SimplyIrresistible (19 page)

“Have some more.” He tilted the bag. “Alverstoke sounds like
a dull chap.”

“He’s definitely not. We’re going to get crumbs on your
lovely quilt.”

“It’s washable.” Very slowly, he leaned forward then licked
a grain of salt from the edge of her mouth.

Her lips parted, inviting him to deepen the kiss. The chips
spilled when he dropped them to hold her in place and devour the sweetness he
craved.

She clutched his shoulders, made muffled, sexy noises and
pressed closer. Her slender curves met his sharp hunger. The result was as if
she’d dropped a lit match in a tinder-dry forest. Desire blazed between them,
fast and hot enough to destroy.

Without breaking the kiss, he spread her legs and pinned her
in place with his hips. His cock slid through her silken slit. He grabbed a
condom without breaking the kiss. Finally he pulled away to hand her the small
package. “Cover me.”

“My pleasure, Master.” Her pupils were huge. The black
center swallowed all but a thin ring of her beautiful brown irises. For a
heartbeat she stilled, eyes locked with his. Then she blinked and tore open the
foil to carry out his command.

His breath hissed in at the sensual touch of her thumb
spreading pre-cum over his crown. She worked the snug latex over his cock head
and scraped a nail lightly under the ridge. He almost came. He calculated
project revenue and operating costs in order to hold his shit together.

She wriggled away, giving him a flash of her rosy pussy. A
groan of raw need spilled from his throat. “I’m dying to bury my cock in your
gorgeous cunt.”

She lay down, parted her legs and tilted her hips, showing
him the entrance to paradise with a small smile. “Welcome home, Master.”

More than enough invitation for him. He lowered himself over
her, lined up his cock with the entrance to her pussy and slowly sank into
molten heat. Restraint burned further away the deeper he penetrated her sheath.
As soon as he was buried to the root, he pulled out and slammed back into her
perfect clasp of tight, wet heat. He hammered into her softness with another
groan of desperation. “Tell me if I hurt you.”

Her legs wound around his hips, changing the angle enough
for him to slide impossibly deeper and locking him exactly where he wanted to
be. “Please don’t stop. I need more, Sir.”

He fucked into her soft slit with slow, hard strokes,
mashing her clit with every downstroke.

For a control freak, losing his shit was never a good thing,
except with Tiana it was okay. Besides, he had no choice.

Small, soft whimpers and tender moans goaded him like spurs,
pushing him to tunnel into her heat harder, faster. “Come for me.”

Her walls clamped around him, she cried his name, bucked
against him and arched in release, taking him with her into a white-hot
explosion of perfect union.

When the lust fog faded, they were still tightly fused. More
comfortable with actions than words, he cuddled her closer.

She snuggled against him with a drowsy yawn, sweetly
compliant. “I love you.”

His heart stuttered and he felt like a coward, because he
couldn’t say the words back to her. The necessity of removing himself before he
softened and risked a condom leak gave him an excuse to leave. He wasted no
time disposing of the used rubber and slipping back into bed with Tiana.

Sex was always good. Sex with Tiana went way past good and
skidded right on into freak-out territory. He’d never experienced such a
powerful connection with a submissive. Maybe he was freaking out over nothing,
but ordinary wasn’t in the same neighborhood as the overwhelming emotions
squeezing his panic button. Sex with Tiana felt way too much like they were
making love.

He’d only known her a few days. They both cared about
family, friends and doing the right thing. He had no doubts about the chemistry
arcing between them or the strength of the connection pulling him closer.
Opening himself up to Tiana meant making himself vulnerable to losing her. That
wasn’t happening. He’d barely held his shit together for the brats when they’d
lost their parents.

Whoa, Sir Sterling, you’re tilting at windmills that
aren’t even there.
She hadn’t asked him for a ring or babies.

Submissives could confuse a red-hot attraction for something
more. Maybe that’s what she really felt. Still he was uneasy with new level of
intimacy.

He rolled her onto her side and tucked the quilt around her.
Once in the bathroom he closed the door. The cold light of the mirror reflected
a worried man. Tiana was fragile. He couldn’t afford to make mistakes with her.
She’d already paid way too much for some other rotten bastard’s cruelty. Sure,
he was a selfish prick and a strong Dominant. He’d never pretended otherwise.
The big difference between him and her ex was Liam knew right from wrong. Tiana
deserved a good man. She needed a strong man. Part of him wanted to be the one
to give her everything.

Self-doubt had never been a problem for him, but the stakes
were high for both of them. Forever was a hell of a long time and vulnerability
wasn’t part of his skill set. She wasn’t a commitment he could make lightly, if
at all. He sure as hell couldn’t see the future, but he had absolutely no doubt
he was the right Master for her now. She was his to cherish and protect and he
didn’t see that changing any time soon, certainly not until she was ready to
move on.

He had topped dozens of subs over the years. He’d never
wanted to claim one. Tiana was different. He couldn’t allow himself to depend
on anyone, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t rely on him. A collaring ceremony
at the Crucible would be the perfect way to show her and everyone else that she
belonged to him. He ambled into the office, imagining the perfect collar for
his pet and made a crude sketch of what he had in mind. A few minutes later,
the image was scanned and attached to an email with instructions to Fritz, the
jeweler the Sterlings had dealt with for years.

When he returned to the bedroom, she was sprawled on her
stomach. Her face turned toward him even in sleep. Dark hair spread across his
pillow and her beautiful features softened in total trust.

* * * * *

The next morning, Tiana’s eyes flew open at the first chirp
from the bedside clock. Her breath caught as she silenced the alarm.

Liam’s steady huffs continued. She let out a sigh of relief.
He needed the sleep. The man had exhausted himself in a good cause—he’d woken
her twice during the night to make love.

Had he even heard her tell him she loved him? If he had, at
least she hadn’t scared him off. She untangled her limbs from his, eased from
under the covers and slid out of bed. During her maneuvers her face stretched
into a silly grin.

He turned toward where she’d been, groaned and rolled onto
his back. His breathing slowly evened out once again. She risked tucking the
bedding tighter around him and pressed a kiss to his tousled hair. She backed
away and dressed quietly. In a few hours she had a brunch date with Marcia.
With Travis in custody there was no excuse for her to snuggle in Liam’s bed
like some pampered plaything. The ranch was shorthanded with both Jed and
Taylor off duty. Stable work was one of her specialties. She’d actually missed
mucking stalls. She crept downstairs before pulling on her boots, snagging a
can of soda and leaving the house.

As she entered the barn, the familiar smells of clean hay
and healthy horses energized her. She took another gulp of cola before setting
it aside to begin her regular tai chi session.

Once the gentle exercises had stretched and warmed her
muscles, she applied herself to the tasks at hand. Halfway through, she stopped
long enough to strip off her top shirt. The sun was almost cresting the forest
to the east by the time she’d watered the horses, let the fillies out into the
meadow, used baby carrots to bribe Ozzie out to the paddock and mucked the
stalls. Her shoulders burned and her hands ached before she finished. None of
the pain was a big deal, more a reminder that just added to her glow of
satisfaction from a job well done.

Sweat dampened her tank top front and back. She wiped
another rivulet of perspiration from her forehead and hurried toward the house.

Once inside, she checked on Liam. He still dozed, looking
like a fallen angel. She left him. Moving quietly, she slipped into the
bathroom and turned on the shower. The water heated while she stripped and
tossed her clothes into the hamper. She stepped under the warm spray. The light
sting from the shower hit her still-sensitized nipples. The gentle impact sent
tingles of excitement to her pussy. Images of Liam torturing her breasts,
licking her through her slit then stroking into her channel flooded her mind’s
eye. The x-rated memories intensified the shower’s stimulation, bringing her
dangerously close to orgasm.

Mindful of his rules, and keenly aware of how much hotter
Liam-induced climaxes burned, she turned her back on the sensual spray, worked
shampoo into her hair and raced through the rest of her shower. Clean, she
wrapped a towel around her torso and wound a second turban-style over her wet
head.

While she slathered lotion on her sore limbs she wondered
why she hadn’t heard from Jen. Guilt made her cringe as she realized she’d been
so wrapped up in her own drama she hadn’t even noticed the lack of calls and
texts from her sister-in-law all weekend. Shame made her hunch her shoulders. If
anything serious happened, Rob would call. Wouldn’t he?

Tiana burrowed through her purse and finally unearthed her
dead phone. She’d forgotten to charge her cell. Now the missing stream of texts
and calls made sense.

She crept down the hall to his office before plugging in the
cell’s charger.

Curious about Liam, she studied his private space. The desk
was a massive slab of petrified wood polished to a high shine and balanced on
two half-sized filing cabinets. Several precarious stacks of paper littered the
surface. A shabby couch invited sprawling under a window clad in the ubiquitous
white mini-blinds. French doors opened to a balcony shared with the master
bedroom. The wall in front of the desk was covered in family pictures. She
moved closer and drank in a trio of grinning boys from toothless infancy to
present day. Liam was easy to spot, bigger than the other two and the intense
gaze must have been coded into his DNA because it was already clear and present
even in his baby pictures.

Say Somethin’
played from her phone, pulling her away
from her exploration and signaling a call from Jen.

“Where have you been?” Her sister-in-law’s tone was sharp
with concern.

Tiana paced to ease jittering nerves. “I’m fine. I forgot to
plug in the phone.”

“Try again.” Jen sniffed. “You never forget to charge your
cell. Besides, Rob said you weren’t home when I asked him to check on you this
morning. I was worried.”

Guilt settled like a too-tight collar around Tiana’s neck,
making her voice rise. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want you to worry.”

“Forget protecting me. Sheesh, I’m pregnant, not terminal.”

Jen’s snappishness startled a giggle out of Tiana. “Thank
goodness, ’cause you’ll understand about the hot sex.”

“Are you doing the dirty deed with the hunk up the
mountain?”

“Uh, yes, well not at this exact moment, but multiple times
actually. Just a minute, what makes you think he’s a hottie?”

“That’s easy. The way Rob talks about him he’s gotta be hot
stuff or he wouldn’t see him as a threat to your virtue.”

“My virtue?” Tiana choked back an urge to laugh.

“He’s your brother, but I’m the one who has to live with
him. Please let him keep his illusions.”

“Certainly, anything for you.”

“Thanks. The baby bump and I ’preciate it.”

Tiana pictured her patting a barely noticeable pooch. “How
are you two doing?”

“Still nauseated most of the time. I can’t stand to look at
or even smell food. Rob’s been wonderful about fixing meals. I lost ten pounds
last month—not a good thing. The doc says I’m okay. Thank God for protein
drinks or I’d be in real trouble.”

“Isn’t there anything they can do to help?” Tiana pinned the
phone between her ear and shoulder in order to wipe clammy palms on the towel.

“Nausea is the least of my problems. I’m bored out of my
head.”

Tiana’s hunched shoulders eased. “That actually reassures me
a little.”

“Good, then you owe me a distracting visit with lots of hot
sex details.”

“Hmm, leaving the noisy construction crew behind to hang out
with you and my favorite future niece or nephew? Let me think about it. All
right, it’ll be tight, but I can squeeze you into the schedule. You do realize
all non-PG-rated details need to be discussed in code.”

“Of course, I’m the responsible mother of half a child,” Jen
huffed.

“Just checking.”

“Sorry, throne worship calls. Text me when you’re on your
way.”

“I will, but it probably won’t be today.”

“No problem, bed rest means I’m always here.” Jen sighed
dramatically.

“Love you and the spawn. Rob too, but if you tell him I’ll
deny I ever said it.”

Jen laughed. “Bye.”

Tiana set down the phone. She ignored the waiting messages.
Leaving the cell to charge, she went back to the bathroom for damage repair.
Concealer lightened the shadows under her eyes. Next she’d need wrinkle cream
to erase the worry lines Jen was causing. Morning sickness that lasted all day
couldn’t be good for her or the baby.

Still fretting about her best friend’s fragile pregnancy,
Tiana tiptoed back to the master bedroom, tugged on clean undies and opted for
a quick braid rather than blow drying her thick hair. She banded a hair tie
around the end.

By the time she finished making herself presentable, Liam
leaned against the doorway. “Going somewhere?”