SOAR (The Indigo Lounge Series Book 4) (17 page)

Her
tongue darted out, wetting her lower lip. “It’s a little…uncomfortable but no,
it doesn’t hurt.”

He
bent down and gently kissed her forehead. “Your comfort is a non-issue here.
This is supposed to be punishment, remember?”

“Yes,
Noah.”

Unable
to resist, he traced a hand between her breasts, down to the rope securing her
waist. Fighting his instincts, he drew back. “I can’t take you when I feel like
this. You’re not the only one who deplores angry sex. So I’m going to take a
minute.”

He
left while he still had use of his
legs,
leaving the
bedroom door ajar so he could hear her if she needed him. Striding to the bar,
he poured a neat whiskey and tossed it back. Then another. The third, he
sipped, shutting his eyes as the liquid followed the same burning path.

Whirling
away from the bar, he crossed to the living room and dropped into a sofa,
desperately trying to blank his mind of what had happened to Leia this morning.
How badly things could’ve gone.

He
didn’t think for one moment Snyder was incapable of rape. He was a little gratified
that Leia had fought back, but hell…

He
started as his phone rang. Frowning, he dug through his tuxedo jacket and
stared, incredulous, at the number.

“Did
you forget I’m no longer your patient?” he snarled into the phone.

Shannon
laughed and did that pausing thing that had always irritated him. She was
waiting for him to fill the silence, to volunteer information. He’d never
fallen for the ploy during their therapy sessions. He sure as hell wasn’t going
to fall for it now.

He
waited her out until she cleared her throat. “It was great to see you again
last night. I thought we reconnected, but you left without saying goodbye.”

“I
didn’t realize I was obligated to.”

“Well,
a goodbye would’ve been nice, Noah. I thought we were getting along—”

“You
mean you thought I’d be crazy enough to return for seconds after I told you
it’ll never happen? I distinctly remember telling you to lose my number. Or do
you want the ethics board to be apprised of the fact that you banged a
patient?”

A husky laugh.
“You’re no longer my patient and that
wasn’t what I called for.”

“Then
get to the fucking point.” He knew he was being an asshole. But he couldn’t
help himself. Leia had shredded every bit of his control and left him
exposed…bleeding. Shannon had picked the worst possible time to call.

“Earlier
this evening when we were talking, I thought you’d made progress. But now I’m
convinced you haven’t. I think you need to talk to someone.”

“You
mean you?”

“No,
I can never be your therapist again, but I care about you…
.and
I was hoping—”

He
sighed. “It’s never going to happen. We may no longer be patient and shrink,
but we did fuck when I was your patient, so you need to decide if you want to
let one fuck ruin your career, or if you
wanna
stop
debasing yourself and walk away with some dignity. If I were you, I’d choose
option two.

She
went silent again. Noah waited her out. “In that case, I have a few highly
reputable colleagues who—”

“No.”

“Noah…”

“I
said no. Believe it or not I know exactly what my problem is, Shannon.”

“You
do?” Surprise made her voice squeak.

He
leaned forward and held the glass against his forehead. He shivered, his body
suddenly terrifyingly cold, drowning him in the truth that drenched his soul.

“This
time my problem isn’t holding back. My problem is letting go.”

EIGHTEEN

The
harsh rasp of Noah’s voice ceased, followed almost a minute later by the sound
of glass smashing against a wall.

Leia’s
heart stuttered. Her mind raced with the possibilities of who could be calling
him at this time of night, unable to dismiss the idea that it was the redhead
making a reverse booty call.

She
jerked the ropes, which tied her elbows to the bed, then forced
herself
to calm down.

Noah
was hers.

If
there was one thing she knew with unshakeable certainty, it was that he would
never cheat on her while they were together…while he’d put his absolute claim
on her. As warped as their situation was, that was one thing she didn’t need to
worry about.

That
didn’t ease the fear spiking her heart however.

Until
I set you free…

She’d
tried to drown out those five words since he’d spoken them. Heck, she had a lot
of things to worry about between now and whenever Noah deemed it right to toss
her aside.

But
the threat grew in her mind until she whimpered with the pain of it.

Fuck.
She was trussed up like a chicken, her sex bared to her primitive and
possessive lover, and all she could think about was some point in the future
when he would throw her away like a used rag.

The minutes ticked by, slow and excruciating.
Her wrist began to throb as
the painkillers Noah had given her earlier wore off. She wanted to call out to
him but knew that he needed to take time.

At
last, footsteps approached, and her mind gratefully emptied of everything
except the man stalking toward the bedroom.

He
entered, and her lungs ceased to work.

He’d
said he needed a minute. He’d taken close to half an hour. And yet that look of
a feral predator clung to him. His beautifully sculpted chest rose and fell in
heaves, and his jaw clenched hard enough to rival granite.

A
glass containing amber liquid on ice hung from his fingers. He raised it to his
mouth and sipped before shutting the bedroom door. Either he’d replaced his
drink, or he’d smashed something else earlier. The memory of that violence sent
a shiver racing over her body.

Strolling
to the bed, he slid a hand under her head and held the glass to her lips. The
scent of whiskey hit her nostrils. She took a sip and felt it burn down her
throat.

Lazily,
he tested the ropes then stopped at the bottom of the bed.

Sculpted
so beautifully it hurt to look at him, nevertheless Leia couldn’t take her eyes
off his golden perfection.

Despite
his damp trousers and the air-conditioning blasting into the room, the enormous
hard on Noah sported was unmistakable. Her racing heart sprinted faster.
Instinctively, she tried to pull her knees together, to savor that sweet ache
between her thighs. But the ropes wouldn’t give more than an inch or two.

Mesmerizing
blue eyes gleamed as he watched her struggle. Lifting his glass to his lips
every few minutes, he stared at her, claiming her from head to toe with a
ruthlessly possessive look, which promised complete annihilation.

 
Tilting his head back to finish his
drink, Noah walked round and placed the glass on the nightstand. Reaching in,
he caught a cube of ice between his fingers,
then
sat
down on the bed.

He
started at her forehead, a delicate touch that sent a judder slamming to her
core. Her nipples tightened and goose bumps broke out all over her body. Next,
he touched the ice to the pulse racing at her throat, then to the crook of her
elbows above where the ropes held her down.

“Ah,”
she groaned, her knees jerking together again as the ache between her legs
intensified.

Drops
of moisture trailed the swiftly melting ice down the inside of her arm, over
her collarbone and up her opposite arm. The size of the cube had reduced to
half when he trailed it between her breasts. He left it there and just stared
at her.

A
muscle jumped in his cheek, and his breathing grew long and deep as if in a
trance.

“Noah…”
she stopped, unable to find the words to release him from the strange
head space
he was lost in.

He
cupped her jaw and lowered his face to hers. “If I decided to keep you here,
tied in my bed forever, would you hate me?” he whispered fiercely.

Her
heart hammered. “Noah?”

“You’ve
completely
fucked with my head. I can’t think straight when you’re out
of my sight. So, now you’re mine, I’m thinking the best way forward is to keep
you here like this for eternity.”

Licking
her lips, she attempted to pull him out of his weird funk. “You could, but the
maid would find me like this, and she’d call the authorities. Some idiot will
put me in a museum display case labeled The Woman Who Died From Coming Too
Much. I’d be ruined forever.”

One
corner of his mouth twitched, but any trace of mirth quickly disappeared again.
He traced his fingers over her collarbone and watched two rivulets of water
roll beneath her breasts. She shivered again as the last of the ice melted. He
took another cube from the glass and traced it around her navel, down to the
top of her mound. Leaving it there, he stood and removed his trousers and
briefs.
 

Dear
God…

Thick
veins curled over his engorged cock, its broad and beautiful head touching his
belly button. His balls hung heavy and tight and her mouth watered with the
need to taste him.

A
bead of melted ice rolled onto her clit. “Oh!” Her hips bucked hard enough to
rock the bed. He calmly picked up the dislodged ice and placed it back on her
mound.

“Dislodge
it again, and you don’t get fucked until morning.”

She
stilled immediately, her mouth dropping open on a shocked breath. There was no
way she’d last if he carried out the threat. Swallowing, she watched him watch
her. The intensity of his gaze seared her as he traced his hands up and down
her inner thighs. Another bead of water touched her throbbing nub and she
shuddered. Never in her wildest dreams would she have guessed how insane a cube
of ice could drive her.

But
she knew it was the man more than anything else.

Noah
heightened her every emotion, drew out and expanded each reaction into a unique
experience.
  

The
trickles were coming faster now, her body heat turning the ice into a puddle.
It chilled her clit and pooled into her opening before spilling over her
sphincter. Leia gasped and squeezed her eyes shut at the burst of sensation.

A
stinging slap to her right breast drew a cry from her clogged throat.

“Same
rule applies. Eyes open. I want to see your every emotion.”

Another slap on her twin breast, before he soothed the sting
with soft touches.
Finally lying down on the bed next to her, he scoured his blunt nails down her
stomach and over the rope around her waist to rest his hand on her wet pussy.

Her
legs strained against the ropes, but he’d tied them expertly, maintaining a
careful balance between the knots to keep her from chafing.

“You’re
on fire, baby. Are you dying for my cock?” he crooned against her cheek.

“God,
yes! Please…” She turned her head, eager for his kiss, but he moved away before
their lips touched. Frustration burst underneath her skin. She was seconds away
from coming, but she knew Noah wouldn’t let her until he was ready.

One
hand fisted in her hair, tightened until her scalp burned. “How many times did
you finger-fuck yourself to orgasm this week?” he demanded roughly.

“Just
once, in the limo…with you.”

“You
mean this hungry little cunt didn’t scream for satisfaction at any other point
in the last seven days?”

A
wave of heat rushed up her face. “I tried. I
couldn’t…couldn’t
stand my touch. It didn’t feel the same…”

He
leaned in and bit the sensitive spot beneath her ear. Hard. “But now you’re
straining against your bonds, eager to be set free. To do what? Touch yourself,
make yourself come?”

“No.
I want to touch you. Please.”

His
mouth drifted over her throat, grazed his teeth over her armpit before biting
the side of her breast. She yelped. “Request denied.”

He
rose and plucked another cube from the glass. Then he straddled her body, his
thick thighs braced against her rib cage. Leia’s mouth dried at the sheer
magnificence poised above her.

“It’s
time to cool you down a little. I can’t have you coming from those greedy
little hip rolls you think I haven’t noticed.”

Without
warning, he pressed the ice cube into her sex. She screamed at the insane
sensation. Head slamming against the pillow, her whole body shook as chilled
pleasure shot up her spine. But the effect of the ice soon took hold, applying
the brakes on her headlong spiral into ecstasy.

Panting
desperately, she groaned as he pushed the ice in further with his middle
finger. His other hand grabbed his cock, caressed it from root to tip and
slowly rose to lean over her face.