“Let me,” he urged, his hands on the zipper of her dress.
She didn’t resist as he carefully eased the delicate lace fabric off her shoulders and down past her hips. As she would have stepped out of her shoes, he gripped her by the ankle firmly.
“Not yet,” he instructed. “I want to see you first. I’ve been trying to picture how you’d look in this very fetching ensemble all night long.”
Tessa forced herself to keep her eyes open as Ian’s heated gaze roamed over her body. But it was nearly impossible to stop her pulse from racing or her legs to keep from shaking when she saw the raw, almost feral desire stamped on his face. His hands clamped tightly around her waist as he gazed down at the decadent display of her breasts as they very nearly overflowed the bustier.
“You look – ” he swallowed with some difficulty, his voice cracking a little. “You look like a naughty Valentine, all cream lace and red satin.” He slid his hands up beneath her breasts, squeezing them through the wired bodice. “Like an extremely desirable, very fuckable Valentine. And if I hadn’t already committed to fulfilling your fantasy this evening, you can be damned sure we’d be satisfying about a dozen of mine instead.”
She gasped as his thumbs brushed over her nipples. “There’s – there’s always tomorrow night,” she replied in a thin, high voice.
Ian smiled dangerously. “I like the way you think, darling. Maybe you’ll consent to wearing this fetching garment for me again, hmm?”
“Yes, yes,” she breathed. “I’ll do anything for you, Ian. Anything at all.”
He grasped her chin roughly and kissed her, a savage, open-mouthed kiss that left her struggling for air. “This probably isn’t a good time to tell me something like that,” he hissed. “Not when you look like every forbidden fantasy I’ve ever had about you come to life. So let’s get on with this before I forget I’m a gentleman and go back on my word.”
Ian dropped to his knees, holding her steady as she stepped out of the shoes. His fingers trailed up either side of her silk-stockinged legs, until they reached the frilly garters attached to the tops. He unhooked each side before carefully easing the delicate hosiery off her legs. He hooked his thumbs in the side of her panties, but before he peeled them off her body he nuzzled his nose into her damp cleft.
“I can smell how aroused you are,” he groaned, his hands squeezing her buttocks before removing her drenched underwear. “Small wonder, given how wet you are. Ah, if you wear this for me again tomorrow, we’ll have to buy new panties, won’t we?” He stood and moved behind her where he slowly began to unhook the bustier. “Or perhaps we’ll just buy a whole new set like this one. Black this time, I think. As you know, I like you in black lace.”
The wired undergarment fell away, leaving her nude and so aroused she feared she would come at even the slightest touch of his hands on her body. But instead of touching her as she longed for, he merely led her over to the bed and indicated she should lay down.
“You know what comes next, Tessa,” he told her in a deep, seductive voice. “After all, it’s your dream we’re bringing to life tonight, isn’t it? Show me what you want, love.”
She watched through half-lidded eyes as he carefully removed his suit jacket without ever taking his eyes off of her prone body. Just like she remembered from her months-old erotic dream, her arms and legs began to move in opposite directions into a spread-eagle position. As she continued to watch him, he walked over to the dresser and opened the top drawer to remove something. When he approached the bed, she saw he was carrying several long strips of red satin fabric.
With almost maddening slowness, he bound each of her wrists and ankles to the bed, making sure the satin strips were securely fastened.
“Not too tight?” he asked her as he stood.
She gave an experimental tug before shaking her head. “No, they’re okay.”
“Good. We want this to be pleasurable for you, but never painful. Let me look at you like this. Ah, what a delectable picture you are, Tessa – naked, spread and bound for my pleasure. You are what every man craves, what they dream of. Only you are so much more beautiful than any dream could possibly be.”
She closed her eyes, her lower body already starting to bow off the bed, so desperately aroused and needy for his touch that her skin felt like it was on fire. “Please,” she whispered weakly.”
“Yes, love. I intend on pleasing you very well. Look at me now and tell me, Tessa – is this how it was in your dream? Except, of course, that you’re lying on a very comfortable bed instead of a cold, hard table.”
She gazed up at him, almost recoiling from the naked passion in his eyes. “Yes,” she murmured. “Everything’s the same except – your shirt. You need – undo two more buttons, I think. Then, yes, it’s just like in my dream.”
He complied, his shirt gapping open now to reveal more of his beautifully muscled chest. She longed to touch him, to run her hands over every inch of his hard, sculpted body, but the bonds she’d asked for prevented her from doing so.
And then Ian was beside her, sitting on the bed as he bent his head and kissed her softly. His mouth took hers again and again in a series of long, leisurely kisses. She groaned beneath the pressure of his warm, firm lips, and the feel of his tongue sweeping thoroughly through her mouth over and over. He grasped her jaw between his long fingers, holding her head still as his kisses grew deeper and more demanding, and she felt dizzy from the continued force of his attentions.
Tessa was gasping for breath as his lips finally began to move down the side of her throat, caressing the tender flesh beneath her ear. She gave a little squeal of surprise as he sucked hard on that spot, marking her, only to soothe the sharpness of the love bite a moment later with his tongue.
Ian took his time with her, seeming in no rush whatsoever, and it was both torment and exquisite pleasure for her simultaneously. He lingered over her breasts, lavishing attention on them until she was moaning loudly and moving her pelvis restlessly beneath him. His tongue laved each nipple with maddening slowness before he closed his lips around the areola and sucked hard. His hand cupped the other swollen globe, his fingers plucking at the nipple and coaxing it into an even harder peak. She could feel each lick, each tug, each squeeze of her flesh all the way down to her womb, and she wondered wildly if he could possibly make her come solely by stimulating her nipples.
By the time he finally lifted his head from her breasts, she was so fully aroused – every nerve ending in her body so highly stimulated – that it only took the tiniest flick of his thumb on her clit for her to climax wildly. She felt the satin bonds pull tight as her body bucked up in reaction, and she sobbed his name as the tremors continued to rock her from head to toe.
Ian’s big hands bracketed her hips, holding her down on the mattress as the bonds continued to strain. “Poor darling,” he crooned. “I made you wait too long, didn’t I? Let’s see if we can make it up to you somehow.”
He kissed his way down her torso, his dark head disappearing between her legs, and proceeded to wring several more orgasms from her seemingly insatiable body, using his lips, tongue and fingers to bring her over the edge more times than she could keep track of. She was so aroused that she could feel the pearly drops of her vaginal fluids trickling down the insides of her thighs and still he kept at her, until her arms and legs were quivering uncontrollably and she feared she might pass out from the pleasure.
And when his thumb began to circle her over-sensitized clit one more time, her head thrashed back and forth on the pillow as she pleaded with him weakly, “No more. Please. I can’t, Ian. It’s too much.”
He slid back up her body, kissing her softly and letting her taste the muskiness of her own juices on his lips. “All right, love,” he acquiesced. “Shall I untie you now?”
She was too wrung out to do more than nod, and he deftly unfastened each of the soft satin bonds. As the last strip was untied, she rose up on her knees and slid her arms around his neck, pulling his
face down to hers for a kiss.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “My turn to return the favor tomorrow night.”
He chuckled, holding her close against his half-bared chest. “But the pleasure was mutual, love. And if you plan to tie me down you’ll need something much stronger than these scraps of fabric. I wouldn’t be able to control myself if you touched me that way. As it is, I have no idea how I’ve managed to stay in control this long.”
She slid her hand down between their bodies, her palm opening over the massive swell of his erection. The groan he made was the sexiest, most erotic sound she’d ever heard. “Then come to me, Ian. Don’t hold back any longer. “
He tore his shirt off, the rest of the buttons flying haphazardly around the room, before unbuckling his belt. Tessa ran her hands greedily over his naked chest, pressing fevered kisses to his heavily muscled chest and rock hard abs as he yanked the rest of his clothing off. In two swift movements that left her gasping, he tumbled her onto her back and thrust deep inside of her, burying himself in her soft, yielding body as far as he could possibly reach.
Tessa wrapped her arms around his neck and locked her legs around his hips, holding him as close to her as she could, and glorying in the feel of his hard, thick cock thrusting in and out of her with increasing ferocity.
“Ah, God, it’s so good,” she cried, the tears tracking down her cheeks as he continued to move in her body with long, powerful thrusts. She buried her damp face against the side of his throat, her lips caressing his skin as she tried to pull him even closer against her.
She gave a little cry of protest as he lifted his chest from hers, sweat pouring from his body as it mingled with hers. He captured both of her hands in one of his and drew them over her head, holding them in place as he continued to fuck her with ever increasing speed. The look in his eyes was smoldering and dangerous as he stared down at her, his lips parted as his breathing grew ragged.
“I want to watch you when you come,” he told her in a guttural voice. “Look at me, Tessa, don’t close your eyes. I want to see it when the pleasure takes you over, see how much I can make you feel. You have no idea what it does to me, knowing I can give you that, my love.”
She struggled to keep her eyes open as he’d bid her, half-afraid of the intensity she saw burning in his gaze. Maintaining eye contact became increasingly more difficult as he kept stroking his big cock in and out of her body, until she felt yet another orgasm approaching, and knew this one would be by far the strongest of them all.
She was beyond rational thought, was all feeling right now, and as the orgasm hit full force she could only sob out her pleasure, the words tumbling from her lips as naturally as breath. “Ian, ah, oh, God, I’m going to c-come again! Oh, God, I love you!”
Her eyes did shut then, her body too consumed with sensation to even be aware of her actions. Dimly, as if from a great distance, she heard him groan loudly just before pistoning his hips into her body at a breakneck pace, his thrusts almost savage. When he came, he gripped her by the hips as he reared back onto his haunches, and emptied himself fully inside of her. She peeked up at him through half-lidded eyes, enthralled at his spectacular, primitive male beauty – a fine layer of sweat covering his entire body; his dark hair damp and disarrayed; his eyes tightly shut as he continued to fill her with his hot, sticky semen.
And then he was grasping her under the arms, pulling her up to straddle his lap while remaining embedded inside of her. She almost cried out at the ferocity of his gaze, and at the way he fisted a hand in her hair, holding her head still.
“Say it again.”
She knew exactly what he meant. “I love you,” she whispered, cupping his face between her palms.
Ian’s own eyes filled with tears, and she brushed one away with her thumb, staring at him in disbelief.
“God, do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to hear you say those words?” he uttered brokenly. “I never, ever, dreamed you would actually do it, though. I’ve loved you since the day you walked into my office, Tessa. I am completely, insanely in love with you, my darling girl, and you have just made me the happiest man on earth.” He kissed her softly. “And I have never, ever, told a woman that before. So you see, you are my first in many ways as well – my love.”
“Ian.” She was overcome with a whole flurry of different emotions right now – amazement that this proud, regal man had actually been brought to tears by her whispered confession of love; disbelief that he’d loved her that long; and then there was simply all the love she felt for him, the tenderness and the passion. Everything combined was almost too much to take, and she felt like pinching herself to make sure this wasn’t another dream she had conjured up.
But she was reminded – in a very, very pleasurable way - that he was all too real, and that what had happened was definitely not a dream. He made love to her again, this time with a gentleness and devotion that brought tears to her eyes. A long time later, they were physically and emotionally exhausted, and finally drifted off to sleep, both whispering “I love you” to the other as they did.
Chapter Seventeen
The international terminal at San Francisco Airport was teeming with people, even at this early hour. Ian had already checked his luggage for the flight to London, and was delaying the moment he had to enter the security line for as long as possible, knowing that Tessa would not be able to proceed past that point. Taking a commercial flight was not something he typically did, for he utilized the corporate jet for the majority of his business travel. But since he would be away for just over two weeks and remaining in London the entire time, he’d decided the company plane could be put to better use by his executives and high level managers who also needed to travel frequently on business.
Wanting to spend every possible minute together until his departure, Tessa had stayed overnight at his house and risen at a very early hour this morning to accompany him on the drive to the airport. Simon was at present circling around the terminal until she re-emerged, and then he would drive her to the office. Or, at least, within a couple of blocks so that no one would notice her alighting from Ian’s car and putting two and two together.
“You’re certain you won’t stay at the house while I’m away?”
Tessa nodded as she smoothed down the lapels of his black wool overcoat. “I’m sure, yes. If I’m going to give notice to my landlord soon, then I’d better use this time to start packing things up and cleaning. I’ll have to decide what to keep and what to donate. I want to ask my landlord if any of the other tenants might need some things.”
He gave the belt of her raincoat a little tug as he tightened his arms around her waist. “Well, if I get a vote you know what item will be on the top of my donation pile.”
She grinned up at him. “I thought you had other plans for this, plans that included a fireplace and a book of matches.”
Ian eyed the much-maligned raincoat dubiously. “You’re right. I’m not certain there would be any takers if you tried to give it away. Even thrift stores have certain standards.”
Tessa gave him a playful swat on the arm. “Hey, it’s not that bad. Besides, it’s not for much longer, you know.”
“I know.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’ll also get to work on that letter of resignation while I’m away?”
“Yes, I promise. Will you tell Andrew the real reason I’m leaving?”
Ian considered her question for a moment or two. “Most likely, yes. If anyone can keep a secret, he can. Not to mention he’s paid a pretty penny to be discreet. And, of course, he probably already guesses that there’s something going on between us. It’s rather terrifying at times how nothing escapes that boy’s attention.”
She nodded. “He’s terrifying, all right. Wouldn’t it be something to have him and Mrs. Carrington in the same room together some time?”
The look of mock horror on his face made her giggle. “God, that would truly be a battle of wills for the ages, wouldn’t it?�
�� he asked. “I wouldn’t even know which one of them to bet on.”
For long seconds after that they just held each other, two lovers who were postponing the moment they would have to part for as long as possible. It was Tessa who finally, reluctantly, lifted her head from his chest and gazed up at him sorrowfully.
“I guess you’d better go,” she said slowly. “And I shouldn’t keep Simon waiting any longer.”
“Simon doesn’t mind,” he assured her gently. “He knows I’m mad about you. But unfortunately, you’re right, it is time. Now, give me a kiss good-by, darling, and I’ll call you as soon as I land.”
Tessa kissed him with an almost desperate hunger, her arms clinging to his neck as he groaned beneath her lips. Tears shimmered in her eyes as he lifted his head.
He cupped her cheek in his hand, his thumb brushing away her tears. “I’ve got to go. Dream of me, will you, love?”
“Every night,” she whispered. “You, too.”
Ian smiled, the look of love on his handsome face causing her heart to ache. “Darling, don’t you know? I’ve dreamed of you every night since we met. I’m not going to stop now.”
With one last, quick kiss, he picked up his laptop bag and walked away towards the security line. She watched him for another minute or two before turning away hastily, not wanting to burst into tears in the middle of a crowded airport.
Simon tactfully didn’t comment on her teary-eyed state when he assisted her inside the Town Car, and was mostly silent during the drive back into San Francisco. But as they drew closer to the office, his deep, gentle voice startled her a bit.
“He’s head over heels in love with you, too, Miss Tessa,” he said kindly. “I’ve never seen him this way with another woman, not even close. And you’re definitely the only person who’s ever seen him off at the airport before.”
Tessa sniffled. “Oh. Well, thank you for telling me, Simon. And I – I love him very much. I hope – that is, I know how all this must look to you. I mean, he’s so distinguished and handsome and – well, rich. And I’m just an ordinary office employee, no one special.”
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