Branded Sanctuary (44 page)

“I want to do this again later tonight,” she whispered. “At home, with no clothes on either of us, just bare skin to bare skin. I want to fall asleep with you inside me, Brendan.”

He held her gaze, setting fire to her body with slow movements. Her clit tightened against the rub of his body, telling her that she would be climaxing in his arms in a matter of minutes. “We can do that. I‟d like that.” His voice fell to that sexy murmur that made her even hotter. “Taking care of the woman I love, who belongs to me as much as I belong to her, is what matters most to me.”

“Good to know,” she managed. “And as much as I like having my own personal groomsman in a London alleyway to ravish, after this…I want to go home.” She bit down on a groan, a near whimper, and exulted in the fire that flared in his gaze. His cock was as hard as if he hadn‟t just come, and she knew she‟d bring him to climax inside her again. She wouldn‟t go over alone. “You asked me to move in with you, Brendan. I don‟t want that.”

Before he could wonder, she added, on a gasp, “What I want is for you to move in with me. I want you to move…your bed there…” Oh Goddess. “I want to always remember the first night. When you laid on that ocean-like spread of yours and put your hands on yourself, bringing yourself to climax for me.”

“Bring yourself to climax for me now.” His voice was rough, urgent, and his hips started moving faster, his hands gripping her body. “Let me come inside you.”

“Now,” she agreed, her breath catching in her throat. “Let me feel you.” It was fire, sweeping from that joining point, melting their bodies together, making them twist and arch, struggle and move in a dance of inches, that took them far out into a part of the universe carved just for them. He swallowed her scream in his mouth, kissed her with all the need and ownership that she gave right back to him, telling him that whatever else happened here, whatever journey they traveled, she knew she wanted this to be forever. She believed in forever. Thanks to Brendan.

When their carousel at last eased to a stop, their bodies trembling, slick, his arms were banded tight around her. As her fingers curled into his chest, he pressed his forehead to hers.

“I‟ll move in with you. I‟ll bring my bed. I‟ll do and be whatever you want, Chloe.

Always.”

She pressed her hands to his temples, letting more tears come, ease them both.

“Anything that makes us both happy,” she said. “That‟s all I could ever want.”

* * * * *

They did resolve to go to his home that night, since the hour was late. They slept on his bed there, with plans to move it the next day. He made love to her as she‟d requested, his body stretched out on hers, breast to chest, hip to hip, legs and feet tangling. As his body moved inside her, slow and easy, as if they were on the ocean in truth, they came to a crest together. His hands framed her face as they both reached the pinnacle, and then they held each other close, content to say nothing, be nothing in the darkness but everything to one another. It was then she remembered something else Marguerite had told her.

“What if I have days I want him to just hold me, make love to me without permission and
the D/s thing?”

Marguerite had run a reassuring touch down her arm.
“Chloe, we all have our needs,
but there are no rules when it comes to love. I have no doubt that whatever you each need, you’ll
be that for each other. Because whatever God or Goddess is, love is Their greatest gift. Nothing
gives Them more joy than to see it embraced, with every ounce of our souls.”
Holding him close, Chloe didn‟t doubt it in the slightest. No darkness could take it away from them.

Chloe considered the swimming pool, her gaze wandering from the largest part, where there were lap lanes marked off for team swimmers and people using their Y

membership to do their daily exercise regimen, over to the square shaped “deep end”, featuring two diving boards. One was about three feet above the pool. The other appeared much, much higher.

She‟d just discarded her cover-up. It was a warmish late fall day, but it wasn‟t warm enough to completely convince her of the wisdom of jumping into an outdoor pool. A very warm male hand touched her bare back then, sliding around her waist to her hip and curving with relaxed intimacy there. His fingertips teased the side bow of the skimpy gold bikini, giving a discreet little tug.

“Hey.” She shot a narrow look up at him. “Don‟t even think about it.” Brendan gave her an easy smile. “Just making sure it was secure before you jumped in.”

“Yeah, right. You‟re always thinking of me.” She gave him a once over, though, arching a brow. He wore pasted-like-skin shorts that he said cut down on his draft, helped him move faster through the water. She had no objection, since it outlined his ass in a way that reminded her vividly of how she‟d dug her fingers into the hard muscle of it only a few hours before. They‟d lain in their bed and he‟d been sunk inside her to the hilt, thrusting hard enough to rock the headboard against her wall, until she came to a screaming, over-the-top climax.

But it never seemed to be enough. She was looking forward to taking full advantage of her first swimming lesson to curl her arms and legs around him, rub herself against the nest of cock and testicles held so snugly under the suit. She‟d get him hard enough he‟d be embarrassed to step out of the pool.

His finger dipped to her throat, followed her neck to the joining point of her collar bone, down to the ample cleavage formed by the hug of the bikini top. He lingered there, a light caress of the upper curve. “You know, when you were looking at me, your nipples got tighter,” he murmured. “You were thinking about what we were doing a little while ago, weren‟t you?”

“You know I was.” She indulged her desire to lean into him, thread her fingers through his loose hair, though he had a swimmer‟s cap in hand he apparently intended to put on if he did laps. She preferred the idea of his hair wet and slicked back against his skull, the ends brushing his shoulders, and thought about making him leave it off.

His hands had settled on her hips, thumbs over hip bones, long, clever fingers tracing the elastic band of her swimsuit bottoms in the back, making those sensitive nerves ripple in response. She took a breath before she lost her focus and just jumped him.

“I‟m going to go off the high dive.”

He blinked. “We haven‟t even gotten into the water yet.”

“I know that.”

“I was going to teach you to swim.”

She nodded, moved away from him, headed for the board. “That‟s the plan.”

“Chloe, you‟re going to jump off the board into twelve feet of water. You‟re shorter than that. Much.”

“I know. I was reading this article last night that said people tend to drown themselves and others when they panic. If they believe they‟re completely safe, they‟re far more likely to survive. Probably because they‟re working with their rescuer, instead of trying to drown him.”

“I‟m not going to ask why you were reading articles about drowning the night before your first swimming lesson.”

“Best not.” She‟d reached the ladder, but when she put her hand on it, his clamped over hers, holding her to the concrete decking. Looking up into his face, her heart wrenched at the concern and amused frustration in his features. She needed to work on his sense of humor, but other than that, she thought he was as close to perfect as any girl could want. Any woman. Any wife.

Wow. She‟d never had that thought before. She wondered what he would think about it, but from his frown, she realized it might be too much of a segue. His brain might explode, and she liked it inside his head.

“I don‟t think this is a good idea,” he said.

“There‟s no danger, as long as someone‟s around to help me get to the side, right?

So, unless you‟re going to disappear in the next two minutes, I assume I‟ll have your help.”

“What about that pecan pancake breakfast someone made me? I might get a debilitating cramp and be helpless to assist.”

“My cooking never gives anyone cramps,” she said loftily. Latching onto his neck, she gave a little hop, wrapping her legs around his waist as he caught her in reflex, bracing her between him and the ladder. His hands felt good on her bare flesh, and his breath had the sweet, lingering scent of her pancakes, as well as something else. She leaned in, teasing his mouth with hers, her tongue dipping in to slide along his. “You taste like me and pecan pancakes,” she whispered.

“I know. It makes me want to eat you both all over again.” His hands tightened.

“Chloe, I won‟t let you get hurt.”

“I know that. That‟s why I‟m going to try a back somersault with a half twist.” At his expression, she burst out laughing. “I‟m kidding. I‟m just going to jump off, feet first. I‟ll be fine. You‟ll be there. Right?”

He cupped her skull in both hands, gave her a look of tender exasperation. “You know that men with black hair have a tendency to prematurely gray, particularly when they‟re under stress?

“I think you‟d look really sexy with silver in your hair. In fact, we could try it out, dye one lock. You‟d look like one of those superheroes. Like Ioan Griffud in the
Fantastic Four.
” Giving him a cheeky grin, she twisted her upper body to take hold of the ladder rung just above her. Agile as a monkey, she loosened the hold of her legs to put her feet on a rung below it. His hands guided her, but held on one extra second.

“Remember to jump out as far as you can,” he said. “You want to clear the board.

And nothing fancy. Just a straight out, feet-first jump. Don‟t bounce on the board first.”

“Got it, sir.” Knowing how he reacted to the undercurrents in such an address, she was amused to see it startle him. “Who knows? Maybe I‟ll hit the water so fast this tiny bikini will be ripped right off.”

“You think I‟d set aside your wellbeing in favor of seeing a little extra skin?”

“Well, you‟re male. It‟s biological. I wouldn‟t hold it against you.” She started up, but was brought up short by a healthy, stinging slap on her left ass cheek that made nerve endings ricochet response right through her pussy and arrow up through her belly. She snapped her head around. “
Hey
, I didn‟t think you knew how to do that kind of thing.”

“I know how to do it pretty well,” he remarked, leaning on the ladder and giving her a heated once up and down. “When the moment calls for it. When you call for it.”

“I think I might be insulted, or really turned-on. I‟ll let you know.” Now she hesitated, her bravery faltering over one key point. “This pool
is
heated, right?”

“Eighty-three degrees.” He slid his knuckles along her calf. “Chloe. I love you.” She drew in a breath, her fingers fluttering out to touch his face. He caught her wrist, turned his mouth into her palm. “Brendan.”

Before she could say anything else in response, he put her hand back on the ladder‟s side, closed it there firmly. “Two hands at all times,” he said. “And be careful, the rungs can be slippery. I‟ll be here to catch you.”

“I know you will.” He stayed beneath her as she ascended. When she made it to the top, he moved to the side, where he could see her. He glanced up at her with a half smile, arms crossed over his bare chest. He was beautiful, there was no denying that, but she realized he‟d stolen her heart because of what was inside him. He could look like the most average man alive, even unattractive, and that heart would have called to her. She was sure of it.

“I love you too,” she murmured. “Enough to marry and keep you forever. Goddess, I don‟t believe it.”

When she perused her surroundings, she discovered that, as high as it looked off to the side, it was higher when one was actually on it. Maybe she was a bit crazy.

But when she walked to the end, she saw him still there. Standing on the edge, ready to dive in, come down to the bottom and help guide her up. To fortify herself for the jump, she imagined herself as a brave heroine who was throwing herself off the side of a pirate ship to save herself from being debauched. She didn‟t have to worry, because from the depths of the sea, strong arms would come around her, and a pair of hazel eyes, the green like trace colors of an ocean indeed, would meet hers. A merman, there to take her to safety, to give her breath from his body so she could see all the magic of his world, and never fear being alone and afraid again. Never doubt that magic would always exist in the world, particularly if one knew how to open the window, let the light in, and have the courage to look for it.

Looking down at her toes gripping the end of the board, any trepidation she had about heights vanished. Taking a breath, she jumped outward.

She had a brief impression of his face, that flash of a smile as he dove, already marking where she would land. As she plummeted, bubbles streamed above her and she saw him coming toward her, smooth kicks and twists of his body like a merman in truth.

She wasn‟t afraid. Not the slightest, even knowing she didn‟t know how to swim.

She put her arms out to her sides, experiencing the buoyancy of her body, and knew it was natural, being in the water like this. Something she didn‟t have to fear. This feeling was a glimmer of herself, the self she‟d been before, only stronger now. She‟d been getting those glimmers a lot more now, as if diamonds were starting to sparkle through the cracks that bad experiences had formed, creating a new kind of beauty in her outlook.

She knew who she could trust, who her friends and family were. Most importantly, she trusted herself again. Trusted herself to love Brendan, to learn how to love him in the way they both most wanted. As he came up beside her and she looped her arms around his neck, she pressed her mouth to his underwater, something she‟d always wanted to do. She laughed into his mouth at the way his arms curled around her, how she could tangle her legs over the backs of his thighs, and float and spin, and listen to that silence underwater that was somehow so…full.