by Elisa Adams
He walked back over to her, put his hand on her shoulder. She tensed. “This is ridiculous. How can you possibly see without any lights? And about sealing the bargain, I had assumed after what happened it was done.”
He glanced down at her. His fingers itched to trace the delicate planes of her face, to trail down her slender neck and dip into the hollows of her collarbone. No. No emotion. Keep your distance, damn it. At least for now. Showing her too much, too quickly, would expose him, leave him vulnerable. And that was something he never let himself be. “It’s complete when I say it is. If you’re still serious about this, then you’re going to have to do everything I say. You might not like all of it, but I’m not going to give you the option to argue. Is that clear?”
Her eyes narrowed, but she nodded. “Fine.”
Something in her expression clenched his heart. He tried to fight against the emotion, but it wouldn’t let go. The idea that she might have been blowing the whole thing out of proportion had stuck in the back of his mind from the second he’d opened the door to her, but now he wondered. “Are you that desperate that you’d hand over everything you have, everything you are, to me?”
“Obviously. If I wasn’t desperate, I wouldn’t be here.” Fear flashed across her eyes, brilliant and shimmering in the darkness, and he cursed. He walked across the room and flipped on the light.
She stood a few feet away, wringing her hands in front of her and shifting from foot to foot. Shit. Shit. He scrubbed a hand down his face, adjusted his erection back into his jeans and tugged the zipper up.
What the fuck is wrong with you? After all these years, you’re going to lose it over this tiny human?
Apparently. He stifled a sigh of frustration. Don’t care. Don’t let yourself get involved. She made an offer. For hell’s sake, take her up on it.
If only it were that simple.
In his experience with human women, especially the filthy rich, bored housewife type, they tended to exaggerate. He’d assumed her fright came, in part, because of a fear Paul had instilled in her. Something she merely perceived. Imagined. But her eyes told a different story. “What happened to you tonight that has you so scared?”
Why hadn’t he asked her that question before? He’d been too involved in taking her up on her offer, worrying about himself instead of her. He muttered a curse.
She sniffed, wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, but when she spoke, her voice was strong and cold without a hint of tears. “Two men broke into my house. They attacked me in my bed.”
The beast roared inside him and he clenched his hands into fists to keep his claws from bursting from his fingertips. Whoever they were, the men who had attacked her, he’d kill them. He’d torture them for hours first, before he tore them limb from limb in the most excruciating death he could imagine. “They didn’t…?”
She let out a humorless laugh. “Do what you’re going to do to me? No. I didn’t give them the chance.”
Her comment sent a shard of white-hot anger spiking through him. He stalked across the carpet and grabbed her arms, lifting her onto the tips of her toes. Her lips parted on a gasp and she struggled to get out of his hold, but he refused to let her go until they’d come to an understanding. If she planned on making false accusations, she could walk out of his life right now and find someone else to protect her. “Let’s get one thing straight. I’m not forcing you into this. You have a choice. You suggested this. Not me. I would never rape you. Never.”
He released his hold. She stumbled back a step. “I didn’t say that you would.”
“You might as well have.” He walked the few steps to the double bed and sat on the mattress, his mood souring even further. Why did women have to play games? She offered her body, gave it to him willingly. Why would she now accuse him of forcing himself on her? He was many things, some of them worse than others, but he wasn’t a rapist. “This was your idea. Not mine. Get that straight, or get out now.”
She stepped toward him, anger flashing hot and fierce in her eyes. She stopped just inches from him and jabbed her finger into his chest. “I’ve got it straight. You’re right. I offered. I have limited choices. I’m sorry, but I’m not really in the mood to die tonight. It’s just sex, Sam. Just fucking. Nothing more, nothing less. I’ve done it before. I’ll do it again after this bargain is done and we go our separate ways. Don’t make this more difficult than it already is, okay?”
He was making it difficult? She’d walked into his house and begged him for help, tempted him with promises she was sure to regret later. Done things to his emotions that he’d thought were impossible. And he was making it difficult? He narrowed his eyes as he grabbed her finger to keep her from striking him again. “Fine. I just wanted to make sure we’re clear.”
She ripped her hand out of his grasp. “Oh, we’re clear. Very clear. As long as you get to be the one in control, you’re happy, right?”
He nearly laughed. She thought he was in control. What a joke. He hadn’t been in control since she’d shown up, and every minute it slipped a little further away. She had him by the nuts right now, whether she realized it or not. “Isn’t that the deal?”
“I suppose it has to be, since we agreed you’d get whatever you wanted. Let’s just get one thing straight, Sam Kincaid. I do not, on a normal basis, allow men to boss me around. Not in the bedroom, or out. Consider yourself very lucky.” She glared at him, but he caught sight of lust hidden deep in her gaze.
He considered himself lucky all right, but not for the reason she mentioned. He was lucky to even have her there in his bedroom. But luck probably didn’t have much to do with it. His kind believed strongly in destiny. Faith was there for a reason, and it wasn’t just for protection.
With her lips parted, her cheeks flushed, and her breaths coming in pants, he wondered how much was from anger and discomfort and how much was from something else. He took a deep breath, scenting her arousal in the air. A slow smile tipped the corners of his lips. “Is this turning you on, Faith?”
She shook her head. “I just need your help. I told you that.”
“Don’t deny it. I can smell how hot you are.”
Her scent—sex and sugar and warm, soft woman—hung thick in the air around them. Every breath he took was filled with her. She smelled like…
His.
It’s her.
He shook his head. As much as he knew it to be true, he still fought against it. He didn’t want it to be her. Not Faith. Not a fragile human. He wanted to slake his lust and move on. But now, in a single moment of time, everything changed. If he took her… A sigh of frustration escaped his lips. She offered her body to him, begged him to take it, but she had no idea of the gift she would give him. Once he had her body, he would also own her soul. But it wasn’t without consequence.
She would own his as well.
He wondered if she felt it too, the fragile bond between them. She had to feel it on some basic level or else she would have run by now. He wanted to pull her into bed, rip her clothes off, and take her from behind, but she wouldn’t appreciate such a rough taking. Being a human, she’d need slow, passionate foreplay to get her to accept him. He let out a low growl at the thought of waiting, of hiding what he was from the woman destined to be his, but he saw no other choice.
A fleeting thought ran through his mind, one that told him to push her away. To find someone else to help her and ignore the knowledge he didn’t want to have. But the thought vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared. No hiding. No more fighting. Once he had her, it would be done. Though she wouldn’t know it, she would belong to him.
And he would protect her at all costs.
There would be no other choice.
“Sam?” She took a step back, her expression questioning. “Is something wrong?”
Everything was wrong. Everything. “No. Come here.”
She shook her head, held her hands in the air in front of her. “I must be more stressed out than I thought, because I coul
d have sworn your eyes just glowed for a second there.”
He cursed. She had that effect on him, making him lose control like that. He tamped down his baser reactions. “I can get your mind off the stress, at least for a little while.”
Her gaze traveled to his lap, where his cock threatened to break free from his jeans. “I don’t doubt it. Unless you’re like most men and are only in it for yourself.” Her eyebrows rose in blatant challenge and he couldn’t help but laugh. She’d managed to turn the situation around and set him off balance yet again.
“Do you really think I’m like most men?”
Her answer came more softly than he expected. “No.” She turned away from him, her arms wrapped around her middle, and shook her head. “No. I think you’re very different from most men I’ve met. You’re… I don’t even know how to explain what I see in you. Primal. Primitive, almost. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you seem almost like you’re at the edge of society, there but not wanting to mingle with everyone else. That’s pretty evident in the way you’re lacking social skills.”
Another insult to cover her discomfort. Oddly, it made him want her even more. They might have more in common than he’d first thought. He laughed again, stood up from the bed and came up behind her. He pushed her hair off her shoulder and pressed his mouth against her neck, reveled in the taste of her on his parted lips. She shuddered under his touch, encouraging him to brush his tongue over the skin just below her ear. He put his hands on her waist and her hands came to cover his, her fingers digging into his skin. He felt the tension drain from her body and smiled.
“I can assure you, Faith, that I do much better one-on-one than I do in large crowds. Much better.”
“I’ll just bet you do.” She tried to laugh, but the sound came out as a strangled gasp when he nipped her earlobe. “What are you doing? You don’t have to seduce me, Sam. Our deal doesn’t include foreplay.”
He froze. The deal. She had no idea how wrong she was.
Their coming together had nothing to do with her proposal.
“No need to keep reminding me of our bargain,” he told her, his mouth still on her skin. “Trust me. I won’t forget. But something tells me you wouldn’t have made the offer in the first place if it wasn’t something you wanted too.”
She stiffened in his arms. “Do you really think I would need to do something like this to get a man? Give me a break, Sam. I’ve had my fair share of men who didn’t make me beg for something I needed.”
He didn’t doubt it for a second. Her face, her body would attract any man, but her intriguing mix of innocent and vixen would keep him hooked for as long as she wanted him around. “I had my reasons for telling you no.”
“Would you care to explain what they are?”
He laughed. She’d run away for sure if she knew. “I can’t, but trust me, they’re important.”
“But you said yes.” She shifted, her ass rubbing against his already throbbing cock. A shiver ran down the length of his spine, settling as a dull throb low in his gut. “You told me you’d protect me.”
She’d kill him before the night was through. “And I plan to. Right now, though, I have other things on my mind. You’re safe here. From the men chasing you, at least.” He brought his hands to her breasts, cupping their weight. His thumbs brushed over her peaked nipples.
“Oh, right. I forgot. You want to fuck and seal the bargain.” Her tone, breathy and aroused, lacked conviction.
It wasn’t about fucking, or sealing the bargain, but he couldn’t explain it to her. In time he would have to, there would be no choice, but for now it would be easier to let her think he only wanted her because of the deal they’d made. “Right.”
“So get on with it.”
Challenge replaced some of the arousal in her tone. He dropped his hands from her body and walked away. She didn’t intend to make this easy for him. She wanted to play things like nothing more than their stupid bargain brought them together? Fine. He could play the game of lies and deception too. Much better than anyone he knew. And maybe, just maybe, it would help him forget for a little while things he wished he’d never learned—about her, about them. About himself.
He turned around, plastered a hard look on his face, and cleared his throat. “Okay. Let’s finish this. Take off your clothes.”
Fear flashed across her eyes again. “Sam?”
“Now.”
She blinked, let out a shaky sigh. He only raised an eyebrow. She’d had him off balance the entire night. It was about time he got the upper hand.
Don’t fool yourself. With her, you’ll never have the upper hand, no matter how much you pretend.
“Do you want to change your mind?”
In answer, she pulled her t-shirt over her head and dropped it to the floor. His mouth went dry at the sight of her full breasts, bare and unbound. Her dusky pink nipples pointed toward him as her breasts bounced softly with her movements. A spasm ran through his body and all his blood rushed to his cock. He didn’t think he could get any harder than he already was—until she unzipped her jeans and dragged them down her legs. She toed off her shoes and stepped out of her jeans, leaving her standing before him in nothing but a pair of sheer white bikini panties that did nothing to hide the neatly trimmed thatch of dark hair covering her mound. He wanted to rip the panties off her and bury his face in her pussy, but showing her his lack of control would give her back the control much too soon.
“Take the panties off too, Faith.”
She slid the silky-looking underwear down her hips, down her legs, and let them drop to the floor. She stepped out of them and kicked them to the side, her expression challenging. “Okay?”
He fought back a sigh. Even aggravated and obstinate, she turned him on. He lifted his hand and beckoned her forward, hoping she didn’t notice how his fingers shook. She stepped closer, stopping in front of him, and crossed her arms over her chest. Defiance filled her heated gaze, and damned if it didn’t ratchet his arousal up another couple of notches. He shook his head. She wanted to shut him out, to keep what would happen between them on a purely physical level. He had no problem with that, but he wouldn’t let her control it all.
“Drop the arms. I want to look at you.”
Her entire body blushed pink, but she did as he demanded. His gaze dropped to her full breasts, and the pebbled nipples he wanted to suck deep into his mouth. His gut clenched as his gaze traveled down her stomach to the curve of her hips, stopping at her mound. “Come closer,” he told her, wanting to touch but not trusting himself to do so yet. He wanted to prolong it for Faith, make sure she got some enjoyment out of the bargain, and if he touched her he wouldn’t be able to wait another second to get inside her.
She walked toward him, her bare feet whispering across the soft carpet. His cock tightened with every step she took. The sensuous way she moved—something not practiced, but natural to her—made him ache in a way he couldn’t ever remember. His whole body waited, primed, ready for all he wanted to do to her. For all he wanted her to do to him. When had he felt this way before? He hadn’t. Because she was his.
When she stopped in front of him, he lifted a strand of her shiny dark hair. He brought it to his nose and sniffed, inhaling her rich, feminine scent. “Amazing,” he mumbled before he could catch himself. He dropped the strand, hardened his voice again. He hadn’t known her long, but he’d learned enough about her to know not to push her. Not to add any sort of emotional connection where she so obviously didn’t want one. She’d been fighting for her independence from the second she’d walked through his front door, and he could do nothing but allow her what she wanted. She didn’t have to prove anything to him, but he didn’t know how to make her understand that. Instead he kept playing along with her little deal, though it was becoming increasingly more and more difficult to do so.
“Get on the bed. Lie on your back.”
A small sigh escaped her lips and her legs shook as she obeyed his command. He might have thoug
ht she was scared had the heady scent of her arousal not filled the room. She might still be afraid, but her desire far surpassed any other emotion. He felt the same arousal deep inside himself, like nothing he’d ever known. It shook him straight to his core.
But there was something else in her eyes, in her voice. Something deeper, darker. Something he didn’t understand. But the need to challenge him—anyone, most likely—seemed such an integral part of her. Before tonight, she’d challenged him with her eyes, with her secretive smile. Tonight, the challenge was far more blatant. And it only pushed him further. Aroused him past what any type of foreplay ever had before. She aroused not only his body, but his mind too.
“Is this what you want?’ Faith asked. He smiled at her cold tone—and the heat it failed to mask.
“Perfect.” Absolutely perfect. Except for one thing. “Spread your legs. Let me see that soaked pussy.”
Her head snapped up, her eyes blazing fire. “What?”
“You heard me, Faith. This is my show. All for me. You do what I ask of you, remember? I get anything I want.” And the longer he pretended it was just her body he wanted, the better off they’d both be.
She sighed and dropped her head back to the pillow.
“Close your eyes, Faith.” If he didn’t have to look at her, he might be able to follow through without attacking her and burying his cock deep inside her.
She complied, this time without argument. Goose bumps covered every inch of her exposed flesh and her nipples had hardened to small peaks. He licked his lips. He hadn’t enjoyed the game this much in a long time. His cock fought for attention, but he ignored it. For now.