Strip Search

by Shayla Black

  "I know you would. That's you."

  Her smile was so genuine and lit with warmth, Mark nearly staggered. How could she seem so caring when she could be so dangerous?

  "If you hadn't come to my door when you had and carried me outside ... I wouldn't be here to tell you how much I appreciate you," she murmured.

  Mark nodded. Yeah, if he hadn't come by ... He could barely think about the consequences. In the moments he'd seen her pale and limp, heart beating too fast, he'd been more than shaken. The weight of fear had damn near crushed his chest like a two-ton block.

  How much would it hurt if he had to put her behind bars?

  He wrapped gentle fingers around her wrists, removing her hands from him. He couldn't stand her soft touch, wondering if it was a lie. She might appreciate his rescuing her, but she could still be using him to tidy up her false books so that they'd look nice and legal if the FBI or IRS came sniffing around. And she might be using his desire for her to keep him from the truth about her accounting. Why? Who knew? If she got caught, would she claim the manipulation of the books--and the money laundering--were all his doing and throw him under the bus?

  Despite her dislike for Precious Moments dolls, was she as guilty as she appeared and, in the end, just like Tiffany?

  Or was she a victim of something sinister?

  Releasing her wrist, he stepped around her. "You should get back in bed."

  She stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Come back to bed with me. I missed you."

  Mark did his best to shut down, shut her out. Pain seeped in around the edges anyway, mixed with searing desire. He still wanted her, still loved her.

  Damn, he was a stupid bastard. Maybe it wasn't that he was attracted to bad women as much as to wounded doves, to women he thought he could save. Maybe he had some twisted hero complex he wasn't aware of and didn't understand. Or maybe deep, deep down, he got off on emotional pain. Mark couldn't think of any other reason he would turn to Nicki, drag her against him, and seize her mouth as if his next breath of air could only come from her.

  As he parted her lips beneath his with a moan, Mark sank into her sweetness, tasting, taking, ravaging. This was the one place she couldn't lie to him, couldn't pretend he didn't matter or didn't affect her.

  Nicki might have a calculating heart ... but she also had a very responsive body. He planned to make sure she understood just who had the power with only bare skin and shared sighs between them.

  And he planned to make his point starting now.

  Cradling the back of her head in his palm, Mark kept her mouth captive as he pushed farther inside, swirling his tongue around hers. Not that she was shy--never Nicki. She melted against him, seeming to give everything, as her own tongue slid in a sensual dance against his and, wriggling against him in invitation, set his blood boiling.

  Pulling her with him, their mouths still connected, Mark twisted around and lay Nicki down on the bed, then followed her there. If she was going to be his downfall, by damned, then she wouldn't escape the encounter without a scar or two. By the time he was done with her, she'd know what it meant to want until her gut cramped with it, she woke in a cold sweat, aching with need, her heart clutching every time she looked at him and wondered why.

  Turnabout was fair play.

  Beneath him, Nicki arched, pushing erect nipples into his chest. She parted her thighs in invitation.

  "You shouldn't have pushed me, Nicki," he whispered, voice thick. "You offered, so I'm taking. And taking, and taking. This isn't over until you've come so many times, you've lost count."

  "Mark," she breathed. "I missed you. Touch me. Take me." Then she stripped off her tank top, leaving nothing but the smooth satin of her olive skin that rolled into the hills of her firm breasts, topped with tight rosy tips.

  He swallowed, steeling himself against the sight. If Nicki wanted to control him and drive him out of his mind, she was off to a great start. But not today, damn it.

  Not ever again.

  "My pace, my way," he growled. "You don't lift a finger unless you're told to."

  "But--"

  "Not a word, either."

  She stared up at him, blue eyes dilated and confused--and aroused. Their blue invited him, like a calming pool. But he knew if he went there, he would drown.

  Her arms came around him, fingers smoothing down his spine, leaving a swell of tingles in her wake. Then her palm cupped his ass and squeezed, and she lifted her hips beneath him, grinding her damp heat right against his cock, which began to throb in time with his quickening heartbeat.

  Damn her.

  "Stay there."

  He lifted himself up from the bed and felt her stare glued to his back as he searched the drawers in her dresser. A few moments later, he found a bright red scarf. Then he flung the door of her walk-in closet open and prowled inside, past the miles of clothes and organized rows of shoes. Finally, he found a silky black robe and removed the belt. He turned back to her with a devious smile.

  Nicki'd had him tied up in knots for weeks. Now it was her turn.

  "Mark?" She looked at him with uncertainty, eyeing the items draped across his palm. But he saw excitement on her face, too.

  He didn't answer. Before she could speak, he wound the red scarf around her right wrist and affixed it to her slatted headboard. He repeated the action to her left wrist, using the belt of her robe.

  "Mark?" Her voice turned breathy. "What are you doing?"

  He ignored her again, transfixed for the moment. Lean arms tapered down from her slender body. Her breasts had already swollen just the barest hint, her nipples as tight as ever. Her pajama bottoms rested low on her hips, revealing the dip of her waist to his hungry gaze.

  But he wanted more. He'd bet she was already wet. Since Vegas was a gambling town, he decided to call his own game and find out.

  Gaze fixed on the flimsy little bow beneath her navel, he gave a single tug, unraveling the whole thing.

  "Answer me," Nicki demanded, her blue eyes flared with equal parts uncertainty and arousal.

  Using his palms, he slid the garment down the sweet swell of her hips, smiling as he realized she wore no panties. He trailed one thumb over her cleft, pushing between the plump folds, grazing her clit. She gasped.

  When he pulled his hand away, Mark found his thumb coated in her thick juice. He licked the pad of his thumb and smiled darkly, then wordlessly pushed her flimsy cotton pants over her thighs and past her feet.

  She was naked.

  "What--"

  Placing a hand over her mouth, he sent her a razor-sharp smile. "You look pretty all bound and at my mercy."

  He'd never given much thought to tying a woman up during sex. Immediately, he could see that his priorities needed adjusting.

  Peeling off his shirt, Mark tossed it behind him and set to work on his button flys. Nicki watched his every movement, gaze glued to his fingers as one, two, three ... all four buttons came undone under his insistent fingers. He pushed his jeans and underwear down, away, and kicked them aside.

  They were quickly forgotten as he stalked closer to the bed, arousal boiling in his blood. Had he ever been this hard? Seeing his cock standing straight at attention and seeming to flirt with his belly button, he didn't think so.

  Turning back to Nicki, he reached down to palm her breast and flicked his thumb over the turgid nub of her nipple. Her eyes widened. She stiffened. He did it again, this time not just smoothing his digit over the tight kernel, but rolling it between this thumb and forefinger. He squeezed, then rolled again. Squeezed and rolled. Nicki closed her eyes and pressed her thighs tightly together.

  "Open them," he demanded.

  She frowned. "What?"

  Mark smiled at the raspy tone in her voice. "Your eyes. Your legs. I want all your secrets bare for me."

  Slowly, she lifted her lids. Blinked. Then she settled her gaze on his face, somehow solemn and flush-cheeked at once. She appeared to be excited and wasn't sure she wanted to be. He related to t
hat sentiment.

  "Don't stop there." He dropped his gaze down to her legs, still firmly closed. She glistened with her arousal now. He could barely tear his eyes away.

  Still, he sensed her stubborn resolve not to surrender ... and found it totally unacceptable. She'd had him enthralled since the moment he'd seen her picture. Time to help her appreciate what he'd been going through.

  Inserting one of his hands between her feet, he tapped on the inside of her ankle, gently nudging. Her thighs parted a fraction. He tapped again. She opened a degree more, swallowing as she did. Lust? Apprehension? A bit of both, judging by her expression. But she relished the uncertainty, if he could believe her taut body.

  Feral need tore through him as he patted her other ankle and she inched it away from the other slowly. Now he could see more than the dark dusting of her pubic hair. Suddenly, she revealed a peek of the plump folds of her wet sex. And he was dying to get his mouth on her.

  Lowering himself to the bed, he covered Nicki's legs with his torso, his mouth hovering over the valley between her straining breasts. Again, he palmed each, toying with her nipples, manipulating the hard nubs with his fingers and thumbs--a hard squeeze, a gentle brush--for endless minutes he did nothing more than tug on her nipples, soothe them. Beneath him, she began to squirm, moving her hips as if looking for the relief of the pressure building inside her. That wasn't happening until he was good and ready.

  "Mark ..." Her voice had a pleading, breathy quality that both pleased and aroused him.

  In answer, he lowered his head, took one of her aching peaks in his mouth, and swept it with his tongue, curling, laving. He kept his fingers relentlessly fastened to the other nipple for long minutes.

  Nicki writhed with more determination. Her juices dampened his belly. Poor baby. Too bad she wasn't even close to finding release ... yet.

  "Mark," she said firmly.

  Hard for him to take her seriously when her demand sounded more like a moan.

  In answer, he only switched nipples, orally fixating on the other one while he massaged its slick, rigid mate.

  She gasped as he nipped at her with his teeth, then soothed her with his tongue. Beneath him, her breathing turned shallow and fast.

  "Don't tease me." "If you want something, stop demanding. Start begging."

  Writhing beneath Mark, Nicki couldn't decide if she wanted to tackle the arrogant hulk and show him a few things about teasing, or give in and beg ... and revel in the pleasure he was so gifted at giving.

  And as much as she'd love to contemplate what might be causing his he-man behavior, the ache he created was making thought so not possible.

  But begging? It went against her pride, her independent nature.

  Unfortunately, it was hard to care when her blood scalded her insides so thoroughly, Nicki felt sure her skin would soon start peeling from her bones. And he hadn't yet touched anything besides her breasts.

  Pride wasn't what stopped her from begging, however.

  "C'mon, Nicki." His rough voice scraped over her defenses, slowly wearing them down. "What do you like, baby? What do you want?"

  "For you to play fair," she managed to eek out.

  Mark laughed. "Another time."

  He traced a fingertip in the valley between her breasts and dragged it down her abdomen. She sucked in a sharp breath, watching the Celtic knot around his biceps ripple with every movement. Then he veered away, circling her hipbone, before gliding down the seam between her abdomen and thighs.

  Heading straight for her wet center.

  Nicki squeezed her eyes shut, desperate to block out the sensation, to stop this crazy game. She wanted him--God, so much, in so many ways. He was about to fulfill one of her favorite fantasies. For once, her heart and her body were in sync. It just wasn't the best timing. And he wasn't the best guy with whom to lose her head.

  What began as a fling had morphed into something that made her heart soar when they laughed together, something that clenched her chest with pain when they argued. And something that cut her like a dull knife when she sensed Mark holding back, as he was now.

  Unfortunately, he had learned her body. Very well. Learned that when he inserted a pair of fingers inside her and pressed up while thumbing her clit she could not keep herself from crying out for him and reeling heart-first into the orgasmic pleasure he gave her. Like now. He'd learned that when he spoke to her in those soft, rasping tones and told her how beautiful she looked when she came that she almost always fell over again. Like now.

  Damp everywhere with perspiration, Nicki strained against her bonds. Not because he frightened her. Mark had saved her life twice. He wasn't going to hurt her. She yearned to be at his tender mercy, in fact. But not when he was using her desires to control her. Not when he kept his heart distant ...

  "Untie me," she panted. "Please."

  In answer, Mark wended his way down her body. He positioned his head between her legs. She felt his hot breath against her, right where she ached. She began to tremble.

  "God, I love to have you spread out like this, so wet and ready for my mouth or my cock. But you know that."

  The ache between her legs tightened unmercifully at his words. Looking down her body at Mark lounging between her thighs, Nicki watched as he gathered her hips in his big hands. The lust in those dark-lashed hazel eyes was easy to spot. A fiery green seemed to dominate whenever he was aroused, highlighted by a stain of flush on his cheeks.

  But he hid everything else behind that fierce expression of desire.

  Trapped between the fantasy of her bonds and the reality of Mark's distance, she tried to wriggle and thrash from his grip. He was far too strong, too determined to simply let her go.

  "I don't want you when you're like this."

  "Clearly not true." He slid a finger through her humid center. Her juices coated his fingers in seconds. "I see the resident commando bitch has a submissive streak."

  Frustrated by her own arousal and his sheer stubbornness she hissed, "Fuck you!"

  Mark just smiled, something cold and glittering, that made the woman in her both pant and worry.

  "I plan to do just that. And enjoy myself thoroughly."

  It wasn't politically correct, and it made no sense to her, but Nicki couldn't deny that the crude, dominating streak he was displaying now turned her on despite the warning bells in her head. But she also knew this conversation, odd as it was, couldn't be anything less than serious. She had to keep her wits ... somehow.

  Easier said than done, particularly when he bent to her and raked his tongue over her clit in a long, lapping stroke that had her thighs tensing against the pleasure.

  "Is this some sort of game to you?" she croaked out.

  Mark froze, then seemed to force himself to relax. He distracted her by strumming his thumb over her clit once, twice. He followed that with another lazy swipe of his tongue. So sensitive now after a pair of demanding orgasms, Nicki couldn't stop herself from gasping and arching.

  "You tell me, Nicki."

  "Of course it's not a game," she managed to get out.

  "You've never tried to control me with this pretty pussy?" Mark sucked her clit into his mouth and teased the hard bud with the tip of his tongue.

  Her entire body clenched as sensations ricocheted through her, bouncing off her nerve endings, swelling her with blood and need. God, she had to reach him, but the air between them seemed almost combative. Emotionally, he'd never been more distant.

  "No," she managed to gasp out, even though her body really just wanted to end this verbal distraction and encourage him to lick her to orgasm with a resounding Hell, yes!

  "Then a little harmless play between lovers shouldn't put you off from begging for what you need," he purred.

  Then he bent his mouth to her in eamest. Tongue sliding up her folds, dipping deep into her core, taking a lazy lash against her clit. Pleasure didn't just climb like some leisurely stroll up to the peak. No, it soared, consuming her, keeping her hot, taut as
he circled the throbbing little bud between her legs and massaged her nipples with firm strokes of his thumbs.

  Her body established direct connections between her aching breasts and her swollen clit, every time he pulled on one, the other jumped. Which only darted the pleasure back up her body. Damn, she couldn't breathe. Her entire field of vision had been reduced to a pair or challenging hazel eyes that burned every time he settled his mouth on her flesh. A buzzing began in her ears.

  "Do you need something, Nicki?"

  She gasped. A plea weighed on the end of her tongue. It was so simple; a few little words, and he would take her to a euphoria likely higher than she'd ever known. Nicki wanted to say it so bad, to give in and relieve whatever demon was eating at him.

  Giving up just wasn't in her nature.

  "Give it to me," she panted. "Or get out."

  He lifted his head for a moment, glancing up her body, silent, watchful. But his thumbs never ceased their exquisite torture of her nipples. Now slightly sore from his insistent fingers and mouth, the coil of desire inside her corkscrewed tighter every time he touched her.

  "Big words for a woman who's all tied up." He shrugged. "Okay, we'll play it your way."

  Mark settled his mouth back over her clit, his fingers still focused on the taut peaks of her breasts. He flicked the hard nubbin between her thighs with the firm tip of his tongue and pinched her nipples.

  Nicki fought and fought ... but she was no match for his insistent touch. She exploded with a cry, convulsing fast, so hard her shoulders left the bed and a moment of dizziness brought her crashing back to the mattress.

  "Pretty," he murmured. "Let's see if we can do better."

  Before she could question that, Mark climbed his way up her body and inserted a pair of fingers as he went, immediately pressing up on the sweet spot that always had her screaming. She expected his mouth to settle over her nipples, but after a gentle nip that made her back arch, he moved away in a flurry of kisses that strung up her neck so he could whisper in her ear.

  "Come for me, Nicki. Scream. Surrender, baby. There's nothing that turns me on more than watching you give everything to me."