Tall Tales and Wedding Veils (20 page)

Chapter 18

T
ony! What are you
doing?
”

Heather squirmed beneath him, but he held her snugly and reached around to cuff her other wrist. Clearly flabbergasted, she yanked hard on the cuffs. They may have been soft and furry against her wrists, but they were bona fide handcuffs that did their intended job.

Still sitting astride her hips, he leaned back and stared down at her. Not surprisingly, her smug expression had vanished.

She laughed nervously. “Come on, Tony. Handcuffs?”

“Yep.”

“I . . . I thought you were joking about that.”

“Now, see, Heather, that’s your problem,” he said as he swung his leg over her and rose from the bed. “You should know by now just how serious I am about crazy things. And things don’t come much crazier than fur-lined handcuffs. Unless . . .” He opened his closet door, pulled something out, and held it up. “It’s one of these.”

She blinked with surprise. “A
feather duster?
”

“Don’t worry,” he told her. “It’s a new one. No germs. I knew that would be an issue with you.”

“The
issue,
Tony, is that I’m handcuffed to your bed!”

“I decided your behavior last night warranted more than a single feather.” He sauntered over to the bed, tapping the handle of the feather duster against his hand. “And since I know how turned on you get by cleaning, I thought this was just about the ideal sex toy.”

She tugged on the cuffs. “Tony, this makes me a little nervous.”

“That’s because you’re a control freak. We’re going to work on that.”

“Fine. Let me out of these handcuffs and we’ll work on it all you want to.”

“Nope. You were a very bad girl, Heather. And now you’re going to pay the price.”

“I don’t think this is a good idea. Really. You need to let me go now.”

“In good time.”

“No, Tony. Seriously.
Now.
”

Tony walked over and sat on the bed beside her, still looking at her like a schoolmaster with a disobedient pupil. But then he leaned in and planted a warm, gentle kiss on the side of her neck.

“Trust me, sweetheart,” he whispered in her ear. “You know I’d never do anything to hurt you.”

When he pulled away, he turned his mouth up in a playful smile and gave her a subtle wink. She opened her mouth as if she was going to protest, and if she had, he’d have called a halt to the whole thing. Instead, she swallowed hard, and after a moment her fearful expression turned calculating.

“I
will
get you back for this,” she said.

“No, Heather. After tonight, you’ll be begging me to do it again.”

Then he stood up and did what she wouldn’t let him do last night. Very slowly, he pulled the sheet off her and tossed it aside. With candles lighting the room tonight and the handcuffs keeping her from covering herself up again, he could stare at her all he wanted to.

His gaze traveled from her shapely calves to the dark curls at the apex of her thighs to her full, heavy breasts capped with rosy pink nipples that were already tightening in the bedroom’s cool air. Her skin was flawless, looking so soft and touchable that he couldn’t wait to feel it beneath his hands. Her wild, walnut-brown hair was fanned out on the pillow, glinting like gold in the candlelight. It was as if he’d found a naked forest nymph in a darkened glen caught in a tangle of vines, totally at his mercy. And when she looked up at him with those clear blue eyes, it burned that impression right into his brain. All that was needed to complete the image was a bed of leaves and a few tiny flowers woven into her hair.

“Tony,” she said. “You’re staring.”

“Shhh,” he whispered, his finger against his lips.

She blinked. “What?”

“You’re messing up my fantasy.”

“Fantasy?”

“Change of plan,” he said, tossing the feather duster aside.

Her eyes widened. “Uh . . . Tony? You’re making me nervous again.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m just going to tell you a story.”

“You handcuffed me to a bed so you could tell me a
story?
”

“It’s a very special story. Once upon a time—”

“A fairy tale?”

He sighed. “It’s a standard story beginning. Recognized the world over. Will you just go with it?”

She looked at him impatiently. “Fine. Keep talking.”

“Once upon a time, there was a strong, handsome, virile knight riding through a dense forest on his trusty steed.”

Heather laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Fairy tales demand certain archetypes.”

“Okay, fine. So why is the knight riding through the forest?”

“He’s on a quest.”

“What kind of quest?”

“I don’t know. It’s irrelevant to the plot.” Tony began to unbutton his shirt. “Anyway, it gets late, so he stops to make camp for the night. He starts walking through the woods near his campsite, looking for wood to start a fire, when he hears a noise.”

He unfastened the last button and took off his shirt, tossing it aside. Then he reached for his belt buckle.

“He listens closely. It sounds as if tiny branches are breaking, as if somebody is shuffling through the brush. The knight is sure it’s an enemy on his trail. He draws his sword. He goes deeper into the woods, and the sound grows stronger. He lifts his weapon, and . . .”

Tony paused, and Heather’s eyes widened. “And?”

“And he lays eyes on the most beautiful creature he’s ever seen.”

“Creature?”

“A forest nymph.”

Heather laughed. “A
forest nymph?
”

“Yes. She’s lying on the forest floor. Somehow she’s gotten caught in a tangle of vines, and she can’t get loose. No matter how hard she struggles, she isn’t strong enough to free herself. And she isn’t wearing so much as a fig leaf.”

“Okay. I get it. I’m a naked forest nymph in bondage. You got that from a porn flick, didn’t you?”

“No. My stories always have original content.” He kicked off his shoes, then pulled his jeans off, taking his underwear with them, and tossed them aside. “Then the strong, handsome, virile knight—”

“You, of course.”

“Yeah. What gave it away?”

“The grandiose adjectives. That ego thing again.”

“Nah. It’s just typecasting.
So
. . . the strong, handsome,
virile
knight puts his weapon away and approaches her.”

As he spoke, he sat on the bed beside Heather. She looked down. “Got news for you, Tony. Your weapon is still drawn.”

“This is a simple story, Heather. Metaphors aren’t allowed. Shall I go on?”

“Please do.”

“The knight has never seen anything quite as beautiful as the forest nymph,” Tony said, dropping his gaze to Heather’s breasts, “and for a long time, all he can do is stare at her.” He paused. “And stare.” A longer pause. “And stare . . .”

“Tony,” she snapped.

“But soon she grows uncomfortable under his blistering gaze. The knight knows he should free her from the tangle of vines. But he also knows that the moment he does, she’ll disappear into the woods and he’ll never see her again.”

“What if she promises not to run away?”

“Forest nymphs may be beautiful, but they’re notorious liars. And he can’t let her go, anyway.”

“Why not?”

Tony leaned in and whispered against her neck, “Because he hasn’t yet satisfied his raging . . . male . . .
lust.
”

Heather swallowed hard. “Oh, my. I bet the forest nymph is starting to get a little uptight with all that testosterone flying around.”

“At first, she’s terrified. She struggles to free herself, but it’s pointless. The knight can do with her whatever he chooses. But then she realizes it’s not pain he has in mind.” He dropped his voice to a deep whisper. “Only pleasure.”

With that, he cradled Heather’s face in his hands and kissed her, amazed once again at how soft and sweet her lips were. He teased his tongue along her bottom lip, and she opened her mouth beneath his. He threaded his fingers through her hair, angled his mouth, and delved inside with his tongue. When he felt her stroke her tongue tentatively against his, as if she were an innocent girl still learning the wonders of kissing, he felt every contradiction that Heather was. On the outside, she was a tough, no-nonsense woman. Inside, though, she had a sweet naivety that blew him away. Just kissing her made him feel as if this were all brand-new to him, too, as if he’d found a whole new facet of lovemaking to explore.

Without taking his mouth from hers, he slid his hand to the side of her neck, where he felt her pulse pounding like mad. He’d shocked the hell out of her with the handcuffs. It had been a devious move on his part, but it was all going to be good. He wanted to make her feel things she’d never felt before. He knew he had a lot to pick from, considering her two and a half times—three and a half after last night—and the handcuffs ensured that whatever he chose to do, her modesty or apprehension wouldn’t stand in his way.

He moved his hand down to splay against her chest, his fingertips playing across her collarbone; then he passed his hand over the swell of her breast. He grazed his thumb over her nipple—once, twice—and with just that tiny touch, he felt a shudder pass through her and her soft moan hum against his lips. She was so sensitive. So responsive. The way her body reacted to everything he did—her face growing flushed, her breath coming faster, the tiny whimpers in the back of her throat—was genuine. After being with women for whom sex had been reduced to performance art, it aroused him like nothing else.

He kissed his way along her jaw, then moved lower to close his mouth over her neck in a warm, wet kiss, tugging at the flesh with his lips. She shuddered again, twisting her shoulders, but when he pulled his lips away, she tightened her grip on the straps of the handcuffs and tilted her head in a subtle invitation for him to do it again. He smiled and obliged, strumming her nipple at the same time, loving the way her body writhed gently beneath him.

Finally he stretched out beside her. He dropped a kiss against the swell of her breast, then drew her nipple into his mouth with moist suction. She let out a soft gasp and tried to shudder away, but he was relentless, teasing it with his tongue until it grew hard and stiff. Then he moved to the other one and gave it the same treatment, at the same time skimming his hand down her inner thigh to caress the tender skin there.

When he stroked his fingers between her legs, she jumped a little and shifted her hips, but he persisted, astonished to feel how hot and wet and swollen she already was. Before long, she was tightening her fists on the cuff straps and pressing against him, asking for more, but a reprise of last night wasn’t what he had in mind.

He backed away and rose from the bed.

“No!” she said. “Tony! Don’t leave me!”

“Take it easy, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere.” He moved to the foot of the bed and stared down at her, watching the sharp rise and fall of her chest and the way her whole body seemed to throb with impatience as she waited for him to touch her again.

He leaned over, placed his hands on her thighs, and smoothed his palms all the way down to her ankles. Then he gently pulled her legs apart and sat between them. He dropped his palms to her hips and passed his thumbs along the junction between her hips and pelvis.

Yes, yes, yes. Touch me now.

For as clearly as her body was saying that, she might as well have shouted it. But Tony was in no hurry. He stroked her thighs and hips for what seemed like forever, making her body go rigid with anticipation. Then he dipped his head and kissed her abdomen. Sliding down, he braced himself on one elbow at her right hip and sprawled between her legs. Resting his other hand on her thigh, he kissed her abdomen again, then dragged his lips lower. Kissed her again. Lower. Another kiss.

And lower still.

Heather had never been slow on the uptake, but until he parted her with his thumbs, it didn’t seem to dawn on her what he intended to do. When he flicked his tongue against her, she gasped and twisted hard to one side.

“No. Oh, God, no. It’s too much, Tony.
No.
”

She was breathing so hard she was on the verge of hyperventilating, but he didn’t say a word. He just held her hips until she stilled. She tilted her head back and drew in sharp little breaths of anticipation. Tony lowered his head again, this time closing his mouth over her with a soft sucking motion of his lips and tongue that made her squirm all over again, but he held her in place, and after a moment, she wasn’t fighting it and was even arching her body up to meet him.

He teased and tormented her, and she shivered beneath him. He could hear her breathing escalate, and when her shivers turned to shudders, he knew she was close. When she finally cried out, he glanced up to see her head thrown back, that wild hair spread across the pillow, her hands straining against the cuffs, and her whole body trembling with release. It was the most blatantly erotic thing he’d ever seen.

He needed to be inside her.
Now.