by Melody Anne
He was standing in front of the huge fire pit they used for bonfires and her clothes were going up in flames. She couldn’t believe he would burn her clothes. He must’ve doused them in gasoline first because the flames were huge. There was no chance she could salvage them.
“How dare you burn my clothes,” she yelled, fury making her see red. He then winked at her. She wanted to claw his eyes out. She was so mad, she was beyond reasonable thinking. The staff had seen what was going on and had all scurried away, no one brave enough to come between the two of them in the middle of a fight.
“I do whatever I want to do,” he said in a mocking voice.
“Well, you know what? Let’s just add more fuel to the fire,” she shouted. She ripped off her robe and tossed it in the flames. She then pulled her bra off and tossed it in. She was so mad she didn’t even think about the fact she was stripping in the middle of the day, where anyone could possibly walk by.
Ryan watched her strip the robe, exposing her luscious breasts to him, before his brain kicked in again. Anyone could walk out the backdoor and see her standing there nearly naked. She may have been trying to prove a point but all she’d done was turn his anger into complete and total desire.
He grabbed her in his arms before she could strip the panties off and then shielding her body with his own, carried her into the house and took the back stairs to their bedroom. She yelled and pounded on him with her fists the entire way, which only fueled his desire. He would tame her in the best way he could possibly imagine.
He unceremoniously tossed her onto their bed and she was so stunned it gave him a few precious seconds to strip himself. When she realized what he was doing, she quickly tried to scramble off the bed but he grabbed her and pinned her beneath him. Her hands were locked above her head and he was fully pressed into her nearly naked body. The only thing stopping him from sinking deep inside her heat was a tiny scrap of silk.
He was so throbbing hard, he was sure he could rip through the tiny piece of material. They glared at one another, locked there on the bed. She squirmed underneath him, which only caused his erection to jump with painful intensity.
“Don’t you dare touch me, you arrogant pig,” she said through clenched teeth. He would’ve come to his senses and let her go if he would’ve seen fear in her eyes or even pure fury. But he saw desire quickly consuming her and it showed in her very readable face. He could feel her nipples, which were obviously peaked into hard nubs pressing against his chest. They both had a light sheen of sweat breaking out on their bodies and neither of them was breathing normally.
“Don’t touch you like this?” he questioned her and moved his mouth down to her neck, where he gently bit down on the sensitive skin where her shoulder met her smooth throat. He licked the spot and ran open mouthed kisses along her neck and up her throat. He licked the edge of her lips but didn’t kiss her quite yet.
“Or like this?” he said huskily, as he ground his hips into the heat between her thighs. She was shaking beneath him and he could see she was trying to fight herself far harder than she was trying to fight him.
“Or this?” he growled, before he finally connected their mouths and slipped his tongue inside. He still had her hands pinned above her head and her squirming began in earnest but for an entirely different reason than before.
Her anger had fled and now she was writhing underneath him in pleasure. He released her hands and she moved them into his hair to pull him closer. He ripped the sides of her panties and not being able to wait a single second longer, he thrust inside her heat. She was wet and tight, showing him she was as turned on as he was.
She may hate him at the moment but she wanted him with as much passion as he wanted her. He grabbed her hips in his hands, so he could angle her heat up higher. He wanted to be sunk so deeply inside her, he wouldn’t know where he ended and she began. She was crying out in pleasure as he pounded in and out of her.
“Say you want me,” he growled at her. She shook her head no, even in the throes of passion she didn’t want to surrender to him. He needed her surrender and as much as it caused him actual physical pain, he buried himself deeply in her and stopped moving. She squirmed underneath him, so close to her peak, needing him to move. “Say it,” he again demanded through clenched teeth. She glared at him through her desire filled eyes, almost sobbing with her frustration and need of him to move within her.
“I want you,” she finally cried out. He rewarded them both by thrusting in and out of her with so much frantic speed they both tumbled over the edge within seconds. She squeezed his erection with her intense orgasm and cried out as he spilled inside of her. It was the longest and most intense pleasure he’d ever felt in his life.
After the shaking in both of their bodies stopped, he collapsed against her, not having the strength to move one muscle in his body. He was trying to simply get his breathing back under control. No woman had ever had the power to make him snap that much. He noticed she was squirming beneath him and realized he was most likely crushing her under his weight. Hell, he weighed more than twice as much as her. He turned their bodies, refusing to let her go.
She didn’t have the energy to fight him anymore, not after the intense pleasure she’d just received and allowed him to keep her tucked at his side. They both fell asleep from the strenuous fight and love-making. Ryan realized he was glad it happened. He may have burned her clothing in anger but at least they were gone and the love-making alone had been worth it. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Nicole woke up wrapped around Ryan’s body. She felt her face heat up with embarrassment. She couldn’t believe the fight they had. She also couldn’t believe how much she’d needed him after it was all over. She’d felt like she would explode if he didn’t relieve the ache in her body.
She shifted slightly and tried to untangle herself from him. She wanted to run away and hide for a while. After they’d both passed out, she’d awoken again, only to be ravished by him with even more intensity than before. She knew it must be the middle of the night but she was wide awake and she had to get out of there.
“Don’t even think about it,” she heard Ryan say and his grip tightened on her body. She tensed.
“I need to use the restroom,” she said in excuse. She couldn’t see his face and she was glad he couldn’t see hers because she knew it was flaming scarlet in embarrassment.
“I’ll come and hunt you down if you aren’t back in less than five minutes,” he warned her, before finally releasing her from his arms. Nicole quickly ran to the bathroom, where she washed her face and stared at herself in the mirror.
She ignored his threat and jumped into the shower. The hot water cascading over her sore muscles caused a groan to escape her lips. The water felt wonderful. She knew Ryan was going to be irritated but she didn’t care about anything at that moment except for the water running down her skin.
Ryan heard the shower start and sat up with irritation. The insufferable woman had to defy him no matter what he said. He figured after yesterday she would take him a bit more seriously. He looked at the clock and saw it was two in the morning.
His stomach growled, reminding him they’d both missed dinner. He threw a robe on and ran down to the kitchen, loaded up a tray with food and dashed back to their room. He was relieved when he heard the shower still running. He was beginning to enjoy chasing his woman.
He set the tray on the bed, stripped the robe off and headed into the bathroom to join her in the shower. He could feed both of his hungers in a few minutes time.
Nicole gasped when Ryan’s arms came around her in the shower. She shouldn’t have been surprised he would follow her in but she’d been just about finished and figured he’d fallen back asleep. She’d planned on sneaking downstairs.
Ryan said nothing to her. He simply took her in his arms and reminded her she was his woman, or at least her body belonged to him. The things he did to her, made it almost worth being under his power.
They clim
bed from the shower together and he wrapped her in a huge fluffy towel. She enjoyed his towels and didn’t think she’d ever be able to go back to the scratchy kind, which had never bothered her before.
When she stepped into the room, she was embarrassed by the loud growling in her stomach the smell of the food caused. Ryan raised his brow at her and gave her a smile. She chose to ignore him and made a dash for the food. She didn’t care how it made her look.
“When will you actually start listening to me?” Ryan asked her in such a conversational tone of voice it took a few moments for the words to actually sink in.
“I’m not your possession, your call-girl, or your employee and therefore I don’t have to listen to you,” she stated back at him in the same conversational tone.
“You’ll learn.”
“I wouldn’t hold your breath in anticipation of that. No, wait a minute, go ahead and do just that. I’m sure it won’t take too long,” she said sugary sweet and batted her eyes at him.
Ryan laughed out loud. He really could get used to her being a part of his life on a permanent basis. She was good for his huge ego, or at least for taking it down a notch or two. He didn’t think he’d ever get her tamed but he was sure going to enjoy trying.
They finished up the food and Ryan shut the light off and pulled her down next to him. Unbelievably, he was still tired. He never slept more than about six hours a night but he had a feeling by the time they got up it would be more likely ten hours that particular night.
Nicole held herself stiffly in his arms to show her stubbornness but that got too uncomfortable for her and after a while she finally relaxed and they both fell asleep.
Ryan knew they’d both won some of the smaller battles that evening but over-all he’d won the war. He’d gotten exactly what he wanted, with her in his bed. He’d make sure he woke up with her still in his arms. It may have been a small thing but to him it was a matter of a stick being drawn in the sand and her learning not to cross it.
Chapter Nine
“There’s absolutely no way I’m going to another one of those parties with you and that’s final,” Nicole said. She placed her arms across her chest and glared at Ryan.
“We have an agreement and if I want to parade you around to ten of those parties a week, you won’t only go but you’ll do it with a smile plastered across your face,” he yelled at her.
He hadn’t yet seen her put her foot down. He may have thought she’d been stubborn before but the last party he’d made her attend had been miserable and the women had been piranhas. Neither Jasmine, nor Trinity had been there and she’d fought tears the entire time and wouldn’t put herself through that again.
“I don’t care about the stupid agreement. You’re expecting too much,” she told him.
“The only reason you were miserable at the last party was because of your own stupid stubbornness,” he mocked her. She’d refused to wear the dress he’d purchased, or the jewelry that lined her drawer. Instead she’d worn some discount dress and had looked like she should be attending a back yard barbeque. Of course the socialites had ripped her to shreds.
He’d been angry with her for refusing his gifts and ignored her most of the night and they’d both walked away from the evening ticked off. He didn’t even want to go to the stupid party they were fighting about but accepted the invitation because he wanted to punish her. He knew it was stupid but she had a way of really getting under his skin.
“Well you can take your party and stick it up your…” he didn’t let her finish her words. He grabbed her in his arms and smashed his mouth down on hers. She angered him more than any other woman but she also ignited his passion just as strongly.
It was several minutes before he found the will power to release her from his grasp. He held her in his arms, satisfied by the look in her eyes. She may fight him every step of the way but when she was in his arms her body betrayed her. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.
“You’ll be ready by seven tonight,” he told her and walked from the room. She smiled at the closed door. He really had another thing coming if he thought he’d get his way. If he didn’t like how she was behaving, then he could kick her out. She didn’t like the feeling that thought caused in her gut. She may think he was a pompous jerk half the time but he was also the boy she’d loved more than any other.
What really scared her was falling for the man he now was. He was beautiful, caring, family-oriented, and made love with so much passion she never wanted to let him go afterward.
Nicole got ready for work and left her room. She crept down the stairs, grateful he was nowhere around. She jumped into her car with a smile. Her car was another point of contention between them. He’d actually had the gall to go out and buy her a new car. It sat untouched in his oversized garage. She refused to drive it. She really wanted to, more than she would ever let him know but she was too afraid she would like it more than she should.
It was a beautiful sparkly red convertible with all the bells and whistles and if he’d been in love with her, she would’ve been more than happy to accept the generous gift but that wasn’t the case. It was a gift for a mistress and she couldn’t accept it without feeling horrible about herself. Because of this, she wouldn’t accept anything he tried to buy for her. If she caved in even once, she’d lose a piece of herself and she couldn’t let that happen.
He was already getting her in his bed every night and she loved each minute, though she wouldn’t admit it to him. She was beginning to want what she could never have. She turned the key in her ignition and smiled victoriously when the motor turned over and started.
“That’s a real good girl,” she praised her car. It drove her sister nuts when she talked to the car like it was a human being but she didn’t care. She figured her words of praise were the only things keeping her car going.
She drove to work, only a few miles away, thankfully, and felt her tension evaporate. She loved working with Jasmine and Trinity at their shop. It was an amazing place with a café, floral department and unique gifts. She couldn’t imagine how satisfying it must be for them to know it was theirs and no one could take it away.
She knew their husbands had more money than they would ever spend and they didn’t need to work but they, like her, needed something of their own.
“Good morning Nicole, how are you today?” Trinity said, as she walked in the door.
“I’m great, how about you?”
“Wonderful. Now, come sit with us and have some breakfast. Jasmine just made the most incredible pastries I’ve ever eaten in my life,” Trinity demanded. Nicole felt a bit guilty sitting on the job. She didn’t want to take advantage of her friends, who’d been kind enough to give her a job.
“I really should get to work,” she told them.
“Nonsense. As you can see, we don’t have any customers right now and the whole idea of having a place like this is so we can have our own place to gossip and get away from the house,” Jasmine said. She set an overflowing plate of pastries on the table with a pot of specialty made coffee. The delicious aroma filled every breathable space in the store. Nicole was sure she was going to gain a hundred pounds while working with the girls. She’d never before had a job where she had so much down time.
“I think my clothes are fitting tighter just being in here,” she said with a laugh. The women chatted for a while, enjoying each other’s company. A couple of the other employee’s came in and moved around the shop but it was a really casual atmosphere.
“So, if you could do anything, what would it be?” Trinity asked her. Nicole missed the sly look between the two women.
“I’d love to have some place like this, actually. This is amazing. I’d enjoy having my own scrapbooking store, someday. I haven’t had time to create any albums of my own in years. The cost to get set up is expensive and with as much as I’ve always worked, I couldn’t justify spending the money,” she said with a sigh.
“Oh my gosh, it’s so interesting you m
ention that because Jasmine and I have talked about expanding and bringing in more products,” Trinity said with a smile.
“That would be so great if you brought in scrapbooking supplies. I know you wouldn’t regret it. It’s such a popular craft. I know you don’t need money but it’s a huge earning potential. I’d love to help you pick out some products and I could even teach some of the classes,” Nicole said with real enthusiasm.
“How about if you’re running your own scrapbooking store,” Jasmine told her. Nicole was filled with a desire she didn’t even want to think about. There was no way she could take on her own business. She would never be able to get the loans and if it failed, as so many small businesses did, she’d never be able to recover. She already owed Ryan her left arm and leg. She couldn’t pay for a business and pay him back too.
“That would be such a dream, but now isn’t the right time in my life to go into such a huge investment,” Nicole told them sadly.