House Of Payne: Scout (17 page)

“I was trying to give you a compliment.”

“No, I think not. I think that was a challenge,
ma
trésor
.”

“If you say so.” She reached into the basket for another condom. “The question is, are you
up
for it?”

“You should know me well enough by now. You tell me.” He guided her hand to the front of his jeans. “Better yet, just give me your mouth and unleash the beast.”

Her breathy laugh was muffled by his lips, one of his big hands over hers while she did as instructed and dealt with the fastenings over his so-called “beast.” She couldn’t help but laugh again at how the strain of his aroused flesh made the fly less than easy to manipulate. “Would you mind thinking some non-dirty thoughts for a second, Trouble? Your beast wouldn’t want to get caught, now would it?”

“The only thing my beast wants to get caught in is
you
.” His hand let go of hers to possessively cup her bum. “Oh, yes.
Definitely
no more underwear for you. You go naked under everything you wear so I know all I have to do to get your bare ass in my hands is just lift your skirts.”

Heat flooded through her at the thought. “I thought you liked my lingerie.”

“I like making you come more. Whenever I want, wherever I want.” His smile was a decadent masterpiece, and with his eyes holding hers captive, he rolled his hips against her until she bit her lip. “Clothes off now, my Scout. I want to see you.”

He didn’t have to say it twice. She yanked her dress over her head and shimmied out of her bra, then set about attacking his dress shirt and jeans before he took over, jerking both his jeans and boxer-briefs past his hips. His cock surged free, dark with the rush of blood against his paler skin and so rigid it was almost lying on his stomach. The tip glistened with moisture, the head purple in the low light, and more than anything she wanted to feel it throbbing inside her. Together they rolled the condom in place before his hands clamped over her hips to hold her poised over his stiffened flesh.

“Take me hard inside you.” The growling words thrilled her, because underneath the harshness was an unraveling control that melted her from the inside out. “Take me all the way inside you and ride me until I fill all of you, until it feels like we’ll burn each other up with the friction. Fuck me hard,
ma trésor,
just as I intend to fuck you.”

She shivered, the achy pressure between her legs an exquisite agony to bear. “My pleasure.”

Then, with one undulating roll of her hips she took him in, and her head fell back with the motion. The sensation of suddenly being filled by him—the slick glide of him, his hot flesh expanding her interior walls, the way he fit inside her so perfectly—wrenched a low moan from her.

So good. So good.

Then she was moving, because she couldn’t do anything else. She wanted that wildfire friction he’d spoken of, and she wouldn’t stop sliding over him until they spontaneously combusted.

With her shallow breath the only sound in their little cocoon, she pumped her hips while he held onto them as though he’d never let her go. As if she’d ever want to be anywhere else. She
loved
being with him. She loved the feel of him, even when they were quietly drifting off to sleep, tangled in each other. She loved how they fit together. She loved his rare laugh, and how his accent thickened when he was aroused. She loved that he was happy to join in building a blanket fort despite coming from nobility. She loved how he looked at her, even when he thought she wasn’t paying attention. She loved how he could make her feel like the sexiest woman on earth. She loved everything about him.

Because she loved him.

A floodgate of emotion burst inside her, too much to sift through when those very emotions amplified the physical sensations now hammering her. Desperately she gripped his shoulders, her arms taking her weight so she could pump her hips with greater freedom. Her moans became cries, and she couldn’t stop them, just like she couldn’t stop moving. She had to have that burgeoning sense of being filled, of being complete, while each downward roll of her pelvis hit her most sensitive point. God, she was so close…

“Scout,
mon
amour
…
Dieu
, yes, harder. Ah
, vous êtes tout
.
Tout.
” A rage of words both in English and French rumbled from him as his movements became less coordinated but more powerful. A hand moved from her hip to push between her legs to stroke her roughly, and that was all it took to tear her apart. Ecstasy exploded in every cell, and she arched back as she came on a near-scream, the release of tension so intense it set fire to every nerve. Then she felt his body tighten, the flesh inside her thickening before he too cried out, his body writhing with the magnificent madness he’d given her just moments before, his tortured groans filling the air.

Despite the teddy bear squeaking behind his head, they were the most beautiful sounds she’d ever heard.

By degrees, the echoes of her orgasm faded as she collapsed on his chest, their bodies still connected, her knees tucked close on either side of him. Was sex supposed to feel like this, she wondered, when it was with someone you loved? If that was the case, no wonder poets were always babbling on about it. Sex with the one you loved was fan-fucking-
tastic
.

The thought made her smile, and the hand in her hair moved oh, so gently.

“Why do you smile,
ma
trésor
?”

His treasure. He made her feel treasured, in the best possible way. “How do you know I’m smiling?”

“I can feel it.” A faint tug on her hair brought her face to his. The warmth in the gaze that moved over her face almost brought tears to her eyes. “Tell me why you smile, so that I can make you smile again and again.”

Oh, hell. If she hadn’t already fallen for him, that line alone would’ve sunken her battleship for sure. “I’m smiling because I’m happy.
You
make me happy.”

The warmth in his eyes deepened. “You do the same for me. In fact, I have never been as happy as I am in this moment, Scout. Not ever.”

Something both sweet and painful knotted in her throat. “Neither have I, sweetheart.”

“Which is why I think we need to stay in our blanket fort forever. Nothing else can come in.”

“Ever?”

“Ever. Not even thoughts of the world outside. Those have to stay out, too. I just want to be like this, with you, forever. I need nothing else in my life.”

“Sounds good to me.” So giddy she suspected she was the living definition of love-drunk, she pressed her face into his neck and sighed. And only as she drifted off to sleep did she wonder what sort of thoughts Ivar might want to keep away.

Chapter Seventeen

As far as Ivar was concerned, everyone should have a blanket fort.

For the rest of the day they left their cozy space only when necessary, while the storm they’d seen moving across the lake finally unleashed its full fury on the city. Their picnic was waiting for them after they’d succumbed to a nap, and he was glad he’d thought to pack a red-tipped Osiria rose for her, considering the smile it brought on. They had everything they needed right there in their little world.

Food.

Drink.

Each other.

Without a doubt, they enjoyed it all, in every way imaginable.

Somewhere along the way he’d gotten addicted to her. She might have called him Superman, but the only thing
super
about him was his ever-increasing obsession with her. From the moment his body left hers, his one thought was of when he could be inside her again. He wanted to always be there. Forever. Until the sun was a cold cinder. Until the mountains were oceans and the oceans were deserts. From now until his last breath he would hunger to be inside his Scout, mindlessly wallowing in being skin to skin, holding nothing back.

Even if that last bit—holding nothing back from her—was a lie.

No, he corrected grimly. It wasn’t a lie. What brought them together in the first place wasn’t a priority anymore. He wouldn’t let it be. Scout was now the only priority that mattered. That was it, end of story.

“Is that a frown I see?”

The lightest of touches feathered between his brows, and he closed his eyes to savor her. “No.”

“Looks like one to me.”

“I was wondering if you knew that all the little things you do have created some of the biggest moments of my life.”

“Like what?”

“Like blanket forts, poutine and chicken dancing.”

“Wow. Those really are little things.”

“They are
everything
.” A smile chased away the frown, and he turned his head to press his lips to her hair. “I was also wondering when I could be inside you next without looking like a sex fiend. So, if you think about it, it is really no wonder I was frowning. Sex, blanket forts, poutine and dancing like a chicken is one hell of a lot to have going on all at once.”

“Ivar.” Her breath hit his bare chest as she said his name. God, he loved how she said his name. “You make every second I spend in your company special, and that’s something I can never repay.”

“Crazy woman. You have the backwards.”

“I don’t think so. You bought me flowers and you believed the Panuzzis saw my worth. You danced with Mama Coco and gave me the best Ferris wheel ride I’ve ever had. And since I seem to be equally hung up on certain parts of your spectacular anatomy, the sex fiend comment could be applied to me as well.” As if to illustrate exactly what part of his anatomy she was referring to, her hand drifted lazily down his chest and flat stomach to curl with gentle possession around his dick. His flesh tingled and his balls grew heavy, and he sighed as the lush sensation flooded through him. “Though to be honest, I’m pretty much hung up on all of you. Not just this.” She gave him a friendly squeeze to underscore her statement.

He sucked in a sharp breath before he moved his hand over hers to keep it where it was. Just in case she had other ideas. “I am happy to hear that.”

Her laugh whispered over him, a gentle caress he adored. “Good.”

“And
this
,” he said, squeezing his fingers over hers, before making them slide down his cock in a slow, lingering stroke, “is totally fine with your being hung up on it.
This
is an unabashed attention-whore when it comes to you.”

Again she laughed while catching his drift, and continued to caress his shaft in slow, leisurely movements. “Really? Do tell.”

“Oh, yeah.
This
is making me think I should turn nudist, in the hope that
this
might catch your interest.”

“Sweetheart.” Her low murmur feathered over him to settle into the very core of his soul. “I’m definitely interested.”

“See? The nudist thing works.” Eyes still closed, his hand left hers to run along the smooth slope of her back and up the swell of her ass. Ah, the world’s most perfect ass, and he had it right in the palm of his hand. “Can I convince you to become a nudist too?”

“Only in our blanket fort, which is going to be coming down at some point, pal.”

He made a sound of disappointment. “Why?”

“Because blanket forts are like rainbows—they’d lose their magic if they were around all the time.”

That was his practical Scout in a nutshell. Brilliant and adorable in one complete package. “Tomorrow. I want to spend the night in here with you.”

Her sweet laugh fanned his chest a scant second before her mouth was there, covering it in slow, tasting kisses. “You want to sleep on the floor when we have a big, soft bed just a few steps away?”

“I do not want to leave heaven. Not yet.”

Her breath caught. It was such a sweet sound it made him ache in ways he couldn’t begin to explain. Then she slid her mouth lower, heading in the direction of her stroking hand, and it was his turn to catch his breath. “When you put it that way, I can’t help but agree… and do everything in my power to make sure that heaven is
exactly
what you have when you’re with me.”

The hand that worked him didn’t increase in pressure or rhythm, but it didn’t matter. The urgency ballooning inside him intensified his every response as her mouth slid over his sternum down to his abdomen. There, she seemed to delight in tracing each ridge of muscle with her tongue, as though fascinated by the nuances of his body, but that wasn’t where he wanted her focus.

His cock really was quite the attention-whore.

“Scout.” He loosed a low breath while heavy pleasure spilled into his system like a narcotic. “Scout.”

“I know, sweetheart.” Her mouth glided lower. But not low enough.

“I love it when you call me that.” His hips had a mind of their own now, flexing rhythmically into her hand. “And when you say my name. You make it sound…perfect.”

Her hair whispered over his hip bone. “Ivar.”

Oh, God.

“I’m going to take my time tasting you.”

Oh God.

Her head was bent, her lashes dark and shielding her eyes from view. As she stroked his length from base to tip, his brain randomly insisted on focusing on what a heart-stopping picture she made. He wished he had his camera.

Then she licked her lips, bowed her head…

And tasted him.

A harsh sound ripped out of his throat. He thought it might have been his heart trying to get out and run to her as his world exploded. Fierce delight arrowed from where she swirled her tongue over his purpling head, until he became certain all the nerves in his body were somehow connected to that one spot. Then the pads of her fingers caressed the sensitive underside of his cock, while the wet chamber of her mouth closed on him completely.

“
Scout
.” His head arched back against the pillows, his eyes closing tight as she applied suction designed to snap him in two. Desperately he tried not to surge into the sweet wetness she’d wrapped around him, but his body wasn’t under his control anymore.

It belonged to her.

“You are my heaven.” The words burst from him as her tongue toyed with the super-sensitive ridge. He groaned as the sharp edges of mindless pleasure began to carve away his sanity. “Oh God, Scout.
You
are my heaven. I cannot live without my heaven…”

Then he felt it coming—the savage tightening of his muscles and heaviness in his balls, the tension folding in on itself until he thought it might crush him. That tension snapped all at once, engulfing him, and he was so far gone he didn’t even think to clench down on it and rob himself of the pleasure of coming. He lost every ounce of control he had, and as he shouted out his ecstasy he knew, way down deep, he’d lost more than merely his control to Scout.

              Scout had sort of thought Ivar had been joking when he’d claimed he wanted to spend the night camped out in the living room. But when he’d refused to leave their blanket cocoon—and finding inventive ways to keep her there with him—she’d settled in for the long haul. It wasn’t exactly a hardship, especially when she could see the contentment in Ivar’s eyes every time he looked at her.

That was something new from him—contentment. Every time she glimpsed it, a wave of happiness hit her hard enough to steal her breath. There were so many things about Ivar that made her happy, so maybe there was something to this whole love stuff after all, she thought, folding up a blanket. She’d thought she’d been in love in the past, but it hadn’t been like this.
Nothing
was like this walking-on-air euphoria, where the whole world seemed like it should be breaking into a Disney musical production.

Oh, yeah. This was definitely love. Up to now, everything else had just been passing the time.

“That is the saddest sight imaginable.” Strolling down the hall with hair still damp from his shower, Ivar stared down at where their fort had been, but now only scattered sofa cushions remained. He came to curl his arms around her, dressed in the clothes he’d worn the day before, and smiled down at her. “Tell me we will do this again someday.”

“We’re definitely going to do this again someday.” And this time she would be more prepared. They would have to have cartoons, boxes of cereal and video games at the ready, just in case they got bored.

Yeah, right.

His arms tightened around her. “My sweet Scout, you are such a good sport. I think you need to be rewarded.”

In an instant, her mind whirled with possibilities. She loved their reward system. “I like the sound of that. What did you have in mind?”

“Breakfast, anywhere in the world. You choose.”

The thought of leaving the penthouse when it was her idea of perfection as long as he was there in it kept her from leaping at the chance. “What if I say Paris?”

“As you wish. Of course, it would not be breakfast time when we arrive, more like late at night, and we will be starving by then. But if that is your choice, I have some calls to make.” He started to step away with the look of a man determined to do whatever she asked, and with a laugh she pulled him back.

“I’m hungry
now
, so what do you say we make Leo’s morning and have breakfast downstairs at Pig In A Poke?”

“I say I still want to have breakfast in Paris with you. But I will do whatever you wish.” He kissed her long and hard, the sweep of his tongue tasting of toothpaste and pure Ivar. “And since Leo’s is right across the street, we can be back up here within an hour, so Paris can wait until tomorrow. And this weekend you can come with me to a photo shoot in Jamaica.”

“Wait. Wait.” Dazedly she shook her hear. “What?”

“You have a passport, yes?”

“Well, yeah—”

“Then tomorrow we will be in Paris. Pack no underwear. In fact, pack no clothes. You have no need of them. Or if you do, I will get you whatever your heart desires. The same for Jamaica.”

She shook her head helplessly while her brain tried to keep up. “You’re crazy.”

“Only about you.”

“I go back to work on Monday.”

“I promise to have you back by then. Sleep-deprived, exhausted and wishing for another week to recover, of course, but you will be here.”

It was amazing how just a handful of words from him could make her heart float away. “Help me put away the rest of this stuff, while I think about everything I have to do before we leave. Laundry is at the top of my list, and then I’ll need to let security downstairs know I’ll be out of town. And of course I’ll have to pack a few things…” She trailed off, her mental list growing by the second.

“I know you are probably going to think I am of the spoiled nobility set,” Ivar said as they worked together to fold a sheet. “But I have to ask, do you have any help around the house? It seems very neat.”

“I guess I’m kind of a neat freak, with the exception of my work area.” She nodded toward the dining table, and his gaze followed the gesture.

“I had noticed you do not feel the need to serve many sit-down meals at your dining table.”

“I had plans to make the room I’ve been using for storage into a home office during my vacation, but you’ve kept me so busy I’ve barely given it a thought.”

“Sure, blame me.”

“Hardly blame. I can only applaud you for it.”

“That is more like it.” His grin faded as he tilted his head. “So, you have no staff?”

She shook her head. “The thought of having someone I don’t know washing my undies and cleaning my dishes… I don’t know. That kind of thing’s just not me, you know? I think it’d be weird having a complete stranger roaming through my house.”

“What if you were introduced to the person who helped around the house?”

She frowned. “What’s this about?”