Breaking Skye (13 page)

He took her face in his hands and went down on his knees beside her chair. He had to do it. There was no way to kiss this woman and stay on his feet.

Jesus Christ.

When she sighed into his mouth he just about came apart. And she went even looser, melting right into him. His cock was as hard as it had ever been in his life. He could barely breathe. But he wasn’t going to stop.

He was nearly panting by the time she pulled back. She looked dazed, her pupils enormous, her cheeks flushed.

“Jagger...” She pulled his hands from her face and looked away.

“Ah, don’t.”

She shook her head. “This isn’t right.”

“It feels right.”

It’s just the sex, man. You don’t need it to be anything else.

“That doesn’t make it so, Jagger.”

“Fuck. You’re right. I’m sorry.” He stood up. So did she.

“I have to go.” She pushed her dark hair from her face.

“Look, you don’t have to leave. Stay and finish your dessert.”

“I can’t.” She moved to the console table by the door and picked up her purse. “I...thank you for the dinner, and...I really have to go. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not. I’m not sorry I kissed you, Mia Rose.”

She shook her head again. “I’m going,” she said quietly, but he knew there was nothing he could do to stop her.

She pulled the door open and slipped through.

Damn it. The last thing he’d wanted was to chase her away again. But he’d had to kiss her. And he’d told her the truth. He wasn’t sorry he’d done it.

That kiss had gone through him like heat lightning. Like a jolt of electricity. And now he was burning.

Fuck.

He pressed a hand to his aching cock, willing his erection to go away. But if it had been bad earlier, simply thinking about her, it was a hundred times worse now. Now that he’d kissed her, tasted her mouth.

He ripped his shirt over his head, yanked his pants down as he practically ran to the shower, jerked the handles, running the hot water. Steam quickly filled the room as he stepped under the sting of the spray. He grabbed the soap right away and lathered his cock, began to pump. He bit his lip, could almost taste her there still.

Mia Rose.

Pleasure shot through him, seemed to weigh him down, crushing him, until he could barley stand. He leaned against the wall of the shower, let his head fall back, thrust his hips into his fist.

Yeah, wet and slippery, just like she’d be inside. He knew it, knew it from the silk of her mouth, the slide of her tongue on his.

Mia Rose.

His climax bore down on him. Sharp and hot, his come spurting between his fingers. He was panting hard, his hips still pumping even after it was over. It wasn’t enough. Not by far. Because his cock wasn’t the only part of him obsessed with Mia Rose. And it wasn’t only her body he wanted.

The woman had really spun his head. This endless need to come and come and come was only the beginning of it. He couldn’t even think about the rest.

He leaned into the cool wall of the shower, let the water wash him clean as he tried to catch his breath.

Maybe once he fucked her he’d be able to work her out of his system. That’s what he was telling himself, anyway. Because the idea that there was something more was not acceptable. Not good for him, not good for her.

He’d made a deal with himself, damn it. That’s what had gotten him over Elena.  And it had been working. Nothing long term. No emotions involved. Never give a woman the chance to get to him again.

The problem was, with Mia Rose, it might already be too late.

Copyright 2008 Eden Bradley. Excerpted by permission of Bantam/Random House. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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Bonus Excerpt: TEMPTATION’S EDGE

Eden Bradley writing as Eve Berlin

What happens when you let yourself fall…

Mischa Kennon isn’t one to take it lying down, at least not until she meets sexy Connor Galloway , a green-eyed Irishman with an air of authority she finds hard to resist. While performing duties as maid of honor to her best friend, Mischa indulges in a casual relationship with Connor. She’s surprised by the thrill of his dominance, and lusts for more feisty battles before surrender.

…over the edge

It’s all fun and games in the BDSM Pleasure Dome Club, until Mischa realizes Connor could master her heart.

…and into temptation?

If she gives in to desire, will it be too much to handle, or will it open her to a kind of love she never thought possible?

EXCERPT:

“Come sit by me,” he said.

She did, next to him but not too close. If they had serious issues to discuss, she’d have to maintain a certain distance in order to keep a clear head. Semi-clear, anyway. The man was still in the room. And she suspected up close he’d smell too good to resist.

“Do you want something to drink?” she asked him.  “A glass of wine?”

“No alcohol when we play. No alcohol when we negotiate. Clear heads.”

“Okay. How do these negotiations go?”

“I have a list of questions. You answer. Simple in essence, except that you need to think your answers through, be honest with yourself about what you want, where your boundaries and fears are. And just as crucial that you’re honest with me. This will determine what we might do, and perhaps more importantly, what we won’t do. You’ll be telling me yes, no or maybe for each question. ‘Maybe’ means it’s something I can push you on in the moment, or bring up again later, if I determine you’re in the right space to approach it.”

“If
you
determine?” She crossed her arms over her chest. That didn’t sit well with her at all.

Connor leaned forward, his elbows braced on his knees. “Mischa, being a dominant is a great pleasure, but with it comes great responsibility. I know we’ve just met, but can you trust in what you’ve seen of me so far? Can you trust that I am Alec’s friend? We play in the same circles, by the same code of ethics. Are you familiar with the Safe, Sane and Consensual credo?”

“Yes. I’ve heard it at the clubs I’ve been to. And I’ve read about it.”

“Then you have some idea of what that code means to me. I take it very seriously. All right?”

She nodded her head. Her heart was beginning to pound. This was serious stuff. The few men she’d ‘played’ with at the clubs had been just that—play—but Connor was the real thing. It aroused her, excited her, so much more than she’d expected. But with Connor, every time she thought she knew what to expect, he surprised her. Including, right now, how quickly her irritation at his bossiness dissolved under the powerful force of his natural command. It was real—he wasn’t some wanna-be, which, she now realized, was probably what those other men she’d experimented with were. And somehow, that changed everything.

“I should also tell you,” he went on, “that when we’re done, if you still have any questions for me, you let me know, and I will answer as thoroughly as I can.”

She nodded again. Licked her lips.

“Remember: yes, no or maybe. Do you want to be spanked?”

She smiled, a little surprised at how quickly the conversation had shifted, how he’d gotten right down to business. But this question was easy enough. “Yes. Sure.”

“Pinched?”

Also easy. “Yes.”

“Hit with a flogger, a slapper, a crop?”

A lovely chill ran through her. “Yes. I’ve had a flogger used on me, but it was one of those soft suede ones. And frankly, he was far too tentative with it.”

“What about with a single-tail?”

“Is that like a short bullwhip?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know the level of pain I can handle, what I might enjoy past a certain point.”

“But you do enjoy the pain?”

“Yes. I always have. From rough sex to a good spanking.”

“But you have never felt that you were a submissive.” It was phrased as a statement, but she knew he was asking her.

“Not in the past. But…it’s different with you. Not that I’ll ever be truly submissive. The submission is part of the pain-pleasure thing. An off-shoot of that.”

“And you’re not entirely happy about it?”

She smiled again, a little wryly. “Not entirely.”

“But you are willing to explore these things with me?”

“Yes.”

“What about anal sex?”

“Yes. I like it a lot.”

A slow smile from him at that. “Ah, good girl.”

There it was, those two simple words again that just made her melt into a pathetic little puddle.

Only for him.

She’d been telling him the truth. Although she’d been spanked, tied up, she’d never felt that sensation of going under, of letting go of control, handing that to another person. It had been more about seeking out extreme forms of sex. Having an adventure. The adventure with him would be something else altogether.

“How do you feel about being tied up? Handcuffed? Chained?”

“Being tied up has never really done much for me. I don’t get the fascination with ropes, and definitely not with silk scarves. That seems…amateurish to me. I love the handcuffs. Really love the idea of chains, although I’ve never used them before.”

“Ah, we are a perfect match, you and I. What about being blindfolded?”

“I…I don’t like it. Enough that I’ve never allowed anyone to try it with me. I don’t like that total disconnect from my environment.”

“You always need a shred of control to hang onto, is that it?”

She raised her chin. “Yes.”

“All right. We don’t have to go there right now. What about hot wax?”

“I’ve played with it before, but I wasn’t the one on the bottom that time.”

He laughed. “And?”

“I like the idea of it. We’ll have to see if I like the sensation.”

“Tell about the Kanji tattoo on the back of your neck—what does it say?”

“My tattoo?”

“Yes.”

She shrugged, trying not to squirm, although she wasn’t sure why
now
, rather than during all the questions about the floggers and chains. “It says ‘pain is love’.”

He raised one dark brow. “Do you really believe that?”

There was no hesitation before she answered this time. “Yes. Don’t you?”

He smiled a little, although at the same time he no longer looked quite so happy. “Yes. I guess I do.”

He paused, still looking at her. She stared back, watching as he rearranged his features, let the shadow there, a flicker of emotion, fade away. She wasn’t going to ask him about that. She knew the feeling well enough herself.

“Do you have any questions for me?” he asked her finally.

“Are the negotiations done?”

“For now.”

“Then yes, I have a question.”

“Ask.”

“When are you going to take me to that club, the Pleasure Dome?”

He laughed again. “You like the public play, do you?”

“That’s the biggest draw of those places for me, or it has been in the past. More than the equipment, my partners.”

“You like to put on a show, do you? So do I. If you really want to go, then I’ll certainly take you. Not tonight. Maybe next weekend. If you’re still interested, that is. You might run from me again.”

“I don’t think so.”

“What makes you so certain of that?”

“I just…” How to explain to him, without saying more than she wanted to? Without admitting more than she was willing to look at herself? “I want to go. And I have a feeling this is going to work out. That we’ll be good together.”

“You’re not a shy one, are you?”

It was her turn to laugh. “Hardly.”

He stood, absolutely towering over her. He looked a bit intimidating, she could admit to that. The man was a
wall
. Big and dark, his eyes glittering with mischief. But she also loved it—his size, that shadowed side of him. His wickedness.

He held out a hand to her. “Shall we begin, then?”

She smiled, got to her feet. And was swept into his arms so fast it made her head spin. He turned her until she was face-down on the sofa, her robe gone as if by magic. He held both her wrists behind her back in one of his hands. She was panting instantly, shocked at how quickly he’d gotten her naked and into this submissive position. She also understood, in some distant way, that he’d used that element of surprise to break right through any walls she may have put up. It didn’t scare her. Little did. She trusted him, for all the reasons he’d stated. And it was working beautifully. There was nothing but that small voice in the back of her head that was trying to tell her to slow down, to regain some balance in the power between them. But she was turned on enough to overcome it.

He leaned over and whispered into her ear, as if he could see right into her head, “Just relax now. Give it all over to me. You don’t need to struggle. To argue with yourself about it. Just do it. It can be that easy.”