“Yes?” she called out.
The door eased open and then there were footsteps and the sound of dishes clanking on a tray. She looked up to find Zander hovering over her with lunch in hand, staring at her exposed breast, mouth slightly agape. She smiled and adjusted the robe as she sat upright.
“Thank you,” Vanessa said sweetly when the tray was placed down on the table beside her. She crossed her legs and scooted over so Zander could sit, too. He watched her, waiting when she chuckled. “You know what’s interesting?”
“What’s that?” he asked.
Vanessa shook her head and picked off a piece of the croissant before answering. “Here, in the home you own, you knock on doors before entering. But when you come to my office, you barge in like you pay the bills.” The thought of it made her laugh again.
Zander smiled and offered no explanation, mostly because he hadn’t paid attention to it before.
He gestured toward the tray. “I wasn’t sure what you liked so I had Ramone prepare a few different things,” he explained.
Vanessa’s eyes wandered over the spread—a turkey and Swiss sandwich with fresh lettuce and tomatoes, a bowl of soup, half a croissant, a bowl of fruit, and a cup of yogurt. She smiled and then met his gaze.
“Are you trying to spoil me?” she asked.
Zander flashed a coy smile. “It isn’t considered spoiling you if you deserve it.”
She stared into his eyes and said nothing back. No words came. Just a feeling. An impulse, rather. Before overthinking what she was about to do, Vanessa leaned in and let her lips press to Zander’s. Just once, letting her mouth linger on his for only a moment. It was quick and innocent, but gentle kisses weren’t the norm between them. Their encounters were generally brash, rough even, and this was anything but that.
When the two separated, Zander was slow to open his eyes. He, too, felt the difference, but neither had the nerve to acknowledge it verbally.
“You’re going to ruin my plans,” he said, his voice deep and gruff.
Vanessa bit into the sandwich after asking, “What plans?”
He stared through her. “You’re getting me all worked up—lying here practically naked, the kisses. I told myself I should let you get settled before I’m allowed to… fully enjoy all the benefits of having you here,” he smiled. “Although, your company alone has been quite pleasant.”
When he touched the side of her face, she shivered, hoping he hadn’t noticed. Her eyes followed as he stood and started toward the door again.
“Eat, relax, and a nap probably wouldn’t be a bad idea either,” he suggested.
Vanessa tilted her head, wondering why he worded it that way, the part about a nap not being a bad idea, but she didn’t ask questions.
“I won’t be far if you need something,” he added in parting.
Vanessa continued to eat bits and pieces of everything Zander brought in. She enjoyed the fruit and the soup the most, but tried not to get too full. She got about halfway through it all before setting the tray aside again. The comfy chaise felt like it’d swallow her whole as she sank deeper into the cushion and drew her feet close. The murmur of the stream below lulled her mind into a comfortable numbness while the fire finished drying her damp skin from the bath. Zander was right, it did keep the room warm enough to drive out the cold even with the window partially open.
Still taking in the sounds of nature, her eyelids began to hang low again. This time she didn’t fight it. Zander had suggested a nap and that sounded like a good idea all of a sudden.
This, being out in the middle of nowhere with zero responsibilities, was beginning to feel like the very thing she needed. Her mind was clearer. Her body, lighter. Even the anxiety of finding out it’d be her and Zander, virtually alone in this huge house for the next few days, had fallen away. All that consumed her now was peace and quiet.
Two things she didn’t get a whole lot of throughout the work week.
Two things Zander wanted her to get her fill of while they were away.
He’d gone out of his way already to make sure she understood something very important, something she felt from the moment she walked through the door a short while ago: this weekend was all about her.
Chapter Sixteen
Her breaths were soft and deep when she returned to consciousness. The sun had almost completely disappeared, leaving the task of lighting the room solely on the blazing fire. It burned so brightly, she assumed Zander had come in to feed the flames sometime while she slept, although she couldn’t recall.
Sitting upright, Vanessa’s eyes shifted to the clock on the wall. It was nearly six o’clock, meaning she’d been out for almost four hours. Warm strands passed through her fingers when she pushed a hand into her hair, feeling terrible for sleeping the day away.
She owed Zander an apology once she tracked him down in one of the large home’s many rooms.
Standing, she waited to get her bearings straight, and then took a step, intent on seeking Zander out. However, when she turned, the sight of a shadowy figure resting on the bed a few feet away startled her.
Her heart thudded beneath her palm when she clutched her chest.
“I didn’t mean to frighten you,” Zander said softly.
“It’s… it’s all right.” She still hadn’t come to consciousness completely, so her reply came with a slight rasp.
Slowly, she approached the bed, feeling Zander’s heavy gaze as she refastened the robe around her naked waist.
With her only a few steps away, Zander’s long fingers stretched toward the thermostat beside the bed. Vanessa watched as the lever was pushed to the right as high as it would go and, on cue, the blowers kicked on and warm air rushed through the vents.
“Come lie with me,” Zander beckoned, patting the space beside him.
Vanessa’s heart raced with each step while Zander watched the gentle roll of her hips as she made her way over.
He loved the way she slinked up beside him. Like a seductive feline, finding her place beneath his arm as her head rested lightly on his chest. She smelled of ginger and nutmeg, and he knew exactly which oil she’d chosen to bathe in.
It suited her.
Her hair slipped through his fingers like warm cashmere as the tips caressed her scalp. The movement brought her scent bellowing toward his nose and he breathed her in. He wanted to take things slowly with her tonight because they’d never been given that chance. Their previous encounters were always rushed and never completely private. Zander hoped to take advantage of both time and discretion tonight.
However… he wasn’t completely sure he’d be able to contain himself.
“How long have you been in here?” Vanessa asked, cutting into Zander’s thoughts.
He gave a shrug before answering. “An hour at the most. I just didn’t want to wake you.”
She smiled to herself and aimlessly caressed his stomach over the top of his shirt. It fit snugly, taut over hard abs. She clocked each of his steady breaths as every intake moved her palm up and lowered it again when he exhaled. The sound of it calmed her, too, dropping her heart rate to match his. She drew her legs in closer to his body and watched the fire from the bed.
Zander’s hand made its way inside the lapel of her robe but he didn’t venture beyond her collarbone, which shocked her. She would’ve sworn he was getting ready to make a move, but instead he simply stroked her skin lightly. This was far beyond what she believed to be the measure of his restraint.
And it turned her on more than he would ever know.
Subconsciously, Vanessa’s thighs clamped together, sending pulses through tender places that ached for Zander’s attention.
It seemed to only get easier and easier for him to make her wet.
Dampening her lips, she made plans to let Zander make the first move. She stole a glance at him, only to find him perfectly content, watching the flames while holding her close. At least that was the impression he gave. For all she knew, he was just as anxious
as she was.
‘It could take all night for him to get the hint,’ she thought to herself. It could take hours for him to realize she was ready… now. With a clear goal in mind, Vanessa lifted the side of Zander’s shirt and began trailing her fingertips across his stomach. She watched as his abs flinched twice at her touch. A smile crossed her face, but he didn’t see it.
She could smell him—fresh like he’d just showered and changed shortly before coming into the bedroom. Her mouth watered for him.
Zander stared down at the top of Vanessa’s head, watching her tease him with that delicate touch of hers. He clamped his lip between his teeth as she repeated the motion several times, gently awakening the monster sleeping only inches away from her face.
Vanessa’s eyes flickered when the bulge between Zander’s legs began to swell and rise. She was staring so intently she could make out every detail–the cusp of his cock’s head, the thick shaft.
A trickle of fluid seeped from her sex and clung to the outer lips. Somehow, she managed not to shove her hand inside his pants, instead continuing to caress his stomach to the point of quivering.
Zander released a breath before asking a simple, direct question.
“You’d say I’ve been patient, wouldn’t you?” He could hear the sound of his own, labored breathing when he spoke.
Vanessa looked up as his eyes rolled back in his head, dipping her hand a little lower into his pants to graze the base of his dick this time.
“Mm hmm,” she replied. “Very patient.”
“Good,” he nodded, breathing out through his mouth when Vanessa ran a finger down his testicles and back up again. “Then, might we bypass the teasing?” he asked softly.
Her pussy quaked with need for him as she slowly drew her hand away and turned to hover over Zander, straddling him, answering his question with a deep, sensual kiss. He inhaled her through his nose and held onto the scent of her as long as he could before breathing out. The visual of her devouring him from this angle sent his heart racing. Her hair hung over his face as her soft, pillow-like lips dictated the speed and intensity of the kiss. She excited him so much with her quiet moans and the gentle breaths that swept over his face… he couldn’t even think.
Both hands were still frozen at his sides. She, this one woman, rendered him useless in a way no one before had ever done. She didn’t know this, but she owned him. And on some level, he knew a part of her belonged to him, too.
Vanessa leaned away and reared back on her shins to untie the robe, letting it fall carelessly onto Zander’s legs beneath her. The material still held some of her heat, but Zander’s awareness of the sensation all but disappeared as Vanessa returned to reclaim his lips.
Her breasts swayed gently beneath her until they came to rest on Zander’s chest. He wanted to feel them completely, skin to skin, so Vanessa was pushed away for only a moment, only long enough for Zander to remove his shirt. With the unwanted material now an afterthought, her softness covered him once more.
She wanted him so badly; sucking and tasting his lips, his tongue, only made matters worse. Zander, feeling quite impatient himself, made her touch him, forced one of her delicate hands between their bodies, into his pants. She responded exactly the way he hoped she would, cupping and stroking the warmth she found there. Molding his hands to her backside, squeezing and grabbing her rough, possessing her, felt so good to him. He wanted more.
So much more.
Vanessa chased Zander’s lips when he found the will to ease her away, assuring her with his stare that he’d be back to finish what they started. She rested on her hip beside him, watching as he reached beneath the mattress.
He leaned her way again and she tilted her head with a questioning gaze.
There were four black strips of material draped over Zander’s hand.
“What are those for?” she asked.
No answer was offered.
Instead, she was left to continue wondering what was to come as Zander stood from the bed, slipping his pants down firm, toned thighs, so perfect they could only be compared to sculptures and paintings Vanessa had seen, not real men. Yes, Zander was otherworldly in so many ways, his physique only adding to the list.
Vanessa stared at his chiseled back while he neatly folded the clothes he’d just removed and gathered her robe, too, setting everything on top of the table beside the door. He came back to the bed and stared.
“Lie back, please,” he beckoned politely.
It took Vanessa a moment to comply, but she eventually did what was asked of her, but her eyes never left Zander as he came closer. The dark sashes were draped over his shoulder as he positioned her body in the middle of the bed, like a lifeless doll being manipulated by its owner.
Each tug of her limbs made her heart race. Short, choppy breaths escaped through her lips as her right leg was stretched toward the bedpost. He wasn’t gentle, causing her naked breasts to bounce. It seemed as though he wasn’t moved in the least by Vanessa’s flinching either.
Her brown eyes had him spellbound as usual as he eased the smooth satin around her ankle, and then around the wooden post, knotting it several times to secure her foot in place. The same was done to the other foot and both hands right after. When he finished, Vanessa was nearly hyperventilating with anticipation.
The thought crossed her mind that whatever Zander had planned might require a safe-word.
“Unicorns,” she said breathlessly, blurting the first, awkward word that came to mind.
“What?” Zander asked, masking a laugh that threatened when the outburst caught him off guard.
Panting, she clarified her statement. “If this gets to be too much, I’ll say ‘unicorns’ and you’ll know that means ‘stop’,” she explained.
She really did think him a monster, didn’t she?
Zander saw sheer panic in her eyes and the smile he donned broadened as his erection pulsated.
What was it about this moment that turned him on even more? Was it being able to strike fear in someone as headstrong as Vanessa? Or was it that, despite obvious signs of fear, she was still willing to go full-steam ahead; not knowing what awaited her inside the dark tunnel of Zander’s psyche?
Maybe it was all those things and more.
His knees sank into the firm mattress as he climbed in beside Vanessa. It’d been his intention to respond to her concerns first, but, keeping his eyes trained on her breasts, he ultimately decided to palm one. There was no catching her breath despite how hard she tried. Zander could see her struggling, secretly enjoying that he had her so out of sorts. If he had to guess, she hated not being in control, hated that being tied up meant he could call all the shots. The nature of their relationship, since day one, had been a power struggle—one being careful not to give more than the other, both holding their cards close, waiting for the other to reveal their hand first.
“Can’t we take these off?” she pleaded, trying to hide the desperation in her tone while she unknowingly revealed to Zander his suspicions had been right. She did, at least on some level, think he was a monster; capable of anything. Otherwise, there would have been no fear.
He smiled and fed off of Vanessa’s anxiety. Staring down on her quivering breasts, he could no longer resist. Slowly, he leaned in and one, pert nipple was drawn into his mouth. He did love the way the hard bud, cloaked in butter-soft skin, felt against his tongue. He laved over the grooves of her areola until it was completely stiff. Although he hadn’t done this with intentions to distract her, Vanessa’s focus was now solely on him instead of the restraints. Another gentle kiss was placed on the peak of her breast and then Zander backed away.
He stared in such a way Vanessa’s heart skipped a beat. The thought crossed her mind that now might be a good time to use the safe-word, before they’d even gotten started, fearing where this could potentially lead.
Physically.
Emotionally.
However, curiosity got the best of her and she didn’t say a word.
Sweat dotted the dip in her stomach and the sheets were damp against her back. The slow stirring of Zander’s fingers inside her ceased when he repositioned himself between her legs, now facing her sex. She was already breathless and only became more winded when his tongue—soft, wet, seeking—pushed between her folds where he teased her clit.
Gasping and moaning, Vanessa cried into the silence, caring very little for who might hear. Yes, there were others in the home, Zander’s staff, but at the moment that didn’t matter at all as he devoured her. The melody of relentless slurping, sucking, and more slurping was quite the hypnotic combination, only adding to the erotic ambience in Zander’s bedroom.
His tongue dipped inside her again and Vanessa drew sharp breaths. He was so tempted to stop and just watch her writhe. Even with his limited view, he became entranced by the pained look on her face. It was the type of pain only pleasure could induce. His dick throbbed at the sight of it.
With his mouth fastened between full, brown thighs, Zander watched fanatically, idolizing the beauty gracing his sheets as her stomach rose and fell with erratic breaths. Moving one hand into the limited space between his body and the mattress, he massaged his dick, desperate for at least some semblance of relief as he used the other to open her more. She gasped and moaned as he taunted her.
Panic and excitement occupied equal parts of Vanessa’s thoughts. A moment ago, fear stemmed from being bound and defenseless. Now, something else ignited the feeling. While, physically, Zander was anything but tender, there was still a subtle hint of softness, sensuality, hidden within his touch and it brought that very word, tender, to mind.
Overdose: A British Bad Boy Romance Page 24