that she had found her release in the act. At least to her it hadn’t mattered. She had raged that he had treated her like a whore he had bought for the night, and that he had broken her heart with the act.
Shame had been like a burning demon inside him. It had sliced into his soul and left him fighting to bury the hungers that tormented him.
He had never allowed himself to give in to that impulse with her again. Hell, he hadn’t even been aware of the hang-ups he’d had regarding sex and relationships until Rogue.
But, after Elaina’s death, he had promised himself he would never get involved again. It had been his fault that she had died. His investigation that had been compromised and had backlashed onto his wife. He had sworn he would never let it happen again. And now, it was doing just that. It was happening again. He was letting another woman get under his skin and in his heart.
Bracing his hands on the wall, he let the warm water cascade over his head and fought the need to stalk back into that damned bedroom and just take her. To draw those heated cries from her lips, to feel the fragile muscles of her pussy clenching around his dick as he drove into her. To possess her. God, he wanted all of her. Not just her body, but all those fierce emotions burning in her eyes. He ached for it, but he knew the price of taking it. It was a price he didn’t think he could pay again.
The need had never been this hard to control. And he knew what it would lead to. Once he released his control to give in to one impulse, another would slam into him. Taking her against the wall, wild and uncontrolled, was nothing compared to the things he wanted to do to her. The ways he wanted to take her. Ways that only the most experienced and jaded of lovers had ever accepted.
