by Katee Robert
She pressed her lips together. “There’s a decent chance that my father is going to find a way to shove me in front of a moving SUV or maybe ensure I suffer some unfortunately lethal accident.” She’d fight to survive. The little girl who had closed her eyes and waited for the pain to end didn’t exist anymore. She had people she cared about—people she loved—and Elliott had already proven that he would hurt them if given half a chance.
If Journey couldn’t dredge up the strength to fight him on her own behalf, she’d do it on theirs.
“We’ll take him down, Duchess—just like we’ll take down any enemy that comes at us in the future. Together.”
She took a half step toward him. “How can you be so sure about all this?”
“Because I know you.” He tapped the spot over her heart with a single finger. “This shit with your old man knocked you for a loop, but every other obstacle you’ve come across in your life, you’ve faced down without blinking. You protect the things you love with a ferocity that I am intimately acquainted with.” He took her hand and mirrored the motion, touching his chest. “Because it’s the same thing I have coiled and snapping inside me. Like recognizes like. Even if it took me a little too long to figure it out.”
She could keep arguing, but he had an answer to every issue she threw at him and…truth be told, Journey didn’t want to prove him wrong. She wanted to be the ferocious woman he saw in her. The one who would go to battle at his side as a full partner, who he’d trust to watch his back against any threat that arose. “Okay.”
Frank smiled, a full, happy smile that lit up his eyes. He pulled her against him and took her mouth, growling when she immediately opened for him. Journey went for the buttons of his shirt, but he stopped her. “Slow tonight, Duchess. Let me make love to you.”
In the end, there was only one thing to say to that. “Yes.”
Frank released her and stripped quickly, until he stood before her gloriously naked. The faint light from the setting sun stole across his dark skin and lovingly traced every curve of carved muscle. He walked to his dresser, and she had to clench her jaw to keep from moaning at the sight of his ass. Journey had never considered herself an ass woman before, but she had the insane urge to sink her teeth into his.
Frank turned and raised his eyebrows. “Checking out my ass?”
“I’m not even sorry.” She registered what he had in his hands, and fear battled desire, the twin flames threatening to scorch her from the inside out. “I know you said to trust you, but bondage is going to throw me right off the deep end.” She’d never let someone tie her down before, had never been able to stand the thought of being that helpless again…
She took a step back. “No.”
“Journey.” The snap in his voice made her stop retreating long enough to look at him. Frank held up the pair of ties. “They’re not for you. They’re for me.”
She blinked. “You want me to tie you up?” In every single sexual encounter they’d had, Frank was the dominant one, the one who took charge and kept them both in the moment even as he drove her out of her mind with pleasure. It came as naturally to him as breathing, and for him to hand that control to her floored her.
“I trust you.”
The simple words left her weaving on her feet. He trusts me.
Frank hadn’t moved. “It’s your decision, Duchess.”
“Yes.”
I want to show him how much I love him.
She walked over on unsteady legs and took the ties from Frank’s hands. “Lie down.” She watched as he obeyed, a heady feeling coursing through her body, chasing away the last remnants of fear. He reclined on his back in the middle of the blue bedspread, and Journey crawled onto the bed to join him. She decided straddling him was the best way to go about this. “Arms over your head.” She tied his wrists to the metal close enough that he wouldn’t wrench a shoulder, but far enough away that he shouldn’t be able to get too much leverage—theoretically, at least.
Journey sat back and took in the picture he presented. She frowned. “Something’s missing.” She looked around and her attention caught on a trio of candles situated on the dresser. Perfect.
It wasn’t until she had retrieved a lighter from her purse and set flame to their wicks that she realized Frank wasn’t exactly a candle type of guy. “Ex-girlfriend?” Jealousy snapped vicious thorns through her at the thought of another woman sharing this space with him, putting her mark on his home effectively enough that he hadn’t bothered to erase evidence of her even after the relationship was over.
“I like candles.” A thread of amusement in his voice told her that he knew exactly where her thoughts had gone.
She transferred the candles to each side of the bed and paused to make sure they weren’t going to set fire to anything. The flickering light teased Frank’s skin much the same way the sunset had, giving the room an intimate, sensual feeling. Journey returned to the bed and ran her hand down the center of his chest. “Spend a lot of time in the gym?”
“Most days.” His muscles clenched beneath her wandering hand. “Helps me focus to burn off energy.”
“I’ll bet.” She leaned down and dragged an openmouthed kiss along the same path her hand had taken, stopping short of where his cock strained, as if reaching for her. “How’s that been working out for you lately?”
“It hasn’t.”
She laughed against his skin, letting herself sink into this moment. Nothing existed outside of Frank’s bedroom. It was just the two of them, and the riot of emotions they’d coaxed from each other. Emotions she could show him without fear of a flashback or panic robbing her of control.
It was only her and Frank.
Journey moved to straddle his stomach, keeping well away from his cock, and smoothed her hands over his chest. “You look good, Frank.” Strong. Steady. Sexy as fuck. She dipped down and flicked first one nipple and then the other with her tongue. He tensed beneath her, watching her with eyes that seemed to swallow up the faint light from the candles.
“Let me see you, Duchess.”
She straightened with a slow smile and ran her hands over her lace-covered breasts. He twisted his hands around to clench the metal headboard, and his obvious fighting for control only heightened her desire. She shrugged off the straps of her bra and let them fall so only the cups over her breasts kept her shielded from his gaze. “Like this?” Emboldened, she leaned back and spread her knees a little, waiting for his gaze to fall to her thong before she tugged the fabric to the side. “Or did you mean like this?”
Frank hissed out a breath. “You know what I want.”
Yeah, she did. That didn’t mean she was going to give it to him. Yet. She stroked her clit with her middle finger, watching him watch her. “It’s not as good as what you do to me, but I think I could get used to this power exchange.”
He glared at her finger. “Stop taking what’s mine, Duchess.”
“What’s yours is whatever I decide to give you.” She pushed the finger into her, whimpering a little at the expression on his face. If she wasn’t careful, she could get herself off like this, finger fucking herself on top of Frank with his eyes on her. Not yet. Journey bit her bottom lip and held up her finger. “Open.”
He parted his lips, holding perfectly still as she slipped the finger that had been inside her between them. The passiveness barely lasted a heartbeat. He sucked her finger and raked his teeth gently down the sensitive skin as she withdrew it. “More.”
“Demanding for someone who’s tied on his back.”
He gave her another devastating grin. “I know what you want, Duchess.” Frank licked his lips. “Climb up here and pull those panties to the side. Hang on to the headboard while you ride my mouth. It’s been too long since I’ve had a taste of you.”
She pretended to consider, as if he couldn’t feel her clenching her thighs around his torso at the scene he’d described. “Yes…with one caveat.”
Frank raised a single brow and waited. Journ
ey leaned down to kiss him, needing to be closer, to have him going as wild beneath her as she felt. She didn’t stop until they were both breathing hard and she was doing her damnedest to remember why she wasn’t going to ride his cock right then and there. Having him tied down is probably the only chance I’m going to have to do this. Journey nipped his bottom lip and shifted to whisper in his ear. “I’ve wanted to suck your cock since that first night in your office.” This time he clenched beneath her. She writhed against him, desire almost getting the best of her. “So, yes, I’m going to ride your mouth, while you’re in my mouth.” She grinned. “Want to race to orgasm?”
His curse came out strained. “Hard to declare a winner in that scenario.”
“That’s because we both win.” She sat up. “I was going to take my panties off, but I like the idea of revisiting our first time, don’t you?” She looked around the room. “Do you have those ones stashed around here somewhere?” Journey leaned back and wrapped her hand around his cock. “Did you jack yourself to the memory of me like you promised?”
“You know I did.”
“Then I think you deserve a reward, don’t you?”
* * *
Frank instinctively pulled at the ties keeping him from touching Journey as she lowered herself onto his face. His first taste was pure heaven, but that was nothing compared to the sound she made when she sucked his cock deep into her mouth.
The moment seemed to freeze in time. It was too good, too fucking perfect to have her mouth on him as she squirmed against his mouth. Trying to guide him to her sweet little clit as if he had intentions of going anywhere else.
He dragged his tongue up her center and then circled her clit, wishing he had his hands to hold her hips in place. If he wasn’t careful, he’d blow before she got there, the hot wet clasp of her mouth a temptation he wouldn’t have been able to resist even if he wasn’t desperate for her. He clamped his lips around her clit and sucked hard, and she let go of his cock to cry out. “Oh, God, Frank.” He did it again and again, edging her toward that sweet oblivion, needing to feel her come apart all over him.
She jerked away, too fast for him to catch one last taste, and scrambled down his body. “You would be the only man who managed to top while he’s tied down and I’m riding his face.”
“You love it.”
“No. Well, yes.” She shook her head, her blond hair sliding over her face even as she seemed to struggle for breath. “I can’t concentrate when you’re doing that with your mouth.”
He didn’t want her to concentrate. He wanted her wild with abandon—with trust. He needed her as crazy for him as he was for her. “Make love to me, Duchess.”
She bit her bottom lip and gave his cock a stroke. “It’s hard to resist you when you put it like that.”
“Then don’t resist me.” He gritted his teeth as she gave him another stroke. “Ride my cock. I want to watch you use me for your pleasure. We have all night. You want to suck my cock after that? You won’t have to tie me down to do it.”
She smiled almost shyly. “Promise you’ll let me have my filthy way with you and won’t pull that caveman shit where you toss me to the mattress and fuck me like you can’t get enough.”
“No.” The affronted look on her face drew a laugh out of him despite the situation. Or maybe because of it. “I love fucking you like I can’t get enough. It happens to be my favorite thing—because it’s the goddamn truth. I’ll never get enough of you, Journey.”
And hell if that didn’t scare the shit out of him. He’d gotten this far in life because he compartmentalized. Strong emotions—love—had the potential to become a glaring weakness, an Achilles’ heel that anyone with a brain could exploit.
If anyone threatens her, I’ll burn the world to the ground to keep her from harm.
It wasn’t a comfortable thought. It sure as fuck wasn’t a safe thought. But then, Frank had left safe in the rearview mirror the second he’d brought Journey to orgasm on his office floor. That had been his point of no return, even if he didn’t recognize it at the time. His first taste of her had incited a need he would happily spend a lifetime assuaging.
She grabbed a string of condoms from the nightstand. “You’ve got that look on your face.” She moved to straddle him and kissed his chest. A crinkle of foil and then her hands were on his cock again, rolling on the condom even as she watched him with those witchy hazel eyes.
“What look?”
“The dangerous sexy one that’s possessive as all get-out.” She positioned his cock at her entrance and sank onto him in a smooth move. “The one that should scare the shit out of me and send me fleeing into the night.”
“You’re too brave to run scared, Duchess. Not from me, and not from anyone else.” He thrust up as she sank onto him again, but his position only offered him so much leverage.
It was worth it to see that look on her face. Her cocky smile that had been missing for far too long, her movements sure as she rode his cock, seeking her own pleasure. Fuck, she’s perfect.
Beautiful and strong and fucking perfect.
She circled her hips in a move that had him digging his heels into the mattress in an effort to drive into her. “Journey.”
“I like it when you say my name.” She planted a hand on his chest and leaned up to untie first one hand and then the other.
Frank kept gripping the headboard. “You sure?” This moment was too perfect to ruin because either of them wanted to push her too far, too fast.
Journey took his hands and placed them on her hips. “I want all of you, Frank. Your trust, your dominance, your strength. Give it all to me.”
His heart damn near grew ten sizes at her words. “Ride me, Duchess.”
She gripped his biceps and started moving, every sinuous roll of her hips driving them both closer to the edge. It took everything Frank had to keep still, to let her stay in the driver’s seat. He kept his grip on her hips, urging her to maintain the relentless pace that would take her exactly where she needed to go.
“God, that feels good.” Her eyes slid shut and she whimpered, her strokes becoming more irregular. Frank stroked her clit with this thumb, watching her face all the while. He wanted to see the moment she came undone, that she gave everything to him.
Journey dug her nails into his arms and cried out, her back bowing as her pussy clamped tight around his cock. It was too much and not enough, and he thrust up into her again and again, needing to follow her over the edge, to share this fucking perfect moment with her. He came with a curse and her name on his lips.
She rewarded him with a sweet smile and slumped onto his chest. Journey pulled his arms up to wrap around her back like he was her favorite blanket. “It shouldn’t be possible that the sex keeps getting better and better, but it does.”
“I know.” He kissed her temple and held her close. There was no telling what the future would bring, but they had right now and it was enough.
“Hey, Frank?”
“Yeah.”
“I really do love you. It’s not a situational thing. It’s an all-too-real thing.”
He held her tighter, never wanting to let her go. “I know, Duchess. Mine is an all-too-real thing, too.”
“Well…good.”
He grinned against her skin. “Are you hungry? I have some food stashed in the kitchen.”
“Starving.” She sat up and shook her out hair, looking like some kind of sex goddess. “Food and fucking. Frank Evans, you really do know the way to a girl’s heart.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
After a night spent in Frank’s arms, Journey woke up in his bed alone. She stretched and smiled without opening her eyes. The invisible sword might be hanging over their heads, but it was hard to be truly afraid with her body still aching from what Frank had done to it. What they’d done together.
I love Frank Evans.
He loves me.
We’re going to try to do this for real.
If they could get through their
current situation, they’d actually have the time and distance to figure out if they could be together. She sat up and pushed her hair out of her face. Esther was scarier than Elliott in a number of ways, but Journey didn’t freeze up at being in the same room as her grandmother. That was a battle she could fight.
It might even be one she could win.
She smiled. God, is this what hope looks like?
She tried to call Anderson, but he didn’t answer. Journey checked the clock—six in the morning—and decided against leaving a message. Instead she sent him a text. We need to give Esther an answer today. I’ll be in the office later this morning, but if you’re free earlier, let’s meet.
Satisfied she’d gotten that ball rolling, Journey called Bellamy. Despite the early hour, he sounded wide-awake when he answered. “Hey, Jo.”
“How’s Eliza doing?” It still bothered her that her sister wouldn’t let them into the room after her accident, but Journey could understand to a certain extent. That didn’t mean she was going to let the directive stop her. She’d already been a shitty enough sister without abandoning Eliza when she needed Journey the most.
He sighed. “Not good. I mean, she’s going to make close to a full recovery. The doctor is confident she’ll walk and run again, though the limits of that will be something Eliza has to figure out for herself when the time comes.” He hesitated. “Her face is bandaged up. She had close to eighty stitches on her face and shoulders alone. She’s…she’s going to scar.”
The implications settled across Journey. A scarred model was an unemployed model, even with today’s slowly advancing ideas of what beauty was. Even if she could still work, people would always compare Eliza now with Eliza before the crash. It would be hell. “Shit.” She threw the covers back and stood. Moving made it easier to think. “We’ll find a place for her. If she doesn’t want to be part of the company, then we’ll find something else.”
“I’ve never seen her like this, Jo.”