Reining Him In (Chinese Zodiac Romance Series Book 5)

by Rachael Slate

  She rose on the tips of her toes, purring into his ear. “Do you like this?”

  As he was about to ask what, a zap of energy shot into him, zinging through his groin, making him jump.

  “And this?”

  She blasted another intense jolt, straight to his ballocks. His hands shot out to grip the wall behind her, teeth clenching as the wave rippled up and down through him.

  He’d been under the spell of many a húli jīng, but this was a new trick. The pressure sped through his system, condensing straight into the tip of his cock, surging like a fire hose ready to burst.

  “Daji,” he grated, teeth clenched, unsure if this was a plea for mercy or a demand for more.

  She shifted back, and the tension dissipated. Switching him on and off like a fucking faucet. She could have made him explode right then and there.

  He trapped her slender throat in his hand and slanted his mouth across her plump lips. Shoving his hips forward, he ground against her, rubbing to ease the ache, but it amplified. He wrenched his lips off hers and panted, “I want to be inside you.”

  She seized the back of his head and tangled her fingers in his hair. “What are you waiting for?”

  “That.” He grinned, but his hunger for her seized him, so he tugged down his gym shorts, freeing himself.

  She bit her lip and the hesitation in her expression reminded him about her sick ex-husband and those losers she’d slept with.

  Sure, they’d been intimate, but actual intercourse was an altogether different beast. Being inside her would be more than sex.

  Making love?

  It would wipe everyone from her past. From his too.

  She was his last. After Daji, he’d never desire anyone else. What a weird sensation. Horse, whose nature was to roam free, had at last settled in one pasture.

  A damned fine pasture it was.

  He might not be able to convince her or anyone else of that yet, but he would. He’d make them see one catalyst was enough to make a man change.

  She’s mine.

  Taking her like this, against the wall, was what he’d fantasized about. But her? Despite her húli jīng tricks and her confident demands, she looked to him to make her fantasy come true.

  He forced his breaths to even, the pounding in his blood to slow the hell down. They didn’t have to rush this. It would be better if they didn’t.

  She deserved better than a dank alcove in a public place.

  “What are you doing?” Her wide eyes followed his actions as he stuffed his hard-on into his shorts, grimacing.

  “We’re not doing this here.”

  “We’re not?”

  “Nope. Come on, love.” He kissed her forehead, crouched and plucked her torn panties, slipping those into his pocket, and linked his fingers through hers.

  “Where are we staying?”

  “The Semangat Room, third level.”

  “Isn’t ‘semangat’ Malay for—”

  “Passion. Yes.”

  Fitting. He led Daji to the third level, pausing outside their door, a labeled plaque hanging on the wall. Lucy had set them up in a nice room, with an actual bed. He squeezed her fingers as he faced Daji and propped against the wall. “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes.” Her eyes flashed, curious.

  He swooped in and stole a kiss, sliding his hands across her fine ass. Breaking their kiss, he hoisted her, wrapping her legs around his waist. “Good.” Bracing her weight in one arm, he twisted open the knob, shuffled backward into the room, spun around, and kicked the door shut.

  Whoa. The entire room flickered with the glow of dozens of candles. Red rose petals were strewn across the sheets. A floral scent drifted through the air.

  “Price?” She arched a brow, draping her arms around his neck.

  “Not me.”

  “Lucy.” She laughed. “She must have snuck in here after I left. Guess this was why she wasn’t around to hear your speech.”

  “Amended speech.” He nipped at her lips. Sheng might still be an ass, but he’d chosen a great partner in Lucy.

  His fingers stretched across her hips, the smooth flow of fabric reminding him he’d torn off her panties.

  Time to undress the rest of her.

  And make her his.

  ***

  Daji’s heart pounded in her chest, the thunder pulsing in her ears. A long time had passed since she’d taken a male to her bed, and Price was unlike any man.

  He was everything she’d never allowed herself to desire. The fantasy she’d shoved into the realm of impossibility, but he stood before her. Living and breathing, and demanding she did too.

  This romantic, vulnerable, affectionate side of him was the real Price. Someone he didn’t project to the world. No more than she did. Their circumstances made him enact roles.

  Together, there were no parts to perform except their true selves. A rare gift indeed.

  Her hesitations, her fears, they melted. Burned to ashes by the heat of his passion.

  He stepped to the bed and perched on the edge, easing her onto his lap. His large, warm hands cupped her cheeks, his steady blue gaze holding hers.

  One last confession rested on her lips.

  “When the yāoguài attacked, I feared the end had come for me.” His eyes flickered in protective fury. “This threat, this fear I’ve lived with for centuries, is real. It sounds strange, but the curse became a cloud on the horizon. Distant and uncertain. Suddenly, it’s hanging over my head, and I can’t live my last days in regret.” She brushed aside the locks that had fallen across his eyes. “You make me feel more alive than anything in my entire existence. I want to be with you, Price, for however long we have.”

  “Good, but I’m not letting anyone take you from me. I promise.”

  She smiled, her eyes stinging at how much she wished for that to be true. If anyone was determined to save her, it was Price.

  Even he wouldn’t be strong enough to.

  “I know.” She slanted forward and feathered her lips across his, soaking in the devotion of his words. Her fingertips trailed downward, beneath the hem of his shirt. She danced them along his smooth, muscled skin, sighing at the strength of this male, both inside and out.

  He seized the hem of his shirt, shrugging it over his head and flinging it aside. The candlelight flickered across his bronzed skin, highlighting those delicious curves and dips. She wet her lips and drew in a deep inhalation.

  “You’re welcome.” His cocky smirk indicated he’d caught her blatant admiration. “Well, are you going to reciprocate?”

  She arched a brow and crisscrossed her arms at her waist, snaring the hem of her tank top and dragging it over her head.

  Her pulse raced as she shifted her hand behind her back and unclipped her bra. Instead of sliding the garment off, she clasped it to her chest and flicked her tongue across his lips. “I’m not sure this will make us even.”

  “Are we keeping score?” Amusement flashed in his eyes. “Because I remember making you scream.”

  True, he had done that.

  “Hmm. That was for your benefit.” She nipped at his lips, teasing.

  “If we both stay dressed, this might take a while.”

  “I’m very patient. I’ve waited for centuries.” She shifted in his lap, rubbing against his very full erection.

  “Well, I’m not.” He gripped her hips and ground against her.

  Her hands shot upward to clinch his shoulders and hold on. He tugged her bra out from between them, their bare flesh pressed together, tingling her nipples into hard pebbles.

  “That’s more like it.” He untied the knot of her sarong, peeling away the fabric.

  She posed nude upon his lap, the sleek fabric of his shorts all that rested between them.

  As he edged closer to press heated kisses against her neck, those broad hands skimmed upward on either side of her ribcage, his thumbs gliding along the sides of her breasts.

  Every movement was slow, torturously heightening her
anticipation, and yet so decadently erotic at the same time.

  She longed for him to rush through this and for him to never stop.

  He seemed to have his own ideas, his lips trailing across her skin and sending small shivers of delight coursing through her.

  Never had a male made love to her like this.

  One hand spread across her back, the other drifted down her thigh, between them, and nudged down the waistband of his shorts. She swallowed thickly as the ruffle of the fabric thundered in her ears. He scooped her in one arm while he shuffled out of his shorts, and eased her onto his thighs.

  Her anticipation drummed a steady beat through her veins. What did he plan to do with her?

  This was worse than being a virgin. To have experienced mating as no more than an animalistic mounting and rutting.

  Yet, Price was different.

  His hand swept across her throat. “Look at me.” She ripped her focus off his steel shaft and onto his face.

  Gently, he kissed her lips, coaxing the apprehension from her tight muscles. She eased, relaxing into his embrace.

  Everything was different with Price.

  Everything.

  ***

  Each muscle in his body trembled, threatening to burst if he had to wait a second longer, but he did. Price forced the tremors aside, concentrating on this woman he adored. On the uncertainty clouding her eyes, tensing her body.

  “You’re in control, baby.” He clasped her hand and placed it on his cock. It throbbed at the warm contact, but he shoved aside his own wishes.

  She craved him, like this.

  Her panting shallowed, and for a moment, he contemplated she’d refuse, but her slender fingers wrapped around the base and her hips lifted off his lap.

  Warm, wet heat enveloped the tip of his length, and his eyes shuttered at how good she felt.

  How right.

  She planted both hands on his shoulders and hissed as she sank a little deeper onto him.

  It was torture to remain rigid and not thrust his hips into her, not grab her waist and shove her down.

  He gritted his teeth and enjoyed instead how awesome it was to finally be with her. Daji. A woman who meant everything to him. The only woman who ever had.

  He wrapped his arms around her, shielding her in their own little bubble. Away from the world threatening to tear them apart.

  He wouldn’t let it.

  Her slick sheath swallowed him, enveloping him in an intense, scorching heat.

  Everything about the húli jīng was enhanced. Their soft skin, their sweet taste, and even their body temperature—a degree higher—provided the male a heightened experience.

  Being the Queen, Daji veered to the extreme.

  She felt damn good. Or maybe, that was because it was her.

  She didn’t stir, and he didn’t care. He held her, grateful. This moment wasn’t about getting laid or relieving tension, it was them coming together in a fashion they hadn’t yet. Truly becoming this partnership. No more secrets. No more hiding behind roles.

  He inched back and swept her hair off her shoulders, basking in the beauty before him. Her slender throat, her pouty lips, and those eyes. Hell, he could get lost in them, and never care if he found his way back.

  They might be two different beings, born in different centuries, but they were far more alike than anyone except them would ever guess.

  She was the other half of his soul. An expression he’d never gotten until this moment.

  Weird, because she didn’t possess a soul in the same way he did.

  She exhaled shakily, lowering her attention onto him. He tugged her forward and brushed his lips against hers, feathering the lightest of kisses across her velvety mouth.

  “Mmm.” The rumble of a purr vibrated in her chest as she shifted her hips. “I may require a little direction.”

  “I’d be happy to oblige.” Permission granted, he seized her hips and lifted her, then lowered her in a rocking motion. “Like this, baby.” He did it again, harder, faster.

  Her breaths escalated into shallow puffs. “Riding you,” she murmured. “Without the reins.”

  “Rein-free, that’s how I roll.” He tightened his grip on her hips, bracing to thrust into her and match her strokes.

  Yep, this was it. As close to paradise as he’d ever get.

  He grunted, driving harder, his muscles as tense and stiff as his cock. Daji’s sexy, lithe body undulated against him, her full breasts bouncing, enticing him to bend forward and grab a mouthful. He flicked his tongue back and forth across her pert nipple and she whimpered, riding him harder. Releasing her, he grinned. “Like that, do you?”

  “Yes,” she moaned, “and don’t stop.” She slammed his face into her breast.

  “As you wish, my Queen.” Suctioning his lips on the peak of her breast, he tugged the eager bud into his mouth and grazed his teeth across it.

  “Ooooh.” Her airy cries blended into each other, and she stopped rolling her hips, tossing her head back. Her tight pussy clenched around him, like a cat digging in its claws, and she milked him, drawing into him and extracting his jīng without him even starting to ejaculate yet.

  Bloody hell.

  He shot rock hard and a rapid fire of cum exploded from him. Groaning, he slammed into her.

  Her tendrils of power didn’t ease, continuing to demand more and more from him, draining without remorse.

  “Daji,” he ground out, digging his fingers into her hips. It was too much. Pleasure mixed with pain, and if she didn’t stop soon, she’d eat him alive.

  She didn’t respond to him, as though the feeding blinded her.

  Horse came to his rescue, boosting his strength enough to hoist her off him. Breaking free, he clenched his jaw and set her down. She splayed across the mattress, spreading her limbs in a half-drunk fashion.

  Well, that was new. He shoved his head into his hands, swiping the sweat beading his forehead, and hedged a peek at his cock. Still rock solid. He flicked his length and it bounced back, ready for another round. Man, without Horse, he might’ve been a goner.

  Best way to die. Ever.

  Grinning, he peered at Daji. Lazily writhing, she clutched the sheets. Better not keep her waiting. He snatched her foot, kissing her toes and trailing his lips along her legs.

  She craned her neck. “Price?”

  “Right here, love.”

  As she blinked, the haze dissipated from her eyes. “Did I hurt you?”

  “Nope.” He slid his tongue across the delicate flesh of her inner thigh. “Trust me, I can handle anything you can dish out.”

  Her arched brow challenged him. Releasing her leg, he prowled along the length of her body, settling atop her without connecting their bodies, his weight braced on his arms on either side of her head.

  “Is that so?”

  “Yeah, don’t you believe me?”

  “No.” Her eyes sparkled in mischief. “I think you should prove it.” Her hips rose, jabbing him into her stomach.

  He purred into her ear, “I’m going to make you regret that, Daji.”

  Daji shivered at Price’s sensual threat. She craved everything he promised to do to her body, her mind, her soul. The wicked assurances he’d tempted her with so many times flared in his darkened features.

  “You’d better,” she taunted him again. He’d allowed her to explore their lovemaking, but there was only so much she was able to learn without letting him assume control. She’d been the plaything of a man before, but this was different. “Take me, Price. Make me yours.”

  “Gladly.” He nipped her lips, his legs easing between hers and forcing hers to spread wide to accommodate his large frame.

  His hardness rested between her thighs, but he didn’t thrust inside her. Instead, his teeth and lips wrought a savage path of ecstasy across her skin, kissing every inch of her bared flesh, but pausing at her breasts.

  “Let’s wait a bit before trying that again.” A cocky flash of his smirk warmed her insides
, before he shifted his head and devoured a path lower.

  He pressed a firm kiss to her sex, tilting his head and admiring her bud. “This is a view I could admire forever.” A groan rumbled from him as he dipped two of his fingers inside her, stroking.

  Her hips rose to meet his fingers, but he slipped them out and popped them into his mouth. “Want to know what I taste?”

  “Yes.” She was eager for anything he shared with her.

  “You, me. Us together. Perfection.” He trapped her leg and extended his body along the length of hers. His shaft drove into her at the same time he pressed his fingers into her mouth.

  Price’s dark spice mixed with her floral fragrance, the combination spiking into her brain with the sensation of him filling her. Rough, yes, but holding back enough to let her perceive how much he was in control. How he was going to master her body.

  And make me his.

  His fingers smothered her moans and he pounded into her, her leg flexed to rest beside her head.

  “You ask to be mine, Daji, then I’m going to claim you,” he growled into her ear and halted for a second to stare at her intently. “All of you. Got it?”

  She managed a nod, and he slid his fingers from her mouth.

  “Good.” His eyes shuttered as he slammed into her and huffed into the mattress beside her face. Easing his grip on her leg, he lowered it. “You sure you’re okay?” He angled his face toward hers. “No hiding anything from me, yeah?”

  “I’ve never been better.” She smiled, her heart warming at his concern. “I might be lacking practice, but I’m not a virgin.”

  “Remember, you asked for it.” He pressed a heated kiss to her lips and tugged her up, coaxing her off the bed.

  Cupping her chin, he kissed her, his massive, naked body swaying with hers, before he pulled back and twisted her around.

  She bit down on her questions, though they burned through her.

  Price gathered her hair, twisting it into a long rope he wound around his left forearm. She gasped at the tight restraint, her body quaking with the visions of what he would do to her.

  “Tell me if you can’t take it.” He tugged, drawing her to his chest.

  “I can take everything.” She trapped his hip with her right hand and poked her claws into his flesh.