He did love me. I’d faced his monster and hadn’t run away. I’d dared to cup that beastly face between my palms and love him anyway. And for that alone, he’d go to the farthest ends of the earth for me.
He went down on his knees in the sand and his eyes raged with emotion. Fury and regret, guilt and love, and most of all, need. The kind of need that crippled a person, that made them feel less worthy, less human. The kind of need that consumed you until you’d rather die than never have it again.
My kind of need.
His hand trembled as he reached up to lightly touch the black-and-blue skin around my eye from where Rusk had hit me. “I’m so sorry, Ranay. How can you ever forgive me?”
My Master, on his knees, begging. It was so wrong, but so right.
“I’m a killer. I can’t change it. But I will never take a contract without telling you. I can’t stop. No matter how much I wish I could be the safe and stable dom you deserve.”
Combing my fingers through his hair, I shook my head. “If you were safe and stable, then you wouldn’t want me as much either.”
“We’re a fucked-up matched pair.” He sighed. “A match made in heaven.”
I smiled tremulously. “Amen.”
“I promise to spend the rest of my life ensuring your safety and your happiness. I’ll give you anything you desire. I’ll go down on my knees and beg for you every single night. And it still won’t come close to showing you how much I love you. How much I need you.”
Crying, I reached for him, and he buried his face against my stomach. His shoulders shook and he clutched me so hard, so good, his breath hot through the thin cotton of my dress.
“Ranay,” he groaned against me. “I need you so badly. I’d die without you.”
I stroked my hands over the hot, lean planes of his shoulders, pushing the shirt out of my way. He shrugged it off and leaned back enough to look at me. His eyes glimmered in the firelight, shadows and flames dancing in his gaze, but he smiled, revealing that killer dimple. “May I worship you, kitten?”
His hands encased my ankles, his fingers light above the straps of my sandals. Waiting for my consent.
I decided to make him sweat. Just a little. “I don’t know. What does worship entail?”
“Anything that makes you purr. Nothing’s off-limits. I have no limit when it comes to satisfying your desire.”
No limit. That made the ravenously needy slave inside me quiver with excitement. “Oh, that’s easy, then. Every time you touch me, I purr.”
His fingers glided higher to tickle the backs of my knees. “Like this?”
“Harder.”
He wrapped his palms around my knees and drew his powerful hands up my hamstrings in a firm stroke that made my head fall back. I grabbed his shoulders while he kneaded his thumbs up and down my thighs. Firm, almost too hard, like a deep tissue massage. I groaned with pleasure.
His thumbs roamed higher to the juncture of my thighs. Now it was his turn to groan. He tipped his head up with a mock glare. “You didn’t.”
I tried to keep my lips from twitching into a smug smile, but it was a losing battle. “I certainly did. It wouldn’t look right buried in hair.”
He slid his hands higher and cupped my bare ass in his palms. “You flew all the way down here with nothing but that chastity belt beneath such a pretty dress?”
I grinned wider. “Yep.”
He stood in one fast move, picking me up against him effortlessly. “Juan didn’t catch a peek when you were getting in and out of the Jeep, did he? I wouldn’t want to have to slit his throat. I like him.”
Eyes wide, I searched his face. His dimple gave him away. As he set me down on the cushions, I smiled sweetly at him. “I liked him too.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiar silver knife. “Better than me?”
“Juan’s too nice for me,” I replied airily, turning around. “I like a hint of danger in my men. Could you unzip me? Or since you have that blade handy, you could just cut my clothes off.”
“I’m not going to ruin such a pretty dress.” He took off my hat and tossed it aside, then started unbraiding my hair. “Men? That sounds ominous. For your other man, whoever he is.”
“Ominous is a good word for him. He’s very dangerous. I wouldn’t mess with him if I were you.”
“Hmm.” He sank his fingers into my hair, massaging my scalp. His hands were sure and strong, melting away my lingering tension. “I like a challenge. There can only be one alpha predator sniffing around here. He’d better be on his guard.”
Finally, he unzipped my dress. Holding up the bodice, I stood up and slowly turned to face him. “You’re my alpha predator. He’s my sweet, dog-loving Master.”
He settled back on his elbows and stretched out his legs, putting that gorgeous lean body on full display for me. “I guess he doesn’t sound too bad.”
I let the cotton slide down my body and drop to the floor. His gaze took a leisurely yet hungry look down my body, lingering on my freshly shaved pussy. The delicate chain hung low on my hipbones, connected in the center of my stomach by a small lock. Another chain ran between my legs, snug enough to make a delicious friction as I walked. My engine had been on a low rumble ever since Vegas. Watching him, that rumble became a thundering roar.
Dropping to my knees gracefully, I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his lap. His cock twitched against my cheek, rock hard and eager for attention.
His fingers sank into my hair. “I’m supposed to be worshiping you.”
“You are.” I rubbed my cheek along his length, enjoying his heat, the involuntary, subtle rock of his hips. “The FBI—”
“Later,” he broke in, twining a length of my hair around his finger. He gently tugged my head up so I looked into his face. “Tell me what they want later.”
My eyes flared and I laughed. “You know them so well.”
“I know you so well, and I know that if I don’t make you accept it, you’ll try to service me instead of letting me service you first. So up you go, kitten. Stand up for me.”
My knees were already trembling and he hadn’t done anything but order me. But I loved his orders. I loved that he found a way to worship me, yet still command me as the master. I stood up, grateful for his steadying hand on my hip. He slipped a finger beneath the chain around my waist and gave a playful tug.
I couldn’t hold back the moan. The metal ground up against my clit.
“Pleasure, pain, or both?”
“Both,” I replied without hesitation.
Keeping the middle chain pulled up against me, he leaned in and pressed a soft, nibbling kiss to my pussy. “So soft. So pettable. So gorgeous.”
I shifted my weight, tightening my ass and rolling my hips so I could feel the chain gliding over me. He flattened his tongue over the chain and traced a firm stroke down its length that rocked me back on my heels. Clutching his shoulders, I widened my thighs, trying to give him as much access as possible. When he lifted his head, I moaned in desperation.
“You said both,” he reminded me with a wink. “Delayed gratification is pain. Turn around and show me that gorgeous ass.”
I turned, then swayed, almost losing my balance completely. He steadied me, his breath hot on my buttock.
“It’s a shame that I can’t mark this sweet curve with a vicious bite.”
Just thinking about his teeth digging into me, leaving a deep bruise like he’d done to my breast... I bit my lip, fighting not to come. He traced his fingers along the chain that lined my crack, a teasing dance that made me squirm. “I loved those bites.”
I tried not to make it sound like a plea. I didn’t want him to do something that reminded him of the serial killer who’d tried to take me from him. But I’d really loved showing off those particular bruises to my friends. Which is exactly how Rusk had tracked me down in the first place.
He tugged on the chain, drawing a higher-pitched cry from me suspiciously like a squeal. �
��So you wouldn’t mind a gorgeous, deep bite on your ass?”
“Not at all, Master.”
That was all the warning I had. He sank his teeth into the muscle and pulled on the chain, lifting me up on my toes. I screamed, flinching at the searing throb of pain through my buttock, which only made the pleasure sing higher. Like a vise, he clamped harder, spinning me out of control. My head fell back, my arms flailing, trying to grab on to him, my knees collapsing. He held me up easily and dragged the chain back and forth, keeping the pleasure pouring through me even as he ensured that he’d left a solid, vibrant bite that’d last for days.
Finally, he let me fall down into his lap. Gasping for breath, I curled up against him and tucked my head under his chin. He stroked the full length of my body, down my shoulder, arm, waist, hip and thigh, a steady, heavy claim on my body while soothing me at the same time.
“You were very loud. I gather that you don’t have any negative memories of bite marks after what you went through with Rusk.”
Despite the praise in his voice, I still blushed. “Not at all. Sorry, do you have neighbors?”
He chuckled and shifted me around so I was face-to-face with him. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll tell anyone who asks that there’s a new howler in town.”
His dark, gleaming eyes captured me. Chained me more surely than the chastity belt he’d tormented me with. All that need. All that darkness. All that hunger. For me.
I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth and playfully tightened my teeth until a warning rumbled from his chest. Pulling back, I gave him a brilliant smile. “Thank you for bringing me to paradise with you, Master. Though the jungle isn’t half-bad either.”
Eyes heavy, he gripped my chin and waited without saying a word.
Waiting. Watching my face. Fingers tightening incrementally.
I knew what he wanted without question.
“Charlie.”
* * * * *
Look for TWO CUTS DARKER, coming February 2016
About the Author
Joely Sue Burkhart has always loved heroes who hide behind a mask, the darker and more dangerous the better. Whether a cool, sophisticated billionaire, brutal bloodthirsty assassin, or simply a man tortured by his own needs, they all wear masks to protect themselves. Once they finally give you a peek into the passionate, twisted secrets they’re hiding, they always fall hard and fast. Dare to look beneath the mask with delicious BDSM in a wide variety of genres with Joely on her website, www.joelysueburkhart.com. If you’d like to know when her next book is available, you can sign up for her newsletter.
Fulfill your desire for more erotic romance from Joely Sue Burkhart with GOLDEN—available now!
GOLDEN
Power Play, book one
“An evocative and well-written story that vividly conjures up the intricacies of court intrigue and machinations even as it relays the tale of two people tied together in their desire for the sexual stimulation achieved through the delivery and reception of pain.”
—Night Owl Reviews, Top Pick
Golden-eyed Jin has spent her life preparing to be the Emperor’s consort. She knows her destiny is to serve the Emperor by indulging the dark desire that he has buried deep inside his heart—the desire to give pain.
Only she can take the pain he yearns to give, and transform it into the most unimaginable pleasure. But to enjoy all the Emperor can give her, she must survive assassination attempts from those who would keep them apart.
Seducing the Emperor is risky...but it’s the only way to fulfill her destiny.
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ISBN-13: 9781426899898
One Cut Deeper
Copyright © 2015 by Joely Sue Burkhart
Edited by Alissa Davis
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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