Desperate Domination (Bought by the Billionaire #3) (7 page)

And tonight she would use her strength to begin leading him out of the darkness before it was too late.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, his palm skimming up her stomach to cup her breast reverently in his hand. “Have I told you how beautiful you are?”

“Yes. I think stunning was another word you used,” she said, knowing it was exactly the word he’d used. She would never forget a single word he’d said to her, this man who had captured her imagination, her heart, and everything in between. “You’re pretty stunning yourself.”

“I’m glad I please you,” he said, rolling her nipple between his fingers, sending a sweet ache flooding through her core.

“You do more than please me.” She pushed gently at his shoulders until he rolled onto his back. “You drive me crazy.” She leaned down, holding his gaze as she pressed a kiss to the center of his chest. “I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you.”

She moved higher, trailing kisses up his neck until she reached his mouth, where she let her lips hover a whisper above his. “Am I allowed to kiss you anywhere I want now?”

“Anywhere you want, sunshine,” he said, the pet name making her heart turn over. The way he said that word spoke louder than any promise. When he said
sunshine
, she heard
I love you
.

Someday soon, she hoped he would hear it too, and realize maybe they weren’t so far from the fairy tale, after all.

“Everything is going to be okay,” she said, cupping his scruffy cheek in her hand as she addressed the unspoken doubt in his eyes. “It will, Jackson. I promise.”

And then she kissed him and he kissed her back, his tongue slipping into her mouth and his arms wrapping tight around her. The kiss was as hot as any they’d shared, but it was also richer, deeper, an exploration of new territory and an offering of something more than their physical bodies. There was more than hunger in his touch as he cupped her breasts in his hands, kneading and caressing her sensitive skin until she was dizzy. There was more than a desire for release in the way he urged her thighs apart and pressed his erection tight to the slickness between her legs.

She could sense the emotion simmering beneath his touch and the longing for a union that thrummed through his veins. It was the same longing that swelled inside her, filling her with warmth, crowding out the last of her fear.

“I need you so much,” she mumbled against his lips. “I need to feel you inside me.”

“Condom.” He reached for the bedside table, but she took his hand, guiding it back to her breast.

“No, I want you bare,” she said, grinding her slickness up and down his rigid length. “It isn’t the right time for a baby and we’ve already gone without a condom once today. Once more won’t hurt.”

“I know we did,” he said, pinching her nipples. “But I didn’t realize it until after. I wasn’t thinking.” He groaned softly as she circled her hips, coating his cock with more of her wet heat. “That’s what you do to me, Hannah. You make me forget to think.”

“Good.” She reached between them, positioning him at her entrance. “You think too much.”

She dropped her hips, taking him inside her, inch by glorious inch. She’d never been on top with him before and relished the new way he filled her. His engorged erection took up every inch of space until there was a hint of pain as she sank down the final inch, fitting her hips to his.

But it was sweet pain, the kind that only drove her desire higher.

She moaned as she began to move, gliding up and down his shaft as he dropped his head, suckling her nipple into his mouth. His hands squeezed her hips, sending fresh waves of need coursing through her body and a ringing sensation vibrating through her cells. She felt like a tuning fork finding the perfect pitch, a meditation bell summoning the chaos of the world into perfect harmony, and was suffused with a sense of rightness that swept away the last clinging cobwebs of doubt.

There was no longer any question in her mind—this was where she was meant to be. She belonged with this man. She was born to share his bed, warm his heart, and climb out of hell by his side. It was as close to a moment of utter truth as she’d ever experienced, and she had to know if he felt it too.

“Wait. I need to see you. Please.” Fighting the pleasure cresting within her, she squirmed until he released her nipple and lay back, his breath coming fast.

“Just don’t ask me to stop,” he said, thrusting sharply into her core, his cock stroking so deep it drew a gasp from her throat. “I can’t stop. I need you so much. So fucking much.” A pained expression flashed across his face that she understood completely.

It was painful to get this close, so close there was nothing but a fraying thread keeping you from losing yourself and being eaten alive by need for the person in your arms. It was heaven and hell mixed together, but better for it.

Darkness made the light shine brighter, pain made pleasure that much sweeter, and what was the point of angels if not to save beautiful devils like Jackson Hawke.

“I won’t give up on you,” she whispered, holding his gaze as she caught his rhythm, riding him with sensuous rolls of her hips, building the fire already raging between them. “I won’t ever give up.”

His grip on her hips tightened until his fingertips dug into her flesh. “Hannah.”

It was only her name, but it carried so much. It bore his fear, his sadness, and his pain. It held his certainty that they were doomed to fail and the fragile hope that maybe his heart wasn’t dead and buried after all.

“It’s not too late.” She leaned down until her hair fell around their faces, providing a safe place to say dangerous things. “I love you. Every part of you.”

He answered her with a kiss, groaning into her mouth as he fisted a hand in her hair and rolled them both over, reversing their positions. As soon as he took control, he made the most of it, grinding against her clit until she was trembling all over and gasping into his mouth.

“Yes,” she breathed, eyes sliding closed as he took her higher. Higher and higher until there was nothing but light and bliss and the heaven of finding where she fit. Just right.

“Come, Hannah,” Jackson said, his teeth scraping against her throat. “Come for me, beautiful.”

She obeyed with a ragged cry, her inner walls pulsing around him as he gripped her hips and thrust into her clutching heat, stroking into her with deep, languid thrusts that threatened to send her tumbling over a second time. But she clenched her jaw and clung to his shoulders, fighting the second wave, not wanting to go again without his permission. They weren’t playing games tonight, but her pleasure still belonged to him.

Every part of you belongs to him. For better or for worse, you’re his. Only his.

“I’m yours,” she gasped, threading her fingers into his hair. “Yours. God, yes. Please. Please!”

Jackson’s tempo grew faster until he was driving inside of her with a wild abandon that let her know how close he was to the edge. “I’m going to come,” he said, his voice strained. “Come with me. Come with me.”

“Yes,” she said, wrapping her legs tighter around his waist as his rhythm faltered. “I’m coming. Right…now.”

She groaned as his cock jerked inside of her, the feel of his heat scalding her inner walls sending her spiraling a second time. She clung to him as the waves of bliss swept across her skin again and again, wringing sensation from her body until movement was impossible and she and Jackson lay tangled together on the sweat-damp sheets, his body pinning hers to the mattress as they remembered how to breathe.

He was heavy, but she loved the feel of him relaxed on top of her like this. In the quiet moments after release, Jackson was finally at peace. It didn’t last long, but maybe someday it would.

Maybe one night, not too long from now, they would fall asleep with their bodies entwined and wake up in the morning with nothing between them but shared happiness. The road to that place wouldn’t be smooth or easy, but right now, with the feel of his heart beating in time with hers making her bones hum with contentment, she believed they could get there.

As Jackson rolled onto his back and drew her into his arms, clearly intending to spend the night, she began to believe a little more. And when he kissed her forehead and said, “Sweet dreams, sunshine,” her chest filled with so much hope that her heart ached with a fierce, sweet wanting.

The sins of the past didn’t matter. They would find a way to put it all behind them and move on. She was sure of it.

CHAPTER NINE

Hannah

Hannah drifted into a sleep more peaceful than any in recent memory and dreamt of an afternoon on the beach with Jackson. They made love in the shade of a palm tree and fed each other slices of pineapple before running into the ocean and making love again amidst the waves.

It was such a lovely dream that she woke up smiling, determined to make her dream a reality.

She rolled over, blinking in the early morning light, a little disappointed to see the rumpled covers beside her empty. But wherever Jackson had gone he would be back. And when he returned, she would talk him into spending the day at the beach with her. It would be like a first date.

The thought made her smile, a goofy grin she was glad Jackson wasn’t around to see. She knew he still had his fears and doubts, but after the way they had made love last night, she had a hard time holding on to her own. Still, they would have to move forward slowly, and it was too early in the process for love struck grins and humming on her way to the bathroom.

But as she padded into the bathroom to wash up, she couldn’t stop an airy tune from vibrating up her throat to her lips. And when she emerged wrapped in a towel to find her clothes from yesterday freshly washed and laid out on the bed, she let out a blissful sigh, startling Eva, who was depositing her breakfast tray on the table by the window.

“Good morning, Eva,” she said, dancing across the room. “Isn’t it a beautiful day?”

“Good morning,” Eva said with a shy smile. “Mr. Hawke ask for me to bring these special. For you. Special breakfast from him.”

“Thank you so much.” Hannah glanced down, warmth spreading through her as she realized what was on the tray. On the delicate china plate sat two steaming biscuits, each cut in half and topped with a different kind of cheese.

Cheese biscuits. He’d had her safe word delivered for breakfast.

It was funny, sweet, and weirdly romantic, and she could barely contain the giddy cry of delight threatening to burst from her lips. She was so touched that it took a beat for her to notice the piece of paper with her name written on it tucked beneath the edge of the plate.

It took even longer for her to make sense of the message written inside.

Dear Hannah,

I never thought I’d experience something like last night again. You touched parts of me I was certain no longer existed, but there are other parts that are unreachable, even by a spirit as lovely as yours. That’s why I have to leave.

I am not now, nor will I ever be, worthy of your affection. I could try for a hundred years, but I would still fall short of what you deserve. I can’t be the man you want me to be. I am incapable of love, but I do care enough about you to do what’s right.

Adam will fly me to my destination this morning and return this afternoon to take you home. The remainder of your fee will be deposited in your account by close of business today.

Thank you for your goodness and your forgiveness. Both mean more than you know.

Yours,

Jackson

She read the note through three times before the truth penetrated. When it did, she dropped the paper and spun toward the bed, dropping her towel and pulling on her clothes, heedless of the fact that Eva was still in the room to see her naked.

A glance at the clock on the bedside table said it was only six fifteen. If she hurried, she might be able to catch Jackson before he left. She couldn’t let him slip away without a fight, not when they were so close to finding forever.

On some level, he must know they were meant to be or he wouldn’t have signed the note the way he did. Subconsciously, he knew that he belonged to her and she belonged to him. Now, she just had to convince the rest of the stubborn man she loved that the last thing he should be doing is running away.

As soon as her hiking boots were tied, Hannah stood and turned to pin Eva with a stern look. “I need to go to Mr. Hawke. Is there someone who can drive me to the airstrip?”

Eva shook her head, but before she could respond a deep voice spoke from the door.

“I’ll take her, Mama.” The dark-eyed boy who had warned her about Jackson motioned for her to follow him. “They left a few minutes ago. We can catch up if we go now.”

Hannah hurried toward the door, skin prickling with relief. “Thank you so much. I promise you won’t get in trouble. I won’t let him punish you.”

“I’m not worried about being punished,” the man said, starting down the hallway toward the front of the house. “My name is Dominic.”

“Hannah,” she said, then shook her head. “I’m sorry, you know that. I’m just… I’m a little flustered this morning. I can’t believe he left like this.”

“It might be for the best,” Dominic said, slowing as they reached the great room and turning back to face her. His almost black-brown eyes flicked to check the corners of the room before he added in a whisper. “I can have a plane here in an hour to get you out. I’ve got a pilot waiting on Moorea. All I have to do is make a phone call.”