Darkest Fire (11 page)

Authors: Tawny Taylor

Tags: #Paranormal, #BDSM

BOOK: Darkest Fire

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His footsteps signaled his approach. Closer, closer. It was hell trying to pretend to be completely engrossed in the book she held in her slightly trembling fingers.

“You’re still awake?” His voice was a little deeper than normal, rougher.

“I . . . couldn’t sleep. This book”—she looked up—“is riveting.” He looked different too, but she couldn’t say what exactly had changed. His hair was maybe a little messier, his clothes not quite so crisply starched anymore.

Or was it his eyes?

Yes, that was it.

A little shiver swept up her spine. There, in the darkest part of his eyes, was that spark, the one she’d seen the first time they’d met, and then again the first night they’d made love.

“Riveting, you say?” His gaze traveled her full length, from her head down to her feet and back up again. “Nice pajamas.”

“They’re new.”

“Mmmm.”

Oooh, she liked how he’d said that. The low vibrations seemed to travel through her body, making her feel bold and sexy. She also liked how he was devouring her with his eyes. Slowly, she set the book aside and stood, relishing the rising color in his face and neck.

Earlier, she’d felt distanced from him, almost powerless to change things, but not anymore. How many times had she read or heard that women had the upper hand over men? She’d never believed it—until this moment. Right now, she watched her husband struggle to maintain the cool, semidetached mien he clung to with such fierce determination.

Make him lose control with desire. You did it once. You can do it again.

When one shoulder of the frothy white gown slipped down her shoulder, she didn’t catch it up and move it back into place. Instead, she shifted her shoulders to let the lace strap move lower, so that a good part of one breast was exposed to her husband’s increasingly feral gaze.

“I’m your wife,” she reminded him. “Yours to take. Whenever you want. I’m not going to stop you.”

“I didn’t think you would.”

“You did make it clear you want children.”

“Yes, I did.” He didn’t move closer.

“Then why—?”

She didn’t get the chance to finish her question. One second, he was standing in the center of the den, the next he was dragging her to her feet. His lips claimed hers with fiery, heated hunger. His tongue swept into her mouth, filling it with his sweet flavor. And his hands found her hips, pulling them snuggly against him.

At the feel of the rigid rod pressing against her stomach, and the passion of his kiss, Rin melted. Her thoughts became liquid, thin and unsubstantial, impossible to hold on to. They flowed from her mind in pulsing waves as carnal heat pounded through her body.

Yes, this was right.

More.

She crushed herself against him, hungry for his heat, his touch. There were too many clothes between them. She needed to feel the heated satin of his skin beneath her fingertips. The torturously decadent abrasion of his chest hair over her nipples.

Between her legs, heat had gathered. Pulsing, tingling need. It was growing, building, moving out from her center like a churning storm cloud.

“Drako,” she whispered against his lips as she rocked her hips forward, pressing her aching pussy against his leg.

He answered with a low, rumbling growl, lifted her off her feet, only to set her back on the couch. With eyes glimmering, he unfastened his pants and shoved them down, exposing slender hips and that full, thick erection. A droplet of precum glistened on the ruddy head, a bead of sweet temptation she didn’t have the strength to ignore. Sitting upright, she took his rod in her hands and coaxed him closer until her nose filled with the scent of male hunger and soap. When she took him in her mouth, she was rewarded with another of those deep, growling moans.

He curled his fingers in her hair, taking two fists full. And he tugged, not too hard, just hard enough, pulling her away from him. His cock slid out of her mouth. But she was hungry for another taste and leaned forward again, taking him deeper, relishing his flavor as his skin glided over her tongue. Ambrosia.

Again, he pulled her back, and again she rocked forward, over and over in a steady rhythm, her tongue a cushion for his length.

Although she was burning inside, her blood simmering, her muscles—every single one—pulled taut as piano wires, she didn’t have the strength of will to stop herself. Her husband did. She whimpered when he moved out of her reach, dropping on his knees. Before she could bend down and fist his cock, he forced her knees apart and cupped her pussy in his palm.

“Ohhhhh,” she murmured as she fell backward. The pressure was divine, but it was only a tease, and she was beyond the point of enduring the torture.

Thankfully, he seemed to have read her mind. No sooner had she dragged in a shallow gulp of air than his fingers filled her pussy. Now, she teetered on the border between heaven and hell. She needed more. More kisses. Caresses. Strong arms enfolding her. A thick, hard cock filling the pounding emptiness.

She received the last. His cock breached her entry in a hard, quick thrust, and she shuddered at the sudden pleasure. Desperate to take him deeper, she wrapped her legs around his hips, changing the angle of his entry so that every stroke, out, in, out again, produced a shock wave through her whole body.

A fingertip pressed against her clit, and she clenched her inner muscles around him. A shuddering, tingling, whole-body orgasm was only a few thrusts away. With every thrust, every flick of his finger, her body tightened, heated, until she was trembling, her skin slick with sweat, her pussy clamped tight around his invading member.

His cock thickened, and she could hold back no longer. She relinquished with a moan and a sigh, and let his quickening pace extend the tingling pleasure of her orgasm. He caught her hips between strong hands, fingers curled, and lifted them, driving into her fiercely, until he too found his release. He came with a shuddering, throaty cry, drove into her a few more times and then lowered himself onto her, leaving his cock buried deep inside.

Now, that was the way a quickie should feel.

When he wrapped her in his arms, she smiled to herself, closed her eyes, and enjoyed the moment, knowing it would end too soon and they would become what they had been.

Husband and wife in name.

Partners in bed.

Acquaintances in life.

She wasn’t sorry. She wasn’t sad. As he kissed her forehead, stood, pulled up his pants, and left her, she told herself this was enough. She had everything she had ever hoped for.

Absolutely everything.

The next morning, she found a box sitting on her night-stand—the kind that came from a jewelry store. The top of the box was embossed with a swirling, interwoven D and A.

Drako’s logo.

Inside, Rin discovered a small velvet box, and inside that a pair of gorgeous diamond drop earrings. The bigger stones, a perfectly matched pair, were an intense yellow; the smaller stones that sat on the earlobe were clear, colorless. The combination was breathtaking.

She’d never owned anything so precious, beautiful.

She smiled at the irony. Where would she wear them? A party? The club? A date?

An idea came to her, and she smiled.

She’d plan a special surprise for Drako tomorrow night.

Yes, it would be perfect.

R
in could feel the shadows as they swept over her bared skin. They were cool, satiny, not at all unpleasant like she’d expected. This quiet, secluded place, bordering still, deep waters, was the perfect setting. She just hoped Drako would find her earlier than later. She was counting on Lei to give him the note.

They’d fallen into a routine already, after only a few days. Routines were good, when it came to certain things. Dressing for work. Paying the bills.

But not marriage. Not sex.

Tonight, instead of finding her in the den, her book in her lap, he’d find her here, at the very back of the property where the river scented the air and fireflies danced in the inky night. And instead of finding her wearing a frothy concoction of lace and satin, she was wearing nothing but the gift he’d given her.

Earrings and a smile.

Thankful it wasn’t a cold night, she stretched out on the soft throw she’d spread on the ground and plumped the pillows she’d brought to make things comfy.

The snap of a twig up the hill told her someone was on his way down. Moving quickly, she lit the single lantern she’d brought—ambient lighting was always good. The moon was nothing but a mere sliver tonight, but she looked forward to doing this again, maybe in the fall, and seeing Drako’s beautiful body illuminated by nothing but the light of a fat harvest moon.

“Rin?” He was close now, near enough for her to make out his shape in the still shadows. “What’s this?”

“A surprise.”

“A surprise, you say?” When he stepped into the soft lantern light, she swallowed a sigh. The weak illumination cut shadows across his face and over his body, but instead of looking strange or scary, he looked even more gorgeous. “Hmmm, this is a surprise.”

“Well, I figured I owed you.” She tucked her hair behind her ears and fingered her earlobes, hoping the light would reflect off the diamonds. A million tiny stars flickered around them.

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“Thank you. They’re beautiful.” Since he was still standing, she patted the ground beside her. “Will you join me? It’s such a lovely night, so clear. I discovered something while I was waiting for you to come home.”

“What’s that?” He sat beside her, allowing her a good, close look at his eyes. She was quite ecstatic to see the glimmer she was so fond of in their depth, the one that promised all kinds of carnal pleasure.

“If you lie down and look up, you can see thousands, maybe millions of stars.” She reclined onto her back and looked up. “I’ve never seen so many.”

He lay down beside her. “You can see even more if you get farther from the city.”

So glad she’d come out here, she inhaled the sweetly scented air and smiled. “Will you take me away from here someday? To see the stars?”

“Maybe. I don’t get away very often. But it’s possible.” He rolled onto his side and propped himself up on a bent arm. With one index finger, he drew a tingly line from the base of her throat, down between her breasts, to her belly button. “Rin, you are full of surprises, aren’t you?”

“I try.”

He cupped her cheek and bent down to kiss her. The kiss was as impossibly beautiful as the heavenly show above them, and she let herself savor every brush of his lips before welcoming his tongue into her mouth.

His sweet flavor danced on her taste buds. His intoxicating scent teased her nostrils, and his heat warmed her skin.

A silly thought popped into her head but just as swiftly popped out, and once again, she was adrift in a current of sensation. Scents of earth, water, flowers, grass, and man. Sounds of insects whirring, birds calling, water lapping at the bank, and her own shallow gasps as Drako kissed her collarbone, her shoulder. The feel of his clothes grazing against her heated skin, his thumb teasing her nipple to an aching, tingling peak, the warm tightness coiling deep inside her body.

She reached up, pushed her hands under his shirt, and traced the lines cutting the muscles of his abdomen into a series of sloping planes. Up, she moved her hands, to his broad chest. When a fingertip found a tight little nipple, he growled softly and nipped her, sending a blade of pleasure-pain slicing through her system.

“When I saw you that first night,” he whispered, his voice breathy, “I thought I knew what you were like. I was wrong.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No, not at all.” One of his hands skimmed down her body, finding the heated juncture of her thighs.

“Tell me what did you think I was like?”

“Two-dimensional. Predictable.” He parted her labia and flicked her clit softly.

She quivered as a heated chill swept up her spine. “Mmmm. So glad you believe you were wrong.”

“So am I.” He pushed two fingers inside her, and she arched her back and bent her knees, sliding her feet apart. When he withdrew his fingers, she rocked her hips back, and when he plunged them deep inside for a second time, she thrust them forward. He hooked them, applying just the right amount of friction against that spot inside, and sparks lit up behind her closed eyelids.

This time, she didn’t want a quickie. She wanted the pleasure to last.

“Will you take your clothes off? All of them?” she asked.

As torturous as it was, having him stop fucking her with those fingers, she was glad when he stopped. Off came his shirt, revealing the glory of broad shoulders, arms that looked strong enough to lift her with ease, and that unbelievable stomach. Down came his pants, and she was gifted with the lovely sight of thick legs. Finally, off came his boxer briefs, and she was staring at the thick cock she was desperate to feel filling her.

She wanted to open her legs wide and take him, but she knew the minute she did that, she’d become lost in her own need and too soon she’d be soaring over the crest of orgasm. And then he’d leave her.

They had little time together, and every moment, every second, was precious. She wanted to make the best of whatever time she had with him.

She sat up, and before he could get her back down on the ground, she cupped his testicles in one hand, curled the fingers of her other hand around his cock, and took him in her mouth.

Just as he had last night, he grabbed her hair, trying to use it to control her. But this time, she didn’t let him. When he pulled, she pushed forward, taking his cock deeper into her throat. And when he pushed, she pulled back until the flared ridge circling the head slipped between her lips and only the tip of him remained in her mouth. It wasn’t easy, fighting against the laws of physics, but thankfully, he quickly gave up, dropping his hands to her shoulders. His fingertips curled, his nails pressing into her skin, but the slight sting only amplified her satisfaction.

This time, she’d have him quivering, on the verge of losing control.

She realized, though, what a foolish notion that was all too soon. Just as she was certain she was setting the pace, he yanked away from her. In the next breath, she was flat on her back, her legs pushed wide apart, her bent knees forced up toward her shoulders.

If she had been in control of him a moment ago, she wasn’t anymore. Now he was in control of her. And the first time his tongue flicked over her clit, she was both oh so glad and oh so frustrated by that fact.

Things only went from bad to worse when he continued to perform magic with that mouth. With tiny nips and flicks of his tongue, he made every cell in her body vibrate. She tried to touch him, caress him, but he made it close to impossible. All she could do was dig her fingernails into his hard shoulders and shiver, quiver, and sigh through his assault.

When he added a couple of fingers sliding in and out of her burning pussy, she all but cried out for mercy. The senses that had once been keen became clouded. Smells didn’t matter. Sounds. Tastes. She was being pulled deeper and deeper into the throbbing pleasure he was churning inside her, and like a swimmer caught in a strong undertow, she couldn’t find a way to the surface.

She couldn’t speak, but if she could, she would have pleaded with him to release her. Especially when the torment continued on and on, to the point she thought she couldn’t endure another second . . . and then beyond that. It seemed he read her body somehow, knew when the heat was getting too great and how much to back off. She tumbled through the darkness, completely at his mercy, until, finally, he stopped.

In that instant, she felt as if she was floating up, to the surface, but before she’d caught her breath, he wedged his hips between her spread thighs and entered her slowly. One fraction of an inch at a time.

All thoughts of prolonging the pleasure were banished from her mind. Now, as he began to thrust in and out in a steady rhythm, everything she felt and thought revolved around one thing—release. The tension inside was building so quickly, she trembled all over.

This time, she would hold him tightly to her as she came. He was supporting his upper body with straight arms. She looped her arms around his neck and pulled, coaxing him to rest on top of her. It felt so right, having his weight settled on top of her, his heat searing her skin, his breath caressing her face. As she rocked her hips in time to his thrusts, she kissed his shoulder, savored the salty taste of his skin.

So close. Almost there.

Eyes shut, she dragged her fingernails down his back, and his rib cage vibrated beneath her fingertips as he growled. This was one feral, powerful man, and she ached to see him at his wildest, all of his dark fury unleashed. Would he ever strip away the restraints and let her see him as he truly was?

That was the last thought she had before her brain shut down entirely. Her orgasm started as a tiny tingling spark, but it didn’t stay that way for long. In a heartbeat, her entire body was shaking, her pussy spasming. Pure carnal bliss coursed up and down, up and down, buzzing from the soles of her feet to the roots of her hair. Those zapping charges increased when Drako found release, and his hot cum filled her pussy. She clung to him, arms wrapped around his neck, legs around his hips. For one glorious moment, she was one with him.

She had no idea how long it took for the after-sex glow to cool. She was only grateful for the fact that Drako didn’t hurry away like he had the last two times. Instead, after he pulled his softening rod out of her, he rolled onto his back and lay beside her, eyes closed, arms resting at his sides.

They didn’t speak for a few minutes. It was nice, a simple pleasure she’d never shared with anyone.

“I made an engagement ring today,” he said. “For a customer.”

“I bet it was beautiful.”

“Sure. They always are.”

She heard something in his voice. What was it? Cynicism? “But. . .?”

He rocked his head from side to side. “When I saw them together the first time, I could tell it wasn’t going to last.”

“Really?”

“His fiancée isn’t marrying him, she’s marrying his bank account. That’s what most of them do.”

“Does it bother you? Selling jewelry to men who are marrying women who don’t love them?” She didn’t want to point out the obvious because she knew there was a point to this conversation and she wanted to hear what it was.

“Yes and no. I don’t feel sorry for either of them. Most of the time they’re using each other. They get what they deserve. But it’s hard to watch people make that kind of mistake, over and over, when they could have so much more.”

“What could they have, Drako?”

He sat up and looked down at her. The lantern’s soft glow gently caressed his features, giving them a softness they didn’t normally possess. “Are you sorry you married me?”

“No, Drako.”

“Are you certain what we have is enough?”

She wanted to tell him yes, absolutely, but she couldn’t. She wasn’t certain, though she was trying damn hard to convince herself it was. Instead, she said, “I think it is.” When he didn’t respond, she continued, “If I hadn’t married you, who’s to say I would have found the perfect man and had the perfect life? I’m convinced perfection doesn’t exist. And I think you’re saying the same thing. What marriage is perfect? Human beings have strengths and weaknesses, failings and triumphs, and so does everything created by man.” She curled her fingers, fisting the soft material beneath her.

“Yes, but . . .” He didn’t finish the sentence, instead leaving Rin wondering what he was thinking.

She sat up, looked down at him. “Drako, I made a promise to you, and I am going to keep it. I don’t know you very well yet, but I believe you are the kind of man who keeps his promises too.”

“Yes.” He sat up, shoved his fingers through his hair. The action made him look confused or frustrated.

“Are you sorry you married me, Drako?”

“No, as long as you tell me you’re happy.”

“I’m happy.” She hoped she sounded sincere.

“You don’t wish you could have more?”

Her fingers moved to her earlobes. She touched the earrings and smiled. “More? You’ve done so much for me already.”