His to Claim

by Shelly Bell

  Unless maybe that man was shirtless…

  Maddox’s eyes drifted shut and his mouth slackened. Ryder continued to rock him as he removed the bottle. “He smells so good. Like…baby powder and hope.”

  Her heart fluttered. “I wasn’t aware hope has a smell.”

  “Well it does, and it smells like Maddox.”

  There was a brief knock before Dreama walked into the room. “I’m going to bed. Why don’t I have him sleep in the bassinet in my room so you two can chat?”

  Right. Jane and Ryder still needed to talk about how they wanted to proceed with regard to Maddox. Although at that moment, the last thing she wanted to do with Ryder was chat. She was acutely aware that Ryder was in her bedroom.

  “That would be great. Thanks. I’ll get him in a little while,” Jane said.

  Dreama took Maddox from Ryder and gave her a smile. “No rush.” On a wink, she left the room, closing the door behind her.

  Now that she and Ryder were alone, she didn’t know what to say. Where to begin. She stood by the changing table and fidgeted with the hem of her blouse.

  She couldn’t believe she was here with him. After the wedding, she thought he’d run as far away as he could from her and Maddox. But he hadn’t. He’d run straight to them with both arms open.

  Ryder got up from the rocking chair and moved closer to her, heat banked in his eyes. She recognized that look. The one that made her feel as if she were the sole focus of his world. “He’s beautiful, Jane.”

  She discreetly wiped her sweaty palms on her pants. “He is.”

  “So is his mother.” He curled his hand around her neck and brushed his thumb across the front of her throat. “There’s something about you, Jane. Something…different.”

  “Different good or different bad?” she asked, her voice coming out as a husky whisper.

  “Good.” He nodded and swallowed. “Definitely good. There’s something you should know about me.” His brows pinched. “Something you’ve gotten a glimpse of that I’d like to explore with you.”

  “You’re talking about BDSM, aren’t you?” At his quizzical look, she shrugged. “I kind of figured it out. Dreama and I have had long talks about BDSM, so I’m not shocked. I know she goes to play parties and that she considers herself a sexual submissive.”

  “Then hopefully it won’t shock you that some of those play parties were at my house. In my basement playroom.”

  Shocked? No. But a white-hot slice of jealousy lanced her chest.

  “You’re a Dom?” she asked.

  “No.” The hand around her neck slid upward so that it cupped the back of her head. “I usually refer to myself as a top, but I’m not into any kind of formal power exchange. I like bondage, mainly restraining women with ropes and—”

  “Sashes.”

  He smiled at her reminder of their night at the hotel. “And sashes. And anything else that’s handy.”

  She unintentionally squeezed her thighs together to relieve the growing pressure between her legs. “Why do you enjoy that? I mean, I get why the person restrained would enjoy it—”

  “My goal is to bring as much pleasure as I can to a woman.” As if he were sharing a secret, he lowered his head so that their faces were inches apart. “It’s almost as if I see it as a personal challenge. Bondage, blindfolding, gagging, they all reduce the senses, which can heighten the remaining senses. Not being able to touch me, or to speak, or to see, will allow you to focus on the sensation of whatever it is I’m doing to you. The same thing with impact play. I’m not a sadist. I don’t get off on inflicting pain on someone else. I get off on the pleasure that pain causes.”

  Pain was pain. Wasn’t it?

  “I’m not sure I understand the difference,” she said.

  “Did you enjoy it when I spanked you?”

  She tried to look away, but his hold on the back of her neck remained firm. “Um…yeah.”

  “If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it either.”

  She recalled the feel of him underneath her as he’d spanked her. “But you got hard—”

  “I was already hard for you, Jane.” His voice came out rough, gritty, almost like a growl. “But yeah, my dick really got off on your moans and cries and the fact that you were soaking my thighs with your excitement.”

  Speaking of soaked thighs…

  Her inner walls clenched at the knowledge that her arousal turned him on. “Does that make me a masochist because I like to be spanked?”

  “I didn’t really smack you that hard. Just enough to pinken up your skin but not hard enough to leave bruises.”

  Did she want him to leave bruises? She liked the idea of him leaving evidence on her body of their time together. Maybe bruises in the form of his fingertips on her hips from gripping her too hard as he lost himself in her body. Or those bruises resulting from biting and sucking her skin. But from a spanking?

  Maybe?

  Dreama was a self-proclaimed “pain slut” who loved the rush of endorphins she experienced from pain. For her, the higher the pain, the harder she climaxed. Luckily, she’d never come across anyone who’d taken advantage of her. But it wasn’t uncommon for her to come home from a party with welts and bruises. Jane didn’t understand the need to take it as far as Dreama liked to go. But she couldn’t deny that Ryder’s bare hand smacking her ass excited her. “So you don’t want to…hurt me?” she asked.

  “Hurting you is the last thing I want to do,” Ryder said, caressing her lower lip with his thumb. “But seeing you restrained to one of my spanking benches where I can have your ass and pussy at the right angle and level I want…” His eyelids grew hooded. “Yeah. I’d like that a lot.”

  Goose bumps dotted her arms as she visualized herself bound and helpless. “Despite my actions the night we met and at the wedding, I’m not the type who would have sex with someone I’m not dating.” At least she didn’t think so. In practice, she’d only ever had sex with Ryder, making her exactly that type.

  “I’m flattered to be the exception, but I would hate for you to go against your values.” His lips hovered over hers. “I guess that means we’re dating.”

  Liquid heat pooled in her belly. She could barely catch her breath as she anticipated his next move. “Yeah?”

  “Consider tonight our third date.”

  “You know what that means, don’t you?”

  His mouth brushed lazily over hers. “Why don’t you tell me so there’s no confusion?”

  She playfully bit down on his lower lip. “You’re about to get lucky.”

  He grabbed her wrists with his hands and pushed her back into the wall, and then with an almost brutal intensity, seized her mouth as if it belonged to him. His lips were powerful. Strong. And yet, somehow, oh so soft. His kiss slowed, mellowed. He teased her with the tip of his tongue, offering her a small taste before darting it away.

  She moaned and rose up onto her tiptoes to rub her aching core against his hardness, but he stopped, stepping back and leaving her desperate.

  She wanted more. Needed more. He tasted like the wine from dinner, tart and spicy mixed with what she’d always recognize now as Ryder’s unique flavor. She’d thought by now they’d be naked on the bed, halfway to climax, but Ryder seemed to be on his own timetable.

  His lips trailed a sensuous path down her neck, sucking, and licking, and biting. She squirmed in his hold, struggling to touch him, but he refused to let go, making it clear to her who held the control.

  And it wasn’t her.

  His breathing accelerated as she fought to get free, making it clear that he was definitely getting off on restraining her.

  As if she was afraid, her heart thumped almost violently against her chest and her throat grew thick. But at the same time, her clit throbbed and her folds dampened.

  “Take off your clothes, sweet Jane.”

  If her struggling turned him on, what would he do if she refused? She couldn’t wait to find out. “Make me.” Ready to run, she twisted
out of his arms and dodged away, only to be caught and tugged into his chest.

  “You want to play?” He bit the sensitive skin just above her collarbone. “I’m game. Just remember, you asked for it.” He swung her around and shoved her facedown onto the bed. Placing his knee on her lower back, he held her down as he pulled up her shirt and unclasped her bra.

  Shivers of arousal racked her body as his heat seeped into her and his fingers brushed her skin. She didn’t make it easy for him, wanting to see how far he’d take it.

  She lay prone, as still as a rock, not giving him an inch but not resisting either. Ryder grabbed the base of her ponytail and wrenched her head back, before tearing the shirt off over her shoulders and leaving it bunched over her upper arms, using it as a makeshift restraint.

  He slid down her body, caging her in between his legs. In one swift motion, he jerked her pants and underwear down her legs. For a moment, neither of them moved. Except for their heavy breathing, the room was silent.

  She heard the slap before she felt the sting on her left butt cheek.

  “Son of a—”

  The slap on the other cheek mirrored the first.

  This wasn’t like the spanking he’d given her before. This actually hurt. Not enough to make her cry, but enough that she wouldn’t enjoy it.

  “You play, you pay,” he said as if it was a threat. Which of course, it wasn’t. Because she’d asked for this, hadn’t she? “You want me to stop, you say the word ‘red,’ you got me?”

  “Yes,” she gritted out as he smacked her backside again.

  “Repeat it back to me. What word do you say to get me to stop, Jane?”

  “Red. Like my poor ass is right now.”

  He laughed. “Not quite there yet. Do you know why I’m spanking you?”

  “Because you’re a sadist?”

  “Hardly.” Instead of slapping her, his touch softened, his fingers rubbing her cheeks lightly. “There are two reasons. First, I’m punishing you because you refused to undress when I told you to. And in the bedroom, sweet Jane, I’m the boss.”

  Shivering at his proclamation, she looked over her shoulder at him. “Okay, Mr. I’m Not a Dominant. What’s the second reason?”

  A challenge reflected in his eyes. “You wanted me to. Am I right, Jane?”

  TWELVE

  Ryder had told himself they could stay platonic.

  Liar.

  As long as they didn’t tell anyone and kept their relationship a secret from Keane, Ryder could protect her and Maddox.

  Tonight, in this room, it was only them. Top and bottom. Two lovers safely playing. Discovering. His sweet Jane had shown hints of a wild side. By refusing to undress for him, she’d practically begged for a punishment. Now bent over her bed, hands bound with her shirt and her ass a beautiful shade of red, she was ready to admit to it. “Yes,” she said, confirming his suspicion. “I wanted to see what you would do.”

  “And now that you know? Will you disrespect my wishes again in the bedroom?”

  She turned her face away from him, but he didn’t miss the cheeky smile on her face. “Probably.”

  He’d show her cheeky.

  Chuckling, he squeezed the globes of her ass and pulled them apart, exposing that secret part of her to his view. His cock hardened to the point of pain as he thought about how tight she’d be inside there. “You’re going to be a handful, aren’t you?”

  “If you’re lucky.” She jerked as he tucked his pinky between her cheeks and crouched behind her to get closer.

  He dragged his tongue up her crack, adding some lubrication to ease his next move.

  “What are you doing?” She swept out her leg, attempting to move away from him.

  He bit the bottom of her butt cheek in warning. “Stop or I’ll give you another ten spanks, only this time, I’ll give them to your pussy, and I’ll make sure that they fucking hurt.” He continued his mission and laved her hole before sliding his pinky in to his first knuckle. She moaned and pushed her ass out, which to him, was like an invitation for more. Unfortunately, it was an invitation he’d have to postpone for another time. “I can’t wait to claim this ass.”

  “Claim it?” Her voice wavered.

  Hell yes. When it came to Jane, he felt like a fucking caveman, ready to fight anyone who dared put his hands on her. “I want all of you.” He wiggled his finger around to give her an idea of how sensitive the area was and how much she had to look forward to in the near future. “What makes you think I’ll let you?” she asked sassily.

  “Aw, sweet, sweet Jane.” He replaced his pinky with his thumb and pushed it all the way in, enjoying the way she gasped at the invasion. “Because underneath the businesswoman persona that you show the world, you’re a dirty girl who’s been waiting for the right man to bring her out.”

  Her muscles clenched around his thumb. “And you think that man is you?”

  “Why don’t you sit on my face and find out?”

  “I don’t know what that means,” she said quietly.

  He momentarily froze. Even knowing she was sexually inexperienced, he hadn’t anticipated how much she had to learn.

  And how much he was going to enjoy teaching her.

  “Give me a moment and I’ll show you. Don’t move until I tell you.” He removed his thumb and quickly snatched a baby wipe off the changing table to clean his hands. When he returned to her, he tugged her shirt off her arms, freeing her from her makeshift bonds. Staring at her ass and weirdly proud of the way it glowed from his hands, he retrieved a condom from his wallet and took off his clothes until he was as naked as Jane. Then he went to the side of the bed and lay down in the middle. After scooting down a few inches, he grabbed a pillow and tucked it under his head.

  Jane eyed him warily.

  “Come up here,” he ordered. Frowning with confusion, she crawled up the bed beside his body. “Now put your knees next to my ears.”

  Her eyes widened and her lips parted. “Oh.”

  She got it now.

  A blush stained her cheeks. He would’ve laughed at her naïveté, but he didn’t want to offend her and it would probably kill the mood. Besides, he was too busy salivating over the pink flesh she exposed as she spread her legs and lifted herself over his chest.

  Her dark curls were slick with proof of her arousal.

  He couldn’t wait another second to taste her.

  “Bring your pussy directly over my mouth and hold on to the top of the headboard. If you let go, I’ll stop.” He flashed her a grin. “And, Jane, something tells me you definitely won’t want me to stop.”

  Hesitating, she bit her lip, and for a second he thought she might not do it. Although he’d tasted her before, this position was much more intimate and obviously made her uncomfortable.

  Bet it would only take thirty seconds before he tongue-fucked the uncomfortable straight out of her.

  Gaze locked with his, she slid up his chest, leaving a wet trail along the way, until her sex hovered right over his lips. She reached out and gripped the headboard, putting her at the perfect angle for him to eat her.

  Good thing because he was starving.

  On a growl, he gripped her inner thighs and swiped the flat of his tongue from her opening to her fully exposed clit. All it would take was a few swirls of his tongue on it and she’d come for him. But he wasn’t ready for her to blow quite yet. Not until she was writhing and begging above him, desperate for her release.

  His cock was throbbing and dripping with precum, but for the first time, he craved his lover’s release more than his own. He dove in, thrusting his tongue as deep as it could go and then flicking it until he found a spot that caused Jane to buck and moan. Using his hands, he forced Jane up and brought her back down, helping her find a rhythm that would drive her out of her mind. She caught on quickly and rode his tongue as if it were his cock, grinding on it and swerving her hips.

  “It’s not enough,” she wailed with her head thrown back in pleasure. “Fuck me, Ryder
. I need you to fuck me.”

  Hell yeah, he was gonna fuck her. “Not until you come in my mouth.” He strummed her needy clit under his thumb and within seconds, felt her channel spasm around his tongue. A rush of liquid bathed his mouth. It tasted different than her arousal. Sweeter. More potent. More…Jane.

  On a loud sigh, she lifted herself off his mouth and fell onto the mattress beside him. Her hair was plastered to the side of her sweaty face and her cheeks were red from exertion. She looked well fucked.

  Well wasn’t good enough.

  “On your hands and knees. Ass facing me,” he ordered gruffly.

  She gave him a lazy smile and, as he snagged the condom off the nightstand, followed his directions without complaint.

  His cock twitched when he saw her ass was still red. She was definitely going to feel it tomorrow. Satisfaction filled him from knowing that every time she sat down, she’d think of him.

  Doggy-style fucking might seem a bit tame for the average person, but it was all new to Jane. Besides, once he got her into his own bed, he’d explore all the creative ways to fuck her. He could just see her hanging from his ceiling, her legs wide open.

  He palmed his length and squeezed. If he could fill both holes at the same time with his cock he would.

  But here, now, he was going to take her pussy and take it hard.

  He rolled the condom down his length, hissing at his cock’s sensitivity, and notched his tip to her opening. “On all fours like that, with your red ass and your juices running down your thighs, you look every bit the dirty girl I knew you were.”

  She peered over her shoulder. “Only for you.”

  Her words held magic, feeding the possessive bastard inside of him. He was the first man inside her body and if he had his way, he’d be the last.

  “Grab on to the blanket, dirty girl,” he warned, sliding his cock into her heat, “’cause I’m about to give you the ride of your life.”

  Needing an anchor himself, he curled his hands over her hips and pushed himself all the way in, feeling her ripple around him.

  From base to tip, hot pressure squeezed him. He groaned, his eyes practically rolling back in his head from the sensation. On the verge of release, his balls drew up tight and liquid heat shot through his groin. Damn it, he hadn’t even begun to fuck her yet, and he was about to blow.