Perfecting the Odds (29 page)

***

Karis yanked the black and white golf umbrella from the milk can near the door and a large blue chenille pillow from the sofa. Her makeshift medieval weaponry did little for her bubbling dread; and quite frankly, she looked like a frickin’ idiot.

“Stupid
asshat Marine Professor…who the hell does that anyway,” she muttered. Then she clapped her hand over her mouth.

How could I forget! A damn Marine! Can’t those guys stay hidden and silent for days? Wait. Okay, so he was impeccably trained and clearly in shape…but also out of practice.
Maybe.

Pushing away the negative thoughts, she tried to consider her glass half full.
She was the intelligent and spry Karis Bennett, and she planned to give him a run for his money. Damn right, she would. As she crept nearer to the gorgeous kitchen, the deep aroma of coffee filled her nose. She eyed the steaming carafe resting on it base and scowled. The sexy bastard was toying with her now. Karis thought for just one second to grab a mug and sit down at his table, as if nothing had happened.

Too damned stubborn. 

Never a quitter, she would finish what she’d started. She turned toward the garage door in the kitchen and opened it; its small creak broke the silence, sending her another bite of fear. Then something shiny caught her eye. A classic jet-black Mustang. Hot and dangerous like its owner. Momentarily distracted by its beauty and what Michael would look like behind the wheel, she made a mental note to ask him to take her for a spin…maybe a good ol’ fashion
ride
in the backseat. She smirked as she closed the door with a click and turned toward the kitchen again. Whatever he was doing, wherever he was, she hadn’t heard him make one sound, hadn’t seen one shadow, one movement of light. Nothing.

One room
remained. 

Like the
ignition to her arousal, the bedroom door spurred a flush over her entire body. She shivered as she padded closer to its entrance.  Her nipples peaked as they brushed against the soft cotton of his shirt. Moisture began to slowly drip down her bare inner thighs as her clit swelled and twitched. She growled inwardly, cursing him again for her arousal even in his absence. But damn if she didn’t miss him already.

With her hand nearly on the
door handle, the nice girl debated playing victim, to beg him to end this cat and mouse charade and take her right on the kitchen table, but naughty always triumphed. Squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, she depressed the inclination to give up. She clutched the pillow under her arm to open the bedroom door, inviting his musky, tropical scent. Her mind shrieked,
Don’t go in! 

But
, like any moronic horror film victim, she ignored the voice and crossed the threshold.

Pressing her back against the bedroom door, she snicked it shut and clutched the pillow and umbrella to her chest. The pitch black room incited her vigilance. She closed her eyes, and even in the darkness, cutting off her sight heightened her other senses. She heard her own quick breaths echoing off the walls. She let her arms drop, allowing the umbrella and pillow to rest against her bare thighs and settled into a semi-calm state to prepare her tactics.

His
smoldering aura filled the next three seconds. The heat of his body and the warmth of his breath whispered across her skin. She gasped, jumped forward, and fisted her hands.

E
mpty-handed.

“
Shit,” she squeaked and slapped her palm across her mouth. Pumping blood pounded loudly in her ears, and she released her hand and the breath with a shiver. Without time to recover, she felt his large palm pressed against her stomach, his firm chest against her back, and his teeth grazing across her ear. The physical battle ended and points tallied: Karis, one; Michael, one. As cool and collected as she could, she unsheathed her verbal weaponry.

“
Aren’t you the big, bad Marine. Trying to see if you’ve still got it?” Point, Karis. She was pissed off for one reason alone: losing sucked. She felt his hard length pressing against her behind as his tongue flicked her lobe, nearly liquefying her frozen stance.

“That water was
unbearably
cold. Excruciating would be a better word for it.”

She smirked
and let out a nervous chuckle. “That’s a bit whiny, don’t you think? You probably fought in some pretty dangerous areas, and you can’t handle a little cold water? Besides, from what I saw, it looked like you needed to cool off a certain
overheated
area.”

“Speaking of heat
.” And just as fast as his other movements, long fingers plunged inside her dripping, tight channel. Her moan resonated off the walls of the room. “You’re fucking wet for me already, Karis. If you hadn’t wounded me with that water stunt,
sweetheart
,”—The endearment leaving his lips like a sting—“I would bend you over right here and sink my dick right into this tight pussy.”

Matching his tone, she bit out, “
Darling
, I didn’t know Captain Long and Wide would wound so easily. I do apologize.” She whimpered as he stroked her inner walls twice before removing his fingers.

He
chuckled into her neck. “No, you don’t. And you wounded my heart, not my dick. I should beat your fine ass for that.”

“
Playing the broken heart card, are we? You’re right, asshat. I’m not sorry.” She bucked hard against him. He grabbed her wrists with one hand and placed them behind her back. He pressed against her hip, and she smiled to herself. “Feels like you need another splash of cold water, Michael.”

“
Damn, you woke up as sassy as ever this morning. You’re quite the practical joker.”

“Are you going to add that quality
to your list?”

“
Fucking right, I am,” he said, clearly amused by her irritation.

Karis
could play this game. “Michael
dear
, you left me in bed alone.” She sighed dramatically. “And I had promised you spite. I am a woman of my word, you know.”

He laughed. “Indeed you are. But perhaps you should have stayed in bed. I had plans for you
. Now they’ll just get a bit more...creative.” He held her arms tightly as he flicked his tongue from the dip of her shoulder up to her ear. She couldn’t help but melt into his body.

As soon as he felt her subtle loss of control, he came around to her front
took her mouth. God, she missed his taste, and she was ravenous, biting and sucking. She’d had enough of the game. She just wanted him. She went to wrap her arms around his neck.

“
You motherfucker!” she yelled, trying to pull from his clutches.

He chuckled
again. “I suppose that’s accurate word choice, sweetheart.”

“
What!” she asked before realizing what he meant. “Nice pun, dickhead! You’re unbelievable. Untie my wrists. Now.” ‘Now’ sighed from her lips as two fingers again slipped easily into her.

“
Why would I do that when you like it so much?” He pumped his fingers slowly until he drew a whimper from her lips. His thumb drew lazy circles around her clit, never quite touching it.

“Please, Michael.”

“Please, Michael, what?”

“You know what,” s
he growled.

“No
,” he said sternly.

“No!
” she cried, her shock shamelessly clear. Apparently he needed retribution for her stunt. Karis carefully pondered her reaction to his denying her pleasure. “You seem to forget that I was without manly pleasures for nearly four years. I’m sure I can figure out how to rectify my own needs.”

He laughed
, and she scowled at his amusement. “Are you this insolent every morning?”

“Nice adjective, Webster’s. Now, what’s the verdict?” She paused. “Are
we going to fuck or not?” She should have been appalled by her request. The man was driving her crazy, though. But now impudence was a byproduct of her need to come. Badly.

Again, his deep laughter
lightened the dark room. She couldn’t help but giggle quietly, hoping he wouldn’t hear her over his own. “Was that a giggle, sweetheart?”

“No
pe, and you didn’t answer my question.”

“
Well…let me check the current state of things,” he said, twisting his fingers, dragging his thumb over her clit methodically.

“
I think my current state is painfully clear. Please fuck me, Michael. Please.” She knew already what a bit of begging did for him.

And sure enough, his deep groan convey
ed that vulnerability. “Because you asked so nicely.” He ground his erection against her. “For the entire morning, I think. Probably the afternoon.” He paused, and she knew he was looking up to think. “Now that I think about it, I’d like to fuck you all day on every fucking surface and room in this house.” She felt his breath on her neck, savored his lips on her earlobe. “I want you to wake up tomorrow morning sore as hell, knowing that my dick pillaged that pussy until you begged me to stop.” He bent down and captured her mouth surprisingly gentle. A simple kiss of apology for his torture, perhaps? He kept her hands bound behind her, holding her body to his chest as he inched toward the bed. She felt his erection heavy and hard against her belly. He seated her on the edge, nudged her knees apart, and knelt between her legs.

In pitch black, her eyes
continued to adjust to the shadows and lines of obscure objects in the room. His warmth overwhelmed her senses as his mouth glided over her neck. He untied her wrists, lifted off her shirt, and moved her hands into her lap, quickly binding her wrists again. He lifted her and placed her head on the pillow, raising her arms, then bound her wrists to the headboard. She never considered to protest and had no idea why.

“Why,” she finally asked, her voice threaded with plain curiosity.

He pressed a kiss to her lips and
she felt the pillow dent with his weight as he rested his forearms on either side of her. “Because this is what you need. Because you’re mine, sweetheart. Mine to kiss”—He pressed a kiss to her lips—“savor”—He licked the crease—“Taste”—He dipped his tongue into her mouth once, twice—“and fuck”—He shifted his hips and teased the length of his cock between her labia. “I will always give you exactly what you need, Karis…even if you’re not sure you do.” She exhaled heavily as she processed his words. She was always in control; she had to be in order to survive. But around Michael, she couldn’t help but let go. And she had relinquished so much of herself to him already, from her emotions to her desires. True, she trusted that he knew what she needed physically. But did she trust him with her heart?

Michael rose from the bed and was gone mere seconds before a soft glow filled the room. She blinked her eyes rapidly to try and find him.

“Michael, I don’t know if I can.”

He returned to the bed and straddled her.
Even the man’s silhouette was gorgeous. “I know, darling. You’re a dominating force, and you’re damn good at it.” He paused to brush his lips over hers. She moaned, shamelessly lifting for more. “But never with me, Karis. Never in this bedroom. Here, you’re going to give up the stress, the contained emotions, all that damn thinking you do. Focus on only the pleasure…just feel, sweetheart.”
Well, damn
. She nodded.

“I’m going to tell you everything I plan
to do. Just listen to my voice, Karis.” Her body trembled with both fear and excitement. “I’m going to spread your legs wide so I can see my sweet pussy.” Even in the dim lighting, his eyes heated her core with his smoldering, hungry gaze. She normally hated pillow talk, but his deep, throaty voice revealing his plans aroused her further.

He
stroked silk-like fabric down her body. Her breath hitched as he ran it over the nipples. “Stay still, and I won’t bind your ankles to the footboard.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It’s not like the act bothered her. She and Robert had played around with bondage like this, but somehow with Michael it was different…She couldn’t entertain the thought any further, too focused on his hands now stroking up and down her inner thighs and the silky feeling of the fabric over her folds, the ministrations mimicking a thousand hands were stroking everywhere.

He kissed and nipped both legs and drew a path with his tongue from behind her knee to her apex.
She yanked her hands. No movement. Completely bound and at his mercy, she felt his thumbs spread her lower lips and his tongue rim circles around her swollen entrance. Her moans filled the room as he laved at her engorged clit, flicking it, teasing her.

“
You’re so fucking perfect, Karis.” She jerked her hips, and he placed his arm firmly over her hips. “Don’t move,” he commanded. And that low decree was all it took to throttle her to the top of her release. Being controlled by Michael was the single most erotic experience of her life. She couldn’t channel the tension into her legs and hands. She felt free, weightless…and on the cusp of something irreversible. She pinched her eyes shut as the tears swam behind them.