She tapped her index finger on his chest. “News flash. We women get as into it as you guys do.”
“Point noted. So what’s the fantasy?”
“I want to be taken.”
Derek rubbed his forehead. “I want to say taken where, but I know that’s wrong.”
“Think mediaeval times. Knights conquering villages and then the women. But I am one of those romantic heroines. I don’t meekly submit. I’m headstrong and willful.”
“Actually, you are both of those.”
Suppressing her smile, she continued, “You have dragged me into your bedchamber to have your way with me, but I refuse to please you. Punish me. Rip my clothes off, throw me onto the bed and take me. Make me submit. Overwhelm me.”
“Why should I punish you?”
“Two reasons. One, it is part of the fantasy. Two, it completes my penitence for…well for everything I did wrong.”
He stroked her cheek. “I don’t want to.”
“I must be punished. We must complete this. This must be the worst. The most painful. My ass is tender. The simplest stroke will cause me pain. But we must end this so we can move on.”
“We have moved on. I love how you want to please me and I love the fact that I want nothing more than to please you. I think we are well past my being angry.”
“Then spank me to please me.”
Derek rubbed his chin. “I’m thirsty. Bring me wine.” As an afterthought he added, “Wench.” He undid his shirt and tossed it on the floor then stretched out on the bed. “Go.” He snapped his fingers and waved his hand dismissing her. “I warn you wench. Do not make your king repeat himself.”
“Knight,” Arianne corrected, just under her breath.
“King. It is much better to be king. A king does not have to answer to anyone. Now, go to the dining room, open the wine cupboard and bring me an excellent red wine.”
After searching for the corkscrew, Arianne opened the bottle and returned. As she handed him the opened bottle, he grabbed her wrist and firmly held her. Sitting up he took the wine bottle, chugged a long drink from it and placed it on the night table. He stood facing her. With a quick, unexpected move he slapped her bottom. “This is to teach you.” He slapped her again. “Never, ever make your king wait. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” The third slap brought a louder and more respectful, “Yes, I understand.”
“Good.” He released her wrist and sat back on the bed. “Now serve me.”
“What?”
“You are nothing but a wench. I am your king. Serve me.”
“I shall not!” Arianne was surprised at the indignant anger in her voice.
“Oh, yes, you shall.” Derek’s voice had taken on the command of the Chairman of the board. It was soft but powerful. It made her want to submit. “I have conquered your village and imprisoned your men. Now, all that is left is to conquer you.” He drank some wine and wiped his chin. “Now, use that luscious mouth of yours and serve me!”
“Never!” She bolted from the room.
Being hampered by high heels, Arianne was unable to avoid capture and the chase was short. She struggled, but Derek soon overpowered her and carried her to his room. He tossed her over his lap and pulled up her dress. Struggling to free herself, Arianne found herself unable to move. Derek had clamped his hand on her neck and when she struggled he pressed his fingers on a nerve, which caused a jolt of pain.
“I was hoping you’d run. I so wanted to tame your ass.” He ripped her panties off her and dropped the ruined garment onto the floor. Running his hand over her buttocks, he said, “So smooth and round. Perfect.” Crack. His hand smacked up against her. “You will learn to obey me.”
“Never!” She closed her eyes and waited for the flurry of spanks to end.
“Submit!”
She bit her lip and did not answer. Again his hand paddled her bare flesh. The strikes rippled through her skin. She could feel the heat as her flesh began to turn pink.
She was about to beg for mercy when the spanking ceased. “Kneel in front of me. Closer.” She moved so that she almost touched his knees. He reached for the wine, drank some more then pressed the bottle to her lips. Arianne turned her head. “Show me your breasts. Strip.” Eyes lowered and hands clenched, she did not move. Derek reached down to put the bottle on the floor then placed his hands on the front of her dress. “I’ll say this one more time. Strip or I’ll rip this off of you.”
The words tumbled out. “But it’s a Vera Wang!” She stood, unzipped the dress and let it fall. Stepping out of it, she tossed it onto the chair in the corner.
“If you move to cover yourself or resist my advances I will tie your hands behind your back. Leave your breasts exposed for my eyes to enjoy.” He picked up the bottle and again placed it to her lips. She closed her eyes and refused. The wine was cool as he poured it down her left breast. His tongue was hot as he stooped down to lick her breast clean. He sucked her nipple, insuring that all the wine was removed. She arched her back and shifted herself so her right breast was ready to accept the wine and then his mouth’s attentions.
“Ah,” he chuckled. “My wench is learning.” He lifted the bottle and poured. When his mouth was satisfied there was no more wine to remove from her breast he sat back on the bed. “Are you ready to serve me?” She opened her eyes. “No.”
“Arrgh!” He stormed around the bed, tossing his shirt, shoes and socks in various directions. He reached down and forced his hand between her legs. “You are wet.” He massaged her breasts with both hands. “Your nipples are screaming you want to. Then why does your mouth say no?”
“My body is the last thing you can conquer and I will not submit to serving you.”
Standing behind her, Derek hauled Arianne to her feet and threw her onto the bed. Fumbling with his zipper he removed his slacks and the rest of his clothes and tossed them aside. Enraged and enlarged, he climbed onto the bed and straddled her. “Never, ever, tell a king he cannot conquer you. I will have you. Your body will submit to my desires.” Grabbing her wrists he pulled her hands over her head and lay down on top of her.
She tried to turn her head to avoid his kiss, but his mouth latched onto hers. She could feel his lust, not only from his erection pressing into her belly, but from the intensity of the kiss he pressed onto her mouth.
Drilling a knee onto her thigh, he forced his way between her legs. “I want you. And I will have you.” He slid himself into her wet and willing sex then closed his eyes and shuddered. “I now control you. You are now mine,” he said as he began to pump into her.
“You can’t control me,” she gasped. “And that irritates you. Even as you spanked me, I was still in control.” The power of his thrusts made what she wanted to say difficult. She wanted to wrap her legs around him and scream “I am yours!” but instead she forced herself to say, “I am the one thing you can’t dominate. And you hate that. You hate me because I will not subjugate myself to you.”
Locking his gaze on her, he spoke between strokes. “No, wrong. I love you. Damn it, Arianne, I love you! I love the fact I can’t break your will. You drive me crazy with satisfaction and confusion. I want you. I want to be with you.”
She reached down and found her swollen clit. Her finger worked herself with an unrestrained intensity. Her focus closed itself in on three things; the throbbing pressure building inside her, the relentless pounding of Derek and the words, I love you that had come from his mouth and heart.
She spread her legs further, urging him deeper into her. She heard her voice gasp out, “I am yours. I submit!”
And that was the last clear thought she had for several moments. Her orgasm shuddered through her for what seemed to be minutes. Derek’s sweat soaked body collapsed onto hers. She could feel the pounding of his heart. Locked together they each reveled in the closeness of their bodies and the bliss of the moment.
Derek slid out of her and snuggled beside her. He placed a tiny kiss on her shoulder. Arianne turne
d inside of his arms and faced him. “Say it again, please.”
“I love you, Arianne. I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to tell you. But I am so...passionately in love with you. It isn’t just the sex. I love your personality. Your willfulness. Your survival instincts. Your…I could go on and on.”
“I have loved you for a long time. I didn’t mean to tell you before. I understood how we were in two different worlds but I couldn’t help myself. Once I got past the Davenport tycoon image and got down to the real Derek, it was impossible not to love you.”
Derek closed his eyes and shook his head. “This is so wrong. But I don’t care. I want you. I want to be with you. You are what’s missing in my life. I’ve been searching…hmph, blindly in all the wrong directions. I’m great in business, lousy in life. I guess I didn’t know what I was searching for.”
“Is that what you meant when you said I was supposed to be just a diversion?” She draped her leg over his hips and pulled him closer.
“Yes. You were supposed to be a fling that I’d get out of my system and then settle down and make my choice for the next Mrs. Davenport.”
“But you can’t use people like that.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “I know. But when you are rich you forget. The humanity inside gets lost. I was going to keep you for a few months then give you a huge severance deal and send you on your way. But when it came time, I couldn’t do it. And that scared me.”
“I’m almost scared to ask. Now what?”
“We go see your parents and I talk to my mother. Then I guess I purchase a ring and get down on one knee.”
Arianne’s eyes grew round as the implications of Derek’s statement began to sink into her brain.
“But for the moment I want to lie next to you and listen to you breathe and feel your heartbeat.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “I am exhausted.”
Nestling into his arms Arianne felt the heat of his flesh on hers. She tilted her head back and kissed his cheek. “I love you, Derek Davenport.” From his nearly asleep state, he found enough strength to pass a tiny smile over his lips.
Chapter Fourteen
Arianne rolled over and opened her eyes. The room was bright with the morning sunshine. Sprawled out on his belly, Derek was still asleep. Arianne poked him in the ribs. “Hmm? What?”
She pulled her finger away. “Just checking.”
“Checking what?”
When she didn’t reply, Derek stretched and rolled over. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. “Checking what? To see if I am still alive. I think you damn near killed me last night.”
“To see if you were real. Girls like me have fantasies about finding the perfect guy. I know, everybody does, but I mean regular people like me. The guy must be handsome, rich, great in bed, and anything else is icing on the cake.”
He tickled kisses up her neck. “I passed inspection?”
“With flying colors and that’s what I am finding so hard to believe. I shouldn’t be marrying a billionaire.”
“Okay, I’ll marry somebody else and you can be my mistress.”
She playfully punched his shoulder. “All of this is wrong and yet right at the same time.”
Throwing back the sheets, Derek stretched and sat up. “This is getting too existential for me, before my morning coffee. I need a shower, breakfast and then we can chat.”
Arianne climbed out of bed. She stepped over her shredded panties and the empty wine bottle. “I’ll go use my bathroom.”
Derek didn’t move as she left the room. He stared down at the clothes scattered on the floor.
Minutes later she came back in the room. “Ready? Hey, you aren’t even out of bed yet?”
Staring out the window, he didn’t respond. She snapped her fingers near his face. Derek blinked and looked at her.
“Is something wrong?”
He shook his head. “Just thinking.”
Arianne hesitated.
Derek caught her hand and kissed it. “Honestly, I just got lost in my thoughts.”
“I’ll go make breakfast. Meet you next to the pool?” She asked, tentatively.
He smiled, nodded and dragged himself out of bed.
Arianne put the coffee pot on the patio table as Derek walked outside. “Ooh, it’s alive and functioning.”
“Alive, I don’t know, but I’ll grant you functioning.” He pulled her close and kissed her. “Mmm. Best way I know to say good morning.”
Sensing Derek’s brighter mood, a wave of relief flashed through Arianne. Pointing to the patio table, she proudly displayed her cooking talents, a pile of croissants and some fresh fruit. “Breakfast.” Derek suspiciously eyed the coffee pot. “What?”
“If I remember correctly, Taylor called your coffee something like sewer sludge.”
With a playful pout, she said, “This is instant coffee—boiling water and some coffee crystals. Not that easy to screw up.”
Derek poured a cup and sipped. “Um, cream and sugar?” He glanced around the table. Arianne was about to protest when he chuckled. “Just kidding. It’s fine.”
She poured herself a cup. “I think I liked you better when you were catatonic.”
“Well I like you when you are driven right to the edge. Like right before you climax, you are so…electric.” He bit the end of a croissant and sat on a deck chair. “But I don’t believe what is happening.” He shook his head. “I have never gone into a merger with so little information. “ His hand shot up to stop her protest. “I know a marriage isn’t the same as a merger, but I have nothing else with which to compare this. There is no data to support anything—just a gut feeling. Something says this is right. In the six months we’ve known each other, you have changed from a—jeez I don’t know. You were—small and insignificant.”
She sat across from him and nibbled on a mango slice. “Like a mouse?”
“Okay, a mouse, but that’s still not right. You knew what you wanted and you…I mean you had guts, you went for it. The ad I put in the paper was really moronic. I was drunk. When I sobered up, I realized how asinine placing the ad was. I flipped through about fifty emails, but I didn’t respond to anybody. I wasn’t going to. But you caught my attention right from your first email. Your words attracted me. You didn’t say anything spectacular. It wasn’t some Pulitzer Prize email. I was drawn to it and I had to meet you. And that old you and the new you are worlds apart. Does any of this make sense or do I need more coffee?”
She held up the pot. “More coffee.”
“What I think I love about you is your freedom. I live within a very distinct set of societal rules. And you blow those rules all to hell.”
Arianne finished her breakfast, wiped her mouth and poured another cup of coffee. “Now, I understand. I got myself hired because I had to. I had like fifty dollars left in the bank and job prospects weren’t good at the moment. So I guess you’d say, I took a leap of faith. I was so scared that first day we met. I knew you wanted to sleep with me. It was obvious in your eyes. But I assumed it was because it was sex.”
Grinning from the memory, Derek nodded. “Yea, you were scared and trying to be all calm and sophisticated.”
“Then when we got up to the apartment I realized your behavior was—” She sighed. “You were compassionate and tender and if this was just about sex that compassion shouldn’t have been there. I didn’t expect the experience to be as intense as it was. I’ve gotten really good at faking it to avoid hurting a guy’s pride.”
A smile crossed Derek’s face. “I’ve dated some cold fish that were impossible to get off. They were doing the sex thing because it was expected if they were ever going to get me to marry them.” He held out his hand. “Want to go for a walk along the beach?”
Almost knocking the coffee pot over as she jumped out of the chair, Arianne kicked off her sandals and said, “I’d love to.” Hand in hand they crossed the green lawn and headed for the water’s edge. “Don’t you have neighbors?”
; “No this whole cove is mine. Great Grandpa Davenport bought it long before the island became a tourist haven. I crave privacy and solitude. That’s why I’ve kept this place isolated. I could make a killing if I sold the land around me to real estate investors. Some of them have gotten on their knees and begged. But it has become a legacy thing. I want to hand it down to my son so he can bring the love of his life here.”
Walking through the surf, Derek spotted an interesting shell and handed it to her. “And that’s what I mean. Man, I am making no sense today. I can practically pinpoint the moment you decided you loved me. Everything took on a passionate power that overwhelmed me. The sex was good before, and then it went beyond good. You lost the few inhibitions you had and completely released yourself. And once I knew you could do that I wanted you.”
“I have to ask. Because of the sex?”
He threw the shell back into the ocean. “No! The equality. When you were just doing your job, you were beneath me. I was up on some pedestal and you were down on the ground looking up. But once you decided working for me didn’t matter, that you wanted to please me for the pure joy of it, you ended up on the platform next to me.”
Arianne stopped and stared at him. “You consider me an equal?”
“Yes, I guess that’s what all this inane rambling has been about. I’m still trying to sort out in my head how to say it.”
“I never considered myself an equal to you.”
“Well I do and at first I didn’t like it. My ego got in the way and I decided to push you off my pedestal.” He chuckled. “And you know what? You wouldn’t leave. You held up your end at the art gallery opening. You said all the right things and that annoyed me. The harder I pushed the more you stayed right there. You do know if you hadn’t flown down here, that I would have been knocking on your apartment door begging you to let me back into your life.”
The water tickled her toes as Arianne digested what Derek had told her. “Make love to me.”
Derek held her face. “Equals. We have an intangible power over each other. No matter how wrong this is, it’s perfectly right.”
A Kept Woman Page 13