Beneath These Chains

by Meghan March

  “You don’t think so?”

  “Let’s just say I’m in no hurry to be alone with Rix again.”

  “Fuck. Lord’s gonna kick my ass.”

  I didn’t respond—just reached for the coffee filters. I needed to clean the glass. The repetitive, thoughtless task would settle my nerves.

  I hoped.

  It’d been a long day, but Damien was going home with only stitches and a really sore shoulder. It was a reminder that the streets of NOLA were not a forgiving place.

  I hadn’t gotten my first bullet graze in the military.

  No, that had come courtesy of a similar drive-by that I hadn’t been smart enough to avoid. I’d been lucky I hadn’t died from the infection and had been smart enough to get my ass to a clinic after the fact. They hadn’t believed my I scraped my arm on a rusty piece of fence story, but they also hadn’t called the cops to report it.

  I rubbed the scar and looked to Elle. After the fucking craziness of the day, I wanted nothing more than to kick back with her and relax. She was wound tight, too, and I chalked it up to the same reason I was so beat. We could both use an easy night—a distraction. She and Mathieu had held down the fort all day, and it was closing time.

  “I’m taking you on a date tonight,” I said.

  “Another airboat ride?”

  “Nah, something else. Got a friend playing at The Little Gem.”

  However I expected her to answer, it wasn’t by blurting: “Rix was in here earlier, wanting to know what you told the cops, and I told him about the drive-by.”

  I zeroed in on Elle. “Why weren’t those the first words out of your mouth when I walked in?”

  “Because I wanted to know how Damien—”

  Of course she did. But still, fuck.

  I whipped around to look at Mathieu. “And you didn’t toss him out?”

  “I was in the back, didn’t come up until he was leaving.”

  “You swore you’d stick to her side.” I shifted my eyes to Elle. “And you didn’t even think to go get him?”

  “It’s not like I had time. It happened so fast. He was here, and then…” she trailed off.

  “Sorry, man,” Mathieu added.

  I never should’ve left her here. I hadn’t known what I’d be walking into at the hospital, but I shouldn’t have left her here. Shit was closing in from all sides. Rix, whoever offed Bree and now Jiminy, and Elle’s family. Yeah, we really needed to get away from it all for a while. Hell, if I could, I’d get Elle away from it permanently. I’d tried that before, and she’d only out-stubborned me. But I wouldn’t be leaving her unprotected again.

  I pointed at Mathieu. “You’re handling closing. We’re out of here.” I grabbed Elle’s hand. “Let’s go.”

  A wide array of emotions vibrated from Lord. Annoyance, anger, frustration, possessiveness, and who knew what else. But above all, I got the feeling that things were about to take an irrevocable turn for us. Good or bad, I wasn’t quite sure, but I’d wait and see. The urge to bolt back to the safety of my own world was bubbling up inside me, but a much bigger part of me wanted to stay firmly in his. I was learning that there was a line between protective and possessive, and an even wider gulf between possessive and controlling. Lord was protective to be sure, possessive when it came to brushes with Rix, but not in the least bit controlling. I thought I could live with that—protective and even possessive could be sexy as hell when it was coming from him.

  We rode in silence to his place, and I wondered if he’d already forgotten about his plan to go out tonight. “If we’re going out tonight, then I need to get a dress from my house.”

  Lord didn’t take his eyes off the windshield. “Change of plans. I need you in my bed, under me, and I need to know that you’re right there with me.”

  Hello.

  All my girl parts sat up and took notice. “What brought this on?”

  “Does it matter?”

  I contemplated that for a bit. “I guess not.” But I knew it was a primal instinct springing from his concern for my safety after everything that had happened today.

  Lord’s gaze raked me as he pulled into the gravel two-track drive. The intensity in it told me what kind of night I was in for. Within minutes, we were in the house, and he was skimming his hand over my shoulder, sliding off the cardigan I’d worn over my sundress. He set it aside before returning to stripping me. Rough thumbs slipped under the straps, and goose bumps lit up my skin.

  He wasn’t wasting time, and I wasn’t about to slow him down.

  “So fucking soft. Shouldn’t even be allowed to touch you.”

  “Don’t you dare stop.”

  “Not a chance.”

  The straps fell down my shoulders, and his big hand reached around to find the zipper and tug it down.

  The dress floated to the floor, and I stepped out of it. My heart thudded against my ribcage. This felt so much bigger—like what was happening here was going to overflow the room and flood the entire neighborhood.

  Lord made quick work of my bra, and it dropped onto my dress. I stood before him in nothing more than my underwear, and I was pretty sure my emotions were transparent. I’d never trusted any man this much. Had never felt this much for any man. The danger sirens should’ve been going off in my head, but all I could focus on was him.

  He lowered his mouth, brushing his lips over mine before his tongue slipped inside. His hand dropped from my chin and coasted down my arms before cupping my ass. Tucking a thumb into either side of my panties, he tugged them down until I was completely naked, but he was still completely clothed. The disparity of the situation just made it all that much hotter.

  When he finally pulled back, it was to guide me into a seated position on the bed.

  My hands immediately went to his belt. I unbuckled it and pulled down the zipper. “I’m not kneeling now,” I said.

  My eyes darted up to Lord’s face, and his blue eyes had turned molten. “No, you’re not.”

  I palmed the bulge springing from beneath his boxer briefs and squeezed.

  “Can’t believe you made me wait so damn long for this.”

  “Good things are worth waiting for. I would’ve waited a hell of a lot longer.”

  “Guess it’s lucky the wait is over.”

  I tugged his boxers down and ran a thumb up the underside.

  Lord stroked my cheek with his thumb as I lowered my head.

  I dragged my tongue along the shaft, from the base to the crown, and closed my mouth over the tip.

  The hand that had been caressing my face speared into my hair, pulling it back and up into a rough ponytail. “Fuck, Elle.” He groaned when I pulled his cock away from his body, wrapping my fist around it, and took him deeper. “Goddamn that feels good.”

  With most guys, I didn’t suck dick. It was a personal preference. Why? Because I always felt cheap and used by the end. It didn’t matter how polite or sweet the guy was—although I rarely went for polite or sweet—but the end result left me feeling like shit. But with his one statement—I don’t ever want to see you on your knees—Lord had torn away the shame that I usually felt. This act now filled me with power and fulfillment.

  Lord’s groan once again broke through the silence, and his knees buckled.

  It was a heady feeling—knowing I had the power to make a strong man’s knees weak with pleasure. But it was a good kind of power. The kind that I’d give right back to him when he blew my mind with orgasms in only minutes. It was the give and take with Lord that made it all work so well. It was the push and pull and ebb and flow. The natural rhythm of things that made being with him as easy as breathing.

  I stroked my hand up and down his length, jacking him off slowly before I took him as deep as I could. When his cock hit the back of my throat, Lord eased away slightly and said, “I don’t want to come in your mouth. I want to come in that tight little pussy of yours.”

  I released the head of his cock with a pop of my lips. “Are you sure about that?
Because I don’t think it’s an either-or decision. I’m pretty sure we could make both of those happen.” I was feeling like a seductress. Amazing what the sight of weak knees could do to a girl. Hell, amazing what any sight of Lord Robichaux could do to a girl.

  The fist gripping my hair tightened and my head tilted up. “You’re a fucking goddess. Which means I’m going to take you up on your offer—next time. Next time, after I fuck you, you’re going to suck my cock until I come down your perfect little throat. But tonight, I’m going to fuck you until you come so hard you’ve used up every bit of energy just trying to stay with me, and you’re going to pass out from exhaustion.”

  Ummm … Okay then. I’m good with that program.

  “Okay.”

  He released his grip on my hair, and lifted me toward the head of the bed. Lord stepped back and stripped off his remaining clothes.

  Personal strip tease courtesy of the sexiest man I’d ever seen? Hell. Yes.

  He shoved his jeans and boxer briefs the rest of the way down his hips, and they crumpled on the floor. Grabbing his shirt by the back, he tugged it over his head and tossed it aside. I loved the efficient way he rid himself of everything that remained between us. In only moments, he was as naked as I was. His cock bobbed, and I still wished I had my mouth wrapped around it.

  Maybe I could talk him in to letting me…

  “Can’t wait to be buried inside you,” he said.

  Well, that worked too.

  “What are you waiting for?” I asked, my words husky.

  His hand wrapped around my ankle. I expected him to spread my legs and climb between them, but he didn’t. He dipped at the waist and lowered his lips to the inside of my anklebone and pressed a kiss to it.

  “I told you that you were meant to be worshipped; that’s what I’m waiting for. Now let me get to it.”

  The remnants of the walls I’d built between us crumbled. With only his words and a single touch of his lips, he decimated me.

  Lord’s lips trailed up the inside of my legs, trading between one and then the other. He growled things like “softest skin,” “so goddamn smooth,” and “perfection,” and I just laid there and soaked it in.

  He finally hit my center and once again, my expectations built. But I was wrong again. He dipped his tongue between my lips and pressed a kiss to my clit before moving north again. Another kiss to my belly button, my ribs, the skin beneath my breasts. I was so caught up in what his mouth was doing I forgot the man’s clever, clever fingers.

  They toyed with my entrance, one sliding in, filling me. My body—thrilled for the invasion—clamped down on him.

  “Fuck, you burn me alive. Every goddamn time.” He pumped his finger, and a moan spilled from my lips.

  “Please. Let’s get to the burning.”

  Lord’s dark chuckle pushed my need to the next level.

  “I want to savor you this time.”

  He slipped a second finger inside, and I curled my nails into the hard muscles of his shoulders.

  He pressed his thumb to my clit, and the orgasm gathering low in my belly reached the tipping point. “Omigod. I’m going to—”

  Pleasure buzzed through me, rippling out through every limb. Lord’s fingers left me; his mouth closed over my left nipple, sucking hard and tugging at it with his teeth before coasting over to the right for the same attention. I was still recovering from the shock-n-orgasm when he ran his teeth up the tendons of my neck, puckering my nipples for a whole different reason. When he spoke, he made sure the words were breathed directly into my ear.

  “I want my cock inside you.”

  “No objections here,” I moaned.

  Lord nipped my ear. “You take it, you tell me you’re taking all of me. No more walls between us.”

  Smart man; negotiate while I was not only floating on an orgasm, but desperate for what he had to offer. Except he didn’t realize he’d already crushed the last of my reservations.

  My surrender was immediate and genuine.

  “Okay.” I nodded.

  “I want the words, sweet thing. All the words.”

  “I’m taking all of you.” Lord was strong, but not overpowering. He’d lead, but not force. He was the kind of man I hadn’t even known existed, and one I couldn’t imagine not having.

  “Good girl.”

  And he was just dominating enough to keep me sassy. I nipped his earlobe. “I’m no girl—I’m all woman.”

  “Don’t I know it.” He rolled to his back and pulled me over top of him so I was straddling his lap—and his huge erection. He reached out to the nightstand and grabbed a strip of condoms from the top and tore one off. Ripping it open with his teeth, he shifted me down so he could make quick work of sliding it on. Once he’d finished, he settled me back into place. How could he make such a mundane chore look so sexy? I was so caught up in the watching that his words jerked me back to reality—the best kind of reality.

  “You’re gonna ride me. You decide how much, how fast, and how hard, until I decide how we finish.”

  Every word made me more determined to take this man on a ride he’d never forget.

  “Then let’s do this.”

  I slid back and forth on his cock, my own wetness soaking him, before gripping the shaft and fitting the head against my entrance.

  “Surprised a guy like you wants to be taken instead of doing the taking,” I said.

  “Sweet thing, you took me from day one. Why should this be any different?” he replied.

  Warmth flooded me, and I’d never been so full of feelings during sex. It would’ve been unnerving if I weren’t so hung up on the man beneath me. Everything moved quickly from that moment on. I lifted and sank down, taking him, inch by inch, into my body. I gave myself only seconds to adjust before Lord’s big hands landed on my hips. His eyes closed for a beat, and then riveted on me as he helped guide my movements as I rode him. In and out, he filled me. I laced my fingers with his, and kept going, working his cock until I knew he’d reach the point where he’d flip me and take me. I loved being on top, having the control, and somehow Lord knew I needed that from him. I needed to not feel conquered every time we had sex. I didn’t know how he knew that … but he did. Now that I’d ridden him like a cowgirl, wild and proud, I was ready to be taken. I slowed my movements, and he picked up the change in my mood instantly.

  “My turn,” he said. Hands once again gripping my hips, he rolled, bracing himself on one arm so I didn’t take all his weight. “You ready for more?”

  “Yes.”

  “Everything I can give you?”

  “Yes!” I cried. “Hurry.”

  “Guess I better not keep the lady waiting.”

  And he shifted, slipping one hand beneath my ass and canting it upward for the perfect angle to meet his thrust. And then holy hell.

  Being beneath all that power was … intoxicating. Stroke after stroke, he hit the perfect spot, and the tension that had been building inside me stretched tight, poised to snap.

  “Omigod,” I mumbled. “I’m gonna—”

  “Fuck yeah, you’re gonna. Until you can’t keep your eyes open. That’s my promise to you.”

  Another thrust and my body unleashed pleasure through every nerve ending, and I screamed his name. “Lord!”

  He slowed his thrusts, allowing me to ride it out, but never stopped.

  “That’s right. More where that came from.”

  The second orgasm came on the heels of the first. I lost track after number three.

  It could’ve been minutes or hours later, but my eyes slid shut as Lord roared my name and emptied himself inside me.

  My last thought: I’m in so much trouble.

  I woke to a warm body curled up beside me. Elle’s cheek pillowed on my chest, and her red hair tickled my face and chin. My arm tingled, but I had no intention of moving. Instead, I watched her sleep.

  Last night she’d told me she was taking all of me, and I was holding her to that. But Elle wasn’t the
kind of woman you fenced in and expected her not to bolt. My words had been a calculated risk during the heat of the moment. I wasn’t a stupid man; I knew getting that kind of declaration out of her during the light of day was something I’d have to handle carefully, but I would get it out of her eventually. I pressed a kiss to her hair, and her eyes flicked open.

  “Good morning,” I said.

  Her lips curled into a smile. “Good morning yourself.”

  “I like waking up with you,” I said, knowing I was pushing too hard.

  I tucked Elle’s hair away from my face, and she pulled back. “I like it too … but we probably should talk about me going home sometime soon. I don’t think Rix is going to hurt me. He scares the ever-lovin’ hell out of me, but I don’t think he’s going to hurt me.”

  I gritted my teeth. So much for an easy morning. “Can we talk about him when we’re not naked?”

  “I’m just saying I don’t think he’s a threat; he’s not looking to do me harm.”

  “Then let’s talk about the fact that Jiminy’s dead, just like Bree.” Elle shrank away from my harsh tone, and I could’ve slapped myself for being so blunt, but I didn’t know how else to get across that this was serious fucking business, and I wasn’t taking a chance with her safety. I didn’t like that she seemed to have placed Rix in the “harmless even though he’s really dangerous as fuck” category and completely written off the fact that someone had killed two people and we still didn’t know who or why.

  “I don’t understand how I could be a target.” Elle’s voice was small.

  “Yeah, well, I don’t understand how you don’t think you could be at risk. I’m not willing to take the chance, and even if you think Rix is harmless, whoever else is out there shooting people in the back isn’t getting their hands on you.” Quietly, I added, “Doesn’t make any fucking sense. First Bree, and then Jiminy. Think I’m being framed. Nothing else makes sense.”

  And nothing else did make sense. There had been a time in my life when I’d had nothing to lose and what was happening now would’ve just had me packing my shit up and truckin’ out of town for a while. But now … now I had everything to lose, and I would fight tooth and nail to keep it. Whoever was setting me up was going to find their own bullet buried in their back, and that swamp boat was going to come in handy.