Rude Awakening

by Veronica Chadwick

  “Mmm, the sweetest.” His fingers flexed on her hip as he kissed her jaw. His teeth grazed over the sensitive skin of her throat. “I need this. I need you, Jaimee.”

  Her heart skipped several beats at his hoarse words. She was going up in flames, losing all control, all sense of reality. He was becoming an obsession. She had to get space before she lost more than she could afford. “Wait.” She pushed against his chest but it was like trying to move a brick wall. “Lucas, I can’t think.”

  “Good, you think too much,” he whispered in her ear. “Except when you should be. Leaving the door unlocked was unacceptable.”

  “It’s not that big a deal, really.” Her voice was breathy and lacked the austerity she’d been going for. “It’s a safe neighborhood. Why does it matter so much?”

  He raised his head and glared at her as he tugged her ponytail again, making her look into his eyes. “It matters to me, Jaimee. It is a big deal to me. Don’t fucking doubt that for one damn minute.”

  Excitement flared through her at his harsh words and the slight bite of pain. She wanted to push him. God help her, she wanted to be overpowered, forced. It was hard for her to recognize, to absorb and accept these new truths about herself. These were taboo desires, weren’t they? Didn’t this mean she was a reprobate?

  His eyes were so rich and dark, glowing with anger and passion. “Wait.” Her voice was weaker this time as his voracious mouth began trailing fiery kisses down her throat. She stiffened, struggled for reason, some logic to lay hold of and give her what she needed to step back. She had to step back or she’d drown.

  “Stop analyzing it, Jaimee. Just feel.”

  “I don’t want to.” Even as the words slipped from her lips her fingers curled into his shirt.

  “Yes, you do, you need to. I need you to.” The hand at her hip worked its way under her shirt and slid up her side. Damn his hands were so warm against her skin. She shuddered as he cupped her breast, his thumb circling her nipple. A hungry groan rumbled from deep inside him, vibrating over every nerve in her body. “Don’t leave the door unlocked again.” The hard, thick length of his cock pressed against her lower stomach, leaving no doubt to what he wanted. “Promise me you won’t forget to lock the door again.”

  Whether it made sense or not, his words and his touch unlocked something in her, awakening a passion she couldn’t, wouldn’t, deny anymore. If it meant she was perverted then God help her, it was truth. Her truth, right or wrong. Ignoring that need in her, pretending it didn’t exist didn’t make it go away. With acceptance came peace, and as corny as it may seem, joy.

  She smiled up at him and the words were out of her mouth before she had time to think about them. “What are you gonna do if I don’t? Spank me?” They sounded like they came from someone else, low, hoarse, dripping with lust, daring him.

  One brow lifted. “There’s a big difference between a spanking and having your ass smacked, sweetheart.”

  Her eyes widened. Damn if it didn’t excite her to think of his big hand smacking her bottom—hard. Still, she wasn’t sure she wanted that much.

  “Do you want to spank me?” She looked up at him through lowered lashes and watched fire flare in his eyes as his lips slowly curved into a smile.

  “You sure as hell deserve it.”

  His eyes dilated, darkened, as his mouth claimed hers. She kissed him back, boldly meeting his tongue with her own. She couldn’t close her eyes; the heat in his mesmerized her.

  He nipped her bottom lip as he released her hair and lifted her effortlessly onto the end of the island. Quickly, he moved the double boiler aside a bit before grasping her knees, parting her legs and stepping between them.

  “God, I’ve missed you.”

  He missed her? It had only been a day and a half but he missed her. Had anyone ever told her that before, ever? No, no, no, she didn’t want to think about anything or anyone but the pulsing need radiating through her and the way Lucas made her feel now, right this moment.

  He pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it aside. With a mischievous tilt of his lips he dipped his fingers into the caramel. When she realized what he intended her eyes widened. Though it was cooling, the caramel was still very warm. Her eyes fluttered closed as he slowly spread the candy over her nipple. Heat spread from the tips of her breasts and radiated through her body. A flash fire of sensation washed over her as his tongue swirled over her caramel-coated nipple. He teased her, humming with pleasure as he drew her nipple into his mouth. Jaimee’s gasp melted into a moan as he licked and sucked while spreading the caramel over her other nipple.

  He licked, kissed and sucked her nipples as he drew a hot sticky swirl down the center of her body. His other hand slid up her thigh, his thumb making firm little circles as he went.

  “Too much.” Jaimee caught her breath as his thumb eased beneath the elastic leg of her comfortable cotton panties. Her entire body pulsed with need. He lifted his gaze. His eyes held hers, narrowing slightly as he touched her.

  “Tell me.” It was a demand, neither a request, nor a suggestion.

  “I can’t.” Her voice was too high pitched. She couldn’t think, could barely breathe. His touch was feather light as he stroked the swelling outer lips of her pussy.

  “You can,” he growled against the curve of her breast. Using his tongue, his lips, his teeth, he moved down, following the caramel trail he made. “God, Jaimee, you’re so wet,” he murmured against her navel.

  All her excited bravado melted, all that joy and peace suddenly disintegrated into shame and she winced. “I know, I’m sorry.” She stiffened. He hadn’t said anything the other times. Did he just now notice? How could he not have noticed before? Oh please, she begged silently, don’t stop now. If he left her like this it would hurt too much.

  His head jerked up, his eyes searched hers and his hand grasped her thigh to keep her still. “Sorry? Why?”

  She’d been thinking about him, talking to Max about him, she was already wet when he showed up. Then he had to go and play with her like this, growling into her neck, making her crazy with the caramel. Sheesh, what did he expect?

  “Well, I know it’s always been too much.” Heat infused her face as she bit the inside of her cheek and looked away. If disgust had replaced that hot lust she’d seen on his face earlier her heart would break. She couldn’t bear it. “It’s sloppy and—”

  “You think it’s sloppy?” He interrupted her as his fingers continued to smooth over her intimate curves. “Doesn’t it feel good? Hot and sleek, gliding over your soft little pussy?”

  She hesitated, hope blooming. Resisting the urge to moan, she sort of shrugged. “I…I like it.”

  “I love it. I love the feel of all that sweet honey, like hot, liquid silk on my fingers. I love it on my tongue. The way it feels when my dick moves inside your tight pussy. Don’t say you’re sorry for that again.”

  She blinked at him, her mouth agape. The illicit words caressing her, making her sheath clench. “I didn’t know. Brent was sometimes turned off when there was too much so…I didn’t know.” She shrugged and squeezed her eyes shut. No, damn it, she didn’t want to think of him. She didn’t want him in her mind, but there he was and she wanted Lucas to understand.

  “Look at me.”

  She opened her eyes and looked down at his hands. He had the most amazing hands: big, strong, talented.

  “I said look at me, dammit.” He did it again, he growled at her again. When he did that it was like a trigger, setting her on fire, melting her insides. With a deep breath she raised her head and met his stormy gaze. “I’m not Brent.”

  She flinched. The savage look in his eyes made her instinctively pull back, and at the same time it made her crave him even more. He was fast becoming a raw, harsh reality. He’d invaded her life and occupied her mind, her body and was slowly overtaking her heart. When he looked her in the eye, he made her believe she mattered, that he could and wouldn’t hesitate to protect her. He didn’t ignore her, ba
ck down from her or patronize her.

  “No, you’re not. You’re nothing like him.”

  Unsmiling, she framed his face in her hands. Even his face was hard, strong. The roughness of stubble against her palm added another layer of sensations to everything she was already feeling. She searched his eyes as if all the secrets of the world lay in those mysterious depths. Maybe they did. She leaned forward and kissed him, tasting the caramel on his tongue as she explored his mouth with slow, deliberate kisses. The way his work-roughened palms moved slowly over her body, kneaded her breasts, drew soft moans from her. For a while he let her have her way and that simple freedom to explore was arousing. It was wonderful just being able to slowly touch and be touched, to experiment with all of her senses.

  Her tongue caressed his boldly, slowly stroking over his lips as her hands fumbled with his shirt buttons, until she got it open. Her palms smoothed over the muscles of his chest, feeling them bunch under her touch. The hoops in his nipples were too enticing to ignore. He inhaled sharply and took control of the kiss when she toyed with them, her thumb circling the hard nipples. Her legs wrapped around his hips and pulled him closer.

  “You make me crazy. I’m so fucking hard, I hurt,” he groaned against her mouth. His hands gripped the sides of her shorts. “Raise up.”

  Leaning back, her palms flat behind her, she lifted her hips with his help as he made short work of freeing her of her shorts and panties.

  “Beautiful, perfect…” He tossed the shorts aside, his gaze burning her. Splaying one hand over her naked stomach, he dipped his fingers in the caramel again. He smoothed it over her tight clit, blending it with her own cream. He massaged around and over it until she wanted to cry. The heat from the caramel, the gentle, firm friction of his thumb was overwhelming but she fought against her climax.

  His eyes devoured her as he slowly worked outward from her clit to the delicate and sensitive folds of her pussy. He raised his eyes to hers without lifting his head.

  “Mine, Jaimee.”

  Captivated by the intensity of his gaze she could have sworn her heart fluttered in her chest and for a moment she forgot to breathe. His? “Yes.” In one word that claimed and bound her she’d been set free.

  Lucas kissed her stomach as his fingers dipped inside her. Her head fell back on a frustrated moan as his thumb continued to play over her, delving lightly between the delicate folds of her flaming flesh while his fingers massaged in and out of her convulsing vagina. She gasped, tilting her hips. She liked the sweet torture, loved the way the heated sensations were building, thrumming through her. “Tell me what you want, Jaimee.”

  “I don’t know,” she said huskily, her frustration growing. Her muscles ached, her body shook with her need to climax. “I want you.”

  “You do know. Let go for me, baby. Just feel. What do you want?”

  “I want…” She bit her bottom lip on a moan.

  “Yes, come on, baby, tell me.” A hard shudder wracked her body as his warm breath fanned her heated flesh.

  “Oh please, Lucas, you’re killing me.”

  Frustrated, her breath ragged, she was too close to the edge of her climax to think clearly. She didn’t want it to softly peak and fade in long wispy waves of pleasure. That would only frustrate her more. She wanted an orgasm that was unrelenting and violent. One like those he’d given her before.

  “Please Lucas what?”

  “I want you inside me. I want your mouth on me.” Her breath caught in her throat as her orgasm began to unravel. “Oh God, Lucas, now, please, suck my clit.”

  Lucas lifted her legs, supporting them on his shoulders as his tongue laved her, licking, sucking the caramel from her. When his hungry lips finally closed over her clit and sucked hard, his tongue flicking the pulsing tip, she screamed his name. She couldn’t help it, couldn’t contain it. Her orgasm tore through her in a hot, devastating surge she was powerless against. Clutching his hair, she held on to him as the release gripped her, claimed her.

  Jaimee arched her back as Lucas thrust his finger inside her. She tightened her muscles, struggling to keep him inside as he withdrew and thrust in again. Adding another finger, he curled them upward to press firmly against her G-spot. One orgasm faded only to crescendo into another peak stronger than the one before. The pleasure was nearly overwhelming, gushing from her in a torrent. It took her breath, stripping away everything but the feel of Lucas’s tongue stroking her, his fingers massaging the contracting walls of her vagina, drawing more from her, driving her further than she believed possible.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Don’t think I’ve forgotten that you left the door unlocked, Jaimee,” Lucas warned, setting Jaimee on her wobbly legs.

  She looked up at him in speculation. “Okay, okay. I’ll be more careful.” Deep, husky, and sensual, her voice sounded like it came from someone else. She gazed at the double boiler of caramel. “We’ve ruined the caramel. I can’t use that batch on the apples.” She grinned up at him, comfortable being naked in front of him now. “Wow, I don’t think I’ll be able to look at caramel the same again.”

  “Mmm, we’ll get more caramel, sweetness. I’ve developed a new appreciation for it.” As he shrugged out of his shirt his expression turned serious. “Jaimee, I mean what I say. You’re easy. You’re a young, single woman, living alone.”

  With lowered lashes she watched him free his hair and toss the leather clasp that had held it onto the counter and then began to unbuckle his belt. With his long black mane of hair loose and flowing over his muscular shoulders he looked wildly sensual and primitive. The last time he’d “spanked” her had been eye opening. It hadn’t repulsed her as she’d always thought it would when she’d read those scenes in her sexy novels. The act had evoked quite the opposite reaction in fact. She smoothed a hand over her quivering stomach. But something more along the lines of punishment wasn’t as appealing to her as she imagined it might be. She was all for play. Full-on BDSM was a whole other thing entirely.

  “You’re not going to use that belt on me, are you?”

  “I should.” The wickedly rough tone of his voice reached out and touched her womb. “Would it help you remember to be a good girl and keep the door locked?”

  His gaze was smoldering as he took a step toward her, eyes narrowed, nostrils flared. She took a step back, unsure of whether she was excited or afraid. Slowly he advanced on her as he whipped his belt out of its loops with a flourish and wrapped it around his palm.

  Oh hell. She nearly stumbled in her retreat. Maybe she pushed him too far. Her smile faded as her eyes widened in alarm.

  “Come on now, Lucas. You wouldn’t spank me with a belt, would you?”

  The corner of his mouth twitched. “Of course not. I may like it rough, but I’m not a sadist.” She sighed in relief. “However—” before she could respond, he arched a brow and lowered his head without releasing her from a hungry gaze that told her he wouldn’t be denied, “—I’m not above showing you who’s in charge.”

  “Who’s in…?” She stood ramrod straight, hands on her hips, her brows lifting in defiance. No way in hell was she gonna be tied up. However, his hungry expression, the way he was advancing toward her all went to stoke the flames of her arousal. Still she wasn’t about to just go all weak and submissive. Not that easily she wasn’t. “Ha, yeah right, not in this lifetime. You’re dreaming, Mr. Man.”

  “Then my dream is about to come true. Come here, Jaimee.” He wasn’t smiling.

  “Hell no. You think you’re tough enough to be my master, come get me.” Good Lord she just challenged him. She couldn’t help it. It excited her and made her all tingly and exhilarated. From the look in his eyes and the way his lips curled into a wicked smile she had no doubt he was going to take on that challenge. What did she have in her damn mind?

  Lucas flashed a quick, toothy grin as he stepped out of his pants and stalked toward her. Jaimee’s mouth watered at the sight of his erect cock. He used her moment of wonder and adm
iration to pounce. She squealed, jumped away and bolted for the living room. He laughed as he doggedly stayed after her. Damn, what a stupid move. She’d gotten herself cornered.

  “No fair.” She stuck out her bottom lip in a pretend pout. “You’re stronger and faster than me.”

  “Did you bite off more than you can chew, baby?”

  There was no way she was going to escape the situation but she hated to surrender. Even if the idea of being taken, really taken, made her seriously hot and wet, it took her a bit off guard to realize how kinky she really was.

  She turned her attention back to Lucas and his predatory intentions. Seconds before he could jump for her again, she did the only thing she knew to do. She went on the offensive. In two swift strides she was standing in front of him, her hand wrapped firmly around his cock. God, it was hard, hot and it actually throbbed against her palm.

  “Not yet,” she purred, kinda like Eartha Kitt as Catwoman, and licked her lips for effect.

  In that instant she felt invincible. After all, she did have the power in her hand at that moment. The fingers of her free hand speared into his hair and cupped the back of his head, pulling him down as she lifted up on her tip toes. She kissed him as passionately as she knew how while she began slowly stroking his rigid erection. His tongue invaded her mouth, rubbing against hers with a hunger that rivaled her own.

  “You feel so fucking good,” he groaned against her mouth as he gripped her hips and pulled her hard against him, trapping her hand in place against her stomach. The warm leather of his belt pressed against her hip.

  She released his cock and let her hands roam over the warm, unyielding muscle of his wide shoulders. “So do you.” With her senses on overload a whisper was the best she could muster.