“Who is it?”
He nodded to her shirt. Her heart fluttered in her chest, wild and crazy and out-of-control as she slipped her fingers under the hem and lifted it over her head. By the time she tossed the shirt on the floor, she was breathing hard and fast.
His gaze locked on her chest and embarrassment heated her body. She wanted to groan in frustration. Her sports bra covered her completely, but she felt so…exposed.
“You’re gorgeous.” His voice dropped even deeper and her nipples tightened in response to his words. He groaned and pushed his head back into the pillow, his body straining upwards. The sudden movement threw her off-balance and she barely caught herself on his chest. Their faces were only inches apart. She could smell him. Raw. Masculine. Delicious.
What was wrong with her? She had to keep her head on straight and stay away from his sinfully sexy lips.
“Kiss me. I’ll die if you don’t.” His words were so sincere, so aching. He lifted his mouth to hers, but she held herself just out of reach.
Her own lips tingled and throbbed. Could she give him her first kiss? Should she? Her body screamed yes. Yes. “Tell me. Why are you really here?” Was that soft breathy whisper really her voice?
His neck muscles strained and bulged, but the rope held fast. “Because I tracked him here.”
“Who?”
“My brother.” He shook his head, as if he’d said more than intended, but she barely noticed. His chest was expanding and pressing into her aching body, and she wanted to rub her breasts across his chest to feel the friction. “God, I can feel your tight little nipples. Let me see them. Let me taste them.”
Sparrow had to bite back a moan. This man was erotic beyond words, talking to her like that, so…dirty.
Sparrow forced herself to sit up, but she couldn’t help the slight thrust her hips gave. His eyes darkened instantly.
“Tell me your brother’s name.”
“The bra. Take it off.” Any soft teasing had completely disappeared—his command was harsh, and her body reacted like whiplash.
All inhibitions gone, Sparrow pulled her bra over her head, eager to see his response. To see him wanting her. She let the material drop and crossed her arms over her chest, holding the material in place.
He growled, deep in his throat. The sound reminded her of a giant grizzly bear.
“Tell me,” Sparrow said.
“Your arms. Need to see.”
Sparrow shifted, the uncomfortable tightness between her legs growing every time he spoke. Even more, when he looked at her like that, he looked like he wanted to eat her alive.
Brazen and bold, she uncrossed her arms. Before she could think, he bucked hips high, tossing her forward. Sparrow landed flat on his chest. The instant her naked breasts pressed against his hard muscles she tensed, the sensation almost more exquisite than she could tolerate.
“Let me see. Bring them to me.”
As if some foreign being possessed her, Sparrow dragged herself up his chest, until her breasts hovered just out of his reach. Chills beaded across her skin. She could feel his hot breath on her. Feel the urge to dip down. His lips closed over her nipple and instant white, hot heat shot straight down her core. Her body lit on fire, tight and needy at the same time. She moaned, her hips moving of their own accord, and still he didn’t let go. He hadn’t taken her lips yet, but he was kissing her more intimately than she’d dreamed possible.
When he let go, she whimpered, but he quickly lavished attention on her other breast. Licking and biting, driving her wild. She locked her fingers behind his head, holding him to her, lost in his caress.
“Untie me. I need to touch you, to feel you,” he leaned back into the pillow.
Sparrow shook her head, “No.” She was out of breath. Losing her mind.
“Then kiss me,” he commanded.
She shook her head again. “No kissing.”
He snarled, his frustration evident, and she pulled him to her, wanting him to resume where he’d left off. Greedily, he sucked her nipple into his mouth. The tension inside her grew to near explosion. She rocked her hips harder against him.
“That’s it, honey, ride me just like that. I’ll take care of you.”
“You feel good. Really good.” Breathless and craving more, Sparrow lay against him, enjoying the feel of her body pressed to his.
“You’re so beautiful. Perfect. Untie me, let me pleasure you.”
“I can’t untie you.” Sparrow couldn’t stop touching him. She traced his neck, his chest, his corded arms.
“I can’t keep going like this. Neither can you. You have to give me at least one arm. I promise you won’t regret it.” His voice was rough with desire.
Sparrow chewed on her bottom lip, giving the thought serious consideration. Could she risk it? He’d already given her pleasure, but she knew there was so much more to be had. Her body craved for something else, something deeper. She lay on top of him, her head beside his, her aching breasts pressed to his chest. He kissed her shoulder, her neck, anywhere she maneuvered for him to reach. She couldn’t think when he was touching her.
“That was only a teaser. Untie me.”
She lifted up on her elbows, wondering at the man panting beneath her. “A teaser?”
His smile was feral. “I almost made you come just from sucking on those pretty nipples, and dammit, I want your mouth so bad.”
His words had her panting with need. She had almost…come? That was what all the whores talked about? No wonder they gabbed so much about it, cause that had been freaking amazing. “What about you? Did you almost…”
He ground his hips up again and she became very aware of the hardness pressed between her legs. “Does it feel like I came? I’m hard as a rock for you. Fuck, I need you. Touch me. Please.” Sparrow shifted so she could see the huge tent lifting up the front of his pants. She wasn’t so naïve that she didn’t know his dick was hard. And that in order for him to get off she would have to…touch it.
Tentatively, she leaned back and let her fingers trace its length. It jumped beneath her hand as if it was seeking her touch.
“That’s it.”
“What do you need me to do?” Curious, she cupped his length, learning his shape. He bucked into her hand. Seeing him like this was intoxicating. This incredibly powerful male tied up beneath her, desperate for her to touch him.
“Wrap your fingers around me.” She knelt beside him on the bed and unbuttoned his pants, slowly inching the zipper down to reveal his hardness. Jesus almighty, he was just as big down there as the rest of him.
Her fingers grazed the bare skin of his shaft, watching in fascination as a small bead of moisture collected on the tip. He sucked in a breath and she stifled a gasp as he grew even bigger. Longer. He was huge. She’d never seen one before now, but she didn’t think they were all made so perfectly.
“Put your hand on me,” he pleaded. His brow was covered in sweat. Whatever she was doing, he seemed to really like it. Emboldened, Sparrow traced the bulging veins running down his length. Another drop moistened on his tip and she moved as if in a trance, smearing the small bead of wetness over his crown.
“Jesus, you feel so good. Now, stroke me.”
She focused on the task, wrapping her fingers around his girth and beginning to move her hand up and down, light and slow and unsure. His hips thrust up to meet her every move.
“Harder, Sparrow. Squeeze harder.” His harsh command sent a surge of fire through her veins. She felt alive, powerful. She wanted him. Wanted to please him, as he had pleased her. So she gripped him tighter, pumping him faster.
“That’s it baby. That’s it. Almost there, don’t stop.”
Sparrow concentrated, timing her movements with the rhythm of his hips as he thrust up into her hand.
“Yes, baby that’s it. So close.” He strained into her.
Unashamedly, she felt that now familiar ache between her legs. Knew what it meant and the hint of where it could lead. She squir
med and rubbed her thighs together, wanting him to touch her.
“Open up, Sparrow. I know you’re in there.” Miss Kay banged on her front door. Sparrow froze, her hand unmoving on his dick.
“Don’t stop, ignore it,” he commanded.
“Unlock the door.” Miss Kay wouldn’t wait long. Dammit, she was so close. Sparrow couldn’t stop touching and cupping him now. He thrust up into her hand.
He held Sparrow’s gaze. “Finish. Just ignore them.”
Miss Kay banged on the door again. If she caught Sparrow like this, Sparrow might as well kiss her future goodbye.
4
As if struck by lightning, Sparrow bolted from the bed and threw on her muscle shirt, hiding those magnificent breasts. Next came the button up.
Agony such as Jared had never known coursed through his body. He’d been so close. Now she was going to leave him, literally, with blue balls.
“Dammit, Sparrow, you can’t leave me like this. Untie my hands.”
Every muscle in his body tensed. He watched as she finished buttoning her shirt with trembling fingers. Sparrow’s cheeks, flushed with pleasure a moment ago, were now pale. “Can’t. She’ll come in if I don’t go out.”
Whoever was at the front door banged again and Sparrow jumped. It was obvious she was afraid of the woman.
“Untie me. At least let me take care of myself.” God, his cock was so hard he couldn’t think. Couldn’t form a single thought outside of Sparrow’s hands. Her breasts. Her silky soft skin in his mouth.
“No. I’ll be back. Just…just stay here.” With that, she yanked up his pants. Jared didn’t lift his hips to help her this time. Frustration and anger mixed, morphing into some emotion he couldn’t name.
Jared gave a merciless laugh and yanked on the ropes binding his hands to the bed. “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
She buttoned his pants and yanked his shirt down. Her gaze was no longer focused on him. She kept stealing anxious little glances over her shoulder. “I’ll be back, I promise I won’t leave you like this, but I have to go.”
His last glimpse of her before she ran out the door was an expression of regret and longing. But that didn’t stop her from slamming the door behind her or leaving him on the edge of what would have been one of the most intense orgasms of his entire life.
No. Whoever was outside scared the girl so much she hadn’t even wasted a breath before shooting up from the bed to get dressed. Jared lay back, his muscles straining, and squeezed his eyes shut. Think of cold rivers. Dead puppies. Nuns. But nothing worked. His dick was so hard it hurt.
Fuck, she’d been so sexy. The sexiest woman he had ever seen. And yet her movements had been hesitant, like she didn’t know what she was doing. Like she’d never touched a man before. The thought sent blood coursing to his cock again, stretching him to near exploding.
Dead puppies. Dead puppies. Dead puppies. But the image and the taste and smell of Sparrow surrounded him. Fuck. Someone could dump a truckload of dead puppies on top of him right now and it wouldn’t matter. The only person that could ease this pain was that wisp of a girl. A girl who’d run out of the room and left him here with his hands tied.
Jared had never known such agony. His attempts to ignore the pressure did nothing. He tried to rip the rope that held him, but the rough material just sawed into his skin. Even if he could focus on escape techniques, he probably wouldn’t succeed given his state of mind. The humiliation of his position sliced through him like serrated knives. He was the one in control, always. Yet this…this…innocent girl-woman had him in a position of submissiveness. His hands had been bound of his own accord. A cold sweat formed on his brow. After being tied up in that dark closet, he’d vowed never to be bound again. Ever. The ropes binding his hands seemed to tighten. The air grew thick and heavy.
She’d left him like this. Straining and helpless. He vowed right then and there that he would turn the tables. He would tie her up, drive her wild enough to beg, then leave her hanging. Still, he couldn’t wait to explore her sweet depths—he’d only gotten a sample of her, and it wasn’t near enough.
The bedroom door cracked open and he yanked his head from the pillow. Only this time it wasn’t Sparrow. A large woman filled the door, her shoulder-length black hair matted and tangled. Her sallow sagging skin a perfect background for her dull brown eyes. Uncaring eyes that belonged on a pit bull, not a woman.
Recognition slammed into him like a wrecking ball, obliterating his lingering lust and desire to make way for a cold blast of killing rage.
His aunt, Miss Kaitlyn Crowe, also known as Miss Kay, stared at him with curiosity but no recognition. Jared waited for her to realize who he was, but that didn’t happen. “I see my Sparrow done good. Caught herself a grunt. What’s your name, boy?”
Her voice sent cold dread down his spine. That voice had once haunted his days and terrorized his nights. He lunged up against the rope so hard blood trailed down his arms. The room shrank. Grew darker, more sinister. The closet…
“Can’t speak? Well, my boys can fix that problem real quick.” Kay snapped her fingers. Her oversized faded floral dress a mockery of the monster inside.
“I staked my claim. He’s mine to interrogate.” Jared heard Sparrow, but he couldn’t see her.
Kay wasn’t nearly as huge as he remembered, probably because he’d left this place at age ten, but she was a big woman. Much bigger than Sparrow. “Girl, you don’t know what to do with no man. Never have. Best you let Jimbo see to this.”
“You can’t break the code,” Sparrow said. Mountain code, even he remembered that from his youth. His mom and dad had lived and died by the code. Jared curled his fingers in a tight fist, the only movement he allowed. He hadn’t planned on seeing his nemesis for the first time in this position. But he wouldn’t be tied up for long, and once he got free…
“And just what do you think you can do?” Kay stepped fully into the room, allowing Sparrow to slip past. Their difference in size and stature was so great it was almost comical. But nothing was funny now. Not when the woman who’d tortured him all those years ago stood not five feet away.
“I have a plan. I was working on it when you interrupted. You know you can’t break code. He’s mine.” Sparrow argued, her hands on her hips. His little bird had claws. Ones she wasn’t scared to show.
Code was more sacred than the law around these parts. Mountain folk might be backwards hillbillies who could give a shit about secular laws, but they had their own system. And if you broke that system, the punishment was swift and severe.
Jared watched the war going on behind his girl’s eyes as Kay wagged a finger in her face. Sparrow wanted to fight back, but she was holding herself in check. Interesting. Maybe she wasn’t so solid in the Crowe clan after all.
“I’ll give you two days. If you ain’t broke him by then, I’m giving him to Jimbo. Got that? You know what’ll happen if you don’t get it done.” Kay turned to him then, the curious look replaced with a gleam he remembered all too well from his youth. “You better sing to my Sparrow, boy, because Jimbo don’t play. You’ll do well to remember that.”
Without another word, Kay lumbered from the room and slammed the front door of the trailer. Silence surrounded them, but the older woman’s presence still hung heavy in the room.
“Why would you work for a woman like her?” Jared bit out between clenched teeth.
Sparrow shook her head. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“You’re right. I don’t understand, explain it to me.”
If possible, Sparrow’s face went even paler. “She owns this mountain and everyone on it.”
5
If only he knew. Miss Kay didn’t just own the people on this mountain, she owned the entire county. She owned the land. Grew the pot. Sold the drugs and alcohol. Controlled the prostitutes.
Now that the mines had shut down, the only way for mountain folks to earn a living around here was through her adoptive family. Whether they want
ed to or not didn’t matter—those who disobeyed disappeared.
Sparrow hadn’t scrimped and saved her entire life to throw away the meager existence she’d foraged for herself. Especially not for this man who’d brought her close to her first orgasm only minutes ago, but was now looking at her like she was covered in the maggots that had infested the corn crop.
Sparrow lifted her chin. She was a survivor. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to follow in her mother’s footsteps because she was too scared to take risks. It was time for her to take the bull by the horns, or the man by the cock, so to speak.
She had two days. Two days before Jimbo took over. Two days to solidify her position in management or end up on her back. Literally. Miss Kay had always made it perfectly clear to her what failure would mean. As soon as she made a mistake, she’d be forced to turn to her mama’s old profession—even if Jimbo had to tie her to the bed to make sure she followed orders.
God, what she wouldn’t give to be out of this mess. Miss Kay’s methods of maintaining control were decisive and brutal, but at least they were logical. If you stole or tried to double cross her, you would be punished or killed. Pretty simple way to keep folks in line.
But Jimbo – he was a loose cannon of destruction. He didn’t need a reason to torture other than the simple fact he liked it. He liked to hurt people. He liked it when they screamed and begged.
She barely held the shudder in check. Jimbo had always tormented her. Teased her. Hurt her. But recently his glances had turned darker, more sinister. He had other thoughts about Sparrow, and she had no interest in finding out what they were.
No way in hell would she let that happen. Sparrow studied the man on her bed. The paint on his face camouflaged his features and helped to conceal his expression, but not even a blind person could miss the loathing in his gaze right now.
As inexperienced as Sparrow was with men it was pretty obvious that the giant erection tenting his pants had completely wilted. She never backed down from a challenge, even one as big as the man tied to her bed. Sparrow approached him. “Where were we?”
Reckless River: Men of Mercy, Book 3 Page 4