by Mari Carr
“If that’s so, then you’d better go take care of business so we can celebrate properly.” He waited until she’d slipped from the bed, then snaked his palm around her thigh, halting her. “Thank you, Sterling. For being so adaptable and generous. You have no idea how much you’ve given me already. More than I dared to dream of.”
She couldn’t find her voice, so she nodded instead, blinking back tears.
Refusing to cry on such a glorious morning, she rushed into the bathroom.
A few minutes later, Sterling poked her head out of the bathroom door. “I think I’d better grab a quick shower before we get to the good stuff. I can feel the hospital grime on me still.”
“Hang on.” Viho rose from the bed, flashing acres of dark skin and flexing muscles beneath. “I have a better idea.”
It felt a little strange, more intimate than fucking on the side of the road, to allow him into her personal space. But still, she stepped aside and made room for him to join her. When he spotted the garden soaking tub that had been one of her only insistences in the building of the house, he perked up.
“Room enough for us both. Excellent.” He flipped on the water, testing the temperature with his finger. When satisfied, he asked, “Do you have any bubble bath?”
She shook her head no.
“Epsom salts?”
“Ah, yeah, actually. I think Sienna kept some around for when the hands asked her to treat random bumps and bruises.”
“Great. Hop in here.” He held her elbow as if she might slip and fall when she’d soaked in this tub a million times before. “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?”
“Nowhere far.” He grinned as he headed out.
She guessed that was the truth, since he didn’t even have pants on.
In under a minute he returned with a handful of purple blossoms. “Hope you don’t mind. I noticed this hybrid lavender out front. It seemed to be growing mostly wild.”
“I didn’t even know that’s what it was.” Sterling shrugged. “It’s pretty and it smells nice—that’s about the extent of my knowledge.”
“It’s also good for relieving stress, making your skin soft, increasing circulation and a bunch of other stuff.” He wrung the plant in his hands, then sprinkled the blossoms into the water. Some floated and some swirled in the current. The scent grew stronger too.
“You could be on to something there, Viho.” She sighed then patted the space she’d left behind her. “But I think I’d feel even better if you were in here with me.”
“That I can do.” He dropped his underwear, allowing her to stare at him nude for a bit. Then he stepped into the tub and slid his legs on either side of her. Even in the oversized soaker, he had to bend his legs to fit comfortably.
Sterling rested her arms on his legs and snuggled into his chest. Breathing deeply, she filled her lungs with lavender steam.
Viho used her loofa and began to wash her. She felt like a pampered member of a harem where he was the sultan. It was a nice feeling to be taken care of so well. To surrender control and enjoy the treatment.
“A girl could get used to this.” She hummed when he paid special attention to her breasts. They must have been extra dirty.
When she grew restless, he moved on and circled her belly.
Was he imagining the changes that were coming? She was.
And for a second, her bliss slipped away as if it were swirling the drain between her feet.
“Viho?”
“Yeah?”
“Would you be here with me now, like this, if I hadn’t gotten pregnant?”
“I know you’re afraid this is about the baby, but it’s not, Sterling.” He held her against his chest, creating a waterfall of silky lavender water by cupping his hand and spilling it over her repeatedly. “I would feel this way about you even if we’d hadn’t gotten lucky by some fluke of nature. Hell, I spent weeks trying to resist you. I’ve seen you care for Mrs. Compton. Heard the Compass Boys brag endlessly about how cool you are. I admire your drive in your business and the connection you have with nature’s beauty. How you bravely go for what you desire when you see it. I care about you because you’re the woman you are, not because of the child you’re carrying. That’s just icing.”
Sterling didn’t realize how strongly she’d harbored that doubt inside her.
Until his sweet reassurance unknotted her worries.
Tears splashed into the tub as they fell from her face. “Thank you, Viho.”
“I didn’t do anything. You’re amazing all on your own.”
Utterly relaxed, Sterling let herself veg in his care. She hadn’t realized the water had cooled until Viho drew a line with his finger down the goose bumps on her arm.
“Time to get out.” He sounded as reluctant to leave as she was. Still, he shifted, lifting her from the tub and standing her up on the mat long enough to dry her with a fluffy towel. Then he did the same, much more hastily, for himself before carrying her into the bedroom.
He set her on the bed, then nudged her hip.
“Roll over.”
Wondering what he had in mind, she complied, hoping it was something kinky.
Except it was even better.
Viho climbed on top of her, straddling her ass. He snagged a tube of lotion off her nightstand, then warmed it between his palms before slathering her back with the fruity-scented cream. Rubbing it in bit by bit, he proceeded to give her a massage that beat the one she’d had at Compton Pass’s new spa for her birthday treat from the Compass Girls, who’d really just wanted an excuse for a girls’ day out.
Sterling moaned when his thumbs pressed along either side of her spine, loosening the last of the lingering tension that hadn’t been obliterated by his lavender infusion. He worked every muscle within reach, including some she hadn’t realized were so taut.
When the heels of his hands released knots in her ass and upper thighs, she sighed. Her legs splayed open as she went completely floppy.
Viho whispered praise as he diverted for a moment and rubbed the valley between her thighs, brushing her pussy with his knuckles. But then he was gone, sitting on his heels at her feet as he rubbed the arches and even each toe in turn.
But it wasn’t until he’d worked his way from her shoulders down her arms to her hands, that she realized exactly how erogenous the palm and fingers could be.
If he didn’t move on to making love to her soon, she would die. She was sure of it.
So when he told her to flip over and seemed like he would start all over again, she took matters into her own hands.
Sterling grabbed his forearm and tugged, toppling him beside her on the bed.
He chuckled and scooped her up to avoid squashing her with his gargantuan frame.
Spooning her, he naturally fit against her in all the most sensational places. His hard-on sprang between her legs, where he allowed his cock to nestle into the valley of her pussy, thrilling them both with the almost-penetration of his thick erection.
On fire, Sterling flexed all her muscles, then released them, rocking a bit against him.
And when he dipped the slightest bit inside, they both moaned. He held her tight, pinning her torso to his with one forearm locked above her breasts. His other hand was free to roam her body, toying with her breasts then traveling along until he could strum her clit in time to the advancement of his cock within her with each successive arch of her body.
He proved over and over that he had far more control than she did.
And he wasn’t afraid to employ it to enhance her arousal.
“Please, Viho. I can’t wait any more. I want you inside me. All the way. Please.”
“I can’t resist you begging like that.” He angled her head toward him so he could kiss her as he slid inside her fully, binding them.
Sterling
moaned her appreciation into his mouth, and he swallowed her cry of desire.
Only then did he begin to thrust inside her. Maddeningly slowly, fucking her with strokes that took his blunt head all the way to the ring of muscles guarding her opening before he sank inside her balls deep once more.
Over and over again.
Sterling shivered as passion rolled from her fingers through her whole body and out her toes. Nothing in her sexual experience could compare to making love with Viho. And she knew that was what it was. This wasn’t fucking. Or sex for the sake of a quick, hard orgasm. It was something more meaningful. Deeper and more powerful.
A bond they were forming. One that could be strong enough to last for life.
When his hand shifted upward, coming to cradle her throat, she couldn’t help herself.
Without warning, Sterling’s whole body quaked. She came around Viho’s cock, squeezing him and attempting to wring him dry. But he lunged into her, embedding himself fully, and rode out her orgasm with only his fingers tapping her clit to keep time with his heavy breathing in her ear.
“Viho,” she panted. “That was—”
“Beautiful,” he finished for her. “I can’t wait to see you do it again. And again.”
“I can’t.” She shook her head, dragging her damp hair against his chest.
“You will.”
He rolled forward, pressing her into the mattress, still careful to keep his full weight off her. Face down, she allowed herself to go completely limp as her body still quivered. The braid of Viho’s hair slipped off his shoulder and landed on hers, the slight sting making her jump.
And moan.
Viho nuzzled her ear, nipping the lobe, then promised, “Someday we’re going to explore your submissive side more. Not now, not like this. But we will.”
Her sigh was cut off by a moan when he began to move inside her again, rejuvenating the smoldering arousal in her nerve endings. He pumped into her with infuriating carefulness. So she helped him out by rocking backward to meet his thrusts.
She got away with one or two twitches of her ass, enhancing the motion of his fucking, before he pinned her tighter. Only for a few strokes, an unmistakable reminder.
And when he released her, she tried to play by the rules.
But after a few more unbearably deep drives, she found herself unconsciously participating, undulating her hips in counterpoint to his shuttling.
“Sterling, if you can’t be still and calm, I’ll tie you up. I swear I will,” he growled in her ear as he tapped her ass. And she thought she might come again on the spot.
She whimpered and writhed harder beneath his restraining weight. With her head turned to the side, she could peer up at him as he studied her reactions up close and personal.
“You like the idea?” Viho gave her that special wolfish smile she loved so much. It might have made some people nervous. Not her.
“Mmm. Yes.” She admitted it.
“Then tell me,” he murmured against her cheek, hardly allowing her room to breathe. “Do you have any scarves in your closet?”
“Yes. They’re hanging from the hook behind the door.” She didn’t hesitate for a second.
Neither did Viho.
He climbed off her, making her moan at the loss of his cock.
“Don’t worry, I’m coming right back. Promise.”
Crossing the room with two enormous strides, he whipped open the door and collected what he’d gone for, returning with a fistful of hand-dyed silk.
“This will do.” He hummed as she rolled onto her back and spread-eagled herself without waiting to be told.
“I couldn’t have imagined a woman like you, Sterling.” Viho spoke to her as he bound first one wrist, then the other. He tied them to the headboard before moving on to her feet. The wide band of silk hugged her ankle, the material cool then warming quickly against her heated skin. “Someone made for me. Someone I could give all of myself to without hiding anything. You understand me. Shadows and light.”
“Because I’m the same.” She owed it to him to be honest.
“You are. And I can hardly believe you’re real.” He secured her other leg, then traced one finger down the arch of her foot. When she jerked, she unwittingly tested his knot work, finding it thorough, like everything else he did.
A gasp left her throat as he leapt onto the bed between her spread legs. She couldn’t close them. Didn’t want to. Though she expected him to climb up her body and plunge inside her, he didn’t. He continued to ratchet her desire higher by licking her anklebone, then kissing up her calf as he kneaded her shins in a pale imitation of his earlier massage.
These touches were less concentrated on healing and more intent to inflame her.
It worked.
She squirmed, trying to rush him to no avail.
But he made it worth the wait as he caressed, sucked, nipped and generally worshipped every inch of her on his path upward. Though when he reached the crease of her thigh, he teased, skirting the moist folds of her pussy and lavishing his attention on her belly instead.
Of course, while he made love to her, tenderly, with his mouth, his hands wandered to her breasts and lightly, so very gently, toyed with her nipples. She appreciated his finesse since they’d become sensitive, almost to the point of pain.
Somehow his touches made the ache subside, or morph into something she could definitely enjoy. And just when she thought he couldn’t be more skilled, he lowered his mouth and applied his tongue to her clit.
Sterling would have rocketed off the bed if she hadn’t been tied. She jerked against the bonds, only making herself hornier when she realized that she was his captive. The bastard chuckled against her pussy, thoroughly enjoying her display of both wanton desire and helplessness.
It didn’t matter that she’d lost control of the situation when he read her signals so adeptly.
Viho lapped at her slit, drawing the arousal from her while humming his appreciation. The resulting sound waves amplified his influence on her, incinerating the last of her inhibitions.
“Please, Viho. Make me come.” She moaned, unsure of whether her reaction had grown so intense because of him or because of the changes her pregnancy was beginning to wreak on her body. Somehow, though, she suspected it had more to do with the man than her hormones.
He didn’t obey immediately.
Instead, he fed the tip of one finger into her pussy, barely poking the fat digit inside her before withdrawing. He stretched her slowly, bit by bit, more patiently than she could ever have managed if his cock were within her grasp again.
She supposed that was the point of his little display.
And when he fully embedded a single finger and began working on a second, she quaked, already hovering on the edge of another orgasm. His probing deepened and expanded as he scissored the fingers inside her. He massaged her internally as well as he’d done to her exterior—or better.
When he pressed, with deliberate pulses, on the spot just above her pubic bone, Sterling could no longer resist the call of her body. He tended her as if she were one of his plants, pruning her responses, shaping her experience until she blossomed under his ministrations.
Sterling called his name as she crested, but he was well aware of her body’s capitulation to his sensual demands. He wrung every bit of rapture from her before ascending, giving her a taste of her own ecstasy from his full, talented lips.
And when she thought she couldn’t get any more satisfied, he slipped his cock inside her.
Viho began to drive into her with shallow, persistent jabs that were no substitute for animalistic humping. Or so she thought, until he adjusted the angle of his penetration and zeroed in on a wonderful place within her.
Her eyes went wide, and he laughed even as he fucked.
Enjoyment radiated from him. Not just the sensual ki
nd either. He smiled down at her, relishing their time together as much as the pleasure they concocted.
He was so gloriously male, and entirely focused on her, that she thought she might melt.
When he entwined his fingers with hers, enhancing the sensation of being captured, she wished she could wrap her legs around his waist and hug him tight to her. She didn’t have to worry, though—he wasn’t about to abandon his post.
It was the kind of sex where the journey was more important than the destination. The kind she’d read about but never had before. She forgot about coming and instead gloried in the moment. The connection. The pure intimacy of sharing the experience with Viho.
He took her to a place far beyond those she’d ever gone before.
And if the intensity of his gaze or the sweetness of his kisses were any indication, the same was true for him.
Neither of them spoke, choosing to communicate exclusively with their bodies.
His hips never stopped their incessant rocking, like a pendulum on the world’s sexiest clock. He fucked her with the precision of a metronome, pushing and pulling in time to his own unrelenting beat.
Until she’d had enough of his reserve. “Viho, that feels so good.”
“Uh.” He grunted his agreement.
“I love the way your cock stuffs me. How you stretch me around you and make me feel so full of you.” She flashed him a wicked grin when, finally, his stride hiccupped.
“Not fair, Sterling.” He imparted even more sensation as he rode her slightly harder and a bit erratically.
“Why not?” She nipped his lip when he came close enough.
“I want to wait for you,” he groaned.
“You have more stamina than all the other guys I’ve been with.” Reassuring him felt right, and it wasn’t a lie. He was a machine in bed. “You’ve given me so much. Take, Viho. I’m here for that too. To give you what you need.”
He groaned as he plunged into her fully, then retreated almost to the point of dislodging himself.
“It’s okay, Viho. I want you to let go. Find your pleasure in me. Fill me. Flood me. Come on.” She urged him as his ironclad control frayed around the edges.