by Qwillia Rain
Dane relented, coveting the same increased pace. “Hard and fast, Ariel?”
Ariel's head bobbed up and down rapidly. “Yes. Hard. Fast.” She gazed over her shoulder at him, the passion hot in her gaze, the flush of climax in her face, the pulse of it through her body. “Please.”
“As you wish, love.” Dane smiled and leaned forward to press a kiss to the corner of her lips. He allowed his desire to rule. He pulled back, then thrust hard and deep as he relinquished control, grunting with the force of each advance and retreat until he pushed Ariel flat to the 126
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mattress, his body pressed along her back. Dane interlaced his fingers with Ariel's as they gripped the edge of the bed.
Their mingled cries and groans filled the bedroom; the scent of sweat and sex permeated the air. He held off long enough to see Ariel tumble over the edge into climax before his orgasm exploded through him. Breath ragged and senses drained, Dane had barely enough strength to roll onto his side, taking Ariel with him, his body still firmly connected to hers.
* * *
Her body ached in all the right places as Ariel lay curled in bed, with Dane tucked up against her back. At some point, he must have switched off the lamp, but the exact moment when he did so was lost in the fog of postcoital bliss. The drift of his hand along her arm and onto her waist and hip confirmed he was as awake as she was. She doubted the worries going through his head were the same ones bouncing through hers. She doubted he was bedeviled by the way her body had submitted so easily to his command. Or that her arousal only seemed heightened with every order he'd whispered in her ear. That it had only taken twelve days of hot, wicked sex to coax her into doing things she'd never let another man attempt. And she craved more. The tantalizing images played in her mind as her eyes stared at the bedroom wall. Floggers, paddles, nipple clamps, and thick, sturdy leather cuffs.
No, Ariel told herself, if he were worried about anything, it was probably how long he'd have to continue buttering up the little sister by fucking her. Or perhaps it was whether she'd quit snipping at him now that she'd let him—
“I'm curious.” His whisper and warm lips along her nape stilled the whirlwind of thoughts in her head.
Ariel shifted and rolled onto her back to stare up at him. The glow from the outside streetlights filtered through the curtains. The dim light kept the room from complete darkness, but the way he leaned over her placed his face in shadow. There was no way to know what he was thinking except to ask. “Curious about what?”
“How quiet we'll have to be once your sister gets back.” He leaned down to kiss her. The curve of his lips matched the amusement in his voice.
It was time to stop. She was becoming way too comfortable with him around. The fact that he felt at ease enough to intimate they would be together after her sister came home was too much. Too close to the fantasies she'd been building in her mind. She needed to end it. Now.
Before he did the walking away.
Ariel turned her head to break the kiss. It was easy to understand why Dane would ponder the logistics related to their being together, but not for the same reasons as she. Rolling away from his touch, she didn't think before responding. “Why would we have to be quiet? You won't be here.”
It was obvious from the way he'd phrased his question that Dane's interest remained purely sexual, nothing more. Not like her. In her head, she cursed the tears burning the backs of her eyes as she fought to keep him from knowing how his words hurt. She'd give up her kitchen before she'd admit how much she'd come to care for the bastard, when he obviously couldn't be bothered.
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Dane must have sensed something was wrong, because he reached across her to turn on the lamp. “I'm not sure I follow your logic here.” His voice took on the clipped, businesslike tone he used with obnoxious suppliers and rude customers.
Refusing to look at him, Ariel shrugged; she could feel his gaze on her. The bed shifted behind her. She guessed he had sat up, but she wasn't about to confirm her suspicions. “What's there to explain? In five days Alayna will be back, and you won't be here except when you and Logan come in for lunch.”
“That doesn't mean I'll be leaving you, Ariel. What we have—”
That brought Ariel up, the sheet pulled close to cover her nudity. “What we had was sex, Dane. Plain and simple. A little something extra to spice up the challenge you threw out.”
“That's not true.”
Ariel leaned against the headboard and shook her head. “It is. We're consenting adults who scratched an itch. That's all. And now it's time to stop.”
Dane's expression grew dark. “And if I don't want to? Stop, that is.”
“This isn't all about you. If I want it to stop, it stops. Ask any of my boyfriends.”
“I'm not one of those kids you can push around, Ariel,” Dane warned, but he made no attempt to try to intimidate her.
Why couldn't he stay on his side of the counter? I was a helluva lot better off when all I could do was fantasize about what he'd be like in bed. Pushing past the pain, Ariel ignored her wounded heart and finished what she'd started—cutting him out of her life. “Did you ever think I might get bored?” A blow to his pride would surely send him packing and make him determined never to see her again.
“Bored? Turned on, jacked up, or excited would be a better description of what you are, Tink.” The sarcasm was heavy in Dane's voice.
Ariel gave it back. “Oh please. Those were just games,” she lied. “If you're that upset about it, we can call it a draw.”
Dane's expression didn't give much away, other than his disbelief. “You don't have to lie to me, Ariel. I know admitting to enjoying submission can be frightening. Especially when your independent nature makes you believe otherwise.” He cupped her face in his hands and held her gaze.
“You don't know anything,” she denied. She prayed the sorrow, confusion, even the fear of caring too much weren't visible to his intent gaze. Let him think this was all about her not wanting to be mastered.
“I've been doing this a long time, sprite. If there's one thing I know, it's how to recognize a submissive.”
“I'm not.”
He leaned close and pressed his lips to hers. “You are. You ought to think through what would be best for you. My interest won't go away, but a woman who isn't willing to face what is essential to her and take the risk of going after it isn't a woman strong enough to be a dominatrix, let alone my submissive.”
She jerked free of his hold and spat out, “Who says I want you to be in charge all the time?”
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“You did.” He forestalled her response by adding, “Not in words, but in actions, Ariel.
Your body recognizes what you are by your very nature. Now you have to acknowledge it.”
Leaning down, he cupped her face again and pressed his lips to hers.
Something in his face told Ariel he wouldn't argue the finer points with her. He would accept her rejection. He would let her push him away. Damn it, he was going to leave. There were still five days before Alayna returned. If she returned. Ariel ignored the voice warning her that her sister could choose not to come home. The same internal voice that knew when the right ingredients had been mixed together for a fabulous new sauce or marinade.
That would leave Ariel alone. Not just temporarily. Permanently. She clenched her fists in the bedding to keep from reaching out to Dane. To stop herself from latching on to him and begging him to stay. To not leave her.
Pulling back, he shook his head. “You'll never be happy until you unleash the woman you are, Tink. Whether with me or another Dom later in your life, it's important to let that part of yourself free.”
She stayed silent as he climbed from the bed, dressed, and walked out. The soft snick of the latch on the front door released her paralysis. Ariel slid down the bed and rolled into the warm spot Dane had occupied. I knew he'd go. I
t was only a matter of time. I don't need him. I don't need anyone. I'm safer this way.
Ariel stared at the wall, tried to believe what she told herself, and ignore the tears wetting her cheeks.
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Chapter Fourteen
Day 30
If Ariel had known how hard it would be to pull herself out of bed for the last five days, she doubted she would have. Knowing how much her sister was counting on her to keep the café going, Ariel had shown up each morning, but the fun wasn't there. Dane's parting words resounded in her head so many times, she wondered if she would ever be able to turn them off.
What was worse was how right he was.
Damn him.
And she missed him.
Damn him again.
Ariel dragged her stainless steel bowl from the rack, ignoring the fact that she'd been in the process of cleaning up after a busy lunch rush. DeeDee and Sadie had seen the last customers out an hour earlier, and the rattle of salt and pepper shakers confirmed they were tidying up the dining area. She set the temp on the lower oven, twisted the switch to Bake, and started to gather the components for Alayna's favorite double-fudge brownies.
“We need to talk.”
At Sadie's no-nonsense tone, Ariel turned from the pile of ingredients on the central island.
“What's wrong?”
“You are.” DeeDee huffed, pulled one of the stools to the station, and settled onto it.
Sadie collected the other stool and sat beside her coworker. “Yes, you.”
“What did I do?” By memory, Ariel measured and poured the ingredients into the bowl.
“You've been moping around here for the last couple of days. Even the customers have commented on it,” DeeDee explained.
“I have not—”
Sadie shook her head. “You have. And Dane hasn't been any better.”
Ariel cursed the way her body reacted to the sound of his name. “What has he been doing?”
“Nothing.” DeeDee frowned.
“Nothing?”
Sadie nodded. “He hasn't stopped to chat or talk to anyone. He comes in, goes to the office for a few hours, and leaves.”
“I haven't seen him—”
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DeeDee threw up her hands. “That's the problem, Ariel. You haven't seen him, and he hasn't seen you. What the hell did you do?”
“Me? Why is this my fault?” Ariel demanded.
“Well, you were the one always pushing him and making comments to get under his skin,”
Sadie started.
“Then last week it was like, whoa, you two couldn't stay away from each other.” DeeDee giggled.
Ariel shuffled her feet and fiddled with the measuring spoons beside the bowl, embarrassed that her attraction to Dane had been so obvious.
Sadie leaned an elbow on the counter and propped her chin in her hand. “Yeah, I was afraid I'd walk in on the two of you doing the wild thing on the desk in the office.”
“Or against the walk-in refrigerator,” DeeDee added.
Ariel could feel her face flush. If they suspected what Dane and she had done in the dining area, they'd never let her hear the end of it.
“I don't know what happened between you two, Ari, but you better fix this,” Sadie ordered.
“There's nothing to fix.” Ariel denied.
DeeDee moved to the food-recycling bin and tipped it toward her. “Liar. If there weren't something to fix, why did you ruin six dozen oatmeal-raisin cookies and two dozen double-chocolate cupcakes?”
“So I overcooked a few things.” She shrugged, refusing to admit how distracted she'd been.
“You never overcook things, Ariel,” Sadie pointed out.
“I have—”
“When?” DeeDee and Sadie asked in unison as they looked at her.
DeeDee added, “In the six years I've been working here, I haven't once seen you burn toast, let alone the number of cookies and cupcakes you have today.”
“If it had been Alayna, I would have expected it, but not you,” Sadie agreed.
“I'm making up for lost time,” Ariel sniped back.
“You're frustrated as hell and refuse to fix your screwup with the man in the office.”
DeeDee snorted.
“He's here?” Ariel didn't doubt the other woman. Her body had been tingling for nearly an hour. The sensation was similar to the sting of shock when she was little and would drag her feet across carpet and then touch something made of metal.
Both nodded as they turned to collect their coats and purses from the tiny lockers near the back door. “He came in about an hour ago,” DeeDee told her.
“And he looks as miserable as you,” Sadie added as she flipped her ponytail over her shoulder after she shrugged into her coat.
“If he's so miserable, why can't he be the one to talk to me?” Ariel asked as she followed the waitresses to the front door.
Sadie smiled and patted Ariel's shoulder as if calming a mentally confused person.
“Because you've had your panties in a twist about the man since he walked in the door.”
“I have not,” Ariel lied.
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“You have. And you've done everything but put a gun to his head to drive him away,”
DeeDee pointed out.
Ariel couldn't deny that. She had made every effort to push Dane out the door. To keep him from replacing her sister in the office. To keep from letting him have a piece of her heart.
“If you won't do it for yourself, Ariel. Do it for us,” Sadie suggested.
“For you two?”
DeeDee nodded. “Yeah. Since the two of you have stopped sniping at each other, business has dropped off, and the tips aren't as good.”
Stunned at the remark, Ariel didn't have a chance to respond as both girls slipped out the door and walked away. Their laughter carried back to her as she closed and locked the café's front door.
Had she and Dane really been putting on a performance for the customers, Ariel wondered as she headed back into the kitchen. She didn't allow herself to glance down the hall toward the office, where a light shone under the closed door.
She stared at the ingredients for her sister's favorite treat on the counter. Needing the routine of cooking to help her process, Ariel mixed up the batch of brownies, spread the batter in a baking pan, and put it in the oven.
As she cleaned up the station and gathered the fixings for the fudgy frosting, Ariel took the time to seriously contemplate the past few days.
“I'm not that miserable,” she muttered as she mixed the icing, covered it, and set it aside.
At the sink, she rinsed, then stacked the dishes and tools into the dishwasher. “So what if I spend all my free time sleeping? And I'm tired of having to be here at the crack of dawn every day.” But you used to like that.
“I just have to take some time to get past this. I've dumped other boyfriends before,” she grumbled as she wiped down the counters and tidied the different stations. You've never acted like this with any of those guys. You can't even sit down at the kitchen table to eat.
“I like eating while I watch TV,” Ariel retorted, although she knew it wasn't true. “And so what if I've been sleeping on the sofa? Nothing says I have to sleep in my room. I'm a grown-up.”
Who won't admit the man she loves makes her want to give in to his every command.
“That is not true.” Ariel argued with herself. “I never said I didn't like letting him be in charge. I only said—Oh never mind.” She pushed the thoughts away and checked on the brownies. She switched off the oven, pulled the pan out, and set the finished dessert on a cooling rack. “It takes strength to admit when you're wrong,” she muttered to herself. It's not that I was wrong, so much as—Ariel didn't try to finish the thought. “I was afraid of what he makes me feel.” The stool Sadie had used was next to Ariel, so she settled onto it.
“I'm still afraid.”
* * *
Dane didn't turn from the spreadsheet on the screen when he heard the muted voices in the front of the eatery. He glanced at the clock on the computer and confirmed the noise came from the departure of the two waitresses. Which meant Ariel had locked the door and was ready to shut down the kitchen.
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The smell of chocolate drifted into the room. It stirred memories of the first lesson he'd received about the stuff. It also drew to mind the last night he'd spent with Ariel and the rich flavor of the cookies she'd fed him for dessert. His cock twitched and began to ache as his thoughts conjured images of Ariel as they made love—her face flushed, lips swollen from his kisses, her body tight around his, drawing him deeper, milking every drop of life from him.
Dane pulled his glasses off, rubbed at his eyes, and cursed softly. He'd known she'd be a pain in the ass. Her sister had warned him to watch out for her. But damn it, Ariel Valerian wasn't supposed to worm her way into his soul. He was nearly forty. He had been happily single and enjoying his life until that blue-haired sprite had come along.
And that argument. Where the hell had all that crap come from about calling a draw on the challenge they had? He hadn't made any comments even remotely associated with ending the challenge or leaving. He knew Logan would bring Alayna back today, not for another hour or so, but he knew Ariel's big sister was on her way home. He had wondered how they could continue to see each other, and Ariel had blown it all out of proportion. As if she was scared and determined to be the first one to walk away.
That thought gave Dane pause. He'd been aware how reluctant Ariel was to face the submissive side of her nature. Yes, there were dominant elements to her personal makeup, but the overriding one was sub. He'd seen and developed it in too many other people to not see it in the woman he loved.
Ah shit! He winced. I used that word about a woman. Not that he wasn't willing to admit how he felt about Ariel. He just worried she would refuse to reciprocate on pure mulish, stubborn principle.
“Sitting around here won't get her to admit to anything except she likes to cook and thinks the only good man is a silent one,” Dane groused as he made a final glance at the chart in front of him.