Authors: Brynn Paulin
That far away, he could pretend she hadn’t chosen her family over him. He could pretend someone named Tempest had never existed in his life and had never gouged out the center of his heart.
“And you just thought you’d stop by?” he grated. She shook her head, her light blonde hair brushing her shoulders. For the first time, he let his gaze stray from her face. A mistake. Immediate reaction grabbed his gut. He shouldn’t have allowed the weakness.
She still had those killer curves and he’d bet his best computer that she was still trying to lose them with everything in her. Pudge, she once told him, did not fit the Montgomery image. He lightly ran his hand over his washboard stomach, feeling the ridges through his oxford shirt. If Tempest was pudgy, he was too. God, she was Marilyn Monroe gorgeous. He couldn’t understand what she was thinking.
11
Brynn Paulin
And she was still trying to hide all that loveliness behind those prissy clothes she felt she had to wear. He remembered her in curve-hugging jeans. He almost smiled. He recalled her in
only
jeans and nothing else, her beautiful breasts free for his taking.
Those lush breasts pressed against her white silk blouse. The nipples peaked beneath his perusal.
His fingers flexed with his desire to cup the firm mounds.
Tempest shifted and crossed her arms. He glanced at the swivel of her hips.
“Are you about finished?” she snapped.
“It depends on what you want,” he replied, wanting to drag her to the nearest deserted place and take her until neither of them could move. His cock concurred as it pressed against the fly of his jeans. He wouldn’t succumb. “Are you going to tell me what brought you all the way to Brandywine?”
“Josh, please…”
He looked away remembering the last time she’d uttered those words to him. In a different tone, for a different reason. Minutes later she’d called him Master, begging him to let her find release. Neither of them had known her father had discovered the Dominant/submissive relationship they’d begun. Or that he’d force his way between them by the weekend.
“Do you remember the last time you said that?” he asked quietly.
A rose tinge crawled up her neck and into her cheeks. She looked away and closed her eyes for a second, obviously gathering her thoughts and perhaps courage. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and evaluating lately. I’ve never set things right with you.
It seems like this big festering spot in my past. So I—”
“Festering? Nice.” What the hell was this? After eight years, she showed up in the middle of his birthday breakfast, three hours from her home and asked him to give her closure?
Closure
? What about his peace of mind? Tempest was the one woman he’d ever wanted for his own and damn it from the moment he’d turned to see her beside him, his heart had been pounding with that need again.
12
Gentle Control
She made a face.
“Back then, I didn’t know how to handle things. There was my father. And you were so…” she trailed off.
Different,
he finished silently. She’d wanted someone who wouldn’t fit Daddy’s bill of perfect escort material and he’d been the one. What did that make him? Rebellion?
Hell, this shouldn’t bother him after all this time.
“Look, all this time I—”
“I think you’ve said enough,” he interrupted sharply. Steeling himself for the blow of leaving her in the past again, he started for the door. Someone shouldn’t have to leave behind their other half twice in a lifetime. But he couldn’t not stay.
“Wait. Josh, please,” she hissed following him through the heavy glass door to the sidewalk. “Listen to me.”
“It seems to me that this is a repeat of a place we’ve been before. You should probably go inside and call that cab. Go home to your brother’s house. Or Grand Rapids.”
Her small hand curled around his arm. “Will you listen, please?”
He looked at her, trying to keep his face blank and not show the temptation running through him. “
What
?”
She looked around again as someone brushed past them. The sidewalk was quite busy.
“I’m engaged,” she said suddenly. Just as suddenly, he thought he might hurl.
She’d come to Brandywine to tell him she was engaged? After eight years? She’d claimed to want closure. Was he supposed to give his blessing?
That wasn’t happening.
He started walking toward his bike.
Happy birthday, Josh. This is your life. Do you
remember the woman who ripped your heart out? Well she’s back for more. Only this time,
there’s a catch—
13
Brynn Paulin
“If you’re engaged, what the fuck do you want with me? Does your precious fiancé know you’re here?”
Her prissy little heels clattered on the sidewalk as she sprinted along beside him.
He was just pissed enough that he didn’t slow down. Angrily, he reached in his pocket for his keys. Suddenly, Tempest stopped. “Phillip doesn’t know about you.”
“Phillip,” he repeated, tasting bile in his throat and wishing he didn’t know the enemy’s name. He turned, glaring at her across the five feet that separated them. Slowly he sized up the battleground. Now that she was here, could he let her merrily walk away with the “closure” she wanted? Not as easily as she might like. The decent thing would be to let bygones be bygones and wave her away with a well-wish.
The hell with decency. There was pain in her eyes again.
“You don’t want to marry him?” he guessed.
She shrugged. “It just sort of…happened. He works for Daddy. And everyone thinks it’s a great idea. He’s a nice guy and I’ll be happy enough. He wants kids. I want kids.” She shrugged again. “He’s supportive of my work. Nice.”
Josh fought the overwhelming need to growl. He personally thought it was a horrible idea, but he had no say. The guy was “nice”. She made him sound like goddamned Wally Cleaver. Josh knew exactly how happy she’d be with that. Unless she’d dramatically changed, Tempest didn’t particularly get off on nice. Not the kind of nice she was describing. Phillip sounded like even more of a submissive than she was.
“So you’ve found Mr. Right?” he asked dryly. “And then suddenly you were struck with the undeniable need to track down the black mark on your pristine past. Are you still reading those self-help books about thinking yourself to a good future and karma and all that crap?”
She looked away. “If I have, it’s not working. Look, it’s like this. The closer I get to the wedding, the more you’ve been in my head not Phillip. That tells me something. I have an unresolved issue and if I want to be happy in my marriage, I’d better figure out what the heck my problem is.”
14
Gentle Control
Strange that she’d say that, especially in light of his upcoming trip. The sole reason for his sabbatical was to figure out what the hell was his problem. Funny, he suddenly seemed to have a very good idea why he’d been so unhappy and dissatisfied.
“You’ve been in my head. Unresolved and waiting. What is that?” she bit out in frustration and stomped her foot.
Josh tried not to laugh at the familiar display of anger. His cock went hard at the delightful jiggle of her breasts. He loved when she vibrated with emotion, tension drawing the lines of her body tight—tension he wanted to relieve. As she’d gotten worked up, her breathing had increased. It reminded him of the rapid-fire rise and fall of her chest after sex. It was enough to kill his minimal restraint, especially with the breeze pressing her skirt to her and outlining her strong thighs.
He’d apparently fucked up in a previous life. His sister-in-law was always spouting about karma and here it was. He put his hands on his hips and dropped his head forward, staring at the ground. There was no way he could share what he was thinking right now. She’d see it in his eyes if he looked at her.
She’d know he wanted to take her home and wrap himself in her body.
“I told everyone I needed more time before the wedding,” she continued, unaware of his reaction. “They all think the little bride is nervous. I don’t know what the hell little bride they’re talking about.” She drew a hand in front of her. “This isn’t little.”
“Tempest…” he warned reflexively. He couldn’t help it. He’d always protested when she’d disparaged herself. Something broke inside him and all his carefully contained emotion flooded to his core. It exploded protective, possessive and needy.
“You’re not marrying him. You’re mine.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. Josh couldn’t mean his statement the way it sounded. Tempest stared at him, sure he’d say more. He didn’t. Nevertheless, there had to be something else to this. How could there not be after all this time?
15
Brynn Paulin
The side of his mouth turned up while his gaze devoured her and spoke of all the things he’d been waiting to do. She couldn’t help thinking she’d just jumped straight out of the frying pan and into the fire. And if the flames in Josh’s eyes were any indication, she’d be reduced to ashes as soon as he touched her.
And there was no way she’d refuse him, even with Phillip waiting in the wings.
She’d tried to break it off with him—something she didn’t want to tell Josh. It was enough for him to know no one was listening to her. He didn’t need to know that when she went home, she was as good as married. She’d been railroaded to this point. She didn’t see that changing no matter how much she protested.
Really, as far as futures went, Phillip wasn’t intolerable. He wanted most of the same things she did. He encouraged her “little photography hobby” and wanted a family, just like she did and he was up and coming at Montgomery Enterprises.
Everything a woman could want, wasn’t it?
Somehow she’d have to convince Phillip it was over. There was no question.
“I mean that you’re right. There is something unresolved between us.” He paused letting her see all the hunger in his gaze. A shiver ran down her spine before he continued. “I want to explore it and find…
closure
…too.”
Her eyes narrowed. “How?”
“I want closure too. I never had a chance to get you out of my system. So…I want submission. Yours. To me. For two weeks.”
Two weeks? She had to be back in Grand Rapids in ten days. Yet if they allowed their relationship go its natural course, maybe it wouldn’t haunt her anymore and there’d be no more what ifs. Maybe…
It might be too late for them now, but she was willing to test those waters.
She clasped her hands behind her back, realizing afterward what she’d unconsciously done. She didn’t suppose Josh had completely changed his sexual preferences. He was a Dominant, and if he wanted her for the next two weeks that would mean he wanted her as his submissive. Now.
16
Gentle Control
She didn’t change her position. Let him think what he wanted about her submissive pose.
Josh’s lips parted, his eyes growing darker. He swallowed as he backed toward the motorcycle a few feet behind him. “Come here, angel,” he growled.
Slowly she walked toward him, drawn by the same magnet that had held her for years. It was stronger now, undeniable. She wanted to be close to him, smell his scent, feel the heat that radiated from him. She’d missed him so much.
As soon as she was within arms’ reach, he reached for her and lifted her to sit on the bike without so much as the grunt she expected when he hefted her weight. Without pause, he stepped between her legs, pushing her skirt up over her knees when it would have hindered him getting close. His hand slid into her hair and he brought her mouth to his.
Tempest sighed in pleasure at the taste of the mouth she’d missed so much. His tongue stabbed between her lips in long lazy strokes, a lethal mix of coffee and maple syrup. Agony for a girl on a diet. Arching into him, she wrapped her arms around his waist. Her hands splayed on his strong back. She wished he was wearing one of the soft cotton T-shirts he’d favored when they were together. She’d bunch her hands in it and pull it up so she could feel his smooth, satiny skin under her fingers. Now she contented herself with clasping the stiff fabric of his oxford and dragging him closer.
The spicy cologne he’d always worn enveloped her and filled her with sweet nostalgia as she welcomed his tongue. Being in his arms with his mouth on hers was like coming home. How on earth would she leave this embrace of belonging when the time came? She could only hope he was right about getting this desire out of their systems.
The piercing in the center of his tongue rubbed along the roof of her mouth, sending a decadent shiver down her spine. He hadn’t had that before. What would it feel like on her skin? Her nipples? Her clit tingled as she remembered his mouth there and desired the sensation of that little metal ball running over her and driving her mad.
17
Brynn Paulin
Tears formed in the corners of her eyes as he feasted on her mouth with tender, biting kisses. Every minute that she’d missed him and been without his dominance slammed down on her. The tears slithered down her cheek pooling at their joined lips.
“Hey,” he said quietly, pulling back. He slid his thumb through the damp moisture.
“What’s this?”
“I didn’t realize how much I missed you.”
He swallowed hard. “The way I see it…we have a two-part problem here.”
“Problem?” she echoed.
Her stomach churned while she stared at his shirt buttons. She didn’t want to hear about problems, not after a kiss that would have brought her to her knees if she hadn’t been sitting on a motorcycle and clinging to him for dear life.
Oh mercy. They were in the middle of a very public parking lot, right beside a very busy street and making out like…like the long-lost lovers they were. It went against every statute of decent behavior that had been pounded into her since childhood but she couldn’t bring herself to care much. At one time, he could have stripped her practically naked before she’d have voiced an initial protest. She’d trusted him that much.
“I’m just about to leave on a trip,” he replied, tracing her lips with his finger. It was as if they’d been apart forever yet the intimacy remained as strong as if they’d never separated. Shouldn’t she feel uncomfortable about this? What she felt wasn’t even close.