Independence: #2 Angel (23 page)

“I save the squeezing for special occasions,” he teased, his mouth tilted at the corner.

“So how’d you luck out and get a place so close to the beach?”

“Smart grandparents. They left me the lot when they moved to Florida five years ago. I paid for the houseboat they’re enjoying,” he told her, the memories making him smile. “I divided the lot and sold the house on the south side. Then…little by little, I built this one. It’s far from perfect, but it’s what I was after.”

“Can you get to the water from here?”

“In broad daylight, yes, if you’re careful. Never at night. Not until I finish the railings around the stairs. They tend to get covered over with sand from the winds, so I’m putting up some sturdy rails. The incline is steep and only a mountain goat would be able to navigate it.”

“It’s nice here. I love the smells and sounds.”

“Then you’re spending the night,” he said, not really a question and yet, not really a demanding statement.

Angel wiggled a little and peeked through her lashes at him. “I think part of you has lost interest in dinner.”

“It’s early. We can have a midnight snack,” he told her, his mouth down and over hers. His tongue speared between her lips while she was still busily processing his answer. But it didn’t take long for her to feel the heat and thrill race through her. It never seemed to matter where they were. Her body was keenly attuned to his and responded with a passion that had her ready for him. And hungry for what he could do with her.

That was always a sense of trepidation and wonder to her. Losing herself in his kiss was only the beginning.

“I won’t be giving up, Angel. Not unless I hear and believe the words come from your lips that this…us…isn’t as vital to you as it is to me,” Colin spoke his promise against her mouth before nipping lightly and trailing his kiss along her jaw. “I think I should show you the bedroom.” He met the dark eyes that opened slowly. “I thought about just taking you right here in the kitchen…” he laughed at the sudden panic in her eyes. “Yeah…a cook…sacred ground kind of thing…but I am all about breaking the rules with you…” he teased, loosening his hold just enough for her to duck beneath his arm and almost run out of the kitchen.

“Not in the kitchen. I’d have to scrub and scrub…” Angel laughed when he stalked forward, one hand up and a finger crooked at her. Her chin went up and she deliberately took a step back. “And I’d never be able to focus because I’d be thinking of…” she stopped and watched his eyes crinkle in laughter. “How do you do it?”

Colin had to admit to being at a loss for an answer because he wasn’t sure where she had gone with the question.

“Do what, Angel?”

“Slip between…this teasing side of you…sometimes it’s in the Dom side, but mostly it’s not,” she admitted with a tone edged with a little tremor.

“I don’t know. I suppose the same way I slip from either of those to a competent, fire-breathing prosecutor in the courtroom,” he winked at her laugh. “Latest press release about the last case I was involved in. The other side wasn’t happy with me or the outcome.”

“You won.”

“The people won. I just did the work to put away someone deserving of far more than he received,” Colin felt the edge of anger that generally accompanied a rape and murder case. But he wasn’t about to bring that into their conversation. Not now. In time, though, he didn’t doubt they’d sit and discuss that and more. He hoped. He stood less than a foot from her but for the first time in his life he could feel the sadness pouring from her. For him.

“It hurts you,” she said quietly. She continued when the look on his face must have betrayed his confusion. “I’ve seen enough crime shows, Colin. I know the photos you have to review and study and present. I know the…the sadness and impotence that you must feel because it all comes to you after the fact and there’s nothing you can do but seek what has to appear as a very weak retribution. You care and it shows on your face sometimes when you think no one is watching.”

“That’s very insightful, Miss Morehouse.” Somehow he managed to keep his voice level, her observations striking straight into the bulls-eye.

“You don’t like to admit it, any more than I enjoy admitting the annoyance of my family members,” she offered up a wan smile, one hand rising from her side and pressing flat against his heart. “I have early mornings.”

“Suggesting I get this show on the road?” The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

“I’m sure suggesting such a thing would mean I was topping from the bottom,” she returned with a cheeky grin that sent a jolt straight to his cock. Seeing her relaxed, teasing and playing had an effect on him beyond what he thought possible. “And that…would surely get me into trouble with my…with my Dom, now wouldn’t it?”

“Your Dom is an incredibly fortunate man.” He closed the distance between them, his hands on her middle. His eyes darkened the longer he stared into hers. He knew the instant the tsunami of arousal shot through him because her eyes widened and she seemed to know immediately he was slipping effortlessly into Dom mode. “Take off your clothing. Leave it on the sofa.” He stepped back, releasing her and leaning his elbows against the solid counter behind him. The advantages of being in charge and getting to watch the show. “And we aren’t in that much of a hurry, pet.”

Angel didn’t pause; didn’t hesitate. Her hands rose, crossed over her body and pulled the t-shirt free. She dropped it to the sofa without looking. She bent in half, her hands tugging the laces from the low boots she wore before she toed them from her feet. When she straightened, she met his gaze and opened the snap on her jeans. They slid down her legs with a little help and were left on the back of the sofa.

Panties, bra and socks followed until she stood patiently, her hands automatically clasped before her. She met his stare and didn’t move when he straightened and walked behind her. She heard tapping but resisted looking over her shoulder. Then she heard the soft sound of air and knew he’d turned the heater up for her.

A shiver raced through her. She could feel him behind her without him raising a hand or touching her with even a finger. She closed her eyes and felt his body heat seeping into her pores.

“Down this hall, Angel,” Colin turned her carefully, his hands on her shoulders. “Up the stairs at the end. Kneel on the bed and wait for me. I’m checking the locks and alarm. I’ll bring up a bottle of water for us.”

“Yes, sir,” she answered and forced her feet to move over the long, narrow red and blue throw rug that covered the hardwood floors.

The fire in his eyes remained in her vision as she walked. She’d felt the slight shift in them both. Her willingness to submit to that fire fascinated and excited her. The memory of the night before sent a hot jolt through her that made her groan softly. She felt her breasts tighten, the nipples erect and pulsing with need.

One hand rose to stroke along the smooth, wide banister that led up in a gentle curve to the right. She’d questioned the sanity of coming to his home. Somehow it was different than her cozy apartment. Somehow, it was private. It was…special.

This wasn’t the neutral ground of the club. There had been nothing personal at all about spending time in the bedroom there. This seemed to take their friendship to a different level. A new place. An uncertain place she’d never been before. Her free hand went flat against her stomach to calm the butterflies swirling there as she climbed the stairs.

There was no light in the large, open loft other than a dim shadow cast from the floor below. The right side opened to a large, generous room below with a large stone fireplace and big, cushiony furniture. The bedroom was warm and colored the same way, in shades of brown, gold and deep crimson. Like his cuffs, she thought instantly, turning from the waist high railing and going straight to the bed.

Angel climbed onto the large bed and perched in the middle, kneeling the way she’d been taught, with her palms up and opened. Shoulders were back, her head high as she gazed around the room. To the left was the walk-in closet, another open archway beside it that she guessed led to the bathroom. Remembering his instructions, she bounced hastily to the floor and went to pee, taking in the countertop in deep red with gold colored streaks through it.

She was drying her hands and taking in the rest of the very large bathroom. Something in the back of her mind called it a five piece bathroom set. She ran her fingers along the thick glass of the large angled shower stall, her head tipped back to glance at the double gleaming showerheads and the built in ceramic bench along one side. To the side of that was a very nice, deep bathtub with openings she guessed were jets.

So very different than anything she’d been around. She hurried out, tapping the rocking light switch and scrambling onto the bed to her position. She made it just in time for Colin’s head to appear around the curve of the stairs, their eyes meeting and holding for a long minute before she realized she was barely breathing even as her heart hammered loud enough to wake the dead. She quickly lowered her gaze.

She didn’t look up again but she heard him moving around the room. There was a faint clicking sound and a glimmer of light began flickering and she saw his shirt suddenly lying on the railing in front of her. Angel frantically searched her brain for the protocols. So many…but they were alone and that meant she was allowed to look because he hadn’t given any other instructions than for her to be on the bed in position.

That’s when she realized it really was the first time she was free to look without distractions. Nothing else was going on around them. No scenes, no noise and nothing blocking her view. His hands paused on the slim buckle of his belt, that’s when the fact that he was in his work clothes registered. Minus the jacket, that she recalled seeing on a hanger in his SUV.

Realizing that for the moment…for the time being that seemed to have a nice glow around it, he was hers. He didn’t share. He’d told her that, and he didn’t cheat on a woman he was sexual with. That glow was settling nicely inside her, from the fullness of her breasts to the heat pooling moistly between her thighs.

For a lawyer, he was very nicely packed and put together, she thought with a thoroughly feminine appreciation. His body was firm without the bulge and she liked that. And she wanted to touch him. It was a new feeling, a new sensation that made her palms itch.

“Angel?” Colin moved to the side of the bed, his hands stilled on the slim silver buckle at his waist. “I want you to undress me.” He braced his feet slightly apart.

Her fingers twitched slightly and she swallowed hard, her head nodding slowly.

“Yes, sir.” The response came more naturally to her, considering she was distracted. Very distracted. “I’m allowed to touch?”

Her head tipped slightly to the side as she unfolded and moved to the edge of the bed. Hands rose from their flat position on the bed and she slipped her legs to the floor.

“Yes.” Colin watched the slight quiver in her hands, her fingers long and slim as she reached for the buckle on his slacks. “You’re allowed to touch, Angel. In fact, that’s our play for the night. Since we both have to work in the morning, we’ll keep it light.”

He could feel tiny flickers of fire when her fingers grazed over his stomach, one drawn lightly around his naval. He’d always prided himself on his control. But when she flattened her palm and pressed it over his stomach and onto his ribs for a long, slow caress, he began to wonder about his plan. As well as his sanity. The night before should have taught him something about the effect of her touch on his mind and body.

Evidently where Angel was concerned, he might be a little slow on the uptake.

Her other palm rose and joined it, one on each side as she sat on the end of the bed. She leaned forward, her cheek resting against his chest. She moved her hands to the buckle and worked the soft black leather free, the sides open and forgotten when she flipped the button from the hole of his slacks.

Usually he could maintain a little control over his cock. Not a lot, that was probably beyond even a dom. Usually, he’d just make certain it was tucked in such a way as to not embarrass him too badly. That mess had been most of his teen years.

But he wasn’t a teenager now and Angel was seriously going to undermine his control.

That should worry him.

If he were a lesser man.

If he wasn’t getting used to the idea of being with Angel more than just in the club. Walking on the beach and Christmas shopping were two events that came to mind and made him smile. And then he groaned and her fingers stilled as she stroked down the front of his slacks, her hand cupped in such a way that it pressed along the length of his cock. She used her nails, dragging them down the hard center to the thick base.

“I’m sorry,” she said hastily, looking up and waiting, her hands pulled back to rest on her thighs.

“Angel…if you touch a man’s cock, he’s going to make noises or he’s dead,” Colin told her with a low, husky laugh. “Unless I yell a safe word, don’t stop.”

A giggle broke free before she cleared her throat and went back to touching. One set of fingers held the waistband while the other lowered the zipper. Her nails scraped again along his length before she spread the parted sides of his slacks wide and slipped her palms inside, flat against his briefs. She hooked her pinkies in the elastic and pressed firmly, carrying them over his hips to his thighs.

Strong, firm and erect, his cock was inches from her face. She knew very well what it was capable of and heat mingled with moisture between her thighs. She felt the labia swell, her hands moving to absently shove his slacks down his legs. They slid to the floor but her gaze remained locked on the shaft holding her attention.

No safe word, she thought, pushing the jockeys from his hips and ignoring their tumble down his long, muscled legs. She heard coins clatter in his pocket. At least she tried ignoring them until he lifted his foot and took a step back, taking the object of her attention with him. Taking the hint, Angel held the material down while he stepped free. Then she quickly laid the things on the chair near the walk-in closet.