Because He Plays Me (Because He Owns Me, Book Seven) (10 page)

“Put your arms around my neck,” he growled.

I did as he asked. He slid one arm under my back and then sat back onto his heels. I had to hold tight because my ankles were still up by his ears. I sank even deeper onto him and my eyes almost rolled back into my head.

His teeth were clenched and the planes of his face were rock hard. “Now ride my cock like it’s the only thing that matters.”

He held me firm, and I started to rock my hips. Almost immediately the tension started building again. I used my arms to lift myself up and plunge back down, over and over.

His growls were getting louder. His eyes narrowed on me and his body vibrated with barely restrained power.

“Faster,” he ground out. “Fuck yourself on my cock, Skylar. Ride me until you have no choice but to come and then I want to feel you explode all over me.”

His dirty words sank down inside me and I threw back my head and ratcheted my hips. It was right there, so close that I could taste the sweetness on my tongue. I panted, moaned with every thrust. It built faster than all the others, but hovered on the edge, not letting me fall over. Torture. Tears burned my eyes. It was too much. And still the tension grew stronger.

Madden closed his eyes. His teeth were bared and sweat beaded on his forehead. “Fucking come all over my cock, Skylar. Come for me right now,” he commanded.

My body obeyed and the brightest explosion of light burst behind my eyelids. I threw back my head and screamed his name. His fingers dug painfully into my ass and he took over, bouncing me on his cock until I felt him stiffen under me. He growled out my name as he held me down, completely impaled, and I felt him throbbing inside me.

The only sound in the room was our gasping for air. I opened my mouth to tell him that he succeeded but no sound would come out. Instead I ran my fingers over the back of his neck. slick with sweat, and willed him to hear my thoughts.

He had done it. Because for as long as I lived, I would never forget this night, and what he made me feel. The only problem was how in the hell did I go back when I knew how it could be?

The weekend would end. We would part ways and I would never see him again.

That thought left me colder and emptier than I wanted to admit.

S
un streamed
through the window when I opened my eyes. Every place on my body ached, but in a delicious way. I smiled despite the soreness. Last night had been...amazing wasn’t enough. Mind blowing. I lost count of how many times Madden made me cry out his name.

I rolled onto my back and reached out, but the other side of the bed was empty. Covers slipped from around me as I sat up.

Madden sat across the room at a small dining table, dressed in one of his business suits. When he met my stare, his lips curled up in a self satisfied smile. “Sleep good?”

“Like someone who had almost every ounce of life drained from her,” I countered.

That smile turned devious. “
Almost
every ounce, huh? Next time I’ll have to try even harder.”

Next time?

His voice continued to tease me. “If you’d like to slip into that robe I left by the bed, room service should be here any minute. Unless you’d prefer to stay that way and flash the server?” There was a hint of challenge in his eyes now, but there was no way I was up to doing anything else that adventurous. Not after last night.

I swung my legs over the bed and pulled on the silk robe. His eyes followed every movement I made but instead of making me feel self conscious, it made me bolder. I ran my hands over the front, smoothing it down over my chest. The hard peaks were clearly visible through the thin material and I heard his sharp intake of breath.

“Come here.” The tone he used last night was back and it made goose bumps spring up on my arms. My nipples got even harder. I stopped in front of him and he pulled me to stand between his legs. The robe parted under his fingers and his mouth was on me. Teeth grazed over the sensitive tips of my nipples and my head fell back. Warmth pooled between my legs.

His hand slid up the inside of my thigh and I had to lean against the table. How long before room service knocked on the door? Madden moved to the other side and bit down. I groaned through the sting of pain.

“You are one of the most responsive women I’ve known.” As if to prove his point, he moved his hand between my legs and slid two fingers inside me. “So wet. So ready. Would you like to come again?”

That was like asking if I’d like to breathe again. “Yes,” I moaned. “Please.”

He moved his hands in and out of me and pressed his thumb against my clit. I clenched around him, already feeling the start of my orgasm building. I tried to rock my hips but he stopped.

“Don’t move,” he said before closing his lips around my nipple again.

He used his teeth and fingers to drive me mercilessly towards the edge. In the haze of desire, I heard a knock on the door. I whimpered. He would stop now. Except he didn’t. His fingers plunged in and out, stroking that spot just inside where every nerve ending was centered. I could feel it starting. My legs shook and I had to hold on to his shoulders to keep from falling.

“Oh god,” I crooned. It was right there. So close. I forced my eyes to open and stared down at him. The hard panes of his face were strained as he met my stare. I knew what he wanted.

It was a game of control, one that he won every time.

My breath hitched. “Can I come now, Madden?”

His eyes went black. “Yes,” he growled around my breast.

I threw back my head and his fingers took me over the edge. I cried out his name, over and over as spasms rocked through my body and I came apart around his fingers. Tears burned the back of my eyes. The pleasure he pulled from me was almost too much to bear.

The knock came again, more hesitant this time. “Room service,” a voice called out softly.

Madden slowed his fingers before sliding them out. He looked as though he might say something, but instead nudged my head down and brushed his lips over mine. “Go ahead and get cleaned up. I’ll answer the door.”

Raw emotion had clogged my throat so I nodded and went into the bathroom.

When I came back out a few minutes later, robe tied securely around my waist again, the table was set and silver platters covered most of the small surface.

“Given your affinity for food, I ordered a little of everything,” Madden said. He had only a cup of coffee in front of him.

“You’re not eating?” I slid into the chair opposite him. I should have felt mortified given that I’d just climaxed all over his fingers, but I didn’t. I felt...happy. The indulgent smile he gave me as I opened the trays warmed me in a different way.

“I ate earlier. But please, help yourself,” he said, sitting back in his chair.

I dipped my fork into every single dish convinced that the last bite was the best one, only to find the next was even better.

As my stomach filled, I glanced at Madden here and there, watching as he watched me. I thought about all the things we’d done together, and a strange doubt clouded my mind.

“Can I ask you something?” I said, after swallowing my most recent, delectable bite.

“I won’t promise I’ll answer, but go ahead.”

My cheeks burned as I began speaking, but I forged ahead regardless. “The night I saw you, in your office, I just thought...you kept saying you liked to be in control and I guess I expected…” I knew my cheeks were pink.

There was no easy way to ask a man why he hadn’t tied you up and blindfolded you during sex.

“You expected whips and chains?” he said, his voice suddenly devoid of emotion. I glanced up and his eyes had the same dead look.

“It’s not important. I’m sorry I said anything. Last night was...the best night of my life.” I reached out and laid my hand over his. He stared down at it, his eyebrows drawn down. My question had changed his mood immediately. “Madden?” I said, but he didn’t reply.

His phone buzzed and he slid his hand out from under mine. “Jenna?” he answered.

As he listened, his expression grew darker. “They don’t have a fucking thing on me. Then get down here so we can figure out what our next move is. God damn it, you’re supposed to stop these things before they get out of control. Be here by dinner Jenna or find another job.”

I had no idea what was going on—no clue what had happened between us, or why the phone call had enraged him.

Madden stood up and shoved his phone into his pocket. His gaze skirted over me and left me cold. “I’ll be working all day. There is a private pool and a server who will see to anything you might need. We’ll be dining with my PR person tonight.”

And with that, he grabbed his briefcase and left the room without a backwards glance.

I
spent
the rest of the day by the pool, alternating between swimming and lying in the sun. Madden was right, whenever I needed anything the server was there. The frozen margaritas went down particularly easy in the heat.

I hoped that Madden might find some time to join me, but he never came. I replayed the morning over and over in my head and still had no idea why he had pulled away so quickly when I asked him why he didn’t tie me up or control me the way he had that woman in his office.

After everything he said, the way he was, I expected it. Maybe even looked forward to it a little.

Perhaps he’d found something wanting in me, something that turned him off to expressing his deepest desires. The thought made me spiral further downward, despite my gorgeous surroundings.

At five, I went back upstairs to the room to take a shower and start getting ready for dinner with his PR person. Tonight I had to do my own hair, which meant it would be left down.

I showered and rubbed scented lotion into every inch of my skin. The second dress that Isabella had picked out was much simpler but just as beautiful. The cream color complimented my sun kissed skin and it only connected on one shoulder. The bodice was fitted at the chest, but the rest hung straight down to the floor. It reminded me of a Greek goddess.

I gathered my hair and pulled it to the left, leaving my right shoulder and the top half of my chest exposed. Maybe if I used a clip and just put some fat curls in what was hanging free, it would look okay. As the curling iron heated, I put the diamond pendant back on and slid the matching hoops into my ears. I wasn’t an expert at makeup, but I decided to go lighter tonight, with some base to even things out and then a brush of eye shadow, some eyeliner and mascara.

I’d let my hair half air dry, so it didn’t take long to finish it with the blow dryer. I pulled it all loosely to the side and slipped a clip around just below my ear. A couple of tendrils escaped around my face and I decided to give them a little bit of a curl and leave them free.

I’d just slipped my feet into the matching cream sandals when the door opened.

Madden stopped halfway into the room, his gaze raking over me. “You look very nice,” he said before disappearing into the bathroom.

I went out and stood on the balcony. Since he was there, I assumed he wanted to go to dinner together. A warm breeze lifted the loose hair from around my face and made my dress cling to my legs. The sun was dipping below the horizon and bursts of color danced across the sky. This was my last night here. Tomorrow, we would leave and unless I won the lottery, I’d never be back.

“Are you ready? Jenna texted that they’re here,” Madden said from behind me. I could hear the distraction in his voice. The underlying anger. Our last night together would be all about business but there was nothing I could do.

“I’m ready.”

He nodded and gestured for me to walk with him.

We walked to the elevator side my side yet he didn’t touch me. The ride to the lobby was silent.

“I can stay upstairs if you prefer to talk about business privately,” I offered.

“I want you there with me.” When the elevator dinged, he stepped out and offered his arm. I rested my hand in the crook but it was nothing like last night.

“There they are,” he said, leading me over to a table where a woman and man sat deep in conversation. When the woman looked up, the floor shifted under my feet.

I nearly lost my breath and my balance. My legs were suddenly unsteady.

It was her.

The woman who had been tied and bent over his desk only two nights ago. I yanked my hand free of Madden’s grip and stormed out of the restaurant. I wasn’t going to sit and eat dinner with the woman that he had sex with.

A shadow moved in front of me and when I looked up, Madden stood there. “Where the hell are you going?” he said, his commanding voice stopping me in my tracks.

“I can’t believe that you brought her here. I know who she is,” I spat. “Even though she had on a blindfold,
I’m
not blind.”

His eyes narrowed and he wrapped his fingers around my arm, pulling me to the side. “First, I don’t owe you an explanation. We have an arrangement and I expect you to honor it. That includes eating dinner with me and whomever I invite. If you don’t come back inside with me, you lose the ten thousand dollars. What you need to do is ask yourself if it’s worth it.”

“Why? I wasn’t enough so you had to bring in your go-to-girl as well?” As soon as I said that, I realized what problem actually was. I wasn’t good enough, after everything that happened between us.

I took a step closer to him. “I would have let you tie me up and blindfold me you know. I expected it after what I saw, but instead, you bring her here.”

My body vibrated with anger. I wanted to walk away, wished that I could, but I needed the damned money.

Madden leaned in close and I could see the dark flashes of anger in his eyes. “What is your choice?”

He had me over a barrel. “Fine. I’ll go back inside with you, but I draw the line at threesomes, for the record.”

“I don’t share...with anyone,” he growled before guiding me back into the dining room.

Madden had regained his cool, unaffected demeanor by the time we arrived back at the table.

“This is Ms Kinsey,” he said, introducing me to the man and woman seated at the table. “This is Jenna my Public Relations Liaison, and her fiancé Anderson.” I reached out and shook the offered hands, ignoring the look Jenna shot between me and Madden. She had some nerve, sitting there beside her fiancé while the man she was screwing on the side sat across from him.

“Do we know anything new?” Madden asked.

“It’s a small newspaper out of Rochester, circulation about 5000, but the problem is that the Times caught wind of it and their people called me for an official statement. I of course said it was all slanderous hearsay, that your old roommate was jealous of your success and was spreading lies about plagiarism in order to get money, but they smell a story.”

I glanced at Madden to try and see his reaction to what she was saying.

An old roommate spreading lies about plagiarism?

Madden was annoyed and dismissive. “He was a punk even back then. What do we do?” Madden threw back this bourbon on the rocks and signaled the waiter for another. Anger radiated from him in waves.

Jenna tried to sound confident, but it was clear that Madden’s displeasure had put her on the defensive. “Well, my suggestion is to put something else out there, something juicier that the major newspapers can run with. If we come out with a better story, they’ll forget about the roommate and his accusations. We just need a story.”

Madden scowled. “We need a story?” he scoffed. “No, Jenna.
We
don’t need anything. It’s
your
job to diffuse these things. That’s what I pay you for.”

Madden stood and held out his hand. We hadn’t even ordered our food yet but his eyes dared me to argue. I pushed back my chair. Jenna’s stare was focused on where Madden had his hand resting on my hip.

“Call me with a solution,” Madden barked, then he guided me from the dining room.

Once again, we were in the elevator surrounded by angry silence.

“So your lover is also your PR person. That’s convenient.” I stared straight ahead and refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much it bothered me. As soon as the elevator dinged, I stepped out and walked to our door. He swiped his keycard before I could get mine out of my purse.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Madden took my arm and stormed over to the small dining table. “Take off your clothes,” he growled.

“You’re kidding me. After all that you expect me to just lie down and roll over?”

“What I expect,” he said through tight lips, “is for you to do what I tell you to. That was the agreement was it not?”

I really did not like him at this moment.

And yet another part of me wanted to be closer to him more than ever—to cross the enormous gulf that seemed to have opened between us these last few hours.

I reached up and unfastened the shoulder on my dress and let it fall to the floor. Tonight I had on a white lacy strapless bra and a matching thong.

“Everything.” His voice was hard and it matched his eyes. Something was missing. Last night he had been forceful and demanding, but he was there in every moment. This Madden was different. His thumb flicked over my nipple and I couldn’t stop the involuntary shudder of pleasure.

He still knew how to play my body.

With very little effort, his touch ignited the familiar ache inside me. He reached up and undid his tie, then unbuckled his belt. He moved until he stood behind me and I heard the swish of fabric. I had time to register that he held his tie in his hands before it covered my eyes. He wrapped it around my head and tied it off, not tight enough to hurt, but enough so that I could see nothing.

My pulse thundered in my chest. Even though I was mad at him, I could not deny that I wanted him too.

“Bend over.” His hand on my upper back guided me to the table. Glass felt cool under my cheek, on my overly sensitive nipples. “Hands behind your back.”

Once he had them secured with his belt, I heard his pants hit the floor.

“This is what you wanted?” He dragged a finger along my slit, spreading the wetness that was already gathering inside of me.

“This is what you expected from me?” He slid a finger into me and I moaned. I couldn’t move and was at his mercy. Pleasure swept through my body, but before it could center on just one spot, he withdrew.

I heard the crinkle of a condom wrapper, then he moved closer, his thighs against the back of my legs. He rubbed the head of his cock up and down just once before thrusting inside me. The table rocked and I groaned loudly. Almost at once, Madden started to thrust forcefully. His fingers dug into my hips, holding me, using my body as he wished.

Pressure started to build inside me. His hands left my hips and one rested on my lower back, pushing down. I felt him gather my hair around his other hand and he tugged until my neck was arched back.

The angle shifted and now he was pounding right on the spot inside my slick walls. I cried out and stars danced behind my eyelids. I needed to move but could not. It would be Madden who had to push me over the edge.

His movement became faster, harsher, and I could hear the low growl building inside his chest.

I pushed up onto my toes and arched as much as I physically could. It was all I needed. Pleasure exploded inside me and I cried out Madden’s name. He drove mercilessly into me until his own hoarse shout filled the room.

Almost immediately he pulled out and undid my hands. My fingers prickled as the blood rushed back into them. I used my hands to push up off the table and remove the blindfold. The bathroom door clicked shut and tears burned my eyes.

I wanted it to be like last night.

Last night felt special. Tonight...tonight had been sex. Nothing more. And that’s when it hit me. I went to the bed, crawled into it, and pulled the covers up to my chin. Suddenly, I was exhausted.

I still couldn’t understand how his entire attitude had changed so drastically when I’d asked him a simple question. Or maybe it hadn’t been about the question at all.

Maybe he’d just grown tired of me. The weekend, after all, was nearly over.

I heard the shower start and closed my eyes. He was shutting me out tonight.

I didn’t want our last few hours together to be filled with hostile silence. Somehow, I drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.

And if I dreamed that Madden held me in the night—if perhaps his strong arms around me felt as real as anything else we’d done together—the memory of it was almost gone by morning.

W
hen I opened my eyes
, I saw Madden sitting in the chair next to the bed dressed in yet another suit. The lines on his face were gone. He looked relaxed. When he met my stare, he even smiled.

“Morning,” I managed to get out. “You seem like you’re in a good mood.”

“I’ve figured out what story we’ll feed to the press to distract them from my old roommate’s claims. It’s a sure thing.” He stood up then and came over to the bed where he sat on the edge.

“That’s good right?” I asked.

He cupped my face and ran his thumb along my jaw. Another one hundred and eighty degree turnaround from last night. “It’s very good,” he agreed.

I leaned into his touch. Soon we would get back on the plane and that would be the end of all this.

As much as I knew it was all according to plan, a piece of me longed to have more time with this strange, magnetic man.

“So how are you going to throw them off that story?” I asked, looking up at his him.

His dark eyes glittered and he leaned down, his lips inches from mine. “Easy,” he whispered. “We’re getting engaged.”