What He Craves (3 page)

So I decided to go back to the silent treatment.

Even when he was practically sitting on top of me.

And his hand was inching toward my shoulder again.

And his breath was warming my neck.

And when he whispered in my ear, commenting on Shane’s tense
expression as he gave his presentation.

Yes, Shane had given us a glare. And yes, he was looking
like he might spit nails once he was finished giving his rah-rah speech for the
attendees. I was trying my best to discourage his so-called old friend. I
couldn’t be blamed for Jordan’s inappropriate behavior.

The minute Shane wrapped up his speech and shook the hands
of the man who’d introduced him, he was at our table. He took my hand in his,
and was pulling me from my chair, when Jordan said, “Shane, wonderful speech.”

Shane didn’t respond. At least, not verbally.

“Please tell me you aren’t leaving already?” Jordan added, his lips curled into an evil smile.

“We have another engagement to attend,” Shane snapped. He
hurried me out of the building, saying nothing until we were in the car. Once
we were seated he mumbled, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I figured I’d just ignore him because I was
getting the impression it was fairly useless arguing with him. I know he’s an
old friend of yours, but he’s an arrogant ass.”

“You’re not the first person to tell me that,” he grumbled
as he leaned back.

“I get the impression you have some problems with him.”

“I do.”

That was a short answer. Much too brief. I would have liked
to ask more, but his expression said,
don’t go there
. After this conversation,
I really wanted to know more. Especially why they shared women if they didn’t
get along so well, but I let it drop for now. “Your presentation was wonderful,”
I said, hoping it would perk up his mood a bit.

“Thank you.”

“You’re a very dynamic speaker. I guess I shouldn’t have
been surprised, but I was.”

“I’ve done a few of these things. It’s not such a big deal.”

“Says you. I would’ve been stuttering and stammering if it
had been me.”

“Then I’ll give you a few pointers when the time comes.”

“I have no intention of giving a presentation anytime soon,
though I do appreciate the offer.”

“You never know…” He gave me a lopsided grin that had me
second guessing his meaning. Did he know I’d lost my job? Was he thinking of
offering me a position with his company? I decided not to ask.

“Come here. I want to talk about something.” He pulled me
onto his lap so I was facing him, my bent legs straddling his hips. He skimmed
a hand up my thigh. “I heard about what you said to Alexis.”

“That’s her name, huh?  Suits her. But--”

“I’m proud of you, Bristol.”

I blinked. “You are?”

“Very.”

“But isn’t she a potential contributor?”

Looking unconcerned, he shrugged. His lips curled into a
smile that hinted at wicked secrets. “She’s too smart to let something like a
little
insult get between her and a
big
tax deduction.”

Returning his smile, I rested my arms on his shoulders. My
fingers tangled in his silky hair. “Do you know what she said about you?”

“I know exactly what she’s up to. I’d be a fool not to check
out any woman I have a relationship with. I need to know what her motivations
are.”

Relationship. He’d had a
relationship
with that
woman. A sick feeling settled in my belly. There was a reason for Alexis to
believe she would be wearing Shane’s ring one day.

Was that reason over? Had he moved on?

Did I even have the right to ask him that?

As if he read my mind, he pinched my chin. “Bristol, what I had with Alexis is over. There’s no one else. I told you that. I wasn’t
lying.”

No one for now.

He pulled my chin, coaxing me into a kiss. His lips were
soft, the kiss patient and gentle. His other hand, the one resting on my thigh,
began wandering up, toward my hip. A soft throbbing started beating between my
legs. My tender tissues were resting against the rigid bulge in his pants. And,
with every caress of his lips, that throb grew in intensity. My breaths were
becoming shorter, faster. Little mini gasps. I parted my lips, pulling in air,
and Shane’s tongue swept inside my mouth, filling it with his decadent flavor.

My moan filled our joined mouths, echoing in my head.

My tongue tangled with his, and they stroked and stabbed and
explored until we were both tense and breathless. When the kiss ended, I had
two fists full of his hair and was rocking my hips back and forth, grinding
myself against him. And Shane’s eyes were dark, his gaze full of hard male
wanting.

For some reason, the question, “Did you check me out too?”
slipped out as I squirmed and writhed.

His hands cupped my buttocks, kneading their softness. “You’re
a special case.”

I stilled. “What does that mean?”

“It means…I’m not worried about you trying to manipulate me
for my money.”

“And that’s a good thing.” Smiling wickedly, I rubbed my
warm tissues against the rigid lump in his pants.

He growled. It was a sexy sound that made every nerve in my
body tingle. “A very good thing.” Using his hands, which were cupping my
bottom, he stilled me. “You are insatiable.”

“Only with you.”

“Which makes me very happy. But you’ll wait.”

I made a sad face.

“You’ll be glad you did. I promise.” He kissed my nose. It
was a silly gesture. And sweet. And it made my heart go pitter-patter.

He eased me off his lap. “I suppose that wasn’t helping.”

“It wasn’t hurting either.”

He laughed. How I adored that sound. I hoped I’d hear it for
many months, many years. “Bristol, I’m so very glad we ran into each other that
day.”

“Me too, Shane.”

The rest of the drive was pure agony. We’d had such a nice
conversation in the car, I was feeling closer to Shane than I’d ever felt. He
was opening up to me, letting me see glimpses of the man he really was—the one
some people, like Alexis, might never see. I felt like I was the luckiest woman
alive.

When the car rolled to a stop outside of his house, he gave
me a wicked I’m-going-to-eat-you-up look and every cell in my body ignited. Oh
yes, this was going to be a night to remember.

Shane started things off by saying, “I have something very
special planned for you tonight.”

“I can’t wait.”

In, we went. In the front door, down the hallway, to the
room he’d shown me on our first date. That night I’d called it his torture room.
But after a brief introduction to the pleasures that room promised, I’d
re-named the room the pleasure palace, even though I was fully aware of the
fact that there would be times when I was punished instead of pleasured. It was
all part of the game. And, as I was beginning to understand, the anticipation
of a punishment was almost as thrilling as the anticipation of pleasure. The
punishment added a level of danger to my experiences. It turned out, I kind of
liked that.

“This way.” As I’d come to expect, Shane placed a hand on
the small of my back. With a little pressure right or left, he steered me
around the bulky bondage furniture toward the big X-like structure at the very
back of the room. My gaze followed the line of the wooden beams, up to each
corner then down to the ground. At the ends were big silver loops. And there
were leather cuffs chained to them. I pretty much knew what those cuffs were
for.

My wrists and ankles.

“Undress.” His voice had taken on that sharp edge that made
my tissues heat up. I just loved it when Shane shifted from sweet and open man to
demanding dom. It was so freaking sexy.

Feeling a smile pull at my lips, I turned my back to him.
“Would you please unzip me?”

He pulled the zipper down, but to my disappointment, he
didn’t touch me.

He’s building anticipation.

Despite the fact that he hadn’t touched me, outside of that
one hand on my back, my skin tingled everywhere. I turned around, facing him,
and let my dress slide off my shoulders.

I swear flames flashed in his dark eyes.

The beaded silk garment shimmied down my body, catching on
my hips. I gave it a little push and down it fell, forming a puddle of
expensive silk on the floor. Wearing my crotch-less panties and a lace bra, I
stepped out of the dress and bent over to pick it up.

“No,” he snapped. “I didn’t tell you to move.”

Fighting a grin, I straightened back up. I still had a lot
to learn about this domination and submission stuff. We’d had some other issues
to work out the last few weeks and had spent very little time here. I still felt
a little out of my element, unsure.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

Shane circled me, stopping to pick up my dress. He draped it
over a nearby bondage chair thing then continued his three sixty around me. He
moved slowly, deliberately. As he prowled around me, he reminded me of a jungle
cat. Like a big cat, quiet strength emanated from him. And danger. He was
deliciously dangerous. “This way.” Touching me very softly, he moved me into
position to be restrained. Back to the cross. Arms up and out in a wide vee,
legs spread. Before securing my arms, he unfastened my bra. He left it on,
hanging from the shoulder straps.

My heart started pounding as he secured one cuff around my
wrist. It didn’t hurt, and I wasn’t afraid. But I was anxious, unsure what to
expect.

“When we experience pain, endorphins rush through our
system,” he said, his voice very low.

Pain?

My hands clenched into fists as he secured the second cuff.
He was talking about pain. I didn’t like pain. Pain was something I avoided.

My breathing quickened. My heart rate too. He knelt at my
feet, moved one closer to the post so he could secure my ankle. “Remember Bristol, say red if you need me to stop.”

“O-okay.”

Once he had the first ankle buckled in, he fastened the
other one.

Now I was powerless to move.

“Comfortable?” he asked. “Does anything hurt?”

“No, nothing hurts.”

“Good.” He gave me an up and down perusal before stepping up
to me. “You look so sweet, Bristol.” His voice was husky, and dark carnal
hunger shone in his eyes. That alone, coupled with the nervous energy charging
through my system was making me clench, making my burning tissues throb.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” His fingertip traced a line down the
center of my chest, between my breasts, down to my belly button. “Mmmm.”

Mmmm indeed.

My stomach tightened as little jolts of heat sizzled under
his fingertip. I’d never felt this way with a man before, as if any touch, even
the smallest, sent a current of electricity charging through me.

The second he pulled his hand away, I was whimpering, my
body craving his next touch. When would it come? How long would I have to wait?

“Impatient?” he asked.

I nodded.

“I need to go gather a few things. In the meantime, you’ll
just have to wait.” He licked his lips and another rush of anticipation pulsed
to my center.

God, did he know how to play me. His every look, every
gesture, every touch made me hotter, tighter, more desperate.

As I waited, I let my arms relax, the cuffs holding their
weight. I wondered how long it would take for them to get prickly and lose
their sensation. Thankfully, I didn’t have to find out. Shane was back within
moments, his hands full of all kinds of packages. He set everything but one
item down then stepped up to me and dangled that something in front of me.

A black blindfold.

“You think too much. I want you to feel.” His breath warmed
my lips as he tied the blindfold in place. “There. Better.”

Better, no. Now I couldn’t see what he was going to do. That
made me feel even more vulnerable and jumpy.

What would he do next?

Where would he touch me?

I waited, practically panting, for an eternity. I heard the
crinkle of plastic and cardboard. He was unwrapping something.

I sensed he was coming closer. An almost imperceptible heat
radiated over my chest. Then, a touch. My nipple. I jumped. A finger flicked
over the sensitive peak, making it tingle and harden, making me breathe faster
and faster.

“Your nipples are so sweet, Bristol.”

Sweet. I’d never thought of them as that before.

Suddenly there was a sharp pain. My right nipple. A pinching
that brought tears to my eyes. I wriggled, fighting against the cuffs holding
my arms.

“Shhh,” Shane soothed.

The pinching stopped and glorious pleasure followed as he
laved my nipple with his wet, soft tongue.

“Ahhh…” I said as I arched my back, pushing my breasts out.

I felt like I was sinking into a cloud of bliss. Warmth
surrounded me, cushioning my body as waves of pleasure washed over me in
ripples. It was as if I were lying on a beach, the warm waves surging and
receding, again and again. But just as I was about to sink into oblivion,
another sharp pain yanked me out of it. This time it was my other nipple. I
screeched, jerking away from the source. I couldn’t escape. The pinching didn’t
end.

“Oh God,” I said as I struggled to catch my breath. The pain
was cutting through my chest, like little prickling barbs. It wasn’t unbearable
but it was enough to make me whimper, my eyes and nose burn.

“Hold on, baby,” Shane said. The pinching continued.
“Breathe through it. Breathe.” I heard him breathing and tried to match my
breath with his. In. Out. In. Out. The pain was easing a little.

And then it was gone, and my body softened. I felt every muscle
relax, legs, arms, stomach. “Ohhh,” I moaned. Following that moment of
relaxation came a rush of energy and I felt like I was soaring up, up, up to
the stars. Shane suckled on my stinging nipple, drawing it into his mouth, and
a spark ignited deep inside me. The heat pulsed out in big waves, each one
getting stronger and stronger.