chapter Twenty
Ari knew she should climb off Rafe’s lap and run as fast as she could to the nearest door, shutting and locking it tightly behind her. She knew she’d regret making love to the man again. She also knew that if she were to command him to let her go, he’d do just that.
Knowing he’d let her leave made her want to stay even more.
She could handle one more night in his bed, or at least at his dining table. She forgot about his staff who could wander in, as well as his family members who were just down the hall. She practically forgot her own name as his lips overtook hers, and his tongue dove inside her mouth.
Rafe’s hands slid through her hair, untying the band at the base of her neck and releasing her dark strands for his fingers to run through. He softly moved his hands across her shoulders, taking the straps of her gown and pulling them down her arms.
The material slipped against her sunburn, making her gasp, but the pleasure warming her body was so good, it far outweighed any discomfort.
She felt the air hit her breasts, the bikini top barely covering her now. When Rafe stopped moving the straps as they reached her elbows, she struggled against him. She wanted the dress brought all the way down, needed to pull her arms up and grip his head.
“What’s the matter, Ari? Are you feeling trapped?” he whispered as his mouth moved across her cheek and made contact with her ear.
“What are you doing?” she gasped as he sucked her lobe inside his mouth.
“Pleasuring you…”
His hands next ran up to the front of her neck and splayed across her chest bone, before his fingers slipped inside the material of her bikini top. He edged first one side over, and then the other, causing her breasts to slip free of the material and press together.
As the cool air hit her nipples, a stinging sensation rushed from the dusky pink peaks, all the way to her core. They tightened even further as she opened her eyes and saw lust burning in his expression as he gazed in appreciation at her body.
She moved on his lap, arching her back, silently begging him to take her breasts into his mouth and ease the ache throbbing inside her.
“Patience, Ari,” he teased as his fingers circled the dusky peaks, but didn’t touch her the way she needed.
She didn’t like this new game he was playing. She wanted satisfaction, and he wasn’t giving it to her. A rush of breath slipped free as she struggled to move closer to him, need burning her, impatience evident in her actions.
“Don’t you know that it’s the anticipation of what’s to come that heightens the pleasure when I eventually do touch you… just… like… this…”
Finally, he bent his head forward and licked her nipple, pulling back quickly to blow his warm breath across the wet surface. She cried out at the exquisite pleasure, but still he took his time, leisurely moving his tongue up her breast and across her neck, his tongue swirling around her quickly fluttering pulse, before his teeth scraped the edges of her skin.
Every place he touched soothed her for the barest of seconds, before the raging fire leapt another notch in her core, making her squirm on his lap, her core pushing against his hard manhood, the stiff flesh digging into her body.
The knowledge of how badly he desired her sent her own desire through the roof. His pants were bulging from just the sight of her since he wasn’t allowing her to touch him back. The knowledge of her control over him made her dizzy with euphoria. If she could speak, she’d demand he take her, but words wouldn’t come out, only heated gasps of pleasure.
Trailing tender, light kisses down her neck to the top of her swollen breasts, she sighed as he circled his tongue around her nipples. With a gentle pressure, his teeth gently bit the sensitive skin before he moved to the other side to offer equal attention. She wiggled her back, trying to lead him to take her tight buds into his mouth, but he was taking his time, and no amount of whimpering seemed to have an effect on him.
Just when she was ready to scream out in absolute sexual frustration, he latched on to one tight nipple, and the sensation that traveled through her made it all worth the wait. The buildup he’d brought her to nearly sent her over the edge of reason.
She shook in his arms as his tongue lavished her nipple while his teeth scraped the swollen bud. He feasted on her breasts, making her head light with the pleasure, before he eased back up her throat and once again connected their mouths.
“You taste so good, Ari. I could dine on your body all night long.”
Ari moaned into Rafe’s mouth as his tongue caressed every crevice he could find. Her throat caught when his hands moved down her sides, brushing against her still bound arms and then moved to her exposed thighs. Quivering with excitement, she opened her mouth again, trying to get the words out.
“Please, Rafe. Please take me.”
“Say my name again,” he commanded as he sipped from her lips in reward.
“Rafe… Rafe, I need you…”
Another moan escaped as his hands slid beneath the fabric of her dress and caressed her backside before he plunged his tongue deep into her mouth, reaching her very soul.
“I’ve been picturing your ass in nothing but this sexy lace thong since the moment you stepped from my steam filled bathroom.”
The remaining breath still in Ari’s lungs whooshed out at Rafe’s words. She struggled in his arms, trying to get free, crying out when he only shifted, moving the fabric down her arms more, making the material bind her even tighter.
“Rafe, please…”
“Yes, Ari. I love to hear you beg. I plan on making you do it a lot more.”
“Release me from this dress!” she growled, her frustration mounting.
“Not until I’m ready to. You should already know I don’t do anything until I’m ready. I happen to like looking at you ensnared. I think I’ll leave you that way.”
Ari’s frustration grew at Rafe’s refusal. She struggled against the binding of the tight fabric, which seemed to do nothing more than excite him further.
Rafe suddenly stood up, gripping her ass in his hands, almost making her fall backward. He set her on the table, the cold wood sending a shiver down her legs. Before she could utter a word, he pushed her back and spread her legs wide.
She felt open, vulnerable, and too exposed, but as his fingers slipped beneath the lacy fabric covering her core, her anxiety disappeared as heat stole through her.
His fingers dove inside her body, making her back arch off the table, and a cry erupt from her lips. She was ready for him and didn’t want to play any more power games.
He pulled her forward and pushed his still covered arousal against her wet and exposed opening, grinding his hips into her, the course material of his pants scraping against her wet flesh, making her burn.
“I should punish you for the torture you’ve been putting me through. I should bind your legs apart, and let the air stroke your heat, igniting your flames so high you feel like bursting. I shouldn’t bury myself deep inside your body and offer you relief,” he growled as his hand gripped the sides of her string thong.
“Nooo… Please take me,” she sobbed as she twisted on the table in front of him. Her body was his for the taking – there was no fight left in her.
Just when she thought he was going to leave her there in unbelievable agony, he tugged against the delicate material, ripping it from her body. Excitement filled her when she heard the telling rip of a foil packet.
“Yes, please…”
She was ready as he thrust his engorged manhood deep inside her. Light exploded behind her eyes as fire built deep inside. He pushed her legs wider apart, baring her body to his view as he pushed deep inside, over and over again.
The table shook as his body slammed against her ass as he buried himself deep within her swollen folds. He was pushing so fast – so hard – she should be in pain, but she could only feel pleasure as she reached for the edge of her abyss.
“Don’t stop, please don’t ever stop…”
“I can’t stop – not ever,” he cried out as he moved even quicker, the flesh of his legs quivering as he rocked into her. The complete haze of lust covering his eyes sent her flying over the edge of sanity. His thick staff ripped into her, his body taught and filled with desire – for her – only her. She was heady on the surge of power running through her blood.
“Oh, Ari, you feel so good. Yes, baby, grip me tight…” he cried as he slammed against her, his pelvis hitting her throbbing womanhood, causing an explosion. She shattered around him, gripping his throbbing erection tight with spasms of the strong yet swollen walls of her femininity.
Rafe froze against her as his body shook, his manhood pumping repeatedly against the swollen walls of her insides while he groaned in pleasure. She felt every motion as he began easing gently in and out of her, drawing the moment out for both of them.
Neither of them spoke as they began to breathe easier, both of them lost in the exhilaration they’d just created for one another. For those few silent moments, Ari could pretend they were any other normal couple who’d just come together in an burst of color. She could pretend he wasn’t a sadistic monster.
“Sign the contract, Ari. We’re good together. You know you want to.”
Ari’s bubble popped at his words. She wasn’t with a typical man. She was with Rafe – control freak extraordinaire. She could never be free to have a regular relationship with him.
“It will never happen. You may set me on fire with a single touch, but once I’ve come back down to earth I remember you for the monster you are,” she calmly answered. She heard Rafe's sharp intake of breath.
“I’m still buried deep inside you, Ari. Am I really such a monster?” he mocked as his hips slightly moved, stirring her heat against her will.
“You’ve been with a lot of women. You obviously know how to pleasure one. Just because a chicken dances on a hot plate, doesn’t mean he wants to be there. I can feel pleasure while still despising you. I can cum while wanting to be anywhere but underneath you. Don’t think too highly of yourself just because you know how to touch me in the right places,” she said bravely, praying he wouldn’t call her on her bluff.
She was falling for him – falling in ways that terrified her. If she submitted to him, he’d own her, body – heart – and soul. She would never be free again. Her entire goal was to anger him enough that he’d walk away before he destroyed her.
“You will push me too far someday, Ari,” he warned as he pulled from her, leaving her with a feeling of emptiness as he set her up and moved the straps of her dress back up her shoulders so she could once again move her arms. When he was finished, he looked her deep in the eyes.
She cringed as the blood rushed down her arms, sending a throbbing sensation through her upper torso. As her body relaxed, the pain from her burn and being bound came to the surface. She refused to rub the areas in front of him, though, not wanting to give him any kind of satisfaction. She’d wait to whimper when she was in privacy.
“I don’t care. If you don’t like what I have to say, then quit pursuing me.”
“I’m not pursing you, Ari. You happened to show up on my boat, remember? Needless of who came to whom tonight, you’ll be mine – just like I owned you only moments ago. It’s only a matter of time. As long as you keep fighting me, you’re only denying both of us pleasure we could be feeling every single night. I’m not the monster you think I am. I just have certain rules. Doesn’t everyone feel the same when they go into a new relationship together? I just happen to be honest about myself, and I expect the same from my business partners,” he said as if he were the most reasonable man to ever exist.
“If you’re so honest, does your family know about your little contracts?”
He glared at her and she knew she was pushing all the wrong buttons with him that night. His hand lifted and she was afraid for a moment that he was going to strike her.
He glared when she flinched.
“I’ve told you before that I don’t need to use pain, Ari. You’ll learn that. There are much more pleasurable ways for me to punish you,” he threatened as he stepped back.
She slowly scooted off the table, finding her legs weak as she stood. She didn’t know what to do next. She was stuck in the middle of a large bed of water on a boat with a man she didn’t know if she wanted to kiss or hit more.
“I’ll escort you to your room. You know where mine is in case you change your mind about my contract,” he said stiffly as he turned and started walking toward the door. She had to jog to keep up with him as he led her down the hallway.
No more words were spoken as he directed her to a door and opened it for her. She shut it in his face, then leaned against the solid wood and fought the urge to cry. She was really in the deep end. She walked to the bed and sank slowly onto it, not expecting sleep to claim her that night.
She was wrong. The soothing motion of the boat rocking gently on the waves lulled her to sleep in no time – clearing her mind of stressful decisions, and allowing her body time to heal.
*****
Anger consumed Rafe as he walked away. His face was stone cold, not showing a single emotion he was feeling to the outside world, but his insides were mangled.
He wanted her to be with him. He needed her to do it willingly.
Doubt flooded him for the first time, and the foreign emotion caused near panic to fill him. He didn’t like any of the weak emotions to penetrate his thick skin. He was too strong for weakness – he was too good for that.
Rafe turned down the hall and walked into his room, quietly shutting the door, not allowing his anger control over him. He wouldn’t slam the door; he wouldn’t smash his fists into walls. He’d have a drink and figure out what his next move was.
He would get what he wanted – always – it was just a matter of time.