Beauty from Pain (16 page)

He brings his hands to my hips and navigates
me to the couch, but we don’t sit. He steers me to the arm until it
hits me across the top of my thighs. I hear the sound of his zipper
behind me and then the tearing of a foil wrapper.

A few seconds later, he pushes my
pants and panties to my knees.
Shit, I
don’t remember which panties I’m wearing. I hope they’re not some
of my old ones.

I feel his hand at my lower back and he pushes
me over the arm of the couch. He glides a hand up my spine to my
shoulders. I should be mortified at being bent over with my pants
to my knees, but I’m not, and the thought dissipates altogether
when he slides two fingers inside me. I rock back against his magic
hand because I can’t hold still. It feels too good.

“
You’re always so wet and eager.”
I love the things he says to me when we’re like this. I implore him
to say something else and he reads my mind. “Tell me what you
want.”

“
You.” I manage to whisper, but
I’m not as good at this as he is.

He takes his fingers out and I feel his hard
tip sliding up and down. “Tell me where you want me.”

“
Inside me.” It comes out a little
louder, but still barely more than a whisper.

“
When?” He’s still teasing me, but
uses a little more pressure.

“
Now,” I manage to say a little
louder.

“
I’m sorry. I can’t hear you,
Paige. When did you say you want me?” He’s taunting me.

“
Right now!” I scream as I push
back and force him inside me.

I hear him hiss through his teeth. “Then right
now you shall have me.”

I feel his hands on my hips and I hear him
groan as he sinks deep inside me with more force than I thought
possible. I call out from the shock of it. “You like it this way,
don’t you?”

I can’t lie. I love it. “Yes.” It’s all I can
manage with him pounding into me.

He slows his pace a little and I feel one of
his hands leave my hip to slide down my spine. “I love having you
this way.”

I’m like a cat bending to his touch. He holds
so much power over me … I wonder if he knows.

I spiral until he takes me to that place, the
one where I implode as he drives hard into me one last time. A few
moments later, I feel his kiss against my back. “Pack a bag. You’re
coming home with me. But don’t change. I want you just the way you
are.”

He doesn’t have to ask me twice.

18

Jack McLachlan

Paige is in her room packing when I hear the
lock jiggle. Ben Donavon comes through the door to find me in his
living room, sitting on the arm of his couch—the same one I just
bent Paige over—and I stifle my laughter. He’s not happy with my
presence and is about to question it when Paige comes out of her
bedroom.

He sees her bag and reads the situation for
what it is. She’s choosing to leave with me, not stay here with
him. “Going somewhere?”

“
Yeah, I’m staying with Lachlan
tonight.”

He’s pissed off and that makes me more eager
to get her away from him. “When should I tell Addison you’ll be
back?”

She looks to me for an answer, but I don’t
have one. I haven’t thought about a plan beyond tonight. “She’ll
call and let her know.”

He’s furious because this isn’t his plan. His
involved coming back to the apartment to have some alone time with
Paige. Too bad. The only one-on-one she’s getting tonight is in my
bed.

I put my arm around her and take her bag.
“Ready, baby?”

Paige glances at me and grins. “I think
so.”

As we walk out the door, I taunt him over my
shoulder. “Merry Christmas, Ben.”

He doesn’t say anything back. Sore
loser.

–––––

I see Paige’s gift by the door when we pull up. I
called and canceled the delivery to the apartment and instead had
it brought to the vineyard the moment my mum convinced me to spend
Christmas with my “girlfriend.”

My poor mum. She thinks she sent me here to
woo her potential daughter-in-law, not indulge in my latest lewd
act.

Paige sees the gift on the porch when we get
out of the car. “Check it out. Someone left a Christmas gift for
you by the door.”

I try not to grin. “Hmm, I wonder who would
have done that since all of the staff are still gone for the
holidays.”

I unlock the door and grab the gift before she
has time to investigate the name on the card. We go into the living
room and I put it down on the coffee table. “Want to go ahead and
take your bag to the bedroom?”

“
Sure.”

I watch her disappear down the hall, and it
makes me smile. She’s familiar with all of this—me, my house, the
things I want to do to her. She hasn’t been shocked or apprehensive
about anything so far. The others were uptight and stuffy, but
Paige is different. She’s so much better.

She comes back into the living room and sits
next to me on the couch. I pass her one of the glasses of wine I’ve
poured. “Thank you.”

She lifts it to her mouth and then makes a
guess at the type. “Merlot?”

“
Very good, my young
apprentice.”

She smiles, pleased with herself. “I have a
great master.”

“
Perhaps.” I take the wine from
her hand and put our glasses aside. I lift the large gift from the
coffee table and hand her the card. “I’m dying to see who this is
from. Read the card to me.”

She smiles as she takes it. “Merry Christmas
to Paige, from Lachlan.” Her smile fades when it registers. “You
got me a gift?”

“
I did.”

“
When did you have
time?”

“
When isn’t important.” I place
the box across her lap and I’m surprised by the joy I’m feeling.
I’ve gone from one extreme to the other today. I was discontent
when I woke this morning and thought about not being with her when
she opened this, but now I’m antsy to see her reaction. “Open
it.”

“
But I don’t have a gift for
you.”

I shrug. “Doesn’t matter. Open it
already.”

She tears the paper slowly. I can tell she’s
guarded, perhaps thinking of all the things the large box could
contain. Of the things running through her mind, I don’t think this
one she considers.

When she opens the box, she sees the case
adorned with one word: Martin. She knows what’s inside. I can’t
decipher what I see on her face. Is she not happy?

My other companions were ecstatic to get
gifts. Of course, I usually give them something lavish, like
jewelry. Maybe she was hoping for something along those lines.
Should I have given her diamond earrings instead?

She swallows hard and pulls the brown case
from the box. She places it across her lap and looks at me. She
seems sad, and I don’t know why. I wish I knew what she was
thinking.

She pushes the brass drawbolt latch up with
her thumb and opens the top of the case. She stares quietly at the
Martin D-45 she admired in the window of the music store before she
grazes her fingers over it. I’m no closer to knowing what’s going
through her mind. It’s frustrating and I begin to wonder if I’ve
done something wrong. Perhaps it isn’t the right guitar.

I can stand it no longer. “You have to tell me
what you’re thinking.”

She blinks several times and I see the tears
in her eyes. Shit. That wasn’t what I was going for at all. “I’m
thinking it’s beautiful but way too expensive and I can’t accept
it.”

“
Don’t think of how much it cost.
I bought it for you because I want you to have it. You’re keeping
it. Now, take it out and play something for me.”

She puts the case on the coffee table and
removes the guitar. She slips the strap over her head and hesitates
like she’s still thinking it over, but then strums it for the first
time. And it’s over. I know there’ll be no more talk of not
accepting my gift because she’s in love with it.

She begins strumming a song and nothing sounds
familiar about it, but I like it. “What song is this?”

“
Paperweight.” She strums a few
more chords and then begins singing. “Been up all night, staring at
you … wondering what’s on your mind. I’ve been this way with so
many before but … this feels like the first time.”

Two lines in and I’m completely lost in her.
Her voice is uninhibited and I love everything about her when she
sings—her song choice, her voice, her facial expressions, but
mostly the feeling I get. She’s special and destined for great
things when the right person in the music industry discovers
her.

When she finishes playing, she looks over at
me and smiles. “It’s perfect and I love it. It’s the best gift I’ve
ever been given. Thank you.”

“
You’re very welcome.”

She gets up and puts the guitar in
its case before she climbs onto the couch and straddles me. She
takes my face in her
small
,
delicate
hands. I hadn’t noticed
how
dainty
they
are until I saw them strumming the Martin. She’s watching my eyes.
“And thank you for coming back to me.”

I’m taken by surprise because her words sound
so intimate, like those that would be whispered between two people
in love. She’s very good at our little game. She makes this feel
real.

My first thought is to take her to the
bedroom, but then I remember that we are alone and decide I want
her right here in the living room. I lift her shirt over her head
and unfasten the back of her bra to free her perfect breasts. I
suck one of her rosy tips into my mouth and I feel her arch closer
as she drops her head back. I roll my tongue around the erect
pebble and then scrape my teeth over it.

“
Oh, Lachlan,” she quietly moans
as she grinds her pelvis against mine.

My sweet little American girl isn’t much of a
talker when we’re like this, but I’m going to work on her a little
at a time. “Tell me what you want me to do to you,
Paige.”

“
You know what I want you to
do.”

“
I might, but I can’t be sure, so
I need to hear you say it.”

Her face is red because she’s embarrassed to
tell me, but I’ll eventually have her so she isn’t afraid to ask me
to do anything. I rub my hands over her breasts. “Do you want me to
kiss you here?”

“
Yes.”

“
Then say it.”

She swallows hard. “Lachlan, I want you to
kiss my breasts.” It’s a soft whisper, but I let it count because
this is going to take some conditioning.

I take her other breast in my mouth and suck
it hard. I tug lightly on her nipple and it makes a popping sound
when the suction breaks.

She’s still wearing her bottoms so I lift her
from my lap and lie her down on the couch. “Now, what do you want
me to do next?”

“
Take off my pants and
panties.”

“
Yes, ma’am.” I grin at her as I
tug on the waistband of her pants and panties. She lifts her hips
and I slide them down for a second time today. I take them all the
way down and toss them onto the floor. “Next?”

She smiles and I think she is starting to
relax with our game. “Take off your clothes while I
watch.”

“
Anything you want. You only have
to ask.”

I unbutton my shirt and toss it casually over
the back of the couch. I take the two foil squares out of my pocket
and put them on the coffee table before I unfasten my daks and drop
them and my jocks to the floor. “Next?”

She’s licking her lips. “I want your mouth on
me.”

I grin at her vague request. “You have to tell
me where.”

She points at her piercing through her navel.
“Start here. Then, I want you to go down.”

“
Anything for you.” My American
girl is getting braver. This is going to be so much fun.

I kiss her jeweled piercing over her belly
button because she’s asked me to, but I know that’s not where she
really wants my mouth, so I begin working my way toward the real
prize. She relaxes her legs as I go lower, but I stop just before I
get to that spot. “Is this low enough?”

“
No.”

“
Tell me when I get to where you
want me.”

I start again and I hear her direct me. “Go
down a little more.”

I know when I hit the spot because she arches
her back in response. “Yes. Right there. Don’t stop.”

I lick her center and then use my tongue to
circle the stiff nub, but it’s when I slide my fingers inside her
below my tongue that she begins to come apart. I feel her hand grab
my hair as she squeals out. “Don’t stop doing that,
Lachlan.”

When she’s finished coming, I feel her relax
and she lets go of my hair. At this rate, I could be snatched bald
by the end of our time together.

I reach for the condom on the table and tear
into it. She sits up on the couch and watches me roll it on. When I
finish, I crawl up her body and search her face. “Now, tell me what
you want me to do to you.”