Given (13 page)

“I don’t need to look at the stars anymore. You’re exactly
what I’ve been wishing for. You’re mine,
Kristannie
.
Tonight, every inch of you will feel how much you belong to me. I want to make
you happy. Someday you’ll feel safe with me. You were meant for me, I knew that
the moment I looked into your eyes.”

The writer in him was really working overtime. She rolled
her eyes, tipping her head to the side and feeling duped. He was just ensuring
she wouldn’t have a “headache” when it was his turn, nothing more. The sappy
words made her as hot as they made her angry. She wished she could believe
them, but Krista was a realist.

He tilted her chin up and forced her to look into his eyes.
“I’m going to prove to you that I do want you, Krista. Tonight will be unlike any
night you spend with the others. I’m going to make you mine in a way that will
be exclusive to us. Before the night ends, you will tell me you belong to me
more.”

She shivered. As bossy as the man was, she hated herself for
liking his dominance. With so much of her life out of her control, it felt good
to feel like he was the one pulling her strings. She liked the illusion that he
could keep the government from taking her away and could give her real
commitment and a home.

He led her toward the house, their meal mostly untouched.
The others had left the dining room and she could hear noise coming from the
game room. The kitchen was dark; Steve had called it a night too. She followed
Braxton into a part of the house she hadn’t been in before.

“This is where my room and office are. Our only guest rooms
are here too. My work requires a lot of solitary focus, so when we built the
house they put me here.” He chuckled.

“Wow, your office is great,” she told him. There were
shelves full of books and a big, heavy, old-fashioned desk with a sleek and
very modern laptop sitting on it. He had a bunch of promotional items hanging
on the wall.

“They made the book you’re reading into a movie.”

“With all that sex…how?”

“Sex in movies is becoming more common. Fantasy is all guys
have. They actually found a few real women who were working for a protection
facility in California to star in the film. Security was a nightmare. I’m glad
I didn’t have anything to do with the production. California has a very
progressive governor right now. The guardians at the facilities out there don’t
even have to live on-site. Most still do, the danger is enormous. I heard one
of the actresses married one of the actors on a trip to Canada. It’s caused a
big legal mess, because marriage has been legally abolished. Religious
protestors came from all over the country to fight for the right to be married.
They’ll be voting on the constitutional legitimacy of not allowing marriage. If
any state brings it back, I think it will be California. The government is
afraid once they return heterosexual marriage
rights,
they’ll be fighting the gay marriage fight again. They’re assholes for banning
both.”

He sighed and rubbed her cheek with his thumb for a minute.
His eyes darted back and forth as he looked at her face, and she realized he
was looking for her reaction.

“I don’t know how much news you were able to watch in
there,” he continued, “but there was a big push for legalizing gay marriage,
since there were no women. I support it completely, but even in these times
they’re so afraid to allow it. I’m amazed at the level of hierocracy the
government perpetrates sometimes.”

“I don’t see why they don’t allow it, especially now. Just
think about all the taxes they could suddenly come up with.” She grinned.

“Now that’s the argument the proponents should use. Gay
marriage would be legal in a week.” They both laughed.

Krista looked at some photos he had hanging on the wall. The
one with a woman holding a little boy caught her attention.

“I was nine when my mother died, I didn’t have siblings. It
was hard, but you know that. My father wasn’t around much, he traveled for
business, but then his company went under due to the state of the economy. He
killed himself. I lived with my cousins. I think that’s why we’re so close, so
connected. I really thought we could share. I wish I hadn’t fooled myself now,
but I’m glad you’re here.”

Krista turned from where the happy image hung, frozen in
time on the wall.
Brax’s
expression was dark. He ran
his hand through his hair.

“Can you handle me, Krista?”

The question was very strange and slightly worrisome. “What
do you mean? I think I proved I can handle a lot last night,” she replied.
Brax
gave a short bark of laughter, but she didn’t hear
true humor.

“I’ve never been good at sharing. I want there to be
something different between us.”

She frowned, her head tilting to the side.

He turned and stared at her intensely. “If I told you to
take off all your clothes and get on your knees, right now, would you do it?”
He raised his eyebrow.

“I—yes,” she replied. The answer surprised her.

“If one of the others told you to do it, would the request
feel the same for you?” This time his eyes narrowed as he asked the question.

“I don’t know.”

“Before tonight is over, you will know. Take off your clothing
for me, slowly, lay it on the chair, and get on your knees.”

She’d expected a lot, but not this. She didn’t know why he
was asking her to do something so unusual. She hesitated.

“You’re mine, Krista. You know it and you want to please me.
Take off your clothing.”

She began slowly undressing. While she wasn’t ready to
belong to anyone, more than she already did on paper, she couldn’t resist his
request. She’d expected to have time to go change into the nightgown he’d given
her. He’d been so kind, a bit bossy, but she hadn’t felt domination from him
until now. He leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest and one
of his feet resting up against the beige surface behind him. Her mind briefly
flicked over how he’d explain a shoe print in the spot if Steve asked him about
it.

“I’m going to take this slow with you. I promise. My desire
is to have you all to myself, but that’s not possible. Since we can’t have
that, I want you to submit to me, willingly. Would you do that for me?”

He was risking a lot asking for this. If she decided this
was threatening, all she had to do was press the panic button and they’d all
lose her, and he’d lose his friends. She knew in order for him to ask for this,
he must want it more than he wanted anything. Something deep inside of her
responded to the request, they had chemistry and she was curious to see how it
would play out.

“Yes,” she whispered as she finished taking off her clothing
and laid all of it neatly on the chair. She knelt in front of him, the plush,
mauve carpet cushioning her knees. “Please.”

He groaned and hurried to free his cock from his jeans. He
was fully dressed, except for his cock and balls. They dangled out of his pants
and she leaned forward to take him in her mouth.

“I didn’t tell you to,” he said. She stopped, feeling
confused. “With the others, do as you want. Here, when we are alone, you are
mine. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

“Tell me,” he requested quietly.

“I am yours.” She couldn’t believe she’d actually said the
words. They felt right coming out of her mouth. She’d been terrified of this
happening, but now she embraced giving him this willingness.

“Suck me,” he ordered.

She leaned forward and took him gently into her mouth.
Brax
took a fistful of her hair. He’d scolded Mal for the
same thing just the night before. His hands felt different, rougher. She
allowed him to set the pace and to dictate how much of him she had inside her
mouth.
Brax
wasn’t small, but she was grateful he
wasn’t as large as
DeAnthony
.

She let her tongue press into the channel on the bottom of
his cock. She drew in as hard as she could on one stroke, while lightly running
her teeth over him on the next. He exhaled slowly and she knew he liked it. She
knew she wouldn’t have been so keen on playing this way with the others, but
Brax
was different, and her feelings for him were too. She
didn’t know why, but for him, she’d do this and more. The realization startled
her and she pulled away to look up into his face.

His eyes were dark and he frowned. “What is it,
Kristannie
?”

“I—I want this,” she mumbled, a bit awestruck.

“Yes, you do. Tell me.”

“I want to be yours.”

He groaned and pulled her to her feet, dragging her roughly
into a wild kiss. His tongue plunged into her mouth. The sound of his inhalation
and his growl were the only noises in the room. She’d never kissed like this
before; it was so much more intimate, deep. She let her tongue glide along his.
Krista wrapped her arms around his neck and he kissed her until she couldn’t
breathe. When he pulled away, she sucked in a deep lungful of air.

“I’m going to make you mine, slowly, one night at a time.
Come with me.” He took her hand and began walking out of the room.

“What if someone sees me?” She’d been naked in front of all
of them, but the idea of streaking down the hall made her uncomfortable. Worse,
if Steve or one of the guards happened to be in the hall, the mortification
would be unbearable.

He turned and scooped her up. She squeaked at the sense of
helpless fear that rose inside of her. If she was too heavy and he dropped her,
it would hurt. Her average height and weight didn’t usually lend to a feeling
of being dainty, but in his arms, she felt his power. The sensation was
definitely a turn on.

He walked into the darkened hallway and, to her relief, they
were alone. The guard wasn’t making his rounds through the house yet. He shut
the bedroom door behind them as they entered. Braxton deposited her on his bed.
“Lay on your stomach.”

She did as he’d requested, without question. She could hear
him undressing and moving around the room. The sensation of something cold
drizzled on her back and shoulders, and her body flinched involuntarily. Her
butt stung sharply under
Brax’s
hand. The whack
reverberated through the room, but didn’t actually hurt. Krista turned to gape
at Braxton in shock.

He grinned. “Hold still.” She did.

His hands rubbed musky scented oil into her skin. He worked
at the knots between her shoulder blades and wonderful warmth saturated her
muscles. The sensation of his large, strong hands on her skin was heavenly. She
relaxed, laying her cheek on his mattress. The sheets smelled like him, like
his soap and cologne. The heady combination left her feeling light, almost as
if she was floating. His hands began working on her ass next and she jerked in
surprise. Another quick slap made her gasp. She heard him chuckle. The feeling
of intimate violation made it a struggle not to wiggle away from his hands.

“Don’t clench. Relax.”

She tried to obey, but no one had touched her like this. The
group session had been so different. She was amazed at how much it made her
want more. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to relax and enjoy his
hands massaging her rear. When she focused on the sensation, instead of how
strange it was, she sighed. He was making her good and relaxed.

“Roll over and close your eyes.”

She obeyed again. There was something so sexy in his voice
when he gave a command. She could hear how much he was enjoying it.

“Spread your legs.”

She did, as wide as she could. Her pussy ached for his
touch. Her moisture ran over the soft, intimate flesh and it made her squirm.
Brax’s
warm breath swirled around between her legs. She
moaned. Then his tongue darted out to flick her clit. Her hips bucked, he
didn’t reprimand her this time. His quick motions made the sensitive flesh come
to life. Every nerve ending burst with pleasure and Krista gripped the sheets,
clawing wildly. Her head thrashed from side to side.

Deep whimpers escaped her lips, even though she had them
pressed tightly together.
“
Brax
!”
Her cry echoed in the room and she arched her back, panting as she came, crying
out with little mews of delight. He kept flicking the sensitized little nub
until her ass was back on the bed and the whimpers began to subside.

The bed dipped and she looked up.
Brax
hovered over her, like a vengeful master. His dark handsomeness was easy on her
eyes, and she reached up to brush a loose strand of his hair out of his eyes.
They just looked at each other for a long, quiet moment. He was beautiful in an
all-male way that made her glad to be in his bed. She’d been so afraid she
wasn’t going to like sex, and here she was, crazy with wanting more of it.

He grabbed both of her wrists and slid her hands up, pinning
them above her head. He balanced on his knees and leaned down to take her right
nipple in his mouth. His teeth and tongue worked together to give her both
pleasure and pain. The combination was amazing. Gasping, she flexed her neck
back and closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of his hot mouth on the tender
place. The more he toyed with her, the more sensitive it became. The pain grew,
as did the pleasure. Her pussy contracted, still having spasms from her earlier
orgasm.

He moved to repeat the process on her other breast. The
vacated nipple was wet and grew cold, which only served to make her more aware
of how it still tingled from his ministrations. She opened her eyes to look at
him. The intensity on his face was one of the most wonderful things she’d ever
seen. She knew it would be burned into her memory for life. Krista wanted him
inside of her.

“
Brax
.
Please.”

“Oh, I’m not done yet. I’ve waited a very long time for
tonight.”