Walking over to the settee in the corner of the room, I unzipped the black duffle bag that held Krystina's clothes. I removed a pair of jeans, a cream-colored wool sweater, and fresh undergarments. I laid everything out neatly on the bed.
“This should keep you warm enough, but there is another sweatshirt in the bag if you think you'll be needing it.”
She stepped up to the bed and ran her hands over the jeans contemplatively.
“No. This should be fine,” she murmured quietly. She looked conflicted and seemed unusually nervous.
I swore to myself.
Dammit! Now what's going on in her head?
I wished it were easier to figure out what she was thinking. I hated that I rarely knew.
Is she possibly feeling shy about undressing in front of me?
If that was the case, then she was being ridiculous. I had already seen every beautiful inch of her bare flesh. But despite what I thought, I realized that offering her a bit of privacy might put her more at ease. I was about to mention it, but stopped short when she began to undress.
My breath immediately caught in my throat.
There she stood, unbuttoning her damp blouse and allowing it to slowly slide down her shoulders. I froze, completely mesmerized by the stunning woman before me.
It was easy to tell that her movements were not meant to be provocative, and that she was just trying to keep the chilly material away from her skin. But no matter what her intentions were, it was all I could do to keep myself from throwing her down on the bed and possessing her. She defined the meaning of perfection. Desire gripped at me and I suppressed a groan.
Tearing my eyes away from her delicate and creamy skin, I gathered my own things to change into. Feeling frustrated, I stripped out of my current attire and tossed everything into a pile. Pulling on a new pair of jeans, I fastened the button of the Armani denim and secured my belt. I was extra careful not to glance in her direction. For I knew that only one look at her half naked body and it would be all over.
I pulled a t-shirt over my head. When my head slipped through the neck hole, I was completely blindsided by the sight that greeted me. I staggered back a step. Krystina had moved her position slightly and was once again in my line of sight. She stood with her back to me, neatly folding her damp clothes into a stack, wearing nothing but a sweater and panties.
My eyes ran up the length of her flawless legs and settled on the curvature of her impeccable ass. A vision of those limbs wrapped around me flooded my brain.
Not yet.
But then she bent over to slip in to her jeans, and any will power that I had was thrown to the wayside.
To hell with this. I'm not made of fucking iron.
I closed the distance between us in three short strides, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back against my chest.
“Alex –,” she started to say.
“Shh. Don't, angel. Please,” I implored. “I need to feel you.”
I was precariously close to begging, something that I had never done in my life, but it didn't matter. I wanted her more than I ever wanted her before. It was an unexplainable need of epic proportions. Perhaps it was the weeks we had spent apart. I didn't know. I only knew that I was desperate to be inside her. To feel her velvet heat.
Sliding my hands under her sweater, I cupped her breasts from behind.
Christ...she doesn’t have her bra on.
I twisted each nipple for a moment, relishing the weight of her bare breasts in my hands, before spinning her around. Lifting the sweater from her body, I tossed it aside and took a ridged peak into my mouth. She gasped in surprise, but she didn't fight me as I sucked and rolled her around my tongue. Instead, she tilted her head back and released a small sigh, while I said a silent thanks to all that was divine for giving me this moment. For giving me this woman.
Moving up to claim her mouth, I pushed my tongue passed her waiting lips and devoured her. She moaned, the vibration from her lips sending an electric shock straight to my groin.
“Wait – wait, Alex,” she said pulling back, as if all of a sudden remembering herself. “We can't.”
I was past the point of no return. Can't was not in my vocabulary. Waiting was not an option. Cruise control had turned into overdrive and I was fully engaged.
“Tell me that you don't want this,” I murmured into her mouth, grazing my teeth over her lips. “And tell me like you mean it.”
I worked my way down her neck, savoring the feel of her pulse hammering beneath her skin as I breathed in her scent. She smelled like rain-kissed vanilla.
“I...I can't tell you that, but –.”
“No but's. Don't think. Do you want this?” I whispered as I nipped up her neck to her earlobe. She lolled her head to the side and allowed me better access. I pulled her tighter against me and she sighed her appreciation. I knew then that I had her.
“Yes,” she finally conceded.
I didn't hesitate for a second after gaining her consent. I crushed my mouth against hers again. I wanted to kiss her senseless. I didn't want her to think or to question anymore.
Lifting her up, I wrapped those glorious legs around my waist and pinned her against the wall. The heat of her sex through the lace panties pressed against my abdomen. She pushed forward, grinding against me, telling me that her need was hot. I could have buried my cock in her right then. Against the wall. To drive into her like the wild animal that she made me. But she merited better than that. Krystina deserved to be worshipped.
Carrying her to the bed, I laid her down on the silver and blue satin comforter. Moving down her body, my tongue raked across her skin like a needle on vinyl, arousing sensual sounds from her with every rotation and creating music for my ears. I slowly and deliberately pulled her panties down her legs, adoring every inch of her as I went. I trailed kisses up her legs, savoring the delicious taste of her skin.
“Oh, angel,” I said, pressing my cheek against her inner thigh. “Do you know how much I thought about you when we were apart? The number of endless nights that I spent missing you? How many nights went by, Krystina?”
When she didn't answer, I nipped hard at her thigh with my teeth. Hard enough to make it hurt.
“Thirteen,” she squeaked out. “Thirteen nights.”
My face hovered over her glistening sex, her lips lush, pink, and inviting. I was happy to see that she had maintained a smooth shave even in my absence. I blew softly and she began to pant.
“Thirteen too many. I won't spend another night apart from you again. Do you understand?”
“Alex –.”
I swiped my tongue over her clit and her breath hitched.
“Do you understand?”
“That can't – I can't –,” she sputtered.
But I would not be denied. Burying my face in her soaking wet heat, her back arched and she cried out, the persistent motion of my tongue silencing whatever words she was trying to say.
I reached up and took hold of her breasts, gratified to feel her nipples pebble under my palms. I twisted and pulled at the taut peaks. The pulsing in her clit signaled that she was already near release, but I kept her on edge and didn't allow her to come. I circled and teased as her hands fisted at the sheets that were now balled up around us. I deliberately drove her to the point of madness, not wanting her to be able to deny me when I asked again.
I pulled away suddenly, leaving her gasping for air and confused as to why I stopped.
“Not another night alone. Do you understand?” I repeated. Her breath was ragged when she looked down at me, eyes wild and full of passion. She reached to push my head back to her sweet spot, but I shifted so that I was just out of her reach. “Do you understand?”
She threw her head back on the pillow in frustration before looking to me again. Her cheeks were flushed and her gaze was desperate. I could see the desire pooled in the depths of her eyes. But I could also see conflict. I held my breath in anticipation, although I was fairly confident that she wo
uld give in.
“Not another night alone,” she finally said.
“Not. One.”
I shoved her legs up roughly and spread her wide. Then I devoured her. I ate her like a starving man who could not get his fill. And I couldn't. Until my dying day, I would never have enough of Krystina.
Within seconds, I could feel the throbbing of her clit intensify. Not a moment later, she cried out and exploded over my tongue. Her juices, the sweetest of all nectars, coated my lips as I suckled every last drop of her release.
I felt a tremble course down her legs, and I smiled in satisfaction.
She's going to need a minute or two to come down from that one.
Taking advantage of her lithe state, I got off the bed to undress. Removing my belt, I placed it on the bed before shedding my boxers and pants. My cock sprung free, happy to finally be released from the confines of the restricting jeans. Climbing back onto the bed, I straddled her waist. She looked up sleepily at me.
“You're a sneaky bastard. Do you know that?”
A low chuckle reverberated through me.
“Oh, baby. I've only just gotten started.”
Taking hold of her wrists with one hand, I reached back and grabbed my belt with the other. I wrapped the leather around her hands to bind them together, and then used the remaining slack to secure her to the bedpost.
This is a mistake. I should keep it vanilla for now.
Strapping her to the bed was a risk. It may have felt normal for me, but I didn’t want to push the kink after what happened at Club O.
I looked back to her face to see if she showed any level of resistance. Her lips were parted slightly and her eyes were dark with want. She showed no sign of unease.
“Are your hands comfortable?”
“Everything is just fine, Mr. Stone,” she said deviously with a wanton smile. “Now that you have me all tied up, what are you going to do with me?”
I returned her lascivious grin.
“I'm going to bury my cock inside you. Deep. I need to feel you. I need you to feel me. All of me.”
I slid my hand down her belly and over her mound to find her wet slit. One finger. Two fingers. I slowly and deliberately stretched her, preparing her for my invasion. I wasn't going to hold back. She would feel all of me, something that I had held back in doing because I feared that I might hurt her.
When I felt that she was ready, I positioned myself at her waiting entrance and slowly eased my way in. Her breath caught and her mouth went slack as she absorbed each stab of pleasure. I moved slowly, in and out, working her into a desperate frenzy.
“Alex, make me come again. Please! I need to come around you!”
“I've got you, angel. You will,” I kissed the sides of her face, down her neck and shoulders. I continued to push further and further until she began to tense a bit from the pressure of me being so deep. “Relax your body. Take all of me. You can do it.”
She exhaled and closed her eyes. Grabbing her right leg, I brought it up over my shoulder. I pushed forward another inch. Then another. I didn't stop until the tip of my cock was pressing against her very core.
“Oh!” she gasped in shock.
White-hot pleasure rocketed through my veins as the walls of her vagina constricted to adjust to me. She wrapped me in heat, pulsing with desire.
“I'm going to move now. Feel me, Krystina.”
I pulled back slowly and then drove home again. And again.
“Alex!” she screamed out. Her body writhed with pleasure, her climax already vibrating around my cock. But I didn't stop. I pounded into her over and over, taking all that I could. Giving all that I could.
I wanted to flip her and take her from behind, to make her ass a rosy pink with my palm, but I didn't want to give up my view. She was like a goddess with her head thrown back in passion. Her lush curls splayed over the pillow. Her breasts bouncing as I rode her.
Instead, I pushed her leg up higher and gave her bottom a light smack.
“Yes!” she screamed out. “Again!”
Holy fuck.
To think that I was worried for a moment about taking the kink too far, but now here she was, shocking me to hell by asking for more.
I smacked her again, this time a little harder. I gauged her reactions and continued with her encouragement. With every spank, she increased her movements, matching me thrust for thrust. Her enthusiasm brought our lovemaking to new heights.
Lovemaking? Since when did it stop being a fuck?
I pushed away the unexpected thought, not wanting to dwell on it while in the heat of the moment.
She pulled at the belt restraint and matched my every thrust, rocking and moaning, as I possessed her. I took her higher and higher, until all at once I felt her stiffen as a third climax rocketed through her body. Her sex tightened like a vice around me and I knew that I wouldn't last much longer.
I gripped her hips hard.
“Krystina, I'm right there!” I hissed through clenched teeth.
“Let me feel it deep. Please, Alex!”
Her spectacular cry was enough to send me over the edge. My mind went blank, before a bright awareness spread through me. I plunged deep and held position, allowing my seed to erupt into the intimate recesses of her body. My connection to the phenomenal woman beneath me was complete.
I collapsed down on top of her, panting and sated. After several minutes, our breathing returned to a somewhat normal rhythm. I reluctantly rolled to the side and unbuckled her hands. There were red marks on her wrists.
“You shouldn't pull so hard on the restraints. You could injure yourself,” I scolded as I tried to massage the redness away.
When I released her, she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me close. She let out a sigh of contentment and began to trace small circles on my back with her fingertips.
“I shouldn't have walked away,” she told me. “It was a gut reaction and I wasn't thinking clearly. I realize that now. I know that we have a lot to talk about, but I want to start out by saying that I'm sorry that I didn't give us a chance. I won't run again, Alex. I love being with you too much.”
I felt my heart tighten.
Love?
There was that word again.
It's pillow talk. She didn't say that she loves me, but only that she loved being with me.
I tried to push it away once again, only for it to come roaring back with a vengeance. It didn't matter what Krystina meant with her statement. The certainty lied with me.
I do love her.
Fuck.
How in the hell did I allow that to happen?
Not sure what to do with the sudden discovery, I said nothing. This was a first for me and I could barely even think, let alone process it. I only knew that I could not say the words out loud. At least not yet, not while I was in such a vulnerable position. The clock was ticking. I had my moment with her. Now it was time to talk.
It was time for Krystina to learn the truth.
CHAPTER 6
I lay there in Alexander's arms feeling very conflicted over the events of the evening. Overall, my emotions were a befuddled mess. Everything had evolved so fast. In fact, fast was the best word to describe our entire relationship. And complicated.
I should not have had sex with him again so soon, but I also felt like it was a necessity. It was as if it was a hurdle that we needed to overcome before we could move forward. My heart was bursting with joy, yet I felt like crying tears of sadness at the same time. I was confused about how I should feel.
Don't think.
That's what Alexander had said to me, and he was right to do so. My tendency to overthink everything was constantly getting in the way. Perhaps he knew me better than I gave him credit for. I only wished that I had the ability to shut my mind off, like the flipping of a light switch. Unfortunately, that was not the way I was built.
Resuming our physical relationship was a game changer, and I knew it would be impossible for me to walk away from hi
m a second time. I had meant what I said about not running again. My plans to deal with my own troubled past had been thrown out the window the minute he kissed me on the side of the highway. It didn't matter that there were trust concerns between us and I didn't care that he was clinging to secrets. Lying naked in his arms broke every shred of determination that I was narrowly hanging on to, and it was because he was different.
I couldn't point out what it was exactly. Alexander had always been a generous lover, but he had given more this time. It wasn't just sex. There was an emotional connection that hadn't been there before and I didn't know how to sort it out.
Just go with it. Everything will be okay.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and willed away the angst. It was high time I stopped getting lost in my own head. Attempting to settle into the comfort of Alexander's arms, I focused on his hand that was lightly massaging the top of my head. I pulled him closer, appreciating the feel of his warm and naked skin.
Yes. Everything will work out just fine.
“So,” Alexander began. “Allyson mentioned that you were at a job interview today. Tell me about it.”
Damn her!
“I'm just exploring my options,” I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. I knew where this was headed.
“The text that I sent you last week – that offer still stands. The job at Turning Stone is still yours. I want you to take the position, Krystina.”
“I don't know what to do,” I confessed truthfully.
“What is your gut telling you to do? Or in your case, what are your angel and devil telling you to do?” he teased. He poked me in the ribs and I jumped.
“Hey! Cut it out!” I exclaimed, completely embarrassed that he was bringing up the angel and the devil; the childlike subconscious that I foolishly admitted to during a drunken stupor. “Don't make fun of me, Alex.”
“Well?”
He waited patiently for my answer. I thought hard, searching for the right path to take. I still didn't know what to do. I knew that I wanted to give our relationship another shot. That alone was a huge leap. I just wasn't sure if I wanted to stake my financial future on something that may not work out in the end.
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