by Becca Dale
How the hell did I get here?
Connor reached to touch her face, but his hand rose no more than a few inches. Confused, he lifted his head, only to realize he lay naked, his lethargy in fact scarves wrapped around his wrists and ankles, holding him firmly to her bed. A leather cock strap circled his junk in a snug band.
“Kate!”
She sat up with a quiet gasp, followed quickly by a slow smile. “You’re awake.”
“Care to explain this?” He fought to hold onto anger, but her beautiful face crushed his will.
A hesitant look flitted over her face, then his tenderhearted toughie returned. She swung a leg over his waist and settled, her sweet ass inches from the length of his cock. “Turnabout is fair play, isn’t it?”
He groaned as she trailed her fingers up and down his ribcage. “I won’t be your fuck buddy, Kate. We discussed this.”
“I don’t want that, so we’re good.” She explored his chest, scraping her nails over his nipples.
Twisting, he tried to escape her sensual touch. “Untie me.”
“Are you sure?” She bent and ran her tongue across his lips, her kiss a promise he couldn’t resist.
When she lifted her head, he followed, straining against his bonds to capture her mouth once more, but she moved beyond his reach, her satisfied grin a balm and an irritant. He scowled. “Why am I here, Kate? I’m done being your lapdog.”
“What if I changed my mind?”
Hope tweaked his soul, but he held off the smile threatening to give him away. “About?”
“I was thinking maybe, once in a while, we could play like we did last night.”
God, damn it! She hadn’t learned a thing. With a growl, he tried to buck her off. “No!”
She wrapped her hands around his biceps and hung on, sliding downward until her pussy straddled his swollen cock. He stilled, unwilling to increase the fiction between them. She had no such compulsion. Slowly, she rocked on him, her moist folds opening to embrace his dick in a wet kiss.
“Stop it, Kate.”
With a sigh, she stilled. “Connor, hear me out. That’s all I ask.”
He bit his tongue. She could destroy him without effort.
Sitting up fully, she splayed her hand over his heart. “I’ll take your silence as consent.” Her smile teased when she threw his words back at him. Her fingers flitted over his skin, and his blood rushed in his veins, shooting to his aching groin. His cock jumped as the crown bumped against her, and she bit her lip. “Last night…well, it was everything I’d dreamed of for too long. You’re everything I’ve dreamed of. But I got scared. You’re too much.”
“Damn it, then let me go.”
“I can’t. That’s the problem.” Her lashes fell briefly then she raised her chin to meet his gaze. “Like I said, I would love to play like we did last night…on occasion…if the mood takes us both. And perhaps sometimes, when I need to regain a sense of my own strength, we might explore this type of thing.” She reached back to scrape her fingernails over his thighs. “I could handle having you at my mercy, now and again. Your gorgeous hard body subject to my every whim.”
“I won’t play casual games with you.”
“Did I say it would be casual? I was thinking of a more permanent arrangement.”
He studied the resilient beauty astride him. He’d waited so long to hear her admit she wanted him; he had to be sure. “Speak plainly, little cat. Tell me what you need.”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
She didn’t elaborate. Instead, she slipped off him to kneel on the bed near his hip. A strange look flashed over her face as she tested the ties at his wrists and ankles.
“What are you planning in that pretty head?”
An adorable grin tilted the lips that covered his in a hungry kiss. Their tongues dueled while her fingers stroked over his chest, circling his nipples playfully, then slid lower. Want bordering on desperation swelled his cock and his chest.
Cool fingers encircled him, urging passion higher, but his dick was already so hard it tested the snaps on the strap that bound it. He broke the kiss with a gasp. “I’ve been on fire since our session last night. I don’t know how long I can hold out.”
Kate kissed her way down his body, licking and sucking as she went, tantalizing his nipples, abs, the back of his knees, down to his feet, and up again. All the while, her hand never left him, stroking his balls and rod like a pro. When her lips reached his groin, she licked the head and blew softly over the damp skin.
He groaned and lifted toward her.
“Be still.”
He stopped moving, hardly breathing. He had wanted her hands and mouth on him for too long, dreamed about it whenever he let his guard down. “Whatever you want, little cat.”
“Katelyn or Kate.” She lifted her head, the rush of sexual power swirled in her steady gaze. “I want to hear you call my name when I make you come.” Her mouth closed over him, her tongue exploring the underside of his swollen cock. When she added hard suction, drawing on him with almost painful erotic pulls, only the snug strap kept him from exploding.
He gritted his teeth to avoid begging. Her incredible mouth worked him to a frenzy. He clutched at his bonds, desperate to give her what she wanted. “Damn, Kate—Katelyn. I need you so much.”
She tugged lightly on his balls, rolling the aching knobs against her palm, swirling her tongue in a similar pattern over his shaft as she blew him. Need escalated. Her beautiful breasts swayed deliciously beneath the satin fabric of her lingerie, and he couldn’t keep from moving, thrusting his hips upward, driving his dick deeper into her luscious mouth.
Pulling back, she shook her head at him. “Now, now, is that any way for a grown man to behave?”
“Let me come.”
Her playful grin tormented him. “Oh, I don’t think you’re ready quite yet.” She resumed her erotic torment. His control disappeared, cum burned and surged, but the strap prevented release. He could do nothing beyond pant and pray she’d have pity on him soon.
“Shit, Katelyn, my fucking cock’s going to rupture. I need…”
Looking up from beneath her long lashes, she lifted her head a fraction of an inch above him. “What? Tell me what you need, Con.”
“You! Son-of-a-bitch! I hurt. Turn me loose so I can fuck you properly.”
Her fingernails raked the underside of his balls. “Is that how we ask for things?”
He knew what she wanted, but if he succumbed too easily, she’d never believe she’d broken through. But he wanted to. God the alluring thought of giving in to pure submission to ease the pain and longing shimmered just out of reach. He had to be strong enough to make her game worth playing, not for him but for her.
Too soon, he couldn’t hold back, not even for the pleasure of his little cat and her talented mouth. The last drop of resistance rolled off him and away in a liberating wave. “Now, Kate, please. Let me come. In your mouth, your throat, on your breasts, or in your pussy. Anywhere, but—I’m begging, baby. Please…”
Her mouth sank down until his throbbing shaft pushed hard against her throat and then she jerked the snap free, releasing the strap and triggering his orgasm at once. Clenching the scarves binding his hands, he arched off the bed and let go in a forceful and gratifying rush. Pleasure intensified. Emotion more so. No holding back. “God, I love you, my Katelyn. Mine…mine…mine.”
Kate swallowed rapidly to stay ahead of Connor’s orgasm. He trembled and shook beneath her hands as he came hard. The potent control freak let go for her. She knew he’d fought it for the same reason, but he’d given in to prove he’d never steal her control, only take what she offered willingly. She knew that fact as clearly as if he’d spoken it aloud. Loving him would still be a risk, one that would devastate her if she were wrong. But her mother was right, if she didn’t take the chance, she damned herself to a lonely, imitation life.
A crushing weight lifted, and she sat up to watch as the last of hi
s tremors shook her muscular man. “Did you like that, Papa Bear?” Her voice came out in an embarrassing purr that seemed to please him.
“Loved it.” He reached for her only to meet the end of his bonds. His smile disappeared as his hot gaze traveled over her body. “Untie me so I can touch you, little cat.”
Kate fumbled with the knots at Connor’s ankles and then his wrists, her fingers clumsy in haste. The second his first hand was free, he started to explore her side, his fingers light despite the passion in his eyes. She should have left him bound until they’d settled things, but telling him no demanded more than she had to give. The last restraint gave way, and Connor rolled to trap her beneath him, his weight braced on his forearms. His stare so intense, she lost all thought.
He brushed a kiss over her forehead before lifting above her so she could see his face once more. “Last night I thought I’d never see you again. Why the change of heart?”
Dare she tell him everything? Al had said they would take responsibility for their actions. She and Connor could take on theirs as well. “Your brother and cousin told me a few things.”
“You’ve been hanging out with Kurt and Alonso?”
“I wouldn’t say hanging out. They clarified a few things I should have known. Things I wish you’d told me yourself.”
“So are they responsible for my ending up here?”
She shook her head in denial. “I sort of pushed the issue. Don’t blame them.”
He smiled and shifted to nibble his way down the side of her neck. “Go on.”
A shiver raced over her, but she tried to stay focused. “Answer a couple questions for me.”
“Okay.” His mouth continued its foray lower and lower until his lips grazed her nipples through the thin satin of her teddy.
A light tug at his hair brought his head up. Mischief sparked in his green eyes. How could the man be so damned adorable and still come off so intimidating? “I want to get this out.”
“Don’t let me stop you.” He pulled her neckline beneath her breasts and bent to feast on her nipples, wringing a gasp from her when he bit down gently on the still tender tips. Passion pooled between her legs.
“Connor!”
“Mmmhmm. I’m listening. Just keeping you interested while I recover.”
“Kurt told me about the curse.”
That got his attention, and he lifted his head. “And you believed him?”
“Sort of.” She stroked the light stubble on his cheek, the whiskers a gentle abrasive against her palm. “More important they convinced me you believe it.”
“Why more important?”
“Do you like coffee?”
He sat up then; the loss of his heat and weight created a pitiful ache, appeased only marginally by the stroke of his hand up and down her thigh. “Why?”
“Just answer…no lies.”
“Hate it.”
“Are you in love with my neighborhood barista?”
A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Hell no.”
God the man intoxicated her. “Why did you meet me there every morning then?”
“Why do you think?”
Reaching up, she traced the hard angles of his chest, savoring the smooth skin stretched taut over ridged muscle. “Tell me.”
“To be with you.” His hand edged upward, nearing the juncture of her thighs. If he dipped inside, she’d be lost.
“For how long?”
“Every day since the first time I saw you. I took any opportunity to be near.”
Biting her lip, she fought the urge to spread her legs and forget talking. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I did, at first. Then I realized you weren’t prepared to confront who you are or what we could be.”
Connor slipped his fingers between her damp folds, stroking tenderly. She could not stop the moan his firm touch generated. His smile confirmed how much her readiness pleased him, and she grew wetter. “I backed off until you learned to trust me.”
She opened for him, welcoming his middle finger deeper inside her pussy. The ability to form coherent sentences faltered, and she had to force herself to concentrate. He continued to fingerfuck her, driving her toward madness and away from her goal, but she could not go on without knowing his thoughts. She caught his wrist to still his hand. “What about other women?”
“I haven’t been a saint for three years if that’s what you’re asking.”
“If you supposedly love me, then how could you make love with anyone else?”
“I didn’t.”
She tossed the bullshit flag, and he chuckled but didn’t stop his slow exploration of her heated core. Holding his wrist only pressed it to her clit and stimulated her further as his fingers delved inside her, grazing her G-spot, driving her crazy.
“I caved once in a great while when the tension got to me. But mostly I waited for you, even when you regaled me with tales of your sex life or when I doubted you’d ever come around.” He stilled, and his free hand came up to cup her cheek. “You shoved me away, and sometimes I couldn’t handle it. I had sex, but I haven’t made love to a woman since the day I found you, never wanted to. Not like I want you.”
“What if I don’t…come around? If I tell you this won’t work and walk away. What then?”
“I’ll survive. Maybe even find someone I can care about. But I’ll never stop loving you.”
She released his wrist and curled her fingers into his hair. “And last night? What was that about?”
His wicked grin spread as he bent to nip at her stomach and lick his way downward. “I had to prove we could be so much more than friends, Kate. To show you that you want us as much as I do.”
“How—fuck…” His tongue flicked against her clit in insistent demand, and she arched upward, trembling for more, holding him close as she rode his mouth and hand. “I…you…we…oh, shit, you feel good.”
Connor chuckled and moved up her body until he braced above her, his thick cock nudging her slick pussy. “I’ll never hurt you, and I’ll never walk away unless you convince me it’s what you want.”
“I believe you.”
“So we’re only here because you heard about the curse?”
“No.” Her turn to smile, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a long slow kiss that had her panting for more when she finally released him. “I’m here because Papa Bear forced me to face what I had known all along but was too afraid to admit.”
“Which is?”
The crown of his cock brushed over her slit, begging entrance. Kate dug her nails into his shoulders, self-restraint no more than a thin sliver. “You deserve my trust, Con. You haven’t betrayed it in the three years I’ve known you, and you aren’t the type of man who ever would. It scares me to think about living without you, but I know I would survive that, too…eventually. But I can’t worry about someday realizing I made a mistake or that you’ll leave for no reason. If I do, I’ll make us both insane. You will never hurt me intentionally.”
He slipped a hand between them and rubbed the head of his revived cock over her clit in easy circles, coaxing her to accept him. “How do you know? You said all men change with commitment.”
She groaned, and he sank inside her. His thickness stretched her wide, asking rather than demanding she yield. She sucked in oxygen, desperate to hold out until she had said what needed to be said. “According to Kurt, you’ve been in a committed relationship with me for three years. I missed that fact somehow.” Wrapping her legs around his narrow hips, she took him completely. He filled her better than any fantasy lover ever would, and a tremor of merciless pleasure rippled through her. How could she have ever pushed him away or thought she could live without at least trying to make it work?
He pulled out and returned in patient increments, testing her restraint, in and out of her wet channel in an undemanding glide. “So what do you want now, my little cat?”
“You. A wedding. Maybe a house in the suburbs. Whate
ver you’re willing to be a part of.” She hesitated then rushed on, afraid not to say it all. “You loving me and me loving you. Maybe a kid or two if you’re game.”
“’Bout damned time.” With his sexy grin back in place, he increased his rhythm, driving her to madness in measured strokes, undeniable and strong.
Pressing her heels to the mattress, she lifted higher, giving and taking. Delighting in the solid thrusts that marked her as his. “I love you, Con. Forever.”
His thumb settled over her clit, circling and rubbing the sensitive nub. “I love you, too, Katelyn. We belong together. Partners—me bending for you, you bending for me.”
Her inner muscles clenched around him, and she gave herself over to the moment and the man. The seductive draw and plunge of his cock, the security of his arm beneath her hips, the other holding her steady for his kiss, the thrill of his mouth on hers, and the tantalizing caress of his pubic bone against her trigger cumulated in an intense and prolonged orgasm that rattled her to the core.
Connor shoved to the hilt, riding out his own release with a sexy, guttural groan before collapsing on top of her. His weight an unexpected balm to her fears. Kate wrapped her arms and legs around him and held him tight, delighting in the adoring euphoria of his commitment.
He nipped her shoulder, licking and teasing goose bumps to life until she squirmed and squealed.
“Con, stop! That tickles. You’re killing my lovely buzz.”
When he lifted his head, humor crinkled the corners of his eyes. “For a woman who dreams of kink, you do vanilla very well.”
She had to laugh. In little over a day, the man had fulfilled her most erotic fantasies and shattered her messed up version of reality. She could give herself to him, offer him her vulnerability with the confidence that he would not betray her, and feed on his strength when she needed it. Hope bloomed poignant and bright.
A shiver chased off the last of her doubts as she stroked her thumb over his strong jaw and smiling lips. “I was too busy hunting an impossible fairy tale. Guess I’ve never had the real thing.”
“Well, there’s your problem.” He rolled to his back and carried her with him, snuggling her against his unyielding muscles, and she practically purred in satisfaction. “Life’s far too short to settle for imitation anything, Kate.”