Echoes in Stone (31 page)

“Dash.” She kept her voice low, soothing. “I know you care for Holly. I’ve seen you with her. I know she loves you as well. The things Lily wrote in her letter— Dash, you’re telling me things I never knew, or guessed, about my sister.”

Why had she never understood the extent of Lily’s instability? There’d been no hints of it in her letters. Beyond the grief in Dash’s eyes lay something else. Something hidden. How did she know he told her the truth? Why did she want to trust him, the man Lily had called cruel?

“Dash, you must understand what Holly represents to me. To my family. Holly is our last connection with Lily. She’s the only grandchild my side of the family will likely ever have. She’s the connection to our futures. I want only for her to be happy. Can’t you see that?”

Dash growled, leaping to his feet. “What makes you think Holly would be any safer with you than she is here, where I can protect her? Marguerite couldn’t keep her own daughter safe from men like Wilkerson. Why would I entrust my child to that woman’s negligence?”

Jessa jumped to her feet, jabbing her finger in his chest. His robe gaped open. Sweat trickled through the curls, down the smooth bronze skin. The sight, the scent of him tempted her, distracted her, but her fury drove her, overriding everything else.

“Marguerite wouldn’t be raising Holly. I would, Dash. Me. Don’t you trust me to do what is right for my niece? To protect her from men like Wilkerson or anyone else who means her harm? Don’t you trust me?”

“No, Jessa, I don’t.” His answer sliced her heart with as devastating an effect as a stiletto. “I find you beautiful. Intelligent. Kind to my daughter. I lust after your luscious body, even now, when I should be running away from you with all speed. I want nothing more than to toss you on that bed, drive my shaft so deep into you that you have no thought for anyone or anything but me. I want to possess you. You’ve gotten into my blood. But no, Jessamine, I do not trust you. I trust no woman, but especially no woman named Palmer.”

Pain knifed through her. Pain and fury and— Nothing in her life had ever hurt as much, enraged her as much as Dash’s words. She wanted to seize up her wine glass, smash it into the fireplace. She wanted to scream at him, to hurt him as he’d hurt her. She wanted to pound on his chest, to make him deny what he’d said. Take back the awful words. Her ears buzzed. Her chest heaved. Dear God, must this be what Lily felt when confronted by this cold man? Had it been his callousness which had driven her to madness?

Or, had it been Lily’s madness which had driven all possibility of hope—of trust—out of his life? What agony had he endured at Lily’s hands?

Dash’s chest heaved as much as her own. He watched her through eyes hard as slivered ice. More shocking, through the gap in the lower part of his robe, his cock jutted out, rigid as the rest of him. Fists clenched at his sides, he waited.

Jessa leapt for him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him to her. He met her lips with a fierce growl, lifting her to his chest. In spite of his frozen heart, his body radiated flames. The heat penetrated the flannel robe Jessa wore, igniting fires at every point their bodies connected.

“Dash—”

“Not another word, Jessa. Anything either of us say after this point would make no sense anyway.” He plundered her mouth with his own. His tongue entangled with hers. Her troubles would still be there in the morning, but here in the night, in the firelight, there was only Dash and the heat and the passion.

He gathered her into his arms, crossing the room to the bed in long strides. He dropped her in the center of it, following after her, covering her body with his. He held her head still, his fingers wrapped in her hair. She managed to get her hands between them, tugging at his sash.

He rolled away, ripping his robe off. He yanked out the knot in her belt, shoving the red fabric of her robe back, baring her body to his sight. He stared for a long moment, then rolled back on top of her, wrapping his arms around her. He kissed her again. Fierce. Possessive.

She ran her hands over the heavy muscles of his sweat-slicked back, clutching him.

His rigid member dug into her belly. “Jessa. My beautiful, wanton Jessa mine. I meant what I said. I’m going to possess you. I’m going to take you, over and over, until you have no thought for anything but me. And damn the consequences.”

She should have been frightened, but his words acted like kerosene on a fire. Heat erupted in her loins, her breasts. She’d show him possession. He belonged to her. She’d do whatever it took to prove it to the stubborn man.

Their kisses became a battle, their tongues opposing weapons. Dash finally took control. He rolled onto his back, taking Jessa with him.

She straddled his waist, draped over him like a blanket. Gasping for breath, he pushed her back until she sat upright on him. Her hair fell over her face like a golden curtain, blocking her view. Impatiently, she flung it back over her shoulder, shaking it out of the way.

Dash groaned. “Jessa, your hair. So long. It’s brushing across my cock. There. Behind you.”

Indeed, she could feel the tip of his manhood, pressing against the curve of her buttocks, through the robe she still wore. She leaned back and shook her head again, sweeping her heavy mane over him.

He raised his knees, spreading his legs, giving her better access to his sac. His hands gripped her arms, his eyes closed. He groaned, shuddered beneath her as she continued to sway, teasing him with the sweep of her hair.

“Stop it. Jessa. Stop before you kill me. I’m hard as iron. Ready to explode. But I want more of you.” He shoved off her robe, tossing it to the floor to join his. His hands on her waist, he pulled her forward. Her bottom rested on his belly, his skin smooth as marble against the inside of her thighs.

“Lean forward,” he instructed her. “Put your hands on either side of my head. I want to taste your breasts.” Jessa shivered, but did as he asked. This new position put her sex against the slick skin of his abdomen and the narrow trail of silky hair bisecting it. She squirmed, seeking release from the pulsing throb between her legs.

Dash’s firm grasp on her hips stopped her. “Not yet, Jessa. I’m not going to let you find your pleasure until I say so. I want you to be screaming for it. I want you to hear you begging me to take you, to give you release.”

“But Dash! I’m already on fire.” She tried wriggling again, but again he halted her movement.

“Jessa mine, if I have to tie you to this bed to stop you wriggling, I will not hesitate to do so.”

She gasped, agog at the very idea.

“Now. No more squirming. I’ll give you what you want—what you need—but not until I know you’re ready.” He shook back his hair, but did not loosen his grip on her hips.

“Lean forward a bit more. Put your lovely, plump breast in my mouth.” Jessa gasped in shock at his blunt words, but her nipples drew taut. She hesitated, then leaned over him.

“Sway your breasts over my mouth, Jessa mine, just as you swept your hair over my cock.” His eyes bored into hers, daring her to defy him.

She drew a deep breath, then did as he asked. The weight of her breasts, hanging full, heavy, intoxicated her.

Dash took his hands off her hips, lifting first one breast, then the other to his mouth. He suckled each nipple in turn, hard. He pushed them together, burying his face between them. He blew across the wet places, inflaming her further.

He wrapped his arms around her, rolling with her, so she once more lay under him. She writhed beneath him, trying to get her legs wrapped around his waist, so she could feel his member against the part of her body pulsating with need.

Trapping her body under his, he forced her to stillness while he kissed her.

She pulled away from him. “Dash, please. You have to let me—”

“No, Jessa. I don’t
have to
let you do anything. What I will do is give you pleasure beyond your imagining. But you have to slow down, or I’ll never last. Let me take the lead. Let me do this in my own time. You have to trust I know what to do for you.”

Trust
.

The word jolted through her. My God, had she lost her mind? Mere minutes ago, this man had sliced her heart with word
trust
as surely as Lily had sliced his face with a shard of glass. And now he wanted
her
trust?

Dash gave her no opportunity to think further, or protest. He gripped her under her arms, lifting her into a sitting position, propped against the stack of fluffy pillows ranged against the headboard. At the same time, his sweat-slicked body slid down hers.

He pushed her legs apart, nestling his broad shoulders between her thighs, gripping her hips. Long, hard fingers kneaded her buttocks, while his thumbs caressed her hipbones. He licked her belly, from the indentation at her waist to the juncture of her legs. He swayed his head, his long hair tickling her, just as she’d done to him.

Her stomach muscles jumped, clenched. She reached for him.

“No.” He stared at her, not a hint of softness on his features. His eyes glittered in the firelight. “Hands at your sides. Grab a pillow or the headboard or something else, but don’t touch me. I swear, Jessa. I meant what I said. If I have to bind you to let me give you pleasure, I’ll do it.”

Jessa shuddered, but drew back. She clutched the pillows on either side of her, fingernails digging into the plush softness.

Dash lowered his head once more, sweeping his hair across her belly. The sensation of the heavy length of silk on her tender skin sent heat spiraling though her. She gripped the pillows harder.

He shifted lower, then drew her legs over his shoulders. The caress of his finger drawn through the curls nested at the juncture of her thighs sent more quivers through her abdomen, all the way to her breasts. Made bold by her hunger, she released one pillow, cupping her breast, plucking the nipple to try to ease the tightness there. She glanced down between her legs to find Dash watching her.

“Jessa.”

His growl was a warning.

“But, Dash, I ache so! I’m about to burst into flames. Please.”

“I know you ache, Jessa. I ache as well. I can promise you, it’s going to get worse before it gets better. I’m going to make you scream, Jessa mine. I told you.” He panted the words, his breathing harsh. “I’d like nothing better than to lie here between your thighs, watching you fondle your breasts for me. But not this time. This time you must lie back. Let me pleasure you. I swear to you, Jessa. I’ll give you what you want. But not yet.” He blew softly across the place between her thighs. “The pillow, Jessa. Grab back onto the pillow.”

Jessa wanted to rebel, to tell him that he was not her master, that she’d do as she pleased. But his promise tantalized her. More pleasure than he’d given her last time? Beyond comprehension. With a mewl of protest, she surrendered to the look of passion in his silver eyes.

He rewarded her immediately. He parted her nether lips, caressing her slit in a long, slow lick with the flat of his tongue. When he reached her nub, he drew it into his mouth. Sucked.

Lightning streaked through her. Her hips would’ve jolted off the bed if he hadn’t held her in so firm a grip. She cried out, digging her nails into the pillows. She longed to cross her legs, to ease the tightness somehow, but the breadth of his shoulders prevented it. She tossed her head, moaning.

Dash didn’t ease his onslaught of her senses. He swirled the rigid tip of his tongue over and around her throbbing nub. At the same time, he slid one long finger into her slit, then withdrew it at the same slow pace. He did it twice more, never stopping the maddening swirl of his tongue. Without warning, he drew her into his mouth, sucking hard. At the same time, he drove two fingers deep into her sex, hard, fast. She hovered on the edge. Another thrust—two—and she’d fly apart. He stopped.

“Damn you, Dash, don’t stop now!” She’d kill him. She’d snatch up one of these blasted pillows and smother him with it. Especially when he laughed.

HE MUST BE driving her to the brink of madness, if she’d gone so far as to swear at him. He shifted her legs, put her feet flat on the mattress, then drew up until he was squatting on his haunches between her thighs.

“Not yet, Jessa mine.” He held up a hand to forestall her tirade. The mutinous, maddened look on her face told him all he needed to know. She was ready to kill him. He couldn’t allow that. Not yet. Although, she was already killing him in her own sweet way. Her mewling cries. The way the insides of her thighs quivered, unused to this splayed position. The scent of her arousal. His sac drew up tight between his legs. His cock—

“My cock aches, Jessa. The same way your sex aches. Would you offer me ease, Jessa? Would you be willing to do for me as I’ve done for you?” He tilted his head, watching her as the meaning of his proposal dawned on her.

Her brilliant eyes were wide in the firelight. Her mouth dropped open in surprise.

“Yes Jessa mine. Such a beautiful mouth. Such luscious lips. I want to feel them wrapped around me. I want to feel your tongue on me. Will you, Jessa? Will you take me in your mouth?”