by Hazel Hunter
“What, honey? What's made you so tired?”
“Being without you.”
The words came out on a breath, honest in a way that Sophia was unsure she had ever been even with herself. She had been hiding for so long, too long, and she realized that she had to give it over or find herself choked.
“I don't want to be without you,” she whispered, and he pulled her tight into his arms.
“You won't be,” he swore. “You won't be.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
IN ROMANCE NOVELS and movies, Sophia reflected, the couple in love were always steps away from the most convenient bed or a private corner. In real life, however, they had to make their way out of the park. Then he walked her to her apartment nearby so she could feed her cat and change into fresh clothes.
He was waiting in the hallway and, as she reached for another skirt and tank top, she hesitated. She made a decision, and instead grabbed a red sundress, one that had been buried at the back of her closet for years. Red was showy. Red called attention. She was desperately tired of gray. She put the dress on, and then after a moment, she reached into her underwear drawer too.
When she stepped out into the hallway, Dominic's eyes widened, and he gave a low wolf whistle.
“I am so glad you want me to see you,” he said, and she smiled shyly.
He took her to his hotel room. It wasn't far away, but the luxury when compared to her homey little apartment was unbelievable. The whisper-soft elevator took them straight to the penthouse, and she gasped to see it. The rooms were lavish, and through a set of beautiful French doors was a bed that looked a mile wide. Suddenly she was shy again, and she turned to Dominic.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“I…surely not for me?”
His grin was fierce, and for a moment, she thought of a conquering warrior returning home with his prize.
“It's all for you,” he promised. “All of it, if you want it. That includes me.”
On that front, at least, she had no fears, and without a single moment of worry, she reached for him.
Sophia yelped when he swept her up in his arms. She was short, but she was far from light. He carried her as if she weighed no more than a feather. In his arms, she felt a subtle tickle run over her body. She delighted in how close they were, how they could make each other feel.
He set her down in the center of the bed and raised himself over her, looking down at her for a long moment.
“What do you see?” she asked half-fearfully.
His smile was as soft as the summer dawn. “A beautiful woman that makes my heart ache,” he responded, leaning down to touch his forehead to hers.
They held each other's gaze, and she thought that she could get lost in the green. There was something wild about this man. She hadn't forgotten the danger he offered, but right now, all of that mattered far less than the fact that they were together. It was perfect, it was right, and she refused to let anything get in the way. Words caught in her throat. The daggers, the conversation he had had. The way he knew so little about her and her own past. It was as if Dominic could sense all of that. Instead of waiting for her to speak, he leaned down and brushed his mouth against hers.
The kiss was deep and drugging, and sent warmth coursing through her body. She cupped her hand around the back of his neck and brought him in closer. She slid her tongue along his lower lip, relishing the shiver that coursed through his frame, and then her tongue was inside his mouth. The way he tasted was something amazing to her. It was perfect and perfectly him. She thought that she would be happy to kiss this man until the stars sank into the sea.
For several long moments, he was content to let her kiss him exactly how she wished, but she could feel the moment that something more potent swept through his frame. She glanced out the tall glass doors that led to the balcony, and behind him, she could see the sky darkening. The storm that was promised was rolling in, and it only added to her excitement.
“Open the windows,” she said softly.
If he were another man, the grin that he gave her would have frankly terrified her. Instead, it thrilled her, and she watched as he bounded over to the tall windows, tearing them open and letting the fresh summer air in. The sky was darkening moment by moment, sullen with the weight of cleansing water. She understood in a way that she never had before how much real love was like a storm. It waited and waited, but when it felt right, it struck like lightening.
Silhouetted against the sky, Dominic stripped down to his skin, and she thought of gods, mysterious and powerful. They stalked the land looking for women to make their own, and right now, that was all she wanted.
He stalked back to bed, and she rose up on her knees, spreading her arms to him like a supplicant.
“Have me,” she said, her voice just one shade off from begging. “Have me, take me…”
In the dim light, she could still see how his eyes darkened with desire. Her words sent a shiver through him, but he kept his hands at his side.
“Say it again,” he told her, his voice a deep rumble.
That was right, too. A sacrifice must be willing or else it meant nothing, and she swept her hands down her body, as if showing him what belonged to him.
“I want you,” she said huskily. “I want you to take me, everything I am, everything I have.”
Dominic groaned out loud at her words, and the next thing she knew, he had pushed her straight down to the bed. His power was the power of the storm behind him, and she wanted nothing more than to let herself be carried away by it all.
There was so much unspoken between them, but this was elemental truth. This was raw and perfect, and there was nothing that could stand between them.
His kiss was deep and wild. She could already feel his cock, half-hard, press against her. She wanted to be taken swiftly and savagely—she needed it. But she could feel that he needed it as well.
He fumbled at her dress, grasping for the hem, but acting on instinct, she stopped him. Instead, she turned around and clambered to all fours on the bed, and she peeked over her shoulder to see what he thought.
Dominic groaned deep in his throat, and though she expected him to pounce on her, he stared at her instead. He ran one hand over her back and then her rear, and she thrilled at the possessiveness of the gesture. She loved how awed he looked, and how excited. His hand curled around her hip before pushing her skirt up a little and cupping her thigh. Sophia groaned when his calloused hand came in contact with her soft flesh, and then he started to move higher bit by bit. When he flipped her skirt up, she smiled to hear him swear.
“Were you wearing that on the car ride over?” he asked, and she nodded.
The panties were of a red to match her dress, and they were more lace than not. They were filmy and soft, doing nothing to hide her. Instead of tearing her underwear off the way he had the night before, he ran his finger along the curve of fabric instead. He started on the flesh of her buttock, and then he traced it down around to her front.
Now she could feel him hovering over her, and the pads of his fingers pressed against her clit. She whimpered and pressed her hips back against him, and she heard him laugh deep in his throat.
“You want me, but are you wet for me yet, little darling?”
“Yes, yes,” she whispered, and she was, but she heard him make a dubious noise.
“I don't know if I believe you, darling. I think that I should check.”
With no more warning than that, he slid her underwear down her thighs. The cool air hit her most sensitive parts. She whimpered when she felt his blunt fingers slide along her slit.
“Hmm, you feel amazing, Sophia, but I don't know if you're ready for me yet.”
“I am, I am,” she said, trying to keep the whine out of her voice, but his fingers were sliding so sweetly along her tender flesh that she could barely speak.
“I don't know. You see, I remember how you felt that night, Sophia. I remember how you opened for me, and I remember how
you felt so tight around me. It felt amazing, darling, but you were so tight. I want to make sure that you are truly ready this time, and I know how I want to do it.”
Before she could do much more than make an inquisitive noise, he pushed her forward so that she was on her elbows on the bed and her rear was lifted even higher. She felt more exposed than ever, but before she could do much more than squeak, she felt his long strong fingers spread her open. He bent so that he was level with her slit, and then she felt his tongue, sliding along her flesh.
She knew that she cried out then, but he didn't stop. His tongue slipped along her slit from top to bottom, and when he found he could not reach as much as he wanted, he twisted so he could lie down on his back, his head between her legs.
Sophia only had a moment to blush over their position, and then his mouth was between her legs, petting her open and making her shiver. She felt his tongue on her clit, gentle and probing at first, but then with a breathtaking desire that made her groan. She found that she was pressing down on his face. Though she tried to pull away, his hands were on her hips, pressing her closer and closer. His mouth was fierce and hot on her clit, laving her over and over again, and she felt the first tendrils of climax kindling her belly. Her thighs started to shake, and her breath came faster…and then he stopped.
“Oh Dominic!' she cried, and pulling away from her, he laughed.
She twisted to look over her shoulder at him, and there was a light in his eyes that was positively devilish.
“You wanted me, and now you have me,” he purred, and her heart beat faster.
Her body was hot and aching for him. He rested one hand familiarly on her rear. The casual gesture of possession made her purr, and then he pressed his hand lower.
Sophia gasped as she felt his fingers toy with her, but then she held still as he parted her folds. He sunk one finger deep inside her. He thrust into her with it, back and forth until she was rocking with him. Then he added another finger, and another. When she was sighing with each stroke, he drew them back.
“Dominic, Dominic, please, do you want me to beg?” she panted.
She felt that she was beyond embarrassment or shame now. Instead, she was simply a creature of fire and need. She would have done anything to make him give her what she wanted.
“I will at some point,” he promised her. “And sometime soon, I'll beg you as well. But right now, sweetheart, that's all I'm going to ask of you.”
Tenderly, he pulled her dress over her head. Then he removed her bra and her panties as well. Now she was as naked as he was, and he pushed her back into place, on her hands and knees, him behind her. She was more open to him than she had ever been to a human before, and there was a deep peace that came over her at that.
For a long moment, he only looked at her, and she wondered if he was going to start teasing her again. A part of her relished the idea, while another part entirely thought it would kill her. She heard him stir behind her, and she looked back in time to see him slide a condom over his cock.
“I wish...” he started, but then he shook his head. “You're beautiful,” he said instead, and he knelt behind her.
She felt the blunt tip of his cock at her entrance, and when he surged forward, she pushed back. She wanted to take in all of him. She wanted to feel him over her. His hands on her hips tightened when he felt what she was doing, and his ragged breath told her he was riding a rough edge. He didn't say anything, but then she moved on her own, easing forward and then pressing herself back. He groaned loudly, and his fingers combed through her dark hair.
“I can't hold back if you do that,” he panted, and now it was her turn to laugh.
“Then don't,” she said, and it was like a dam broke.
One hand tightened in her hair, and the other wrapped around the curve of her hip. She might have a bruise there the next day, but she could not make herself care even a little.
The last time they had been together, he took his time, but now there was nothing of that in him. He thrust into her hard, again and again, and his grip on her body kept her still. She was a possession in his hands, but she was also a treasure. The force of his body against hers made her feel small, and as she glanced out the window, she could see the dark storm rolling in.
Dominic was relentless, but he refused to leave her behind as he took his pleasure. He settled down to a brutal rhythm, releasing her hair, but that hand found its way between her legs. He had no more mercy on her clit than he had had on any other part of her. He was so rough, and yet she knew, she knew, that if she needed him to stop he would. There was no question her mind of that, and that gave her the freedom she needed to give herself up to him and the sensations that he was making her feel.
Fire washed over her body, bright and burning hot, and she knew she was calling his name. She knew she was writhing against him and begging for more. But none of it mattered as long they both got what they needed. Distantly she was aware that he was shouting too, that he was asking her for something. He sounded as desperate as she was, and finally, her entire body shaking, she felt herself reach for that peak…only to have his hand still.
“Dominic, what…what are you doing?”
“Making you want it,” was his response.
His fingers were back again, more intense than ever, circling her clit as he drove into her. She would have protested, but she wanted that peak of pleasure again, that wonderful place where there was nothing but the two of them and the magic that their bodies could make together. She reached for it, his rhythm strong, steady and true. And then he paused again.
“Dominic!” His only response was a ragged laugh. She bucked against him, driving him more firmly inside her. “Don't make me wait anymore,” she whimpered, half order and half plea.
“As my lady wishes,” Dominic responded.
He brought his hand to her aching center again. This time there was a purpose to his motions, and her body, wrung out with pleasure, was simply too overwhelmed to prevent it. There was something inevitable about the way that they came together, with the driving rhythm that made her open in a way that she never had before.
“Never stop,” she whispered, and she couldn't tell if he heard her at all.
The pleasure when it came was blinding. Her orgasm unfolded like a drop of dye in crystal clear water. It opened her up, left her raw, and she screamed her release into her hands. He was inside her, he was around her, and all she wanted was more of this, forever and ever.
Her orgasm left her shaking, and when she came down to earth, it was to Dominic still moving inside her.
“Not yet?” she murmured, still slightly dazed, and he laughed.
“I love being inside you,” he panted, “and I'm so close.”
She wasn't sure what he meant or what he wanted just then. But what she did next was simply a matter of the womanly instinct that was rising out of her and creating the feeling of fullness inside her. She tightened the muscles of her sex. She could tell that he felt it immediately. There was something amazing about the way it made him freeze, the way it threw off his rhythm as if he had been struck by lightning.
“Oh gods above, Sophia,” he growled, and she did it again.
She was slightly sore and faintly exhausted, but she wanted his wide eyes and the way he looked undone simply by her decisions and skills. He was a man who was used to getting what he liked. But she knew that getting what he never looked for was an amazing thing.
He thrust harder, and the storm swelled up. When the lightning struck, lighting up the room, she cried out with longing. He spilled inside her, and after panting above her for a long moment, he grasped the base of the condom and withdrew from her with aching slowness. She loved that feeling, of his hand sliding between their slick bodies and his tender movements.
The thought occurred to her that perhaps she didn't want the condom there. It was a strange thought, especially for Sophia, whose experience in sex was limited. She’d had it drummed into her head that every sexual en
counter had its risks, and a condom was one way to bring those risks down. Now all she could think of was Dominic's body driving into hers with absolutely nothing in between them. She thought about how warm his cock would feel inside her, how the skin was like silk over iron. She thought about the heat and liquid of him spilling inside her, and she shivered.
“Sophia? Sweetheart, are you cold?” She was. “Can you wait alone for just a few moments? I have an idea for warming you up.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
AS DOMINIC PADDED to the bathroom, Sophia took a moment to stretch out on the bed. The events of the day had left her drained, and Dominic's bed was amazingly soft. She felt as if she could sink into it and sleep for a week. Or at least most of the week. It would be fine for Dominic to show up and tire her out as well.
She was nearly asleep when Dominic returned, and she murmured sleepily when he gently tugged down the covers and lifted her in his arms.
“You're clean,” she muttered drowsily.
“Just a quick shower. I wanted to do something nice for you.”
“What, did you not think the orgasm was nice?”
“Well, maybe something nice for you that wasn't also, you know, a huge bonus for me.”
The bathroom was a wonder of white marble, something so impressively luxurious that it brought Sophia out of her slumberous state a bit. She sat up in his arms to look around. The oval bath was piled high with bubbles.
“A bubble bath?” she exclaimed with delight. “I haven't had one since I was a kid.”
“Yeah, I figured given that your bathtub is fit for maybe a large eight year old. Here you go.”
Instead of allowing her to get into the bathtub herself, he lowered her into the water. The bubbles were piled high and fluffy, and the water steamed gently when she got in. The air was filled with the sharp scent of juniper, and she sighed with pleasure. Real luxury was something she’d never had access to. It made everything feel more like a dream.