Unwrapped Hearts

by Linzi Basset

  “Damn you. Get out of here,” she snapped as she once again curled her arms around her body. The widening grin told her the effort to protect her naughty bits from his heated gaze was dismal at best. Why couldn't she have eight arms like an octopus?

  “NOW, Reeves. Get your big ass body out of here.”

  “You’ll find that I don’t take well to being ordered around, Snowflake.”

  The glare she offered him had the same metamorphosis effect as she’d witnessed before. This time, it was more prominent. He even looked bigger; his eyes darker as he soaked in her defiance. A feeling of excitement thrilled through her frame. She ignored it with difficulty.

  “Please do me a huge favor, Mr. Reeves, and kindly leave so that I can finish my shower,” she cooed in a sugary voice.

  He rocked back on his heels as he regarded her with a slight smile on his lips.

  “My favors aren’t granted freely, snip. If you want me to leave, you’ll have to barter for it.”

  “Barter! Oh, good grief. From what archaic era are you? You’re invading my privacy, therefore the polite thing to do would be to turn around and leave. No bartering required!”

  “I have to disagree. I can’t invade your privacy seeing as everything around you belongs to me.”

  His chin lowered and his gaze sharpened in warning … or was it possession? Riley wasn’t sure which. All she did know, was that her entire body reacted to the deep gravel of his voice. It reached deep inside her and toggled at something she couldn’t put a name to … except she couldn’t deny how badly she wanted to belong to him too.

  His chuckle shook her and she had a sneaky suspicion he could read her mind. That didn’t sit well with Riley. Not one tiny bit.

  “Very well, if it means I can finish my shower in peace, I’ll barter. What do you want?”

  “Hmm … lemme think,” he murmured, watching her with hawk eyes. “A hug.”

  Riley’s jaw went slack. Of all the things he could’ve asked for, he settled for a hug?

  Well, jeez Louise, what a letdown that is.

  “A hug? Seriously?”

  “Yes.”

  Riley had a suspicion he was suppressing his amusement with difficulty. “One hug and you’ll leave?”

  “Unless you ask for more,” he said in an elaborate drawl.

  “Oh, believe me, I won’t.” She pointed behind him. “Pass me a towel please.”

  “No. A naked hug.”

  “You … this is …” Riley swallowed her words as he raised his eyebrows expectantly. If not for the fact that she believed sassing him now would land her in trouble, she wouldn’t have backed down. As it were, his closeness and her nakedness were a combination that sparked her arousal higher with every touch of his eyes on her skin. The quicker she gave him his hug, the sooner he’d leave and she could start breathing normally again.

  “Very well,” she snapped and took the few steps that separated them. She stopped in front of him, toe to toe and looked up. He towered over her in his full six-foot-two glory. By the look on his face, he had no intention of making this easy on her. He waited patiently.

  “You’re so freaking tall; I need a stepladder to reach around your neck.” She’d be damned if she asked him to bend over. She wouldn’t put it past him to barter for that too. Trent’s brow raised in acknowledgment of her problem-solving skills when she blatantly stepped onto his boots and went onto her toes to wrap one arm around his neck and the other circled his waist to slide up his back.

  “Oh!” she gasped in surprise as his arms wrapped around her and pulled her hard into his body, flattening her softness against his hard, rippling chest. Every nerve in her body sizzled, she could feel the drizzle of lust from between her labia as she breathed in deeply. He smelled like heaven. A fresh, clean smell mixed with pure hot, sexy male that caused an arrow of lust to spear through her loins. She’d never experienced something like that.

  His hands moved in a gentle caress over her back, to the small of her waist and curved sensually around the soft curves of her buttocks.

  “Hey … that’s not a hug!” she puffed as he pushed her higher against his body, her feet dangled in the air as he used his hands under her cheeks to move her in a seductive cantation against the hard ridge that pressed against her clit.

  “There are hugs, Snowflake, and then there are hugs,” he said against her ear, his warm breath stirred a fresh sensation of need deep inside her. Her clit throbbed as he blatantly rolled his arousal against the apex between her legs. He moved one hand to settle beneath both cheeks and the other fisted in her wet hair. He pulled, albeit gently and forced her to tilt back her head. His eyes were now the shade of the darkest hour of the night. “Wrap your legs around me, snip.”

  Riley still formed the denial in her mind when her legs slinked around his waist. His eyes narrowed on her as her lips opened in a silent “O” as he moved her body up and down the length of his hard cock.

  Crack! Crack!

  “Owww! Snowman’s balls! What was that for?” she squealed in a small, hurt voice.

  His eyes remained glued on hers as he slowly rubbed his palm over the stinging slap marks.

  “For your defiance in getting out of bed.”

  “You … I … mmm, stop. I can’t … think when you do that,” she whimpered, completely overwhelmed as the burning sting was soon forgotten under his brushing palm. It felt like he was rubbing the pain into her skin, forcing it to ripple through her loins that pulsed demandingly, all the way to her throbbing clitoris. Just like that, Riley was on the edge of combusting. She could feel the climax etching closer with every circle of his hand over her stinging buttocks. She couldn’t look away, nor could she keep the silent plea from her eyes.

  “Tell me, little one. Tell me what you want from me.”

  “Kiss me. Please,” she said in a near whisper.

  “I’ll barter you for it.”

  “What do you want in return?” she lilted, desperate to feel his lips on hers. To see if they would make her tingle all over like the previous night.

  “I’ll kiss your lips, Snowflake, in return for kissing your nipples.”

  Ripley couldn’t comprehend what it would feel like to have his hot mouth sucking at her breasts or why she even allowed herself to be in this position. None of that mattered. At the moment, there was just Trent Reeves and the heat that filtered through his skin into hers. The lust that demanded to be satisfied and the desire to fall apart in his arms.

  She gave him her answer by dragging his head toward her. Her breath whispered against his lips as she granted him his request. “A kiss for a kiss.”

  Their lips met, not soft and tentative. She should’ve expected a kiss like this, like the man he was. Demanding, hot, and seductive. It enveloped her in a cocoon of helplessness, like a sinking yielding against a surging tide of warmth that left her limp like a ragdoll. She moaned as his hand in her hair tightened and forced back her head further. He surprised her by gently nibbling on her lips and then gradually spiked up the intensity that made her cling to him as the world threatened to go into a spin.

  “Open for me, Snowflake,” he growled against her lips. She acted on instinct. Her lips bloomed open under the insistence of his. The kiss deepened, drenched in seductive passion that sent wild tremors along her nerves, evoking sensations she had never known she was capable of feeling to tremble through her.

  Riley felt her heart race, reacting to the expertise and possession of his kiss. It wasn’t thumping or leaping, it was a forceful kick, like a frog kicking wildly in a desperate attempt to escape the chase of a carnivore nibbling on its toes. Her heart became that amphibian, as her emotions moved between two elements: one, excitement; the other, fear.

  For what, Riley had no idea but the kiss was like an aphrodisiac, mixed with a Pandora’s box effect. Fireworks glowed inside her from the touch of his lips on hers, threatening to explode as he bent her backwards further. His lips trailed over her throat to flutter over her ches
t, ending with enticing licks all around her areola.

  “Oh, my,” she keened. Her hands moved of their own volition from around him to circle his neck and hold him in place. “Please,” she whimpered brokenly. Every fiber in her body tensed in expectation of that first flick of his tongue over a nipple that stood as hard as stone, begging for attention.

  “You beg so beautifully, little one,” he rasped against her skin. “Who am I to deny you?”

  Riley all but swooned when he wrapped his lips around a nipple and sucked it deep into his mouth. He pulled on her succulent flesh with hard, confident sucks, drawing low moans and cries from her lips. He turned his attention to the other breast and adorned it with the same treatment. His tongue stabbed at the hard nubs, he nipped at them with his teeth, pushing her to teeter precariously on the edge of a climax. She had never experienced such a level of arousal. She locked her ankles behind his back, canting and rolling her clit against his hard cock, riding him inside his pants with a desperation completely foreign to her.

  “Holy-holy-holy h-hell!” she screamed as his teeth clamped around a nipple. He bit down— hard. Riley stiffened, a low keening scream rolled from deep inside her as she sped up, rubbing her clit hard against the roughness of his jeans. He suckled softly before moving to the other breast. When he bit into the nub, the coil inside her snapped. Her back arched and she pushed her nipple deeper into his mouth.

  Trent didn't hesitate, he bit harder, shook his head and watched through slitted eyes as she lost herself in the climax that rippled through her. Her face twisted in a grimace of pleasure pain as she struggled to ride the wave that tossed her high one moment, only to yank her under the next. When she finally came back to earth, it was to his lips gently sucking and caressing her abused nubs.

  Riley buried her face in his throat when he lifted his head. Her breathing sounded loud and haggard in the silence. She only realized then that the water had been shut off, but when, she had no idea.

  “See, Snowflake. Bartering has its advantages.”

  She was too embarrassed to lift her head or respond. The way she’d humped his dick was beyond embarrassing but it had given her a climax she was still struggling to comprehend. To date, sex hadn’t been all that exciting for her. She enjoyed it but had always been left unfulfilled. Her climaxes, which were menial at best, had never threatened to tear her apart.

  Riley unwrapped her legs from around his waist and lowered them to the floor. She immediately turned away and turned on the water.

  “I better finish,” she said in a thick voice.

  Trent would have none of it. He turned her with one hand clamped around her shoulder and the other cupping her chin to force her gaze to his.

  “Never be ashamed of your sexuality, Riley. Not here and never with me. Is that understood?”

  “Yes,” she said breathlessly, biting back the word sir, that annoyingly hovered on her lips.

  His broad smile shook her, wondering if he once again read her mind.

  “I was right about you, Snowflake,” he said cryptically. He turned and sauntered to the door before she could question him about it. “I can’t wait to introduce you to my dungeon.”

  Riley sagged against the shower stall in relief when he disappeared. His presence was just too all consuming, especially after the earth-shattering climax she just had.

  “Wait. What did he just say? Dungeon?” Her voice rose and ended in a thin wail. She could hear the panic in the echo surrounding her.

  “I’m not setting a foot inside your dungeon, Reeves. Not even a small toe, so there!”

  Chapter Five

  Riley didn’t believe getting dressed and going downstairs after she showered was defiance, rather as being assertive. Trent might be a surgeon, but she knew her body better than him and it told her she was fine. He couldn’t take offense to her reasoning, now could he?

  Nevertheless, she still tiptoed as quietly as possible as she descended. She felt rather silly peeping carefully around the large archway leading into the grand open room.

  “Warf-warf. Yeaoo … yeaooo.”

  “Sheila, fiddlestick, you scared me,” she gasped at the unexpected soft bark and yowl behind her. She pressed her fingers over her lips and whispered urgently. “Shh, Sheila, we don’t want Scrooge to hear us.”

  “Neaoo,” Sheila responded with a yap that sounded suspiciously like no. She even joined Riley at the entrance and peeked into the room.

  “Are the two of you practicing becoming Peeping Toms?”

  “Holy smokes, Reeves! Do you always have to scare the living daylights out of me?” Riley spun around with her heart racing.

  Trent wasn’t perturbed at all. He regarded her regally down the length of his nose. He seemed relaxed with his legs spread wide and his thumbs hooked through the belt loops of his jeans.

  “If you were where you’re supposed to be, that wouldn’t happen, now would it?”

  “Warf!” Storm, who sat on his haunches beside Trent reiterated his master’s statement, which triggered a low growl from Sheila. She pressed her body against Riley’s legs. Riley placed her hand on top of the dog’s head, finding comfort in her protective nature.

  “Dr. Reeves, I assure you, I’m fine. I’m not a bed-bound person but believe me, I’m not a martyr either. If I feel the need, I promise I’ll go upstairs and lie down.”

  His chin tilted toward the living room behind her. “In there. I’ll be the judge of whether you should be out of bed.”

  “But—”

  “It’s not debatable, Riley. I’m going to examine you and then we’ll decide your fate.”

  “My fate? Good grief, you make it sound like I’m about to be sent to the gallows,” she mumbled under her breath as she pivoted and stomped toward the sofa.

  “I’m not a fan of mumbling, Snowflake. Either you speak so I can hear, or I’ll make my own assumption about what you’re saying.”

  Riley decided not to give him the satisfaction by defending herself. She sat down on the sofa and folded her hands demurely on her lap. She fluttered her eyelids at him.

  “Examine away, Dr. Reeves.”

  Reeves chose to park her sassy response along with the others in his mind. The little minx was ratcheting up punishments—whether she realized it or not. He suppressed a smile at her obvious puzzlement when he didn’t respond in the manner she expected.

  She watched him covertly as he wrapped the mobile blood pressure band around her bicep.

  “I don’t have a problem with my blood pressure. You do remember I have a head injury, right?” she said in a derogatory tone. Why she acted like this she had no idea—or wait, she did. His closeness rattled her; completely discombobulated her. It was one way of deflecting the electric sizzle the touch of his fingertips sparked on her skin.

  “Keep it up, snip. I’m already salivating over the possibilities your brattiness offers me.”

  “What possibilities?” Her tone rang sharp and cutting through the room.

  “Shh, I need to listen,” he said as he placed the stethoscope on the pulse of the vein on the inside of her elbow. For moments the quiet offered Riley the opportunity to study him as he slowly released the air from the band around her arm.

  Today he was dressed in jeans and a black sweater with matching sneakers. His hair looked messy and she could swear his beard was fuller than the previous day. Maybe he was one of those men who grew his beard in winter. All in all, he looked good enough to eat, or caress … or lick. Yes, definitely to lick, all along his firm lips, the rippling ridges and valleys of his six pack she detected under the tight sweater and—

  Good lord, Riley. Stop it. The drool is about to drip to the floor!

  “It’s a little high but I expected as much.” His gentle touch moved over her forehead to examine the wound. “You say the headache is gone. Completely, or is there still a tiny throb?”

  “All gone.” She clicked her tongue as his one eyebrow raised higher. “I promise. Whatever the meds were th
at you gave me, it worked.”

  “Any pain around the wound?”

  “Only if I touch it but other than that I’m not aware of it.”

  “Good. You won’t be left with a scar. It was a superficial wound, but it can infect easily if not taken care of. I’ll clean it properly tonight and replace the Band-Aids.”

  “Does that mean I have a clean bill of health and I can stay down here?”

  “You had a very hard hit on your head, which means you have a slight concussion. I want you to relax and take it easy for another day at the very least.”

  “Please don’t send me back to bed. I’ll go crazy if I have to spend the entire day there.”

  “Fine, but if I find you doing anything other than relaxing or taking naps on the sofa, I’m cuffing you to my bed.”

  Riley’s laughter tinkled through the room. The melody thrilled through Trent’s mind. No matter how hard he tried to shove it away, it crawled all the way into his soul.

  “Cuffing me? You’re not a cop that has spare cuffs lying around, so I sincerely doubt that’s a possibility.”

  “Hmm,” he mused as he packed his equipment into his medical bag. “I guess you didn’t hear the comment about my dungeon.” His gaze moved with lustful intent over her body. “Believe me, Snowflake, I have a variety of cuffs to choose from.”

  Riley could hear herself swallowing as she stared at him wide-eyed.

  “Y-you were serious about that?”

  “I’m not prone to pranks or telling lies, even white ones. Something you’ll do well to remember.”

  There was an unspoken warning in his tone that made her tremble. Not that she had lied to him about anything but who never tells a little white lie?

  It wasn’t enough that she found it hard to fathom all the various aspects that made the man, Trent Reeves, she also struggled to wrap her head around him having a dungeon in his home. Her eyes fluttered around the room. She snorted to herself. Wherever the torture chamber was, he’d be sure to keep it hidden from prying eyes. She shifted uncomfortably under his unfathomable stare.