What Alex Wants He Takes

by EM Gayle

  Alex smiled and got down on one knee in front of me. “I already told you how I feel about you. Now I need to make it official. Harper Allison, will you marry me?”

  My mouth dropped open as my gaze flitted from one man to the next. Any words I might have said died behind the sudden lump in my throat. What? How? Why? Every question I’d ever had about Alex bombarded my mind all at once.

  “I know it seems sudden.”

  “Oh my God.” My hand covered my mouth as the realization of why this was happening finally dawned on me. “This is because of the baby.” I took another step away. “You knew all along, didn’t you? You went through my purse and found the test and now you think you have to marry me because of a pregnancy.”

  I turned away, the horror of the truth slicing through my insides. I couldn’t face it anymore. More pain lanced through me at the loss of everything I’d ever wanted. He didn’t really love me. It had all been a ruse. The moment he’d seen the test in my purse he’d gone into action. The island, the sex, the talk. All designed to keep me around for the baby. Not me. The baby.

  Black dots began to waver in front of my face as the horrible truth once again ripped me to shreds.

  “Harper, what the hell are you talking about? What baby?”

  I heard him speak, but the words made no sense. I had to get out of here. In what felt like slow motion, on shaky knees, I started back toward the house. There had to be somewhere to hide. Or a way to escape.

  “Just leave me alone, Alex.”

  “Stop!”

  The very loud and sudden command gave him the desired effect. It stopped me cold. Frozen in place. In an instant his voice had turned dark and insistent. No way in hell could I not respond.

  “Present to me. Now.” The chilled slice of his command engaged an almost autopilot response I’d held close to my heart for weeks. I turned to face him, dropped to my knees, placed my hands palms up on my thighs and cast my watery eyes to the ground.

  “Gentlemen, leave us. It looks like we aren’t quite ready for this. As previously arranged, my pilot will take you back home. Thank you for coming at the last minute, however, my submissive and I need to be alone.”

  “Alex, I don’t think—”

  “Everything will be fine, Jeremy. I’m not going to hurt her. I love her. But obviously there has been a major communication breakdown that she and I need to work through. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  No further words were spoken. And there wouldn’t be. Every ounce of who he was came through loud and clear with every syllable he uttered. I listened to the telltale signs of both men shuffling past me and the sounds of their steps moving down the dock until the air around us grew quiet and we were once again alone.

  “Alex, I’m—”

  “Did I ask you a question yet? Did I give you permission to speak?”

  I felt the anger in his voice clear to my bones, but it was the bleak thread of something else underlying his words that tore at my heart. He stood quiet and motionless in front of me with only the sound of his breathing punctuating the silence stretched between us.

  I stared at his feet and waited as the seconds turned to minutes and my knees began to ache from the wooden deck digging into my flesh. I welcomed the pain. It served as my reminder of how screwed up things had gotten and it was the only thing that kept my tears at bay. The situation between us had spiraled out of control and I had no idea what came next.

  “Can you stand and talk to me without running away?” His quiet question came out so differently than I expected. It was as if the anger had disappeared and all he had left was sadness. It shattered my heart to hear him like that.

  Yet, I still had to suppress the childish need to ignore him. I took a deep calming breath and blew it out slowly until I could answer without sarcasm. “Yes, Sir.”

  He gently grabbed my forearm and helped me to a standing position. “Look at me.”

  Despite my trepidation in facing him, I obeyed only to discover the pain from his voice echoed across his beautiful face.

  “You’re pregnant and didn’t tell me? What the hell, Harper? First a break-up and now this? Fuck. What is happening?”

  “I thought you knew or guessed. You went through my purse and I just assumed you’d seen the test. And then I walk into this?” I gestured around me. “I mean why else would you spring a wedding on me?” A wedding. I was beginning to get my footing back and I didn’t like these kinds of head games any more than he did.

  “Maybe because I love you and want you in my life permanently? Or because I thought it was a romantic gesture. Does that not even enter your mind a little?”

  I shook my head. No, it couldn’t be that simple. I couldn’t be that wrong. Now I had to tell him the truth. “It’s not true. It was all a mistake.”

  “You do not get to tell me that what I feel is a mistake,” he started.

  I frantically shook my head. “No, that’s not what I meant. The baby. The pregnancy. I was certain I was pregnant, but I’m not. The missed period, the weight gain, the lack of sleep it meant nothing. I made a mistake.” There I’d said it out loud. All the pain and loss I’d felt the moment I looked down at the negative test result came rushing out. “I’m not pregnant.”

  Chapter 22

  Harper

  * * *

  I didn’t even realize I’d started crying until Alex pulled me in his arms and began wiping away the tears from my cheeks. I tried to contain the torrent of emotions and failed as I deteriorated into uncontrollable sobs. I hid my face in his shirt and lost it. The shred of hope I’d clung to for the last several days had left me and I didn’t know how to get it back. The idea of a child hadn’t once been a blip on my radar and then one tiny mistake made it feel like the loss of my entire world.

  Once the tears stopped, the ache of loss intensified. For the first time in my life I couldn’t run and hide from my problems. Alex had trapped me on a tiny island with nowhere to run except to him.

  “Dammit, Harper. Why didn’t you let me in? I should have known the minute you suspected.”

  “I was afraid to find out for sure. After our last scene when you ignored my confession, I thought that was it. Our time had come to an end and I couldn’t hold a baby over your head. If you didn’t love me for me I had to accept that.”

  He leaned back and gripped my chin. “First of all, I will blister your ass for that later. I hope you know that. Second, it was a setback and nothing more. Albeit a huge troublemaker for us. We really can’t do this again. You know as well as I do how important communication is in a relationship like ours. Although in this case I’m just as guilty as you in not holding up my end of the conversation. My idea to fall back and come up with the perfect strategy may serve me well in my business but is apparently not the right approach with my woman.”

  “You think?” I couldn’t help it. After weeks of worrying it wasn’t easy to shrug it all off as one big misunderstanding.

  “Now you’re just trying to get me hard again, you little minx.”

  He scooped me into his arms and carried me to the end of the dock. Once there he sat us both down facing the water with me situated between his legs so I could rest my back against his chest. The sun had completely set but the sky still held enough of a glow for me to look out toward the horizon and enjoy the dim view. He was right, of course, about our lack of communication and my inability to sit still long enough to let him explain anything.

  I didn’t know what to say so I continued to stare at the water, letting the sights and sounds of nature soothe the frazzled edges of my nerves. So far he’d made no move to exert his will over mine or to seduce me into giving him what he wanted. That’s not at all how it worked between us. He told me what he wanted and then he waited for me to offer it.

  Usually.

  Here in the quiet with the only sounds made by nature, I could finally think back over the last several weeks and remember more of the little things he’d done that made me a part of him. The smal
l touches that often kept us connected whenever we were together. Or the way he held me to his heart when we slept together. Or like now when we sat together looking out at the sky, although that was usually in front of a window looking down at the city that never went dark or quiet.

  “It’s gorgeous here.”

  “I like the quiet,” he admitted. “We don’t get a lot of that in the city.”

  His fingers threaded through my hair and I melted into him. How in the hell could we get past this mess? “For what little its worth now, I’m really sorry.”

  “What, kitten? What are you sorry for?”

  I drew my brows together and frowned. The man just never accepted the easy answer. So, what was I sorry for?

  That he’d snooped through my purse and jumped to conclusions like I had? Not really. You go through a woman’s purse you get what you deserve. I stifled a giggle over that one before he made me confess that out loud. I had a feeling my punishment time had racked up so high I’d never see my lily white rear again. No need to make things worse.

  “I’m sorry I put you on the spot that night during our scene. It wasn’t my intention, it just happened. The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them.”

  “Is that what you’ve been doing all along? Holding your words? Hiding the truth because you were too afraid to be honest?”

  I squirmed in his lap. “I wouldn’t call it hiding. More like biding my time while waiting for the right moment.”

  He wrapped his fingers around my hair and tugged my head to the side, making my scalp erupt in a series of tingles. “And you don’t think naked and wet with my dick in your pussy the right moment? No, wait, don’t answer that. Just listen. A big part of why I love being in this relationship with you is specifically because I need to see that vulnerability. A woman is never more open than when her mind and body are in tune to her Master’s desire to give her pleasure. If I wanted you to hold back from me, we’d be playing a game of fucking chess. Ours is an intense and wildly sexual relationship and I think we both understood that some level of feelings and attachments would form over time. Although at the time we might not have admitted it. Even so, your honest admission caught me off guard and I needed some time to work through my feelings about the changes I knew were coming. Namely, you becoming a more permanent part of my life meant that I couldn’t keep you hidden forever. I’d have to expose you to some of the ugly parts and, dammit, I was right. If anything had happened to you when Viktor’s men took you, my world would have gotten a whole lot darker.”

  Torn by the desire to comfort him and the need to protect my heart, I still turned toward him and touched his cheek. “I’m not made of glass and in some things I do not need your protection. Don’t you see? If you can’t trust me to handle the bad with the good, then what kind of relationship can we ever have? I may be your submissive but as a wife I would be your equal and I don’t think you’re ready for that.”

  “I’m not letting you go.”

  The finality of his words stunned me.

  “And I don’t think you want to let me go any more than I do you. So it seems we’ve reached an impasse.”

  Like any good poker player I managed to contain the jolt of hope sparking through me and keep a straight face. “I guess so.”

  “Last night you came to me with a plan to end our relationship. Do you still have something you want to ask me?”

  I shook my head. Hell no. I was not giving up now.

  “Stand up, Harper,” he quietly commanded.

  With as much grace as possible I complied until we were both standing, with me unable to tear my gaze from his. My stomach clenched and I held my breath. Fear seized me.

  “Now turn around and face the water.” His eerily calm tone unnerved me. I also kind of wanted to fight him. I started to count, but only made it to two before I gave in. I slowly turned until I no longer faced him. In the short time we’d been talking the sky had darkened and the sliver of moon gave us minimal illumination. For a moment I felt as if I was on the precipice. With darkness in front of me and light behind me, I didn’t want to turn away from him anymore.

  “We may not be getting married tonight, but I do have something to give you and to me it’s as binding as a wedding ring. Lift your hair.”

  A shiver worked through me as I complied. He’d brought my collar back to me.

  “This is going to be different this time, kitten. I’ll truly own you now as you own me.” He slid the thick chain around my neck and I immediately felt the difference. He’d brought me a new collar, one far heavier than the previous one. This one would not be mistaken for a necklace.

  Something shifted inside me, loosening. The little bit of control I’d been holding back from him unraveled. “Hold out your hand.”

  I held my breath and waited until the small heart-shaped lock he wanted me to have settled in my palm. “Give yourself to me, Harper. Tell me you’re mine and I promise you’ll never run from me again. Even if I have to tie you to a chair.”

  I smiled through the silent tears that had begun to fall. He wasn’t running and I wasn’t either.

  “Tell me, kitten.” His breath brushed against the shell of my ear like a soft caress.

  “Yes, Alex. I’ve always been yours even when I didn’t realize it. I love you so much.”

  “Mmm, I’ve been waiting weeks to hear that again.” He wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me against his body while he reached for the lock with the other. Seconds later, the chain around my neck tightened to a snug fit and the distinct sound of the lock clicking shut filled my head.

  The hand at my waist slid down and cupped my mound through the thin dress. “Mine,” he whispered into the night. He pushed me forward until my head and upper body leaned past the edge of the dock and over the open water. If he let go of me now I would fall.

  He rustled behind me. First his zipper went down and then the rustle of his pants signaled he’d shoved them down his legs. My skirt was lifted and the hot poker of his cock pressed to my backside.

  “I see you found my other present. You look good in diamonds.”

  “That’s a real diamond?”

  “Of course it is. Why put a crystal up your lovely ass when it can be an exquisite diamond?”

  He let go of my pussy and grabbed my hips with both hands. I jolted forward and automatically reached for something to hold onto only to find absolutely nothing to break my fall. He’d basically dangled me over the water and either he’d hold me up or I’d fall face first in the dark water.

  “Wait. Stop. I can’t—” I couldn’t even hold onto my legs without feeling like I’d tip over.

  “Relax, Harper. I’ve got you. Now trust me not to let you fall. You can do this.”

  Before I had a chance to respond or react, he pushed inside me. His cock slid against my slippery flesh with beautiful friction that nearly made my eyes roll to the back of my head it felt so good. Oh God. I was so full. So stretched. Between the plug and his not small cock, they fought for space inside me.

  I whimpered at the onslaught of sensations. Tiny spasms shook my insides while my torso bobbed as he shoved his full length to the hilt and rotated. “Yes, that’s it, Harper. Give yourself to me. Feel me filling you. Taking what’s mine. Mine,” he grunted.

  Of all the amazing things Alex had done to me, I’d never quite felt this taken over. Or this out of control. I stared at the inky water below me and did as he asked. I gave in to both our needs. His to take and mine to give. I surrendered.

  His movements never stilled. His hands held my hips in a bruising but steady grip as he began a hard, driving rhythm in and out of my body.

  “I love you, Harper. No matter what happens that isn’t going to change.”

  To my surprise, all the fear I’d worried over fell away as I succumbed to his mastery. The last few days, hell, the last couple weeks disappeared. The mistakes we’d both made no longer mattered. Not in the face of our combined emotions and Alex’s complet
e possession of my mind and body.

  “Come, kitten. Soak my dick and let me feel you ripple around my cock. Now, baby!”

  The urgency in his command slammed through me like a trigger and I exploded, my body convulsing against him. The waves of my unexpected climax rolled violently through me in an unending cycle. I reared back and Alex tangled his fingers through my hair and tugged me upright. The shocking pain in my scalp only fed the never-ending arousal I couldn’t hide from. Sweat soaked my skin.

  He continued to move inside me, stroking along fluttering nerves. I bit down on my lip and moaned deep in my throat.

  “You like that, don’t you?” His voice came out close to a growl. He shifted upward and changed the angle of his thrusts. “Thank God I own you now, kitten, because there is no chance I can get enough. Body and soul.”

  “Yes, Alex,” I cried.

  Steady and strong behind me, he built my arousal even higher than before. My muscles clenched and released while the sounds tumbling from my mouth made me feel wild and free. He was going to make me scream before he finished.

  Oh. God. His. His. His. His.

  Everything I’d ever wanted and hadn’t dared to hope for came to life under the dark Florida sky with nothing but nature and their love surrounding us.

  Another release exploded over me from out of nowhere. Power from the top of my head to the tips of my toes sizzled through me. It didn’t stop there. The spasms continued to an unbearable level. My eyes widened as the crest broke and a loud, ferocious scream erupted.

  “Fuck yes, kitten.” He plunged deep and hard several more times while I convulsed around him.

  Recovery came very slowly after that. The aftershocks alone kept my system firing far longer than it should have. Somewhere in the midst of my mind splintering into a million different thoughts, Alex had eased from my clasp and pulled me into his lap.

  “Jesus H, kitten. You are incredible.”

  I tried to move my aching legs with a huge grin splitting my face. His fingers caressed my bare arms and chest in a soothing pattern that made me feel like the real deal. If he kept that up I’d likely start purring.