Dangerous to Her (15 page)

“You know I—”

“Tell me, Mattie. Please.”

She froze and stared into his eyes. He let her see it all. His yearning. His desperation.

Her breath caught and she nodded. “I want you. Over me. Inside of me. You’re—” She swallowed hard and her eyes filled with tears. “You’re all I’ve ever wanted.”

She hadn’t even finished the sentence before he was inside her. He let go of her wrists, wrapped himself around her, and thrust deep. He gritted his teeth at the way her short nails bit through the fabric of his shirt. Within minutes, she came, but he still didn’t let himself go. He pulled back and tilted her chin up so he could look into her beautiful eyes.

“I want you to remember this moment. Remember how much you want me. How much you need this.”

She nodded, but it wasn’t enough for him.

He groaned as he felt himself getting close. “Promise me,” he gasped out. “Promise me you won’t for—” Suddenly, he couldn’t speak. The tremors overtook him, dragging a hoarse, animalistic shout from the depths of his soul. “Mattie!”

His body jerked in a series of fading tremors. When it was over, he could barely move. She rubbed his back, caressing him with firm, steady strokes. “I promise,” she whispered. “I promise.”

She said it again. And again. Until all he could do was tighten his arms around her and welcome sleep.

She woke sometime during the night to find him staring at her, trailing his fingers across her body the way he’d done so many times in the past. She stretched languidly, unashamed of her nudity, relishing the way his eyes darkened and his breathing sped up. The air felt heavy, her skin warm. If she didn’t know better, she’d think she was dreaming about him again.

She didn’t realize she’d spoken her thoughts until he said, “This is no dream.” He grinned and bent to kiss her, flicking his tongue lightly against her lips until she moaned. Instead of penetrating her deeper, he pulled back. “But if it was,” he teased, “and you could control it, what would you have us do?”

Murmuring in protest, she rose up and tried to capture his mouth, but he pulled just out of reach. “Come on, Mattie. Tell me one of your fantasies. Something you’ve never done, never told anyone, but always wanted to try.”

She stared up at him, feeling as if she was in a daze. Her inhibitions seemed to have melted away and she wondered if someone had injected her with honey. She felt all warm and tingly. Soft. Womanly.

Edible.

Savor-able.

The word echoed in her mind, causing her to speak without thinking. “Handcuffs,” she whispered.

His eyes narrowed just before he buried his face in the crook of her neck. There, he sprinkled several kisses across her skin before biting her with a sharp nip that made her moan. Then, before she knew it, he was gone and pulling on his jeans. She shoved herself up on her elbows. “What—?”

“Don’t move,” he ordered.

He exited the bedroom, and she heard the front door open and close. He was back inside in under a minute. He lifted his hand, showing her the cuffs dangling from his fingers. She immediately snickered and held out her hands. Dom tossed them to her.

He placed a key on the night table, then, with his jeans still on, sat beside her. “Now, where were we?”

She sighed when he took her mouth, this time giving her the deep, wet kiss she was longing for. Then a thought occurred to her and she pulled away. “Wait a minute,” she breathed with a hand to his chest. “Have you ever—?”

He shook his head. “I’ve never used handcuffs with a woman. I swear.”

Well, at least that was something.

He tilted his head as he looked at her. “If you’ve changed your mind about being tied up, we can forget about the cuffs and just get to the good part, you know.” He reached out to take the cuffs from her and she quickly moved away, holding them out of his reach.

She wagged a finger at him. “Uh-uh-uh. Who said anything about me being tied up? You asked me about my fantasy and yes, handcuffs are involved. But in my fantasy, I’m not the one wearing them.”

He leaned back against one of the bedposts. “Is that a fact?”

“That’s right. Does that scare you?”

“Not at all.” Before she could express her skepticism, he lowered his hand to his jeans then paused. With a questioning look, he asked, “I’m assuming you want me naked?”

“Uh. Sure,” she said, unable to tear her gaze from the light dusting of hair that arrowed into his jeans. Unable to believe he was willing to accommodate her without a fight.

“You sure? Because if you had something else in mind…”

“No.” The word came out a little faint, so she cleared her throat and spoke louder. “Naked is good.”

“Great.” Methodically, he stripped off his jeans. When he was finished, he stood in front of her, completely at ease with his nudity. Staring at him, her mouth went dry and her knees trembled.

Despite how wonderful making love with him had been, she hadn’t had the opportunity to simply look at him or to take her time touching him. She wanted to do both. To reacquaint herself with his body. As much as she wanted. For as long as she wanted.

She suddenly understood what he was giving her. Complete and total access. Complete control. And complete accountability. This wasn’t about being swept away by passion, but grabbing it by the throat with full knowledge of who and what Dom was.

“Should I lie down?”

Biting her lip, she nodded, unsure of her ability to speak. He immediately lay down on the bed and stretched his arms above his head. “You need help with the cuffs?”

“I think I can do it.” She stepped beside him, amazed at how unconcerned he appeared. Not unaffected—he was long and hard, spearing out from his belly like a warrior eager for battle—but completely comfortable with putting himself, literally, in her hands. Unable to help herself, she reached out and trailed her fingers over him.

He clenched his fists and hissed, but otherwise didn’t move.

Doubt suddenly swept through her. Once he was tied down, it was all up to her. What if she choked? What if he got so bored he fell asleep? As ridiculous as her thoughts were, they still had her hesitating. “You know, I’m not sure—”

“Here. I’ll show you how they work.” Gently, he took the cuffs from her, slipped his left wrist in one, snapped it closed, and then hooked it on the bedpost. He held out the other cuff. “Now you do the other one.”

Silently, she stared at the cuff. “Okay.” Taking if from him, she slipped it on his right wrist and tightened it. When she moved to connect the chain to the bedpost, however, he said, “Wait.”

She froze.

“Come here.” The command came out hoarse, as if he was having trouble breathing.

She’d lost her ability to breathe a long time ago. “Why?”

“Because before you tie me down, I need to do something.”

She leaned slightly toward him.

“Closer,” he whispered.

She leaned down even farther, until her long hair brushed against his face. He brought his hand toward her and she expected him to cup her breast or the hot spot between her legs. She actually moaned in anticipation. Instead, he tucked her hair behind her ear and then rubbed the back of his fingers against her cheek. Startled, she nuzzled into his touch like a cat begging to be petted, but kept her gaze glued to his. He just stared at her for several seconds, a mysterious smile on his lips, and then he dropped his hand. “Okay, I’m ready.”

She blinked. “That was it?”

“Yeah.” The single word was fraught with contentment. As if he could die at that moment with no regrets.

Feeling stronger and more powerful than she ever had, she attached the restraint to the other bedpost. “How’s that?”

He tugged on both wrists, then grinned. “I’m at your mercy. Do your worst.”

“Are you kidding?” she asked. She climbed up the foot of the bed, forcing him to spread his legs in order to make room for her. She prowled toward him on all fours, not stopping until she straddled his waist. He hissed and arched as she brushed against his erection, and she closed her eyes at the feel of him sliding against her backside. With a teasing smile, she planted a hand on either side of his head, bending over him so that her nipples just hovered over his chest. She pressed a light kiss on his shoulder, then rose to stare into his dazed eyes. “I have a job to do and doing my worst isn’t in the plan. Not when I can do my best.”

Dom was dying of pleasure. Sweat covered his body and his skin felt like it was on fire. Her slightest touch caused pleasure to pool in his shaft, making him so hard it actually hurt. He lost track of time and measured its passage by how desperately he urged her to touch him.

First, he asked her to take him in her mouth.

Then, he told her to wrap her fingers around him.

Soon, he was commanding her to finish it.

She ignored him, rubbing her nipples across his chest, trailing kisses up one thigh and down the other, licking his nipples with slow, languid strokes of her tongue and then gently biting them. His hips were in perpetual motion, searching for release even as he marveled at her power over him. He’d even started to beg, but no matter what he said or did, she ignored the part of him that longed most for her attention.

“Baby, I can’t take much more,” he moaned. “I need you. Please.”

She’d returned to her favorite position, straddling his waist as she rubbed her breasts against him and kissed his nipples. When she didn’t respond to his plea, he pulled at the restraints on his wrists, frantic to get inside her. She raised herself up on her knees, cupped her breasts, and stared down at him with the most beautiful expression he’d ever seen.

He was in awe. Mattie was charged up and taking no prisoners. For the moment, everything else in the world was forgotten and he was determined to make it last. He gritted his teeth and rode it out, each second seeming to stretch into days. At one point, he actually entered a trancelike state, his mind slightly detached from the sensations tormenting his body. Then she did something that almost sent him hurtling over the edge.

Lifting her head, she stared down at him, her face flushed, her eyes dilated, but instead of obeying him, she smiled wickedly, lifted the hand she’d been using to touch herself, and slipped her fingers into his mouth.

He snapped. “Unlock me, Mattie.”

Her eyes widened at the guttural, naked command in his voice. Visibly trembling, she took the key and fumbled with the cuffs until finally he was free. He grabbed hold of her hips and plunged into her.

She moaned, a long, almost tormented sound that shivered over him until he knew he couldn’t hold back any longer. When she screamed out her pleasure, he let himself go, coming in violent pulses, coming harder than he’d ever come before.

He thought he must have passed out. When his brain kicked in, he turned his head and looked at her. She was out cold. He tried to lift his hand so that he could pull the blanket over her, only he couldn’t. He felt as weak as a newborn baby and just as vulnerable.

But even though he was weak, his resolve was strong. She destroyed him. And no matter what it took, he was going to make her his again. In return, he would be hers.

Unfortunately, he still had to travel the road from here to there.

With a sigh, he closed his eyes and acknowledged the road was going to be damn difficult. Because before he could give himself fully to Mattie, he needed to be the one person she hated most.

He needed to be the cop.

Her body ached, but in a pleasant way, as if her muscles had been kneaded and worked and wrung out after a particularly grueling day at work. Heat surrounded her, pulling her more deeply towards sleep even as it evaporated the air around her, making it difficult to breathe.

Mattie tried turning on her side, but something heavy pinned her down. Her eyelids twitched as the smell of Dom and sex and her own body teased her senses. She burrowed closer to the source of heat at her side, ready to surrender to the dark once more.

She felt something against her cheek and flinched. “Mattie. Mattie, wake up. Come on, baby.”

She recognized Dom’s voice instantly.

“Dominic,” she whispered, trying to pry open her eyelids. When she finally succeeded, his face swam in front of her and then came into focus. He smiled at her and she felt her heart lurch.

“Hi,” he said softly, pushing her hair away from her face with such tenderness that she automatically turned her face to kiss his hand. His breath hissed as he inhaled. She looked around.

Memories registered one after the other.

His confession about his friend.

The way he’d wrapped himself around her, as if she was the only thing on earth he needed.

His fierce passion and his unwavering determination to make her admit she wanted him.

The ways they’d made love. Again and again. No inhibitions. Every fantasy fulfilled.

As he stared at her, his gaze hot and intense, she suddenly realized that while she was completely naked, he was not. The contrast between her wanton nudity and his obvious control made her cringe.

She struggled to a sitting position even as she grabbed a sheet to cover herself. His eyes followed the movement, darkening when they skimmed across her body, but then shuttering.

“We got a little sidetracked.”

Flummoxed, Mattie stared at him. Guilt flooded her. For the time she was in his arms, she’d forgotten her fear and grief. She’d forgotten about Tony and Judge Butler. For a time, she’d even forgotten about Jordan.

And although he’d given her a taste of pleasure, how much harder would it be to live without it now?

Silence grew heavy between them.

“Mattie, we need to talk about Tony.”

Gone was the needy lover who’d made her body weep with pleasure. In his place was the cop with a mission. And she was just another means for him to gather evidence for his case.

She swallowed hard and took a deep breath, talking as she quickly put her clothes back on. “He got into drugs after our parents died. It started out small, but kept getting progressively worse.”

“He tried rehab?”

“Repeatedly. He’d always slip up. Eventually, he started to get angrier. Do things I never would have thought he would.”