Rock Steady (24 page)

She wanted to take, drawing her fingernails down his back as he growled against her neck and bit her. The tiny pain ripped through her, tearing the lid off something she’d never before realized she’d had inside herself. A dark craving suited perfectly to the moment. She arched back and clawed him again, lifting one leg so his cock slipped between her thighs and into the wet folds of her sex.

She cried out, the contact jarring. Her pussy quivered, aching.

They were suddenly moving. Ramsey withdrew and turned her around, pressing her against the dinette table. It chilled her, making her suck in a harsh breath, but he was hot against her back, his hands cupping her hips as he spread her feet with a quick swipe of one of his.

He was surging into her before she finished gasping, using the grip on her hips to lift her bottom. He slid in easily because she was so wet.

“Yes!” he grunted; but honestly, Jewel felt like she’d cried it out.

Nothing had ever felt so good. Maybe, when her head was clear, she might question why she was so aroused at being bent over a kitchen table.

But not now.

Now she pushed back against his next thrust, gasping when his balls slapped against her. “More!” she demanded. “Harder!”

“No,” he growled against her ear, holding her in place when she would have reached back and clawed him for refusing her. The urge was there, a violent need to take what she wanted from him, any way necessary.

“You’re mine, Jewel.” He pulled free and thrust into her again. The force of it drove a sound out of her that was low and primal. “I’m going to take you, make you scream.”

“Yes!” She was fighting his grip on her hips, but he was lying over her back now, completely imprisoning her with the help of the table.

“And it’s not…
not
…going to be over fast,” he bit out against her ear before he straightened up and started fucking.

There was no other word for it. But she liked it. He kept her exactly where he wanted her, holding her hips captive as he worked his cock in and out of her with a skill that threatened to drive her mad. He was shaking with the effort of holding back. She felt him fighting his own needs and snarled at him. It earned her a growl and a hard, deep thrust that he paused after, keeping her impaled as he lay back down and whispered against her ear.

“Feel that?” His voice was just a husky rattle.

“Yes,” she snapped.

“Good.” He was in far too much control for how insane he was driving her. “I want you to be mine. Completely mine.”

“I am…” Two little words had never felt like they meant so much. She felt exposed by them, stripped bare and so completely at his mercy. So she bucked, trying to fight her way to freedom, or at least a dark corner where she might lick her wounded pride.

“No way,” he said against her ear. “No way are you leaving me to deal with the shreds you make of my life. We’re in this…together.”

He groaned with the last word, his cock twitching inside her as he lost control. He arched back, pumping her through his release, growling with frustration as his body won the battle over his will.

Jewel smiled. There was a triumph in feeling his seed flooding her. The feeling was so deep, it frightened her, but at the same time, her body jerked, a ripple of enjoyment going straight through her womb. It shocked her as she tried to claw the glass top of the table and hold on to something. Ramsey’s hand was suddenly against her belly, pushing through the curls on the top of her sex and into the folds of her pussy. He found her clit and rubbed it, pressing on it with the perfect amount of pressure and friction to send her spiraling into climax. He held her down through it, placing another bite on her neck as she writhed and cried out. It was sharp and hard, the pleasure snapping through her like a whip. It left a sting that burned her insides while she panted and realized just how much she was sweating, because now her cheek was wet against the glass of the table.

“I love the way you come.” He gathered her up, cradling her against his chest as he walked through the dark suite and somehow found his way into the bathroom. There was a red light that kept it from being a dark cave. Just the right amount of light to keep them in the dark and not shatter the mood.

“But I screwed up,” Ramsey said as he turned on the shower. “I didn’t use a condom.”

The proof of that was on the top of her thighs. She stepped into the shower without waiting for the water to warm up. Ramsey was right on her tail.

“You have a flee response,” he said as he hooked her around the waist and pulled her against him. The water was only slightly warm, and it felt cold against her heated flesh. “You’re worth more than you give yourself credit for.”

Whatever she’d thought he’d say, that wasn’t it. “Excuse me? I’m trying to respect your wishes. I thought that was what you wanted.”

“Don’t fucking make excuses for me. You’re worth a whole hell of a lot more than my kissing another girl the second you’re away from my side. Shit…” he mumbled. “I want to be better than that, because you’re…just…the kind of girl I gave up thinking would be interested in having me.”

He kissed her, like he was trying to avoid any further discussion. She recoiled, needing to tell him what he meant to her, but he followed her, pressing a hard kiss against her lips and not stopping until she kissed him back. Determination didn’t seem to be a relevant factor. Where her mind wanted to stick to her guns, her body was overly ready to get on with surrendering.

“I’m being a dick,” he said when he lifted his head.

“No, not entirely.”

He’d turned to grab the soap. She listened as he tore the paper wrapper off it, the scent of sandalwood teasing her nose.

“You’re just disappointed in human nature,” she said. He’d frozen, the soap held in the air between them, his fingers tight around the bar.

Jewel plucked it from his grip. “Disappointed in how many people want to ride your coattails”—she smoothed the bar across his chest, one side and then the other—“but more disappointed in how many of them think you don’t earn what you have, and you’ve heard it said so much, you’re starting to believe it. Don’t.”

“I get why you’re considering the offer from Morcant,” he said. “Still going to tell you the guy is trouble.”

“I don’t think he’d be successful if he wasn’t a predator in the business world. I mean, that’s part of it, isn’t it? Accepting the job side of being an artist.”

Ramsey took the soap from her and cupped her shoulder to turn her around. The water was warm now, but not hot. He washed her back, awakening a new craving for him as he stroked and lathered the soap across her shoulders.

“True,” Ramsey agreed. He worked the soap lower, never hesitating when he reached her bottom. She shifted, uncertain, and heard him make a soft sound. “I always thought success would bring me happiness…”

“Hasn’t it?”

He stroked the soap around her hip and onto her belly as he moved up behind her so he could wash her belly and move lower to her pubic hair. She shifted again, losing focus. “I can do…”

“I’m doing it.” He closed his arms around her for a moment, imprisoning her as she battled mortification. “I made the mess, after all.”

She groaned, certain she was going to die on the spot.

“Don’t shut me out.” His voice was low and needy. “You’re right. Success has a disappointing side. I haven’t wanted to admit it.” He worked the soap through her pubic hair and between her legs. “Makes me feel like a wuss to cry about anything when I have so much.”

“Feelings don’t differentiate between tax brackets,” she said.

He snorted and guided her beneath the water to rinse. She turned around to face him and took the soap from his hand. He didn’t want to release it, and she ended up with half-soft soap oozing through her fingers as she increased the amount of pull.

“If you want it to just be us…here…together…it’s my turn to wash you. I encouraged you to make the mess.”

His lips twitched, and he released the soap bar. “I love your suggestions…”

It was cocky and so very Ramsey. She started to lather him up, noticing the way the soap held his chest hair against his skin. So many little details she was sure he wasn’t willing to share with anyone else. Normal details that any other couple might have shared. It was a privilege, and she had to let down her own defenses for him to enjoy it too.

It was give and take on an epic scale, or at least it felt like it was rocking her to the foundations of her world.

His cock was hard again. She stroked it, covering it in lather before he backed up and let the water wash him clean. He shook his head, and his long hair flipped back, flinging water across her as she laughed. He emerged from the spray like the god she’d always thought him to be, moving toward her. Her insides tightened and her nipples drew tight with renewed arousal.

It was a slow stalk he clearly enjoyed. She backed up, taking one step at a time, finally ending up at the rear of the stall. There was a bench seat that he pressed her down onto with a half smile lifting his lips. It was all the warning she got before he sank down and cupped her knees.

“Now, for that course of pussy I was craving…”

Jewel found herself grateful for the stack of folded towels on the seat as Ramsey buried his face between her thighs and she fell back on her elbows. The soft terry cloth kept her from bruising her elbows, but she gasped.

And then moaned.

Ramsey pulled the folds of her sex wide and fastened his lips around her clit. He sucked the little nub without mercy, sending shafts of white-hot pleasure through her. He let it go only when he moved down her slit to the opening of her pussy, rimming it with his tongue before stabbing up into her.

“Mmm…” he growled against her flesh. “I love it…”

“You do…not!” she squeaked, still unable to completely believe him.

He lifted his head and looked up at her. A moment later he was standing in front of her. Whatever thought she’d been about to express died as his cock came into view. She reached out and stroked it, confidence surging through her when he sucked in a harsh breath. That sound fanned the flames of boldness. She clasped his length and pumped her hand down to the base, the water making it easy. There was another sound of male enjoyment, and she leaned forward to take the head inside her mouth.

Ramsey thrust toward her as she worked her hands along the length that didn’t fit inside her mouth. She used her tongue on the sensitive underside of the head and enjoyed the way he grunted. His balls tightened as he neared climax, the slit on the top of his cock filling with the first few drops of his cum. She lapped it away and sucked more of him inside her mouth. He had a hand fisted in her hair as he bowed out toward her, every muscle in his body taut. His cock jerked, and he cursed and started filling her mouth with come. It was thick and hot, and she swallowed it as she let him pump though the release, pleased beyond words to know she’d taken him over the edge.

He sank down in front of her on his haunches, and she felt victory warming her. But he opened his eyes, showing her a warning.

“You enjoyed that,” he accused softly.

She nodded, reduced to blunt honesty. Although maybe stripped was a better word to describe how she felt, because he had a way of ripping away everything she wanted the rest of the world to think about her, and left her facing herself.

“It’s a control thing,” he continued.

She had to agree again. One side of his mouth rose as she moved her head up and down.

“So,” he said softly, “I’m not the only one with control issues in this relationship. But I do have them. Big time.”

He scooped her up and carried her out of the shower. In some part of her brain, she was thinking about the fact that the water was still running. Ramsey didn’t care. And neither did she when he placed her on the bed.

“I offered you my cock back there.” He was standing next to the bed, watching her.

“You did.” She’d risen onto her elbows, trying to decide what he was doing and only managing to feel exposed. It dawned on her that was exactly what he wanted. There was a pleased expression on his face and a gleam of anticipation in his eyes.

“Show me your pussy.”

It should have sounded like a line from a lame pornographic movie. Instead, it twisted her insides and curled her toes. The bed had an ornate ironwork headboard. She took a deep breath and lay back, reaching above her head to grasp it. She was on her back, and pulled her legs up until her knees were over her breasts. Submissive, yet defiant as she hid her body from him.

“Tease,” he accused her.

“You’re going to wait for your treat,” she warned him.

“The real question is, can you wait for yours?” he countered.

Her clit didn’t want to. It was already throbbing, the knowledge of what he planned making her mouth dry and her pussy wet. She lifted her feet into the air, pointing her toes toward the ceiling. She felt the air against her sex, where fluid was seeping from her aroused body.

“Show it to me, baby,” he drawled softly. “Give me submission.”

She suddenly understood what people meant by the submissive being in control. At that moment, he waited on her. Seconds felt like hours as her respiration accelerated, her skin became ultrasensitive again, and her clit begged for the touch of his tongue.

More than tongue. He’d eat her out. And make her scream.

She parted her legs and opened them wide, letting her feet touch either side of the bed in a straddle split. She quivered, feeling exposed and vulnerable.

And still, so very much in control.

“Perfection…”

The bed swayed as he crawled onto it, pausing on all fours as he contemplated her. Satisfaction glittered in his eyes and drew his features tight. It made him look dangerous, and she craved him even more because he was there, demanding her, when he might have had anyone.

He settled over her spread sex, his gaze lowering to it as he wrapped his arms around her thighs and pulled them wider. She jerked, an involuntary motion, and started to snap her legs closed. He made a soft sound and stroked the insides of her thighs, pushing them open again.