"Grace," I shout, already stripping off my shirt. Shoes are kicked off and I'm diving into the water, fear icing my veins. Adrenaline propels me toward her. I don't hesitate to wrap an arm around her middle and kick for the surface, already anticipating mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.Why didn't I ask her if she could swim? I did this, by trying to drive home how irredeemable I am. She had to jump into the fucking water just to get away from me.We reach the edge of the pool and I place her carefully on the side, climbing out after her, kneeling down on the cold stone, dizzy with worry. "Dammit, Grace." With unsteady hands, I tilt her head back, getting ready to blow breath into her lungs. "I'm sorry. Don't do this to me."She peeks one eye open and smiles, whispering so low I almost can't hear her over the pounding of my pulse. "Uh oh." Pool water rolls down her temples. "Caught you being a good man again."Shock sweeps me. Followed by relief like I've never known.Then, there's respec
I pull the belt tighter around the fluffy, cream-colored robe and creep down the seemingly endless hallway. There really is no reason to creep, but the ceilings are so high, the art on the walls looks so expensive and it's eerily quiet. I feel as though I'm in a library or a museum, so I try not to make a sound, my purpose made easier by the thick rugs arranged on the hallway floor.Where am I going? I have no idea—and I might even be lost. After William left the pool room, I followed a few moments later and promptly lost my way in the labyrinth William calls home. Who needs this many rooms? Or bathrooms, for that matter? Every one is pristine and decorated expensively, just waiting for someone to arrive and enjoy. No one ever will, however, because the man who owns this house is so damaged on the inside, he can only drive people away.When William unzipped his pants in front of me, I could see his intentions clear as day. God help me, knowing he was trying to scare me off only made m
Awareness prickles along my skin, especially when his open mouth drags up behind my ear, exploiting that sensitive patch of skin. "Why did you come in here?""I tried not to." He sounds frustrated. "But this...I don't know, this burning in my stomach won't go away. It has been there since what happened downstairs. I think it's guilt." It's obvious the admission was painful. "I don't know what to do about it."Why is his honesty making my knees weak? "You could apologize.""I never apologize." His chest heaves twice against my back. "But if I did want to apologize, what would be the appropriate way to go about it?""You'd say, 'I'm sorry, Grace'."His scoff blows my hair forward. "Words? Words don't mean shit.""They do to me." He makes a sound of disagreement and I start to pull away, but his hand creeps inside my robe, smoothing across my belly, squeezing my hip. That touch leaves a trail of lava in its wake, my core clenching hotly between my legs. "What..." I breathe, struggling to
This house feels different with her inside of it.I've never wanted to be around another person...at all.Let alone so fucking badly. She's like a steady heartbeat in the middle of a gale, the purity of it, the reassurance of her, drawing me closer. Closer.I thought telling her about my past might make her understand why I'm such a bastard—and why I'll continue to be one. But she clammed up when I tried to kiss her. Have I ruined anything that might happen between us? If I could turn back the clock an hour and change my actions, I would. I'd allow the perfect exploration of her mouth on my cock without turning it into something forceful.Better yet, I'd go down on her instead.My dick is already hard from being close to Grace, but it swells painfully when I think of getting my tongue between her thighs. Now that will be an effective apology. Far better than words. But first, I have another impulse that is entirely unlike me. I want to...be sensitive with this girl. Whatever the hell
"Once I lick this, angel, I'm the only one who licks it." I pin her knees open wide. "Is that understood?""Yes, sir," she whimpers.My groan is loud enough to wake the dead. I'm called sir all day long by my staff and yet when Grace does it, I almost come in my pants, my mouth latching eagerly onto her pussy, sucking her smooth flesh, inhaling the pure femininity until I can taste her in the back of my throat. I don't make her wait for that first stroke of my tongue up the split of her sex, stopping at her clit and applying pressure, pressure, before teasing it in quick rubs."Oh!" Her thighs jerk, trying to close around my head, but I keep them open. I keep them wide. Because I'm not leaving an inch untouched. This is a claiming. "Al-Al-William. What is...oh, please, please. Keep going."Like I could remove my tongue from this paradise?My cock wants in. It throbs so hard, I'm fucking dizzy, humping the couch cushions like an animal in heat. I remove my hand from where it has been k
I wake with a start in an unfamiliar place.The last thing I remember last night is losing consciousness on the couch in William's library. There's a vague memory of being carried up a staircase, but that's where my recollection ends. Slowly, I peek an eye open and look around, my eyes bugging out at the sight that greets me.First of all, I'm in a man's room. There's no doubt about that.Everything is decorated in deep, chocolate leather and hunter green hues. I'm in the center of a gigantic bed complete with the softest sheets I've ever felt on my skin—a far cry from the scratchy ones I'm used to. Light peeks in from around heavy curtains, an antique fan turns lazily on the ceiling. This is luxury.I also suspect this is William's room. Does that mean...he slept beside me?My skin flushes at the possibility. Not to mention when I think of what happened last night. I'm not a virgin anymore. Far from it. I'm not sure it's possible for a woman to have one's virginity taken so...thoroug
There is something happening inside my chest. It's a thawing sensation. The cold is melting away—and it happens a little more every time I look at Grace.I guide her up the steps into my jet, glaring at the man fueling the plane for staring at her legs a second too long. Possessiveness sinks into me like fucking claws and I almost second-guess my decision to take her outside of my home. Maybe I should confine her to my bedroom for at least a month until she's used to being mine and mine alone. Until she is so addicted to my cock that she gets wet every time she hears my footsteps approaching.Those would be the actions of a bad man, though.I am a bad man. But somewhere in the middle of the night, while watching her sleep so peacefully, I didn't want to be one anymore.At least, not to Grace. Fuck everyone else.She stumbles to a stop in front of me, twisting the hem of her dress in her hands. I come up beside her and look over, finding her mouth in an O shape. "Are we the only ones w
Ignoring my throbbing dick, I sit back and bring Grace with me, positioning her in my lap and rocking her back and forth. "It's going to be okay, baby. I promise. This plane is safe. You are safe. I'm not going to let a thing happen to you. Ever." She curls into me, hiding her face in my throat and oh my God, it feels like my chest has been ripped wide open. Is this normal? "Grace, please. You will stop being scared immediately," I say, sounding winded.She lifts her head, some of her fear clearing. In fact, she giggles a little and the churning in my middle eases slightly. "You can't just order me to stop feeling something. You know that, right?""Can I order you to start feeling something?""Like what?" she asks."Like happiness. With me. Now.""Just because I'm scared in this moment doesn't mean I'm not happy overall."I process that, surprised to find it has a calming effect in my chest. Perhaps if I add to her happiness, it will eclipse the fear completely. "What else can I do to
Two years later…“Which pajamas do you want?” I hold up the polka dots and the Star Wars and my daughter Violet giggles as she grabs for Darth Vader. “That’s my girl.” I smile as I brush through her wet curls and get her ready for bed.“Sam wasn’t coming out until he was a whole prune,” our nanny Theresa jokes, and Sam giggles in her arms.When Eris and I had the twins, we were more than overwhelmed. And while the family was always here to help at a moment's notice, we’ve all got little ones at the same time so it’s not exactly easy for any of us. Living together in our own little compound has been a blessing, but having Theresa live with us has made all the difference.Eris and I don’t have parents or grandparents to show us what to do or to step in, so after we brought the twins home from the hospital we were lost. One day we were in the grocery store together staring at the formula while the twins were screaming, and Theresa walked by. She didn’t say anything to us, but as soon as
“You look so beautiful!” Rosy squeals.She’s had the time of her life planning this wedding. It’s not a big wedding, but that didn't stop her from managing everything down to the smallest detail. I actually had fun doing it with her, which was more than I expected. I guess being in love has changed my perspective.“The dress is beautiful.”“It is, but you’re the one making it breathtaking. Where did you get your ass?” she gushes as I look over my shoulder.“One of the good things my birth parents gave me, I guess.” I shrug.“And your hips! You really fill out that dress, and Justin is going to be all over you.”I let out a laugh. “He’s always all over me.”“True.”She’s right though. I do look damn good in this dress, and I have no doubt Justin is going to end up ripping it off of me. My soon-to-be husband is more than a little possessive, yet somehow he manages to keep it under control at work. It’s one of the many things I love about him because he has no problem with me technically
I take her off my lap and place her on the bed beside me as I stand up. We’re both still completely naked, and although I came, I’m still just as hard as when I first walked in here.“Justin?” Her voice is soft as I walk to the bedroom door, determination straightening my back.“Stay,” I say to her over my shoulder as I go into the living room and get what I need. When I come back, she’s still sitting in the same spot, but she’s worrying her bottom lip, and she looks like she’s on the verge of tears.“I know this is shocking, but it’s not like we planned it,” she says, her voice close to breaking.I walk over to the side of the bed and kneel down next to it as I place the small velvet box between us. “I know that you may not be ready for this, but I came here today to put this on your finger.”“Oh my god,” she whispers as she brings her hands up to her mouth.“You’re going to marry me, Eris.” Her eyes sharpen, and she doesn’t like me ordering her, but I don’t care. “You are mine.” I p
My mind is trying to play catch up with everything he said. I don’t know if I want to throw myself at him or tell him I need time to digest this. I am still reeling with the fact that I’m pregnant, but at least I know he’s not here because of that. He really does want me, and if anyone can understand making sacrifices and tough choices for the people they love, it’s me. But words of love haven’t come out of his mouth even though his actions show it. Right now I need him, and I can’t deny that there’s more still between us.“Hard.” The one word slips past my lips, and that’s all it takes before Justin is on me.He lifts me off my feet, and his mouth crashes down on mine. I close my eyes and soak up the feeling of him pressed against me. It’s been too long, and all my emotions come crashing down at once. My heart pounds as we cling to each other, and I think maybe part of me thought I’d never kiss him again.“Kiss me back, princess.”I dig my fingers into his shoulders and open my mouth
Over the past couple of years, my business has taken me all over the globe and away from some of my favorite parts about my work. Being in the lab and working with my hands to figure out problems, streamline production, and see the success being built in front of me gives me an internal reward that being in a boardroom never did.So I should be happy that the past month I’ve thrown myself into the work, but instead I’ve been fucking miserable.As soon as Eris left me standing in her hotel room, I saw every mistake I’d made up to that point. When I went after her, it was too late. She’d left everything behind and chartered a plane off the island before even Mary knew about it.It took hours for me to get another one to follow after her, but as soon as my feet hit the ground, she was already in the air again. I didn’t know where she'd gone, and it was like she fell off the face of the earth.Topher wouldn’t give me anything, but he also didn’t fire me or tell me to fuck off. Instead, he
A month. That’s how long it’s been since I’ve set eyes on Justin. I thought the pain would get easier over time, but it hasn't, and I think it’s getting worse. I still wake in the night reaching for him, and when I do sleep, I dream about the life I thought we might have together.He used me.In all the struggles I’ve had in my life, I don’t recall that being one I had to suffer. Until him. I’d opened my heart and everything to him, and I’d never done that with anyone before. He ruined what could have been between us, and I haven't even begun to pick up the pieces yet. I’m not sure I can because he took some of me with him, and I’ll never get it back.“What are you doing?” Topher asks, jerking me out of my thoughts. I’m standing in front of his door about to knock, or at least the plan had been to knock. I knew if I didn't come to him he’d be tracking me down to my place the second he knew I was back in town.“I’m sorry.” My nose burns and tears begin to build.“Don’t fucking apologiz
The last of the storm finally passed, and it’s been two days of pure paradise. Not only did this time on the island bring forth some great ideas on how the departments can operate more efficiently, but I’ve spent every moment I could with Eris, buried inside of her.I’ve fucked her in every available storage closet in this hotel and even once on a table in the ballroom. I’ve never had this much sex before and never with the same person, and god, this is so different. It’s more than just the act of getting off, there’s a connection that’s bonding us every time we’re together. It’s dirty and hot, but it’s also so much deeper. If I really look closely at what I’m feeling, I’m afraid it will scare her off. How can someone fall in love after only a few days?The storm gave us an excuse to sneak away and be alone, but as the sun came out, I realized I didn’t want to hide any part of how I feel about Eris.Understandably she didn’t want to flaunt it at a work retreat, and I respected that. B
“Justin!” I gasp his name as he enters me, and I close my eyes.His words should scare me, and I should be pushing him away, but all I do is hold him closer. My arms and legs wrap around him instinctively, and I never want him to leave. I’ve never really thought about having a baby because I didn’t think it was something I’d have the chance to do. But from what he’s saying, he’s making it clear how far he wants to take us. This isn't some fling.“Fuck, you feel too good.” He lets out a loud groan as he steels himself.His cock is buried deep inside of me, and I’m thankful for the cover of darkness. The tears in my eyes aren't because of how far he has me stretched or the burn I feel, but because I’ve never felt so close to another person before.Justin is a big man, and he’s even bigger between his legs. But in this moment, I feel connected to him with more than just our bodies. This is different, and he makes me experience emotions I’ve never felt before. It is overwhelming, but god,
With one aggressive tug, her shorts are off, and her panties are in shreds nearby. I don’t give her time to catch her breath as I pin her to the wall and throw her legs over my shoulders. Her hands grip my hair, and she cries out as I bury my face in the soft curve of her thighs and pussy. She smells like coconut oil and tastes like sunshine. I moan as my tongue divides her lips and wiggles across her clit. My hands dig into her ass and squeeze the thick flesh as I pull her closer to my face.“Justin, oh shit, I can’t, oh shit, oh shit.”In answer, I growl and suck so the sensation is more intense. She responds by opening her legs and rocking her hips closer to my face. I’m smothered in her juices, and I decide I don’t want air in my lungs ever again because I want to die with my face buried in her cunt.Her legs shake and just when she’s begging me to keep going, I slip a thumb in her pussy. She cries out and that’s when I taste her sweet release laced with her own secret sunshine.W