Mine To Take (Nine Circles) (17 page)

“Do it.”

“No.” She arched against him, the hard press of his zipper between her legs sending small, sharp electric shocks through her.

He bent his head, his mouth brushing her jawline, then lower, against the side of her neck. Then he bit her.

She gasped, the sensation streaking down her spine, pleasure mixed with a dart of pain that had her trembling. “Oh … God…”

“The words, baby,” he said softly, his breath against her skin. “Or you don’t get to have it.”

He held her so tightly and there was no escape. No choice now but to give in.

She closed her eyes. “P-please. I want … you to hold my hands behind my back and … f-fuck me.”

His grip on her shifted, her wrists crossed and held in the small of her back by one strong hand. Then she felt his free hand slide under her skirt, his fingers cupping the back of her thigh, sliding upward.

She trembled, shutting her eyes tighter, the breath catching in her throat. His hand slid up to the curve of her butt and stopped, long fingers moving between her thighs.

Oh … Holy God …

He gently brushed over the lacy fabric of her panties. “You’re wet. You want this so badly, don’t you?”

Honor shuddered in his hold, unable to stop the soft gasp that escaped her.

Another tantalizing brush of his fingertips. “Tell me. Or it doesn’t happen.”

“Y-yes … please…”

“Please who?”

“G-Gabriel. Please, Gabriel.”

“Good girl. Now stand just like that. Don’t move.”

She kept her eyes closed, standing there motionless as he released her, unable to stop shaking, her hands behind her back.

You should have left while you’d had the chance.

Maybe she should have. But she hadn’t. And now it was too late. She couldn’t have walked away from this if she’d tried.

His hands slid up her thighs, underneath her skirt. Fingers hooking into the waistband of her panties, jerking hard, the sound of fabric tearing. She inhaled sharply, some deep part of her, the wild part, thrilled by the roughness of the motion, the pull and release as the lace fell away from her.

Then his hands on her thighs again, urging her forward. She didn’t want to look, happy with the darkness. It was easier to concentrate on sensation. She went where those hands put her but when they pushed her skirt up, she trembled. Bare from the waist down and now, he could see her.

She screwed her eyes shut even tighter, trying to calm her breathing and failing.

“Pretty,” he murmured, his voice soft and dark, fingers stroking through the curls between her thighs. “You look as good as you feel.”

Honor shivered. The blackness behind her eyes was threaded through with spikes of white light, spiraling behind her lids as he touched her. Small bolts of lightning.

“Come here.” He pulled her forward and she realized he was sitting on the edge of the bed, making her straddle him. Once she was sitting, facing him, he gripped her wrists and held them behind her back again.

She swallowed, listening. Was he breathing as fast as she was? Was he shaking like she was?

Does that matter to you?

Yes, it did. The grip on her wrists released and she opened her eyes, looked down.

Gabriel was in the process of leaning back, undoing his jeans, his gaze on her. And the look in his eyes …

The air between them caught fire. Igniting in a sheet of flame, the heat burning the air from her lungs.

He said nothing as he pulled his jeans open, as he reached for the foil packet beside him on the bed. He freed his cock, ripping the packet open and sheathing himself. His movements were slow, controlled, his gaze never leaving hers.

She couldn’t temper her breathing, the heat of his body like a furnace beneath her open, exposed flesh. The muscles of her thighs locked. This was too much.

Instinct had her rising as he straightened, his hand reaching behind her to grip her crossed wrists in a tight hold, preventing her from getting away. Those dark eyes were inches from her own, his mouth within kissing distance. “Don’t be scared,” he whispered roughly. “I won’t hurt you.”

But it wasn’t hurt she was afraid of. It was the fierce, uncontrollable pleasure she knew he’d give her that she wasn’t sure she could handle. Not again.

He seemed to understand though. “It’ll be okay. I’ve got you.”

And he kept his gaze on hers as she felt one hand on her hip, guiding, positioning her.

Then his fingers spread her open and he was pushing her down onto him. Sensitive flesh stretched and she cried out, trembling all over, pleasure catching in her throat.

Too much. Too much.

Yet his hand around her wrists was a shackle and she couldn’t escape from the sensation. Couldn’t run. Could only sit there and take it as he moved deeper inside her, fire in the shadowy gaze that pinned her to the spot, which made it so she couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.

“Gabriel…” Her voice was a hoarse whisper. “God…”

“Keep still.” The words were a ragged threat that didn’t even sound like him. There was a fierce expression on his face, a muscle ticking in his jaw. His fingers around her wrists were like iron and he was breathing fast, his powerful chest heaving.

She wasn’t the only one feeling the intensity of this. He did, too.

For some reason that made it better. Made it easier to cope with.

Honor sucked in a breath, the fear beginning to fade. She wanted to move, anything to ease the ache. “Please … let me…”

Gabriel bit off a low curse, the hand on her hip gripping her tight. Then at last he let her move, his hand guiding her, his hips thrusting up as she rose and fell on him. The slow glide of him inside her was so intense she had to close her eyes again, biting her lip to stop the moan that crowded her throat.

Her thighs shook. Her whole body trembled. She couldn’t take this. She was going to drown, lose herself in the sharp, vicious pleasure that flooded every part of her. She strained against his hands, arching her body in a reflexive need to get away, reduce the intensity somehow. Escape. Because she just couldn’t handle it.

But Gabriel stilled all of a sudden, deep inside her. Then her wrists were free. She blinked, opening her eyes in time to see him grip the sides of her blouse and pull them apart with a sharp jerk. Honor gasped as fabric ripped, buttons flying. He pushed the ruined material off her shoulders, pulling it down her arms.

“W-what are you doing?” she asked shakily.

He didn’t answer but then he didn’t have to. As he tied the blouse around her wrists, binding them behind her back, she couldn’t stop the groan that broke from her. Although he hadn’t tied it too tight, it was firm enough she couldn’t get free.

He leaned back a little, his intense black gaze drinking her in. Then he gripped her bra and tore that in half, too.

This time she didn’t make a sound, shivering as the cool air whispered over her hot skin, raising goose bumps.

Gabriel leaned back on the bed, looking at her. “Fuck … yes…” There was so much hunger in his expression, a raw possessiveness that should have made her angry. Because she wasn’t anyone’s to own.

Until now. He wasn’t looking at her and thinking money, that was for damn sure. He was looking at her like he wanted to devour her. She’d never imagined how erotic that would be. Never even thought she’d like it. With her hands tied behind her back, naked to his gaze, there was no way she could control this situation. No way to stop him from taking what he wanted. No way to take charge.

There was freedom in that she’d only dreamed of.

The hand on her hip keeping her steady slid higher, cupping one breast. The heat of his palm scalded her and she moaned as he circled her aching nipple with his thumb, brushing back and forth. At the same time he began to move again, the slow thrust of his hips making her thoughts break apart and scatter under the sheer weight of the pleasure.

“I’m going to make you scream, baby,” he said in a low, rough voice. “I’m going to make you scream yourself hoarse.” Then he pinched her nipple, hard enough for the pleasure to have a rough edge of pain.

God, why did she like that? She couldn’t keep the cry inside her. A wordless sound of desperation.

He began to move faster and the world fell away, narrowed, becoming only the push of his cock inside her, the heat of his body beneath her, the clever fingers on her breast, and the slow, relentless build of an ecstasy that wouldn’t be denied.

Honor began to shake, caught on the cusp of something immense. Something vast. Pleasure a living flame inside her clawing to get out. She shut her eyes, panting, sobs crowding in her throat. This couldn’t be happening, not so soon. Not again.

“I can’t…” she said raggedly, hardly even aware she was speaking. “I can’t…”

“Don’t fight it,” he said, dark and soft. “Let go.” And he shifted, an arm sliding around her waist, the heat of his body pressing hard against her front. Then his hand slid between them, down between her thighs to where they were joined. And he brushed one finger over her clit, so lightly. But it was enough.

Honor stopped fighting. Let go as lightning bolted up her spine and she screamed as a column of fire exploded in her head. Behind her eyes. Flooding her body with pleasure so intense she didn’t think she’d survive it.

Gabriel’s arms tightened around her and she pressed her forehead into his shoulder, sobbing as sensation tore her apart.

Some time passed and the intensity began to fade.

Then he said, “My turn.”

His arms tightened further, turning her on her back onto the white sheets of the bed, still inside her. Then he slid a hand behind her knee, lifting her leg up high, over one powerful shoulder, tilting her hips so he could get even deeper.

She panted, moving restlessly, the heavy laxness of the first orgasm beginning to fade, tension gathering in the pit of her stomach. Oh, Jesus, please don’t say he was going to break her. Not again.

“Say my name,” he ordered, one arm wrapped around her leg. “Say it.”

“G-Gabriel…”

He drew his hips back. “Again.”

“Gabriel…” The name ended on a cry as he thrust back in, hard. “Oh … please … I can’t … not again…”

“You can. You will.” He began to move, a relentless, driving rhythm, the tension in her stomach becoming an ache, a need, pulling tighter, another climax beginning to dig sharp claws in her.

Honor gasped, twisting beneath him, but there was no escaping it. No escaping him. The orgasm crashed over her like a building falling, leaving her gasping and shivering as he drove into her, his arm wrapped around her thigh, his hand on her hip, holding her still.

Then abruptly he growled deep in his throat, his hips giving one last, convulsive thrust, and his big body shuddered, the growl becoming a rough, hoarse cry.

She couldn’t move, didn’t even have the energy to speak. She could only lie there, panting, with her eyes shut, staring at the bright spots behind her lids, feeling him shake as the release caught him as well.

God in heaven. He’d destroyed her. Utterly wrecked her and left her in pieces. How the hell could she ever recover from this? Would she even want to?

She felt him move, withdrawing from her. Then he reached beneath her, releasing the fabric tying her wrists. Her hands tingled as he drew them from behind her back, gently chafing her wrists.

She opened her eyes, found her vision blurry with tears.

“Wait there,” Gabriel murmured. “I won’t be long.” He left the bed, disappearing into the bathroom en suite.

Honor drew the sheet over herself, shaking and unable to stop.

Sex wasn’t supposed to be this way. At least it had never been that way for her. No, she’d never come with any of her lovers but it had been nice. Pleasant. Vaguely pleasurable but ultimately forgettable. Not … intense. Passionate.
Soul-destroying. Addicting …

She turned her hot face into the cool pillow. No … she had to pull herself together. No falling apart. So she’d let go. Given up control. And yes, it had been incredible. But all that feeling didn’t make it mean anything. She wouldn’t let it.

It
was
only sex. The intensity was only because he’d given her three orgasms in a row and she wasn’t used to it. Not because it felt like he’d ripped away her control, leaving her aching, raw, and vulnerable.
And wanting more …

The bed dipped, Gabriel returning, and she wanted to get away from him all of a sudden. Be alone to recover, build herself back up again. But before she could move, his arms came around her, drawing her in close, and as the heat of his body surrounded her, she realized he must have taken his clothes off—all she felt was hot, bare skin against hers.

“Oh, no,” she said, half-desperately, “I can’t—”

“Relax, sweetheart.” His deep voice was in her ear, full of rough heat. “I think you’ve had enough for tonight.” He ran a hand down her side in a gentle motion, then back up again. A light, undemanding, soothing touch. And despite herself she felt the tension in her begin to lessen.

Get up. Go. Get away while you can.

The warning rang loud in her head but she felt strangely reluctant to move. Warmth had begun to uncurl through her body, the raw feeling fading. Gabriel’s hand stroked up and down her side, his body like a fire at her back.

She’d never much liked sleeping with another person. Having the bed all to yourself was infinitely preferable to sharing space with someone else. God, sometimes even being held left her feeling constrained and suffocated. Stiff and tense.

But she realized she didn’t feel any of those things now. She felt only … warm. Loose. A deep sense of relaxation seeping through her.

“Gabriel,” she said thickly. “I think we need to—”

“Not now,” he interrupted. “I think now we need to sleep.”

Honor sighed. She should argue, she really should. Or at least insist he get up and go to his own room. Except she didn’t want to. She didn’t even want to move.

So all she said was, “Okay.”

And five minutes later, she was asleep.

CHAPTER NINE

Gabriel woke to find the room flooded with the kind of cold, bright light that always came with early morning on snowy days. He wasn’t alone, he knew that immediately because he could feel warmth nestled against his side, the scent of flowers and musk surrounding him.