Beyond the Shadows (11 page)

She pulled his shirt over his head and threw it to the floor. He was big without an ounce of fat, muscled without being bulky, gorgeous without being feminine.

“You’re perfection, Kai.” She gathered a handful of his long, straight hair, craving the feel of it wrapped around her nude body. It slid through her palm like rough silk.

“I’ve thought that about you as well.”

They were perfect together. “Stand up.”

He stood without a word. She unbuttoned his pants, then pushed them slowly over his hips, her gaze on his defined abdomen. Her hands followed the shape of his firm rear as she pushed his pants down, his jutting penis demanding equal attention as she freed it from the confines of fabric. She leaned down and rubbed her lips on his belly, then grasped his rigid sex. Unable to resist, she ran her tongue down the long, smooth length of it.

He’d spent a lot of time tormenting and pleasing her; now it was her turn. She straightened and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Can I tie your hands behind your back?”

“No. I need to touch you.” He put a finger against her lips. “But I swear you may do anything you wish to me, and I will make no move to stop you.” His voice, strained and raw, scraped along her nerve endings and made her cold and hot all at once.

She shivered, her nipples tightening to painful points. “I can do anything at all?”

“Yes.”

And there it was, that trust she’d broken now handed back to her on a beautiful silver platter. Her vision swam for a brief second in a relieved sea of tears before she fought them back and smiled up at him, her heart, she was sure, in her eyes. “Thank you.”

He touched her cheek with his calloused fingertips. “You are difficult to resist, my Sarah.”

In that moment, she realized what it was like to love, truly love, a man. “Oh my God.”

“What is it?” He smiled down at her, his full lips curling, his eyes soft.

“I… Nothing. Just, nothing.” She took his hand, leading him to the enormous, sunken tub.

As she bent to start the water, he grasped the hem of her billowy skirt and pulled it over her hips. Her breath came quickly, and she forgot the water as he rubbed his fingers between her legs, over her clit, over her buttocks, and into the small hole between them.

Gasping at the intrusion, she jerked away, but he followed her, his voice soothing. “Stay still, love.”

Her teeth worried her bottom lip, as she stayed obediently bent over, clenching the water controls. Water fell in a thunder of sound, swirling into the tub, hot or cold, she had no inkling or care which.

He teased her clit with the fingers of one hand, and when she moaned, he once again slid a finger into her ass.

“Just relax, baby.”

She gave herself over to his attentions, helpless to do otherwise. He had complete control once he began touching her.

Still, she made a halfhearted attempt. “It was my turn…”

“In a second, I promise.”

The heat in his voice seared her skin and turned her mind to mush. Each time was more intense than the last. If this kept up, soon she’d be unable to do more than lie about with her legs open, waiting for him to thrust inside her…

She focused on his fingers sliding through her moisture, plucking at her plump, sensitive clitoris, then slipping into her. Her pussy clenched around his fingers in a reflexive grip. And the whole time, another finger slipped in and out of her ass, deeper and deeper with each plunge, until she was crying out with pleasure, thrusting back against his hand, eager for the looming, consuming orgasm.

And he didn’t withdraw and make her wait; faster and faster, his fingers worked, his murmurs and talented hands working her over, until her climax burst upon her with all the shock and power of a raging storm, and she was trapped in its midst.

Had he not caught her, she would have fallen, but he was there, kneeling, cradling her in his arms when the orgasm receded. He watched her, the look on his face nearly enough to send her into another climax. Hot, so very hot.

His teeth flashed in a wolfish white smile. “Little witch.”

“You’re the witch,” she whispered, meaning it. “Your touches…” She shook her head, amazed at what he did to her. “There are no words.”

Proud, he stroked a thumb over her nipple. “
Now
it’s your turn.”

She climbed out of his arms, her clit still pulsating with the aftereffects of the orgasm he’d just given her. Breasts sensitive and swollen, she rubbed her nipples with her palms, longing to come again.

But she mustn’t be selfish. The water was too hot, she discovered when she tested it, and she ran some cold to cool it down. She loaded the water with bath oils as he watched.

She leaned over to shut off the cold water, and her backside bumped into his big body. The perfect opportunity to press her pussy against him, thrusting her clit gently against his warmth. She pulled away reluctantly. The next orgasm she had would be with him inside her. “I can’t wait,” she said, groaning. But she could. She wanted nothing more, at this moment, than to please her man.

She would worship his body, crave his pleasure, hold his heart. He was hers. All hers.

She turned to him then, wrapping her hands around his rigid cock. Bending forward, she slid him into her mouth, one hand cupping his firm balls. She played her tongue over his silky hardness. She was starving, and he offered himself for the main course. The delicious main course.

“So good.” His voice, strained and harsh, matched the tension in his hands as he gripped her shoulders.

“
Mmm
…” Then, reluctantly, she pulled away from him. “I want you in the water.”

He didn’t argue. Pausing to snatch her up into his arms, he crushed her against his chest. He captured her lips in a deep kiss before setting her on her unsteady legs and stepping into the huge tub. It had to be huge to hold his massive body.

She took the time to study him. Her impatience warred with her desire to explore every inch of his body. She wanted to devour him, to be devoured by him.

His thick hair trailed and swirled in the water like long bits of silk, and she gathered it in her hand to throw over his shoulder. “Kai,” she murmured. Even his name tasted good.

He parted his lips, and she slid her tongue into the warmth of his open mouth. Their tongues met in a slow dance of soft, sliding movements as their lips melded, pain of what was past or what was to come forgotten beneath the honesty of that kiss.

She broke the kiss at last, pulling away from him only to kick off her skirt so she could climb into the tub. Her body craved his. She needed to press herself against the wet smoothness of his flesh.

She floated between his legs, her long hair tangling with his in the water. Opening her legs, she straddled him, kissing his throat as his sex probed at her pussy. She swallowed hard, gathering resolve around her like an iron cloak. “Not yet, darling. I’m going to give you a little taste of the torment I go through every time you make love to me.”

His throaty chuckle was thick with sex and understanding. “Whatever you want.”

She was tormenting herself just as much. But it was such sweet, sweet torture.

Giving in to her urge to hug him, she snaked her wet arms around his neck and squeezed, raining kisses upon his face.

“Sweet,” he said.

She stopped at once. She wasn’t in the mood for sweet. She bit his neck, and when he jerked, she wrapped her hand around his erection.

“Fuck!” He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

She smiled at the strain in his voice, watching his face as she ran her hand over his cock. He opened his eyes as she caressed him, his gaze glued to hers as she pleasured him.

Dipping one hand farther into the water, she cupped his balls, gently squeezing. He raised his hips, and the head of his cock peeked out of the water like a tempting, teasing gift. She rubbed her thumb over the opening at the tip and, unable to resist his invitation, she floated backward and lowered her mouth to taste the moisture beading there.

Flinching slightly as his fingers tightened in her hair, she licked the smooth, rubbery tip of his rigid sex as though it was the tastiest treat she’d ever had. In truth, it was.

Everything was going to be all right, she knew it. Straightening, she lowered her hands to his slippery, hard cock. She squeezed and massaged him until soapsuds colored the water and he ground his teeth, sweat popping out on his forehead.

“That’s enough, Sarah.”

But she continued to masturbate him until he locked his hands around her wrists, pulling her forcefully from his erection. “I want to come inside you, not into the water.”

“I’m not finished with you. I’m not going to fuck you yet.”

He stood, a waterfall of sudsy bathwater pouring from his body. He leaned over, grabbing her into his arms and stepping from the tub.

“But I, my darling, am going to fuck
you
.”

He lay on the bed, then turned her so she was sitting on his chest, facing away. He pushed at her back, forcing her toward his huge, stiff dick. “Suck me.”

His guttural voice sent vibrations straight to her pussy, and she rubbed herself on his chest, the pressure of her clit against his skin readying her for orgasm. Obediently she leaned forward and took his cock into her mouth.

She forgot to suck, forgot to breathe, even, as he used his skillful tongue to bathe her pussy with long, slow strokes.

“Suck, baby,” he reminded her, closing his lips around her swollen clit.

She drew him into her mouth deeply, and he hesitated, his tongue stilling as she sucked him.

“Suck, baby,” she said, moving her mouth around his sex.

He squeezed her ass, his lips once again taking her to the height of ecstasy. His tongue flicked over her clit, then into her pussy, and her mouth tightened on his cock as her orgasm threatened to explode.

She moaned loudly as the pressure built, his dick filling her mouth, her throat. Her pussy throbbed, vibrating with deep, desperate need. With his tongue, he stroked her clit, faster and harder, plucking and nipping with his firm lips, slipping his fingers in and out of her pussy.

She cried out, clenching his hard thighs, and suddenly he grabbed her hips and flipped her onto her back. He plunged into her with one hard thrust, stretching her almost beyond endurance.

Wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, she held on as he fucked her. He took what he wanted and gave her more pleasure than she’d ever imagined.

He slammed into her, the friction of his cock sending sparks that shot all the way to her head. The orgasm exploded with a vicious pleasure that took control of her body, sapping her of all resistance, all thought, all strength.

Her limbs fell away from his body and to the bed like boneless, limp strands of spaghetti. She flew, weightless. She lay stunned, too heavy for the bed. She floated, she sank, she breathed, she floundered.

Oh God, oh God, she was dying.

And before she could even think about recovering from that first stunning climax, another one built and crashed over her, a screaming tidal wave of rapture no human had surely ever felt before.

Her entire body quaked and quivered, her clitoris throbbing and pulsating as his dick stroked inside her, every place he touched breathing to life a smoking fire, an explosion of desire that proved to her that theirs was no ordinary union.

Theirs was a perfect joining, and she had the rest of her life, if she was very lucky, to embrace heaven in his arms. If she could survive it.

He did something, moved a certain way inside her, and it was as though his hot, hard penis had a million tiny fingers attached that were eagerly stroking every part of her.

Groaning, he buried his face in her neck, big body pumping atop her.

“Sarah, Sarah… God,
Sarah
!”

“Kai!” Through half laughter, half tears, she gave herself over to another orgasm, a gentler, kinder one. It brought her back to earth on soft, vibrating cotton wings, cradling her in sweetness, whispering across her body with delicate feathers.

He heaved himself off her, moaning as he pulled his still-erect cock from her battered pussy. She wouldn’t have cared had he crushed her beneath him.

“How is that possible?”

Her voice was barely above a whisper, but he heard her. He grunted in acknowledgment, one heavy arm thrown over his brow, sweat running in rivulets over his massive chest.

“It keeps getting better and better,” she told him, reaching weakly for his cock. Not because she wanted him aroused again—hell no. Just because she needed to touch it, to hold that connection. It belonged to her. She wanted to feel it.

“Sarah,” he moaned as she squeezed him, “
gimme
a minute, will you?”

She laughed, her voice rising joyously to brighten the darkened room. “I’ll give you a few, darling. You’ve completely worn me out. I’m too tired to move.”

“Your hand is moving pretty good.”

“Can’t help it. The hand wants what the hand wants.”

“Ha-ha.”

“I think I’m hungry. I’d eat if I could lift a fork.”

“Shall I have someone come in to feed you?”

“Hmm.” She pretended to think over his offer. “Who?”

“Who would you like?”

And before she could snatch the words back they were out, flying like an arrow toward his ear. “My brother.”

He sighed but remained silent beside her.

She swallowed, the click of her dry throat sounding like a tree branch breaking in a quiet forest. “I…”

“Sarah.” His voice wasn’t unkind, and she held her breath, watching him. “You do realize your brother should have been put to death for trying to murder me?”

She had nothing to say. Of course she knew. Pain shot through her lip, and she realized she’d bitten it hard enough to draw blood.

“Answer me, Sarah.”

“I realize anyone who attempts or accomplishes murder is usually given a death sentence.” Her voice was small, thick with tears.

“If someone tried to kill you, Sarah, would you expect justice, or would you have me free that person? If someone ran into this room right now and shot me in the head, would you beg for his release?”

“It’s not the same.”

“It is exactly the same.”

She burst into sobs then, sobs of defeat, of rage, of helplessness. She couldn’t take any more, and sharp knives of emotion clawed through her, turning her insides to bloody tracks of rawness. “God,” she screamed. Because fuck it all if he wasn’t right.

“Sarah, Sarah…” He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her body, covering her like a quilt of sorrow. “I’m…sorry.”

She beat at him with her fists, but he paid her no mind. He moved his hands carefully over her bare back, smoothing her hair, murmuring soft words.

At last, numb and empty, she lay like a stone in his arms. “It’s over, then. I’ve failed him.”

“Honey, it was his decision to attack me.”

“It was because of me that he made the attempt. You know that.” She sat up, wiping her eyes. “Would you not do the same for the one you love?”
For me?

Again, he sighed. “You know I would protect you.”

She climbed from the bed, wooden and drained. “I’m going to shower.”

But he grabbed her wrist, holding her fast. “Sarah. I will think about things with a less stubborn mind.”

She swung toward him, afraid to hope. “You will?”

“I will.”

It was a start. A
damn
good start.