by Liliana Hart
“I’m not afraid of you. I’ve been taking care of myself a long time. But I don’t know what your game is either. You’ve never been one to show your hand.”
“What good would that do? You might as well wave a white flag in defeat.”
“True. And yet here we stand. Knowing an opponents strengths and weaknesses is essential.”
“Is that what we are, Evangeline? Opponents?” he asked.
She didn’t realize how different her full name sounded coming from his lips. He’d always called her Evie. “Being opponents would mean that I care one way or the other. You’re just a guy here to protect me on my father’s orders. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
“A guy you can’t trust but want to fuck? Just so we’re being clear.”
Her heart flipped in her chest at the look he gave her. Violence practically shimmered around the outline of his body, and his eyes—normally a clear blue—were so dark they were almost black.
He was asking her for permission. Giving her a chance to back down from her earlier statement. But that had always been part of her problem. Pride. She never backed down from anything. Even when it was the smart thing to do.
“Pretty much,” she said. If her body wasn’t so tense she’d be shaking.
“Good to know. Take off your clothes.”
Her eyebrows shot up and her mouth went bone dry. “I beg your pardon.”
“You want to play, let’s play. Take them off. Now.”
He stripped his white t-shirt off over his head and she felt her pussy dampen. Jesus, the sight of him without a shirt should be illegal. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on him. Anywhere. Tattoos covered both shoulders and his chest—an intricate scrollwork she wanted to explore with her tongue. And the thin lounge pants did nothing to disguise a very impressive erection.
She licked her lips once and knew she had to make a choice. So she gripped the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
* * *
Jesus, he must be out of his mind.
Cal couldn’t remember the last time he’d lost control. His temper was always quick, but he’d learned through age and experience to tamp it down and think before he did anything rash.
But as angry as he was, still he wanted her. More than he’d ever wanted anything in his life. And if sex was all she was willing to give him then he’d take it and hope for more later.
He didn’t want to be gentle. Didn’t want to love her the way he’d always thought it would be between them the first time. He knew she was inexperienced. But it didn’t matter. If she wanted to fuck then that’s what they’d do. And then maybe one day she’d realized it was an empty pleasure without something more to back it up.
“Take them off. Now.” The words sounded hollow. Harsh. But he would be damned if he’d take them back.
Lust filled her gaze. She might not trust him, but she wanted him. His cock was hard enough to drive nails—so hard it was painful—and his balls were tight and aching with the need for release.
She licked her lips and he almost groaned at the glimpse of that pink tongue as it moistened her lips. And he held his breath as her hands went to the bottom of her shirt and she pulled it off without hesitation. Her bra was white and he could see the pink of her nipples through the lacy cups.
“That’s a good start,” he said. “Now the rest. I’ll know every inch of that body, Evangeline. I’ll touch and taste it all. That’s what fucking is. Possessing each other to the point of madness.”
Her breath came in shallow pants and her eyes glowed amethyst. And then her thumbs went to the elastic of her shorts and he thought he’d come in his jeans at the anticipation.
She pushed them down so they dropped around her ankles and then stepped out of them. The panties she wore were nothing more than a few bits of string and lace, matching the bra she wore. Her body was sun kissed from her afternoon outside and her hair tousled around her face.
“You’re wet for me,” he said. “I can see it from here.”
“I told you I wanted you. It’s no secret. What about you? I’d like to see you too.”
He shrugged. “Not right now. You can either do this my way or go to bed and get yourself off like you did this afternoon.”
She gasped and color rose to her cheeks. “You saw me?”
“Saw you and came in my hand the same time you did. But make a decision quick. Either you stay or you go. Which is it?”
“If I stay, you won’t leave me unsatisfied?” she asked.
He could sense her embarrassment and discomfort at having to ask for what she wanted. She had a lot of courage and a lot of bravado, and she’d never backed down from anything. But this was new territory, and insecurity clouded the lust for a moment. He wanted to soften, but he put the thought away. That’s not what she wanted. Only the physical.
“What are you asking? Be specific?”
She took a deep breath. “There’s all kinds of sex, Cal. I want you inside of me. If I stay, is that what I’m going to get?”
If possible his dick spiked even harder at the explicitness of her words. “If that’s what you want. So we’ve negotiated penetration. Anything else you’d like to add?”
“Why are you being such a dick? This shouldn’t be that difficult. Guys like to fuck. I want to fuck. End of story. Everyone should come out satisfied.”
“I just want to make sure there’s nothing you’re uncomfortable with. I don’t want you coming back later saying you weren’t a willing participant.”
Her face drained of color and he wanted to kick himself for putting that wounded look in her eyes, but goddammit, he was hurt too. And maybe she’d realize how much it sucked to not have the trust of the person your body is joined with.
And then her spine straightened and her chin came up, and the look in her eyes sent a frisson of warning down his spine.
“Fine. Whatever you want. Should we put it in writing?”
“If it makes you feel better.”
“I don’t need it.”
He smiled and took a step forward, untying the drawstring of his pants. Her gaze dropped below his waist and she licked her lips again.
“You first,” he said, nodding to her.
Her hands came up and flicked the front clasp of her bra, and the cups spread, teasing at the fleshy globes of her breasts. She shrugged her shoulders and the bra fell to the ground.
Cal bit back a groan. Damn she was something else. But they weren’t finished with their negotiations. “What else do you want?”
“I—I don’t understand.”
“Yes, you do. What about oral? Do you want my mouth on that sweet pussy?”
Her nipples tightened into hard little buds and she shivered.
“Is that a yes?” he asked. She nodded. “And will you reciprocate? Do you want my cock in your mouth? Will you swallow me down until I’m shooting come straight down your throat?”
Jesus, he was going to come just by talking about the things they were going to do. Even as he had the thought she gasped and squeezed her legs together, and a little tremor wracked her body.
“Naughty, naughty, Evangeline,” he whispered. “I didn’t say you could come yet. Maybe I’ll let you suck me off first since you already got yours. Though that was just a little one.” She looked more surprised than anything and he would’ve laughed if there was anything remotely funny about their situation. “Now answer me.”
“Yes,” she said.
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, I want to suck your cock. I want to taste you.”
“Thank you. Another point out of the way. What about anal?”
She shook her head, her eyes both fearful and curious. “I’ve never—”
“You’ve never touched yourself there while you masturbate?” he asked, arching a brow.
“No. Never.”
“It’s an added layer of pleasure. It’ll heighten everything you feel in your clit and pussy ten-fold. You won’t know your name or where
you are. Just unimaginable pleasure.”
She looked down at the bulge of his cock again and shook her head. “I don’t think we’ll fit.”
“We’ll fit, baby. I’ll go nice and slow and easy. Until your begging me to go harder and faster. And you will beg.” He pushed down his lounge pants and stepped out of them so she could see all of him. His cock was long and thick and hard—he wasn’t sure it had ever been that hard before—and he grabbed the base of his shaft to keep from coming at the hungry look in her eyes.
“Jesus, Cal,” she whispered. “Maybe we’ll leave that out of the negotiations. I think our definitions of what fits are very different.”
“As you wish. You’ll tell me if you change your mind.”
“You’ll be the first to know.”
“Good, now hopefully we’re at the conclusion of our negotiations and we can fuck. That’s still what you want, right?”
Something in his face must have given away how pissed off he was at her. She looked wary for a moment before she finally said, “Yes.”
“Take off the panties and get up on the island.”
Her hands trembled as her thumbs went to the elastic.
“Wait,” he said. “I’ve changed my mind. Turn around first.”
She did as he asked and turned her back to him, and he squeezed tighter at the base of his cock at the site of that perfectly formed ass. He could only imagine what it would look like, reddened with his handprints.
“Spread your legs and take them off slowly. I want to see all of you.”
Her thumbs went to the elastic waist of the panties again and she pushed them down, bending over as she did, until her folds opened to him like the petals of a flower. They were drenched with her need.
“God, baby. You have no idea how fucking sexy that is.” She started to raise up, but he stopped her. “Bend over the island,” he ordered. “And reach out with your arms until you can grasp the other side.”
She looked over her shoulder at him once, nerves visible, and did as he asked.
“Good, now spread your legs a little wider. Are you on the pill?” He knew she was. He had access to her doctor’s reports. She was about to learn what fucking really was. The cold, hard reality of it. Empty pleasure.
He took his place behind her, waiting for her to answer, and rubbed the plump head of his up and down her drenched slit. She whimpered and he pulled back, teasing.
“Answer me, Evangeline. Are you on the pill?”
Her breathing was ragged and her knuckles white as she gripped the edge of the island. She stood on her toes, pushing her hips back, searching for him.
“Yes, I’m on the pill. Now fuck me.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. He placed his hands flat on the island on either side of her body, careful not to touch her. And then he lined up his cock and slid deep insider her with one thrust. Even as wet as she was the fit was snug, and she gasped at the invasion.
“Ohmigod,” she moaned.
Her head came up and her back bowed. And then she pushed against him and he was lost. His thrusts were quick and deep and powerful, each stroke lifting her up on the tips of her toes. Mewls of pleasure escaped her lips and her pussy suctioned him in, squeezing around him like a hot little fist. She was close to coming. Her pussy was wetter. Getting tighter. Practically vibrating around his cock. But she couldn’t quite achieve what she was looking for.
He knew what was missing. A connection. He didn’t touch her other than where they joined. His thrusts were steady, as if he were a machine instead of a man, and sweat dampened his brow and chest.
Her hands let go of the island to reach back but he stopped her. “No, leave them there. You wanted to fuck. That’s what we’re going to do.”
“I can’t—” she sobbed out as his cock pushed deep inside her, hitting a spot that made her body tremble. “I can’t come if you don’t touch me.”
“Sure you can, sugar. Give it a try. You’re right there on the edge, drenching my cock.”
“Goddammit, Cal,” she begged. “Touch me. Please.”
He slowed his pace and pulled out of her until only the head of his cock was buried. And then he pushed as slow as he could all the way to the hilt. Until his balls touched her pussy lips. She tightened around him, and then he just pressed harder, circulating his hips, massaging her from the inside with his cock. But never touching her other than where they were literally joined.
It was heaven.
It was hell.
And then her breathing changed and he felt the slow, liquid undulations around his cock, tightening and clamping around him like a vise, milking him. Her head was thrown back and he could see the rapture on her face as her mouth opened on a silent scream.
Only then did he let himself go. He pulled back and slammed into her—one, two, three times—and then he growled as hot jets of semen coated the walls of her pussy. He didn’t know how long the orgasm lasted. Only that it was the most powerful he’d ever had. And he had to fight the urge to slump down on top of her, to kiss the delicate curve of where her neck met her back.
Instead, he forced himself to stand on shaking legs and pull out of her. Come dripped down the inside of her thighs, but she didn’t make a move to cover herself or use a shirt to clean up. Her body lay prone across the island, the only movement the up and down motion of her torso as she sucked in air.
He bent down and picked up his clothes, pulling them on as efficiently as his trembling body would allow.
“Go ahead and start moving some of your things into the bedroom I’m in across the hall. Yours isn’t secure near the balcony. And we’re going to practice that whole sticking together like glue thing.”
She turned her head to the side and stared at him, the sadness there almost his undoing, and then she closed her eyes and nodded.
“I need to do a final check of the house before we go to bed. I’ll be up in about twenty minutes.”
He walked out of the room wondering what the hell kind of person he was. And then it came to him very clearly. He was the kind of person who didn’t want to get his heart broken.
CHAPTER TWELVE
* * *
The storm broke sometime during the night. Rain and wind and thunder.
But Evangeline slept peacefully beside him. In her sleep, at least, she trusted him. She was wrapped around him, her lush body pressed against him, and the oversized t-shirt she wore bunched around her waist. He’d given up on sleep. Hard-ons weren’t really conducive to a good night’s rest.
They were in the room he always used when he stayed at the house, not that he spent a great deal of time there, but Robert and Anna had always made it a point to make him feel at home and like he was part of the family wherever they were. It was done in shades of brown, from the ivory to dark chocolate, and the fabrics were soft and comfortable.
His windows faced the ocean, but there was no balcony outside. And where Evangeline left her windows open so she could see the view, he was always adamant about drawing the curtains closed at night.
The fan whirred lazily overhead, and only a thin sheet covered them. His senses were primed, every scrape of a palm tree against a window amplified. The wind howled with fury and flashes of lightning peaked from the edges of the curtains.
There’d been no updates from Declan or any of the agents on lookout. Not that he’d expected there to be. Taber had to get from Dallas to Florida. That was going to take a little time, depending on what mode of transportation he used. But he could be there as early as sometime that day or as late as tomorrow or the next day if there were no more stops to make along the way.
A crack of thunder followed by a flash of lightning so bright he thought it hit the house sounded, and a loud crash and glass breaking came from somewhere close by.
He rolled out of bed, grabbing the weapon he’d had under his pillow, and he shook Evangeline awake, keeping a hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t make any noise. The whites of her eyes were bright as she stared at h
im in sleepy confusion.
“Ssh,” he said, putting a finger to his lips.
She nodded and he let her go, and he gestured for her to get low on the ground. She nodded and then pulled open the drawer of the bedside table, pulling out a Glock in matte black. He raised his eyebrows because he hadn’t seen her put it there, but he knew she could shoot as well as any agent. One of the perks of being Robert Lockwood’s daughter.
His footsteps were silent as he went to the door and listened, but there was nothing so he stood to the side of the door and unlocked it, opening it slowly so he could peek into the hallway.
There was a repetitive banging sound somewhere in the distance and the whistle of wind, and he slipped into the hall, padding carefully as he went to Evie’s door. The sound was coming from inside, and he looked back once to make sure she was still in the room, and then he turned the knob and threw the door open.
He did a quick check of the room and the restroom, but it was pretty obvious what had happened. Wind and rain soaked the rug and the bedding and a large palm branch lay half in and half out of the broken window, banging against the sill as the wind continued to pummel them.
“Holy shit,” Evie said, from behind him.
He swore and turned to face her. “I don’t remember giving you the all clear.”
“You were gone and quiet for too long. What if you needed help?”
“Five minutes is too long?”
“It is when you’re crouched under the bed in the dark.” She stared at her ruined bed instead of him. “The whole thing is ruined she said. That’s a pain in the ass.”
“It’d be more of a pain in the ass if you’d been sleeping there and sliced and diced in your sleep.”
“I’m trying not to think about that part.”
“Then I’ll refrain from saying I told you so.”
“Good, because I’m armed and I’m kind of in a pissy mood considering what just happened.”
Cal rolled his eyes and moved to where she was standing. “We’re going to need plastic bags and duct tape.”