by Desiree Holt
“I said stay completely still. Maybe you need more of a reminder of who’s in charge here. Close your eyes. Close your eyes and cross your wrists over your head.”
The next thing she felt was the softness of the silk scarf binding her wrists together. She wished she could see herself lying naked on the bed, eyes closed, hands restrained. The image increased the intensity of the spasms in her pussy. She wet her lips as she waited for the next slap. God! Whoever knew she’d be so responsive to spanking and restraints. Maybe part of it was Slade’s tone of voice, the one she thought he must use commanding his men.
Give me orders. Tell me what to do.
As if he’d read her thoughts, he said, “No matter what I do, don’t move. Understand?”
She nodded.
He nudged her thighs apart with his hands, exposing her pussy. The spanking began again and, moisture flooded her as need shot through her. One cheek, then the other, just hard enough to sting and create a pleasant burn that spread to her thighs. When he stopped, she had to press her lips together to not beg him to give her more.
Leaving her wrists bound, he eased her back onto her side so she was once more lying against him, cradled by his big body.
“Such beautiful skin,” he murmured. “Such a gorgeous shade of red. Your body tells me how much you like that.”
He smoothed his palm over the hot skin of her ass, a light stroke before sliding his fingers into the crevice between her cheeks. She felt the tips of his fingers coasting up and down there, each time brushing over the puckered entrance. She clenched her buttocks, trying to hold it in place, but he gave a short, self-satisfied chuckle.
“Don’t worry. You’ll get plenty of attention here before this weekend is over.”
He moved his hand with unerring accuracy, finding her clit and stroking her with a steady rhythm, again and again, sinking his fingers into the wet flesh on either side of it. She wanted to rock into his hand, but he wouldn’t let her. When he removed that hand, she cried out in protest, feeling its loss with acute awareness. But in the next minute he lifted her leg over his so she was wide open for him, ready for him.
With infinite care he returned to her pulsing flesh, positioning his hand so as he thrust his fingers in and out of her, his thumb brushed her clit over and over again. And while his hand worked its magic, he licked her ear and the side of her neck, trailed kisses on her shoulder and whispered erotic things to her.
“God, you are so fucking wet.” His voice was hoarse and thick with lust. “I love the feel of you, the slick walls clamping down on my fingers like this. Next time it will be my cock. When you grip my cock, I can hardly hang on to my control.”
“Oh, God.” The words came out like a sibilant whisper as her body’s response grew in intensity.
“Feel this?” He pressed his hips into the cheeks of her buttock, his long, thick cock nudging into the hot crevice.
“Yes.” She tried to wriggle against him yet he kept her solidly in place with just the pressure of his hand.
“Before this weekend is over I am going to fuck you back here again, fuck you in every part of your body. I’m going to lick your oh so sweet wet flesh until you come on my tongue, and make you come one more time with my fingers. Then I’m going to fuck you once more, just in case you have one ounce of strength left.”
His words licked at her nerve endings, pushing her higher and higher. Her climax was coiled low in her body, slowly unwinding as his fingers and his mouth worked their magic. She wanted to squeeze her legs together, but he was determined to hold them open, her release dangling just out of her reach. Her entire body thrummed with need, her breasts heavy and aching, her nipples so hard they were almost painful.
Then, finally, finally he thrust his fingers deep inside her, working her, rubbing, his thumb strumming her swollen clit. And she exploded, her body shuddering with her release. She was still caught up in the aftershocks when Slade shifted, grabbed one of the condoms left on the nightstand, rolled it on and positioned himself between her thighs. Her pulse still beating wildly, he grabbed his thick shaft in one hand, placed the head of it at her opening and drove into her with one smooth slide.
He paused, bracing himself on his hands and looking into her eyes.
“Okay?” he asked.
She nodded, temporarily robbed of speech.
“Then hang on.” His voice was thick with desire and need.
He drove in and out of her, sliding back until only the tip was inside then thrusting hard. He loved slowly at first, so slowly she tried to signal him to hurry with her body. But Slade seemed determined to set the pace and keep to it. She couldn’t believe how ready she was again, how her body was hungry for his after the earth-shattering release.
The heat from his body surrounded her, along with his intoxicating male scent. Slowly, inexorably. He began to take her up that erotic climb once more. His cock filling her, the thickness of it dragging against the hot sweet spot with each movement in and out.
His breathing increased and so did the pace. Kari wrapped her legs around him, digging her heels into the small of his back to lock herself as tightly to him as possible. Everything fell away except the intensity of the moment and the feel of him inside her. Every muscle in her body tightened with anticipation. It only took him to growl, “Now!” in her ear to tip her over the line.
The orgasm swept over her, gripping her like an erotic fist and shaking her in a whirlwind of sensation. The muscles of her sex clenched and clenched, grasping Slade’s hot erection and milking him. She felt every throb and pulse inside her as he emptied himself into the thin latex sheath. And when he sealed his mouth to hers, his tongue driving inside and mimicking the movement of his cock, she was completely undone.
She had no idea how long they lay there like that, her legs still locking his body to hers, their sweat-slicked skin barely cooled by the ceiling fan. Slade broke the kiss and lifted his head slightly, brushing her damp hair back from her forehead. For a long moment their gazes locked and held. Kari would have given a week’s salary to know what was going on in his head right then. Was he disappointed? Had the reality not been as good as the memory? Was he satisfied now and any minute he’d get up, thank her and head on out?
“I’d ask you what you’re thinking,” he drawled, “but I’m not sure I want to know the answer.”
“W-What do you mean?”
Did he think she was going to be too clingy? Make a scene? Whatever?
“If you’re gonna tell me that the fantasy was better than the reality, I’m not sure I want to hear it.” He touched his lips over hers in a light caress.
Kari smiled at him. “Since you brought it up, I was thinking just the opposite.”
“Yeah?” He arched an eyebrow.
“I was wondering if, um…” Damn. She was probably going to sound like she was in college. “I mean, now that we unexpectedly got together again if you were disappointed.” She paused. “In me, I mean.”
He cupped her head in his large, warm hands, his lips curving in a smile. “No, I wasn’t disappointed. Just the opposite.”
She ran her tongue over her lower lip. “Is that the answer?”
He laughed, a soft chuckle. “The answer is, it was way better than I remembered, and I didn’t think that was possible.” He paused. “How about you?”
She exhaled a breath of relief. “Oh, yes. For me too.”
Then the smile disappeared from his face and a serious expression replaced it. “Listen, Kari, I—”
Her stomach knotted with tension and her breath felt trapped in her throat. Whatever this was, she was sure she didn’t want to hear it.
She touched his lips with the tips of her fingers. “Don’t say anything. You’ve said all I needed to hear.”
“You have no idea what I was going to say,” he objected.
“How about the fact that you have a job to do for the Army. That you’re away for long stretches, that you’ve made a commitment and you can’t afford di
stractions and you don’t want me to have expectations.”
When he didn’t answer her for what seemed like the longest minute of her life, she wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.
“You’re right. That’s the speech I usually give,” he said at last. “I won’t lie to you, Kari. I haven’t lived like a monk. When I’m on leave between…assignments, I enjoy female company with no commitments. And yes, the Army is my major focus. But—”
“That’s why I—”
“But,” he continued, “there’s something different here. I don’t know.” Another light kiss. “I want it to be different. I just don’t know if after all this time I can change.”
She forced herself to speak in a soft, calm voice. If all they had was this time, she didn’t want to ruin it. “I’m not asking you to change, Slade. I’m not asking for anything right now except to be with you.”
He stroked a thumb over her cheek. “Here’s the deal. I’ve got ten days leave and I want to spend as much with you as I can. I know you have to work and I have a couple of things the guys and I are doing. But the rest of it I want to be with you. Can we do that? Live in the here and now? See how it plays out?”
“Of course.” She wanted that, too, even if it was all she’d ever have of him.
“I’ve never made a connection with a woman like this before,” he went on. “I gotta say it again, though. Relationships aren’t always so good for men like me. We live in danger, Kari. The thought of leaving you with sadness and pain is more than I want to deal with. I’ve seen it destroy others. I don’t want that to happen to us.”
“So what are you saying? That you want us to be together whenever you’re in town, but you can’t offer more than that?” If she was truthful to herself about it, the whole thing with her stalker had left her emotionally shaky too. Maybe she didn’t have more than this to give.
She looked hard into his eyes, as if some mysterious answer might be written there. What she saw was much better than she expected. Take a chance? Okay. Yes. She could do this. She’d have to do this if she wanted anything with Slade. And part of him was better than none of him. Maybe, as things went along…
“I don’t know what I’m saying, and that’s the fucking truth.”
“We all have challenges, Slade.” Like her, with her stalker. She certainly had no intention of putting that on the table. Not when she’d moved more than a thousand miles to get away from him. “I’m with you. Let’s have fun, see how we are with each other. All that good stuff. Nothing heavier than that. Just one day at a time.”
He didn’t say anything, just wrapped his arms more tightly around her. Then he gave her one of his smiles that made every erogenous zone in her body throb like a bass drum.
“Let’s do it, then.” He eased his body from hers and headed to the bathroom to dispose of the condom.
“Hey,” he called. “This is a damn fancy shower you’ve got here.”
“It’s one of the things that sold me on the place,” she told him as she pushed her own body out of bed.
“Are you going to come shower with me?”
“Only if you promise to feed me afterward so I can keep up my energy,” she teased, heading for the bathroom.
It was a lazy, relaxing shower, what they both needed after the intense night of lovemaking. No, of sex, she told herself. Remember. No promises here, no commitments. So it’s just sex.
But damn good sex!
“Have you had much chance to check out the places on the Riverwalk?” Slade asked as he stuck his feet into his shoes. “There are some really good restaurants.”
“Not really.” Kari knew it was the jewel of the city and a top tourist attraction, with its colorful mixture of shops and restaurants on either side of the very narrow San Antonio River. “I’ve been invited to join people from work for lunch and dinner, but I’ve usually been too busy.”
And too nervous to be out in strange crowds. She wanted to go there, but even with a group she hadn’t felt safe. Maybe that would change if she was with Slade. Besides, he—whoever he was—couldn’t follow her there, right? How would he find out where she’d gone?
“Then how about lunch at Casa Rio? It’s the original restaurant on the Riverwalk and still one of my favorite places.”
Kari had been such a social hermit since arriving in the city. Work and home and that was it. She knew it was silly to think her stalker had followed her here. How would she even recognize him? But the fear was always there, so she did what she could to feel safe. All those locks and alarms at the apartment. An open parking space, one without cover for someone to lurk. Taking different routes home all the time.
I’m nuts, that’s what I am. And I have the man of my dreams here who makes love like a champion and wants to spend time with me. I can’t ruin it.
“Sounds good to me.”
“Let me touch base with my guys. I should have checked to make sure they got home okay but…” He smiled. “I was a little busy.”
“I’m surprised they haven’t already called a bunch of times.”
“They might have, but I turned my phone off.”
She was surprised he’d done that, surprised and pleased. It meant he’d intended from the beginning for her to be his entire focus.
“And yeah, look at this.” He held up his phone. The screen was filled with a list of missed calls. “They nearly blew up my phone.”
He opened the sliding door to her balcony and stepped outside to make his calls. Kari busied herself straightening up the already neat apartment, mostly in the vicinity of the living room. She tried not to pay attention to his conversation with his friends, tried not to listen in but she couldn’t help it. She wanted to know what he said to them. The snatches of conversation she did catch didn’t tell her a whole lot.
“…meant to call…get home okay… Yeah, sorry… Teo will… Yeah? No kidding? What about…?”
Then indistinguishable mumbling that she was too embarrassed to try to eavesdrop on. Finally he turned and slipped the phone back into his pocket.
“Everything okay?” God. She hoped he didn’t have to leave.
“Yeah.” He gave her that slow grin she was fast becoming used to, the one that curled her toes and made her sex throb with need. “Believe it or not, two of my guys each met someone at the party who tickled their interests.”
“Wow. They work fast.”
“Not as fast as me.” He brushed a kiss over her lips. “They assured me they behaved in a most appropriate manner.”
Kari burst out laughing. “Does that mean none of them scored? I’m not sure I believe that.”
He grinned. “I expect they were on their best behavior, trying to make a favorable impression and not embarrass me.” His face sobered. “Beau said even Marc, our lone ranger, was talking to some woman for a long time.”
“Is that strange? I didn’t think any of you guys were shy.”
“Marc’s been going through a really dark time in his life.” Slade shook his head. “I want to help him but I don’t know how.”
“Sometimes there isn’t anything you can do.”
“I’m not ready to throw in the towel yet.” He ran his hand over his face. “Apparently Trey ended up with the woman he met at the party.”
“Really?” Kari cocked an eyebrow. “They really are fast workers.”
“All except Marc. He’s the one who needs it the most.”
“So he didn’t go home with anyone last night?”
“No. I guess he called and had Teo come pick him up.” He frowned. “I don’t know which way to turn with him.”
It really was none of her business, but she could tell he was upset about it.
“Can you share what the problem is? Maybe I can help.”
He shook his head. “First he has to want help and right now he doesn’t.” He blew out a breath. “He had a wreck of a marriage and the divorce was even worse.”
“What on earth happened to him?”
Slade leane
d back, a hard look on his face. “Marc has never been a ladies’ man, womanizer, skirt chaser, whatever you want to call them. He’s always been a little dark and introspective. Ria came into his life like a flame licking a moth and dazzled him. Before he knew it, they were married and settled into a small house that he always hurried back to.”
“Doesn’t sound too bad so far.”
“That’s just the beginning. We all met her at dinner and every one of us wanted to tell Marc to get rid of her as fast as possible.” clenched his fists. “There was something wild and unstable about her and we all smelled trouble.”
“But Marc was in love and didn’t want to hear any of it,” she guessed.
He nodded. “Until the day he came home on leave a day early, walked into his house and found her naked in bed with the next-door neighbor in the middle of some very hot sex.” He paused. “And high as a kite.”
“She was drunk?”
“No. High on drugs. He threw the guy out of the house and confronted Ria, only to find out she was a long-time addict and that man was only one of her playmates.”
“Ohmigod!” Kari felt cold. “How awful for him.”
“I always thank the Lord he called me that night. I came over and got him out of there and into a hotel. I wanted to bring him back to the ranch with me, but he didn’t want to be around anyone. I think he only called me so I could stop him from killing her.”
“Holy crap, Slade.”
“No kidding. After that we couldn’t reach him. We can’t seem to pull him out of the pit he’s dug himself into.”
“Wow. That sucks.” She took his hand. “If you like, maybe I can offer some suggestions. But I really don’t want to intrude.”
“Trust me.” He snorted. “If there comes a time I think you can help, I’ll grab you so fast your feet won’t touch the floor.”
“Does this mean you have to go back to the ranch?”
Slade shook his head then squeezed her hand and smiled. “Beau and Trey have plans for today and Teo, my foreman, is keeping an eye on Marc.”
“Oh good. So we’re still a go?”