by Kendall Ryan
She’s right about the pre-nup, I was a fucking fool. Twenty-four years old when we tied the knot and thought I was in love. But she’s wrong about the rest. "This has nothing to do with male pride. My goal all along has been to wait her out, and complete my project in Africa before finalizing the divorce. I won’t have my money tied up in some court battle while I could be doing something actually fucking useful with it."
Sophie’s judging stare and her rigid posture force me to see that maybe this isn’t all going to end well. After surviving Stella, I need a woman who understands my drive and desire to see some good in the world. I thought Sophie would be that woman. But perhaps I was wrong. I take a calming breath and struggle to clear my head.
Sophie moves across the room, her posture stiff as she goes to the far window that looks onto the courtyard below. I cross the room in a few long strides and stand behind her, breathing in the scent of her hair. "Soph…" I murmur.
Her shoulders relax and she sniffs like she’s crying.
Spinning her to face me, I see that her face is red and a single tear tumbles along her porcelain cheek.
"Don’t cry." I brush the dampness away with my thumb. "You’re all I want. The rest, Stella, the paperwork, I’ll figure it out. I just need time. And I need your faith in me." I don’t know why that’s suddenly so important, but it is. Her eyes drift closed and she doesn’t protest. It’s a start.
I’ve never groveled like this before, but I’ve also never felt quite as strongly about a woman as I do about Sophie. Unable to resist the urge to touch her, I run my fingertips along her exposed arms, lightly caressing her smooth skin.
Sophie swallows and blinks up at me. Leaning down to lower my mouth to hers, I whisper against her lips. "You’re mine, sweetness."
My cock was half hard all through lunch, but now that we’re alone, the beast is demanding attention. I’ve traveled thousands of miles to get her to listen, and now the last thing I want to do is talk. I'm craving her like a drug.
Her mouth parts and I take the opportunity to gently kiss her full bottom lip, and then the top, carefully peppering her sweet mouth with tender kisses.
Her hands fist in my shirt and for just a moment I think she’s going to push me away, but she tugs me closer and my kisses go from chaste to hot in two seconds flat. The knowledge that I haven’t lost her sends a thrill racing through me.
My tongue pushes past her parted lips and caresses hers. Goddamn, I’ve missed the things this mouth can do. The raging erection in my pants remembers all too well.
The need to taste her, to consume every part of her flares within me. And knowing that there’s a bed in the next room sends my mind spinning with possibilities. I want more. I want it all, everything she has to offer, but I force myself to slow and meet her eyes, checking for any sign of displeasure. Her look is pure wanton lust.
My hand slips under the hem of the skirt she’s wearing. If she knew my dark thoughts right now, she wouldn’t have worn this in my presence. But she seems blissfully unaware that I want to fuck her hard and fast until she’s sore and bowlegged from my cock repeatedly impaling her.
The man she’s come to know exercises restraint and control at every turn, but that man is nowhere to be found. Unable to hold back from touching her, I slide my hand up the outside of her thigh and feel her tremble, but she doesn’t pull away. She doesn’t move a single muscle.
Curving my hand around, I palm one rounded ass cheek that’s soft and warm in my hand and knead the succulent flesh. She drives me fucking crazy with desire. I want her ass. I want every part of her.
Feeling bold, I slip one finger under the elastic of her panties and feel her draw a shuddering breath. That’s right baby. Let me touch you.
"You want this, don’t you?" I whisper against her collarbone.
She shakes her head.
"Don’t lie to me, sweetness."
I caress a finger along her silken folds. She’s already damp with desire. I drag my finger up her slit, parting her lips and find her clit. Using the pad of my index finger, I circle the little bundle of nerves and feel it swell. Hell yeah. Remembering the first time I got her off, my cock engorges with blood until it's rock hard and almost painful.
Sophie’s hands ball into fists at her sides, and she looks like she’s struggling with something. Her brow is knotted and her breathing is erratic, but she’s not moving away, in fact she’s leaning in to my touch, tilting her hips so I can rub her clit at just the right angle. I realize she’s having some internal battle with herself. Her body wants this, but her head is telling her no. And my guess is that her hands are clenched tight to stop herself from reaching out and touching me. Surely she can feel my raging erection pressing into her hip.
It’s okay, you can touch him, baby.
Please fucking touch him.
I want to feel her little fist curl around my shaft and squeeze. I feel like I’m going to die if she doesn’t touch me soon. I’m two seconds away from pulling my cock out myself and stroking it until I come.
Just as Sophie begins to whimper softly and I can tell she’s building toward release, she takes a step back just out of reach so that my hand slides from her panties. Her eyes are hungry and swimming with unspoken emotion.
Shit.
Chapter Three
Sophie
Colton’s gaze skims over my features, like he’s checking to be sure I'm okay before settling on my eyes again. Nothing about this is okay, but I’m powerless to stop it. I’m scared of feeling too much for him, and I'm scared of letting him go, so I do the only thing I can – I turn myself over to the visceral pleasure coursing through me, begging for a sweet release. My body is practically vibrating with need, but I need a moment to process what's happening, so I take a step back.
"Don’t run away from this," he purrs.
Stalking closer, Colt anchors his hands to my waist, his long fingers biting into my hips as he lifts me up. My legs close around his waist, my core seeking friction against the hard ridge in the front of his pants.
I gasp at the crazy mix of emotions and raw sensation overtaking my system. I know I should stop him, push him away, I just don’t want to. I miss this side of him. Suddenly I want to be on my knees before him with his hot, heavy cock in my mouth. Memories of our weeks spent together flood my senses, making it impossible to turn away.
"Colt…" I whisper. I have no idea what I’m asking for and his soft eyes plead with mine.
He supports my weight effortlessly with both hands resting under my butt. I want his fingers again…I was so close. And now I’m keyed up and confused.
"I’m tangled up in you. I can’t let you go," he says, placing one more kiss against my mouth. He stares back at me for a moment. I can’t take the broken quality to his voice, the way his warm palm slides against my exposed hip bone. Even though I shouldn’t, I crave his touch. I’ve missed him. I’ve missed this. This growing connection between us. It takes every ounce of strength I have not to give in to him.
Before everything went to hell the afternoon his wife showed up, I felt like we were building toward something real – if not love, then something close. I wasn’t experienced, but given the chance, I knew I could fall in love with Colton Drake. Which meant letting him into my hotel room, letting him kiss me and gaze into my eyes and break down all my walls was a dangerous move. My heart was on the line. But he’d tracked me down and chased me halfway around the world. That has to mean something, right?
"Sweetness," he murmurs in the husky tone that I’ve come to recognize means he’s aroused.
My voice disappears as any words of protest die in my throat. I have to tell him no. I need to make him leave. He’s done something that can’t be undone. He led me to believe he was unattached and concealed the truth from me for weeks. I now wonder if he would have ever told me if Stella hadn't shown up. Despite my suspicions, I’d ignored my womanly instincts and turned myself over to him completely. I’d been ready to give him my virginity.
His fingertips edging under my skirt pull me from my thoughts. My core heats with the knowledge that his skilled fingers are just inches from where I want them. Yes, yes yes. My panties are soaking wet and I rock against him, but my raspy voice breaks the silence and contradicts everything my body is screaming for. "No…I can’t…" I untangle my legs from his waist and drop to the floor.
"You want this just as badly as I do," he says, his voice deep and sure.
My eyes lift to his and apparently they tell him everything he needs to know. My desire for him is written all over my face. My thoughts betray me. And Colton takes full advantage, leaning in to kiss me again.
"Tell me there’s still a chance," he whispers against my lips.
I swallow, but am unable to respond. I don’t trust myself to say the right thing. I debate with myself, wondering if I could ever trust him again, if I could even fit into his lifestyle…
A bubble of feminine laughter and the sound of the door clicking open snap me back to my senses.
Becca and Pace waltz into the room carrying a half dozen shopping bags between them.
My sanity returns and I force a serious tone as I turn toward Colton. "It’s time for you guys to go."
Goodbyes are exchanged between Pace and Becca while I avoid meeting Colton’s dark eyes. I know if I do, I’ll lose my resolve completely. I’m still reeling from that kiss, my body overheated and blood pumping wildly.
He pins me with a heated stare, leaning close enough that I can smell his cologne. The effect is dizzying. "This isn't over. Have your fun with Becca and we'll talk when you get home."
I wish I could tell him he's wrong, that we are over, but I find myself unable to respond. He's giving me the space I need right now, but I have no idea what comes next.
Once they’re gone, I grab a bottle of water from the stocked minibar and take a long swig, needing to cool myself down before turning to Becca. She doesn’t say anything about the change in hotel room, but I see her eyes wandering around the space. "So what happened with Pace? I didn’t think you guys would be back so quickly. In fact, I wondered if I’d see you again this entire trip. I figured you’d take one look at those dimples and you’d steal him away into a private hotel room." I grin at her in an attempt to lighten the tense mood.
"Trust me, it was tempting. He’s gorgeous. And his tight little butt?" She fans herself dramatically. "Seriously, those two are a lethal combination on the libido."
"There’s a third one too. Their older brother Collins is every bit as lickable."
"Damn. Good genetics, I guess." She dumps the shopping bags out onto the sofa for me to inspect her goods. "After lunch, I actually started to worry about leaving you alone with Colt. I figured that wasn’t the smartest idea, so we cut our outing short. We just walked around this cute little piazza and I went into a couple of boutiques." She holds a tiny sundress up to my frame. "I thought this would look cute on you."
"It’s pretty." Lavender and touches of blue thread run through the soft fabric. "I can wear it with my strappy silver sandals."
"Exactly what I was thinking." She plucks a red mini skirt from the pile of clothes for herself. "Come on, get changed. We’re going out."
Becca and I spent the rest of the day sightseeing and are currently seated at a quaint little bar, munching on olives and cheese and sipping delicious wine. I still can’t believe Colton and Pace had actually flown to Italy in search of me. And as I sit here, slightly buzzed, I’m replaying our brief intimate encounter in my head.
"I know how you could get rid of it," Becca says, thoughtfully swirling the wine in her glass.
"What?"
"Your virginity. I mean, if you still want to, that is."
"How?" I ask, my mind spinning.
She tips her chin to a group of three cute Italian guys sitting together across the bar. "We could go pick up some hotties."
I briefly consider this. When in Rome…Why the hell not?
Because I still belong to Colton, that's why.
Even if I don’t want to, some strange part of me knows it’s true. He should be the one to take my virginity. When I think about his dark, hungry eyes that burn me up, his full mouth kissing my neck, and his thick, long cock, I know it has to be him. My chest flushes with heat and I’m transported right back to the moment earlier when I was right there – right on the edge –just a few more strokes of his fingers and I would have come apart. I always thought I needed a sex toy to get off, it turns out I just needed Colton.
"You’re thinking about him again." Becca smirks at me.
"I shouldn’t be."
"But you are."
***
The remainder of our trip is nearly perfect. Gorgeous summer weather, long afternoons spent wandering the beautiful and seductive city of Rome with my best friend by my side. But my nights are plagued with memories of Colton, though I suppose that’s unavoidable given the situation.
After the first day when he and his brother Pace showed up here unexpectedly, I’ve heard nothing more from him. I’m grateful that I opted not to upgrade my cell phone service to include international calling. I know I wouldn’t be strong enough to continue ignoring him if that were the case. As it is, every morning after breakfast, I have to force myself to walk past the hotel’s one computer in the business center to avoid connecting to my email. The thought that there could be a note from Colton waiting for me weighs heavily on my mind.
As much as I try to convince myself that things are done between us, some part deep inside of me knows that’s not true.
Chapter Four
Colton
Back in California, I throw myself into my work. It’s the only way to keep my thoughts from drifting to Sophie. I’m brutal in meetings, coarse in my communications and tense all the fucking time. My emotions are all over the damn place and my need for sex has only quadrupled since being near Sophie again. My feelings of longing are only intensified wandering my big, empty house alone at night.
I’ve tried texting her a couple of times, but I’ve gotten no response. She returned from Rome last weekend and has been in touch with Kylie, which is the only reason I know anything.
I should feel relieved. Sophie knows the truth now. Everything is out in the open. There's no more hiding my broken marriage from her and no one would ever need to know my dark secret about purchasing a sex slave. This whole thing could be over – we’re free from our arrangement. Only I don’t want to be.
I should just walk away, but I won’t. I still want to fuck her. Shit, it goes deeper than that if I’m being honest with myself. I like her. Her genuine nature, her selflessness for putting herself up for auction. She’s not like other girls. She made me macaroni for fuck’s sake, and refused my help for additional money. She’s not like the women in my past. Or she’s damn good at faking it.
Either way, I want to make her mine. I tell myself it’s just because I never got to have her. Weeks spent waiting while the sexual tension and anticipation between us built to epic proportions have left me with the world’s most critical case of blue balls. Terror alert level red. My sac is about to combust. Shit, at this point, I wonder if I even remember how to fuck. It can’t be that difficult, right? I shake away the sullen thoughts swirling in my brain.
I want to claim her body, to be the first man to penetrate her pussy. And as much as I try to deny it, something inside me wants more than that too. But the entire point of this whole charade was because I promised myself I wouldn’t get entangled with a woman ever again. So much for that not happening. I’m in deep with Sophie. Completely wrapped up in a woman I may have zero chance of having. But I’m not backing down now. No fucking way.
I'd bought and paid for her virginity, something I was not inclined to let simply slip through my fingers due to some technicality.
When I think back to her hotel room in Italy, the way she let me touch her…before completely shutting down on me, my stomach twists into a knot.
I’m not us
ed to being turned down, and it’s not a feeling I want to grow accustomed to. I didn’t get where I am today by lying dormant. Deciding to take matters into my own hands, I call Sophie once more, giving her one last chance before I show up on her parent’s doorstep and drag her back to me.
I may have trust issues, and I still need to deal with Stella, but none of that is going to stop me from taking what’s mine. And Sophie is mine.
Expecting her voicemail, like every other time I’ve called, I’m surprised when she answers on the fourth ring.
"Sophie?" The surprise is evident in my voice.
"Hi," she says casually.
"We need to talk." She’s silent for several long moments, only the soft sounds of her breathing tell me she’s still on the line.
"About what?" she asks finally.
"I have a new proposition for you."
***
When the limousine I’ve sent drops Sophie off in my driveway, looking bewildered and tired, I’m thankful that her parents live a few hours north of Los Angeles. It means I should be able to keep her here at least through the night. She will have to hear me out.
Stepping out into the sunlight, I greet her beside the car. My fists clench uselessly at my sides as the realization that she’s not mine to take into my arms slams against me. I lift her bag from the brick walkway and force a smile onto my lips. "Thank you for coming."
She nods. "Thank you for sending the limo. That really wasn’t necessary." She twists the ring on her thumb, obviously curious about why I’ve summoned her here when things seem like they’re over between us.
"Let’s go inside."
I let her walk ahead, appreciating the way her round little behind sways enticingly. I follow like a puppy on a leash.
Once inside, Sophie is all tentative steps and unsure glances. Deciding it’ll be best to cut to the chase about why I’ve brought her here, I lead her into the den. The same room where I brought her that first night. Memories of her on her knees before me, taking my thick cock into her mouth and sucking me off with such skill and enthusiasm causes my dick to harden instantly. Fuck.
