"I'm going to play you, baby. The music you're going to make is gonna be the sweetest sound the gods have ever heard." Silver derived great pleasure from withdrawing from her in a slick, quick motion. He tested his face against her thigh and turned his face into her cunt. He inhaled her sweet ambrosia and grew drunk on the scent. In synchronicity, he lapped at her clit and drove his fingers home again.
Sensing she was on the edge, Silver sucked her bud hard and fucked her with short, forceful strokes of his hand. Hannah hit her climax with startling intensity. Her pussy gushed fluids that drenched his lower face, and he drank her up. She tasted finer than any meal he'd ever consumed.
She wept with pleasure as he rode her through one blistering climax and then into the next, and never had he heard a sweeter sound. In the back of his head, he composed the opening melody.
Chapter Fifteen
At the pinnacle of her second orgasm, Hannah saw sound and tasted colors, and there was music. Such beautiful music, unlike anything she'd ever experienced in her life. She floated along on a winding five-line staff that was a river decorated with the ornate and elegant shapes of the notes. An eddy sucked her through a bass throb centered at her core.
Silver caressed her pussy with his tongue, a strong stroke that began at her ass and ended in the hood that protected her clit. He found a sweet spot which he teased with the tip of his tongue. Hannah squeaked with pleasure at first but he lingered overlong. The tickle turned to torment. She thrashed, fighting her bonds for real but to no avail. She couldn't move... couldn't escape... could only endure. Her pitch rose until she trilled, maintaining a harmonic improbability. An updraft caught her and shot her impossibly high into the atmosphere where she couldn't breathe because the air was too thin.
He dropped her out of climax too fast. Hannah returned to her senses in a rude awakening. She panted, struggling to recover her scattered wits. Odd, random speculations crossed her thoughts in that moment. For one, she suspected Silver derived a perverse pleasure from playing with her body as though she were an instrument—a game to see what new vocalization he could coax from her next.
The second notion was far more pragmatic. Silver hadn't been kidding. He meant to torture her until she begged him to stop. Exhaustion had already lowered her defenses. She wouldn't beg. She couldn't. Her entire life, through trials and tribulations, her pride had always gotten her through whatever ordeal she faced. She refused to allow any man to strip her of that. Nick had tried and failed, over and over again, but it was both startling and terrifying to perceive how close Silver, whom she'd known less than a full day, was close to breaking her.
Maybe she should've given Silver that damn safe word.
"You taste like heaven, Hannah." Silver flicked his tongue against the pucker of her asshole, circling the rim. She lacked the strength to tense so she whimpered.
"Silver," Hannah croaked what she doubted was even recognizable as his name. She was stretched thin, soaked in sweat and her own juices. She had bragged to Silver that she'd shift if things went too far, however, she had misjudged her own abilities badly. In her current state, she lacked both the focus and energy to change shapes.
He chuckled, the sound of sin. "Are you ready to beg?"
"No—" She jumped when something hard and cool pressed against her pussy. The bullet vibrator emitted a high-pitched buzz when he switched it on. Alarm verging on fear wiped her mind blank.
"Want to guess where this is going?" Silver rolled the device over her sex, wetting it thoroughly. He placed the pad of his thumb against her ass.
"No," Hannah said with firmness that surprised her. She'd had enough of this game. She wanted Silver inside of her, face-to-face, an intimate union.
"No?" Silver stilled. In his current position, crouched between her thighs, his entire body tensed. He shut the vibrator off.
"Just no. Next time, but not right now. I thought I could handle anything but I can't. I'm sorry." Hannah deflated, relief washing through her. Thank the goddess for Silver's exceptional auditory acuity. He must've picked up on the real suffering in her voice.
He slid up the mattress and settled beside her, resting on his side. He nuzzled her cheek, rubbing away tears. "Don't apologize. Please don't cry. Do you want me untie you?"
"No, I love this..."
"This?" He feathered a kiss over her lips while his skillful fingers played with a lock of her hair. He always touched her with such reverence, as though she were an exquisite treasure of gold and jewels.
"This. Being so open... Vulnerable, but knowing I'm safe." Heat swept through her, a blush she was positive turned her beet red.
"You're safe with me," Silver made it a vow.
"I want... need you inside me. Make love to me. Please." It stunned Hannah to hear herself begging, and mere seconds after she'd sworn to herself she would never. But there was no shame in it, no humiliation. How was that even possible?
Silver smiled, slow and beautiful; his dark eyes shone with inner light. He required no second invitation. With endearing eagerness, he ripped open a condom and rolled it on. On the lithe limbs of a predator, he crouched over her. He held himself over her in a pushup, his arms straight. His cock pressed against her belly, a steel shaft, and then he centered the impossibly bulbous head against her entrance and—
Pushed. He divided her and made her whole all at once. With her limbs bound, she couldn't move an inch. She didn't need to escape, because this constituted the purest essence of freedom. She hungered for all of him so when Silver halted his advance at a midpoint, a frustrated cry tore from her.
"Fuck, you're tight. Am I hurting you?" Silver shifted his position, lowering his upper body onto his elbows, and sank in another couple of inches.
"Yes. Stop holding back." Deprived of the satisfaction of fullness, Hannah shook her head on the pillow. She lifted her hips toward him, arching the small of her back. The tie downs allowed her limbs no slack, but at least she had that.
"You're mine. Say it." With a controlled thrust, Silver sank his cock to the balls in her wet pussy. She'd already come so many times she was a molten, sticky mess.
"Fuck me." Concentrating, she clenched her inner muscles as hard as she could around him. It hurt in fucking fantastic ways. Ecstasy defined. A groan wrung from deep in her throat and he echoed her.
"I will as soon as you say you're mine." Silver defied her physical manipulation, refusing to fuck her with all his strength. He was a spear, impaling her, the cruel cause of her torment. Never before had Hannah known such a complete obliteration of self. She needed him to complete her.
"Why?" Her eyes popped open. Confused, she searched his gaze, unable to understand what it was that he sought. They'd already passed the crucial test: he had no desire to break or humiliate her, so why was he pressing? Denying them both the satisfaction they needed.
"Say it." Still, he defied her. His insistence had a psychic component, adding to the weight crushing her.
"What are you asking me for?" Hannah asked in bafflement. It would've just been so easy to give him the words he wanted, but the contrary part of her insisted on understanding the implicit meaning. "I've already begged. What else do you need?"
Silver's resolve faltered. He scowled and turned his face aside, wrestling with the puzzle she'd give him. "I don't know." His volume rose, a pent-up shout of frustration. He flexed his hips, granting her the slightest concession. "I just don't know."
She moaned and lifted toward him with such force her lower back ached. "Tell me what you want," Hannah demanded, because their union was as much about his needs as her own. She flexed the muscles of her cunt about him, milking his hard length. "Please."
"Say it," he commanded. When he flexed his hips, stabbing her pussy with his rock-hard dick, her reason and resistance collapsed.
"I'm yours," she all but sobbed. Bound tight, limbs stretched, Hannah lacked both the means and will to deny him. He wanted to possess her? Fine. She belonged to him.
"Mine," Silve
r growled. He hauled back, slipping from her sheath, and then slammed into her. He fucked her like that, a rough withdrawal and a pounding return. He lashed her pussy with a whip. Each stroke of his cock a punishment and reward—he drove her straight over the precipice of sanity.
She shattered.
Hannah plummeted into a white-hot nova that rendered her blind but not deaf. She fell for a time, but then the music caught her in its soothing strains and lifted her in a lover's arms. She sighed and drifted, trusting Silver's song. It no longer bugged her that the melody possessed color and texture, or that she tasted the rhythm. The man had a special sort of magic all his own.
The tension deserted her body, leaving her relaxed on the verge of slumber. Woogy. With a sleepy smile, she purred and fluttered her eyelids. She blinked Silver's face into focus. His face was set in a rigid mask. The incongruity startled her to wakefulness.
"What's wrong?" Hannah asked, abruptly aware he was still firm, buried to the hilt within her. He hadn't come. He was wound tight, covered in sweat, his expression pained.
"I don't know. Something's wrong. Ever since you bit me I've felt driven to get closer to you, but nothing I do seems to work," Silver admitted in a strained voice. The note reminded her of an overwound guitar. Seeking remedy—release—he pushed against her harder, but his own climax eluded him. His frustration was heartbreaking.
She felt him through the static-filled psychic connection they'd formed despite the impossibility. Understanding dawned on Hannah, as unpleasant as being dunked in ice water. It opened her to a disturbing insight which she blurted out without any forethought.
"Silver, you're trying to force a mate bond."
He faltered. Disbelief crossed his face and then denial chased it. "No, I wouldn't."
"You are. It's why you haven't come." Oh, how she wished she could give him what he needed from her, but a mate bond was impossible.
"Hannah." A war raged across his mobile features. He didn't want to believe it but he fought a losing battle to deny the undeniable. She had a matter of seconds before his confusion turned to hurt. He would perceive her inability to bond with him as a rejection, and then he'd turn from her.
"Silver, shh, it's okay. Please, please look at me. Look into my eyes."
Hesitantly, he lifted his gaze to meet hers. His lips moved.
"I can't enter into a mate bond with you, but that doesn't mean I don't want you or trust you," Hannah said, urgent for him to believe her. "Look where we are right now. I haven't let another man near me in three years. In all that time, you're my first lover. I've known you less than twenty-four hours and here you have me trussed up like a turkey... That's a lot. That's trust. It has to count for something."
He considered her for an eternity, but then a slow smile curved his lips. He ducked his head, grazing her throat with his lips. "If you were a turkey, I'd have you hogtied in a different position."
"Next time," Hannah promised with a chuckle, but she crossed mental fingers. Next time—his turn. Hannah groaned, but then he surged against her, and her cry became a throaty shout.
"Next time." He pumped into her several more times in quick succession and found his own satisfaction on a final rough thrust. His entire body stiffened. His dick and balls contracted, and he succumbed to a long, drawn-out climax.
Hannah watched Silver's face intently, adoring him with her gaze. Witnessing his ecstasy, such a beautiful and intimate moment, snatched her breath from her lips. What they shared was special and unique, a union of hearts and souls. She knew then, beyond the shadow of doubt, she loved him.
As soon as Silver freed her from the tie downs, Hannah rolled onto her side and curled into a fetal position. Oppressive, all-consuming exhaustion gripped her, dragging her down toward sleep. It required all her strength to keep her eyes at half-mast. A publicity poster for Coyote Hustle hung on the wall and a snapshot had been tacked to the corner. It'd been taken at a party. Silver and his friends clustered together, all smiles and laughter. A family. His family. He'd brought her into his life and his home, and she desperately wanted to remain.
The mattress shifted when Silver dropped onto the other side of bed. He slid up behind her. He wrapped his arm about her waist and pulled her against him, pressing his chest to her back. At his tactile urging, she unfolded, opening her closed posture, and settled against him. He leaned over her shoulder and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.
"Hannah, why are you crying?" Silver's lean frame grew tense.
"Am I?" Surprised, she lifted her head off the pillow and brushed her fingers across her cheek. They came away wet.
"Is it my fault? Was I too rough?" His voice hardened with bitter self-recrimination. The horrified realization that he blamed himself startled her from her grogginess. She couldn't have him feeling bad when all guilt belonged squarely on her.
"No!" Hannah twisted around to face him. She caught his face in her hands. "Listen to me. That was one of the most beautiful experiences of my entire life and I wish I could give you what you want."
"Shh, calm down." Silver caught her arms. He pressed her wrists together into a bouquet and kissed her knuckles. "I shouldn't have pressured you like that. You're silly with stress. Once we save your grandmother, we've got nothing but time."
She closed her eyes and forced the ugly truth out, "I've been lying to you."
Silver stilled, lapsing into what she feared was judgmental silence. When he spoke, however, he offered only tenderness. He feathered his lips across hers, inhaled her breath.
"I know."
"You do?" Hannah's eyes flew open. She jerked her head back to study his face but found no clue to his innermost thoughts. If he possessed full knowledge, why wasn't he upset? He ought to be furious.
"Let me clarify. I know there's something you haven't told me yet, but not what it is. I've been waiting for you to tell me."
Thoughts racing, she found herself at a complete loss for words. She wanted to apologize and ask when and how he'd figured it out. Yet, at the same time, she figured none of that really mattered as much as finally telling him the truth.
"I have a twin sister. Her name is Fiona."
"Yeah, you've mentioned her before—" Silver stopped mid-sentence when she held up her hand.
"Fiona was helping me on the Malkin job. She was my inside man."
"What happened?" Silver's face lit with slow-dawning understanding.
"She got caught. Malkin called me. He promised to let Fiona go if I brought the box back. I had to choose between my grandma and my sister. I knew what Nana would tell me to do—she'd tell me to save Fiona. I was on my way to give the box back to Malkin when Balthazar's guys showed up. They chased me so I ran. The shooting started and you showed up with your band..."
She shrugged. He knew the rest.
"Fuck, what a mess." With a frown, Silver dragged his hand through his unruly hair, pushing it back. "Hannah, why didn't you tell me all this?"
"I was scared and confused. I didn't know you. I didn't trust you, and I was afraid if you found out what a mess I'm really in, you'd decide I was more trouble than I was worth—" She ran out of air and gasped.
"You're worth dying for." Silver lifted his hand to stroke her cheek, but she dodged his touch and turned her face aside.
"I don't deserve you." Hannah bit her lower lip so hard the flesh tore. Smarting pain radiated from the injury and she bled. She tasted coppery heat on her tongue, but her tears stung worse.
"I love you. You're meant to be my life mate."
"I already have a life mate."
Silver flinched as though struck. Quicksilver emotions crossed his face in rapid succession—disbelief at the forefront. His lips moved in a silent question while his soulful gaze pleaded with her for a quick denial. In the course of seconds, his tanned complexion grew pale.
Choking on tears, Hannah rushed her explanation. She wasn't even fully sure what she said or intended next. Words tumbled from her. "I met Nick when I was twenty. Back then I
was starry-eyed and naive. He sweet-talked me, conned me, and I fell for it. I'd only known him a couple months when I went into heat. I told him I wasn't ready for a commitment—"
"Is this the same Nick that works for Balthazar?"
She nodded.
"He's another coyote-shifter?"
Hannah trembled. She desperately wanted to assure Silver that he and Nick weren't the same in her esteem. Yes, in the beginning, the two men had seemed the same—both conmen, both coyotes. It'd taken less than an hour in Silver's company to identify their intrinsic differences, less than twelve to lose her heart to him.
"You're not like him." Hannah clutched his sides, determined to make the fact a reality for him as it was for her.
"He raped you." Hardness descended over Silver, terrifying in its intensity.
"He drugged me and seduced me. He tricked me into a mate bond and tried to use it to control me. He stole my future. I was furious. I left him and never looked back, but I'm trapped in this awful mate bond. I have nothing to offer you..." Years later, the shame of violation still hung over her. She hadn't tasted freedom from its caustic taint until Silver touched his lips to hers for their first kiss.
"Death is the only way to break a mate bond."
"That's true." She swallowed around her dry, aching throat. She wished for a drink of water but she didn't want to ask for one.
“Nick is a dead man." Silver spoke with lethal steadiness, making a vow. "I'm going to challenge him, and I'm going to kill him."
"Silver, no. I don't want to turn you into a killer."
"Hannah, look at me. Look into my eyes." He held her gaze. His dark eyes shone with pure, resolute conviction, so strong it passed out of him and into her.
She found herself nodding, even though she had no idea what she was agreeing to.
Outfoxed: A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance: Gemini Page 15