Flash Burned (3 page)

The hand that held my waist slipped around to my front and skimmed up to palm my breast. He squeezed enticingly, then pinched and rolled my nipple, pebbling it tight.

“You're trembling,” he whispered.

“You're going to make me come.”

“That's what I love doing.”

A smile curved my lips. “And you're fantastic at it.”

The crown of his erection nudged in once more. Dipping into me. Retreating. Dipping again.

My inner walls clenched, wanting to hold on to him, to never let him go. Wanting him to fill me and drive deep.

But then he went back to the erotic stroking along my lips and clit. A bit more forcefully, a heartier pace.

Lust shot through me. The thrumming in my pussy grew; the throbbing of my clit became strong, insistent. I clawed at the ledge as his hand shifted to my other breast, his fingers curling around the full mound, heavy and tender with my desire for him. The pad of his thumb whisked over the puckered nipple.

“I'm going to come,” I said on sharp puffs of air. “Oh, Christ. I'm going to come so hard.”

“Do it,” he demanded.

I was so frenzied, my body shook with the pleasure he brought.

Dane's hand slid from my breast to that pearl between my legs, just as his cock thrust into me.
Deep.

“Oh, fuck!” I called out. “Dane!” I with a fervent peaking that rocked me to the core of my being and sent scorching waves through every inch of my quaking body. “Christ!”

I clutched him, eliciting another low growl.

“Baby,” he said as he buried himself all the way, filling me thickly, stretching me. “Squeeze me tight.”

My inner muscles milked his cock.

“Like that,” he whispered.

He stroked in a measured pace, almost pulling out before pushing back in. My orgasm still radiated vibrantly, prolonged by this new pleasure.

“Dane,” I gasped.

One of his hands clasped my hip. The other still rubbed my clit as he pumped into me. “Nothing feels better than you, than this.”

I was as caught up in the passion as he was, torn between needing another soul-stealing release and wanting him to stay sliding and stroking forever.

His hunky body curled around mine and he kissed my shoulder, then nipped at the side of my neck.

I pushed my thighs together, flanked by his. Felt him even fuller and more acutely, every hard inch of him.

I gripped him firmly, and he said in my ear, “You know what that does to me.”

“It makes you want to fuck me faster.”

“And I'm going to.” His hips bucked as he plunged rapidly.

My breath hitched. “Yes … That is
so
good.”

He hit that sensational spot within that lit me up. I panted harshly as the pressure built and he thrust quicker.

“Oh, God.” My eyelids dipped, my back arched more, keeping my ass in the air, giving him the best access. “Fuck me harder,” I muttered. “Make me come.”

Greedy, sure. But I couldn't help it. I had an insatiable need for him. And the orgasms he gave me were too electrifying to not demand more.

“Ari,” he said in a strained voice, his breath tickling the shell of my ear and sending a delicious shiver down my spine. “You're so damn tight. So wet. So fucking perfect.”

I was far from the latter, but I certainly didn't mind that he lusted after me so vehemently.

“I need you to come for me, baby.” His desire-roughened voice rumbled against my throat. His hips jerked skillfully as he pushed me closer to that alluring precipice.

“Dane.” The humming between my legs and the blaze in my core were too tempting not to give in to. Though I held on a few seconds more. “Right there.”

“I know.” He stroked confidently, inside and out.

Crazed whimpers fell from my lips.

“Ari. Christ.” His breath came in heavy pants with mine. “I have to feel you come.”

“It's just so good…” But impossible to cling to, despite how much I loved climbing higher and higher. The tension reached the breaking point. “Dane!” I cried out as I shattered.

“Oh, yeah,” he said gruffly. “That's it, baby. Come all over my cock.”

He slipped easily along my coated inner walls, still rapid and demanding. Keeping my climax hot and pulsating.

I stole a glance at him over my shoulder. His jaw set, his eyes filled with excitement and myriad other emotions. He was darkly beautiful. Mesmerizing.

Mine.

Love swelled within me. So, too, did his cock as he pumped heartily and barreled right to the ragged edge I'd fallen over moments before.

“You are too damn irresistible,” he told me, our gazes locked.

I felt the tremor move through his body, and then his cock surged and his body convulsed as he came.

“Fuck, yes.” He groaned. “Goddamn, Ari.”

His hot seed flooded my pussy, searing and wicked—making me come again.

“Dane.” I clenched him.

The igniting deep in my core, the release of his essence into my body, the intimacy we shared was all much more than I'd ever imagined for myself. And now I couldn't fathom not having this in my life—not having Dane.

His sharp breaths mirrored mine, filling the quiet room. My body was limp; I was drained. But he held me to him, supporting me with an arm around my waist. With his free hand, he whisked damp strands of hair from my shoulder. I hadn't even noticed the beads of perspiration that had popped up on my skin.

He kissed the crook of my neck, then the nape, in the spot that made everything inside me tight and tingly. I clutched him again.

“Oh, yeah,” he murmured. “Keep doing that.”

I slowly worked his cock with my inner muscles. He shuddered.

“Can I make you come again so quickly?” I asked.

“Only you could do this to me.”

I continued the tight squeezes, slow and measured at first. Then, as he grew hard, I picked up the pace, tensing around him, loving the feel of him as he stretched me once more.

“Ah, Ari,” he whispered against my hair. “So sweet and sexy. Needing me as much as I need you.”

More than I needed oxygen in my lungs and solid ground beneath my feet.

“I belong buried in your pussy,” he said in his sensual tone. “Surrounded by you. So snug and warm and wet.” His hips started to move again. Unhurried. Eliciting a slow burn. Pure heaven.

Though I held a claim over him, Dane Bax owned me. Possessed me. Call it whatever you wished, he had become my world. My lifeblood. Someone and something I couldn't exist without.

We both had our issues, our crosses to bear. We were both embroiled in something ominous. A mysterious, fragile intrigue no one outside our small circle knew about. Even my best friend, Kyle Jenns, had limited knowledge. And I'd not uttered a word of it to my father, beyond telling him of the obvious attraction Dane and I shared.

Perhaps that was what made our bond so fierce. We were entangled in a private, sensuous, twisted, fated affair that left us with little control over our feelings for each other. And certainly no escape from them.

Unfortunately, that did not keep us safe from all the outside forces that threatened to tear us apart again.

I tried not to think of the terrifying aspect of being so consumed by love, so desperate for Dane on every level. Lost myself, instead, in the feel of him gliding along my heat and moisture, steadily increasing the tempo as he fucked me masterfully. I submitted to him, as always.

His lips grazed along my spine. Then his fingers lightly traveled up to my nape. Down to my tailbone, making me tremble. He slipped around to my front and cupped my sex with his large hand, rubbing the pad of his thumb against my clit, coating his skin. Then he returned his attention to my backside.

As he pumped into me, he rimmed that previously forbidden spot with his thumb. I'd given him free reign over my body the very first time we'd made love. I'd not once regretted it. Couldn't. Everything he did turned me inside out.

Tearing my gaze from him, my eyelids closed and I rested my forehead against the top of my hand, splayed over the ledge.

He continued the decadent play and another orgasm built.

“Yes,” I muttered. Fire roared through my veins as his free hand returned to the apex of my legs and he massaged my clit. “I'm burning up.”

I palmed my breast, caressing it and pinching the nipple as all the sensations escalated.

“Come with me,” he commanded in a thick tone. “Now, Ari.
Now.”

He thrust deep into my pussy, his thumb pressed in, and he exploded inside me. I cried out once more as his climax sparked mine, causing all that heat and tension to burst wide open.

My body shook. My lungs sucked in choppy breaths.

“Holy shit!” I blurted. “You are so fantastic.”

I always thought it could never get better or hotter between us.

I was always wrong.

 

chapter 2

“This is the perfect garland,” I said as I draped the four-foot-long fluffy deep-green sample around Dane's neck. Tiny bronze satin bows accented with thin, glittery gold and silver scrolls and just the right amount of clear twinkle lights woven through the plush mass completed the festive look.

My very tall, dark, and devastatingly handsome, though perpetually brooding, boyfriend/boss scowled at me. An expression I drolly (secretly) suspected he'd perfected around the age of thirteen or fourteen, given how comfortable and skilled he was with intimidating people.

And though it worked on others—and turned his chiseled-to-perfection features foreboding—all I had to do was tease his lips with mine, a soft tangling with a few sighs of delirium for good measure, and he was putty in my hands.

Case in point—

“Ari, you don't need my approval on Christmas decorations for the Lux,” he said. “I trust you.”

“Explicitly, or are you just sick of the previews?”

“Both.”

I laughed. Slipping into his lap as he sat at a glass-topped table on our back patio reading the paper over breakfast, I said, “I don't blame you. But everything has to be perfect for the grand opening.”

10,000 Lux was already touted as the West's Plaza Hotel, eclipsing the beauty of the Bellagio and Caesars Palace, offering more luxury and exclusivity than one could possibly imagine. The resort, the grounds, and the lobby were stunning, with no expense spared. Crafted specifically to steal breaths and inspire envy.

The first time I'd walked through the double doors, the only thing that had kept me from needing to pick my jaw up off the marbled floor over the opulence of it all was that my focus had been centered wholly on Dane. Owner of the prestigious hotel that also boasted five golf courses, designed by the best of the best.

Even my father, former PGA favorite Bryce DeMille, had been in awe when he'd played the Lux's links with Dane. Getting my dad to admit to being impressed when it came to anything related to Dane was a major feat, the courses included.

My father wasn't exactly onboard with my budding relationship. Nor was Kyle, who also worked at the Lux, in the Marketing department. In fact, he was currently up in arms over learning I'd recently moved in with Dane. But that was nothing new when it came to Kyle and anything concerning Dane and me.

“We'll be taking down all the Thanksgiving decorations over the weekend, following the dinner you want to host for the staff today,” I said. “Excellent suggestion to treat them all, by the way. They deserve it. And what a great way to do an initial run-through before we get into the pre-launch festivities.”

His dark brow crooked the way it did when he wanted to call me on my bullshit without actually having to say anything.

“Oh-kay,” I amended. “It was an excellent suggestion
from me.
”

It'd occurred to me that, since everyone on-staff had been going through the motions, learning the ropes, perfecting their positions and the world-class service that would be expected of a hotel of 10,000 Lux's magnitude, it would be great to hold a few parties throughout the day before Thanksgiving. The Banquets employees would take turns serving and enjoying a meal themselves.

Plus, it was an excellent trial for the kitchen staff, working cohesively on several large, back-to-back feasts. I'd also talked Dane into being present at each formal seating, to mingle and bond with everyone and to thank them for their hard work.

Everything had been coming together so beautifully of late. A huge relief, given how questionable the future of the resort had been with all the recent mayhem—a delicate term for what we'd experienced because of the corrupt society members.

I shivered at all that had gone wrong. And how I'd been targeted because of my close association with Dane.

His arms tightened around me. “What's wrong?” he murmured against my neck.

“Nothing. Just thinking that winter's moving in. It's a little chilly.” A tiny white lie. I didn't talk to Dane about that day I'd been held hostage, not even following a nightmare.

My lips grazed his and, against them, I said, “You promised flannel sheets to keep me warm.”

“No,” he said, his emerald eyes holding mine captive. “I promised that
I'd
keep you warm.”

“Oh, right.” I kissed him again, my fingers combing through his hair and my upper body melding to his. My other hand skimmed over one broad shoulder.

With the outdoor heaters placed around the perimeter of the patio, he was able to have breakfast sans shirt. My preference. If I could convince him to strut around naked at all times, that would be even better. But Dane was the type to always be on high alert, fully cognizant of his surroundings, and prepared for anything. That meant at least having his pants on when he wasn't making love to me. Though I knew he lost himself in our kisses, which was when he fully relied on his state-of-the-art security system that monitored the premises.