by Erika Wilde
Chapter 11
Maddux arrived in his bedroom and realized Arabella was in his bathroom suite. He pushed open the door that hadn’t been shut completely, pleased to discover her naked, soaking in the lavish tub he’d had custom made for himself. Of all the scenarios in his head of how Arabella was passing time, he never would have imagined this one. Not that he was disappointed in the least.
He was also immediately aware that while her eyes were closed, she wasn’t asleep—not according to the gentle rippling of water across the surface of the bath that lapped against her upper chest, indicating she was indulging in another form of activity. Her hand was clearly moving beneath the water—between her legs by his estimation—and she must have hit an especially sensitive spot as her head lolled along the rim of the tub, her lips parted, and a soft moan tumbled out.
Heat and a primitive hunger coursed through his blood, lengthening his cock beneath the front placket of his jeans until he felt as though he might burst through the denim. He was pleasantly surprised to know that she was attuned to her body and had no qualms about enjoying her own pleasure. Except, for as seductive as this image in front of him was, there was no fucking way he was going to let her finish what he’d initiated out in the kitchen earlier.
If anyone satisfied her need to come, it would be him.
Feet still bare from getting out of bed this morning, he crossed the bathroom into the larger spa area in stealth mode. Her increasingly panting breaths, her beautifully flushed face, and the quickening pace of her fingers dancing across her clit told him she was close to orgasm. Finally reaching her, he bent down, dipped his hand into the clear water, and encircled her wrist with his fingers, jerking her hand away from her pussy.
Her lashes flew open, a startled squeak escaped her throat, and her body jerked upright, sloshing water over the rim of the tub and soaking the front of his jeans. Her shocked, wide-eyed gaze stared up at his face, and he knew she clearly saw his fierce, deliberately displeased expression.
“Maddux.” Her voice wavered as she uttered his name, and her cheeks pinkened even more with embarrassment at being caught in the act.
“Bella.” His tone was dark and as dominant as the urges she brought out in him, and he did nothing to soften or hide those aggressive tendencies. “Such a naughty girl,” he murmured, caressing his thumb along the rapid pulse beating in the wrist he still held. “I leave you alone for a short while, and you think it’s okay to slide your fingers into your pussy and make yourself come?”
Her tongue licked nervously across her bottom lip, which didn’t help the fact that his dick was throbbing relentlessly. “I . . . umm . . . didn’t think you’d walk in here,” she said in a rush.
“Why wouldn’t I?” he refuted with an arch of his brow. “Last I checked, this was my bathroom, my shower, and my tub. I don’t need permission to come into any of the rooms in my apartment, so don’t ever assume I won’t seek you out at any given time. You gave up your right to complete privacy when you agreed to give yourself over to me and then stepped off the elevator into my penthouse.”
Much to his surprise, her chin tipped up with the slightest show of stubborn attitude. “Okay. Good to know.”
She hadn’t argued, but the fact that her voice held just a small trace of mockery was enough to provoke him further. “Here’s another rule for you to obey while you live here,” he said, establishing who, exactly, was in control. “Your orgasms are now mine to give, when and if I feel as though you deserve them. From this moment forward, getting yourself off without my permission will be a punishable offense. If I ever catch you finger fucking yourself again without me in the room, I will tease and torment your clit until you’re begging for release, but instead of letting you come, I will keep you in orgasm denial, which, if you’re not familiar with the term for that particular kink, is called edging. Trust me, Bella, I will enjoy the punishment. You will not, so don’t test me.”
“Okay,” she said, this time in a softer, more subdued tone.
Satisfied with her acquiescence, he released her hand, stood up, and began unbuttoning his jeans. Which wasn’t an easy feat over his hard-as-steel erection. When his pants were finally open, he slid his thumbs into the waistband of his jeans and briefs to shove them down his hips.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a breathless, nervous rush.
He stilled. God, she was such a paradox, which was truly one of the things that drew him to her. Bold and mouthy one moment and blushing and adorably bashful the next. “I’m in the mood for a bath,” he told her.
“Okay, I’ll leave, and you can have the bathroom to yourself,” she insisted, averting her gaze.
When she put her hands on the edge of the tub to push herself to her feet, he immediately stopped her. “No, you will stay right where you are because I’m going to join you.” The fact that she complied and sank back down into the water shot a nice little rush of sexual adrenaline through him.
“And you will watch me undress, Bella, so you see how hard you make me,” he ordered when she kept her eyes focused straight ahead and not at him. “Look at me.” His tone was low and commanding.
Shockingly enough, she didn’t defy him and turned her head. But instead of fixating her stare at the open fly of his jeans, where he wanted it to be, her eyes lifted up to his face. The corner of his mouth twitched at her impertinence, and he had to consciously tamp down the amused grin tugging at his lips.
Technically, she was looking at him, and he knew her choice to avoid his dick was a deliberate and sly decision . . . all without disobeying him. Clearly, if there was a loophole in his request, then his Bella was going to find and take advantage of it.
“Aim those eyes about three feet lower, sweetheart,” he instructed in a silky murmur. “I want you to get used to seeing and feeling the size of my cock in your hands before I decide to bury every single inch in your tight pussy or your mouth, like would have happened earlier if my brother and sister hadn’t arrived just in time.” When she didn’t immediately comply, he said, “I won’t ask you again. Look down.” He wasn’t stripping out of his jeans and briefs until he had her full attention there.
Her lips pursed, but again, she obeyed. Except, instead of a quick drop to his midsection, the minx decided to take a slow, leisurely trip downward, her gaze taking in the width of his shoulders, his defined chest, and the abs that disappeared into the waistband of his black underwear. Beneath the tight, clinging fabric of his boxer briefs, the thick length of his erection was prominently displayed, leaving no question of just how well-endowed he was.
He waited for signs of trepidation from her but saw none. If anything, curiosity and anticipation etched her features.
“Have you seen a naked man before?” Just because she hadn’t been fucked didn’t mean she hadn’t done other intimate things with a guy.
“Yes. Of course.” She drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around her knees, covering herself and making room for him at the other end of the tub. “In pictures and videos I’ve seen on the internet and Tumblr,” she admitted, which was a virtual porn haven, so yeah, he had no doubt she’d eyed a few boners.
“Good,” he said, sliding down his pants and briefs a few inches before adding in a droll tone, “So you won’t faint at the sight of my dick then.”
She huffed out a small laugh. “Doubtful. I’m a virgin, Maddux. Not a nun or a prude. Don’t be shocked, but I even have a vibrator at home that looks and feels like the real deal.”
Ahh, Jesus. He swallowed a groan, the filthy thought of her fucking a dildo and coming all over it making him hot as hell. Without any other hesitations, he shoved his jeans and underwear down his legs, and once he had them off, he tossed them onto the floor in a dry area of the bathroom before turning back to face her. “You’ll have to let me know how that vibrator compares to my dick when the time comes and you’re impaled on my cock.”
Somehow, she feigned a neutral expression as she stared at his jutting shaft. “H
mmm. I think you’re a few inches smaller, actually.”
He couldn’t hold back the deep laughter that erupted from his chest at her bluff and stroked his engorged flesh, even his big hand was barely able to grip it all. “Tell me that when I’ve got all nine thick inches stretching you full and keeping you pinned to my mattress as I fuck you so hard and deep you’ll be sore for days, Bella. I sincerely doubt your vibrator can compare to that.”
She had no sassy retort to that as he stepped into the tub opposite of where she was sitting. The water was still nice and hot thanks to the built-in heater and rose to the rim with his weight as he sank down to a comfortable reclining position.
“How did your conversation with your brother and sister go?” she asked curiously.
She was surprisingly comfortable with him naked in the tub with her. Another contradiction, he mused, as he shrugged at her question. “As good as it could have gone considering what they’d expected to happen last night. My brother is pissed that you’re here when your father should have been on his knees last night begging for leniency,” he said honestly. “But Tempest is more . . . empathetic about the situation. If you need anything and I’m not around or you can’t get ahold of me, she will assist you.”
“Thank you. That’s good to know.” She absently swirled her hands in the water, her gaze suddenly turning serious as it met his. “I . . . umm . . . want you to know up front that I called and talked to my father.”
He liked that she didn’t keep that secret from him. It went a long way in building trust with him. “Anything you’d like to share?”
She shook her head. “No. He avoided my questions about the debt he’d accumulated and I had no clue about . . . and when I asked about why you hated him so much, he said I didn’t need to know the details, which is annoying as hell since neither one of you will enlighten me.”
He ran his wet fingers through his long hair, pushing it away from his face. “Of course he doesn’t want you to know the details, because revealing the truth would be equivalent to him admitting guilt.”
“Guilt for what?” she persisted.
It would be so easy to divulge what an unscrupulous man her father was, as well as Gavin’s part in it all. But knowing that the cold, hard facts would crush someone as good-hearted and kind as Arabella, he didn’t answer her question. He wasn’t ready to deal with the emotional upheaval that would accompany such a shocking bombshell. Not yet, anyway. He swore when the timing was right, when discovering the truth had the most impact, she’d learn what a fucking scumbag Theodore Cole was.
But right now, he didn’t want to discuss his hatred toward her father, not when Maddux wanted his hands all over this woman . . . and more specifically, giving her that orgasm he’d interrupted when he’d walked in on her earlier.
“Come over to my side of the tub, Bella,” he ordered, effectively changing the mood between them to something more seductive. “Sit between my spread legs, facing away from me.”
She blinked at him in surprise at the abrupt change in conversation and licked her bottom lip. “Why?”
“Because I said so,” he replied bluntly. “Because I want to show you exactly what your body is capable of feeling when it’s my hands and fingers delivering the pleasure.”
Her chin tipped up a fraction, a daring light glimmering in her eyes. “And if I say no?”
She was testing him . . . and it occurred to Maddux that she enjoyed the cat-and-mouse game his brother had alluded to earlier. The tempting. The teasing. And the anticipation of waiting and seeing what he’d say or how he’d react to her willful attitude.
She had no idea what kind of perverse opponent he truly was. “Defy me, and that orgasm you were about to give yourself before I stopped it will leave you aching for the rest of the day, and night, since I forbid you to touch yourself.” He casually rested his arms along the wide rim of the tub. “Obey, and I’ll make you come so good and so hard you’ll be addicted to my touch.”
A cheeky smile flirted at the edges of her lush, kissable mouth. “You think very highly of yourself, Mr. Wilder.”
“Come here, Bella,” he said on a low, impatient growl. “Now.”
No hesitation or argument this time, giving credence to the fact that she liked his bossy, dominant side. Good thing, considering what he planned to do to her.
She moved toward him, the depth of the water covering up to her chest, though he enjoyed a glimpse of her rosy nipples beneath the surface before she turned and settled between his widespread thighs, just as he’d instructed, but of course deliberately keeping too much distance between them.
Her startled gasp echoed in the bathroom as he took hold of her tiny waist and guided her back farther, until her posterior was tucked right up against his groin and his rigid cock nestled in that soft crease in between her ass cheeks, which felt so fucking good.
“Lie back against my chest and make yourself comfortable,” he told her.
He heard her exhale a deep breath. “Easier said than done when there’s a nine-inch spike prodding me in the back.”
He chuckled, feeling a tad bit smug. “Ahhh, doesn’t feel so small now, does it, Bella?”
“No,” she whispered as she reclined.
Her petite height came up short when aligned against his longer torso, and he lifted her a few inches higher so her head was able to rest on his shoulder, and she was now sitting on his lap, giving his arms and hands better reach to intimate places, as well.
She squirmed restlessly against his dick. “I . . . umm, fibbed about the size of my vibrator and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that the size of your erection makes me . . . nervous. I’m not sure how you’re going to fit.”
She sounded genuinely concerned, and he sought to reassure her, which wasn’t his normal approach with women. Then again, Arabella’s inexperience was new to him, too.
“I’m not fucking you today, so you can relax for now,” he said, sliding his hands along her flat stomach, letting her get used to his touch. “But when I do, I can promise that I’ll make sure your pussy is nice and slick and ready to accommodate my width and length. I won’t take you like a battering ram, if that’s your worry,” he added in a lighter, teasing tone.
She laughed softly, and the last bit of tension seemed to ease away as her body yielded against his, light and weightless in the water. “Now there’s an image I’d rather not have in my head, thank you very much,” she said, her voice wry.
“Then let’s find something more enjoyable for you to focus on,” he murmured seductively, and proceeded to do just that.
Chapter 12
Excitement shifted through Arabella as Maddux didn’t hesitate to do what he did best and took control. Before she realized his intent, he hooked his feet along the insides of her ankles and used that leverage to spread her legs wide and keep them pinned against the sides of the tub. Then he took her arms and folded them behind her back, with her palms flat against his chest between them, effectively immobilizing all her limbs.
She didn’t protest or struggle, but she knew the quickening of her breath told Maddux how aroused she already was by her restrained and exposed position. Once again, he splayed both of his palms on her belly, then simultaneously swept one hand up toward her chest until he captured the firm mound of one breast while the other slid down between her legs, his fingers stroking along the outer folds of her pussy, avoiding her clit and teasing her sensitive flesh with soft, light strokes.
“Maddux,” she moaned, trying to lift her hips to deepen the pressure of his touch, but with her legs held open by the strength of his, she could only manage to squirm restlessly.
He turned his head and nuzzled his warm lips against the side of her neck, the light growth of beard on his face abrading her skin and adding another level of pleasure she didn’t think was possible. “Something you want, Bella?” he taunted, nipping on her ear as he pulled on her taut nipple, lightly twisted, then pinched the hard nub of flesh, sending sparks of conflicting
sensations rippling through her body.
She cried out as that sting of blissful pain spiraled straight down to her throbbing core, where his fingers rubbed and swirled against her clit. “Yes, please,” she begged, panting, already desperate for relief. “Make me come.”
She felt him smile against her cheek, clearly enjoying having the upper hand. “Not yet. But soon.”
His strumming fingers backed off a fraction, leaving her bereft and teetering on the edge. In retaliation, she did the only thing she could think of . . . she gyrated back on his cock, stoking the length of his shaft between the cheeks of her ass—which increased her own desire, too.
“Fuck,” he growled, instinctively thrusting his hips along that crevice as he shoved two fingers deep inside her in his own form of punishment, making the water ripple violently around them.
She gasped in shock, feeling her body clamp down on those digits as he slowly withdrew them, then pushed in again, stretching and filling her while his thumb massaged her clit until the ache between her legs became a relentless, needy throb that he refused to appease.
She tried to thrash, and her hands he’d positioned behind her back dug into his stomach. Without thinking of the consequences, she raked and scraped her nails across his skin like a wildcat, hard enough to scratch and make him hiss out a harsh breath.
The fingers tweaking her nipples abruptly came up and wrapped around her throat beneath her chin, pulling her head back against his shoulder until she was forced to arch her spine to accommodate the position since her legs were still locked down by his. If she thought she was restrained before, now she was totally at his mercy, and the realization jolted her with a rush of forbidden, thrilling pleasure that only added to the knot of lust coiling tighter and tighter inside her.