Beyond the Edge (9 page)

When her phone rang, she figured he’d ignore it. She damn sure intended to. If only he’d increase the pressure of his wondrous licks on her most sensitive flesh. But no, he pulled the cell from her purse and left her aching. “We don’t need to talk to anyone right now,” she complained.

“But it’s Janet.” He smiled wickedly. “She may have information about Nigel.”

She could think of nothing but him putting his mouth back where it had been before the phone call and her frustration escalated. “I’ll call her back.”

“Talk to her now.” He held the phone to her ear with one hand. His other plunged straight into her heat.

“Helloooooh.” She practically moaned into the phone.

“I found him.”

Kane’s fingers moved cleverly over her clit, rubbing the ring, and a current sizzled along the chains all the way up to her sensitive nipples, making it almost impossible to think.

Oh my…He was going to make her come. Right while she…she had to wait. “Where is he?”

“Vegas.”

She had to get off the phone fast. “Send me the hotel and room number.”

“Where are you?”

Kane replaced his fingers with his tongue and she almost screamed. “Text message me.”

“Okay. You have a call from—”

“Bye.” Without her hands free, she couldn’t hang up. Luckily Kane did it for her. But he also straightened to do so, once again denying her completion. She glared at him. “You’re insane. How could you do that to me when I was on the—”

“Did you want me to stop?” He was laughing at her, totally enjoying his domination.

She was so hot, she could barely form words and sputtered, “I didn’t want you to stop, but you have.”

“So you want me to continue with my insanity?”

He was teasing her and all she wanted was to reach for his hips, tear off his clothes, wrap her legs around him and draw him closer. But she couldn’t move. Couldn’t even squirm as he raked her with his gaze, ending with a hungry stare between her legs.
One glance at the gleam in his eyes and her irritation died, replaced by a lovely glow of anticipation.

He raised his eyes to meet hers, then slowly inserted one finger into her warmth and rested his thumb lightly on her clit. Between his heated stare and his skillful hands, he made the gesture gentle and intimate as well as erotic, and all kinds of heat flowed into her.

“You know why you are enjoying yourself so much?” he asked, his voice filled with lazy tension.

She had no idea. She didn’t want to talk or think. All her energy focused on his sliding thumb and the delicious stirring of her senses.

When she didn’t answer, he tapped her clit.

“Ah,” she sighed, knowing she needed more to find release and wondering how long he would hold her right on the delicious edge.

“Well?” His voice deepened.

“I need more. But I want to come with you inside me.”

“Why?” He tapped her clit several times, then stopped, waiting for her answer.

“It’ll be better.”

“Why?”

“Sharing…ah…pleasure…oh…is better.”

“Wrong answer.” He withdrew his hand.

She was quivering, trembling, and had to bite her bottom lip to keep from screaming at him as ever so slowly the heat he’d built receded and the roaring in her ears ebbed.

When she could finally speak, she forced words past her lips. “Why did you stop?”

His stare pierced her. “You wanted to give me pleasure or you wanted to take back control?”

She would have shrugged if she could have moved. Her thoughts swirled but she sensed her answer was important to him. She shut her eyes so she could think. Why
did
she want to make love? Did she truly want to give him pleasure or did she want to take back some control?

“I don’t know,” she told him, opening her eyes. “I’m not the kind of person simply to take pleasure and not give back.”

“But I want you only to take. Watching you yield gives me pleasure. And you just denied me.”

His words made her chest hitch. “But…but…don’t you want my touch? Don’t you want to make love and have an orgasm?”

“You still don’t understand. You are not responsible for my enjoyment. What I want, I will take. What I want, I will demand.”

He wanted her to do absolutely nothing but what he asked, not even give him something in return. No wait. Her total submission would be his pleasure. He was enjoying her submission more than she’d realized. But what frightened and thrilled her right down to her toes was the freedom of doing as he demanded. She wasn’t responsible for his pleasure or her own. It was all about enjoying the moment. She didn’t have to do one little thing and the concept was so absolutely selfish that she had never even thought of it.

With him in control the sex was all about her. He was giving her…everything. All she had to do was accept.

She raised her gaze to his. “I didn’t truly understand until now. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” The nod of his head was almost imperceptible, but his eyes darkened with pleasure. A rakish grin twitched his mouth into a crooked line.

And then he spun her over in the air until her forehead and knees were almost touching the desk. With her hands on her thighs and her legs still parted, her bottom was now tipped upward. She could no longer see him, but from the heat on her bottom he still stood over her, looking at every inch of exposed flesh.

She held her breath, wondering what he would do. Very consciously she let go of her embarrassment and vulnerability to embrace the pleasure he would give her. He rested his hand on her bottom, lightly played with the chain that tugged on her breasts and her clit and every sensitive place in between.

She couldn’t hold back a moan of pleasure as every single nerve in her fired and demanded more. But with no idea what he would do next, she could only wait.

She heard him drag a chair to the desk, and the leather creaked as he took a seat. Once again he fingered her chain, but almost absentmindedly, lightly, not enough to come close to giving her release.

She suspected she no longer had his full attention but it didn’t matter. She was longing for an orgasm and if he chose to give her one, then she would be happy for it. And if he chose to delay, somehow she
would enjoy that, too. Because as he booted the computer beside her, she was learning that his forcing her patience was upping her enjoyment. Every tiny stroke of his hand, every slight tug of the chain brought more and more excitement. He was winding her up like a top and it was only a matter of time before he spun her out of control.

“Janet is right. Nigel is in Vegas. He’s made reservations to stay there for four days. Apparently potential buyers can view the items for sale at the hotel, but that’s not until tomorrow, so we needn’t rush.”

“Good.” She couldn’t believe he was talking to her about business while fondling her so intimately.

“And if we’re going to keep this up, we’ll need nourishment.” He picked up the phone, but his hand brushed over her mons and she sucked in her breath, realizing she’d never been so sensitive. “What would you like?”

“Touch me there again.”

“I meant what would you like for me to order for you to eat?”

“I’m not hungry for food.”

He laughed. “If you faint on me, it’s not going to be from hunger but from the pleasure.”

And then he proceeded to order a veritable feast. She was certain she wouldn’t be able to eat one bite. Her nerves were ragged from wondering what he would do next, where he would touch her next. And when he would—if ever he would—give her another orgasm.

Instead, he seemed intent on stroking her back,
her breasts and bottom, once again totally ignoring the needy area between her legs. She should have been totally relaxed on her bed of air, but instead her muscles drew tight and her belly clenched. Her position left her unable to see him but she could imagine his pleasure as she quivered at his every caress.

When room service knocked, she expected him to free her. The chair scraped over the carpet and he stood and stepped away, his steps fading. She held her breath, listening to hear if he’d at least shut the door. He didn’t.

While the suite’s office was around the corner from the front door which he would open, just the idea of waiting here while he allowed someone else to come inside made her realize even more fully that she had no control over the matter. Recalling how he hadn’t wanted her stepbrother to see one exposed inch of her flesh, she forced air into her lungs.

But she couldn’t stop thinking about how she would look to anyone coming through that door. With her bottom tipped up and her legs parted, she was exposed to the max. And she was more excited than she’d ever been in her life.

Because she trusted Kane. Totally trusted him with her body. Trusted him to understand her better than she understood herself.

She listened intently to hear whether room service had left. But she couldn’t tell. She heard a cart rolling into the room. Smelled hot croissants, cheeses, fruits, coffee and wine. Suspecting Kane had returned alone, but uncertain, she found her mouth had
gone dry—even as moisture seeped between her thighs.

Kane chuckled. “So, you’re happy I’m back?”

“Yes.”

He pulled out the chair. And he spun her again, this time she landed in his lap, facing him, her legs dangling to either side of his knees. The transition stunned her. The blood that had gone to her brain rushed to her lower limbs.

She caught sight of her reflection in a mirror over his shoulder. Cheeks flushed, eyes dilated, her hair mussed, she looked pouty and soft and feminine—and needy, with her nipples hard and pointy beneath the gold glitter. But it was the chain that made her look sexy as hell. A chain that she wore proudly for him.

Her gaze went to his. No way could she eat unless he released the knots in her belly, eased the fiery desire coursing through her veins. And as much as she wanted an orgasm, she realized she wanted something more.

Never had anyone paid so much attention to her. Never had any man read her better than she knew herself. He was allowing her to be utterly selfish.

But she wanted more. Not just an orgasm—although she’d never needed one more than she did at the moment. He’d revved her up until she was ready to explode with no more than a caress. But her response to him was more than physical, she was opening to him emotionally. She could feel a mental
shifting, an awakening that she’d shut down after her divorce.

So even though she craved release, even more she craved him to want her as much as she wanted him.

K
ANE THOUGHT
she finally understood that he took pleasure from watching her. Oh, he fully intended to satisfy both of them. Just not quite yet. She was having too much fun, perhaps for the first time in years, for him to cut short the experience. He wanted her to feel every nuance of arousal.

And as much as he wanted to continue to touch her fabulous silky skin, breathe in her essence and cause her flesh to quiver, he needed to allow her a measure of calm—just so he could build her back up again.

Besides, he liked having her on his lap, naked. And when he thought of all the pleasure he had yet to give her, his heart quickened in anticipation. Now that he’d finally admitted that he couldn’t choose where his heart led him, he’d simply stopped fighting himself.

Although they could never have a future together, they had now. And he wasn’t going to waste one more precious moment worrying about what he could not change. Whether they made love or not, he couldn’t protect his heart from their eventual parting,
so why not live life to the fullest while he was here and with her?

He’d never met a woman so strong. He knew what it took for her to yield to him. To give up her will, to allow him to do what he wished took such trust, faith and courage that he vowed not to disappoint her.

He’d washed his hands before he’d opened the door for room service, but he dipped his hands into the warm water of the finger bowl anyway, just for the sheer pleasure of using her shoulders and back to dry the back of his hands, saving her breasts for his palms.

Eyes wide, she licked her bottom lip, obviously enjoying his touch as much as he enjoyed caressing her. But his intention was to give them a cooling-off time and he turned to the cart of food. “Your throat must be parched. Would you care for a grape?”

“Yes, please.”

He picked up the grape and placed it between her lips. As she brought it into her mouth and chewed, her eyes lit with simple enjoyment. He barely waited for her to swallow before he slanted his mouth over hers.

She immediately parted her lips, welcoming him into her sweetness. And he feasted, breathing in the citrus fragrance of her skin, tasting the fruit of the grape, sealing their bargain with a searing kiss that made him forget about food.

As his arms embraced her and drew her closer, he shut down the raw thought that whether or not he completed his mission, he couldn’t keep her. The
time bubble would collapse and send him back to the future. He could only have now.

So he vowed to remember every detail to take back with him to the future. Her kiss caused his emotions to swell into a tide of longing. He intended to ensure that today was a day she would never forget, one that would keep the lonely nights at bay, one that she’d look back upon through the years as the best of the best. If he could give her that, then he would have done his all.

He couldn’t change the past, couldn’t risk the future, but that didn’t mean their time together was doomed. Today they would have more loving than many people had over the course of an entire lifetime.

He fed her tidbit after tidbit, whatever she wanted, taking care to let her swallow before he claimed another kiss. Then another. Between sizzling kisses, they sipped wine from the same glass and nibbled on treats that he fed her, each of them knowing the time was approaching when he was going to demand more from her.

So many ideas zinged through his head, so many choices. He wanted to do everything with her. But he went straight for the dessert.

He released her invisible bonds so she could once again move. When she noticed her new freedom, her eyes widened in surprise but she didn’t change position. The pulse in her neck throbbed, indicating her recognition that her circumstances might be about to alter.

Bending forward, he kissed her again and at the same time skimmed his fingers along the insides of her thighs. She welcomed his kiss, leaning into his hands, which he grazed over her pubic hair. And when he gave that hair a tiny tug, her mouth opened wider, signalling her willingness for whatever he had in mind.

With featherlight caresses, he explored her shaved mons, shifting the chain slightly. As sensations rippled over her flesh, he enjoyed the twitches that revealed her eagerness for more. Gently, he peeled open her golden lips, still kissing her as he stroked and caressed. She responded with sweet moisture and as he dipped his fingers into her, he sensed her muscles quickening.

He’d denied her an orgasm earlier, making her wait, knowing that each time he raised the plateau to a new level, he increased the chance that the next time he wouldn’t stop in time. Yet, her eyes and breath made it easy for him to tell when she was close to release. She wasn’t deceptive by nature and during love play, she left not only her body open to him, but her emotions.

So as her legs gripped his and her fingers clutched her thighs, her breath came faster. He moved his fingers more quickly, taking her up hard and fast. And when he sensed that the next moment might be the one to take her over the edge, he stopped.

Her hips pumped asking for more. Her eyes widened in shocked surprise, but she didn’t protest.

He gave her only a few moments to collect her
self before he cupped her breasts and tweaked her nipples. Closing her eyes, she let out a soft groan. “Do you have any idea…how difficult it’s become to let you do this?”

He had no intention of admitting he was having the same difficulty. Teasing her was causing his blood to riot and every drop seemed to have gone south. He ached to have her, with a desperate intensity. Desperation made some men weak. Kane prided himself on using that desperation to feed his determination.

Sweat beaded on his brow. Touching her breasts, watching the desire take over her expression and feeling her tremble beneath his hands fed his will. He was going to take her to places she’d never been before.

He had the skill. And somehow, somewhere, he would find the patience.

F
ALLON DIDN’T UNDERSTAND
why he kept denying her release. He’d activated the buffs and with the combination of their vibrating pulsations, the snagging chain and his hands and mouth, she could think of little besides her flesh, her need and the indescribable sweet torture of being at his mercy.

She couldn’t decide which was worse, being free to move but having to hold still, or being unable to move at all. Either way, she was always waiting, hoping he’d apply enough pressure in the right place to give her what she sought.

But he was a master at reading her. Although she
tried to hide how close she was to release, he always seemed to know.

“What do you like best?” he asked in lazy satisfaction. He tweaked her nipples. “This?” He slipped his hand between her legs. “Or this?”

“I like it best…when you…let me…come.”

He continued to caress her intimately while he challenged her. “And suppose I don’t let you come?”

She eyed him without the least bit of concern. “You won’t do that.”

“How can you be so certain?”

“Because you aren’t cruel.”

“Isn’t making you wait cruel?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Yes. Maybe.” Talking while he stroked her was almost impossible, but she suddenly realized that it distracted her and allowed him to increase her pleasure without going over the top.

He laughed. “You’ve been very patient and now you’ll receive a reward.”

Her heart somersaulted. Finally, he was going to give her the orgasm she’d wanted for so long.

But instead of increasing the tempo, he withdrew his hands from her skin. Disappointment battled with uncertainty. Now what?

He swiveled the chair away from the desk, his eyes giving away nothing. She didn’t have a clue what her reward was going to be. But when he set her on her shaking legs, it took more effort than she’d have thought just to stand.

He stood, too. And to ease the mounting tension,
she swallowed hard, very aware that he remained fully dressed while she always seemed to be naked. However, she didn’t mind, not when he looked at her with such banked heat in his eyes. Just imagining unleashing all that fire warmed her.

“You will undress me.”

He’d stated her reward as a command but she didn’t care. She could have done a happy dance around the room but that would have delayed touching him. It seemed as if she’d been waiting forever to test the texture of his skin, bury her fingers in his hair, breathe in his scent.

Remembering how he’d made her clothing disappear with one tug, she fingered his shirt. “I want to take these off the way we do in our time.”

“Whatever.” His tone might have been casual but his eyes narrowed.

He’d figure out her plan soon enough. He’d spent hours driving her wild, teasing and taunting her, and now he’d actually commanded her to take off his clothes. And she fully intended to obey his demand—but she would do so her way.

Unless he objected, of course. But she didn’t think he would from the glint of expectation in his gaze. Especially when she fingered the top button of his shirt, cocked her head and murmured, “It might take a while.”

“I thought you were in a rush.”

“That was before.”

“Before?”

“Before you made my hands tremble.”

He raised his hand to hers. “If you require my assistance—”

“I don’t.” She didn’t even try to hold back her grin as she stroked his neck and ever so slowly traced a path down to the top button by his throat. “I can do this. And it’s my reward, right?”

“Right.”

He sounded just as sure of himself as he always did, when she finally unfastened the button and stroked the tiny vee of firm flesh that she’d just revealed. Although her anticipation had been building all day, she tamped down her eagerness, fully intending to use his own strategy against him.

However, as she leaned in to unfasten the next button, allowing her breast to brush against his shirt, she was very aware that he could put a stop to her teasing anytime he wished. Since he hadn’t displayed one vulnerable moment—if she didn’t count his admission of having once fallen in love—she expected him to be able to take quite a bit of her taunting before he decided her reward was done.

Wanting to throw him off balance, she unfastened the next four buttons quickly, yanked the tails from his slacks and then pulled the material over his shoulders, revealing his powerful chest. More like an Olympic swimmer than a weight lifter, his muscles were long and lean, his shoulders broad, his black chest hair tantalizingly soft. She threaded her fingers through the hair and ran her palms over his warm skin. Bronzed, muscular and firm, his chest tapered to a flat stomach.

She’d ignored his nipples but was pleased when her touch elsewhere caused them to tighten. Pretending to be unaware of the bulge in his slacks, she tipped back her head and skimmed her hands up and around his neck and into his hair. Silky and thicker than she’d expected, she tugged, drawing his head back a little, then lightly licked first one nipple, then the other.

“I’m enjoying my reward.” She breathed the words onto his damp skin and watched him tighten further. She’d longed to touch him for so long that now that she could actually do so, the moment seemed magical. She wanted to give back every ounce of pleasure he’d given her, but she also wanted to see if she could reach him on more than a physical level.

Sure, they were playing sexual games—and mental games—but there was an emotional risk as well. Even if they could never be together again, she wanted evidence that her growing attachment to him was mutual. She wanted him as taut and tense and ready as she was. She wanted him to need with the same ferocity she did. And even if waiting delayed her own gratification, she still wanted to dig out an emotional response from him as well as a physical one.

She wasn’t certain how she’d recognize whether or not she’d accomplished her goal, but proceeded with the certainty that he’d give her a sign so she’d know she’d succeeded. Perhaps his eyes would glimmer with a light she had yet to see. Perhaps his mouth
would relax into an unguarded smile. Or perhaps she’d fail. She only knew that she had to try and reach him in a place that was elemental and raw.

She walked behind him and tugged the shirt over his shoulders, then flung it onto the desk. Technically, she was about to do more than disrobe him but she didn’t expect him to stop her. She arched her spine and gently swirled her breasts against him. At the same time, she placed her arms around his waist and let her fingers drift over his tight abs and tense pectorals. When she tweaked his nipples as he’d done to her, he let out a slight hiss of air.

Pleased he hadn’t stopped her, she pushed him further, using her hands and her breasts and nipping his back lightly. “So you like it when I touch you?”

“Of course. I’m not made of stone.”

He sounded disgruntled, but marginally so, and she suspected he was giving in to not just the pleasure but his emotions, despite every intention not to. “I’m so glad you aren’t stone. Stone is cold. Your flesh is warm and supple and pleasing.”

“I’m glad you approve.”

She grinned. “You don’t sound glad. You sound…impatient.”

“Wrong.”

She disagreed. “In that case, you won’t mind if I take my time to explore all of you?”

A muscle in the cords of his neck tightened. “Mind? Why would I mind?”

He was toying with her. Daring her. Challenging her. Telling her one thing with words, his body say
ing another. And she’d never been one to back down. Knowing that he found her touch arousing but refused to admit it caused a delicious thrill to spike. That he was fighting himself, and her too, told her that she could win this battle of wills. His emotions were buried deep, but he’d given her the means to dig them out.

But she would go slowly, sifting layer by layer until she discovered what was hidden at his core. She pressed her chest to his back, enjoying the ripple of tension that drew him ramrod straight. Touching him like this was causing her hands to tingle as if the friction was heating her palms and the blood in her veins.

Turning her head, she pillowed her cheek on his back, and allowed her hands to drop to caress his sex, which pushed against his slacks. At her touch through the material, he jerked. As her fingers scouted out the new territory, she imagined he wanted his clothes off as much as she wanted to take them off.