Hot for His Hostage (8 page)

“
Burnett
!”

“What?” So serene. So maddening. So sexy.

“It hurts, dammit!”

“And you’re not handcuffed to anything, beautiful. Step away anytime you like. We
haven’t even established a safe word, though you can call a red on me anytime you
need. Is that what you’re doing?”

“No!” She countered it with a huff. “I mean—I don’t know.”
Dammit.
Giving up on anything in her life hadn’t been an option since hitting double digit
birthdays. She didn’t accept the
loser
card very gracefully. But was it giving up if Shane placed the safe word in her control,
gave her the choice to stop everything? Fully acknowledged her power as well as his?

“It’s okay not to know.” He gave her a break. While twirling her tips with his thumb
and forefinger, he grazed his other fingertips along the undersides of her breasts.
The new sensations, mixed with the zings left behind from his pinches, were amazing.
“Ssshhh. Breathe.”

“I—I’m confused.”
Understatement of the century
.

His reply was tinged in anger. “Let me guess. It wasn’t like this with the Dom behind
Door Number One?”

She closed her eyes. Like that helped against the memories of that first awful night
with Bryce. And the second.
And
the third. Her sexy cop boyfriend had transformed into a different person as a Dom,
like Walter White donning the damn Heisenberg Hat. He’d always kept his face shrouded
in darkness, concealed by the dungeon’s deep shadows—though he sure as hell made sure
she could see his cock. Right after he strapped her down to a spanking bench by her
ankles, knees, elbows, and wrists, he shoved the swollen thing at her lips.
Take the whole thing down your throat, or I’ll flog you until you scream. Service
me well, you slutty little submissive.

“
Sí
.” She finally found her way back to the present, forcing a nod for Shane. “But—but
it’s okay. I’m here now.” 

“Oh, yeah.” He rumbled the word through his whole body, along with hers, while suckling
her neck. His fingers drifted toward her nipples again. “You really are.”

Zoe released a long breath. “And I’ll try to stay.”

“Mmmm. That’s my good girl.”

His praise made her tingle. Even so, she charged, “But I can step free any moment
I want?”

“Affirmative,” Shane murmured. “But dear God, I hope you don’t.” He tightened his
touch, tugging at her sensitive nodes, again twisting harder at the erect points.
“Stunning, amazing Zoe…I could look at you all night. Play with these magnificent
tits for hours.”

She fought to pull in breath. “I—I almost want you to.” As far as hiding the astonishment
in her voice? Forget about it. “But how is that possible? Even though…you’re hurting
me…”

“Only a little.”

“Only a
little
?”

He spread warm breath along her neck as he slowly pulled on her taut areolas. “Only
because it feels so good to have this effect on you.”

“Ahhh.” The breathy syllable was all she could manage.
Mierda
, what an “effect” the man had. Every new pinch brought a jump to her pulse and a
jolt to the depths of her tender folds. She pulsed for him now.
Ached
. Because of the pain he’d brought her—and the expertise he delivered every moment
of it with.

“You like it, too, don’t you, baby girl?” He rubbed with the pads of his thumbs again,
mixing his low growl with her extended moan. “You like the way I touch you. And yes,
you like the pain, too. You like it because every time you take more of either, part
of your spirit becomes mine. And you like that, too. You long to know how I’m going
to return that gift to you, converted into something new by my passion…my power.”

His words sounded like they’d been tossed through a filter of shale. Joined with the
pressure of his erection against her ass, Zoe was helpless to fight the demolition
of his seduction.

“
Vaya
. Yes.” She lilted the words with hope. Maybe she really could do this. Perhaps it
would all be different this time. Everything
felt
different, thanks to this man who’d seen her soul from the start…who focused on her
like it was their last night on earth.

She mewled as he skidded one of his hands down to her hip. Cried out as he used a
belt loop on her jeans to pull her tighter against him. His other hand flattened against
her throat, locking her head back. He ravaged her neck in another greedy bite. The
whole time, his crotch pulsed against her backside. The ordeal had to be hell for
him, but the simple knowledge of how she affected him…it was like taking a drink of
the world’s best sangria. Sweet. Wild. Delicious. Addicting. Her limbs went limp,
washed in the potency of it—but she didn’t fall fully into the mush puddle. She hadn’t
paid for that privilege yet. And submissives always had to pay first. In some way.

To her shock, Shane broke her reverie with a frustrated growl. “You’re going somewhere
else again, baby girl. Someplace that’s not on my approved destinations list.”

“I’m sorry. It’s—it’s so hard to fight it—”

“Then why are you?” He slid his fingers over her eyelids to close them, then spread
his fingers across her forehead. “Don’t fight it, tiny dancer. This is exactly what
I want. Your surrender…from
here
first. Breathe. Then yield it to me.”

Beneath his touch, her brow furrowed. “But don’t you want me to—”

“Let it go.” The pads of his fingers pressed above her eyebrows. “That’s all I want
from you right now.” The husky strength of his voice helped his effort, ushering pools
of honey through her mind and body. The thick warmth slackened her limbs, luring her
spirit to float away on its shiny bronze waves. “That’s it, beautiful. You’ve already
been here, remember? You were ready to give it all then everything switched back on.
Shut it all down again. I’ll light it back up.”

“Promise?”

“Oh, baby girl, I certainly do. You’ll be amazed at the places we’ll go together.”

She still struggled to decipher his words but the man made it damn hard to connect
to coherent thoughts together. He didn’t ease up on the sensual cavalcade, either.
One of his hands stroked backed into her hair and started pulling with steady, commanding
tension. His other hand strayed lower, playing in her navel for a moment before continuing
lower.

Zoe sighed as he unhitched the button on her jeans. Once more as he lowered the zipper.
And as his hand slipped beneath her panties—

“Ohhhhhh!”

His fingers were nirvana.

“Fuck.” His growl was a verbal version of his touch, slow and dark and seductive.
“You’re perfect, Zoe. So fucking perfect.”

A shaky sigh stirred the air. She vaguely recognized it as her own. Didn’t matter,
anyway; not when she needed to focus on the long, warm digits that parted her flesh,
waiting for him in engorged readiness. Though Shane didn’t say a word, his harsh breaths
conveyed his own pleasure, swirling hers higher as he folded back the hood of her
clit with an expert push.

Don’t stop. Oh please don’t stop
!

God heard her prayer. He moved a second finger down, gliding it over her most sensitive
nerves in a perfect little sweep. A mewl tore up her throat. Shane gave her an approving
grunt as he continued his exploration deeper, his fingers reaching the edge of her
most intimate entrance.

“Ohhhhh!”

Zoe’s whole body stiffened. Streaks of silver and gold appeared behind her eyes. Who
the hell was she kidding? Her whole body was suddenly formed of the lightning, electric
and alive, brilliant and dazzled.

And terrified. 

She pulled in a quivering breath. And never let it out.

“Whoa, baby girl. Ssshhhh. Easy.” Shane rolled his hips, forcing her body into the
same lazy ocean motion. “Let it out. Let it go. Trust me, Zoe. We’ll get there, I
promise.”

“Sooner than later,” she gasped back, “if you keep all of this up.”

“I’m keeping
a lot
of things up, baby girl.”

“No shit.”

She wasn’t sure how he’d react to that. She was guilty as hell when it came to deliberate
goads of the man tonight, but her new confession was simply the truth. Thank God he
discerned that, proving it by emitting his sexiest growl of the night. He ended the
eruption by turning her around again, bringing her body flush with his once more,
not wasting another moment to slam his mouth back down to hers.  

Before their lips touched, Zoe caught a glimpse of his face. The glory of him flipped
her heart all over again. The passion on his stunning features was defined by the
gold hues of the hotel’s floodlights, sifting in through the curtains. With his prominent
jaw and cheekbones cast into such dramatic relief, her imagination re-outfitted him
from the business attire into a gladiator’s galerus.

It was her last cognizant thought for a while.

Forget nirvana. The man’s embrace took her straight to heaven. She moaned as he opened
her wider, tangling their tongues, filling her mouth with his. Heat blasted her like
desert wind as he ramped his assault on her lips, inviting her vital organs to join
her heart’s acrobatic act.

A deep sigh vibrated her throat. She felt sixteen and breathless and new again. She
was certain she blushed to her toes as he forced her jeans and panties down her legs,
then simply hoisted her a few inches off her feet in order to kick off her boots himself.
Her jeans followed within seconds, leaving her completely naked before him. Thank
God for her Spanish and Greek heritage. Olive tints were awesome for hiding the pink
of uncertainty.

After he set her back down, Shane relocked his stare with hers. The light from outside
hit his irises directly now, turning the caramel silk into an amber glow that was
almost intergalactic. With his chest pumping on hard breaths, he pressed her hands
to the buttons on his shirt, silently ordering her to set them free. Inch by tantalizing
inch, she released the fabric, exposing the naked breadth of his torso.

“
Dios mio
,” she whispered.

“What?”

“Maybe you
are
an alien.”

“
What
?”

She shoved the shirt farther back, then all the way off his torso. His pecs were like
twin plates of steel, his abs twin ridges of defined perfection. A tattoo of swirling
smoke covered his left shoulder and bicep, with a bold capital
I
wrapped in the middle. His right bicep was circled by a band of tribal-influenced
chain. “You. You’re—” She bit her lip. “I’m a dancer. I’ve been around some beautiful
men in my life. But this—you—” She stepped back, letting him laugh at her quivering
cry. “You’re otherworldly.” The itch from the back of her mind pushed forward again,
begging to be let out. “Either that or you secretly moonlight as a model.”

“Do I look like I model?” His gaze narrowed. “Answer that very carefully.”

She laughed. He didn’t. “Fine. You’re leaving me only one other option for a conclusion.”

“I’m afraid to ask.”

“Conditioning this excellent usually comes courtesy of the United States military,
Mr. Burnett. Or is it Sergeant? Or Captain?”

She almost held her breath waiting for his answer. If he confirmed her contention,
what would she do? She’d declared a freeze-out on military men once, not a surprise
to anyone considering the ordeals her sister had endured by falling for a string of
jerks in uniform. That was before Ava found herself a soldier who obliterated those
stains, then put a giant ring on it for good measure. After witnessing Ava’s happiness
with Sergeant Ethan Archer, Zoe had reconsidered her stance, even giving it another
go with Bryce. He’d been a proud member of the Las Vegas PD for a year at that point,
collecting some department commendations and seeming like he’d gained enough distance
from his US Marines days to accept a few imperfections in people—perhaps even his
girlfriend.

Right
.

How did that saying go?
The definition of insanity: doing the same thing and expecting different results
.

A second round with Bryce had been a giant bite of insanity.

Or maybe, as she’d desperately feared, all lifestyle Dominants were like that.

She’d been too scared to research the point beyond that, opting to keep her remaining
D/s fantasies intact—until tonight, when Shane Burnett had stepped out of her dreams
and into that airport bar. Now here she was, naked in his arms, perhaps more than
physically—and the man’s features were an agonizing zero for clarification. His face
barely changed beyond his vigil on her, which was too damn arousing for comfort. She
squirmed a little, wondering why his scrutiny made her pussy clench instead of setting
her nerves on high alert, until he swept his mouth down to hers in another consuming
kiss.

Damn,
could the man kiss.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t so important to dissect him this very second. Especially when
the alternative was so delicious.

Their moans mingled as he intensified their embrace.
Vaya
, how his rich, spicy taste made her thirsty for more. How his dark, decadent scent
surged her senses. How his big body was a muscled marvel against her. Over her.