Restrained and Willing (27 page)

The “
Well, what are you waiting for?
” look on her
face reminded him of his purpose.

Needing to touch her, even in the smallest way, he reached
for her hands.

She snatched them away, stuffed them behind her back.

The evasive move only served to thrust her chest out and put
those luscious tits on more prominent display. He fought the near-overpowering
need to rip her clothes off and restrain her in that exact position for some
mutually satisfying nipple torture.

Later. Grovel first. Then play.
He cleared his
throat.

“First and foremost, I need you to understand how sorry I am
for the unintended pain I’ve caused you. I never meant to hurt you.”

She hiked one cynical satiny eyebrow.

He scraped his fingers through his hair. Damn, he hated this
groveling shit. It grated against his dominant nature. Would be so much easier
if he could secure her naked submissive ass to a St. Andrew’s and demand she
forgive him. Yeah, he could imagine how well that would go over. Not that she
didn’t want to submit. He’d felt her resolve waver more than once since she’d
walked through the door. Sensed the times she’d caught herself before bending
to the need to submit. But this wasn’t about a sub’s need to bow to a Dom’s
stronger will. It was about her giving. Freely. Without a hint of coercion. He
wanted her to give him everything, most especially her unreserved love. The
precious thing he coveted more than his partnership in QPJ Construction.

No sense dragging this out. “First off, the woman you saw me
with is my half-sister.”

She snorted. Rolled her eyes.

He blew out a frustrated breath. He hadn’t expected this to
be easy. But no way in hell was he going on the defensive as if he were some
kid caught with his hand in a cookie jar. “You insinuating I’m a liar, brat?”

Her smirk was replaced by a look of doubt, followed by a
frown of deep concentration. Her lightning-fast mind probably searching her
memory. It felt like an eternity before she gave a grudging shake of her head.

He wasn’t happy with the length of time it took her to
acknowledge, but he’d take the small concession. One snowflake at a time did a
strong snowball make. “I was going to wait another couple of days before seeing
you. It was Janis’ idea for me to face you sooner.” A bit of female wisdom he
saw the advantage in. Especially after she’d gotten into his face and called
him a thickheaded, dumbass male. “She decided to tag along to make sure I
didn’t screw things up.” Not that taking her had been an option. Unless he’d
wanted to waste time arguing or manhandling her out of the passenger seat she’d
parked her stubborn little ass into as he’d keyed the ignition.

Another eye roll from Heather. She glanced around. Brought
her hand from around her back and made an airy swipe to indicate the obvious
lack of another’s presence.

He took immediate advantage and nabbed her hand before she
could stuff it behind her back again.

She yanked.

“Stop it,” he said in a firm voice, adding a bit more
pressure to his grip.

As he’d hoped, she went into auto submissive mode and
relented.
Another snowflake.
Okay, he was being a real bastard by
resorting to his Dom power over her, but if he was going to convince her how he
really felt, he needed her to actually
listen
. “My sister’s at Pop’s.”

Her eyes sprang wide. “You took her to my dad’s! You coerced
him into giving you my key?”

“Had I known he had a key, I might’ve taken her over there
myself, but I convinced your brothers to drop her off.”

“My brothers? Wait ‘til I get my hands on those traitors.”

“The more times you open that pretty mouth of yours, the
more punishment you earn.”

She clamped her lips together and glared.

“Glaring at your Dom? Tsk tsk. We’ll add that too.”

Despite the steam that was probably pouring from her ears,
she blanked her expression. Fortunately for him, her eyes weren’t as easy to
control. Among the crackles of fury in the expressive deep-brown beauties were
tiny flashing flecks of sensual excitement. He flicked a glance at her chest.
Seemed her hardened nipples concurred.
Two more snowflakes.

“How’d you get in then? My brothers don’t have a key.”

“We’ll discuss that later, along with your lack of adequate
home security. There are more important things to sort out right now. Like the
fact I shouldn’t have rejected your offer to go with me to see my mom. And I
shouldn’t have cut you off so abruptly when you called to see how I was
coping.” He looked deeply into her eyes. “An hour later, I realized I wanted
you there. Called back, but it went straight to voicemail. Wanting to actually
talk to you, I didn’t leave a message and decided to try later.” He skimmed his
thumb over the back of her hand. “In between very enlightening conversations
with my mom, I tried to call three more times with the same result. Figured you
were probably ticked off and ignoring my calls.”

Eyebrow hiked, she gave him a
ya-think
look.

He marveled at her silence. But mostly he was in awe of the
self-restraint she was showing in not taking a shot at his nose. He bet if he
looked behind her back, her hand would be in a tight little fist. But he
couldn’t very well punish her for her thoughts or what he couldn’t see. “When
you still weren’t picking up the next day, I figured an in-person conversation
was needed. So here I am.”

The whole time he talked, he continued the light strokes
over the back of her hand. He slightly loosened his grip. She not only didn’t
attempt to reclaim her hand, but some of the tension left it. An encouraging
sign. The confining ropes around his heart loosened their stranglehold.

She swallowed. The movement of her delicate throat had him
yearning to run his tongue along its slender length, nip the tender spot at the
base where the gentle slope of her shoulder began.
Soon
, he promised
himself.

He looked up into eyes glinting with curiosity and decided
to relent. A bit. “I can tell you have questions.” He stroked his chin with his
free hand. “You have permission to ask two.” He held up the appropriate
fingers. Once again, he was being an ass, but he would grovel appropriately
later. For the next week if he had to, but right now he needed to control the
conversation, because if he gave her free rein, he might lose her and that was
something he wasn’t willing to risk.

“Tell me everything about the time with your mother?” The
words raced from her bow-shaped mouth.

He grinned. Smart little brat. Figured she pick a loaded
question. “Way too much to tell you everything now, but I’ll hit some of the
high points.”

She nodded in anticipation and unconsciously leaned closer,
thinning the ice shield she’d erected between them.
Snowflake!
Knowing
he had the major icebreaker sitting in the wings, he could afford to indulge
her.

“Turns out just about everything my dad told me was a pack
of bald-faced lies.”

“Hmmm.”

Pierce tilted his head and studied her. “I drop a bombshell
like that and you don’t look very surprised. We’ll definitely have to talk
about your non-reaction later. To get back on the subject, turns out my mom
hadn’t left me willingly. She fought tooth and nail to take me with her until
he told her if she didn’t go quietly, he’d accuse her of being an unfit mother,
blacken her name by painting her as a cheating whore and drag her through a
very messy public divorce. Knowing the malicious bastard had the power, crooked
connections and money to fabricate whatever lies he wanted, her hands were
pretty much tied. Better to let him spew his dirty lies locally than to have
them splayed across the country’s headlines for the entire world to see. So she
moved a state away and waited for an opportunity to make peace.” He shook his
head and smiled. “But she never stopped loving me.”

He’d fill Heather in on the details of his hanging up on his
mom when he was younger, how his later email was auto-blocked because he’d sent
it from his father’s computer and how she’d assured him through sobs that had
she gotten his message, she would’ve immediately replied.

“Turns out she had boxes stuffed full of my school pictures,
scholastic write-ups, awards. Copies of every damn report card. College
transcripts. Newspaper clippings associated with QPJ. Even stuff about you.” He
raised the hand he held, shifted his grip and kissed two of her knuckles. “And
things about your bonehead brothers.” He smiled. “Anything related to me or
anybody close to me.”

She tilted her head. The tips of her eyebrows formed a deep
V, producing creases in her forehead.

From her expression, Pierce knew she was wondering how his
mom had gotten some of the items he’d mentioned, but didn’t want to use up the
second question he’d allotted her.

He slipped the fingertips of his free hand under her spiky
bangs to smooth over the furrowed lines. “Turns out she had a very sneaky
accomplice.” He let his amusement show. “Something you can appreciate. Not as
skilled as you in snooping, but pretty darn inventive. Doris.”

Surprise lit her eyes and her mouth dropped open.

An instant vision of his dick slipping inside to glide over
her wet tongue to the back of her relaxed throat popped into his head,
necessitating that he stifle a groan.

He crooked a finger under her chin and applied gentle
pressure until her mouth closed. No use tempting fate.

“Yep, our own sweet, unassuming cook.” He let loose a low
laugh. “Not only fantastic kitchen skills, but potential spy. Proficient at
steaming open and resealing envelopes, stooping to a little bribery of a techy
cousin who’d just about kill to get his hands on her pecan and sweet potato
pies so she could do some minor hacking into my dad’s personal emails for
anything my university might’ve sent him. Too bad she was too scared of being
caught and fired if she snooped into anything else.”

Heather sighed.

“Yeah, I know, sweets. You’d have dug further. But you have
to remember not everyone is as bold and daring as you. And Doris didn’t want to
run the risk of getting canned because she wanted to be there for me.”

He brushed a few wayward strands of silky hair behind
Heather’s ear. “No wonder Doris was so hell-bent on me going to see my mother.
Too bad I wasn’t as good at reading females back then. Or it was
my
fearless brat doing the snooping instead of Doris. Then maybe I wouldn’t have
had such deeply embedded commitment issues.”

Heather’s nose scrunched as a funky little twist claimed her
tempting mouth and made him chuckle.

Pierce took a deep breath. “Enough about my mother and new
extended family for now. What’s your second question?”

Thoughts tumbling in an attempt to process all Pierce had divulged
since she’d found him in her apartment, Heather wasn’t sure what question to
ask next.

Not true.

She knew what she wanted to ask, what she desperately needed
the answer to, but was hesitant to back him into a corner.

She believed he regretted how he’d treated her, hadn’t meant
to hurt her, had changed his mind about her being with him when he’d gone to
his mom’s. The man was honorable to the bone. But the million-dollar question
was did he love her? Not the comfortable Merry Christmas warm-fuzzies, giggling
kisses under the mistletoe kind of love you felt for someone you’d grown up
with and known for years. More like the Fourth of July type of love. The
flares, skyrockets, bursting fireworks, can’t-wait-to-marry-you kind. Sure,
there’d be some duds and misfires along the way. Life wasn’t perfect. But she
wanted that too. All of it. As long as she could share those days with Pierce.

Since longer than she could remember, she felt as if she was
on shaky ground. She took a deep breath, looked him square in the eyes and
asked, “So where do
we
go from here? Where do you see me fitting into
all this, Pierce?”
Coward!

He grinned so wide planes could have landed in the pitch
black with nothing but the brightness of his smile to light their way.

“Snowball.”

“What?” The question burst forth. His command she remain
silent was forgotten. Had she missed something? What the hell did a snowball
have to do with anything?

“Fuck snowball. I’m about to make a whole goddamn snowman,”
he murmured a second before he tightened his grip on the hand he held, grabbed
the one that had gone slack behind her back and yanked her against his chest so
hard her breath erupted out between them.

“Wh—” She fought to replenish her squished lungs.

“I’ll tell you exactly where you fit, brat.”

He claimed her lips in a kiss so hard and demanding that by
the time he released her, her head spun.

His gaze was clear, focused, unrelenting. “You fit in my
arms. In my bed. Beneath me as I drive my cock so far up inside your tight
pussy I’m the center of your world.” He gave her a fierce squeeze and scooped
her up into his lap. “Just like you are the center of mine.”

For one of the few times in her life she was truly
speechless. She knew countless women who’d commit homicide without a blink to
have this man say they were the center of his world. Heather fought the urge to
squeal her joy, squeeze the stuffing out of him, kiss him until both their lips
were numb, because as wonderful as his words were, they weren’t the ones she
wanted most to hear. It slashed her heart to ask the next question, but screw
having his permission, she had to know. She could forgive herself for being a
coward once. Not twice. “Being the center of your world is a gift beyond
measure, but what about your heart? Your commitment issues?” There. She’d put
it out there, braced for the words that would cut out her heart.

His smile was so gentle, her eyes welled. Nice guy that he
was, he was no doubt gearing up to let her down easy. Damn him. Nothing about
this was easy.

“Let me up, Pierce, please.” She pushed against his
rock-hard chest, needing some distance between his comforting heat and the
intoxicating smell of his woodsy cologne.

His head shook as his embrace tightened. “Not a chance,
sweetheart. You’re right where you were always meant to be, so you might as
well stop struggling.”

Curse his rigid patience and commanding tone. She unlocked
her elbows and relaxed.

“Much better.” He pressed a kiss to each corner of her
mouth. “I learned something about my commitment issues while we were apart.
Want to know what I figured out?”

He knew damn well she wasn’t likely to say no. She nodded.

“Turns out I never had a commitment problem.”

She snorted. Her eyes narrowed. “Were you drinking before I
got here? Cause you’re the biggest commitment-phobic person to walk the planet.
You’ve never given your heart to a woman.”

He shook his head. “Not true. And what I’m drunk on has
nothing to do with liquor, sweet brat.”

Okay, this was getting weirder and weirder by the minute.

He brought his hand up to grip her chin.

Like she was going to let her attention stray from his now.
Not!

“The reason I’ve never been able to give my heart to any
other woman is because it was already committed—to you.”

Breath stalled in her lungs.

His smile was so tender, her toes curled in the practical
conservative pumps she’d worn for her trip.

“I love you,
brat
. Discovered I always have. Guess it
took you growing up for me to finally realize it.”

“You love me?” She couldn’t keep the wonder from her voice.

“Yes. I love you. With all my unworthy heart. Which is yours
if you still want it?”

“Still want it?” Giddy with wonder, she slugged him lightly
on his thick upper arm. “Just try to take it back. I love you, Pierce.”

He hugged her close.

She reveled in the tightness of his strong embrace, their
combined heartbeats.

It was a long time before he released her, pushing her a
little ways back. “Now that all the mushy stuff is out of the way,” he teased,
kissing the tip of her nose, “how ‘bout we go up and test the strength of those
hooks in your bedroom wall?” He waggled his eyebrows. “And I’ve yet to see that
sexy leather outfit you keep teasing me with.”

She smiled, loving the way her heart tripped at the sexy
tones of his deep voice, the underlying command in his words even though no direct
order was issued. God, he was so intrinsically masculine, so powerfully in
charge as he effortlessly tapped into everything that was feminine within her.

“Give me fifteen minutes to wash the travel grunge from my
body and—”

“Speaking of travel. What about the job in New York?” His
thick eyebrows nearly met over the bridge of his broad nose. “I was under the
impression they were making you an offer you couldn’t refuse.”

“They did.” She kissed his frown lines and then took his
lips in a long sweet possession. They were both breathing heavily when she
pulled away. “But love trumps money any old day of the week. I didn’t accept
the firm’s offer because it meant being too far away from my family. Most of
all, too far away from you.” Before he could comment, she kissed him, hard, and
scooted off his lap, instantly regretting the loss of his thick hard cock
pressing through the thin fabric of her short skirt. “I’ll run up—”

“Strip here.” No request this time. A firm command.

Her entire body tingled with need as she bowed her head in
submission. “Yes, Pierce.” She dispatched each article of clothing with slow
teasing movements meant to entice. In line with her downward gaze, she could
see the hard cock she’d felt while seated across his solid thighs was now straining
so hard behind the zipper of his pants it was in danger of bursting free.
Whoever thought a submissive didn’t have power needed a reality check.

He shoved aside her discarded clothes and shoes. “Turn and
spread your legs.”

She swiveled, presenting him her back.

His large warm hands landed on her waist as he moved her a
little farther out from him and to the right. “Bend over and grab your ankles.
Before you shower, there’s the little matter of your punishment that needs
dealt with. That way I’ll get to enjoy the nice red glow of your sweet ass as
you wind your way up the staircase.”

A shiver of anticipation ripped up her body as she bent,
wrapping her fingers around her ankles, leaving nothing to Pierce’s
imagination. Not even her damp swollen folds, the direct result of the loving
command in his sexy voice and his declaration of love.

Pierce didn’t think Heather could look more beautiful than
she had before he’d left town, but she did. Whether it was because, in his
stupidity, he’d feared he’d lost her. Or maybe it was due to him finally
professing his love. Apparently the spell love cast was not to be
underestimated or underappreciated. Damn, he didn’t think he’d ever get tired
of looking at her, touching her. Not in everyday life or when in sweet submission.
She had a face and body that would gridlock traffic and every precious inch of
her belonged to him.

His to savor. His to love.

Always and forever. Including the day he slipped a big fat
diamond on her slim finger and when they said their vows before a church full
of witnesses.
His
—all the pregnant days before she delivered each of
their children and the many wonderful days beyond.

But right now, there was one specific part of her he wanted
to love and savor. The tempting, juicy pink sweetness between her trimly
muscled thighs.

With that in mind, he reached his left hand between her
legs, coating his index finger with the honeyed moisture clinging to her inner
folds.

Her little sigh as she moved to ride the digit kindled a
flame between his legs, making his dick harder than tempered steel. “No
moving.”

A soft yelp followed by an immediate groan of pleasure
passed her lips at the harsh reminder he landed on her right ass cheek.

God, she had no idea how all the feminine high-pitched
squeaks and squeals she made affected him. All her little sounds of pleasure
and pain that curled through the air and made his gut seize with his own
building pleasure.

He soothed the reddening spot with a gentle rub as he
plunged the finger he’d been sliding through her wetness up into her sopping
heated channel.

She groaned and quivered.

Her sheath clenched around his finger as he twisted, pumped,
gauging her increasing excitement by the acceleration of her breathy little
pants.

Angling his right arm over his left, he delivered a
resounding crack to the opposite cheek. Shoved two fingers into her receptive
body, held them firm within her depths until her shaking ceased and her inner
walls slackened.

“I think six more smacks would be a good start to the
evening. If the glow fades, we can always brighten it again later. What do you
think, love?”

“Whatever you wish, Pierce. My body is yours.”

His little brat’s declaration had lassoed his heart and
wrangled it to the ground with a hard thump. He rewarded her with slow caresses
to her abused bottom. “Feminists worldwide would probably howl in protest, but
seeing my handprint on your beautiful ass in all its red glory screams
ownership like nothing else. And even that can’t compare to knowing you relish
that ownership.”

He delivered the remaining six smacks, alternating where
they fell, interspersing them with comforting strokes. All the while murmuring
words of love and pleasuring her with his fingers, sprinkling tiny kisses and
light nips over her vibrant-red ass.

When her vaginal walls began to flutter around his deeply
penetrating fingers and her moans became louder, more strained, signaling her
oncoming climax, he quickened the pace.

Faster.

More powerful.

Each stroke was deliberate now, easily gliding through her
warm soaked tissues as he drove her relentlessly toward release.

“Please. Oh, damn, please. So… So close.”

“Now, love. Now!”

“Yes!”

Her scream of breaking pleasure was piercing, the decibels
so high, so intense, for a moment Pierce feared for the safety of the huge
windows flanking the street side of the spacious loft.

Noticing her knees wobble, he wrapped an arm around her
waist, enjoying the thrums of her pussy walls around his embedded fingers as
her orgasm crested and eventually began its descent.

He knew that with a few well-placed flicks over her
sensitive clit he could easily bring her to yet another climax, so he purposely
stayed away from that sensitive little bundle of raw nerves.

After all, the night was young and he had lots more planned.

At the last shudder of her sated body, he slowly removed his
fingers, and using the arm he’d anchored around her waist to pull her closer,
rolled her carefully onto his lap.

She immediately curled against his chest. “I love you.” The
words were a mere whisper in the crook of his neck. He relished every single
syllable.

“I love you too, my sweet adorable brat. And I intend to
tell you often. I just hope you never tire of hearing me say it.” He kissed the
top of her head and squeezed her close.

She pulled far enough away to look up at him. “Never. I’ve
waited a long time to hear those words from you.” She placed her hand on his
cheek.

The whispering scrape of her nails through his manicured
beard stubble felt good. It was something she did often. He smiled down into
her radiant open face. “Good. Because I have a lot of years to make up for.” He
pressed his lips to hers for a kiss that promised a lifetime of love and
unending commitment.

She felt so right, so precious snuggled against him, it took
considerable effort to release her and coax her to her feet. “Time for your
shower and to slip into that crotchless leather outfit you bought. You have
fifteen minutes. Don’t make me wait.”

Her beautiful eyes went from slumberous, emotion-filled
brown pools to swirling chocolate sass in a blink. “Is that a threat?” Her tone
mischievous, lips twitching to repress a smile, she pivoted and presented him a
fine view of her retreating form, the rosiness of her lush ass a beacon to his
rising lust as she seductively wound her way up to her bedroom.

At the top, she stopped and looked over the rail. “Oh, I
meant to ask earlier. Where’d you get that bruise on your jaw?”

He rubbed the tender spot she referred to. He’d no doubt
he’d be sporting an ugly mud and puke-green rainbow in a couple of days. “Don’t
want to talk about it right now.”