Faking It

by Black, Natasha L.

  “This doesn’t feel real,” she whispered to me as we danced, and I had agreed.

  Still, when the crowd began to dwindle, I decided to spirit her away rather than waiting for everyone to go. I found myself reinvigorated with energy, eager to get her home.

  Once she’d tossed the bouquet which was caught by the teen daughter of one of the ranch hands, we waved our goodbyes and left. As soon as I had her in my truck, she took off her heels.

  “That was quite a day,” she said, “I can’t wait to get this dress off.”

  “That makes two of us, because I can’t wait to get you out of it.”

  I started the truck and headed to the main house. She fastened her seatbelt on the passenger side instead of snuggling up beside me. I tried not to let it bother me, but for some reason, it felt wrong. . When we pulled into the garage, I was planning to carry her across the threshold, but she hopped out with her shoes in hand and beat me inside. She dropped her shoes in the mudroom and turned to me.

  “Can you help unhook me?” she said.

  “Here?” I said, unable to hide my eagerness. I wanted her that very second, but I had expected to go into the master suite and close the door.

  “I just need help with the hooks. I’ll go up and change, meet you in the bedroom in a few minutes, okay?” she said. “I had Addy drop a bag off for me. She’s taking care of my dogs tonight, too.”

  “Okay,” I said, visions of urgent mudroom sex vanishing. She turned her back to me and swept her hair over one shoulder so I could unfasten the row of tiny hooks. One by one I opened them and felt her sigh with relief as the constraint was eased. Then I bent and kissed her bare shoulder.

  “If you want time to change, you better run,” I said hoarsely.

  She looked back over her shoulder and smiled. Then she took off running barefoot through the house. I toed my shoes off and chased her. Laughing, she stopped on the stairs to grab her train and hold it up. I took the steps three at a time and caught her near the top. I pressed her into the wall, my mouth finding hers. A surge of pure pleasure rushed through me.

  “Would you believe I missed you?” I said.

  “Would you believe I’ve touched myself every day since we were together?” she said. I felt myself grow harder when she said it. I moved my mouth to her neck, sucking hard. I flicked my tongue along her collarbone, my fingers sliding down her bare arms.

  “I told you I intended to take all night tonight. So if you say things like that and I bend you over right here and go off in two minutes, that doesn’t mean it’s over for the night, okay?” I said.

  She laughed huskily, in a way that made me want to devour her. I lifted my lips to hers, bent her back over my arm and took her mouth with strokes of my tongue until she trembled against me. I reached down and slid my arm under her knees, picking her up. I carried her up the stairs, her arms looped around my neck. She kissed along my jaw and chin, my ear and then my temple. Her wet mouth was something else. I almost tripped while I was carrying her because she was distracting me so well.

  I took Allie to my room, to our master bedroom. When I laid her on the bed, she looked at me a little shyly. “I feel like a princess.”

  “You are Allie. You’re my princess. And I’m about to show you the way a man worships a princess.”

  She wiggled away from me and waved her finger at my face. “Not just yet,” she said, jumping from the bed and dashing out of the room. “I’ll be right back,” she called over her shoulder from the hallway.

  I didn’t know what to do with myself for the first time in my adult life. I could take off my clothes, or I could sit in a chair or pour a drink—I wasn’t sure what she’d like to find me doing. That alone was proof enough that I didn’t know her all that well, wedding rings or not. I wasn’t sure if finding me naked would excite her or startle her. I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. In fact, I wanted to make her come and come again until she thought she’d pass out. I took off my jacket, my tie. I unbuttoned my collar and rolled up my cuffs. I had poured two fingers of brandy and started to sip when she walked in.

  A creamy pale silk scrap clung to her, tiny straps on her shoulders that looked as if they’d snap as soon as I put my fingers to them, the fluttering hem stopping at the tops of her thighs. It was both innocent and filthy, not the stylized satin and lace looks I’d seen in Victoria’s Secret ads. I wanted to fall on my knees. So I did. I set my drink on the table and dropped to my knees in front of her. I ruffled the end of her slip up, so my face was buried between her legs, her soft, plump pussy bare and filling my mouth. God, the briny taste of her—how had I lived without it? I felt drunk with it, overwhelmed as I licked and sucked. Her legs shook so I ran my hands up and down her thighs. She opened wider for me. I slid my fingers up to her hips, then low on her belly until I was tugging with short strokes of my thumb just above where my tongue laved her sweetest spot.

  She was whimpering, crying out. I heard a slam as she brought her hand down on the table beside us to steady herself. My drink spilled on us and the glass rolled on the floor. I didn’t stop. I feasted on her, the musky wetness of her folds seeming to gush forth. My fingers made a V-shape to stroke her, my calloused fingers soaked by her juices even as I lapped and licked her. She slapped the table with her hand as the fingers of her other hand sifted through my hair, tugging occasionally to set my scalp tingling. I wanted to give her more, greater intensity and a slow burn, but first I had to make her come. Just like this, on my knees, her hot flesh all around me.

  When I didn’t think I could bear another second, the tremors started. First a fluttering of her pelvic muscles beneath my hand as I rubbed and tugged above her mound. Next came the shuddering of her legs, and the shock of a thunderous tremor ripping through her folds as I stroked them. My mouth was flooded with her scent, the salty musk of her arousal as she came and came against me. I lapped at her, greedily. She clung to my hair, a sob escaping her lips as she came so violently, I almost couldn’t keep hold of her. There was a moment when her body was so taut, and I was so aroused by the tension and taste of her that we both nearly tumbled to the floor. Instead, she sank to her knees as if boneless, her head on my chest. I anchored her to me.

  “I enjoyed the hell out of that,” I said with a low chuckle, “you were so ready for me.”

  “I told you I’ve been ready for days,” she said shakily, “I don’t know how much more I can take.”

  “You can take a great deal more than that. That was just a warmup. I told you the night your parents were here that I was going to spend a whole night just making love to you. Unlocking every secret of your body until you’re begging me.”

  “I think you already have,” she said.

  “Really? You think that’s all there is? I’m only getting started, Allie. I’ll have the pleasure of showing you things you’ve never imagined,” I promised.

  I picked her up again, spreading her on my big bed. Her bright hair fanned out around her head, her skimpy slip barely concealing her curves. I unbuttoned my shirt and removed it before stretching out beside her on the mattress. I started at her forehead, kissing her face softly, slowly. I wanted to discover and savor every inch of her. Her cheeks were still flushed, her eyes still bright from her climax.

  I picked up her hand and kissed her fingertips, then her palm and wrist. Her eyelashes flickered at that. I knew she was remembering, as I was, the moment when I fastened her bracelet and kissed her wrist. How that single caress had spiraled into an uncontrollable passion. Slowly, I pressed kisses up her arm, the tip of my tongue stealing out to trace the inside of her elbow. She shuddered with pleasure, so I did it again. She smiled at me wickedly but let me explore.

  As I kissed my way up to her shoulder and neck, I paused. She touched my face, trailing her fingers down my cheek to my lips. I dipped my head toward hers so her lips could cling to mine. It was a soft, romantic kiss. Her touch electrified my skin. I kissed her cheek, her chin, and made my way down her neck. I found a sen
sitive spot about halfway down and spent some time there because the sound she made and the way she held on to me felt incredible.

  Slowly, I pushed one strap from her shoulder, baring it to me, and kissed it. I unveiled her other shoulder, careful not to rip the fragile looking silky strap. As tenderly as I could, I kissed my way across every inch of her skin, left her trembling in my arms before I even uncovered her breasts. I had liked her bold and aroused, and I liked her every bit as well when she was a little shy and clinging. I felt powerful, like I possessed some rare magic that enlivened her under my hands and mouth. She responded like a violin, a guitar, any instrument so delicate and responsive, thrumming from my touch.

  It was a seductive thing, the strength of her reactions. Her nipples were already tight buds before my fingertips traced them in gradually smaller circles. She shivered audibly when my calloused thumb crossed her tender tip. I saw her bite her lip, and it drove me wild. I loved taking my time, teasing Allie, but seeing her bite her full lower lip sent an insistent tug to my groin.

  “So beautiful,” I said, “so responsive.”

  “I like every way you touch me,” she gasped out.

  “If you can still speak, I’m not doing a very good job,” I teased.

  “You are, you are,” she babbled.

  I grinned at how far gone she was, how eager.

  “If you want this pretty little thing to remain intact, you may want to remove it yourself,” I said, sitting up so she had room to peel off her nightie.

  To my surprise, Allie didn’t sit up, “Just rip it. Please,” she said, a fiery plea in her voice.

  She liked the idea of me being so powerfully aroused that I shredded her clothing to get to her flesh. I felt the animal urge roll through me, and I’m pretty sure I nearly growled at her words. I never dreamed my bride would let me tear off her clothes on our wedding night. It called to something primitive and reckless inside me.

  With finger and thumb, I snapped the delicate straps. Then I gripped the low neckline and met her eyes. She licked her lips. With a jerk I yanked the fabric in two. She shuddered as if startled, but her eyes were dark with want. I spread the torn silk around her and bent my head to pay homage to her bare breasts. I kissed each one first, thoroughly and softly, before sucking the nipple between my lips, drawing on it until I could nearly feel the bolt of shock and pleasure spike down to her core. First one and then the other was served and cherished, laved by my tongue, sucked slow and hard. Allie slid her hands into my hair. It felt so good, just knowing that I drove her crazy and that she had to hold on to me. She trusted me enough to let me pleasure her, allowing me to explore her body fully.

  It would be a night she’d remember forever. The first night I bedded my bride. Even that word sent a shock of delicious lust through me. I was going to take her in my bed for the first time, was going to have her every way I could think of, every way she’d dreamed in the nights since we were together.

  “What did you think of when you touched yourself?” I asked as I ran my lips over her belly.

  “Of you. Everything about you. Your hands, your beautiful eyes, and the way you kiss. No one has ever made me feel this way. It’s like you know what I’m feeling, you can sense what feels good and what feels even better. So that’s what I thought of. What an amazing lover you would be.”

  “I like that. I like you thinking of me as your lover. I’m your husband now, too and I’m about to claim you as my wife.”

  I stroked down to her hips, lavishing her with my touch, with the slide of my tongue along the crease where her hip met her thigh. Her shiver was music to me. Then her hands were at my belt, unbuckling it, unzipping my pants. She half sat up, reached for me until my erection jutted out from my open fly. Her small hands stroked me, one on top of the other, her fingers barely wrapping around my thickness as her thumb rubbed the bead of moisture clinging to the head of my cock, spread it around the shaft.

  I gave a hoarse sigh that made her smile. I watched her touching me, stroking me, and my head pounded with the effort of holding back. I wanted to finish inside her, wanted to sheathe myself in her body before I came. So with reluctance, I pulled away from her. I knelt between her legs, her knees open and her pussy bare and flushed. I took one leg and draped it over my shoulder, opening her wider. She bit her lip and nodded her approval, her hands scrabbling on my biceps for a hold. I rubbed the head of my cock through her wet folds, thrust in all at once. I couldn’t control myself. She was so tight, so lush. The grip she had around me made me see stars.

  I took her other leg and lifted it over my shoulder too, raising her hips off the bed. I rocked in deeper, and she gave an, “ooohh” that was thrilled and tormented at the same time. I rode her then, canting my hips forward to go deep, drawing out to the very tip and then feeding it into her inch by inch. I’d never been so hard, so breathless with want, but it felt good to restrain myself, to push myself to the edge of my willpower in the name of making Allie come again. My orgasm would be my reward after I’d reduced her to screaming and panting bliss. She gave up on my arms and reached around to hold my thighs. It was the hottest thing I’d ever felt. I was pumping into her tight core, and instead of lying back and taking it, she held onto my thighs with her fingertips, used them for leverage to rock into me. I groaned because I wouldn’t last much longer. Desperate, I put my thumb to her, rubbing her clit it quick circles until she keened and shrieked, the hard contractions of her body milking me dry as I came deep inside her with a shout.

  Her legs slipped from my shoulders as I pulled out. She came up on her knees at once and threw her arms around me. She held me so tightly, so fiercely. I felt protected. Not a thing that a man like me was used to wanting. But I felt in that moment, irrational as it sounds, that she had saved me. From myself, from my fate.

  I hugged her back, then eased her down onto the bed so I could spoon up behind her, wrapped around her. She would feel just as safe, just as cherished as she had made me feel so unexpectedly moments before. I told her how beautiful she was, how she was home now, in my arms and safe. That I was here for her, that I would stay with her until she woke. I kissed her hair as she nestled back against my chest. Her curves matched up to the ridges of muscle and hollows of my body perfectly, fitted just right. I tried to stay awake to savor the feeling, but I was wiped out. So I settled for falling asleep with my wife in my arms.

  10

  Allie

  The whole wedding and reception had been magical. His friends and employees and his scattering of cousins had embraced me, welcomed me. It felt good. I knew it was only a marriage of convenience, but they didn’t, and they treated me like I was the woman who’d made their solitary, hard-working boss and friend happy at long last. Even the housekeeper had pulled me aside, squeezed my hands and said, “I’m so glad to see that boy happy. He has been lonely too long.” I had hugged her and beamed.

  Having him at my side, his ring on my finger was a new, incandescent joy. His arm felt perfect around my waist—although the corset boning in my gorgeous lace dress was like being suffocated by a too-small cage. When we danced, I felt like he was holding me up, like I was floating. I knew my feet touched the ground, but he moved me so smoothly, leading me masterfully through the slow dance. It was effortless to surrender myself to his arms, to his will. I looked forward to surrendering to his will in other things as well. The thought made me blush, made him kiss me too long on the dance floor.

  The next morning, waking up with Raul was a new level of happiness. I stretched, smiling like a cat. The sunbeams peeked between curtains and I sat up. I was a little sore from the long night of loving he had promised and delivered and started to get up to take a shower when a strong arm snaked out from beneath the sheets and captured me by the waist.

  “Where do you think you’re going this fine morning, Mrs. Santiago?” he asked.

  “Mmmm. I like the sound of that. I’m going to shower. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

  “Okay, but I let
you go under protest,” he grumbled.

  I gave him a quick kiss and hurried to the bathroom before I could lose my nerve.

  After I was cleaned up and my wet hair combed and pulled back, I came out in his robe. The sleeves were way too long, but it was cozy. He waited for me in bed. I felt my knees and resolve go weak. I crawled over the mattress to join him. He pulled me into his arms, kissed me languorously, and hugged me to his chest.

  We lay there in the quiet for a few minutes. I relaxed in his muscular embrace and drifted back off to sleep. When I woke, he was kissing me and we made love again before I got up to get breakfast.

  “I was going to make you pancakes,” I protested with a laugh, “so much for bringing you breakfast in bed.”

  “I’d rather have you in bed. We can skip breakfast,” he said.

  “No way. I’m starving. Besides, we’ve worked up an appetite.”

  Eventually I made it downstairs and started toasting a bagel. I was too relaxed and loose limbed to cook anything more complicated. I just wanted to drink my juice and stare moodily around me. I ate my bagel and some berries from the refrigerator and went up to get dressed. My overnight bag provided shorts and a tee, nothing fancy, but comfortable for around the house. I didn’t have any plans outside the bedroom except getting the dogs from Addy later.

  So when she rang the doorbell before I had finished my coffee, I answered the door in surprise. She passed me the leashes.

  “The wedding was really nice. And I want you to know that designer dress you got me—I’ve already sold it on Poshmark, and that thing is going to pay for my books the next two semesters! Thank you. Oh, did you have a nice night?”