"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