by Brynn Ford
He growled, his hips slamming back down into mine, grinding me into the mattress. I felt teeth scrape as he sucked harder, then released me.
“I want you ready for me, sweetheart, but fuck, I need to be inside you and I don’t think I can wait.”
He pressed his face into the side of my neck, reaching between us with one hand to work the buckle of his pants. My hands quickly joined his, doing it for him.
“I’m ready for you, so ready. I swear I’ve been wet for this since you kissed me last night.”
He groaned, “I’m so hard for you, it’s goddamn painful.”
When I had his pants unbuttoned, I slipped my hands inside, pushing beneath his boxer briefs to grab handfuls of his delicious ass.
He snaked his arms beneath me, finding the zipper on the back of my pencil skirt and pulling it down. His weight left me in a flash as he got off the bed, stripping his clothes off faster than I’d ever seen.
He leaned down over me, jerking my skirt free from my hips and pulling it off my body. He finally unbuckled and removed my other shoe, tossing it over his shoulder, and it hit the wall behind him with a thud.
He clawed at my panties, the final barrier, tearing them down my legs.
I couldn’t bear the separation anymore.
I scrambled to my knees, reaching for him as he came after me. He was on his knees on the bed in front of me as our lips collided again in a frenzy. Our limbs tangled in a fevered rush. His fingers dipped low between my legs, grazing my pussy, testing me. He found me just as I told him he would, wet and ready.
“Fuck, Christine,” he hissed against my ear, “God, I want you.”
He grabbed me in strong arms, turned me to face the headboard, and straddled my legs from behind me. We were both still on our knees as he pressed in close, his hard cock brushing along my crack as both of his hands came around in front of me. One dipped between my legs, his fingers slipping across my clit and stroking. The other grabbed my breast and squeezed, his fingertips digging into the mound.
My arms braced against the headboard in front of me as I pressed my ass back against him. I wanted him to take me just like this, with the way his lips danced dangerously hot across my back, skimming my spine between my shoulder blades. His fingers left my clit as he positioned himself behind me.
I felt his tip graze the opening as we found each other. I shuddered at the feel of it, at the inexplicable feeling that it seemed wrong for him not to be inside me yet.
My head dropped between my arms, my hair shielding my face all around like a veil. My hips circled and pushed back in a sultry dance meant to entice him to push inside me.
“I need you,” my voice was a whisper, “I need you, please, I need you now.”
“Tell me again,” he said with his lips on my shoulder blades, hand gripping my tit.
I moaned through my sigh, an easy concession to the words that were making everything new and better and brighter between us, “I love you, Jasper.”
He pushed inside me, body folding over mine as he shuffled even closer to me on the bed. He buried himself, the angle of him hitting just the right spot and making me feel completely filled by him.
“Oh, God,” I panted.
He pulled me back, both arms latched around me again. He continued to knead my breast as his other hand found my clit once again and rubbed me hard and fast, just the way he knew I liked it.
I dropped one arm from the headboard, my fingers clasping his where they held my breast, holding him there and helping him please me with my hand over his. Straightening, leaning back, I let my head fall back against his shoulder as he rocked us slowly.
It had to be slowly.
The angle was precarious. If he pulled out too far or too fast, he would slip free from my pussy entirely and, God, I didn’t want that. I wanted the lazy, intense, passionate rocking he was giving me.
Our bodies fused together. I felt every inch of him touching every inch of me and it put me in a daze. He kissed my neck tenderly, wetly, as we swayed, finding a sultry rhythm.
It reminded me of our dance at XO, when he kissed me before I was ready to let him. Thinking back to it now, it seemed so silly to allow myself to get upset over that. But truthfully, it had all been necessary. The fighting that came after, all of the arguments and pain and frustration between us since that kiss, that dance. In an odd way, it had all been necessary to bring us to this place.
I pushed back against him as he pushed forward into me, the hard tip of his cock pulsing again and again against my g-spot. His fingers worked expertly over my clit, rubbing with resolve to make me come.
“Tell me you’re mine,” I whispered, and it was an eager request more than it was a demand, “Tell me your heart is mine.”
“I swear I’m yours, Ris. Fuck, that feels good.”
I knew he meant the words felt good, though, damn, everything else felt good, too.
I could feel him swelling inside me, pulsing as he got closer. The throb of him sent a bolt of pleasure through my spine, a jolt of tension rippling across my pelvis, tightening my lower belly. My whole body stiffened against the building climax as he pushed me closer to the edge. His lips nudged against my jawline beneath my ear.
His voice was a tantalizing, hot whisper, “Come for me, my Angel.”
“My God.”
Those two words could have been a simple exclamation by anyone in the heat of fucking, but in truth, they’d slipped from me in response to his words.
If I was his Angel, he sure as fuck was my God.
“Yes, my God, yes,” I cried out for him as he pulsed frantically inside me.
I felt him swelling, pulsing, throbbing, his hips working fast to fuck me into heaven with him. He came inside me with a full body shudder, biting into my shoulder with a guttural groan. The vibration of his entire body against mine shook me right into glorious fucking orgasm. My stomach clenched as I came, folding me in half, his body folding with me, continuing to smother me with his heat as I rode out the longest, most incredible wave that had ever threatened to undo me so spectacularly.
The crest peaked for so long that I went to another place entirely, a place where it was just me and him and the feeling of our connection, body, mind, and soul. And when I finally tumbled down from the crest, every ache, every pain, every humiliation and abuse I had suffered at the hand of another came crashing down with it. Tears forced their way out from behind my eyes and a single sob overcame me, slipping out beyond my control, a climax of the soul purging from deep within me.
We fell to the bed, Jasper rolling us onto our sides. He stayed inside me, curled around me from behind, holding me tightly in his arms as another short sob broke free.
He didn’t speak.
He just held me and stroked my hair and kissed my cheek.
He loved me in a way I didn’t know he was capable of.
He didn’t judge me or rush me through tears that I suddenly couldn’t control.
He just let me be, he let me find strength and peace in his embrace.
It hit me then, the truth I was afraid of for so long because I never believed it could happen with him. I turned my head back to look at him and he met my eyes with devotion.
“I want you to be my forever man,” I whispered to him.
He smiled slowly, his hand gliding over the side of my hip, “You’re already my forever girl.”
Chapter 30
Ris
Three Weeks Later
* * *
“I’ve been back from leave for one week, one week Carl, and I’m already handling everyone’s crises,” I said into my cell phone.
The elevator doors opened and I stumbled out into the hallway toward my apartment. My oversized, white leather shoulder bag wasn’t enough to carry home all of the files I still needed to review tonight. My free arm was full with another stack and I fumbled with my phone, holding it to my ear with my shoulder as I struggled to free my keys.
“Well, aren’t you glad I’m handling it for you the
n, Carl?” I responded and chuckled, giving him a hard time.
I was actually really glad to be full blast back at work. I’d only been back for a week from a brief leave I took for my own sanity and I was already swamped with cases that had been delayed because of my break. I felt guilt for letting them go to my colleagues in my absence, but the break had been necessary with the new charges Asher’s former patients were pressing against him.
The press was already back at it, breathing down my neck, wanting to interview me. I’d actually gotten some paid offers for exclusive interviews with “Luscious Lawyer, Christine Warren,” as somehow, I became an icon for powerful working women who weren’t ashamed of their sexuality.
The trial had brought out every sordid detail of my love life with Asher and yet, people connected with me positively. I thought my reputation had been ruined by him, but once I started listening to the millions of voice messages left by reporters asking for interviews, I found out that I was being painted in a more positive light than I had thought. They all wanted to profile me exclusively and maybe one day I would oblige, but not today.
Today, I had work to do because, thankfully, my boss didn’t mind the attention. He felt it was giving public defenders like me a good name when reports told of my stellar record in winning cases.
Though I pretended Carl and my colleagues were putting me out with extra work, I was thrilled to be back in the game, excited for the puzzle of a case I needed to spend another couple of hours on tonight, elated to be helping people again.
I tried to sort through my key ring with one hand as I approached my apartment door and dropped the whole damn thing on the floor.
“Shit, Carl, I’ve gotta go. I hope you and Ginny have a nice time without the kids tonight…No, I promise, I really don’t mind helping you out with these files. It’s no problem…See you in the morning.”
My phone slipped off my shoulder and tumbled to the floor along with my keys, “Fuck.”
I wrestled with my bag on one shoulder and the stack of files in my other arm, balancing delicately in my high heeled ankle boots as I bent to scoop my phone and keys from the floor.
My apartment door opened from the inside with a whoosh in front of me at the exact moment I grabbed my keys. I jerked back up in a snap to see Desi standing there. Her eyes went wide to see me and she immediately pulled the door shut behind her stepping out into the hallway with me.
“You’re home early,” she said, grabbing my elbow and twisting me to the side.
“Yeah, thus the enormous stack of work I brought home with me. I left early so I could get ready for dinner with Law, we made plans,” my eyes narrowed on her, “What are you doing here? How did you get in?”
She grinned, “You know what? I’ve gotta go. Vaughn’s waiting for me for coffee…or something.”
“Okay,” I replied, drawing out the word, “What’s going on, Des? You okay?”
“I’m great. You’re great. Everyone’s gonna be just…great,” her smile brightened, if that were even possible, and she started walking backward away from me, “Call me later. Or text me. If you can spare a minute. Actually,” she waved me off as the elevator doors opened behind her, “I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” she blew me a quick kiss and disappeared onto the elevator.
“What the fuck just happened?”
Something was off.
But I had work to do and I needed to get ready for a dinner date with my man tonight, so I pushed open my apartment door, which she’d left unlocked.
And froze.
There were rose petals on my floor.
“What the actual fuck?”
Did Desi and Vaughn have some sort of romantic tryst in my apartment and leave a mess behind?
No.
Why the hell would they do that?
And Vaughn’s not here.
I hastily placed my files and shoulder bag down on the coffee table in front of the sofa. I went back to the hall to retrieve my phone from the floor, adding it to the pile, and locked the door behind me.
What is going on?
The trail of lavender rose petals led all the way from the apartment door to my bedroom. I took two steps to follow where it led and then stopped, frozen in my tracks, heart thudding in my chest.
Oh, God.
Desi had been here secretly.
Law had told me he had a special date planned for tonight.
He’s not waiting for me at the end of this trail.
Is he?
My feet led me steadily, heels clacking over the hardwood floors in the hallway. My bedroom door was pulled shut, but not latched. I took in a shaky breath as I pushed it open.
My eyes fell upon dozens of purple roses in elegant black vases taking over my bedroom. But that wasn’t the sight that held my attention. It was Jasper, standing there in the middle of the room, sharply dressed, as usual, in a crisp, black suit, light purple button up beneath, and a sharp, silk black tie.
He dazzled me with bright white teeth and a charming as hell smile that made me want to fall on my knees and crawl to him. But I didn’t because my rapidly beating heart told me to be still and wait.
“Honey, what’s going on?” I asked, though truly, I think I already knew the answer.
“Red roses are so common. Too predictable, don’t you think? Common and predictable just aren’t good enough for you, sweetheart.”
“Jasper…”
“I suppose the trail of rose petals to your bedroom is common, perhaps even a little cliché, but I guess there has to be some form of traditionalism involved. Did you know that purple roses represent enchantment, majesty, lasting love? I didn’t know. I asked for them at the flower shop because you know it’s my favorite color, the color of royalty.”
“Honey…”
“I’ve always thought of you as royalty, sweetheart. From the very first day I met you, I recognized your elegance, your grace, your take-no-prisoners regality. I’ve always respected you as an equal, the one person who could rival me. I’ve probably always been a little intimidated by you, Ris, because I’ve never known another woman who could command a room the way you do just by walking into it. I’ve had to do a lot of growing up to see what I’ve been missing.”
He held out one hand toward me and I stepped forward to take it, “I’ve been a king in my own little kingdom. And I’ve ruled for a long time on my own, thinking I was happy that way. But there’s always been a void I was trying to fill. I tried to fill it with peasants and princesses, but the fix was always temporary, fleeting. I tried to avoid the inevitable truth for as long as I could, but your perfect, commanding, stubborn ass just would not quit. You’ve always been there, in the back of my mind. My brain has just been holding onto the idea of you until I was ready to accept the truth.
“The truth is that I need you, Christine. I’ve always needed you. But more than that, I want you. I want you so much that I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep you forever. You’re a queen in my eyes, Angel, and only you can fill the void. I need you by my side. Not just today, but always. No matter what we want our kinky, fucked-up, non-traditional relationship to look like, I know now, without a shadow of a doubt, that I want that relationship with you for all time. When we’re ninety years old, it’ll still be your old, wrinkly ass I want to bend over my knee and spank into submission.”
I chuckled and the motion of it forced a small sob.
Am I flipping crying right now?
He grinned at me, but then his expression faded into something more serious, an expression clouded in nerves and worry. Still holding my hand, my left hand, he dropped down without warning to one knee.
“Oh, my God.”
“I know we have a lot to figure out, Angel. I know our relationship isn’t normal or traditional. It couldn’t ever really be. But I also know that whatever we want it to look like, I want you to be mine and I want to be yours. King and Queen. God and Angel. Dom and Switch. You and me. Forever.”
“Jasper.”
“Marry me, Christine.”
He let go of my hand to reach inside his jacket pocket. He pulled out a small, blue box. He opened it and presented me with the most glorious diamond ring.
“Is this really happening?”
He laughed, “It’s really happening. I’ll pinch you if you ask me to. But please, sweetheart, I need your answer.”
It came without hesitation, “Yes. Yes, Jasper. Yes.”
He stood and captured me around the waist, pulling me into his loving embrace. I sought his lips and found them quickly, eager to claim me. Our tongues danced together, silently speaking our devotion.
When he pulled back, he put his forehead to mine. He let go of my waist, bringing the little blue box between us and pulling out the ring. He took my hand and slipped it onto my finger with ease. I nearly came at the sight of it there on my finger, an absolutely perfect fit.
“Are we really engaged?” I whispered.
“Yes,” he smiled, “There is just one more thing.”
I beamed, “Seal the deal with kinky sex.”
“Hmm,” he stepped back, “I suppose you could say that. But I have to give you something else first.”
On the bed was another box, square, thin, black, about the size of a book. He picked it up and brought it to me. I took it from him as he stepped back again, removing his jacket and laying it on the bed.
I watched as he loosened his tie, his neck muscles straining and tightening, his face scrunching in concentration, as if preparing for a great feat that required all his strength.
“Open the box,” he demanded as he pulled his tie free from his shirt collar and tossed it.
I hesitated, curious as he dropped to both knees in front of me. He undid the top button of his shirt, then the second.
“Open it, Ris.”
He continued unbuttoning his shirt. Though I was tempted to continue watching him, just because I was enjoying the view of his hard chest as he stripped for me, I was beyond curious to see what was inside the box. I lifted the lid.
“You’re…are you serious?” I asked.
Inside the box was a black leather collar. It was a collar made for a man’s neck.