Make You Mine

by Jackie Ashenden

  He murmured something, a curse under his breath; then he lowered his head and she thought he was going to kiss her. But he didn’t.

  As he pulled aside the lacy cup of her bra, his mouth covered her nipple instead.

  She closed her eyes, a soft gasp escaping her, a lightning strike of sensation arrowing straight down to her sex. Her fingers pushed into his black hair, and she shuddered as he nipped her, a sharp shot of pain, drowned almost instantly by the soothing lick of his tongue.

  Of course she was his. How could she be anyone else’s? After this?

  “Since you’re mine, I’m going to fuck you, Katya,” he murmured against her skin. “Right here, on the roulette table.” A hand slid up her thigh, beneath the skirt she wore, another of Scott’s little minis designed to show off her legs. And she shuddered again as his fingers found her sex, stroking her through the fabric of her panties. “So if you don’t want that, you’d better let me know right now.”

  She couldn’t speak, her voice completely gone. All she could do was reach for the zipper of his pants, tugging it down so she could touch him the way he was touching her, the length of him hot and hard in her hand.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” he whispered, nipping her again.

  Then he moved, lifting her in his arms and setting her on the green baize of the roulette table, pushing her legs apart so he could stand between them. Then he pulled his wallet from his pants and took out a condom. “I want you to do it for me,” he said, handing it to her. Then he undid his pants.

  Touching him. He wanted her touching him, unlike last night. Her throat felt full, that strange, frightening feeling turning and shifting in her chest. But she swallowed it back, her hands shaking as she ripped open the packet and took out the latex. She’d done this last night for him and it had been far easier than expected, at least easier than stripping an Uzi. Yet right now she wasn’t sure she could do it.

  And he obviously sensed her worry, because then his hands covered hers, guiding her, both of them rolling the latex down, protecting them.

  Then he said, “Put your arms around my neck.”

  She did, shivering as his hands slid her skirt up, as he pulled her to the edge of the table. His blue eyes stared straight into hers and this time she was the one who was drowning.

  “Alexei,” she whispered helplessly as she felt him pull aside the lace of her panties, baring her. As the blunt head of his cock pushed into her, the exquisite stretch of him made her gasp.

  His arm came around her, holding her tight against him while his other hand gripped her ponytail again, tugging her head back. “No more distance, Katya,” he said raggedly, the rough note in his voice like a caress. “No more secrets. Not while you’re here. Not while you’re mine. Understand?”

  The feeling rose up inside her, tangling with the pleasure, turning intense. Vast. Inescapable. She was going to drown; she was sure of it.

  It wouldn’t be so bad to drown in his arms.…

  But he must have known, must have seen her distress, because the grip in her hair turned gentle, so he was cupping the back of her head, holding her steady for a kiss that just about killed her with its gentleness. With its soft heat.

  That made a sob catch in her throat as he began to move inside her in a slow, intense rhythm.

  It was his turn to save her. His turn to help her breathe.

  Her arms curled tight around his neck, her mouth opening to his. Her body shifting and moving with the rhythm he set.

  The clutch of pleasure intensified and the gentleness began to change. His mouth was harder, hotter. A savage kiss that demanded nothing less than complete surrender. She gave it to him unhesitatingly, let him take control because she sensed that’s what he needed right now.

  He tugged her hair out of its ponytail and pushed her back down onto the table, spreading her hair out around her on the green baize. “Let me see it,” he ordered, his voice rough. “I want to see what I do to you. I want to hear you scream.”

  That fierce, hungry glint was back in his eyes and he was looking at her like she was the only woman in the world. And in that moment there was nothing she wouldn’t give him.

  She put her hands above her head, arching her back, opening her mouth, and gasping as he drove into her. Letting him hear the pleasure he gave her.

  Faster. Harder. His hand moving between her legs, stroking her clit as he thrust, ratcheting up the pleasure so it became nearly agonizing in its intensity.

  “Alex…” she said hoarsely. “Oh, Alexei, please…”

  He leaned over her and slid one hand behind her head, his blazing blue eyes the only things she could see. “Come for me, Katya mine. Come just for me.”

  Then he moved his hand, gave one last, deep thrust.

  And Katya let herself drown.

  * * *

  He felt her come, her pussy convulsing around him, her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, and his own climax rushed over him like an incoming tide. And it was all he could do just to hold her as it swamped him, leaving him shaking like an old man.

  But that was okay. She was shaking too.

  Afterwards he became aware of where they were, and like it had at Conrad’s reception, it felt wrong. To have her here where anyone could walk in and interrupt.

  Pulling away from her, he first dealt with the condom, then gathered her into his arms. She didn’t protest, only putting her head against his shoulder. “Where are we going?”

  “Upstairs. I don’t know about you, but I could do with a shower.”

  “But you just had one this morning.”

  “Yes, but you weren’t in it.”

  She smiled at him and for some reason he felt it like a touch.

  No, there would be no more distance between them. No more secrets. And having her know almost all of his was freeing in a way he’d never imagined.

  Upstairs, he turned on the shower, then slowly and carefully stripped her bare. Then he got himself naked and pulled both of them into the shower, pushing her against the shower wall and letting the hot water wash everything away.

  Her body was as sleek as a seal’s and her mouth was hungry beneath his as he kissed her. And he was about to lift her against the wall and take her again when her hands pushed against his chest.

  He lifted his head, looking down at her. Her face was flushed, water droplets catching in her eyelashes. “What?” he demanded.

  “I want to give you something, Alex.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  She didn’t speak, only slipped away, coming around behind him. He turned and caught her brilliant green gaze.

  Then she sank to her knees in front of him, water streaming over her hair and pale skin. “You’ve tasted me. Can’t I taste you?”

  His breath caught, unease twisting inside him.

  But she didn’t touch him, her gaze searching his face. “He’s still in your head, isn’t he?”

  Alex wanted to say no, but of course that wasn’t true. If it were, he wouldn’t be hesitating. “He sucked me off.” He forced the words out because he’d told her he didn’t want any more secrets. And Jesus, she knew just about everything else. “And I didn’t want him to.”

  She paled, yet her gaze didn’t leave his. “But he’s not here now.”

  He reached out, cupped her cheek. “Katya, I—”

  “He can’t touch you, Alex. Remember that. Not while I’m here.”

  Almost of its own accord, his thumb stroked her lovely mouth, tracing the outline of her full lower lip. Christ, he could do this, couldn’t he? After all, it was pretty ironic, a playboy afraid of a blow job.…

  When he sucked you off, you cried as you came. And he laughed.

  No, fuck that.

  His hand dropped and he leaned back against the shower wall. “Do it.”

  Katya gave a single sharp nod. Then she knelt upright and put a hand on his thigh. “Watch me. Keep your eyes on me.”

  He wanted to laugh at the irony of the
reversal, but he suddenly felt too desperate, too raw, for laughter. “Of course,” he said roughly. “Where else would I look?”

  Her cheeks had lost that pale look, her eyes glittering. She reached for his cock and instantly he was hard at the slick feel of her fingers around him. At the sight of her pale skin circling his dick. Then he noticed that her hand was shaking.

  This is different. She makes it different.

  He put his hand around hers, the way he had when she’d put the condom on him. “Don’t be afraid.”

  “I’ve never done this before.” She took a little breath. “I want this to be good for you.”

  Who’d ever told him that? Who’d ever said, I want this to be good for you? No one. He’d said it to lots of other women, but no one had ever said it back. No one had ever wanted it to be good for him.

  The unease, the strange cold, began to fade.

  “It will be,” he said. “Feel me, Katya. This is what you do to me. Nothing you do could ever be anything less than spectacular.”

  She flushed, pink staining her cheeks, holding his gaze. “Let go.”

  He released his hold, his hand dropping away. And a shudder coiled at the base of his spine as her fingers gently squeezed him.

  “Look at me, Alex.”

  And he did, looking down into her eyes. Green and gold. So beautiful. Familiar.

  “Tell me what to do.”

  “Lick me. Use your tongue.”

  She leaned forward, and he took a sharp breath as he watched her lick the head of his cock, the heat of her tongue sending a pulse of electricity all the way down his spine. She blinked at the sound, but when he pushed his fingers into the wet silk of her hair, gripping her again, she gave him another lick, watching his face.

  Desire climbed, an exquisite pressure, and there was no unease. No fear.

  Because this was different. This was Katya kneeling at his feet. Katya with her mouth on him. Katya who was making sure Conrad never touched him again.

  He had a fistful of golden hair and he closed his fingers even tighter on it, using the softness to remind him where he was and who he was with. A lifeline.

  “Open your mouth,” he ordered, unable to help himself, his voice fraying as her tongue circled the head of his cock. “Suck me. Do it now.”

  Her pink mouth opened and took him in, searing heat engulfing him.

  “Oh … fuck.…” He kept watching her, unable to look away as her mouth moved on him. She’d put her free hand on his hip, clutching him to steady herself as she began to suck him. She was tentative, unpracticed, but he didn’t care. Because for the first time in his life the fear seemed to have melted away, leaving only a pleasure so deep he couldn’t think.

  He kept watching, guiding the movements of her head with his grip in her hair, feeling the sheer weight of that pleasure begin to crush him.

  “I’m going to come, Katya,” he whispered. “And I don’t want you to stop. I want your mouth on me when I do. Do you want that?”

  Her fingers spread on his hip, pressing him against the wall of the shower, giving a short, sharp nod of her head. And then she kept going, drawing him in deeper, increasing the suction until he felt himself begin to spin out of control. Until every single fucking thing began to spin out of control.

  And it was beautiful and it was right and he joined the chaos, throwing back his head as the orgasm exploded in his head, a bright flare of color and light in the darkness. Blinding him, annihilating him.

  It took him hours to come down from the high, or at least it felt like hours. And when he did, Katya was still kneeling at his feet, the water streaming over both of them, her hair clutched tight between his fingers.

  His lifeline.

  Slowly, he released her, then reached for her upper arms, drawing her slowly to her feet. A flush had crept down her neck and shoulders. “Was that—”

  “Perfect. It was absolutely fucking perfect.”

  Her mouth curved and it stole his breath completely. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  He leaned forward and kissed her, tasting himself on her lips. And it was so fucking erotic he was hard all over again.

  “Yes,” he murmured against her lips. “You can do that again.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Alex got out of the car and held the door open as Katya got out. She was in one of Scott’s gowns tonight. Black silk and relatively modest, the neckline wide across the shoulders to reveal their lovely shape and the ivory skin of Katya’s throat and neck. The rest of the gown was saved from complete austerity by the cut, following every inch of her lithe, athletic figure, the hem brushing the floor.

  A wave of possessiveness gripped him as he watched her, which was unusual for him, since he didn’t get possessive of his lovers. But … the way she’d touched him in the shower earlier that day, like she was claiming him for herself, claiming him back from Conrad, had been so fucking good. Made him feel so fucking powerful. More like himself, the way he was always meant to be, not someone frantically papering over the cracks and hoping no one would see.

  She’d been right. He had needed her. Had needed to be inside her, have her hands on him, her mouth, covering himself with her warmth and her scent, canceling out those bitter memories. So Conrad couldn’t touch him.

  No one can, not while you’re hers.

  And that wasn’t an unpleasant thought. In fact, the thought of being anyone else’s seemed strange right now. Wrong on some deep level. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking that, though, so he didn’t examine the feeling too closely, watching Katya come toward him instead.

  The gown had been her choice for the evening and he’d approved. It made her look sexual yet powerful, a woman in control. Definitely not the plaything she’d given the impression of being at the past two visits to the Four Horsemen. Perhaps it gave away her true nature more than was advisable, but shit, he didn’t much care anymore. Now she was both his bodyguard and his lover, and regardless of her role tonight, she would be a strength, not a weakness.

  And she would be beside him when he crushed that motherfucker into the ground.

  Intense satisfaction moved through him and he smiled at her as she put her hand on his arm. She smiled back and his breath caught. Ah, so that’s what she looked like when she smiled. Goddamn, fucking beautiful.

  He put his hand over hers on his arm, touching her skin as they walked up the steps to the casino and into the foyer. The doorman inclined his head, showing them to the elevators.

  But when they got to the gaming room floor and the doors opened, they found the room empty but for Conrad sitting down one end of the poker table. He rose as Alex and Katya stepped out of the elevator and into the room, a smile on his face. “Welcome. I was wondering when you’d arrive.”

  Alex didn’t move, didn’t allow a trace of his surprise to show on his face. “Oh, are we late? Or perhaps the others are even later?”

  Conrad’s smile widened. “Ah well, I’m afraid the others won’t be joining us this evening. Their game is over. It’s just going to be you and I tonight. And of course your lovely bodyguard.”

  This was all excellent. Conrad had gotten rid of the other players and Alex hadn’t even needed to do a thing. And if the prick was hoping he’d be shocked that Katya had been unmasked, he was sadly mistaken.

  Alex laughed. “Took you long enough to figure that one out. I thought you’d guess the first night.”

  “Well, she was moderately convincing,” Conrad admitted, seating himself once again. “Especially during the reception when you gave her an orgasm in that chair. Which was quite … arousing, I have to admit. You’ve got quite the way with women, son.”

  Of course he had seen. Had watched them. Had watched her …

  Despite himself, a small bubble of rage burst in his head, a bright explosion of color, while at the same time it felt like he’d taken a bath in raw sewage. Her first orgasm, that private moment, taken from her. Watched by this man with his prurient interest.<
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  The pressure of Katya’s hand on Alex’s arm increased as she gave him a small squeeze. A reminder of her presence and her strength. Conrad couldn’t touch him anymore. Couldn’t touch either of them …

  Conrad’s gaze was cold, watching Alex with the same detached interest as a snake watches a mouse in preparation for devouring it.

  He let his mouth turn up in a satisfied shit-eating grin. “Glad we could provide some entertainment.”

  “I thought you’d be pleased.” Conrad’s hooded gaze flicked to Katya. “She’s even blushing, bless her. But tell me, what was the point of the deception?”

  Alex made a careless gesture. “A bit of fun. You know how it is.” He allowed his smile to fade a little. “So what happened to the rest of them? Don’t tell me their playing put the fear of God into you?”

  Conrad laughed. “Shit, no. If you hadn’t noticed, they couldn’t play their way out of a wet paper bag. No, I thought if I was going to play, then I wanted a real challenge. After all, I don’t get many of them these days.” Idly, he picked up one of the packs of cards on the table, sliding them out of their box. It was a new pack, his fingers delicately pulling off the plastic wrap with small, precise movements. “I confess, son, that your little wager piqued my curiosity. Those Circles clubs of yours are very successful. Plus there was also that … other matter you promised. I don’t want any outside interference and I don’t want any other challengers. Tonight, it’s just you and me.” He raised a brow. “I hope you don’t mind.”

  As if. “Why would I mind? Apocalypse was never about the poker anyway.”

  Something flickered in the other man’s gaze. Fucking finally. Had he surprised him?

  Conrad had begun shuffling the cards, snapping them from one hand to the other in an idle display of dexterity. “Of course it wasn’t about the poker. Which begs the question as to why you’re here?”

  “I was invited.” Alex turned and began to descend the stairs into the room, Katya silent beside him. “You know that.”