Rowan

by MarieRochelle

  “Showing you how beautiful you are to me,” he answered, his voice crisp and clear as he planted a kiss on one of her thickest scars. “This doesn’t matter to me.” Rowan lifted his head and made her face him.

  Sliding his fingers through her hair, he ran his tongue along the side of her jaw. “The men in your past were fools to let that bother them. They weren’t real men. I don’t see them as imperfections, only something that makes my woman more beautiful in my eyes.”

  His woman, her mind thought.

  “You aren’t sickened by them?” she asked in awe. “You still want me?”

  Flipping her back down on the bed, Rowan spread her legs wider with his hands and rubbed his thick erection against her. “Does it feel like I don’t want to make love to you the rest of the night?” he questioned. “Is your back the reason you stopped me in my study when I tried to make love to you?” he asked as disbelief flickered across his face.

  Akayie nodded, still taken back by how unaffected Rowan was about her disfigured back. He was truly acting like it didn’t matter to him. Was it possible that she had finally found the man of her dreams? The prince charming that Danya swore was out there waiting just for her after all these years?

  “I didn’t hear you,” Rowan said, kissing the side of her mouth.

  “Yes, they are the reasons I kept pushing you away all of those times.”

  “Woman, what in the hell is wrong with you? I thought you didn’t want my hands on you because of Morgan.”

  She frowned. “What does Morgan have to do with any of this?”

  A guilty look passed over Rowan’s face as he glanced away from her. “I thought you wanted him and not me,” he answered.

  “Well, I’m very insulted by that.”

  Rowan’s head swung back around as he stared down at her. “What? Why?”

  “How could you ever think that Morgan compared to you in my eyes? I have wanted you since the day you demanded I stayed on a certain part of Braden Ranch. I hated I was attracted to such a cocky jerk, but I was.”

  Smiling, Rowan winked at her. “I guess I should find a way to make it up to you, shouldn’t I?”

  Smiling, Akayie ran her hands down Rowan’s muscular back. “Yes, you should, and you better make it very good.”

  “I’ll see what I can do for you, beautiful.”

  Rowan slid the tips of his fingers over her body. The stroking sent pleasant jolts through Akayie, making her moan with newfound pleasure. Pressing her to his chest, Rowan caressed the planes of her body while he nibbled at the side of her tempting neck, leaving little love bites.

  His body imprisoned her in a web of growing arousal and they both knew it was time to end the ache simmering between them.

  * * * *

  “Give me one minute, sweetheart.” Rowan reached down and grabbed some protection out of his pants on the floor. He tore open the condom and quickly covered himself, then fell back down on the bed beside her. “You’re so beautiful and I don’t want you to ever forget that.”

  He reached out to cup one of her breasts gently in his hand, brushing the hard nipple with his thumb. A delightful electric shiver shot through her. Akayie responded to his every touch and caress. A soft purr escaped her mouth, telling him what she wanted. Growling at the intense heat pumping through his veins, he captured Akayie’s moist, swollen mouth in a demanding kiss. He wanted to wipe all trace of other men from her mind.

  “I hope you’re ready for me, because I can’t wait any longer to make you mine,” Rowan whispered softly.

  Easing her legs further apart, he thrust in to the hilt and felt Akayie jerk under his body. He captured her shocked scream with his mouth. “I’m so sorry,” he apologized by her earlobe.

  Resting one hand on her hips, he used the other one to pull her arms above her head

  so she couldn’t move. “Rowan, it hurts,” Akayie cried, yanking at her arms.

  He stayed perfectly still while Akayie got used to the feel of thick cock inside of her body. He couldn’t believe, as stunning as she was, that he was her first. He knew she just told him men dumped her because of her scars, but for her to remain a virgin this long was amazing.

  It gave him a touch of male pride that she waited to share her special gift with him. “Baby, are you okay?” he asked, kissing the side of her mouth and letting her wrists go.

  He wasn’t about to take his own pleasure until Akayie was ready for hers. It didn’t matter it was killing him not to move inside her tight body. She was gripping him like a glove. This was another indication that she was meant to be with him and no one else. He wasn’t going to let her go back to New York. He would find a way to make Akayie stay here with him at Braden Ranch. He was falling in love with her and she couldn’t leave him.

  “Yes, I’m good now,” she whispered, running her hands down Rowan’s back.

  “Please make love to me, Rowan.”

  “Akayie, you’re so damn tight,” Rowan moaned, sliding his cock out of her body and then thrusting it back inside. “You’re so perfect and you are mine. I’m never going to let you go.

  You’re burning me alive.”

  He tried to slip out of her again, but Akayie wrapped her legs around Rowan’s waist.

  “Please, give me more. I have waited too long for this,” she pleaded. “This is better than any of my dreams.”

  “Okay, I hope you’re ready for me,” Rowan said, staring into her eyes.

  He had to show her who was in control. She was tough outside the bedroom, but in here he wanted to make her realize she was his woman and no one else’s.

  “Stop thinking about your dreams and focus on how it feels to have me inside of you,”

  he demanded, thrusting back into her wet pussy.

  He slid both hands under her hips and sped up his tempo. She raised her hips to meet his thrusts. Moaning, Rowan kept moving until they both found the right tempo. “Are you still in pain?” he asked before drawing a hardened nipple into his mouth.

  * * * *

  With her eyes closed and head thrown back on the pillow, Akayie was too lost in the sensations raking through her body to speak. All she could do was shake her head. She didn’t want to talk but enjoy the waves of ecstasy throbbing throughout her body. It was pure and explosive. She knew she would never feel this excitement with any other man but Rowan Braden.

  “Akayie, look at me,” Rowan growled in a low voice.

  Slowly, she opened her eyes and stared into his desire filled ones. “You are mine. I’m not going to let you go after this. I want you to know who is giving you your first taste of pleasure,” he whispered.

  “I know who I’m with,” she answered. Akayie wouldn’t think about being with anyone else but the man in this bed right now.

  Pulling out, he thrust back into her, sending them over the edge as they screamed with pleasure. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she heard Rowan telling her something, but she was too tired to focus on anything as her body drifted off to sleep. She would just ask Rowan later what he told her when she had a clearer mind to understand.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Later that night, with the moonlight shining inside her bedroom, Akayie woke to find the other side of the bed empty. Instantly, she sat up in the bed and glanced around the room to find Rowan, but he wasn’t there.

  Where was he?

  Tossing the covers off her body, she reached for her nightgown in the chair by her bed and made her way out of the room. She quickly went down the hallway and checked Rowan’s bedroom, but it was empty.

  Easing down the stairs, Akayie made her way down the hallway towards Rowan’s study, noticing a light coming from underneath the closed door. She paused as her hand reached for the doorknob. Rowan had decided not to wake her and come down here for a reason.

  What if he didn’t want to be bothered and she was going to interrupt whatever he was doing? Sure, they had made love, but that didn’t mean anything had changed for Rowan. He had sworn her scarred back
wasn’t a turnoff for him, but he could have been lying to her.

  All her old fears and doubts slipped back to grip her even after the earth-shattering night she’d spent in Rowan’s arms. Her misgivings increased by the minute as she stared at the door. She didn’t hear Rowan moving around on the other side. So, she didn’t have a clue what he was doing in there.

  “Are you planning to keep staring at my closed office door hoping it will magically open?” an amused voice teased behind her.

  Gasping, Akayie spun around and found Rowan standing behind her wearing a dress shirt and a pair of black slacks. Why was he fully dressed at one o’clock in the morning after making love to her?

  “Why are you wearing clothes?” she blurted out.

  One perfectly formed eyebrow arched over Rowan’s hazel eyes as a look of amusement passed over his handsome face. “I think the two businessmen I just Skyped with overseas wouldn’t be too interested in seeing me without any clothes on, don’t you? I barely heard my watch alarm going off while lying next to you in bed.

  “I swear I had the hardest time leaving you all sexy and beautiful in that bed. I’ve been trying to get a hold of them for six months and tonight was the only time they had to meet with me. So, I got dressed and dragged myself away from you. But I missed you, sweetheart.” Bending down, Rowan captured her mouth with a long, deep kiss.

  “Do you want to come inside and spend some time with me?” he whispered against her mouth. “I know it’s late, but I would love the company. I need to finish up something before I head back to bed.”

  Every fiber in her body warned her against falling too hard for Rowan, but her heart was already halfway there. “I would love to,” she answered, staring up into his eyes.

  “Wonderful.” Reaching past her, he opened the door and waved for her to go inside.

  Once the door was closed behind them, Akayie wandered around Rowan’s office getting a good look at it. It seemed a lot more intimidating during the early morning hours than during the daytime. She wished she had grabbed her camera off the nightstand before coming down here. She would have gotten some great shots of Rowan in his true element.

  “What has you in such deep thought?” he asked behind her.

  Turning around, she looked at Rowan. He looked so handsome standing in front of her. It was hard to believe just a few hours ago they had been upstairs making love. A part of her mind was still lost in the memory of how sweet it felt when Rowan kissed her back. For that one moment, he had made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.

  “Honestly, I was kicking myself for not remembering to grab my camera before I left my bedroom. I would love to get some shots of you down here at night. I bet they would turn out amazing.”

  Closing the distance between them, Rowan swept her in his arms and carried her over to the couch. He sat down and rested his body against the back while pulling her closer to him. “I don’t want you to think about the calendar or anything related to business for the rest of the night. I just want us to be together. I want to learn more about Akayie Mathis. What do you like to do for fun? What is your favorite sinful treat? Tell me more about the woman who came into my life with a whirlwind.”

  Akayie snuggled closer into Rowan’s warmth, resting the back of her head against his chest. “I don’t think there is honestly much to tell about me,” she said, touching the back of his hand with her fingers. “I have never been a very exciting person, but I have always been in love with pictures and photography from a very young age.”

  “Really, how old were you when realized that you loved taking pictures?”

  “I was around five or six years old. I remember my mama getting me this cheap, little two-dollar camera from a yard sale. She warned me that it might not work, but I wanted it anyway. So, she brought me everything that went with it and a few days later I was taking pictures.”

  “I bet you had the best time in the world with your camera, taking pictures of everything and anything,” Rowan said, planting a kiss against her temple. “You are so full of life and energy. I used to watch you from the window here, jealous of how my men got to be around you and I didn’t.

  “I can’t explain how you are making me feel, but I like it a lot. I have never cuddled on this couch with any other woman.”

  Akayie tried to control her jealousy as the thought of Rowan with other women crossed her mind. But, what right did she have to be jealous? They weren’t in a committed relationship. They were just having a little fun while she was still here. Nothing serious was going to come out of this… nothing at all.

  “Why are you so quiet?”

  She looked away from Rowan and out the huge bay window. She couldn’t ever recall seeing a night as black as tonight. It was scary and beautiful all at the same time.

  “What made you decide to start a horse breeding ranch?”

  “Are you changing the subject on me?” Rowan asked, running his fingers across her stomach. She giggled and snuggled even closer.

  “Oh, are you ticklish?” he whispered by her ear.

  Akayie shook her head. “No, I’m not. You just caught me off guard. Now, answer my question.”

  Rowan’s body tensed. A few seconds later he moved her away and walked over to the window. The silence strengthened between them for so long that she started to get worried that Rowan was trying to place the wall back between them.

  “Rowan…I…” Akayie couldn’t say anything else because Rowan’s rich voice cut her off midsentence.

  “I’m close to my other brothers Morgan, Lucas and Tanner, but not like I was with Dante. We were so close in age that we did everything together when we were kids. I didn’t look up to any athletes or superheroes growing up because I had my big brother, Dante. I believed that he could never do anything wrong. I wanted to be just like him when I grew up, but all of that changed when he turned sixteen.”

  Sliding his hands into the pockets of his slacks, Rowan stopped talking and continued looking out the window. Seconds turned into minutes and he still didn’t say another word. Akayie wanted to know more because she could hear the pain in Rowan’s voice and his usual confidence wasn’t there. His own aura was like he was no longer with her but caught up in the past with his buried memories.

  “Baby, what happened with Dante?”

  Rowan’s head turned quickly in her direction and his hazel eyes pierced the distance between them. The shock on his face surprised her and she instantly regretted using the endearment, but he seemed like he needed something to draw him back from the past.

  “Come here.” He held out his hand and waited for her to take it.

  Akayie got up off the couch and grabbed Rowan’s large, warm hand with hers. He brought it up to his mouth, kissing the back of it. She melted at how his gaze swept over her face like he was trying to reach into her thoughts.

  “Are you okay?” she asked softly.

  “Let’s go outside,” Rowan said. “It’s my favorite place to relax when I get stressed. I will finish telling about Dante out there.”

  Opening the door, Rowan led her outside to the enormous deck that wrapped around most of the house. She had wanted to photograph it.

  Walking a little further down, Rowan laid down on a lounge chair and pulled her down into his arms. The warm night air brushed over her bare arms as Rowan rested his face against the side of her head. She was dying to ask him more questions; she sensed that he would open up to her when he was ready. About ten more minutes passed before Akayie heard Rowan’s deep, Texas voice again.

  “Dante was starting to break away from our father’s strict rules before he turned sixteen. I think he was just growing up like boys do and wanted a little more freedom than our parents were willing to give to us. He had never gotten into trouble before that night and I wished that he had listened to me.”

  “What happened?”

  “A couple of his friends were going to this party in town and Dante wanted to take the car and go, but our father told hi
m no. The only reason he allowed Dante to get a driver’s license in the first place was to help around the house and take us to back and forth to school. My brother wasn’t allowed to use the car for any other reasons.”

  “Oh.”

  “Well, later that night a noise woke me up and I looked out my bedroom door. I noticed Dante sneaking out of his room and heading downstairs so I followed him out to the garage. He was getting in the car when I caught up with him,” Rowan told her. “I told him not to leave, but Dante said he was going to that party. He was tired of our father keeping us from having fun. We were young and should be doing things like other kids our age.

  “I knew if Dad found out that it wasn’t going to end well for Dante. Our dad didn’t believe in disobeying him about anything. Once he set the rules for the Braden boys they were to be followed without comments.”

  “Your father doesn’t sound like a very nice man,” Akayie said, not liking the picture she was getting of Rowan’s parent.

  It could explain a lot why Rowan acted the way he did and set so many rules for her when she first arrived at Braden Ranch.

  “Nice is never a word I would use to describe my father. He was a very hard man and still is. I don’t know the last time I have spoken with him and our relationship never was that good in the first place, but it got worse after what he did to Dante.”

  “Tell me what your father did to him.”

  “It wasn’t even twenty minutes after Dante had left that house that my father walked into the garage and noticed the car was gone. He didn’t have to guess who took it. He reported the car stolen and had Dante arrested. Dad wanted to teach Dante a lesson, so he had him put in jail, and after he got out he didn’t let him come back home but sent him to a boy’s home instead.”

  “What?”

  Akayie spun around and looked up at Rowan’s face. She noticed a burning, faraway look in his eyes. The hate burning there shocked and scared her a little. She had never seen that expression on Rowan’s face before.