Unbound (Crimson Romance) (19 page)

In the mirror, she watched herself cross and uncross her arms. Then she bit her lower lip. Disgusted with herself, she sat down on the floor and leaned against the bathtub.

The day had been great, especially considering she had some crazy murderer wanting to kill her. They had finished up their shopping at the mall. She had convinced Dean to swing into the electronics store. There, she sprung for a laptop. A top-of-the-line laptop that she had drooled over for months. She hadn’t bought it before because her desktop worked fine. She probably shouldn’t have spent the money on the laptop, but she knew she was never going to be able to comfortably use her computer at home again after knowing the creepy stalker guy had been on it.

After that, they had come home. Kalvin had been there with the guys from the security company. Dean had called him to let the workers in. While the security guys installed a security system that Payten was sure cost Dean a fortune, she made dinner. Kalvin and Dylan ate dinner with them, Kalvin driving Dylan insane throughout.

The security guys left shortly after the group had finished dinner. Kalvin followed them out. Dean had set Dylan up in the master suite upstairs. She planned on an hourly walk around the house and outside to check on things. She headed upstairs after that.

For the first time since she had started planning out her seduction, she was alone with Dean. He had hugged her close and told her he had a surprise for her. He grabbed one of the bags from the electronic store. It was a smaller bag that she hadn’t seen.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Look,” he told her.

She took the bag and peeked inside. “Oh my gosh!” She pulled a DVD out of the bag. It was the 2005 Keira Knightley copy of
Pride and Prejudice.

“Do you like it?”

“I love it,” she told him. “It’s one of my favorites. How did you know?”

He smiled. “You have a movie poster for it in your bedroom at your parents’ house. I saw it when we went by to get your clothes Sunday. I figure you already have it, but since you can’t go home — ”

“It’s great!” she told him again. She grabbed him around the waist and hugged him tight.

After that, they curled up on the couch to watch the movie on her new laptop. It was a girly movie, but Dean had liked it. He pointed out several differences between the movie and the book. She was shocked he had even read the book. She had tried countless times since watching the movie the first time and had never finished it.

Smith popped in and out of the living room a couple times. Once, she’d stayed long enough to oogle Mr. Darcy with Payten. Mostly, though, she remained unobtrusive.

As the credits started rolling, Payten slipped away. She scooped up her bag and headed for the bathroom. A quick shower later, she braided her hair and slid into the nightie. Then her courage failed her.

She wondered how long she had been sitting on the bathroom floor.

The knock on the bathroom door made it clear it had been a long time. “Payten?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you all right in there?”

No,
she thought.
I want to seduce you, but have no idea where to start.

“Payten?”

Give me crazy murderers any day of the week over a failed seduction.

“If you don’t answer me, I’m going to come in.”

“Could you bring me my phone?” she asked quickly.

I need one of my girls,
she thought.
If I could just talk to one of them, I’ll be fine. This is just nerves.

“I will if you want me to.”

“Please,” she said.

“Would you like me to bring you some clothes to sleep in, too?”

She started to answer, then realized that Dean had noticed she hadn’t gone into the bedroom for her pajamas. “Dean?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you think I’m wearing?”

“I’m praying nothing,” he answered through the door.

She laughed. Standing up, she moved toward the door.

“Payten?”

“Yeah.”

“Is your hair braided?”

She grinned. He knew her so well. “Yes.”

“Unbraid it, please.”

She pulled the rubber band out of her hair and quickly shook it out. “Ready?”

“Are you?” he asked her.

She didn’t hesitate. She pulled open the door and looked at Dean. His dark hair was mussed from lying on the couch with her. His slightly wrinkled shirt stretched across his broad chest. His jeans sat at his narrowed hips and tightened through the thighs. At the bottom of his jeans, his bare feet peeked out.

“Holy shit,” he muttered.

“Do you like it?” she asked.

“Are you kidding me? I love it.”

She smiled sweetly. “I’m seducing you,” she told him as she stepped out of the bathroom.

She had no idea where the sudden burst of courage had come from. Maybe the way he so obviously enjoyed what he was seeing. Whatever the reason, she decided to take advantage of it. She lightly placed her fingertips against his chest and pushed him.

He stepped back. “Are you?”

“Yup.” She pushed him again.

He stepped back again. “I think I’m going to let you.”

“Let me?” she asked. They repeated the push-and-step routine again.

“Yes. I’m going to let you.”

“Then I might let you back into that wall.” She pushed him a little harder.

Dean glanced over his shoulder before giving up another step backward.

“Don’t you trust me?”

He laughed. “Not any farther than you can throw me.”

She smiled and pushed him again. “Lose that shirt.”

He backed up another step. “I like this shirt.”

“So do I.” She pushed him again. This time, her whole hand brushed against his chest. “I like your chest better, though.”

At her urging, he took another step back. He peeled off his shirt, too.

She grinned. “You could make this quicker and just turn around.”

“Want to look at my ass?”

She laughed. “I meant you could walk faster.”

“If I turn around, I won’t be able to look at you anymore.”

“Oh, how tragic.” She snorted, giving him a push.

“You’re either going to push me all the way into the bedroom or you’re going to walk in front of me,” he told her, backing up another step.

“Want to look at my butt?” she asked, laughing as she pushed him again.

He took another step back. “I want to look at your ass, sweetheart. I want to see the swing of your hips and watch that silk slide across your skin. Then I’m going to touch you everywhere that silk does.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. So keep pushing or get in front.”

She was tempted to keep pushing him. She liked teasing him, and she enjoyed being in charge. She admitted to herself that she had no clue what she was going to do with him once she got him to the bed, though. Decision made, she deliberately stepped around him and led the way to the bedroom.

• • •

Holy shit
, he thought, following Payten to the bedroom. Like he had warned her, he watched her ass. With every step, her nightie rose the tiniest bit, showing even more of her long, gorgeous legs, then fell gently back into place.

He enjoyed her teasing, but was relieved she was going to let him lead. With him leading, he could set the pace. He was dying to get his hands on her again.

She hesitated in the door of the bedroom. “Should I turn on the light?”

“Do you want the light on?”

“Not really.”

“Then the light stays off.”

He took her hand and led her to the bed. He laid down and motioned for her to do the same. She crawled into the bed and stretched out next to him with her head on a pillow and her arms straight to her sides. Smiling, Dean turned on his side and propped himself up on his elbow.

He kissed her gently. She responded, the tension in her body gradually easing. Moving slowly, he placed one hand on her stomach. Through the cool silk, he could feel the warmth of her skin.

“Dean?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m really nervous.”

He tried to bite back a smile. He doubted she could see him well enough to notice in the dark room, but wasn’t willing to risk her taking it the wrong way if she could. He pressed his face into her hair.

“I know you’re nervous,” he murmured against her ear.

The tips of his fingers slid along from her stomach to the middle of her chest in long, slow sweeps. He could feel a little more tension seep out of her with every pass.

“What can I do to make it better?”

“I was hoping you’d know the answer to that,” she said with a small laugh.

He nuzzled his nose against her hair. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course,” she answered quickly.

He scraped his teeth across her earlobe in the barest of nips and followed that with a gentle kiss. Her swift intake of breath made him smile.

“Trust me with this.”

He felt her nod more than saw it. He sat up quickly and moved to take her nightie off. She didn’t lift up, though, even after he gently nudged her.

“I don’t think — ”

“It’s fine,” he interrupted.

He spread her knees enough for him to kneel between them. Slipping the thin straps of her nightie off her shoulders, he uncovered her breasts. Leaning forward on his elbows, he settled himself between her legs. They both gasped at the contact.

He captured her mouth with his own. Warning himself to slow down, he pressed kisses across her cheek, along her jaw, and down her neck. It was a marathon, he told himself while he lavished attention on a tender spot where her neck met her shoulder, not a sprint.

He continued his line of kisses down the valley between her breasts. When he heard her breath shudder out of her, he turned his attention to her breast. He suckled with long, deep pulls of his mouth until she whimpered.

“Dean,” she gasped, sliding a hand into his hair.

When he released her breast to move to the other, the hand she tangled in his hair pulled at him. He chuckled as he leaned more heavily on his arm for better access. He nuzzled her breast.

“Stop teasing,” she groaned.

He laughed again. “I haven’t even started teasing yet.”

She gave his hair a slight tug. He couldn’t help smiling as he nuzzled her again. Quickly, though, he settled into the same slow rhythm of pulls he had used before. The feel of her soft skin in his mouth and her pebbled nipple rubbing along his tongue were enough to slowly drive him mad.

Putting more of his weight on his arm, he used his free hand to grasp her other breast. He switched between tugging gently at her nipple and palming her breast for gentle squeezes.

The sounds of her enjoyment rang in his ears. She might have been nervous, but she definitely wasn’t quiet. He prayed Smith didn’t come to investigate.

Releasing her breast, his hand slid over her body slickly. He dipped his hand under her nightie to slide down her ribcage, across her quivering stomach, and into the small patch of curls nestled between her legs. The nightie bunched around the tops of her thighs.

His fingertips skipped over her clit to dip into her instead. He had learned the night before how little attention it took to send her over that way, and he didn’t want her coming until he was buried deep inside her.

The movements of his mouth at her breast and his fingers inside her soon had her writhing. When he grazed his thumb across her clit, he felt her muscles tighten around his fingers. Before she could climax, though, he pulled back. She moaned in protest. Quickly, he tugged her nightie off and tossed it over his shoulder.

He rolled off the bed and stood to finish undressing. With his eyes better adjusted to the darkness, he could make out her features. She was definitely ready.

“Gorgeous,” he breathed.

He heard her breath catch. He wasn’t sure if it was because of what he had said or if it was because his jeans had hit the floor as he said it. His boxers followed.

“I can see you,” she said as he slid back into bed.

Moving over her, he rested his forehead against hers for a moment. He knew he wasn’t going to last. Her breath blew warm against his face, and her breasts rubbed against his chest with every breath. Her long legs tangled with his and her hip perfectly cradled his.

He pulled back only as far as necessary to see her face. “I’m glad,” he answered.

She wrapped her arms around him.

“Ready?” he asked.

She nodded. “I trust you.”

He reached down and pressed himself to her entrance. He groaned. She was so wet.

“Don’t stop.”

“I’m not going to,” he assured her.

He pressed slowly inward. It was difficult for him to go slowly. She was so warm and wet. Her hands were sliding over every inch of his skin she could reach. With every bit he gained, the delicious noises she made grew louder and more frequent. Unable to resist, he pressed his last few inches in faster and harder than he should have.

“Oh god! Wait — Just one — Oh!”

He stilled inside her. Part of him worried he had hurt her. The other part of him, the part that was sure he hadn’t, fought not to come. He wasn’t ready for it to be over yet.

“All right?”

When the only response he got was a slow moan, he pulled back to look at her face. Her eyes were closed.

“Talk to me, Payten.”

He watched her eyes slowly open as her tongue slid out to wet her lips.

“It’s just — It’s just a lot,” she told him.

He chuckled at that. His laughter shook his body, moving him inside her.

“Oh, God! Do that again,” she demanded.

Before he could move, she raised her knees, allowing him to sink deeper into her. He surrendered and began thrusting in earnest. Their bodies fit perfectly together. He kissed her gently while he moved inside her.

It wasn’t long before her inner muscles tightened, clutching at him. Reaching between them, he found her clit. He stroked her in time with his thrusts.

She opened her eyes to look up at him. When he leaned down to kiss her, she moved her hands from his back to his cheeks. Somewhere during that kiss, while he continued to thrust and stroke, she tipped over the edge.

“Dean,” she breathed.

He didn’t know if it was the sound of her saying his name or the feel of her wrapped tightly around him milking him, but he erupted like he never had before. As he spilled into her and she gasped his name again, he knew he loved her more than he’d ever thought possible.