by Opal Carew
It had been… her body quivered… intense and…oh, God she wanted to run right back into his arms now.
She brushed her long, dark hair until is shone. This was crazy. Zane talking about a change in their relationship. As if they could just switch to being…She pulled the brush through her hair again, staring at herself in the mirror…He wanted to be lovers. Her breathing grew shallow. He couldn’t really…she couldn’t let that happen.
Could she?
She sucked in a deep breath and headed for the bedroom door. As she walked down the stairs, she smelled coffee. She walked into the kitchen and saw Zane standing at the counter, a steaming mug of coffee in his hand.
“Good morning.” He moved to the stove and cracked open an egg into a waiting frying pan. “Sit down. I’ll have your breakfast in a minute.”
She watched as he opened the oven and took out a pan of sausages he’d been keeping warm, then arranged them on a plate.
He was making her breakfast, which was sweet and made her feel cared for, but she couldn’t let that affect the decision she’d made.
“I want to leave,” she said firmly. “Today.”
He used a spatula to scoop up her eggs and place them on the plate. “And I want you to stay.”
“You can’t just keep me here.”
“I’m not stopping you from leaving.” He smiled. “I’m just not helping you do it.”
And given the fact she had no cash or working credit cards, and the house was a good distance from town, she’d have a hard time getting back to San Diego without his help.
“What if I call the police?”
“And what? Have me arrested for not driving you to the airport and lending you money for an airline ticket?”
Her fists clenched at her side, frustration shooting through her.
His expression softened. “Chelsea, is it really so bad staying here for the weekend and just spending some time with me?”
He set the plate of eggs and sausage in front of her. She stared at it, her stomach rumbling, but she didn’t pick up her fork.
He sighed. “Okay, well I have to go out and run an errand. I’ll be back in about an hour.”
She said nothing as he left the room, but then her hunger got the better of her and she started to eat. She heard him go out the door to the garage and then the sound of the automatic door opener first opening the garage door, then closing it after he’d pulled out.
When she finished her breakfast and coffee, she cleaned up the dishes, then sat down to read. It was quiet in the house and the air outside was still. If she hadn’t felt trapped, she might have enjoyed the solitude and the chance to relax. The business had kept her pretty busy, especially with the research team hard at work on a new product for their line of fast charging batteries.
That’s what had made her company succeed. Innovative battery technology that allowed a cell phone to be fully charged in less than thirty minutes. It had been an idea she’d pursued when she’d been doing her Master’s thesis. Her partner, Bill had been another grad student at the time and had seen the value of the idea and had suggested they partner. They’d attracted an angel investor to help them get started and after only a year, they’d gone public.
Now they had stockholders and a board and all the things that drove her crazy. But they’d also been able to build the business and pursue other ideas, like a battery that could charge from ambient energy, thus requiring no need to plug in. It would allow cell phone owners to keep their phone fully charged as long as they were within twenty feet of a wall socket.
Bill was really excited about it and had been hinting that once they finished this product that they should sell the company, making a huge payback on their investment. That’s not what she wanted to do, though. This company was everything to her. It was her baby. It allowed her to be innovative. It allowed her to shine.
Being president of Quiet Thunder made her feel like an intelligent, capable woman. Not like the inept, inexperienced person she felt around Zane.
At a rumbling in the distance, she glanced to the window. It had been gray all day, but now ominous dark clouds filled the sky. A flicker of light made her jump.
Lightning.
She hated lightning. And thunder.
A deep, rumbling sound rolled across the sky, then a flash of lightning filled the room. Her stomach clenched.
She’d been terrified of storms when she was younger. She used to go into the basement where the windows were small and she could barely hear the thunder. She grabbed her tablet and headed for the door leading to the basement stairs. She crept down, sighing in relief when she saw that Zane had upgraded the rec room with cheerful colors and lights bright enough so that it didn’t feel gloomy. She sighed as she sank onto the couch.
She read a little, but the basement was not her favorite place to be alone, so she soon became restless. She glanced around at the redecorating Zane had done. There was a hallway off the rec room and she stood up and walked down the hall. There was a bathroom that hadn’t been here before, then a door at the end of the short hallway. She walked toward it, wondering what was behind the door. Probably just a storage room, but he didn’t really need more storage with a large area with shelves behind a door on the other side of the rec room.
Maybe it was a home theater. Or a room with a pool table. But some instinct told her it was neither of those things. She reached for the doorknob, fully expecting that it would be locked.
The doorknob turned.
Of course. Why would Zane keep it locked? He lived alone.
She pushed the door open and peered inside. She found a light switch on the wall beside the door and flicked it. Lights turned on, but not a bright overhead light. Instead, mood lighting that cast a shadowy light on what she could only describe as a dungeon.
She stepped inside, the door closing behind her, and gazed around at the gray stone walls. There was a big leather chair and couch in deep burgundy leather and rough-hewn, wooden furniture in the room—a tall armoire and various other benches and padded wooden furniture she wasn’t sure of.
Then the glint of steel on the wall caught her eye. There were sturdy steel rings protruding from the wall, with thick metal cuffs dangling from chains.
God, what was this place?
She walked to the chains and touched one of the cold, hard cuffs. They were positioned just right to chain a person to the wall.
It looked like Zane was into some pretty kinky stuff.
As that unsettling notion crept through her brain, she thought she heard something and glanced around. She sucked in a breath, realizing how eerie it was in this dimly lit room in the far reaches of the basement. She heard another sound, and swung round to face the door, just as it burst open. Zane stormed in, his face a storm cloud of anger.
She sucked in a breath of relief,
“Chelsea, what the hell… I didn’t know where you were.”
“You knew I couldn’t be far,” she retorted. “You haven’t really given me a choice to leave.” She raised an eyebrow. “Or did you think I’d decided to walk to town?”
“I wouldn’t put it past you,” he said as he approached, like a panther stalking its prey. “And with the downpour outside… and the lightning…”
He knew she didn’t like lightning. That she used to hide away in her room. He didn’t know that she used to sometimes come into the basement, so she couldn’t see or hear the thunder and lightning.
But back then there’d been nothing like this room down here.
“I wanted to get away from the lightning.” She didn’t know why she revealed that to him.
He stepped closer. “I’m sorry.” Concern etched his face. “I didn’t mean to leave you alone in a storm. I know how much they bother you.”
He hadn’t said that she was afraid of them. He hadn’t diminished her by making her sound like a fearful child.
“It’s okay. I can take care of myself.”
His gaze searched hers, the depth of
concern in his cobalt blue eyes unsettling.
“I kept thinking of you outside, wandering through the woods, with the lightning flashing and the boom of the thunder…I didn’t like to think of you alone and dealing with that.”
“I would be perfectly capable of dealing with the situation.”
He ran his hand from her elbow to her wrist. “You’re trembling.”
She stepped back to put distance between them, but he followed. The stone cold wall pressed against her back.
“It’s cold down here. I think we should go upstairs,” she said.
But he didn’t budge, his big, masculine body trapping her against the wall.
“I think we should talk about our relationship.”
She tried to step sideways so she could dodge around him, but he grasped her arm.
“Are you going to keep running away from this, Chelsea?” he demanded.
“I’m not running. I just want to go upstairs,” she insisted.
“The storm’s still pretty bad.”
She hesitated at the thought of flickering fire flashing across the sky, followed by the horrendous boom of the thunder, making her feel as if the sky would crash down on her at any moment.
But she drew back her shoulders ready to protest more vehemently. Then a flash of light past the open door startled her, followed by deep, rolling thunder echoing through the room. Her chest constricted. It was close, leaving her unsettled. In fact, Zane’s presence helped ground her.
She glanced up at him as she realized he was lifting her hand. Her cheeks flushed when she realized she’d actually linked fingers with his. She was holding his hand.
Before she realized what was happening, he snapped one of the cuffs hanging from the wall around her wrist. Her eyes widened. He grasped her other hand and snapped the other band around that wrist.
“What are you doing?” She hated the tremble in her voice.
“I’m making sure we have this conversation.”
She stared at him as he turned and walked to the door, but he didn’t leave as she’d suddenly feared he would. He closed the door. Keeping the storm out.
She pulled on the bands restraining her wrists. The chains clanked. The metal wrist cuffs had looked ominous hanging on the wall, but they were lined with thick, soft fabric so didn’t hurt her wrists.
He walked toward her, an ominous figure in the shadowy room.
“You’re really going to keep me chained up while we talk?”
“Yes,” he said simply.
His presence filled the room and as he got closer, she found it hard to breathe.
“Zane, stop kidding around and let me go.”
“Chelsea, I’m dead serious. We are having this conversation.”
He stood only a breath away. His closeness sent shimmering awareness through her.
“And I like you like this.” His lips turned up, but his striking blue eyes held no hint of humor.
Oh, God, he had this room—this… dungeon—in the basement. That meant…well, he must like to…
Damn, images of him having kinky sex with beautiful women sent her totally off kilter.
Did he want to take her against this wall? Drive his big, solid cock into her?
Her knees went weak.
“Okay, you want to talk.” Maybe if she cooperated, he’d let her go. “I’m sorry I haven’t taken more of an interest in No Limits. If you want me to, I can—”
“That’s not at all what I want to talk about.” He eased a breath closer, making her heart race. He stroked a hair from her face, sending tremors through her. “I want to talk about this attraction between us. I want to talk about why you climbed into my bed last night—”
“You already know that was just—”
“And I want to talk about where it’s going.”
“It’s not going anywhere. I’m not attracted to you.”
“Really? I don’t believe you.”
She frowned. “I don’t care if you don’t believe me. It’s true.”
He cupped her face, his hands warm on her cheeks, then his lips found hers. His tongue pressed against her lips until she opened, then drove inside. The feel of him exploring her moist depths made her dizzy with need and when he released her mouth, she sucked in a breath, her gaze locked on his intense blue eyes.
“I’ve wanted you forever,” he murmured, “and I can see that same need in your eyes.”
She shook her head in protest.
Annoyance flashed in his eyes. “You can lie to me, but for God’s sake, don’t lie to yourself.”
His arm glided around her and he dragged her tight to him, then took her lips again. The quivering pleasure of his kiss held her mesmerized… until she felt his other hand between them, slowly moving down the front of her blouse. Oh, God, he was releasing the buttons.
She turned her head, jarring her lips free. “No, Zane.”
He eased back and gazed down at her, then drew her blouse open, revealing her simple floral lace bra beneath.
“It’s so pretty and feminine. It suits you.”
His praise didn’t stop her cheeks from flushing hotly at him gazing at her intimate garment.
“Zane, this has gone too far.”
“On the contrary. It hasn’t gone anywhere near far enough.” He eased her blouse past her shoulders, letting it drape from her arms. Then his gaze fell to her breasts and with what could only be described as awe, he ran his hands over her them, caressing lightly, then cupping them in the warmth of his hands.
His touch was so gentle and loving.
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her breast, then sucked through the thin fabric. To her total shock, she arched against him.
Trembling with need she leaned back against the cold wall, willing herself to protest. But his touch felt so good.
His hand glided down her stomach and she tensed as it slipped inside her jeans.
“No, Zane.”
But too late. His fingers had already slipped between her legs and found the dampness there. He unfastened her jeans and pushed them down to her knees. Still crouched in front of her, he stared at her skimpy, floral panties. His fingers glided lightly over the fabric which was damp from her excitement.
He stood up, now sporting a smug, masculine expression.
He pulled something from his pocket and then she felt metal against her skin near her shoulder, then the bra strap released. She glanced at his hand to see a pocketknife, which he was using to cut the second strap.
“My bra,” she protested.
“I’ll buy you another one.”
His hand glided behind her and he unhooked it. The bra fell open. He pushed it out of the way and it dropped to the ground.
He stared at her naked breasts, heat blazing in his eyes. Then he swooped down and his mouth found her swollen nub and she gasped at the intensity of feeling herself drawn into his hot, moist mouth.
He suckled and she arched, wanting more.
The sound of a zipper, then the feel of his hot shaft falling against her stomach, jarred her from the haze of pleasure. It was thick and hard, and felt like molten iron as it glided over the crotch of her panties, then he pulled aside the fabric.
“Zane, no, you can’t do this,” she says weakly.
His determined gaze, melting with need, locked on hers. The tip of his cock brushed against her naked flesh.
“Tell me you don’t want this.” The hard flesh brushed against her again. So thick and solid.
She ached for it inside her.
“I don’t… ohhh…” she moaned as he brushed against her again. “I…”
He pressed his cheek to her temple, his hot breath rippling across her neck, sending tingles through her.
“I want you. I’ve wanted you for a very long time.” His cockhead swiped over her moist folds again, sending heat fluttering through her. “And clearly you want me, too.”
“We can’t,” she protested, desperate to maintain some level of sanity.
> “We can do anything we want. So if you want me to stop, tell me right now that you don’t want me.”
He stared and she struggled to find it inside herself. To tell him the lie.
But she had never been able to lie to him.
And she had wanted him for such a long time. She used to lie awake at night, wishing he’d come into her room and take her. She’d wanted him to take her virginity and show her how to be a woman. And she’d hated herself for it. Wondering what was wrong with her. But now, as she stared into his demanding blue eyes, she couldn’t deny it.
His lips turned up in a smile and his hard flesh stroked over her soft folds again. His lips captured hers, pressing her head hard against the stone wall as her insides ignited with flames at the feel of his erection brushing her sensitive flesh. Then he pressed, pushing his hot, hard cock forward. Inside her. Just a little at a time.
She shook his lips free and sucked in a breath, but he captured her mouth again and drove his tongue deep as his cock pushed further into her. Stretching her.
Oh, God, it was so big. So devastatingly hard and imposing.
And it felt so good pushing inside her.
She moaned into his mouth and he released her lips, then watched her as he pushed deeper. Eyes wide, she was mesmerized, staring into his hard-as-iron gaze. But there was something more there. Something almost… soft.
Desire for her?
Lust made more sense. Just the need to control and subdue her, and why not sexually, since he was right, there had always been a strong attraction between them, even though they had both always known it was too taboo to pursue.
He pushed deeper, his body now crushing her to the wall. Now he was inside her. Completely immersed in her. What was the point of fighting it now?
She just stared at him, both of them breathing hard.
Then he drew back, and drove forward again. Sparks flared inside her. As he drew back, her breath caught at the feel of the ridge of his cockhead dragging along her sensitive flesh, then she gasped as he drove deep again.
He began to pick up the pace, his erection gliding within her in powerful strokes, filling her, then gliding away, until he almost pulled free entirely, then driving deep again. His enormous cock filled her so full she thought she’d burst.