by Jenika Snow
It had only been a couple of hours, but the ride alone had taken most of that time, especially with the heavy downtown traffic. She hadn’t even waited for Rian, hadn’t called him or even wanted him to come after her.
This wasn’t her life, wasn’t her battle to fight. She had her own problems, her own issues that didn’t have to do with a man she was only fucking for a week’s time, and the bitches that wanted to keep him for themselves. As far as Sorcha was concerned they could have Rian.
But after that thought she felt this tightening in her gut. All she could think about was the talk they had in the car, of the way she felt after laying it out there for him. Could she really be caring about the softer side of Rian Hartford?
Better she block out any and all emotion that had to do with wanting Rian for more than sex, because those emotions would end up getting her hurt in the long run.
Sorcha had been surprised she had fallen asleep anyway, especially with how much adrenaline had been pumping through her veins. She turned and stared blurry-eyed at the clock. It was early, and although she knew Rian hadn’t followed her, for whatever reason, she knew he’d be coming soon.
The moonlight shone through the window, almost iridescent as it illuminated the room.
The feeling of still being watched drew her away from her thoughts, and she pushed herself up into a sitting position and glanced around. At first she didn’t see anything, but then she glanced at the doorway and her heart stopped.
The large body standing there motionless was shrouded by shadows. Sorcha held the sheet to her body, as if covering herself from Rian’s penetrating gaze. She didn’t know how to feel, especially when he took a step into the room, and shut the door behind him.
“I should have gone after you, but I stayed to speak with Beatrice and clear everything up.” He turned his back to her and started taking off his tux.
“You don’t owe me an explanation,” she said softly. In all honesty she didn’t want to talk about it.
He glanced over his shoulder at her as he removed his bowtie, but he didn’t respond. When his jacket was off he started removing his cufflinks, wristwatch, and then took his shirt off. The power in his back, of the way his muscles contracted and relaxed with his movements, of course had heat filling her. She turned away, because she didn’t need this right now.
After a few minutes, and the sound of clothing ruffling, she felt the heat of Rian’s body. With a hand on her shoulder, he turned her so she was forced to watch him. There he stood, in nothing but a pair of low hanging lounge pants.
Sorcha was at least thankful he hadn’t just jumped into bed naked and expected her to fuck him after what had happened.
He sat on the edge of the bed, kept his hand on her arm, but glanced down at the ground, as if he didn’t want to look at her face.
“I want to apologize for the way Beatrice acted tonight. She was drunk, and she let her emotions get the better of her.” He looked at her then, but the way he was positioned and the light through the window, blocked out the front half of him in shadows. “I made sure you got home okay, but I figured you’d want a little time to yourself.” He paused for a moment. “So that’s why I didn’t rush back here and say all of this.”
She licked her lips, not sure what to say, so she just kept her mouth shut.
“But I don’t want to just apologize for the way Beatrice acted, because it was my actions that pushed her to that point.”
“She controls how she acts.” Sorcha appreciated that he was apologizing, but she also was a firm believer in taking responsibility for her own actions. Beatrice might have been drunk, but she decided to confront Sorcha, she had dug up in Sorcha’s personal life, and she was the one that had lifted her hand and hit her. “But I am glad you took some responsibility in your own actions.” She smiled, but she was still on edge about how the night played out.
He nodded and started rubbing his hand up and down her bare arm. “I told her that I was sorry for making her feel less than what she was, because if I had been more considerate of others’ feelings instead of my own, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”
“And you realized that now?”
He shrugged. “Pretty fucking crazy, huh?” He turned so his back was to her again, and stared out the balcony windows. “But I realized,” he glanced at her, “and yes, in the short time it took for you to knock some sense into my arrogant ass, that I do live a selfish life.” He exhaled, and before he could turn away from her again she sat up once more.
Sorcha didn’t know if she should be happier that he finally realized what a total ass he was, or that he was actually admitting it to her out loud. “Is she okay?”
He turned toward her again, and she saw the way he knitted his brows. “Why would you care? She hit you, assaulted you, and said some pretty hateful things.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, she did all of that, and was a mega bitch, but what can I do about it?” She swallowed at the intensity of his stare. “Besides, I’m only in this with you for seven days, remember? What is the point of getting all up in arms when I won’t be in your life permanently, like she thinks?”
He didn’t speak, didn’t even move. All Rian did was watch her like he wanted to say something, like he wanted her to know something. His mouth parted, and she expected him to blow off what she said, but when he snapped it shut and clenched his jaw tight, her heart started pounding harder and faster.
“Rian?” she whispered, confused as to what was happening right now. She could feel it in the room, surrounding her, making the hair on her arms stand on end and this weird feeling in her stomach intensify.
“Nothing. I’m fine.” He exhaled and ran a hand over his perfectly styled hair, which in turn had the ends standing in disarray.
She swallowed roughly at the way his deep and husky voice seemed to spear straight through her pussy. “It doesn’t seem like everything is okay.” Her voice cracked slightly. Her throat felt incredibly parched as she watched his gaze travel over her face, as if he was trying to read her without words.
“Is it wrong that I wish I would have made the contract longer?” His voice was hard, and the way he said those words made her think he was saying more than just that. “Is it wrong that I want you more than I deserve?”
“What?” She gripped the sheets in her hands.
He shook his head but kept his gaze on her. “I’m talking about exactly what I just said. I’m talking about wanting more than just these seven days with you.” He moved his hand over the side of her head. “I want you like I’ve never wanted another woman. I don’t deserve you, that’s for fucking sure, but I’m selfish and want you regardless.”
“Rian…”
He ran his hand over his jaw, and looked away for a second, before returning his gaze toward her. “All I know is that for the past six months you’ve infuriated me, annoyed me, pissed me off on every occasion, yet I still wanted you more than I have ever wanted another person in my goddamned life. Doesn’t that say something monumental?”
Her heart was beating fast and fierce, as if it was trying to keep up with what was going on around her. “Yes, and I feel the same way.”
“Fuck, baby, you have no idea how hard it was for me to get that out.”
Oh, she had an idea, because it had been hard for her to come to that realization, too.
“Nothing needs to be said. Not a word.” He leaned in and captured her mouth with his, grabbed the back of her neck with his hand, and kissed her senseless. “You feel that?” he murmured against her mouth, and she knew, just knew, what he was talking about. It was this feeling at the base of her spine, slowly moving through her until it stopped in her mouth and heated her from the inside out.
Her pussy tingled and became wetter the longer and more intently he kissed her. She felt like she was suffocating with pleasure and need. Her arousal and brain were raging war with each other. Her emotions were real, genuine, and Rian had just bared his soul to her.
He broke the k
iss and placed his hands on either side of her, like he was caging her in for what was to happen next. This was different, his passion more isolated, controlled, and focused right on her and this moment. This felt like he was with her in the now, like this wasn’t about him having sex with her, but about him giving a piece of himself to her.
“I am, Sorcha.” He groaned against her mouth, and she knew she had said those words out loud. He loomed over her, all hard sinew and tendons straining and bunching above her and making her mouth water. He looked down at her lips, and she involuntarily licked them. Rian groaned, and this clenching need slammed into her pussy.
He leaned forward so that she was braced back on the headboard, and forced to inhale the dark scents that covered him. It was a mixture of his expensive cologne, of the liquor he had drunk tonight, and then of everything else that made up Rian Hartford.
The position had her breasts thrust out. She lowered her gaze to his mouth, the need to press her lips to his again overwhelming her until she found herself rising to do just that. Her mouth was an inch away from his, and their breath mingled as their arousal increased. She could feel his need for her as if it was her own.
“Tell me again, Sorcha. Give me this one moment to surrender because you want it and not because you signed a contract.” His upper body was pressed to hers, and the feel of his hardness against her softness was alluring and tantalizing. “Tell me, baby.” His voice was low and strained, as if he were having just as hard a time as she was controlling her emotions.
She took a deep, steadying breath before she spoke. “I want you, Rian.” The smile he gave her was pure male satisfaction. Sorcha couldn’t help but give him this. It wasn’t because he had asked, or because he had said the things he had. It was because she wanted him to know.
Sorcha didn’t know what would happen between them, that after the week things might go back the way they had been. She wanted to believe that this wasn’t just an “in the moment situation feeling” he had.
He slowly pulled the blankets away from her, stood to remove his pants, and then slipped under the covers so that his heat immediately enveloped her. He leaned over her, caressing the bare skin of her arm while he moved his gaze over her face.
Rian’s look became even more heated, and then he kissed her again. She moaned when he placed his weight fully on her. He held the side of her face and stroked his thumb along her cheek.
She brought her arms up and rested her hands on his bulging shoulders, the sinew hard under her fingers. He moved his other hand over her hip and down her thigh, softly squeezing her flesh. Her body, her skin, and her very cells were alive with pleasure and caring about him.
He moved his hand inward, so close to her pussy that she was nearly shaking with anticipation. She desperately wanted him touching her, teasing and tantalizing her and having her forget why she shouldn’t let her emotions get in the way.
Having Rian in full alpha possessive mode was what she needed, but right now he was being soft, easy, and gentle. He moved his fingers over her pussy, and unfortunately she couldn’t feel the full force of his touch because of her cotton shorts. She wanted skin to skin, wanted to feel his hardness pressing against her, in her, and consuming her.
In the next second, he pulled away. Her body cooled slightly, but the fire still simmered deep inside of her.
“Take off the shorts, Sorcha.”
His voice caused a fresh stream of wetness to coat her pussy lips.
“Do it, Sorcha. Do it now.” He wasn’t being demanding but dominating, which was a big difference.
She opened her mouth on a silent groan, his dominance igniting something inside of her and making her burn even hotter. She swallowed as she hooked her fingers under the elastic of her shorts and slowly pulled them down and kicked them off.
“I want the panties gone, too.” He stood by the edge of the bed, his erection tenting his pants. He had to want to touch himself. Shit, she wanted to touch herself, and then touch him.
When the shorts were off, she slid her plain panties down.
“Now the shirt.”
Breathing in deeply, she sat up further, removed the tank, and tossed that to the ground, too. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and her nipples instantly became hard from the chill of the air. Then she lay back down, stared right at Rian, and waited for him to make the next move.
“Spread for me, Sorcha.” His voice was husky, still dominating, but had this edge of unrestrained aggression laced with it.
She felt so out of control, so helpless against her feelings toward him, and it scared the shit out of her. This wasn’t right, wasn’t how she should be feeling toward him. Spreading her thighs like he said, she felt her labia spread under his gaze. How much of her could he see in the shadows?
“You want me, and I want you. Am I wrong about that?”
She nodded. “I want you.”
“Good, that’s real good, baby.” She closed her eyes and breathed in. She didn’t know how to accept all of this, how to handle everything. Right now this was real.
“Look at me.” His voice was steely and hard.
She opened her eyes but didn’t respond. His smile was slow and sexual when his gaze dropped to her pussy again.
“Wider. Spread your legs wider.”
She started to hyperventilate as her arousal continued to pump through her veins. He wasn’t even touching her, and yet his expression alone had her on the verge of orgasm. Her nipples became swollen, erect, and ready for his mouth.
He was still gazing at her pussy, and then finally reached down pushed his pants off, and then gripped his shaft.
“Put your hands above your head,” he said low and deep.
God, she loved the way he spoke—loved the feeling of helplessness and surrender. No matter what she thought or how her brain raged against her body, she knew that she would take whatever he offered.
26
Rian was between her legs seconds later. “I want to make love to you, go slow and easy and show you that you mean more to me than the woman that signed herself away for a week.” He moved his hands to rest on her inner thighs and spread them as wide as they would go. When he used his thumbs to gently pull her pussy lips apart until they were stretched wide, she gasped out.
And then Rian was moving lower, and the feeling of his hot breath on her sensitive pussy lips sent shockwaves of desire through her.
“This is real, Sorcha. Right here and now, all of this is me wanting you because I want you.” He kissed her inner thighs, ran his tongue over her skin, and she clenched her hands in the sheets. “You’re so hot and wet for me. Tell me you want my mouth on your sweet little pussy.”
She knew she wanted to tell him those exact words but was unable to speak.
“Tell me, Sorcha. Tell me how you want my tongue sliding along your pretty cunt, and then me sucking your hard little clit into my mouth.”
His erotic words were like a scorching poker to her clit. She made a small noise, his hot breath wafting over her vagina and causing lust to slam into her hard and demanding. “Yes, Rian.” She arched her neck when he ran his tongue on her slit. “Please.”
“Please what, baby?”
“Please be with me.” Every muscle in her body was strung tight, ready to explode. She gasped at the feel of his tongue running circles along her pussy hole, slowly dipping inside of her, and of him rubbing his finger back and forth on her clit. He opened his mouth wide and licked and sucked on her, and then moved his mouth to her clit.
He sucked on her, and hummed around her until she was arching her back and moaning softly. She went to run her hands over his shoulders, but he groaned deeply, stopping her.
She looked at him, blinking a few times as the pleasure continued to thrum through her. His head was back slightly, and the dominance was clear on his face. He stuck his tongue out and moved it in small circles around her clit, all the while keeping his gaze on her.
He moved his tongue around her clit, moving lower until h
e was once against thrusting the muscle lightly into her hole and bringing her closer to an orgasm.
“You taste so good, baby.” His lips glistened with her arousal, and instead of finishing eating her out he moved up the length of her body and kissed her. He forced his tongue in her mouth, making her taste herself. She moaned when he began a slow grind against her.
He didn’t wear a condom, and the hot, stiff length of him pressed right between her slit. She found herself thrusting her hips up to meet his. Their rhythm was in sync, and as the seconds ticked by, their kiss deepened and the grinding pressure increased. He broke the kiss, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and started pumping his dick against her harder and faster.
“You don’t know how hard I’m refraining from shoving my dick right into you, but I want to do this slow, Sorcha.”
She turned her head toward him. His expression was strained, his bone structure seeming more pronounced when he slowed the onslaught of his cock against her wet pussy. She wanted him so bad that she could taste it, could feel it with everything that she was.
“Just be with me. Let’s forget about everything else except right now, Rian.” The things she had done and said tonight surprised her.
He groaned and buried his head in her hair again.
“We’ll start out slow, Sorcha, because that’s what I want, too.” His skin was so hot that she felt as if she were the one burning alive. The hair on his legs rubbed against her smooth ones, tormenting her and driving her crazy with hunger. He was so hard and muscular, his body like a rock, so powerful and dangerous.
She gasped as his shaft rubbed up and down on her cleft, his movements easy, but clearly getting more frantic with each passing second. He was fueling the fire inside of her, teasing her to the very brink without even penetrating her yet. He had his lips on her neck, licking and nipping at her flesh all the while continuing to pump against her.
