Smoking Holt (3 page)

He glanced up to see that, during their tumult, the umbrella had tipped and was now funneling a stream of cold water right onto him.

Goddamn rain.

Whatever happened now, it wasn’t going to happen here.

Without asking—he didn’t want to chance
jostling her from this receptive mood—he lifted Bella into his arms and carried her into the house. He nuzzled her neck as he made this transition, because it seemed to keep her preoccupied. And hell, he really liked her response.

Who knew she would be such a tigress?

Well, he’d known.

He’
d suspected anyway.

Every conversation, every interaction with Bella was like a battle for domination. It stood to reason making love with her would be the same.
And while there was nothing Holt enjoyed more than exerting domination over a willing woman, the prospect of winning it—from Bella—appealed much much more.

He sat in the first chair he came to
, settled her across his lap and kissed her again. This time he took her mouth slowly, savoring her, rubbing his lips gently over hers before delving deeper with his tongue.

He nearly lost his load when she sucked on him, mimicking another act he’d fantasized about. A lot.

God, he bet she gave great head.

She approached everything in life with passion. Most of the time her passion was misdirected and
exasperating, but when she applied herself to something, it was a whole-hearted effort.

He repositioned her as the pressure in his cock
became excruciating. She wiggled back and he groaned. “Jesus, Bella.”

Yeah. He shouldn’t have spoken.
Words could shatter the spell.

She pulled away and
gazed at him, her eyes luminous and damp. “Oh my God,” she said. “What are we doing?” She wriggled against him in an attempt to escape. He did not allow it.

“I should think that was obvious.”

“Seriously Holt. Seriously?” She wriggled again. He tightened his hold. A part of him ached at the fact she wanted to slip away. Another part of him really enjoyed the wriggling.

“I’m dead serious, Bella.”

“This isn’t a good idea.” She stopped resisting, but her chest rose and fell a bit too rapidly, indicating her internal distress. “You? Me? Like this?”

“Why not? That was a phenomenal first kiss. Can you imagine what the rest of it could be like?”

She stilled and stared at him. Her lips worked as she thought through the scenario. And goddamn, it was hot watching her think
that
through. When he saw that telltale flicker, when rational thought began to wedge its way in, he decided to push it.

Why the fuck not?

She’d been wild and inflamed in his arms. Clearly she felt something other than disgust for him. If there was even so much as a hint of attraction lurking in her breast, he would find it. Stroke it. Seduce it.

He could not let this go.

Not now that he’d tasted her.

“I want to fuck you, Bella.” This he whispered,
caressing her breast and thumbing a nipple. It was hard, that nipple. Swollen and tender. “I want to make love to you. I want to make you come. I want you screaming in pleasure. Clenching my cock with your cunt.” When she didn’t pull away, when her eyes widened and her beautiful lips parted and she whimpered a little in her throat, he tightened his hold on that tender crest.

“But I’m not… You can’t… I don’t…”

“Hush.”

God preserve him from thinking women. He didn’t want her thinking. Didn’t need her thinking. Couldn’t bear to lose the ground he’d gained.

He dipped his head and put his mouth around her other nipple, manipulating one in his tight grasp while he sucked on the other through her shirt. This time when she wriggled, it was to get closer, to urge him on. She probably didn’t even realize her sharp nails were scoring his skull.

He didn’t give a shit. She could draw blood if she wanted to. As long and she let him continue.

To that end, he skated his other hand down her flank and over her thigh. And then, ever so smoothly, between her legs. She winced as he brushed against that heated crease. He pressed harder, imagining he felt a dampness pooling there.

Hunger
churned in his gut. His pulse pounded in his cock. He flicked open the snap of her jeans and stroked her soft belly, then slipped beneath the band of her panties.

Thunder roared in his ears as he found her nest. Yeah, it was a tight fit, wedged into her jeans as he was, but a man needed to make the most of
every situation. He covered her clit with three fingers and massaged her with tiny, restricted arcs as he relentlessly worked her nipples.

Her breathing devolved into gasps, and then hard pants
. “Holt,” she panted, grabbing hold of his ears. “Holt. Holt. Holt!”

He didn’t need that gush of cream to tell him she’d come. Or the rigid spasms of her body. Or her
assiduous grasp on his ears. The tone of her voice—a tone he’d never heard before, a low panicked hum, marking her complete loss of control—was plenty.

God, he loved that tone.

He wanted to hear it again. And again.

Preferably with his cock buried deep in her body.

He liked making her lose control.

What he did not like was that
she sprang from his lap almost as soon as she recovered herself. She took him at unawares, or he’d never have let her go.

She turned away from him,
though he could see her clearly in the reflection of the windows, and fastened her jeans and rearranged her shirt. No matter how she rearranged that shirt, the wet spot where he had suckled her nipple as she came, the evidence of her passion, was still clearly visible.

She sucked in a deep breath. Then whirled around to face him.

His mood plummeted. Hell. He knew that look.

When she opened her mouth, he knew what she’d say.

“That shouldn’t have happened.”

The fuck.

The hell.

No way.

She
was not going to deny this. He was not going to allow her to retreat back into that hard, impenetrable Bella-shell, the armor she wore to keep everyone and everything at bay.

He stood and faced her down, matching her stubbornness with his own brand. “Wrong.” Her eyes flared. Her nostrils pinched as he countermanded her announcement. He stepped closer. “It should have happened a long, long time ago.”

Bella stared at Holt. Just stared. It was all she could manage. Her body was still aquiver, weeping from his gentle touch, and aching for more, but her mind rebelled.

Her instinct for self-preservation screamed “No!”

He was a dangerous guy. Far more dangerous than any of the men she’d ever dated. Or slept with. And not just because of the depth of her seething attraction to him. Not just because she’d secretly wanted him for years.

She
knew him
, and knew him well. It was no secret, what he was into. And she wasn’t his type. In a big way.

Not that she was strictly vanilla. She wasn’t. A little kink could really spice up a
relationship…or a date. But Holt was a hard-core Dom. He went to clubs. Tied women up for fun. Kept “pets.”

There was no way she could ever be one of those women. No way.

The very thought horrified her.

She was a strong, independent woman. She stood on her own two feet. Answered to no one.

Needed no one.

She certainly didn’t need him.

Wanting him—well, that was another issue entirely. She had always been drawn to him, even as she threw invectives at his tousled head. She would always fantasize about him. Always ache for him. Even when she was old and grey.

And single.

Living with her twenty cats.

But she would never be one of his women.
She knew the kind of woman he craved.

She w
ould never become that.

H
e stepped even closer and she stepped back, holding out a hand as though it could stave off his relentless advance. “This isn’t going to work. Holt.”

To her relief, he stopped just before he reached her, though he stood close. Close enough for her to feel the sizzle of his energy, the waves of his heat.

“Isn’t it?” He quirked a brow.  “It seemed to work just fine a moment ago. In fact, I didn’t have to do too much to have you coming like a wildcat.”

She frowned. “I did not come like a wildcat.”

He lifted his hair, exposing the long, tanned column of his neck. She tried not to fixate on the long, silky locks, now that she knew how they felt sifting through her fingers. “Would you like to see my scars?” He chuckled. “I think you drew blood.”

Before she could stop herself, she glanced down at her fingernails, just to check. No. No blood.

“Tell me you didn’t like that Bella. Tell me you didn’t enjoy any of that at all, and I’ll drop this, right here and now.”

She glared at him. Opened her mouth to do just that, but something stayed her tongue. Her soul howled in denial and the words, “I didn’t enjoy that” just would not come out.

It was a lie and she knew it.

Instead, she turned
her back on him. “That’s not the point.”

His chuckle rumbled through her and she realized
he’d come up behind her. She winced as he set his hands on her shoulders and pulled her back against him. His warmth tempted her, but she refused to relax. She refused to lean in. Give an inch. “I think it’s exactly the point.” He eased her hair off her neck and set his mouth to her nape.

Ribbons of delight scoured her like a lash. She couldn’t help tipping her head to the side, but only a little
because she didn’t want to encourage him. She didn’t dare.

“I’
ve wanted you for a long time Bella. Thought about you. Imagined kissing you. Holding you. Touching you like this.” He cupped her breasts. Squeezed gently. Gently, yes, but her sensitized nipples still tightened.

His warm mouth traveled to the crook of her neck. She shivered. Sighed. “There’s something between us. You can’t deny it.”

“I-I c-can.”

He grunted a little laugh. She heard the thread of frustration
in his tone, but something else as well. Something she didn’t recognize. “I know you can, Bella, sweet. You can deny it until you’re blue in the face. But your body knows the truth.”

His fingers tightened over her nipples. Turned into a pinch. A tug. And her knees threatened to collapse. Her body liquefied.
Dampness swelled between her legs. Her stupid clit thrummed in tandem with her thudding pulse.

“Damn it, Holt. It just wouldn’t work between us. I… You…
Shit.” It was all she could manage, because he was wreaking havoc on her body and mind. He excelled at havoc. She wrenched away and whirled on him. “I won’t be one of your…
pets
.”

She tried not to spit the word, but that’s how it came out.

“Is that what you think I want?”

“It’s what you like, isn’t it? To
bully women? To boss them around and make them do what you want? I’m not like that Holt, in case you hadn’t noticed—”

“I had noticed.”

“I’m not some weak-willed bimbo tottering around naked in stilettos, wearing a collar and a leash and doing some man’s fucking laundry.”

He stared at her, his mouth
slightly agape. When he finally spoke, his voice was rough. “A charming picture. Intriguing, I must admit…but I would never ask you to do my laundry.”

The way his lips quirked, she knew he was teasing and it infuriated her. Because this was no joke. “Goddamn it, Holt.
I’m serious.” As serious as hell.

His mouth tightened.  A muscle in his cheek bunched. “So am I. And for your information, my lifestyle isn’t about
bullying women. It isn’t about bullying anyone. It’s about two people exploring their sexuality from different angles. Experimenting with different roles. Finding where they meet and match and merge.”

“You’re a Dom, Holt.”

“Yes. Predominantly. But I’ve had partners who weren’t submissives.”

“But you prefer submissive women.”

“No. I prefer women who are open to exploration.”

“You like to be the one in control.”

His laugh, the sharp bark that it was, surprised her.

She frowned at him. “What?”

“One would think you’d know a little more about the lifestyle, considering the clientele you serve.”

Bella’s frown became a glower. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“I’ve been to your shop. I’ve seen your ‘BDSM section’.”

“Why do you say it like that?” With air quotes?