Scandalous-nook (9 page)

You’re mine.

Uptight, organized Senator Finn was charming. Impatient, secret lover Stephen Finn
was irresistible. This man? The one who’d just blown her mind, fucked her harder than
he’d ever dared, bitten her neck and claimed her for a week of pleasure? This Stephen
was a predator that needed careful handling.

He could hurt her in a way the other two never could.

“Angel?” His deep voice rippled like silk along her bare skin.

She burrowed closer into his side, shaking her head. “You might want to choose another
pet name. I am many things, Senator Sexy, but I’ve never been an angel. Unless you’re
referring to the fallen kind.”

He kissed her temple. “I don’t think you get to choose your own pet name.”

“Of course I do,” she argued sleepily. “And I choose Supreme Goddess. Or Chocolate
Princess. Maybe you can call me Spanky, since I have a feeling my behavior will require
excessive punishment.”

He chuckled. “How about Brat? That certainly fits.”

“You haven’t seen my brat come out, honey. Not yet.”

He was silent for a long moment, then his arms tightened around her. “I think I need
another lesson.”

Already? She still couldn’t feel all of her toes. “Trust me, Stephen, we’re good.”

Her lashes fluttered when she felt him slide down her body, spreading her legs and
kneeling between them. “Practice makes perfect.”

The next morning Tasha was up before dawn. She showered, threw on one of Stephen’s
button-down shirts and then rummaged through the pantry until she found something
she could bake. He didn’t have that much to choose from in the way of ingredients,
but she was nothing if not creative. Soon the aroma of flaxseed and dried cherry muffins
filled the sterile kitchen, soothing her while she waited for Stephen to wake up.

She might have worn the senator out.

Her lips tilted at the thought, but as soon as she moved again, she winced. Okay,
so maybe it was the other way around. Stephen Finn was a perfectionist at everything
he did—why would this be any exception?

He’d asked questions, studied her reactions and never stopped touching her. He’d discovered
that she responded best with a firm hand around her neck—that cupping her nape soothed
her, but gripping her throat made her his willing slave. Each revelation had made
him determined to learn more. And he’d spent the whole night doing just that.

In a way, it was like a first time, which was crazy. They’d been having sex for sixteen
years, though this string of stolen moments and desperate caresses that was their
relationship was so sporadic that, if she did the math, it would only count as a month
for a normal couple. Still, something about last night felt brand new—for both of
them. It was as if they were each discovering a new lover. And in a way, she supposed
they were.

Stephen was and had always been the best she’d ever had, and she knew he felt the
same way about her. There was a reason they’d never completely cut those ties. What
they made each other feel was simply too good to let go of.

But even she, the queen of no-strings, buddy-system sex, had to admit that there was
something unsatisfying about fifteen minutes in closet heaven or six-hour layovers
once every eight to thirteen months. There was only time to pounce, strip and try
to work out months of frustration and need in whatever amount of time they had.

Minimal cuddling. No real conversations. Certainly no spanking or restraints.

Tasha stared absently at the timer and leaned her elbows on the counter, resting her
chin in her hands. After last night, it seemed like a bum deal. Especially once she’d
seen and experienced what Stephen was capable of when he took his time.

She might have created a monster.

Tasha buried her face in her hands and chuckled wryly, knowing she couldn’t take the
credit. Books, he’d said—she should demand to see this library of kinky tutorials.
No man was that talented without hands-on experience.

Experience he hadn’t gotten with her.

What he does and who he does it with is none of your business. Didn’t you tell him
that years ago?

She
had
told him that, and she’d been so sure she meant it. Commitment was a sticky issue
for her, one full of traps and pitfalls. She’d decided from an early age that pinning
all your hopes and dreams on one person was the fastest way to unhappiness and heartbreak.
At least, for the Rivera women.

Her mother had used the promise of marriage to keep her father close and agreeable,
thinking he would abandon her after he got the citizenship he needed. Even after they’d
had Tasha, she wouldn’t trust him to stay. Her jealousy and paranoia caused her gentle
father constant frustration. She was even jealous of the time he spent with their
daughter. When he was sent away she’d blamed him bitterly, believing her fears had
finally come to pass. But Tasha had always known whose fault it was.

And then there was her grandmother in Puerto Rico, who’d been trapped in a loveless
marriage with a man who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. A man who’d never apologized
until she started the rumor that she’d cursed his package, ensuring he would have
to move out of their San Juan neighborhood to find a mistress who was willing to risk
it. Her
abuela
didn’t believe in divorce or infidelity, so she’d been forced to raise her children
alone, spend her life alone, until her husband passed away when she was in her late
sixties.

She had a boyfriend now, a cute, bent-over old man who brought her flowers and sat
on her porch making her laugh. But it still made Tasha sad when she looked at old
pictures of her beautiful, vibrant grandmother and imagined the life she’d never gotten
to have.

Tasha wasn’t going to end up like that. She lived in the moment and gave in to temptation
whenever possible. She’d explored her sexual desires, never skipped dessert and danced
outside in the rain every chance she got. She was honest with her lovers, upfront
and outspoken and determined to keep things light and fun. She wouldn’t have bitterness
haunting her in her old age. She would live with no regrets.

No regrets?

Well, none she was willing to dwell on. Not today. All she needed to do now was bake
her damn muffins and get ready for the big performance.

And remember that it was
only
a performance.

She heard footsteps on the stairs and took a deep breath, plastering a smile on her
face.

Stephen stepped into her line of vision and then laughed softly, scratching his bare
chest and stretching lazily. What was he doing down here in sweatpants and nothing
else? Where were all his buttons? His tie? He wasn’t wearing anything to distract
her from his damn abs. What kind of government employee had abs like that?

“Thank God. For a minute there I thought Mom had shown up for a surprise Sunday visit.
She’s the only one who ever uses the kitchen.”

Tasha smiled at his words, remembering when Ellen would invite her over for brunch
on Sundays after church. She’d always praised Tasha’s baking skills, and even shared
a few old family recipes while the men watched sports in the living room. Tasha’s
mother had been so busy looking for a man, she’d never even taken the time to learn
how to fry an egg. “This is a new world, Senator. Men who can cook are sexy and get
more votes.”

“More votes, huh? Then I’ll have to learn.” He came closer, watching her with an intensity
that was unnerving at this hour. Or any hour. “You’re up early. Couldn’t sleep?”

Tasha straightened and pushed the timer around on the counter. “Someone was hogging
the covers, and I couldn’t stop thinking about who might show up this week. I need
to get my story straight for the people who know me.”

“Ah, so that’s why you’re baking. It helps you think.”

She batted her lashes at him playfully. “He remembered. No wonder you’re the most
sought-after bachelor in town. I’m glad our study session stuck with you.”

Before she realized what he was doing, Stephen had her pinned between his bare chest
and the cool counter. “I remember everything, Natasha. Every sound you made, every
time you came. Everything.”

His hands dropped beneath the shirt to caress her thighs. “I like this look on you,
but I would rather have woken up with you naked and next to me. Under me. I wanted
another lesson.”

Tasha moaned softly when one of his talented hands found its way inside her underwear
and started to press and fondle her clit. “Stephen…”

“Baked goods and orgasms,” he reminded her. “You need both to clear your head. And
in exchange for breakfast, I’m more than happy to help. Get down on the floor, Natasha.
Hands and knees.”

Oh God.
“My muffins are almost done.”

He stepped away from her. “On your knees.”

He was definitely in the right headspace for this vacation, she thought weakly as
she dropped to all fours on the stained concrete floor. She heard a drawer open and
close, and then cold steel brushed against her hip. An instant later, her underwear
was clinging to one thigh, leaving everything it was supposed to be covering exposed
to his gaze.

“Did you just ruin another article of clothing? With a steak knife?”

He set it above them on the counter and kneeled behind her, squeezing her hips. “Spread
your legs. Wider.”

She should laugh him off. Tell him to save it for their audience. But she was already
aching, so turned on by his behavior that she couldn’t have told him no if the house
was on fire.

“Last night...” His voice was so low she struggled to hear him over her pounding heart.
“I never imagined you would react like that to the things I did to you. That I would…”

“Enjoy it?” she whispered.

“I think enjoy might be too tame a word.” His hands paused in their exploration. “How
long until those muffins are ready?”

“Fi-fifteen minutes.”

“That might be enough time for a snack.” One hand moved between her legs, his fingers
slipping through her arousal, making him groan. “You’re just as hungry for it as I
am.”

He was moving behind her, then beneath her, and Tasha’s lips parted in surprise and
arousal when she looked down to see him on his back, his head between her spread legs.

Stephen met her gaze and licked his lips. “Fourteen minutes now, Natasha. Give me
a morning reminder of what’s mine.”

He used his hands to pull her hips down toward his mouth, but she didn’t do much resisting.
She should but— “
Stephen.
Oh, yeah, that’s so…”

His tongue was ferocious and greedy. It wasn’t there to tease, but to conquer. He
thrust inside to find her already wet for him. Ready. He growled and she gasped, feeling
the vibration in her clit and up her spine.

He pulled back long enough to take a breath and bite her thigh. “Ride me. Take what
you need and ride me until you come.”

Yes.
Tasha leaned back on her knees and gripped his mussed brown hair with her shaking
fingers. Then she started to rock against his mouth. He moaned his approval and his
tongue delved deep, fucking her, taking her higher.

“Yes!” She thrust her hips forward, adrenaline and lust pumping through her veins.

Stephen spread her ass cheeks, his fingers pressing against the sensitive skin that
he’d claimed more than once last night, and in more than one way. Tasha whimpered.
She was on top, in control at last…only she wasn’t. She was still completely in his
hands. She still felt like she was submitting.

“Please,” she gasped, hating how weak she sounded. What was she begging for? Permission
to come? No single night of sex could be good enough to change her this much. She
was Natasha fucking Rivera. Men and women fell to their damn knees under her whip.

Her fingers tangled tightly in his hair to hold him in place while she rode him. “Fuck
me,” she demanded, breathless. “Use that tongue for more than talk and make me come.”

One arousal-slick finger pushed into her ass in response and she cried out softly
in shock. Stephen wrapped his lips around her clit and sucked hard, making her tremble.
Yes. God, please, yes.

Her mouth opened on a keening cry as her climax hit her with the force of a freight
train. Her body arched and shuddered above him, but he only held her tighter, rumbling
with satisfaction as he lapped at her release.

The world was spinning and she found herself on her back with her breasts against
her chin and her knees pressed to her shoulders. Stephen looked flushed and feral
above her. Wild. He held her pinned in position while his hand lowered to loosen the
drawstring of his sweatpants.

He was going to take her now, claim what was his on the kitchen floor, and there was
nothing she could do—nothing she wanted to do—to stop him. She needed more. Needed
him to fuck her with his thick, hard—

“Do I smell breakfast?”

Brady’s overly loud voice made them both freeze from their hidden location behind
the counter. Stephen’s expression went from stark arousal to possessive rage, then
bewildered surprise in the space of a few rapid breaths. He let her go so she could
scramble to her knees and try to cover herself with his shirt.

He looked so disconcerted it was almost insulting. And he wasn’t responding to Brady.
Had he forgotten they had company, or was he hoping his cousin would go away without
finding them? That somehow on his way downstairs, Brady hadn’t heard her wailing like
a cat in heat?

Tasha sighed, pushing herself to her feet with a wicked grin on her still-swollen
lips. “Good morning, Hot Body Man. Muffins are—” She glanced at the timer. “Two minutes
from being done. The senator and I decided to get one last practice session in before
our theatrical debut.”

Brady Finn rubbed his hand across his mouth and jaw, obviously hiding his smile. “It’s
always good to be prepared.”