by T S McKinney
“Just use your tongue…there around the head of my cock. Just do your best, babe.”
He growled at me and literally attacked me with his tongue, licking up the sides of my cock like it was a lollipop and swirling the head in his mouth. I began to harden and groan. He glanced up at me, looking smug, I watched his face for every subtle change. His tongue slipped into my slit and I stiffened, hissing in a breath.
Cody clapped his hands. “Yes, you see? He likes that! Let me do it!” he said and started to kneel down beside Ari.
“No!” Ari snarled and pushed him down on his ass. “Leave him alone!”
He bent to his task again, with another slow, hot lick from the bottom of my shaft to the top and a swirl of his tongue inside my slit again. I was panting for breath and I could feel my balls tightening and drawing up because I was so hot for him. He looked up wildly into my eyes, still gazing down at him, studying him like he was a puzzle I needed to solve. Ari reached for me, trying to make me let him touch me, but I captured both his wrists and forced them back behind him, holding them there effortlessly with one hand as I leaned over him.
“No,” I said, gazing down at him. “You’ve been wanting attention all evening, and now you have it. Look at me. Only at me. Touch yourself if you want to stroke someone so badly. Go on, do it! You’re going to come for me, Ari. Without a single touch from my hands, but only from my voice. Because I tell you to. You’re going to show me you know how to obey my commands. And you’re going to call my name when you come.”
“N-no… Stop this Eli. What are you doing?”
“Don’t say no,” I said. Tell me you want this, baby. Tell me.” I could feel my entire body tingling with nerves. He could throw this back in my face if he wanted to.
“Yes, okay. I do want it.”
I felt like sagging with relief, as slowly his hands moved to push down his bathing suit and he began to stroke himself as I and everybody else on that deck watched him.
His thighs began to quiver with strain. He’d had way too much to drink, and I was afraid he couldn’t possibly get hard and come at my command. Yet that was exactly what his body was trying to do, with all these people looking on. He looked up at me with a furious frown, sat back on his heels and stroked himself defiantly.
“Reach behind yourself and put a finger up your ass, Ari. No, don’t stop stroking. You have two hands.”
His face burning like fire, he did as I asked. Slowly, he reached behind himself and pushed a fingertip up his gorgeous ass, his body arching backward, one hand still pumping his cock furiously. I’d never seen anything so beautiful. A hush had fallen over the whole group and I felt them edging closer to watch.
“That’s good, isn’t it, Ari? You like that, don’t you?”
A whimper came out of his throat. The slide of his hand was making him shudder. I bent down and kissed him, my tongue claiming him totally, sweeping inside, intimate, familiar. I felt dazed with lust.
“Come for me,” I ordered him softly, my face only inches away. “Come now and show me what a good boy you are. Show me how much you want to please me.”
He whimpered and groaned, but I held him fast with my gaze.
“Not quite there yet, babe?” I moved a hand down to swat his away and closed my fist around his shaft. I squeezed him gently. “Then come in my hand.” I moved my hand in an up and down motion exactly twice and he bowed his back and began to spurt into my hand, throwing his head back and shouting out his release.
“Say my name.”
“Eli!” he managed to cry out and I smiled, feeling exultant.
“Again.”
“Eli,” he said, softer, now, as he closed his eyes.
“Damn right.” I pulled him to me and thrust my tongue inside his mouth again and didn’t pull away until he was breathless. I still held his dick in my hand, milking it for every drop, until his thighs began to tremble and he looked up at me, begging me silently to stop. I swept him up against my body, supporting him. I gazed down at him one last time and saw those gorgeous eyes looking back up at me, studying me, observing my reactions.
“Now, babe,” I said softly. “Tell me again how you could never be a sub because you don’t like to take orders.”
*****
Ari
The next few days of the cruise passed by so fast it was like I was in a dream. We didn’t talk much more the night of the wild deck party. We left soon after what happened and after Eli got me to say things I never thought I’d say, like ever. We saw to it that Cody got back to his room safely, and then we went to ours. Neither of us said much as we got ready for bed that night. There didn’t seem to be much to say.
I had been wrong about the discipline thing after all. I guess it made a huge difference who was giving those orders as to whether or not I’d stand for them. When it was Eli, it seemed I took orders pretty damn well. And dammit, I liked it. Who knew?
I couldn’t quite bring myself to tell him that though. So that night I slept with my back turned to him and the next morning, I pretended to have been too drunk to know what happened. He believed me too, though I could see he deflated a little when I told him. I was beginning to think this whole Dom/sub thing might have been something he liked a little, but was maybe too embarrassed to admit. He sure seemed to like some of the things that Baker had told me about. Like that orgasm denial on the balcony. At the time, I’d been kinda mad at him, but actually? It was damn hot. I just didn’t want to admit it to Eli. At least I wasn’t ready yet. But I was maybe getting there.
So when we woke up the next morning, I acted like nothing had happened.
“We land in Nassau today, right?” I asked him, smiling at him over coffee in our stateroom.
“Didn’t you look out the windows? We’re already in port.”
“Oh!” I said, laughing. “My eyes were a little sensitive to light after all I had to drink last night. I don’t think I even opened them much.”
“Maybe so,” he said, softly, his eyes searching my face. “Did you…uh…did you have a good time last night?”
“The best! This cruise was a great idea, wasn’t it?”
“Well, I…”
“I don’t remember much about it though, I have to admit. Not once the Bellinis started flowing anyway.”
“Oh.”
“But hey, since we’re here in Nassau, let’s go have some fun.”
“Whatever you want.”
That wasn’t exactly the ringing endorsement I was looking for, but I figured he was a little hungover too, and once we got outside in the beautiful sunshine, he’d snap right back. I finished my breakfast in record time and rushed him through his so we could get going.
“I heard they have carriage rides—like sightseeing trips through the old part of town. Can we do that?” I asked, smiling at him as I walked backward down the ramp.
“Turn around before you fall, Ari,” he said, finally smiling at me the way I was becoming used to again and shaking his head. “And yes, we can take a carriage ride. Anything you like, beautiful.”
I clapped my hands together and we stepped off the ramp onto the dock, and immediately we were besieged by ladies wanting to braid my hair and guys holding up trinkets for us to buy and trying to sell us on the benefits of taking a fishing trip in their boats, or letting them be our tour guides. And that’s when it happened.
One minute I was laughing as Eli was trying to extricate himself from a pretty girl who wanted to braid his way-too-short for it hair, and the next thing I knew, some huge guy had hold of my arm and was dragging me down the dock.
“Hey!” I cried out and wrenched my arm away. “What the fuck, man?”
“You’re coming with us,” he said, looking determined as another goon stepped up beside him to take my other arm.
“The hell he is!”
I heard the shout before I saw him coming, but it was Eli, of course, plowing through the crowd and jumping on top of the guys, slamming them down like a two for one special
at happy hour. He knocked out one of the guys right away as he fell back on the docks and hit his head. He stopped moving right away, but the other one was stupid enough to pull a knife on Eli, who kicked it like a quarterback, so hard I heard the snap of those broken bones in the guy’s hand all the way over where I was.
Things got a little interesting for a while there, with some people from the boat wearing uniforms running down to the dock with a lot of yelling. The police were called too, and then Eli and I were kept busy showing credentials and IDs and it was a real mess. Back at the police station, after Eli called Seth and Samantha, and I heard Seth yelling over the phone at the Nassau police captain until I began to get scared they’d arrest us, they finally arrested the two goons instead for attempting to kidnap me—again, They still refused to talk about why me. Even though Eli was allowed to spend a few minutes with them in the interrogation room. Anyway, after all that, the day was pretty much over.
The upshot of the whole thing was that I never got to see much of Nassau after all, and by that afternoon, we were on our way to the airport, with a police escort, no less. My cruising days, it seemed, were well and truly over until the agency found out who was behind these attempts and how they knew to meet our ship. As we flew out over the docks on the way back home that afternoon, I looked down at the boat, and blew it a little kiss goodbye. I guessed that leaving the cruise ship meant that our deal was over. Eli had specifically said that we would forget all about our past and enjoy the five days on the cruise. After that, we could go back to hating one another…or at least me hating him. Which was a lie. I didn’t hate Eli. I loved him. I’d always loved him. I always would love him. Spending the last few days together had only been a forceful reminder of how much he meant to me. Could I allow him to walk away from me again? Could I survive it? It sure as hell didn’t seem possible to me at this moment. His arm was wrapped around me and my head rested on his shoulder. It was my own personal slice of heaven.
“What are you thinking, angel? I can practically hear the wheels turning inside your head. Are you worried about the kidnappers?” He squeezed me tighter. “Because don’t be; I’ll protect you from anybody that tries to take what’s mine. They’ll never take you from me. Never.”
Hope blossomed. “But…but I thought this,” I motioned between the two of us, “was only for the duration of the cruise. We’d promised that when the cruise ended, we’d go back to the way things were.”
He looked down at me. “Is that what you want?”
Because I was so damn insecure, I countered with, “Is that what you want?”
He rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s never been what I wanted, angel. I’ve tried to make it as clear as possible. I want you. I’ve always wanted you. You are the one I’ll always want. What else do you need? You are it for me.”
I felt tears threatened. “Are you sure, Eli? I couldn’t take losing you again. It damn near killed me the last time.”
“It damn near killed me too, angel. We belong together. I love you, Arizona Honeycutt.”
I took a deep breath and stepped out onto the ledge. “I love you, Eli. I love you so much.”
After a passionate kiss that left me breathless and my toes curled, Eli said, “Let’s move in together!”
Move in together? Fuck, were we ready for that? It was a huge move. I was weird. There was my whole OCD thing. I had the cat that liked nobody but me. What would my dad say? Who was after me and why? Would being with me put Eli in danger? I’d just bought my house so how hard would it be to turn around and put it right back on the market? A million questions raced through my head, and I guessed my pause told Eli enough. Fuck.
“It’s okay, angel. We don’t have to rush into things. I understand.”
“We’ll see, Eli,” I answered. “But you’re definitely staying at my house tonight.” Feeling brazen, I reached over and cupped his crotch. “I need some more of this right here.”
Eli grinned. “Then more you shall receive!”
Chapter Eleven
So…I assume the cruise went well?” Baker whispered after he rolled his desk chair over to mine. “Did we fall back in love?” He winked at me. “There are little birdies of love flying over your head, so don’t even try to deny it, Ari. It’s written all over your face.”
When raised voices traveled across the length of our floor, Baker glanced to where Seth and Eli were locked in some sort of argument with Eli’s sister. I had no idea what the disagreement was about, but I figured it had to have something to do with my dad. When we’d gotten back into town last night, I’d learned that dad would be flying to Milan today for a bodyguard job…which was weird. Since my graduation, he tried to make sure his job consisted of the signing of contracts, issuing jobs, and training new recruits.
My eyes narrowed when I heard my father’s name being bantered around. Then Eli looked up, locked eyes with mine, and all my bad thoughts vanished in an instant. I felt a warm blush heat my body, beginning at my toes and working its way up until I could feel the tips of my ears burning.
“Nothing’s written on my face,” I countered. “No birdies are flying. I’m not denying it, though. Things went…well.”
“How well?”
“Very well.”
Baker stomped his foot in frustration. “When did you become so tight-lipped? Before you left, we couldn’t get you to shut up. Now, you’re all sparkly and silent.” He clutched his chest. “It’s true love! I’d recognize it anywhere!”
Eli glanced our way again, along with his sister and Seth. Baker merely blew Seth a kiss and kept talking. “Stop looking at them,” he whispered. “If they get worried that we can hear them, they’ll take their discussion into the office and then we won’t have a chance at all of overhearing something they don’t want us hearing.” He spun my chair around to where I was facing him. “I’m an expert lip-reader. It’s the one thing I can do that Seth can’t. You look at me and I’ll look at them.” He winked again. “You really do look like you’re madly in love Ari. It’s a good look. You should keep it.”
“Trust me. I plan on it,” I answered. “What are they saying? Is my dad in trouble over something? Surely you still have some control over Samantha, right?”
He frowned. “Uh…yeah, that’s not how that works, Ari. She had control of me, not the other way around. She’s my friend, that’s all. Now, I have a feeling that before it’s over, she’s going to be more than a friend to you. Maybe you’ll be the one to intervene, not me.”
“Intervene with what?” I demanded.
He huffed. “Okay, best I can tell, Seth and Eli are giving Samantha the ‘what-for’ because of her decision to send Landon to Milan for the bodyguard job. Naturally, she could care less what either of them think—she makes her own decisions and lets the chips fall where they will.”
Scowling, I asked, “What? They don’t think my dad can handle himself anymore? That’s bullshit, Baker. Hell, he trained Seth!”
“Voice down!” Baker hissed. “We’re being undercover spies, remember? Damn…I think they’re onto me.”
“Forget that! Tell me why they don’t think my dad’s capable of doing the job.”
“No, it’s not that. Both Eli and Seth are pissed at Samantha for not following protocol on how to handle new clients. I’m pretty sure that Sam must have pulled your dad for the job without discussing the details with anybody…including Landon.”
“I don’t get it. Why would she do that? Dad’s handled all the work out of this office for the past couple of years.” I turned around to glare at Eli’s sister. “She was never around that much until you showed up, Baker. Do something with her!”
“Shit. Here they come. Look busy,” Baker said as he immediately rolled his chair back to his desk, whistling in an over-exaggerated way that did absolutely nothing to convince Seth, Eli, and Sam that he hadn’t been eavesdropping on their conversation. When he looked over his shoulder and flashed a naughty grin at Seth, he looked as guilty as s
in.
“Cute, Baker,” Sam snapped. “Your husband may not know about your unusual talents, but I remember them quite well. That was a private conversation, and I don’t appreciate your nosiness.”
Seth snorted. “Actually, I know damn well about his unusual talents…they may just may not be the ones you’re referring to.” He leaned down and kissed Baker’s lips. “Do you have bionic hearing or something as equally sexy?”
“Lip reading. I’m really good at it.”
“Good to know.”
Sam rolled her eyes. “Get a room, for fuck’s sake! This is a professional business!”
Eli leaned down to kiss me. When he stood back up, totally oblivious to the fact that the lip-on-lip contact had caused my insides to start simmering like a volcano about to erupt, he countered his sister with, “Actually, if this was a totally professional business, you would have told your friend that working with us would be conflict of interest for you, but that you could refer her to someone.”
“It isn’t a conflict of interest because Landon will be doing the job, not me. He doesn’t know the family at all,” she shot right back.
“It’s obviously a conflict of interest because the job has already made you break several of your own company rules—the rules you wrote yourself.”
Damn, my man was a total badass.
“You’re fired,” Sam snapped before she turned away and sashayed her curvy ass toward my father’s empty office. When she reached the door, she looked over her shoulder and said, “Seth, hire Eli back and then give him his next case file. And all of you need to stop questioning my decisions. Landon will be more than capable of keeping my godson safe. You know damn well that Cynthia is my best friend in the world and that Landon and I have worked together for years. There’s no way I would do anything to endanger either one of them. On top of that, I love Jinx more than the three of you put together, so you know I’ll move heaven and earth to keep him safe!”