Tears of Tess (47 page)

He dropped his
head, suddenly nuzzling my neck. Hiding his thoughts and feeling in my blonde
curls. “You’re asking for an impossibility. You’re asking me to love you.”

My heart squeezed
at the pain in his voice. Eyes glowed with agony as he pulled away. “I can’t. I
don’t know how. The things I did to you were tame to what I really want. I
can’t stop it. I can’t control it.” He pushed me away, hands shoving deep into
his pockets. Walking away, he barricaded further connection. “Who wants to hurt
someone so much if they’re supposed to love them? Who wants to see them writhe in
agony and completely submit? No one sane. I’m fucked up
, esclave
. I
can’t give you what you want.”

Esclave.

My body shuddered.
Q’s face tightened with need, realizing what he said.

“Did you call
any other girl
esclave?
” I noticed he called the girl in the lounge Sephena—a
name, not a title.

Eyes glinted,
shaking his head.  

I stepped
forward, trapping him by the fireplace. “Whatever you think of yourself, you
do
care. You gave me the sketchpad. You gave me what I needed after I was raped.
You’re a good person, Q. A saviour to so many women. I want to make you happy.”

Q sucked in a
heavy breath, watching with unreadable eyes as I reached up, cupping his
throat. He stood taller as I squeezed, flaring with power at the thought he let
me dominate. I said what I came to say, I needed to hear his proclamation to be
satisfied.

Pressing against
his larynx, I whispered, “Did it hurt you, sending me away?”

When he didn’t
answer, I leaned in, tightening my fingers. He swallowed beneath my touch,
Adam’s apple bobbing with masculinity.

He glared, waging
an internal war. I knew he wanted to shrug me off—and he could—there was
nothing I could do to stop him, but he let himself be ruled, just for a moment.
Finally, something unlocked in his eyes; heart-shattering passion blazed. He
nodded. “Yes.”

I could barely
breathe. “Yes, you hurt?”

He rolled his shoulders,
breaking my hold on him. He towered over me, gathering shadows from the room,
crackling with energy. “Yes, I fucking hurt. I haven’t slept well in weeks. I
can’t go in my bedroom because I get so hard. I fucking come twice a day
remembering how you writhed beneath the whip. How your skin flushed and crested
with red.” He stopped, breathing hard. His body beseeched mine and I struggled
to stay frozen.

Dragging hands
over his head, he forced himself to go on as if the confession was the hardest
thing he ever had to do. “You’re everything I’ve been looking for and you scare
me shitless. You want me to hurt you! You’re fucking crazy for taunting me that
way.” In cobra-strike quickness, he kissed me hard. “I’m terrified I’ll end up
killing you.”  

We locked eyes,
overcome with truth. My blood thrilled at the thought of his deep desires.

With shaky hands,
I unbuttoned his shirt, pushing it aside under his blazer. Every button, he
breathed harder, until his chest strained and panted. My own breath matched
his.

“Stop it, Tess.”

I swallowed. “You
won’t kill me. You wouldn’t go that far.” I traced inked sparrows on his skin,
following ribs, and hard planes of delectable muscle. “I know you deplore what
happened to the women you save. You won’t turn me into a broken shadow of
myself. Your ferocity feeds me.” I ducked to nip his nipple, teeth aching to
draw blood. “Whatever you give, I can take… as long as I know how you feel.”

My fingers etched
brambles and barbwire going around his side, pulling him into me. Q flatly
refused to come. Back muscles tensed as he denied my request.

I groaned,
loving his strength. His control. But I wanted him closer. Glaring, I pressed
against him from toes to chest.

 Q ground his
teeth, eyes growing heavy with lust. He stood perfectly still, not uttering a
word. His power, his rage, filled the library, threatening.

“Tell me…” I murmured.
“Speak to me…”

Q sucked in
another shuddering breath as I stood on tiptoes, licking his bottom lip.

He softened. The
ridges of muscle at the base of his back trembled, leaning into me. “I will
never get enough,” he whispered.
“C'était la plus grosse erreur de ma vie à
te renvoyer à lui.”
It was the biggest mistake of my life sending you away.

Effervescent
happiness. Complete sublime joy.

“You’re willing
to keep me? To hell with the police?” I licked the seam of his lips, capturing
his ragged sigh.

“There was no
deal with the police. They congratulated me on saving such a strong slave.”

Time froze.
What?

I pulled away,
crying out as Q snapped, “You can’t tease and expect to get away without
paying.”

Arms tightened
around me, plucking me from the floor as if I weighed nothing. Q carried me to
the desk, swiping the contents off in one swift move. Pens clattered, papers
fluttered, and a laptop smashed to the floor.

Practically
throwing me on top, he pressed hips violently against mine.

Heat smoked and
words disintegrated to cinders, but I clung to lucidity.

I arched,
clawing his forearms. “Stop… what do you mean?” My body swept control away, but
I needed to understand. What the
hell
did he mean?

Q
groaned, thrusting his hard cock. I automatically wrapped legs around him,
thrilling, filling with lava and need.

“The
police know what I do. Once the girls are…better… they find their loved ones
and return them.” His eyes snapped closed as he thrust again, body shuddering
with desire. He chuckled darkly, bowing over me. “They’ve been meddling in my
love life since I was sixteen. They thought you were different. Hinting that
I’d touched you, rather than helped you.” Eyes burned me with hot jade. “It
freaked me the fuck out. They saw the truth and I knew I had to get rid of you
before I killed you, or worse… turned you into what other sick masters do to
their slaves.”

He
stopped thrusting, the sudden silence chilling me.

“Don’t
you see? I cared too much to do what I wanted. I made a promise. I won’t ever break
that vow again.”

My
world shifted, turned from round to flat. Black and white became colour, night
became day.  

Finally.

The
puzzle of Q Mercer made sense; I fitted the final piece. I wanted to hug and
bite and slap and fuck him to death. He gave me up because he cared for me. Even
though he swore he never could.  

I
laughed. Men. Glorious stupid, egotistical men.

My
man.

Mine.

He
stared deep into my eyes, not moving apart from a small pulse of his hips,
barely detectable. I rocked, moaning as the seam of his fly teased through my
dress.

“Break
your promise. Now. With me.”

Q
shook his head, even as hips pressed harder. “I can’t ever let myself free.”

He
groaned as I shot up and kissed him. Wrapping arms around his neck, I threw my
entire being into the kiss.

He
fought for a millisecond, before kissing me back, plunging tongue deep and violent,
taking possession completely. Brain muddled, breathing caught, and I no longer
thought. I only felt.

I
nipped at his lip, fighting his tongue with mine. We fought our wordless
battle, hearts racing to the same beat.

He
broke the kiss. Instead of lust and unbridled need, he was… sad, remote.

I
spread my legs further. No way would I let him over think this. He hissed as I
arched my back, purring against his rigidness.  “I need you—I need you to hurt
me.”

Something
dark thickened the air, and I hid my smile. Quincy was losing to Q. Black
desires slowly tearing at the cage he locked himself in.
I’m winning
.

“You
need me? Or you want me?” he growled, mouth pursed as he thrust hard.

I
trembled and writhed, taunting, dangling the wanton little slave in front of a
diabolical master. I panted, “Is there a difference?”

In
my mind, there wasn’t. Both were important. Life and death important with how
my body heated and summoned for release.

He
grabbed my nipple through the silkiness of the dress, twisting, dragging
another cry from my throat.  

“Do
you need me as a man, or as your master?” he bit the words into pieces, a vein
on his neck stood out as he unzipped his pants, pulling his straining erection
free. “Is this what you’re begging for,
esclave
?”

I
nodded, unable to look away from his huge, delicious hard cock. “Yes. God,
yes.”

Fingers
bunched my dress up my thighs, and he pushed aside my knickers. His finger disappeared
inside with no gentle foreplay, but I was drenched for him. I bowed around his
touch, whimpering with gratitude. So long. So, so long since I felt such
rhapsody.

He
smeared wetness over my clit. My legs bound tighter, squirming away from the
sharp edged pleasure. “Q… Master.”

Never
breaking eye contact, he curled fingers around my bird tattooed wrist, locking
me in his dominance. His touch oozed sexual prowess, bending my will with
nothing more than pressure.

“Do
you promise to tell me if I go too far? Do you promise you’ll never let me take
away your spirit, your fight, your strength? You promise you’ll always stay
strong.” His finger speared deep, stroking my g-spot.

My
mind shot blank. He wanted me to promise? Fine. I could promise. I came here to
give him everything. If he needed it in blood, I would sign. I would autograph
any contract, if it meant Q gave me himself entirely.  

His
finger thrust, pressing incredibly deeper, dragging dark needs to the surface;
I clenched, hungry, desperate for more. “Answer me,
esclave,
” he rasped.

I
looked deep into his eyes, imprisoning both of us. Irises were dark and
smitten, lids heavy with lust. “I vow to fight you to the death before I let
you break me.”

Q
withdrew his fingers, reaching over my head for a letter opener. The sharp
glint of the blade sent my heart winging wild.

“I’m
a businessman, Tess. I don’t take promises lightly.”

I
scooted up, pushing my dress to cover myself. My body vibrated for his touch,
but I saw how important this was to him. My chest ached. Q was going to agree
to keep me. To allow me to share his world. I waited in thick anticipation. I
would do anything to put his mind at rest.

“You’re
asking me to treat you like a slave, but also share my life with you?” His face
was closed off, becoming perfectly Q again. “To allow me to control you, but
also be an equal?”

I
nodded. “Exactly.”

Eyes
flashed and his fingers tightened around the letter opener. “I almost came to
steal you back, you know.”

My
heart kicked into a higher gear; I fought the soft smile. “You did? Why?”

He
snorted, smiling wryly. “You know why. It’s been complete and utter hell.
J'aitais 
malheureux sans toi.”
I’ve been miserable without you.  Sighing heavily, he
added, “The other girl, Sephena, arrived from some sadistic prick in Tehran a
week after you left. All I could think about was you. You bowled through my
front door, spitting, and so proud.”

He
cupped my jaw with angry fingers. “She was carried in by Franco because she
passed out from fear of a new master, completely different to your ferocity.”

He
bowed his head, glaring at the blade in his hand. Determination and acceptance
settled in his gaze. “You must never
ever
let me break you so
completely. I need your fire, your temper. Your unbreakable will.”

I
slid off the desk, standing on crinkled paperwork, no doubt for another
building merger. “I’ve already given you my promise, and you didn’t have to
steal me. I returned.”

He
swallowed, and his face cleared from confusion and misplaced desires. Vivid
excitement gleamed. He stood taller, light tempering his darkness as finally he
understood what I offered. Finally understood I was powerful enough to stand up
to the beast he lived with and collar it. I would let it hurt me, but never
ruin.  

“I’ll
try and give you what you want in return for two things.” He tugged a blonde
strand, bringing me forward to plant a harsh kiss on my lips.

“You
only have to ask.”

He
murmured against my mouth, “I want you to work for me. I know you finished your
exams. You’re qualified.”

I
looked up, mouth gaping open. Two things bowled me over. One, he trusted me to
work in his multi-billion dollar company, and two: he’d spied on me. My soul
flew. He hadn’t let me go after all.
I’m happy he stalked and spied
.
Damn right, I was. Ecstatically happy.

“And
the other?”

“Two
others actually.” He straightened, bracing himself. His face thundered with temper,
rolling with heavy clouds. “If you
ever
sleep with another man again, I
swear to God, I won’t be responsible for what I do. You went home to that boy
Brax. You shared his bed for a month. That was the worst kind of torture, and I
refuse to do it again.” He breathed hard, shaking his head, eyes haunted.