ROMEO

by Ruby Rowe

  “I thought we were going to be professional outside of the bedroom.”

  He scrunches his forehead. “When did I say my way would only take place in the bedroom?”

  “You’re exhausting.”

  Leaning over to my ear, he whispers, “I’ll be over at nine to exhaust you further … with rope.” I close my eyes as my body buzzes from his words and yearns for his touch. Feeling the magnetic pull, I dig my heels into the driveway to keep from falling forward against his firm chest.

  “Breathe, dirty woman.”

  “Right,” I whisper. “You’re going to ruin me. I feel it.”

  “No, I’m going to bring you to life, and it won’t be like that fake one you portray on screen.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Ava

  I’m in the kitchen when I hear the knock on the door. I cover my pounding heart and go to answer it.

  “Hi,” I say quietly. Griffin peruses my body with a heated gaze, and I do the same to him. He’s in a snug black t-shirt and tight jeans that I’ve seen him wear when he’s headed to his bike for a ride.

  “You have too many fucking clothes on,” he says.

  I can’t help but giggle. “Then, you can remove them. Was I really supposed to answer the door naked?” Grabbing my waist, he walks forward, forcing me to take steps back.

  “No, don’t ever do that.” Before I can speak, he smothers my mouth with a kiss and presses his fingertips into my waist. His tongue lashes mine, and I sense that I’m about to be introduced to a side of Griffin I’ve never met before.

  The shower with him was hot, and the pain he inflicted only stung to the point of erotic, but this is going to be different; his tongue and rough fingers tell me so.

  Releasing me, he wipes his mouth. “I have a feeling I’m going to be removing your lipstick often.” Grabbing my hips, he turns me around and walks me forward to my staircase.

  “Bedroom, now.” His body is as close to mine as possible as we take the steps fast. Once inside, he shuts the door behind him. I already have a bedside lamp on, and he doesn’t turn on the overhead light.

  Instead, he walks over and strips my white duvet completely off my bed. “Let’s see if you can follow directions without your smart mouth getting in the way. Take off your top.” I do as he says and pull my scoop neck tee over my head.

  Coming closer, he unhooks my bra and gradually slips the straps over my shoulders. The lacy fabric drops to the floor, and I feel the nervous tremble coming on.

  Both my longing and fear are in a tug-of-war, and I’m not quite sure which one should win. He pinches my nipples hard, between his thumb and fingers, and I grab his waist to brace myself.

  “I love what that does to you. Lie on your back at the end of the bed.”

  I want to comment about removing the rest of my clothes, but instead, I choose to follow his instructions and lie down. Stepping between my dangling legs, he unbuttons my jean shorts and slowly unzips the zipper, keeping his eyes trained on mine the entire time he removes my clothes.

  I swallow to calm my nerves, but it’s futile. I’m naked, watching him admire me, and the stoic Ava who stripped in front of him while he showered is nowhere to be found.

  Reaching over his shoulder, Griffin pulls off his t-shirt and removes his tennis shoes and socks. He freezes, and tilting his head to the side, he squints at me.

  “Suddenly, you’re not the stubborn, defiant Ava I’m accustomed to. Let’s see how submissive you can be.” He yanks me to the edge of the bed and bends my legs up so that my feet are flat on the mattress, heels close to my ass.

  Forcing my thighs open, he skims his fingers down the inside of them, and the faint feeling on my sensitive skin is almost as powerful as when he’s rough.

  My legs shake, and I whimper as he trails his fingertips to my pussy and plunges two fingers inside me.

  “Shit,” I murmur.

  “So. Fucking. Wet.” Pulling his fingers out, he reaches behind him and brings around a flogger and a bundle of black rope. Imagining how they must’ve looked hanging off his back jeans pocket only revs up my desire.

  I’m nervous but no longer afraid. I know that I can trust Griffin to deliver both pleasure and pain, and I’m going to relish every second of it so that I never forget.

  He lays the flogger on the bed and fools with the rope. I soon see that he’s holding several separate pieces. “I didn’t forget, if you were wondering.”

  Tossing all but one piece next to me, he ties the rope to the right pole at the end of my bed. He stretches it horizontally above me before he secures it to the other side. “Now, roll over and lie with your knees up close to your chest, like how they are now.”

  Helping me get into position on my stomach, he brings me back toward him with my thighs apart. My ankles are on the edge of the bed with my feet hanging over it. “Put your arms behind you, and press your chest against the mattress.”

  Grabbing hold of my wrists, I feel him wrap the rope around them several times before he ties it in a knot. I’m already uncomfortable, vulnerable and more alive than I’ve ever felt.

  He lifts my arms up behind me, which squeezes my shoulder blades together and presses my upper body farther against the mattress.

  “I’m tying your wrists to the rope above. Then, I’m going to eat your pussy. Once you come all over my mouth, I’ll use the flogger. If at any time you need me to stop, use the safe word red. Got it?”

  “Fuck,” I mumble. “Got it.”

  Dropping to his knees, he drags his tongue up my calf before he spreads me open and begins to lick. It’s rough, like his tongue was on my mouth, and I moan from all the sensations.

  He thrusts his fingers into me, and they move in and out as his tongue works it’s magic on my clit. I couldn’t moan louder or shove back against his mouth more forcefully.

  My shoulders feel like they could dislocate, but I don’t care as I’m swallowed up in the pleasure he’s giving. In no time, I lose all control and unravel against his smoldering mouth. He’s relentless with his tongue, using it on me until I’ve ridden out every single ripple of ecstasy.

  I feel him untie my bound wrists from the rope across my bed. He brings them down, and sliding an arm beneath my chest, he lifts me.

  “Up on your knees.” He helps me into the next position and unties my wrists. “Stretch your arms and then hold them above your head.” I shake out my arms briefly before I hold them up as he instructed. He binds my wrists again and secures them to the rope above.

  I gasp for breath as he picks up the flogger. Gripping my hair, he tilts my head to the side and presses his lips against my neck. He kisses his way up to my ear, where I smell my cum on his mouth.

  The erotic moment sends a shiver down my spine and exhilarates not only my body but my soul. He’s giving me exactly what I’ve craved for so long–an experience that’s both thrilling and taboo.

  “I’m going to go easy on you the first time,” he whispers in my ear, “but you’ll still feel the sting.”

  He brushes the flogger across my shoulders and then back again. I try to level my breaths that are irregular and harsh like his. I wish I could witness the lust swimming in his eyes and the strained veins in his neck, but I know at some point I’ll get the chance.

  He drags the leather down one side of my back, and I squirm as it skims up the other. The tails brush over the top of my ass and along the bottoms of my feet.

  I can’t stop my body from trembling, the anticipation overwhelming. He kisses my shoulder before he steps back and brings the flogger down on the side of my back.

  Involuntarily, my body jerks to get away, but it’s not what I really want, so I sit up straighter on my knees for him to do it again.

  “I want more,” I utter. “So much more.”

  Griffin

  “Ava…” Her name is exhaled from my strained breath, the word escaping from a longing so deeply rooted in my being that it has shaken me to the core.

  No woman h
as ever made me react this way. This scene isn’t traditional, or like anything I’ve experienced at Dungeon Six, but it’s exactly what I need and crave. Ava’s everything the past couldn’t give me.

  I turn to the side so I can strike her ass cheeks horizontally instead of bringing the flogger down on top of them. As much as I want to inflict pain, I don’t want to seriously hurt her, or run her off, so I’m careful with my placement.

  By the third strike, she barely flinches, and the moans that sail from her mouth make me so damn eager to fuck her. After strike six, I can’t take it any longer and drop the flogger. To speed things up, I find my pocket knife in my jeans and cut the rope above.

  I fold the blade back and toss it to the floor before I strip off my pants and briefs. Clutching the back of her loose blond curls, I bend her over so she’s doggie-style on the bed, and I slam my cock inside her.

  “Griffin,” she cries out.

  I’m a gluttonous man as I pull her hair and squeeze her hip with my fingers. I continue to pound into her tight, soaked cunt, taking what I crave. Ava believes I’m going to ruin her, but it’s me who will be left ruined. No woman will ever measure up after this.

  My orgasm hits me like a freight train, so I stiffen and bury my cock so deep, stretching her to the point that the pain of it strangles her throaty cry and leaves her without breath. With a long growl, I shoot my cum inside her.

  I claim, possess, and mark the goddess I was never to touch. I’ll forget where Ava and I came from, and if only for a little while, she’ll be mine. All fucking mine.

  Loosening my grip on her hair, I massage her scalp with my fingertips. My cock slips out, and she instantly falls over on the bed with bound wrists stretched out toward the headboard.

  After wiping the tip of my cock with my t-shirt, I walk around and untie the rope. She rolls her wrists around, and I’m curious what she’s thinking. Finally, she shifts to her side and gives me a coy smile.

  Fuck, she’s breathtaking. Her blond waves are a mess, skin flush, and her lips are a swollen cherry red. I think of Teddy and Uncle Dominic, and hell, I’ve gotten myself into a nightmare, but I don’t want out. No fucking way.

  She pats the space next to her, so I get in bed and bring her against me.

  “That was fun,” she says, “and hot as hell.”

  “That it was.” Emitting a long breath, she fingers the patch of hair on my chest.

  “You know a lot about my life. I feel like I know so little about yours. Where are your parents? What are they like?”

  “My father died a couple of years ago.”

  She props herself up to look at me. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. My mother lives in Malibu.”

  “You don’t want to talk about them.”

  “Not right now.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t want to sour an incredible night.”

  She smiles. “I’m going to want another round of incredible very soon.” Thankful that she’s done probing, I smile back.

  “That won’t be a problem, but right now I need to leave.”

  “Why?”

  “One of the night guards saw me come over. I need them to respect my authority and take this job seriously so that no one uninvited steps foot on this property.”

  Kissing her forehead, I get up and find my pants. I smirk as I pick up my shirt. “I already have to walk across the lawn with my shirt missing.”

  She sighs. “OK. Have you heard any news about Romeo?”

  “The video cameras across from the restaurant didn’t get a clear shot, so they haven’t identified him yet. While we’re on the subject, I’d rather you not throw a party right now.”

  “I’m not changing my life for that psycho.”

  “Then make an exception for me.” I sit by her on the side of the bed and put my tennis shoes on.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  Sliding my hand over her smooth, bare thigh, I reconsider staying the night and fucking her again, but I shouldn’t. I thought being involved with Ava would be a distraction from protecting her, but now I’m only more determined to keep her safe. I’ll die before someone gets in the way of that.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Ava

  “Ava girl,” Sydney says. I lift my head and look at her.

  “Yes?”

  “Did you hear a word I said?”

  “Sorry, I’m a bit distracted today.” The flush moves up my neck and cheeks, and I feel as if I’m lost in a cloud of smoke from the branding laid to my skin by Griffin Scott.

  “You fucked him!”

  Reaching across the table, I grab her forearm.

  “Hush, Janelle is still here.” The mischievousness in Syd’s smile reaches her eyes “OK, yes, we’ve slept together … and on more than one occasion.”

  “I knew it. You were walking funny on the way to the table.”

  “Do you have any filter?”

  “That shit’s for ladies, and—”

  “We both know you’re not one,” I say, rolling my eyes since she makes a point to say this to everyone she meets. Her grin widens.

  “I knew the two of you would take a trip to pound town. Griffin Scott is now the guard of your pussy chamber.”

  She gets me giggling until the tears are flowing. “I actually love your honesty.” Wiping my eyes, I cough from laughter. “Oh, Syd, I like him.

  “I can’t explain it, but we just fit. I don’t get him as well as he gets me yet, but I’m working on it. He’s almost too perfect, so I find myself itching to put the wall up.”

  “Don’t. Just enjoy yourself. So, are you not going back to the club?”

  “As long as Griffin and I are, um, whatever we are, I don’t need to. He’s adventurous in bed … and out of it.”

  “Girrrlll, that’s hot. I want the details.”

  “No, I can’t do that to him. He seems more private than I am. I have to say that’s what worries me. Does he have secrets that make him less perfect?”

  “If you’re only fucking him, who cares?”

  “True. That’s all it is, and I need to remember that. I don’t want another complicated relationship. If I don’t know his dirt, then he’s not complicated.”

  Syd holds her hand out. “There ya go. My slut training is working.”

  I pick up a long green bean from my plate and toss it at her. She retaliates, grabbing several and throwing them my way. I watch her look at her bowl of salad, but there’s dressing on it.

  “Don’t even think about it,” I spout. “We’re not five.”

  “No, but we’re fun.”

  “I will say that having you as a friend keeps me younger.”

  “Oh, don’t try to sweet-talk me now.” She scoops up a handful of salad, and we hear a throat clear about the time her arm comes up. Our eyes dart to the doorway of the dining room, and there stands Griffin with raised eyebrows.

  “Sorry to interrupt a, uh, food fight? You got a package today from your parents, but I figured I should be here when you opened it.” He holds up a cardboard box.

  “I bet you do have a package for her,” Sydney says as she wipes off her hands.

  “Syd!” I give her a dirty look before I shift my gaze to Griffin. “Seeing how she was about to waste her salad, I’d say she’s finished and was just about to leave. Right, Sydney?”

  “I’m kidding, Griffin. I like to give Ava loads of grief. I better stop, though, since she’s going to be sweet and host my birthday party.”

  “Say what?” I ask.

  “I was going to throw myself one, but my place is too small. All the men I plan to invite can’t fit inside the hot tub with me, but your pool will work perfectly.”

  “Your birthday is next weekend, and that’s only a week before my sister’s wedding.”

  “I know, but I promise I’ll arrange and pay for everything. You won’t have to lift a finger.” She gives me a pouty face. “Please? I promise I’ll try to be on my best behavior.�
�

  I roll my eyes. “OK.”

  “Ava,” Griffin says sternly.

  “What? It’s her birthday, and you know I wanted to have a party, anyway.”

  “And as Head of Security, I advised that a party wasn’t safe.”

  Sydney grabs her purse. “That’s my cue to leave. Stand your ground, Ava. It’s your decision.” Walking by Griffin, she wiggles her fingers at him in a wave. “You can punish her after. She likes it rough, by the way.”

  “Sydney, get out!”

  Leaning her head back, she laughs as she exits the room.

  “You told her?” Griffin asks angrily.

  “No, she figured out we slept together all on her own.”

  “Did you tell her about the club while you were at it?” Griffin stalks toward me and slams the box he’s holding down on the dining room table.

  “I said I didn’t tell her, and I would never share something so private about you.”

  “Then how would she have guessed?”

  I make a fist on my hip and scowl at him.

  “Maybe it’s because you fucked my pussy until it was raw. I can barely walk today.”

  Gripping my hair, he shoves me against the side of the table. His smoldering eyes reveal his sudden urge for a fix. “Maybe she guessed because I was distracted by the thoughts of you binding and striking me.”

  “Ava,” he whispers. I take hold of his tie and give him a seductive look.

  “Or, maybe my flushed skin gave it away as I imagined you licking my–soaked–pussy.”

  “You drive me insane.” He captures my lips with his and lifts me to set me on the table. He’s merciless with his kiss as his hands slide up my thighs and under my sundress, so I grapple at his suit jacket, my instincts telling me to rip it off. Groaning, he clamps my hand to stop me.

  “Not here.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry to interrupt,” Janelle says from the doorway.

  “Shit,” Griffin mumbles.

  I turn my head. “It’s fine, Janelle, and you can go home for the day. I’ll clear the dinner plates.”

  “Yes, Ms. Lane.” Her head lowers as she scurries away.