The Redemption

by Nikki Sloane

Macalister’s chair gave a quiet groan as he sat up straight. His fingers came down in an abrupt slap, right across my swollen clit, and I yelped with surprise. It hadn’t really hurt, but it’d startled the hell out of me.

  His tone was dark and firm. “Do you want to come?”

  I didn’t understand this game. “Yes.”

  This time when he struck me, it was aggressive and with purpose. The first slap had been to get my attention, but this one was meant to punish. His jaw flexed and his expression hinted at his frustration.

  He said it like I should know better, every word weighted and measured. “Do you want to come?”

  Anticipation knotted in my belly. He kept asking the same question, and if I repeated my answer, his sharp, stinging fingers would follow. Was . . . was I supposed to say no? I glanced futilely around the room, like the answer was somehow hidden in the shadows.

  “Macalister,” I whimpered. “Please . . .”

  Triumph flashed through his eyes. “There is the word I was looking for.”

  He dove down, his mouth a flurry of activity, and I bucked from the sudden pleasure. It was acute. He licked away the sting from his slaps, and as the pain went away, intense satisfaction moved into its place.

  “Please,” I moaned, out of my mind with need and giving him the word he wanted again. I thought I’d needed to come before, but the craving was so urgent, I was panicking I’d die if it didn’t happen.

  The room had been quiet until now, but I thrashed, my back banging against the table, causing the candelabra to jump, the flames to flicker, and wax to splatter on the tabletop. One of my feet came off the edge, and my leg draped over his back, trying to hook him. The hands on my body were everywhere. Smoothing over my breasts, my stomach, my legs as he searched for every inch of touchable skin within his reach.

  And when his palms slowed to a stop, bracing my waist, he nuzzled into me, his head furiously rocking side to side. There was something primal about it. Like a predator with its prey locked in its jaws, shaking its victim to death before consuming it.

  I threw my head back and arched my neck, my eyes slamming shut, and cried out as the force of the orgasm descended upon me. It was brutal and unforgiving. My hands clenched in his hair, holding him in place as pleasure wracked through me, sending fire searing through my bloodstream.

  He didn’t stop. Every flick of his tongue made me contract, prolonging my orgasm, and he sighed long and deep when tension went out of my fingers in his hair. The grip of my climax loosened and faded, and after it was gone, I lay on the tabletop like a woman devoured.

  Macalister’s hair was messy as he sat back and wiped a hand over his face, revealing a dark, victorious smile beneath.

  “That was the second time I’ve brought you to orgasm.” His tone was powerful and smug. “Once is luck, but twice is skill.”

  I was still breathless. “You’ve made me come more than twice.” I was honest in the aftermath. “Dozens of times while I was thinking about you.”

  It didn’t take him long to do the math. He was a banker, after all. He understood that I’d fantasized about him a lot longer than he’d instructed me to, and he liked hearing it. Satisfaction flashed through his expression.

  “I’ve made you come twice too, you know,” I teased.

  He stood, only long enough to scoop me up and sit back down in his chair with me in his arms. “More than twice,” he conceded.

  A thrill glanced down my spine and warmed my chest. “How many times?”

  His hands were in my hair, fishing out the pins and dropping them to the tabletop in a neat stack, working until my hair tumbled free. “More than I’m comfortable admitting.”

  I grinned, running my fingers through it to shake out the kinks. “Dirty old man.”

  Up went his eyebrow, and tension corded the body holding me. His tone was frigid. “Yes, well, let me remind you that this old man has accrued the expertise in the places your former lovers were sorely lacking.”

  I frowned. “I was kidding. And, yeah, you’re a lot older than me, but so what?” I slipped my hands around his face, cradling his jaw, and stared into his guarded eyes. Had I not made this clear? “I’m into it, Macalister.”

  I was so into him.

  But he looked skeptical, like it was too good to possibly be true.

  “You don’t believe me?” I searched his face, and my hands bristled against the rough edges of his jaw that hadn’t seen a razor in at least sixteen hours. “Just ask Marist who I’ve always said was the hottest of the Hale men.”

  I didn’t want to bring her up and invite him to think about her, but I needed to prove my point.

  His skepticism increased, but I saw the faint hope that was buried inside. “You think I’m more attractive than my sons?”

  I laughed softly. “Are you serious? Yeah. Fuck, yeah. And that was a while ago,” I threaded my hand through his hair, running the silver strands through my fingers lovingly, “even before you had this.”

  His shoulders lifted with an enormous breath, and he didn’t bother to hide the impact my statement made on him, how I found his gray hair appealing. He did try to deflect, though, and his voice was uneven. “Your generation overuses that word.”

  “Fuck?” I shrugged. “But it’s the best word.” He clenched his jaw at my casual use, and I smiled. “Is that what we’re going to do soon? Are you going to fuck me right here on your dining room table?”

  “No,” he said, his hands clamping roughly on my waist. “I’ve brought you to orgasm with my fingers and my mouth.” He leaned in, nipping at my throat before kissing the hurt away. “We’ll go upstairs, you’ll climb into my bed, and then I’ll make you come with my fucking cock.”

  TWENTY-TWO

  MACALISTER

  There hadn’t been a woman in my bed since the night Marist had forced me to watch her, demonstrating what she’d said I’d never have, and I was anxious to wipe that memory away.

  Sophia stiffened in my arms at the order I’d just issued.

  “You want me to walk through your house naked?”

  “I’ll be the only one to see it. My staff is discreet.”

  I gathered her things, carried them for her, and marveled at her perfectly nude body as she lifted her chin and climbed the grand staircase, her hips swaying with each step, taunting me. A man my age didn’t deserve to bed a woman like her, with a body like that, but I justified it by telling myself I could give her pleasure no one else could.

  She was shivering as she strolled into my room, padding on her bare feet to stand beside one of the green chairs in the sitting area, and waited there for further instruction. Her arms crossed over her chest, her stunning breasts barely visible beneath the wavy curtain of her blonde hair.

  It was dark in the room, but the drapes were open and the exterior lights on, and it caused a yellow glow to pour across my bed like a spotlight.

  I set her clothes down on the low table between the chairs and moved to her, running my palms up and down her arms in an attempt to warm her. Her skin was smooth and soft, and I inhaled the apple smell of her, letting her invade as much of my senses as possible. She’d taken me in her body, and I wanted to do the same. Sex was infinitely more pleasurable to me when I was immersed in my partner.

  Sophia’s mouth yielded to mine when I took it, and there was that strange pull deep in my chest that had plagued me from the beginning. Why did I find kissing her so . . . satisfying? It felt like if this was all we had, the only way for us to connect, I could be content with it.

  My body, however, protested angrily. The quick rendezvous in the costume room had been murder on my back and only a temporary fix. An emergency adjustment to relieve the pressure that had risen above the levels of safety and control. Now that it had been taken care of, I would have her the way I originally intended tonight, before I’d seen Richard Shaunessy’s arm around her waist and I’d nearly snapped.

  The fury of it sliced th
rough my mind, and I wasn’t sure if I was more upset with him or myself. I’d been careless and hadn’t defined the rules with her. I hadn’t made it clear I expected Sophia to be as invested in me as I was her, and I’d gotten a glimpse of what it would look like if I didn’t make my claim.

  She’d find a younger man to take my job, and I’d already suffered that once in the professional world. I would not allow it to happen again, and certainly not in the bedroom.

  As I kept my mouth latched on to hers, my tongue deep in her mouth, I pulled off my tuxedo jacket and dropped it to the floor. When she realized what I was doing, her hands went to the tie at my neck, tugging to undo the knot, and the silk spilled free.

  We worked as a team. While she undid the buttons of my shirt, I unlatched my cuff links. I peeled off my braces and undid the button of my trousers, followed by the zipper. My movements were fueled with the urgency to be as naked as she was, to press my body against her warm skin and experience that completely.

  Confidence came to me easily, but not tonight, which was odd. I’d already had her, knew exactly what it felt like to slide inside the wet heat of her body, and I was sure she wanted that again. But I could not ignore the anxious feeling drifting through me, and the idea that although it had been a long time since I’d had a woman in my bed, that wasn’t the cause for this nervous sensation.

  It was Sophia.

  It was important to me I delivered on my promise to her.

  When my clothes were a heap on the floor, I urged her toward the bed but was distracted when she closed a strong fist around me and stroked my cock from tip to base, sending fire and satisfaction radiating outward and a shudder wracking my body. It required me to inhale a deep breath through tight teeth. It felt good—

  Much too good.

  I grabbed her wrists and pulled them away, using my hold on her to force her down onto her back on my bed, so quickly that she bounced as she hit the mattress and her hair fanned out around her. She was angled across the corner, and I followed her down, pinning her hands to the sheets, and put one knee up on the bed while keeping my other foot flat on the floor.

  Her shapely legs were parted around my waist, and the weight of my erection dropped heavily onto her belly. I canted my hips back just enough to slide my cock over the diamond I’d given her that signified my ownership, and a possessive growl threatened in my chest.

  This girl was mine.

  Was she aware her gift of submission had far more value to me than the material one I’d given her?

  I released her hands, wanting her to use them. “Spread the lips of your cunt.”

  Her expression filled with disdain. “Whoa. Language.”

  I paused and let the evil grin spread across my face. “Have I offended you, little girl?”

  Challenge flashed in her eyes, bright as the sun. “No, Daddy.”

  The power that word held was obscene. It made me hot in ways that were wrong . . . but felt right. I wrapped a hand around her throat, using my thumb to turn her head to the side so I could lean in and speak directly into her ear. “Reach down and spread the lips of your pussy. Show me what I own.”

  Her eyes fluttered closed, and the quiver from her was pure lust.

  I straightened and, rather than be a brat, she did as instructed. Her red polished nails gleamed as she stretched her pink skin wide, showing off the glittering diamond, and my gaze slid over it appreciatively. This woman wasn’t shy, and it was incredibly attractive. As she held herself open for me, I gripped myself and traced the jewelry with the sensitive tip of my cock, soaking in her wetness.

  Sophia made a soft mewling sound of need that reverberated up my back. She was ready, as was I, and there wasn’t sense in waiting any longer. Tomorrow, I could tease her. We could spend hours on foreplay. I could discover all the secret places on her body that made her gasp.

  But tonight, I’d show her what we were capable of.

  I grasped her narrow waist in one hand and used my other to line myself up, and slowly began to ease inside. As I entered her, her blue eyes lidded and her mouth widened into a silent ‘oh,’ and her skin dented around my fingertips as my grip tightened. The urge to thrust was strong, but I enjoyed watching her response as I claimed her inch by inch.

  Her snug heat enveloped me, and the sensation shortened my breath. My head swam with pleasure, and I leaned over, cupping handfuls of her full breasts. I pushed them together, running my tongue from one nipple to the other and back again as I buried my cock as deep inside as she could take me.

  “Shit,” she groaned, “is it bigger than last time?”

  Her half-serious question pulled a short laugh from my throat. It was flattering to hear, and I dragged my parted lips along the curve of her neck, my hot breath rolling over her. “I can go as slow as you need, but you took all of me before.”

  Her arms wrapped around my back, and she sighed with enjoyment as I began to move my hips, starting with gentle, shallow thrusts. Her legs hooked behind my back, and I slid a hand beneath her, using it to encourage her to angle her hips and take me deeper.

  She whimpered in pleasure, and pride expanded my chest.

  I slipped my other hand beneath her head and trailed the edge of my tongue over her ear, letting her feel the weight of my body on top of hers, our chests flattened together. She trembled beneath me, and I brushed my lips against the pulse throbbing in her neck.

  I knew the answer but asked it anyway to tease. “Still cold?”

  She shook her head, and I withdrew from her, pulling back until the tip of me was barely inside, and then charged forward. The force of my thrust drove her into the mattress.

  “Oh,” she gasped in satisfaction, her back bowing.

  I did it again, and again, sawing myself in and out of her, and she went breathless, her desperate pants ringing out and floating in my room. I’d fucked her with my mind earlier, and then my tongue, and now I used my whole body. She grew hotter and wetter, and I had to close my eyes and concentrate, blocking her out for a moment to re-center myself.

  She was tight, choking me in the way a woman’s body did to maximize her pleasure, and blood rushed like fire through my veins. My heart pounded, beating faster than my quickening thrusts.

  Control yourself.

  I ground my hips against her and blinked at the odd sensation, like a scratch against my abdomen just above where we were connected. What was—

  I let out an amused breath. If I’d bought her a smaller diamond, perhaps I wouldn’t feel the prongs of the setting as much, but I enjoyed the reminder of its existence. It did make me curious, though. I was the first man she’d been with since she’d gotten pierced.

  “Do you like the way the jewelry feels?” I asked, rolling my hips for emphasis.

  “Yes.” She groaned it into my shoulder. “But I like the way you feel better.”

  I exhaled loudly and braced against the pleasure her words caused, but I jerked inside her. Warnings flashed through my mind. I needed to focus. It was embarrassing and unacceptable how close I’d already become.

  The heat of her made sweat cling to my skin, and I stood up while keeping us connected, balancing my weight between my knee on the bed and my foot on the floor. She stared up at me with her face flushed and her lips swollen from my kisses, and my heart lurched. Jesus, she was beautiful.

  “Thank you,” she said, sandwiched between two moans.

  Since I’d unknowingly said the compliment out loud.

  I snared her hips in my hands and drove into her, making her breasts undulate with my steady, deep thrusts. Everything blurred in my vision outside of Sophia. The only sounds were her needy whimpers and the slick slide of my skin moving inside her. The air in the room had gone thick, making me struggle to take in enough breath to fill my lungs.

  My mind went to war with my body, and the tingling heat building at the base of my spine was winning. I put my hands under the backs of her knees and pressed them toward
her shoulders, opening her wider and allowing me to hit the spot I’d need to if I was going to give her an orgasm both inside and out, which was my intent.

  My left hand smoothed up the back of her thigh until my thumb was against her clit, and as I rubbed, the diamond above moved and glistened.

  “Oh, God. Oh, fuck.” Her eyes went wide and then slammed shut under my power as her hands latched on to my forearms. The muscles of my back and legs were warm and tired from exertion, but I kept my unrelenting pace, beating my hips against her, determined to push her past the brink. My thumb swiped back and forth, going as fast as I could, trying to stay on her as she swiveled and bucked.

  “Yes,” I urged.

  She was wild and gorgeous, spread open for me, and I enjoyed the view of my cock disappearing inside and emerging wet with her arousal. Pleasure snaked through me, desperate for release, but I shoved it aside. My body was only a tool for her satisfaction right now, and I would not stop until I had it.

  Her face twisted with bliss, verged on being overwhelmed, and her chest heaved with strangled breaths. The moans swelled from her throat, building in intensity and volume, and her internal muscles clamped down.

  “Don’t stop.” Her plea was urgent, and yet full of surprise. “Oh, my God, I’m so close.”

  Yes, my mind chanted.

  A victorious grin spilled across my face when a cry burst from her, loud and deep. Her legs shook uncontrollably and so hard I had no choice but to stop and hold on to her to keep her from vibrating off the edge of the bed. It was better this way. I could feel each rhythmic pulse of her body as the orgasm gripped her.

  I stared at this girl strewn across my bed with her hands clasped on my arms while she was in the throes of her climax, and I was overcome with the thought that seeing this once wouldn’t be nearly enough. Maybe a hundred times wouldn’t be. My hands looked so good on her, and my cock buried deep looked even better.

  Dangerous.

  That was what that idea was. Over time, she wouldn’t be able to separate sex from her feelings, and she’d grow attached like Alice had. Or worse, I’d be the one to blur the lines, and that could not happen. I thought highly of myself but was smart enough to know I was no good for her.