Patience (24 page)

Patience writhed and undulated, and gasping breaths escaped her as she demonstrated what her swollen flesh already indicated—desperate, frantic desire.

“That’s good, my beauty.” Matthew’s features were hard with lust. “Show me. Show me how right now the only thing that matters is what’s between your legs. Put away the world, and show me Eve.”

He stroked his cock enthusiastically, and Patience felt her tears begin to fall again as her hips jerked and lifted. “Please, Matthew.”

He raised lust-blackened eyes to hers. “What was that?”

She blinked back her tears and briefly lifted her hips entirely off the mantel. “Please, Matthew!”

His strokes quickened. “Please, what?”

She shook and bit down on her lower lip. He had said he would make her beg. “Please—help me!”

Matthew stared up at her from beneath lowered brows. “Why should I?”

“Because you’re the only one who can!”

He took a step toward her, and his eyes were like fire. “Tell me that you need me, Patience.”

Patience stiffened and squeezed her eyes shut. Did she surrender to desire or to need? It couldn’t be need. She didn’t need anyone. But then—she opened her eyes and stared into Matthew’s—why did that feel like a lie now? Her chest hurt.

“Tell me,” he urged.

“Yes,” she breathed.

Stepping close, Matthew slid his brandy onto the mantel. He stood right before her exposed sex but his eyes held hers. “Yes, what?” he murmured.

Patience’s eyes filled with hot, stinging tears, and all at once, she felt as if she might shatter into a thousand pieces. Was she so brittle? “Yes.” Her voice was a choked whisper. “I need you.”

His eyes closed for a moment then opened. “It’s all right,” he said. Reaching up, he swept the tip of his finger over one of her tears. “I need you, too.” Then he spread his arms wide across the mantel and lowered his head.

Patience held her breath but then she cried out as Matthew’s tongue pressed directly upon her overfilled bud. She jumped and jerked at the hot, piercing sensation. It was too much! She tried to escape. But when she scooted back, he gripped her bottom and pulled her right back to the edge of the mantel.

Patience writhed and gasped as he relentlessly laved her distended flesh. Then just when she thought she couldn’t stand another moment, the excruciating edge suddenly exploded inward, suffusing her womb and then her heart with a deep and primal lust.

A long, low moan escaped her and then she thrust her cunt forward, pushing hard against Matthew’s mouth. His tongue pressed against her pulsing bud, but now it wasn’t enough. Thrusting her hand into his thick hair, she held him to her as she rubbed the whole of her wet woman’s parts against his nose, mouth, and chin, marking him with her scent and claiming him for her own. Her heart pounded and her blood roared in her veins. Her eyes squeezed shut. She was all pleasure—all lust—a being reduced and concentrated into her most primitive and sensual self.

Yet, there was no end. Only a need for more.

Thrusting her other hand into Matthew’s hair, she lifted her hips off the mantel and rutted against him in a wild frenzy. Panting and grunting, she moved faster and faster. Matthew’s saliva dripped over her straining sex. His rough chin scored her swollen vulva. His fingers bit fiercely into the flesh of her bottom. Her hips thrust. Her knees pressed downward and her muscles stretched. And then everything inside her broke from the strain, and on a long, pealing cry, she shattered—parts and pieces of the woman she’d always been flying away from her. But she didn’t care. For as her body and heart convulsed in the throes of her agonizing bliss, and as her orgasm poured out of her in an ecstatic rush, she realized that if she didn’t need those parts for this, then she didn’t need them at all.

She didn’t need them because tonight she was Eve—freed from the burden of thought and inhibition, yet filled with the joyous wonder of her simple and sensual purpose.

 

Matthew shuddered beneath the burden of his own lust. His heart thundered and his cock felt like steel. Patience’s fierce and wild surrender was too delicious. The taste of her, the smell of her, the sounds that were wrenched from her, spurred a strong and primal carnality in him.

Swallowing the last of her passionate release, he pulled back. His cods churned at the sight of her. One heavy, corkscrewed curl hung forward over her brow, while the rest of her luscious red mane fell in untamed disarray around her pale shoulders. Her cheeks were tear-streaked and her lips moist. Her legs hung loose and open. And just beneath that rebellious curl, her eyes, half closed, were lit with a sated yet sensual fire. Matthew’s blood surged. She was a vision of feminine submission. But he wasn’t finished with her.

Growling low, he grabbed her leash and pulled her forward. She gasped as she fell over his shoulder, and Matthew’s lust boiled as he carried her long, naked body across the room.

With one heave, he tossed her onto the bed. While the surprised cry was still passing her lips, he leapt upon her, pinning her beautiful body with his. Patience’s eyes widened and a soft protest escaped her, but Matthew ignored it. Grabbing her wrists, he ground his cock against her soft thighs while he pressed hot, open-mouthed kisses to her gardenia-scented neck.

The feel of Patience’s body struggling against his roused something dark and dangerous in him. Sweat broke on his brow as he fought the sudden urge to take her against her will. And acknowledging the desire only made it worse.

Biting back a snarl, he pulled up and pinned her arms over her head. “Be still!” he barked.

Patience quieted immediately and stared up at him, her green eyes shining and her breast heaving.

She was so goddamned beautiful, and he wanted to get inside her so badly. But he’d made a promise. He clenched his jaw. “Be still and cross your ankles,” he said sharply.

Patience stared up at him. He could see her pulse throbbing fast in her throat and then he felt her legs move. Holding her wrists with one hand, he reached down and pushed his aching prick between her moist thighs. As the length of his cock pressed firmly against her hot, wet folds, he moaned.

Patience shivered beneath him and her lips parted on a soft gasp. Releasing her wrists and bracing his elbows on either side of her head, Matthew shifted higher, increasing the pressure his erection exerted on her swollen sex.

“Oh, Matthew.” Patience bit her lip and her eyes closed.

Jesus, a slight withdrawal, a few guided thrusts, and he could claim her. He threaded his fingers in her soft, thick curls. But that wasn’t how he wanted it. Her lashes fluttered. “You know I could take you right now.” His voice came tight and tense as he thrust between her thighs, rubbing his heavy length hard against her. “I could shove my cock in your tight little cunt and have done with your virginity in a thrice.” Patience sucked in her breath and her eyes flickered open as her hips tilted up. Matthew tightened his fingers in her hair. “But when the moment arrives, that isn’t how I’m going to do it.” He pumped slowly against her. “I’m going to do it gradually and carefully, because so magnificent a gift cannot be rushed.”

Patience stared at him with rapt attention, and he could feel her thighs tensing. His cock throbbed a warning but, gritting his teeth, he held himself in check.

“I’m going to penetrate you slowly, Patience, so that I can enjoy every splendid moment of stretching and filling you. It won’t be over in an instant. I’m going to draw it out, so that you never forget it, and so that you see how much it means to me.”

Patience stared up at him and her hips jerked. Lust and submission sparkled in her eyes, but there was something else there, too—something poignant and tender.

Matthew’s heart pounded and he gasped at the sudden rush of hot moisture that bathed Patience’s thighs. God, he couldn’t hold back any longer. She felt too fucking good. “Get used to the feel of me,” he murmured thickly. “Soon you’ll be bearing my weight often.”

And as Patience moaned and curved her arms around him, Matthew let his passions go. Swooping down, he caught her mouth in a hard kiss, thrusting his tongue into her as he pumped his cock between her legs.

Patience panted and gasped, but he refused to release her from his kiss. Her arms tightened around him and her hips began to rut. His blood rushed and a hum started in his ears. With each strong surge beneath him, Patience enflamed him all the more. He could feel the soft wetness of her swollen vulva as he drove against her, but his body and his mind shouted for more—for supremacy and domination—for penetration.

He tore his mouth from hers just as she submitted to orgasm. Her body shuddered and then her soft cry stole the last of his control. “Shit!” Jerking back onto one knee, Matthew gripped Patience’s hips and flipped her onto her stomach. Pressing his cock against the firm globes of her bottom, he held it there with his thumbs as he thrust in a frenzy of ravenous and possessive desire. His heart pounded and his ears rang. Soon—soon he would have all of her! Soon she would be his, body and soul! And as he stared at the master’s mark he’d left on her bottom, and watched his cock slide against her high, round cheeks, the power of his intent overcame him at last.

Throwing back his head, Matthew shouted his release as his sperm came roaring up from his cods and exploded from his prick in a hot and exultant burst. Grunting his dominance and pleasure, he let his head fall forward as he continued to spew his possession over Patience’s curving back.

 

Patience shivered beneath the wet heat of Matthew’s ejaculation. Closing her eyes and letting her hips relax, she lay quiet and unmoving. Her clitoris still pulsed dimly in the aftermath of her second orgasm and she felt as if her whole body were humming at some low, inaudible level. The silk coverlet felt soft against her cheek. She could hear Matthew’s shuddered breathing and feel the press of his legs on either side of hers. She sighed as he smoothed his hands over her hips. She was completely content. So content, in fact, that she realized she couldn’t remember ever having felt more so.

She frowned. How could that be true? She lived a very contented life.

Didn’t she?

“What’s the matter, Patience?”

She opened her eyes at the sound of Matthew’s gentle voice. She could feel him moving, and, glancing back, she saw him rise and fetch his shirt. “I don’t know,” she murmured. “I just . . . Everything feels different.”

Returning to her, Matthew used his shirt to wipe his cum from her back. Then he lay down beside her and, bracing his head in one hand, pulled her close against him with the other. His lashes flickered. “Everything feels different, you say?”

“Yes.”

He stroked his fingers over her cheek. “Everything feels different, Patience, because
you
are different. And every day you shall be a little more different.”

She frowned—not because she disagreed, but because she knew he spoke the truth. Her heart thumped, hard and heavy. “But what am I becoming?”

Matthew regarded her for what seemed like a very long moment. Then he blinked. “Your true self, Patience. You’re becoming your true self.”

She stared up at him, her chest so tight that she didn’t seem able to draw a deep breath. If she was becoming her “true self,” then who was she now? And who had she been?

Matthew laid his hand over her pounding heart. “You mustn’t worry,” he said, calming her immediately with his soft touch and voice. “It may feel strange at the moment, but the more different you become, the more you shall recognize yourself.”

Patience held his stare and covered his hand with hers. “And what of you, Matthew? What are you becoming?”

His gaze grew so tender that his beautiful eyes looked like velvet. “Enraptured.” He slowly lowered his mouth to hers. “I’m becoming enraptured.”

SONG OF SOLOMON 5:2

 

 

 

 

Matthew woke slowly from a deep and comfortable sleep. Before even opening his eyes, he became aware of the warm body beside his and the faint smell of gardenias.

Tightening his arm around her slim waist and forcing his eyelids to lift, he stared into the face of his sleeping beauty. Though it was still dark, he could see her well enough in the dim glow of the oil lamp he’d left burning on the bedside table. Lying on her back, her head was turned toward him, her cheek resting on her bright curls. Her lashes fluttered like delicate fans, and he wondered what she might be dreaming of. One of her red gold brows lifted and dropped, and then a soft sigh passed her full lips.

Matthew’s chest filled with a deep contentment. This was what he wanted—to wake up beside her forever.

He drew a long breath and released it slowly. He wanted to dance a thousand dances with her. He wanted to play alongside her at a hundred musicales. He wanted to stand at her side as her acknowledged mate. And most of all, he wanted to protect and care for her, so that she never had to fear that he would ever leave her.

He lifted one of her thick curls to his nose. He needed to know what had happened with the damned music master. Had she loved him?

He hated the thought and pushed it from his mind.

It didn’t matter. Whoever he was, he was gone. What mattered was that she’d made decisions about her life based on whatever he’d done to her—wrong decisions.

Even her playing was wrong. Though technically perfect, it was devoid of emotion, which was surprising considering how vehemently she claimed to love her instrument and her music. It didn’t make sense. The bloody music master was surely responsible for that, too.

He looked at the pale expanse of her soft skin revealed above the sheet, and then returned his gaze to her flickering lashes. She
was
Sleeping Beauty. And while he didn’t yet have the answers to the riddle of her captivity, he would. For he was bent on waking her and claiming her.