by Cathryn Fox
She turned her head and spotted her handbag. “Condom. My bag.”
With shaky hands, Brand grabbed her bag and quickly sheathed himself. He climbed back over her and cradled her face in his palms. His touch was so achingly gentle it caused her heart to miss a beat.
Their gazes locked as his rock-hard cock breached her opening. With need ruling her actions, she pitched her hips forward, driving him in deeper. He shut his eyes, his hands fisted in her hair, and in one quick thrust he pushed all the way into her. Crazed with lust, he drove past her hymen in one fluid movement, and she was thankful that he was too far gone to have noticed.
Not wanting anything to break this magical moment, Kaylea bit down on her lips and blocked her mind to the sharp stab of pain. Panting hard, Brand remained inside her for a moment, as though giving her time to get used to his girth.
When she began moving, he quickly joined her. His long easy thrusts became deeper, harder, faster and soon her pain segued to pleasure.
“Babe,” he said and angled his body to keep the bulk of his weight off her. “So good…”
Warmth flooded her system as he took them both to a deeper level of intimacy. Together they began to establish a rhythm, both giving and taking until every nerve in her body was on fire.
“So good,” she murmured back as she rode him with wild abandon. Blindsided by lust, she scratched her nails over his back when she felt another clench of fulfillment. His body responded with a shudder.
“I want you to come all over my cock, babe. Will you do that for me?”
“Yes,” she cried out. Suddenly her blood pressure soared, and another climax tore through her. Oh God, so perfect. So damn perfect.
“Jesus, you’re so hot.” He stroked her deeper and harder, then stilled inside her. She felt his muscles tense. His eyes locked with hers. “Babe…” he murmured. The way he looked at her made her insides shiver with unfamiliar longing.
Cripes, they were supposed to be having sex, wild “bang me up against the wall” sex, but what he was doing didn’t seem like sex with a stranger at all. It seemed more like lovemaking. The way he took such painstaking care of her body left a deep contentment in her soul. Everything about him felt right. In her heart and in her head.
“Come inside me,” she murmured. With that she felt his cock jump as he released high inside her. He buried his face in her neck and grabbed a fistful of her hair as his cock pulsed and spasmed. She held him tight and squeezed her muscles, wanting to make it as good for him as he’d made it for her.
A short while later, he collapsed on top of her, their perspiration melding their bodies as one. She stroked her fingers through his hair, enjoying the feel of his body weight on top of her, and the feel of his hot breath on her neck. After his breathing finally returned to normal, he removed his condom, rolled beside her and pulled her in close.
“Hey, baby.” When his dark eyes locked on hers it was possible to forget every sane thought. And for some peculiar reason, the gentle, loving, tender way this man touched her seeped under her skin and cradled her heart.
“Hey, yourself,” she said, then closed her lids to listen to his heartbeat as he drifted off to sleep. As she rolled into him it suddenly occurred to her she wasn’t the kind of girl who could love casually. Not with him. Not with Brand.
She wanted more.
Hovering somewhere between consciousness and sleep Brand stirred, then automatically pulled Kaylea in tighter. He felt her body shift and melt into his. He blinked his eyes open in time to see her glance up at him. She gave him a seductive, half smile and then began kissing his mouth, his neck and his chest. Her beaded nipples pressed into his skin and alerted him to her growing arousal. Her silky blond hair spilled forward and brushed against his flesh, teasing his senses. Warm fingers moved to his cock, and began stroking gently. As she acquainted herself with his body, her touch sent heat charging to his dick, and his legs widened in invitation.
“I love the feel of your cock,” she murmured. Her voice was darkly seductive and had his body reacting with urgent demands. She leaned forward and gave him a light lick. “I love the texture, the taste, the length and the way it fills me…” One hand slipped lower to cradle his balls and he nearly lost his mind then and there.
Her soft moans of pleasure, and her long, lazy caresses fuelled his lust and deepened his need. His cock thickened and his body began humming with renewed excitement. Jesus, he couldn’t seem to get enough of her. He needed her again. Needed to take her. Everywhere.
Greedy with want, he pulled her to him, gripped her hips and flipped her over. Her surprised yet excited gasp was smothered by the cushiony mattress. Brand grabbed his pillow and positioned it under her hips.
As he tipped her beautiful, heart-shaped ass up to him, she twisted her head. His nostrils flared, and his jaw clenched and unclenched as primal need unfurled inside her. Her gaze appraised his face and she blinked at him with eyes that were aroused and full of emotions. The warmth, trust and vulnerability in her glance pulled an emotional reaction from the depths of his core.
“Brand,” she asked, “are you okay?”
Tenderness stole over him. He swallowed hard and worked to find his voice. “I need to fuck you, Kaylea. Everywhere.” He felt her entire body shiver.
In a bid to relax her, he cupped her ass cheeks and gave her a gentle massage while his tongue made a slow, skilled pass over her puckered opening.
Her muscles clenched and she nearly jumped off the bed. “Easy, baby,” he coaxed, wanting to ensure she was relaxed and comfortable so she could enjoy everything he had to offer. “I want you to trust that I’m going to make this perfect for you.”
“I do trust you, Brand,” she whispered in such a gentle voice it has his insides quaking.
Desperately needing to give her an insurmountable sum of pleasure, he made another slow pass with his tongue and felt her body open for him. A riot of emotions overcame him with the way she so freely handed herself over to him. “That’s a girl. How does that feel?”
She wiggled her hips him. “So nice…” she murmured into the sheets. “Warm, and nice.”
He slipped one hand around her legs and brushed his thumb over her clit while he worked his tongue into her puckered opening in an effort to relax her tight, ringed passage. She bucked against his hand and his mouth, moving restlessly against him as excitement surged inside her. After he acknowledged the flare of desire between her thighs, he pressed on. Using her cream to lubricate her, he soaked her back passage and gently worked one finger inside.
“Ohmigod,” she cried out.
As basic elemental need took hold, she began pressing against his finger, pushing him in deeper. Electricity whipped between them and his blood flowed heavy in his veins, desperate to plunge into her. He glided one hand over her skin and, fighting down the raw ache of longing, forced himself to slow down. Once he’d worked his way inside her, he removed his fingers, quickly sheathed himself again and positioned his cock at her entrance.
He drew a ragged breath and willed his lust-drunk brain to form a coherent sentence. “Tell me you want me.” For some inexplicable reason he needed to hear her say it again.
“I want you, Brand,” she whispered. “I wanted you the second I laid eyes on you.” She lifted her hips higher, encouraging him to feed his cock into her body.
He began pressing, moving inside, slowly offering her one inch at a time until he was buried so deep he nearly blacked out from pleasure. Her muscles gripped him hard and it was sheer torture to hang on.
Brand reached around her, and brushed his fingers over her clit. Her low moans told him how much she was enjoying his ministrations. In no time at all his senses exploded and urged him to completion. He brushed his fingers over her clit, then pushed one inside her.
“God, yes, Brand….” she cried out.
Passion and possessiveness raced through him as she called out his name during her climax. Her ass muscles clenched around his cock, and her sweet nec
tar pooled in his hand.
His tongue darted out to wet his lips, then he stilled, his hot flow of release coming on the heels of hers. He threw his head back, let out a deep savage sound and splashed his seed high inside her.
He remained buried deep within her for a long time, not daring to move or breath. When his cock grew flaccid and slipped out, he dropped to the mattress and circled his arms around her still quaking body. He smoothed her hair off her face and looked deep into her eyes. God, she was so perfect she took his breath away. She curled into him and he pulled her warm, familiar scent into his lungs.
As he lay there basking in the afterglow of great sex, something kept niggling at the back of his mind, something about their lovemaking, something about the first time he thrust inside her warm, welcoming pussy. As exhaustion pulled at him, he blocked his mind to it. He really didn’t want to think at this particular moment, he only wanted to feel.
Her lips brushed over his cheek, and her eyelashes tickled his flesh when she blinked. “God, I can’t believe what I’ve been missing all these years,” she said, her voice a low, velvet whisper.
Brand’s head jerked back with a start and his stomach knotted. “Missing?” A shiver of unease crawled over his skin like an insect as he waited for her to elaborate. The niggling sensation came back full force and he had a feeling he already knew what she was about to tell him.
She tilted her head and blinked up at him sheepishly. Kaylea nibbled on her bottom lip, and then admitted, “I, uh, I’m a virgin. Or rather I was a virgin.”
A virgin!
His memories and his mission came pouring back. She was a goddamn virgin—a virginal sacrifice—and now that he’d been inside her, he’d marked her for Hell. He began inching away, feeling suddenly ill.
Kaylea touched his arm and stopped him. “It’s okay, Brand. I wanted you to be the guy to take my virginity.”
He pressed his palms to his forehead and shook his head. “Oh, Jesus Christ, Kaylea. What have I done?”
“Brand.” She caressed his cheek in an effort to reassure him. “It’s fine. It’s what I wanted. In fact, I think it’s what we both wanted, maybe even needed,” she said with a smile in an attempt to lighten his mood.
The emotions passing over her glistening blue eyes made his stomach clench and tighten with apprehension. His throat dried and his hands began to shake uncontrollably.
He’d been greedy. So goddamn greedy with lust and need, he’d forgotten all about his mission. Could that have been what landed him in Hell in the first place? Greed—one of the seven deadly sins. Perhaps he had been a businessman and greed had been his downfall, and perhaps that’s why Lucifer had known he’d get the job done? Because, undoubtedly, greed would rule his actions and cause him to forget any rational thought?
Oh fuck!
What the hell had he gone and done?
Chapter Five
Kaylea’s heart pounded in her chest when Brand jumped from the bed and stepped away from, leaving cold where there was once warmth. What the hell was going on? One minute he was gentle and loving, and the next, as soon as he’d discovered he’d taken her virginity, he was acting like she had the plague. As she stared at him in mute fascination, silence fell like a death sentence.
Feeling suddenly very naked and exposed, Kaylea climbed from the bed and scurried around the room in search of her clothes. She hastily pulled on her jeans and blouse then turned her attention to Brand. Dark tortured eyes met hers and practically weakened her knees.
“What’s going on?” she demanded, despite the knot in her stomach telling her she’d rather not know.
“Kaylea…” Brand reached for her. A carefully placed hand on her shoulder had her inching closer in search of his heat. “Kaylea, I’m so fucking sorry. I got carried away. I never meant for any of this to happen.” Thick fingers tightened on her shoulder; his head dropped. “I never meant to be so goddamn greedy that I couldn’t control myself or my actions.”
He wasn’t making any sense. “Brand, please. What are you talking about? Never meant for any of what to happen?”
His chest rose and fell as he drew in a sharp breath. “I never meant to seduce you.”
“Brand, I was the one who seduced you.” She jabbed her finger into his chest to drive home the point. “I was the one who chased you into the lounge, and tired to entice you into my bed. In fact, it was you who seemed reluctant in the elevator, and it was me who pushed. Not the other way around. I wanted you to be the man to take my virginity, and I don’t regret a second of it.”
Everything in his eyes softened when they met hers. For one long drawn-out moment he just stared into the depth of her eyes. Pain etched his featured and his breathing deepened. He swallowed hard then broke the quiet. In a low, barely there voice, he said, “You’re about to.”
She was completely confused here. “What does that mean?”
“It means I’m not who you think I am.” He opened his arms and showcased his body.
Kaylea’s skin prickled as her eyes raced over his flesh and she looked at him, really looked at him. Faded scars and rope burns marred his skin—deep, purple blemishes that had been inflicted many, many ages ago. Her stomach plummeted.
“I was sent here by Lucifer, to find you and…” His words fell off as though he was unable to finish the sentence.
Her pulse skyrocketed. Oh God, how could this be happening? Why hadn’t she noticed the lacerations earlier? Had she been too far gone in a haze of lust to recognize those familiar scars?
“I wanted stop, Kaylea. I tried to stop, but then I don’t know what happened, it was like I was being controlled by another force, and couldn’t remember anything. And for some inexplicable reason I needed you more than I needed my next breath. I’m so sorry. I’m so goddamn sorry.”
She slowly backed away from him.
He raked his fingers through his hair and shook his head. “Kaylea, do you understand what this means?”
Her head bobbed slowly. She, of all people, knew the repercussions of sleeping with the devil’s henchman.
She felt her face pale like cream. “It’s too late for sorry, Brand.” Her voice was as shaky as her legs. “It’s too late for anything.”
He reached for her and she flinched away. “We need to figure this out. We need to stop this from happening.”
“Not we. Me. You’ve done enough as it is.”
“Kaylea, wait.”
Spinning around, Kaylea bolted out the door. She bypassed the elevator and ran into the stairwell. She rushed to the main lobby, taking the carpeted steps two at a time. She bit back the prick of tears as her mind raced. Oh Jesus, what had she gone and gotten herself into?
How could she have been so easily drawn in by the devil’s henchman? Then another thought suddenly struck her and her steps slowed. Brand had tired to pull back, but she was the one that had really forced the issue. Could he simply have been playing her? Making her beg for it out of sheer amusement?
Or, like her, had he been too far gone in a haze of lust to control the situation. Could they have stopped even if they wanted to? Was there a greater force at work here?
Kaylea reached the lobby, pushed through the stairwell doors and ran outside. Early morning was upon her as she hurried down the sidewalk to Halo, knowing it wasn’t open yet, but her parents would be inside preparing for the day.
Breathing hard, she rushed in the front door. Her parents took one look at her, stopped what they were doing and guided her to a chair.
“Kaylea, what is it?” Gage asked, his eyes assessing her.
“I made a mistake. A big mistake.”
“What kind of mistake,” her mother questioned, putting a placating hand on her shoulder as she dropped into the chair beside her.
“I slept with the devil’s henchman.”
Her parents exchanged a knowing look.
Kaylea’s brain raced. Why weren’t they panicking? Why were they so calm? “What?” Kaylea asked, surprised by their react
ion.
“Was his name Brand?” Gage asked.
Flustered and confused, Kaylea stiffened in her seat. “How do you know Brand?”
“Because we go way back,” a deep tortured voice sounded at the door and pulled her focus.
Kaylea spun around to see Brand standing just inside the archway. His mere presence made her breathless. Despite everything that had just happened between them, the sight of him had her heart pounding, and her body longing, needing.
Her father stood to his full height. Although he’d greyed, and aged thirty years since he’d escaped Hell, his stature still commanded the room. “Brand,” he said cautiously. “It’s good to see you.”
In a combative action, Brand widened his stance, his thick muscles shifted. He cocked his head, dubious. “Is it?” Pain and darkness flashed in Brand’s eyes, his jaw clenched.
Gage took an easy step forward. With his strides determined, Brand matched him with a step of his own.
“We’ve been waiting for you,” Jadyn whispered in a soft voice meant to soothe as she stepped up beside Gage and held her hand out to Brand.
Brand’s gaze shot to Jadyn’s, a perplexed look on his face. “Waiting for me?” Brand’s glance went from Jadyn, to Kaylea, to Gage. He pinned him with a glare. “What do you mean you were waiting for me?”
“Brand—” Gage began, but Brand cut him off.
His eyes turned dangerous and intense, his fingers fisted at his sides and he growled, “You escaped, and left me behind to rot in Hell.”
Gage softened his voice. “It wasn’t like that, Brand.” He gathered Jadyn into his arms. “We both sacrificed ourselves to save each other, and before we knew what was happening we were both pulled from Hell. If I could have taken you with me, I would have. You need to believe that.” A short pause and then, “I love you, my friend.”
Brand lowered his head and swallowed. Kaylea could almost hear his mind racing, sorting and compartmentalizing, struggling to unlock the truth. As she studied him, understanding dawned in small increments. He was the man, the one her mother had told her about. The one man who’d sacrificed himself to save them, which made her care about him so much more.