Authors: Lynn Burke
Chapter Eleven
A timid knock sounded, and I turned down
Aldean’s
latest single to an almost muted tone. Adrenaline spiked in the form of
butterflies in my stomach. Fuckin’ butterflies for Christ’s sake.
What the hell is wrong with me?
I opened my door, and my breath left in a rush. Raquel. She was what
had gotten into me—my mind, my dreams. She’d given me hope for a more
fulfilling life.
“Hey, gorgeous,” I said, my gaze traveling down the little black number
hugging her curves and stopping mid-thigh. “Nice dress.”
She glanced up, but didn’t clutch her opened coat or purse tight like
usual. “Is it too much? Jenny insisted I wear it.”
“It’s perfect.” I stepped back and let her inside. I slid the deadbolt,
locking us in for the evening—or however long I could convince her to stay.
“Something smells amazing.”
“Scallops in a white wine and butter sauce,” I said, taking the purse
from her grasp. A swipe of my hand pushed her flowing hair aside, and I stepped
in to brush my lips across the soft curve of her neck. Her skin shivered
beneath my touch.
“You can cook?”
“Yes.” I nuzzled beneath her ear while slipping the coat off her
shoulders. “Surprised?”
“I shouldn’t be.” Her head tipped to the side, allowing me better
access to her berry-scented skin. “You keep proving my assumptions wrong.”
“I’m a regular Michael
Chiarello
.”
She laughed and stepped away from me. “A Food Network fan? Now that I
never
would have guessed.”
“Second only to NESN.” I laid her coat and purse across the couch’s
back and motioned her toward my gourmet kitchen. Her black heels clicked on the
hardwood flooring, drawing my gaze downward.
“I see you have his cookbooks.”
I tore my attention from her round ass to find Raquel gazing at the
open shelving above my stainless fridge. “Ina, Batali, and of course Giada.”
Grinning, I pulled out a chair for her. “Of course.”
A candle flickered atop the table, and I’d set two settings beside each
other rather than at the table’s ends.
“Do you entertain much?” she asked, settling into the chair and eyeing
the precise placement of the flatware and glassware.
“No, but my grandma made sure I could take care of myself in the
kitchen.”
“Grandma?”
“Yeah.” I slid the skillet of scallops out of the oven with a mitt and
plated them with the orzo and green beans I’d sautéed. “She lived with us until
her death in ’07.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It was a tough loss, but she lived a full life, one filled with joy,
family, and good food every night.” A pinch of chopped parsley topped the main
course off, and I set the plates on the table.
“Wow. Grandma taught you well,” Raquel said, eyeing our dinner.
I grinned and grabbed the chilled salad plates with their sliced
tomatoes and fresh mozzarella from the fridge along with the rest of the White
Bordeaux I’d used for the wine sauce. Once seated and filled wine glass in
hand, I breathed deep, trying to imprint my mind with a memory of what I hoped
would be the first of many meals at my table.
“To you, my gorgeous angel.”
Raquel’s eyes widened at my word usage, but I wasn’t going to
pussy-foot around. I’d already decided she was mine. It was just a matter of
getting a collar around her neck—and a rock on her left hand.
Our glasses clinked as though signaling their agreement with my
thoughts, and we both sipped.
“Better than the red at Valentino’s?” I asked.
“Much.” She smiled and placed her napkin on her lap.
I tried not to think about what lay beneath the fabric, but the thought
she hadn’t worn panties like I’d told her twitched my cock. A quick jerk-off
minutes before she’d arrived gave me a short time of control over him.
“Where do you see yourself in ten years?” I asked, cutting a scallop in
two and trying like hell to cut off my sex drive for a little while.
Nervous laughter accompanied her sip of wine.
“What?” I grinned. “Didn’t think I’d be much of a conversationalist
tonight?”
“I … I wasn’t sure what to expect.”
“You thought I’d tie you up the second you walked through the door?”
Red infused her cheeks, and she turned her attention to her plate. “The
thought had crossed my mind, yes.”
“Were you hoping I would?”
A shrug lifted her shoulders as she took a bite of the seafood. Eyes
closing, she let out a moan, causing my cock to twitch again.
“Was that moan for the food or the idea of being restrained by my
ropes?”
She smiled and glanced up at me through her lashes. “Both.”
Stiffening to his potential, my cock obviously liked her answer.
“Christ, woman, you’ll be the death of me.”
Giggling, she took another bite, and I struggled not to stare at her
moistened lips as she chewed.
“You are the sexiest, sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.”
She offered another smile.
“Don’t believe me?” I asked, half a scallop still speared by my fork
and resting on the plate.
“You’re full of compliments all the time, and I’m sure I’m not the
first to receive them.”
“I’ve never told anyone that last one, and I meant when I said you were
my angel.”
She stared at me as silence settled.
“You’re pure, kind, compassionate … like I said before, you’re
perfect.”
A deep inhale lifted her chest. “And you’re a naughty, horny, confident
and cocky Dom. In my mind that’s almost perfection.”
I slumped back in my chair at a loss for words.
She continued to peer at me, food seemingly forgotten. “Now if I could
believe you’d be a faithful one, well…” Her voice wavered. “That would be
perfection indeed.”
Fuck dinner.
Adrenaline rushed, and I pushed my plate aside to lean forward onto the
table. Time to find out what she wanted, what she intended, and what she
expected our night together would hold. “What do you want out of life?”
Her brow furrowed for half a second as she took in my ignored dinner.
“What I think everyone does—to find a soulmate.”
“You believe such a thing exists?”
“I believe there are hundreds of men out there I could make a good life
with, but only one who will fulfill my heart, mind, and soul. Someone willing
to know
me
, to understand and
genuinely want what’s best for me even when I don’t know myself.”
Damn butterflies took off in my stomach again, but I plowed on. “Tell
me why you’re here, gorgeous.”
She dabbed her lips with her napkin, gaze on her plate. “I’m tired of
living a lie.”
“Lie?”
“My whole life, I’ve striven to be what my parents wanted, to be like
my sisters, but that’s not who I am.” She peered up at me, unsmiling,
a
crease lining her brow. “Or what I want.”
“What
do
you want?”
“You.”
Goddamn
. I groaned and sat back as my cock pressed
against the fly of my jeans. “I’ve been dying to hear the truth from those
lips, but I’m not going any further without a promise from you.”
The pulse in her neck jumped like mad, but she nodded.
“No regrets, Raquel.”
“It’s my life.” Her voice shook along with her head. “I’m tired of
waiting to experience everything I’ve read about—dreamed about doing with you.
I want you to show me everything. Passion unleashed. A mind-blowing orgasm
beyond what my fingers can give.”
‘
Nuff
fuckin’ said.
I stood without a word and held out my hand.
She glanced down at the uneaten food on our plates.
“Take my hand, gorgeous.”
Her trembling fingers touched my palm, and I grasped tight, pulling her
to her feet. She wavered, and I slipped my arm around her waist to hold her
steady.
For the first time in my life, I wanted to do the sweet, cuddly sex
thing. Sink into her wet heat and make love to her until she shattered around
me, cinching our souls tight in an unbreakable bond. But, that’s not what she’d
come over for.
“What’s your safe word?”
“R-red,” she whispered, gaze locked on my face.
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes, Sir.”
I slid my hand down to cup her neck, empowered by the pulse thrumming
against my palm. “I won’t hurt you.”
Unease slid across her face, and she glanced away.
“Look at me.” I forced her chin up. “I’ll give you exactly what you
need, my angel.”
She cleared her throat as a shudder rippled down her body.
“What are you thinking?”
“N-nothing.”
“Tell me.”
She wet her top lip with the tip of her tongue. “Do you call all your
subs ‘my angel?
’”
“I’ve never called anyone mine before. Ever.”
Her lower lip trembled and wetness coated her eyes.
Fuck
.
No way in hell I could tie her up and lash her pink with my favorite
flogger. That time would come, but she needed assurance of what I wanted. What
I intended for our future—before I got all kinky on her ass.
I cradled her face in my hands and brushed my lips across hers.
Goddamn, she tasted so fuckin’ good, I wanted to sink into her. Suck in her
breath, drown in her soul. Thunder boomed in my ears, and I pulled her flush
against me, letting her feel exactly how much I wanted her.
Time for two souls to connect—or so I begged Mother Mary to make
happen. Time to brand Raquel without pain, only pleasure. Time to make her mine
forever.
Chapter Twelve
That air of confidence and power oozing from Zane’s gaze dissolved a
second before he leaned down to kiss me. But the passion in his kiss, the
hunger of his mouth was a thousand times headier than anything I’d ever
experienced.
I desired to fall to my knees, do whatever he commanded. Please him
until he lost control, fighting back my own needs, but Good Lord … his kiss
slayed the anxiety and fear that he only wanted me to warm his bed for a night
or two.
He’d called me his angel, and without doubt, he meant it.
Glory hallelujah, Jenny was
right.
All other thought fled as he swung me up into his arms, lips searing a
line down my neck. “I’m going to leave my marks across your flushed skin, but
not tonight, my angel.” He whispered the words against my skin. “Tonight there
is only room for pleasure.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and kicked off my heels as he walked
toward the open door of his bedroom.
Jitters plagued my muscles, and I struggled to calm myself.
Zane lowered me to my feet at the foot of his bed and picked up a
length of blue silk off the coverlet. “Turn around.”
I did as told, my shaking knees knocking against the footboard.
He removed my glasses with a gentle touch and tied my blindfold in
place. “I want you to feel, my angel. Nothing else.”
Warm fingertips brushed against my neck, pushing my hair over my
shoulder. The zipper on the back of my dress lowered, the slow clinking of tiny
metal teeth loud in the stillness of my darkened world.
He pushed the straps off my shoulders, and the material pooled around
my feet.
A shiver slid over my skin, pebbling my body in a thousand goosebumps.
Naked as a newborn baby, I stood unmoving. Waiting. The apex of my thighs
throbbing and embarrassingly wet.
“Turn around.”
The sound of his unsteady voice, full of restrained desire, melted my
bones, but I did as told without slumping to the floor.
His hands grasped my shoulders, sitting me on the bed. “Lay back and
let me feast my eyes on you, my angel.”
I wanted to be all sexy, slide over his coverlet like a little vixen,
temptation he couldn’t resist, but the shaking of my muscles made for one
stinkin
’ awkward scooting across his bed.
“Spread your legs. I want to see how wet you are.”
Heat erupted within my skin, flushing my body. I did as told.
“You are so fuckin’ gorgeous, Raquel. I wish you could see yourself, all
sprawled out and trembling for me.”
Clothing rustled, and I wanted to rip off my blindfold to see him. I
grasped at the cover beneath me, needing to touch him, but waiting to be told I
could.
The mattress dipped near my feet, and awareness of his presence crept
up across me, until the heat of his body and the scent of wintergreen caressed
my entire length.
My breaths escaped in pants.
“You have permission to touch me,” he said before capturing my lips and
lowering himself flush against me.
Good God Almighty, my body melted. I relaxed as his mouth and tongue
swept all thought from my mind. He nibbled, sucked, and stroked every inch of
my lips. My tongue.
I fisted my hands in his hair, hanging on for dear life, wanting to
capture every shift of his skin against mine, the muscles of his chest pressing
against me. One of my legs wrapped around the back of his knee involuntarily,
and he grasped my thigh, lifting my leg higher to his waist.
“Fuckin’
A
.” He backed off,
but didn’t release me. “I want to make this good for you, my angel, but you
tempt my self-control.”
“No more waiting. Please,” I begged, trying to tug him back to my
mouth.
“Wait.”
I released my hold, and he half-rolled off me, muscles flexing, rippling
along my length. A second later, he settled between my legs. Something ripped,
and realization of what he did entered my mind.
“No,” I whispered.
All movement ceased. “No, what?”
I tried to swallow my sudden nervousness, but failed. “Are you…” I
cleared my throat. “Are you clean?”
“Yes. I have to get tested every month to remain a member at
Chantelle’s.”
“I don’t want anything between us.” The words left me in a rush as heat
flooded my face. “I went on the pill a few months ago without my parent’s
knowledge, just in case.”
“Just in case what?” His voice betrayed his smile.
“In case you proved to be too much a temptation.”
“You naughty little girl.”
He had no idea, but I expected he’d find out before long just how
sinful of a mind I had.
A fingertip trailed up through my wetness, and my body jumped as he flicked
my clit.
“G-Good God.”
He groaned, his warm breath caressing across my lower stomach. His
tongue replaced his fingertip, and I wrapped my legs around him, tugging him
closer. My hands found his hair and latched on as he licked, suckled, and
nibbled on my tender, throbbing flesh.
A fingertip slid down through my wetness and pressed inward. My hips
lifted in welcome, and I rose to meet every gentle forward glide of his hand.
“Please, Zane.” The words left my lips as a panted plea.
“You want to come?”
“God, yes.”
“You have my permission.”
A second finger pressed into me, stretching me as his tongue attacked
my clit with rapid flicks.
Starbursts exploded behind the darkness of my blindfold, and I held on
tight as shudders of exquisite pleasure burst through me. I bit my lip to keep
from screaming, but Zane slid up my body and claimed my mouth, swallowing my cries,
my moans of release.
Tingles of warmth still swept through me when my muscles went slack and
he slipped my blindfold off. “Look at me.”
I blinked in the bright light, my gaze settling on his blue eyes—eyes
filled with so much more than lust. He shifted his hips, his hardness nudging
between my thighs.
I tensed, and he stilled. “I’ll make it good for you,” he said, the
strain in his voice letting me know how much he wanted to please me without
pain.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, my arms about his neck. “I know you
will,” I whispered, drawing him down.
His lips swept across mine as he pressed forward into me. I didn’t
think he’d ever fit, but inch by inch, I took him in with only a slight burn, a
sting that disappeared the second his pelvis bumped against mine.
Instead of feeling violated and filled with a foreign invasion as my
mother had spoken of, I felt filled in the most glorious way. Like two souls in
unity. Two spirits twining around each other and erasing all space between
them.
“You all right?” he asked, his voice breaking. Sweat coated his brow.
His jaw clenched.
I cupped his cheek in my hand and smiled. “Never been better.”
“Thank Christ,” he said on an exhaled rush of breath.
He pulled out, his entire length caressing my inner walls in what I
could only think of as pure bliss.
“Oh,” I whispered, my eyes widening as desire swept through me.
His cocky grin appeared. “Like that, do you?”
I tightened my legs to bring him back, and he complied, sliding in to
the hilt again. “Oh, yes.”
Zane grasped my wrists and pushed my arms overhead, holding them in
place. “You are so fucking tight. So wet. So fucking
hot
. Christ.” He crushed his mouth against mine and rocked into me
again, hitting my clit with his pelvic bone.
The raw power of his body atop mine flooded me with need. With every
slow glide into me, I groaned against his lips, tugged against his hold on my
hands.
“H-harder,” I managed the second he let me breathe.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Please, Zane.” I sounded like a whiny little girl, but he didn’t seem
to think so. He thrust into me so hard, I slid across his bed a few inches.
“Fuck,” he growled, pulled back, and thrust again.
I panted my agreement, my eyelids fluttering shut against the
overwhelming feelings—emotions coursing through my body and mind. I wanted
more. Needed more.
As though hearing my silent pleas, Zane released my arms and reached
between us. I grasped at his hair and moaned as he swirled a finger around my
swollen clit while filling me completely. “Look at me, my angel.”
I forced my eyelids open and reveled in the love pouring from Zane’s
eyes. “Come for me.” He pulled out and slid in, pinching my clit and sending my
nerve ending soaring.
“Fuck, Zane.” The words slid past my lips on their own as wave after
wave of the strongest orgasm I’d ever experienced rolled over me.
His control slipped, and I gloried in my power as Zane growled my name
and buried his face in my neck, his hips grinding into me, rolling and bumping
in erratic movement.
“Fuck, that was … goddamn perfect,” he mumbled against my neck a few
seconds later when he collapsed on top of me.
I fought to catch my breath, every inch of my skin tingling with
awareness of his heat—his presence still inside me. A pile of sated muscles and
bones, I smiled and let my body relax, releasing my hold on his back and waist.
“Are you okay?” he asked, lifting enough to peer down at me. Mussed
hair, sticking every which way, scruff lining his square jaw…
“You’re beautiful.”
He grinned. “Yeah, but how are you?”
I returned his smile. “Perfect.”
“Got that fuckin’
right.
”
We laughed, our bodies still connected, our souls tethered. His smile
dissolved, and he swept his thumb over my lower lip. “Tell me what you’re
thinking, gorgeous.” Softened voice, but a demand none the less.
“That I found a beautiful soul, one worth holding onto for as long as
he’ll have me.”
“I want you to wear my collar, Raquel.” His gaze lifted to meet mine. “Do
you know what that means?”
Unable to form a word, I nodded.
“I want the world to know that while you may have tempered my wildness,
you
belong to
me
.”
Joy flooded through me, and I drew a shaky breath. “Own every part of
me, Zane. Take me, brand me, and make me feel cherished as only you can.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes.”
“Yes … what?”
“Yes,
Sir
, I will gladly wear
your collar.”
He grinned and shifted his hips, his length thickening inside of me.
“Again?” I asked, my arms snaking their way around his waist.
“Gorgeous, we’ve only just begun.”
The End
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