Masterpiece (The Masters of The Order Book 1) (20 page)

“There should never be anything between me and what is mine.”

Nicolai picked up a razor and a sensual flush ran through her, right down to her toes. Those long fingers manipulated her skin with care as he shaved every hair from between her legs, exposing her in the most intimate way. The erotic tug of the blade intimidated as much it enticed. When she was completely bare, he rinsed the newly exposed skin. Even the gentle flow of the water brought a shudder, the skin was so sensitive.

Putting both hands between her thighs, he used his thumbs to spread her lips, opening her to his gaze. She would have been embarrassed at being so exposed, but the admiration sparkling in those ocean eyes left her proud to be a woman.

Proud to be his woman.

For a long time, Nicolai stared, seemingly unaware of her gaze on him. Both thumbs began to stroke her, spreading her cream over her hairless vagina. She tried to remain still and silent as the tension inside coiled tight. Somehow she knew that if she moved or made a sound, he would snap out of this trance and stop.

After a few minutes, the excruciating pleasure stole her control. Her head fell back with a moan. Nicolai blinked, and as she feared, removed his hands. He righted her onto her knees without a word and brushed her hair. Then he pulled her into a stand, dried her skin with a warmed towel and carried her into his bedroom.

The room was sparse, but sophisticated, with an air of masculine luxury. In the middle sat a huge four-poster bed. He set her onto her knees on it. The wood furnishings were dark. Everything else, white. The white setting and her placement on his bed conjured memories of silk ribbon and pearls.

Tangible, shuddering memories.

“Sex is art,” she muttered, unaware that she’d said the words out loud until Nicolai answered.

“With you, my muse, that’s exactly what I hope for.”

He stepped away to remove something from a large armoire across the room and returned holding a long black velvet box.

“Another gift, Nicolai? It’s too much,” she said, knowing that whatever was inside of that kind of box would be extravagant.

“Return every other gift if you must, but keep this. This gift is the most important gift that I will ever give to you.”

The reverence in Nicolai’s voice quelled her reluctance to accept yet another gift from him. She lifted the lid.
Cartier
. Inside lay a long chain of emerald cut diamonds set in platinum and a small key.

“You are precious to me, Beauty.” He removed the chain, circled it around her waist and secured the clasp with the tiny key. “This trinket is a pale reflection of that. It is the symbol that you belong to me. Seeing it grace your body will give me more pleasure than I can express in words. As long as you wear it, I know you are mine. Beauty mine.”

Trembling fingers ran over the glinting band around her waist. All of the experiences of the day, of the past several weeks, crashed over her, overwhelming her with emotion. Her reverent, romantic, dominant Nicolai had given so much, so much more than he understood.

And now this.

“I love you, Nicolai.”

The words rushed from her mouth before she could stop them, but she didn’t regret saying them. It was the truth and she’d waited too long to say it.

These were the words Nicolai deserved to hear.

*****

Who am I to be blessed with this gift?

La femme exquise
, his ideal, the woman he thought existed only in his imagination, knelt, so lovely and real, on his bed. She accepted his mark of possession and in return, offered her love and virginity.

Standing beside the bed, Nicolai leaned over and took Julianne’s face between his palms, amazed once again by the trust shining in her eyes. From the moment she entered his life, this woman eased the bitterness that had always been so much a part of him. Her purity washed away the blackness staining his soul and restored his shattered faith in the possibility of love. She gave him the inspiration to become something more than he'd been.

She gave him a purpose.

A man didn’t walk away from that, no matter how many barriers. Once he found true inspiration in that feminine gaze, he resolved to find a way to make their relationship work. And that’s what he was doing now. Making it work.

Julianne had so much passion hidden inside and the power of drawing it to the surface was infinitely alluring, but what he wanted and what she needed were two separate and distinct things. He couldn’t deny himself completely, but he didn’t have to indulge himself 24/7 either. He would play with her with his usual edge, but there would be no kink in the bedroom.

He poured his determination into praising lips. The soft mewling sounds she made as kissed her brought an instant smile. Those delicious noises were too sweet. He concentrated on controlling each taste of her ridiculously kissable lips, but after a few minutes, he couldn’t resist a little nibble. He nipped her bottom lip with his teeth. Her seductive moan tantalized, but didn’t weaken his resolve to take her gently.

He eased back and she moved forward to close the gap between them as if fearing the loss of his touch. The look of innocence in her eyes only reaffirmed his decision about how he had to be with her. He pressed his lips firmly to hers, but gently, while his hands floated across her cheeks. Cupping her face, he put a warning look in his eyes.

“I’m a dangerous man, Beauty, in ways you cannot understand. I gave you my vow that I would never hurt you and I never will. Be still and let me take you where we’ve both waited so long to go.”

She removed her hands from his body, settled them on her thighs and smiled. Waiting.

For a moment, he could only stare, marveling at her reaction. The response was so natural, so perfectly suited to his tastes and soooo tempting. He knew he was a very kinky man and that was even more apparent to him just now, when seeing his muse obey him like that almost made him lose his mind. Her obvious trust strengthened his determination to shield her from his darker nature while her submissive posture called it to the surface. He had to close his eyes to stem the intoxicating draw of her provocative offering.

He laid her on her stomach, swept her hair to the side and let his eyes wander the length of her. His breath hitched at the feminine perfection of Julianne’s form. His artist’s soul basked in its beauty.
Oh, what a body like this could be made to do
. He wanted to pose her, tie her and… Fighting his natural urges, he began to touch her.

Lips and hands. Beneath her ears. Across her shoulders and back.

He layered kiss atop kiss. Down the graceful line of her spine. Over the soft curves of her bottom.

Added touch atop touch. Along the silk of her thighs. At the back of her knees.

Tasting, discovering, possessing each exquisite detail.

There was no demand in what he was doing as he stood over her, only a gentle taking, and he found the restraint surprisingly seductive. He relaxed a bit.

Maybe I can make love like this
.

He rolled her, boneless, onto her back to continue his sensual exploration. Plump, kiss-reddened lips parted, inviting him inside. Violet eyes, full of admiration, stared up at him. The look was mellow, accepting and so divinely submissive.

Something inside him stirred.

He lifted her arm to savor each delicate finger, one by one, relishing the relaxation in her limbs and using it to calm himself. He kissed her palms and wrists before positioning her hands above her head, holding them there. A silent command to remain. Then placed his hands on either side of her and hovered above her.

No part of them touched except their lips. His tongue ran back and forth across her open mouth. He sucked the upper lip, then the lower, before sinking deep into her wetness. Kissing wasn’t something he indulged often in his life before her. It was too intimate. But with Julianne, he couldn’t get enough of this soft, sublime intimacy. Her perfect lips were made to be kissed.

His hands moved to her chest, palms pushing up to sculpt her breasts as thumbs strummed lightly over the silken skin. None of the art he’d ever created could match the perfection of Julianne's breasts. He laved a heavy tongue over one peak. Aroused feminine noises rose from her throat, but her body remained still, just like he wanted. Julianne’s acceptance of his control sparked the dark passion and lured him deeper.

He squeezed the tender orb a bit harder as his lips sucked the tip. Her moans elongated, so did the flesh in his mouth as Julianne give herself over to the power of being taken. When he felt her fight the mounting urge to move, he worked his mouth more aggressively, their bodies naturally succumbing to the erotic tug of war between a Dominant and his submissive.

Her ability to give herself so freely fascinated him. She’d done it before, but it was still amazing. Instead of struggling with inhibition, she seemed to delight in her body and what he was doing to it. With every fiber of his being, he wanted to believe in that willingness to submit, but that very willingness scared him. Echoes of her past tainted his ability to trust in what her body seemed to be telling him.

The voice of doubt plagued him.
A virgin cannot be so free. She doesn’t enjoy your dominance. She’s simply unable to say no
.

He glanced up through his lashes to gauge her reaction as teeth scraped over one tight nub. Her head tilted to the side and her mouth fell open. She twisted her torso to raise her breast higher. When his teeth captured the hard pearl, a lusty moan rose in her throat.

Julianne was gloriously responsive and didn’t seem to be struggling with anything he was doing. In fact, her body’s reaction seemed to be inviting him to do more. The Dominant in him wanted to accept that invitation and discover just how far he could take her. He ventured a bit farther.

One hand covered her face, the other, the mound of her sex, stretching her body between his spread arms. He pinned her to the bed and continued working those marvelously taut nipples into the hot, steady suction of his mouth. When Julianne moaned low and squeezed her thighs together, he knew she felt him exactly where he wanted her to. Knew he could bring her to orgasm simply by playing with her divine breasts.

Or tormenting them.

He groaned and intensified his affection. Soft licks became wet pulls. Wet pulls became piercing bites. He felt the sensual, silent rhythm of her rising pleasure, the rolling arousal building inside a body straining to be still. Decadent images of all the wicked things he could do to the pert mound beneath his tongue flooded his mind.

Holding one swollen bud between his lips, he murmured against her skin, “Do you have any idea what I want to do to this delicious body, Beauty mine?”

Lust filled him when he felt her respond to his words and then resist, forcing herself to be passive once again. The voice in his head reminded him to maintain control, to be gentle until he was sure of her, but another voice whispered darker things, his own need sliding seductively through his veins.

“Do you have any idea what I will do?”

He pushed her down with more force and moved lower with his tongue. Over the flat of her belly. Along the sparking reminder on her waist that she belonged to him. Around her navel. Over her hipbones. Kissing, licking, sucking, biting. Faster, firmer against her body. Each touch drawing more intensity. His thumb slid into her open mouth and she sucked him in.

Absolutely fucking perfect.

Her hips pushed up, silently begging his other thumb to slip lower, and he withdrew his touch completely.

Desperate eyes shot to his face.

“Be still,” he whispered, trying to sound in control, when the truth was he was about to lose it.

Julianne gave him a shaky nod. Keeping her hands over her head, she settled back against the mattress and spread her legs. Wide. Her nude, pouty sex glistened with the cream of arousal. And if the begging position wasn’t suggestive enough, the invitation in her eyes said everything. She gazed at him with an ethereal, sure sexuality.

There she is. My sexy tease, lying right below the surface. Seducing me. Challenging me. Driving me mad.
“Oh, my naughty girl,” he said, remembering her dream.
Just as she clearly intends
.

This woman was paradise with her pleading body and the enticing perfume of her arousal. He breathed her in, anticipating the taste. So long denied this delicacy, the strength of his need to savor her was staggering. Sweat dotted his brow. Rigid fingers pressed into the hot satin at the top of her open thighs. His mouth watered, the beauty of her femininity mesmerizing him as he moved in.

Closer.

Closer.

Before his lips met her wet heat, his mind raced ahead, tempting him with images of her punishment for this erotic challenge.

Stop! No kink in the bedroom.

The dangerous rumble made him pull back. One taste would snap his thinly controlled veneer. Shaken by what she was drawing out of him, he shook his head to ease down. He couldn’t resist the surging tide, but he had to redirect it. He would lead her down this path on her own first, and then, over time, increase the intensity as they travelled it together.