Kept by the Billionaire, page 24
“Your beard tickles,” she whispered. “You should shave before you bed your wife.”
“Shut up,” he said softly, tracing his tongue across the taut skin of her flank. She flinched and laughed again. This time, he nipped her and she trembled with the wave of pleasure his small bite brought her. He shouldered her knees apart and kissed closer to her sex.
His kisses trailed downward and it dawned on her what he intended to do. A new wave of terror washed over her.
“You can’t really mean to…”
He lowered and kissed her intimate flesh. Not daring to move, she lay absolutely still. Her heart beat thundered.
“Nick, if you’re doing this to punish me…” Her words died away as he kissed her again.
He licked her, growling softly. “This is what I want. To taste you.”
While her mind reeled with shock, her body responded with its own wanton need. She arched as he found a particularly sensitive spot. He growled again and sucked her, stroking her with the tip of his tongue.
He was driving her mad. It was revenge for all the times she’d snubbed him. Or maybe it was revenge for slapping him.
She writhed and struggled against the ties around her wrists. He looped a steely arm around her waist and pinned her, then began a slow, steady torment. He teased her with his tongue, then kissed the inside of her thigh. Returning to her slick folds, he nibbled and sucked until she thought she might scream. Soft keening noises she hardly recognized came from her lips.
Need twisted inside. Pleasure so intense she thought she would go mad. He was deliberately teasing her. Ecstasy twisted and coiled inside her, all of it too much and yet, somehow, not enough. Tied down, she could neither escape nor seek more of his wicked attention.
“Please,” she whispered. “Mr. Kendal.”
She hadn’t meant to say his name – to call him by his surname.
He laughed. “All right, Mrs. Kendal. Since you asked me so nice, I’ll take care of you.”
He resumed his game, but this time he caressed her sex with his finger as well. He licked her, sucked her and drove her mercilessly higher and higher as some mysterious force gathered inside her. He pressed his finger into her, filling her with unbearable tightness, but pleasure too.
Then she shattered. She arched and screamed as pleasure gripped her. She twisted beneath him and cried out again as another wave crashed over her.
She sank back to the bedding and panted. Keeping her eyes closed, she grew aware of him moving up the bed to lay beside her. She sensed him waiting, but couldn’t bear to look. He’d tease her. Accuse her of being a harlot. She felt him tug the belt from her wrists and when free, she brought her arms down and curled into his chest. What she needed more than anything was for him to hold her, and silently, she prayed he would understand and not take that opportunity to make some sharp comment.
He pulled her closer. Relief washed over her and she let out a sob. Burying her face in his chest, she tried to recover from what he’d just done to her. Small waves of pleasure still skimmed over her and she trembled.
“Annie,” he said softly.
She didn’t answer, but lifted her hand to cover his lips with her fingertips. He kissed her fingertips and clasped her hand in his.
“Annie.” He kissed the top of her head. “Why didn’t you tell me you were innocent?”
She pulled back to look at him. His eyes held an expression she’d never seen before. A tenderness that took her by surprise. He brushed her hair from her face.
“I didn’t think you would believe me.” She shook her head. “Everybody in Colter Canyon assumed I was that sort of girl.”
He studied her for a long moment then slowly leaned down to kiss her. The scent of her own arousal was on his lips. She tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her retreat and deepened the kiss. Her thoughts spun and fragmented, and began to work upon her senses in a shameless way. She reached for him, wrapping her arms around the expanse of his shoulders. His kisses were slow, gentle. She was shocked by her own eager response.
Her hands drifted down the front of his shirt before she unbuttoned the top button. “How did you know?”
“I felt it when I touched you.”
Heat fanned across her cheeks. Focusing on his shirt button, she undid it slowly.
“I wouldn’t lie with a man unless I was married.”
He lifted her chin. His eyes held a look she hadn’t seen there before. A tender concern. Did he feel pity?
“I’m probably going to hurt you,” he said.
“You didn’t seem concerned about that when you had me over your knee.”
She frowned, but then caught the arch of his brow. His gaze wandered down her body and she cringed at his perusal. Her corset hung around her. Her chemise was in tatters. Pantalets long gone.
He tugged the remains of her underthings, pulled them off and tossed them aside. Then he undressed and prowled across the bed.
Candle light flickered across his body, illuminating his immense size. He was chiseled with muscle, rippling with power. She sat up, a reflex to the threat she felt. Somehow, he looked bigger naked. She didn’t dare let her gaze wander, the expression in his eyes, a primitive desire, was frightening enough.
He nudged her back to the bedding and nuzzled her neck, nipping the curve of her shoulder as he coaxed her knees apart. “Tonight I’m going to play nice. Take good care of my girl.”
Her heart melted at his sweet words.
He kissed her, delved between her lips with his tongue and growled when she submitted to him. While he kissed her, he pressed against her slick folds, pushed into her. She stiffened beneath him and whimpered.
Nick felt the two emotions battle within him, tenderness and possessiveness. He wanted to comfort her and spare her pain, but he also wanted to take her hard, to grab her and drive hard into her, to claim her.
“S’okay,” he soothed.
He thrust inside, once, then again while she clung to him. He pushed past her maidenhead, kissing her as he claimed her. She uttered a small cry and drew in a sharp breath from between clenched teeth. The stab of pain was sharp, but dissipated almost immediately and hints of pleasure followed. The pressure turned into something else entirely, something indescribably arousing as he began to make small gentle movements.
Shaking with pent-up lust, Nick held her and scattered kisses across her lips and along her jaw. He gave her time to adjust to his cock inside her.
“Annie, you’re beautiful. I wanted you the first time I saw you.”
She moaned softly, stroked his back with her fingertips. He began moving with a little more force, taking shallow thrusts.
“Hurting you?” he asked from between gritted teeth.
She shook her head, keeping her eyes closed. “It’s…fine. No. It’s…”
He growled, and allowed himself a little more of what he wanted, thrusting deeper. “What?” he demanded. “Tell me. Right now.”
When she didn’t respond, he took a swath of her hair in his fingers and tightened his hold. Her eyes fluttered and she looked up at him, a look of wonder lighting her expression. She writhed beneath him, small tentative movements that made his last bit of control slip away. He bit her neck, sucked the skin, and bit her again as he drove into her. She arched beneath him and dug her fingers into his back.
Lifting her legs, she clasped them around his hips. A tiny cry came from her lips, one she stifled immediately.
“I want to hear you. Just like when I was licking your pussy.”
A look of outrage flitted across her features. He’d seen it before and damn if he didn’t like shocking her. He slipped his arm beneath her and lifted her off the mattress. He thrust hard, holding her up to meet his passion.
She twisted and clawed the sheets then arched back, crying out with shuddering ecstasy. She thrashed in his arms as pleasure spilled over her a second time. He held her, filling her with his cock until he came. He snarled over her like a ravening beast, lowered her to the bedding, and braced himself above her on his elbows. She lay beneath him, limp, eyes closed. Her breathing came in short gasps.
When his breathing slowed, he brushed a kiss across her lips. “You belong to me. I as good as own you now.”
It wasn’t what he should say to her. He should say tender things. Sweet things. Instead, he spoke his mind. Sex with her had stripped away all pretense and civility. She lay still. Her eyes remained closed.
“Say yes,” he commanded.
She lifted her lids and pursed her lips. In her weakened state, she didn’t seem able to summon her usual look of reproach. Their wedding night had been a battle of wills. The room was in shambles, her delicate underthings ripped from her. He’d taken her hard and reduced her opposition to almost nothing. A deep, satisfied smile tugged at his lips.
“Say yes.”
Her lids fluttered closed, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “Yes, Mr. Kendal.”
Chapter Four
Nick woke in the early morning light to the sound of women’s voices outside the cottage. He heard Marta and Emily chatting, their footsteps on the stone path, and the clatter of crockery being set on the stone steps leading up to the front porch. They had brought breakfast.
He rolled over to face Annie. She lay on her stomach. Her hair spread over her bare back and across the pillow. Her eyes were closed, a smile curved her lips.
“Did you tell them to come at the damn break of dawn?” he demanded.
“Mm. I was afraid for my safety.”
“So you sent for the cavalry?”
Footsteps sounded on the porch before a knock sounded at the door. Whispering and giggling followed. Nick rolled closer, covering part of her with his torso, kissing her shoulder and biting her.
Her eyes flew open and widened with dismay. She mouthed an adamant, ‘No!’
He gave her a sultry look and nodded slowly, tugging the sheet from her. Naked and exposed, she tried to grab back the sheet, but he held it in an iron grip. The look of alarm on her features became more pronounced. He cupped her ass. Caressed it.
She bit her lip.
“Think how fast they’d leave if they heard the bed squeaking,” he murmured.
She gave him a pleading look. “Nick, please, I don’t want them to think we’re doing that.”
There was another knock at the door. Softer this time and a little more tentative.
“What’s it worth to you?” he asked.
“Anything.”
“Well…Damn. It’s a deal,” he said softly.
He got up from the bed and slipped on his pants, and went to the door. Emily stood on the porch, holding a breakfast tray, her eyes lit with mischief. Marta stood on the steps. The expression on her face was apologetic. Nick knew the tray had been Emily’s idea. Marta shrugged her shoulders.
“I thought you might be hungry, Nick. Is Annie up yet?” Emily asked.
Nick took the tray. “She’s in bed.”
Emily glanced past him and her jaw dropped. She snapped it back closed. He could imagine what she saw. The room looked like the Magnolia did after a brawl. Broken furniture. Upturned chairs. The only difference was that the cabin was also strewn with discarded wedding clothes. Judging from the worry in Emily’s eyes, it probably looked pretty bad.
“Is everything okay,” she asked, just a little too loudly.
Nick took a piece of toast from the tray and bit off a corner. He nodded. “Sure is.”
“Is Annie all right?” she asked.
“Why wouldn’t she be?” He winked at Marta.
“Vamenos, Chiquita,” Marta said. “Let’s go. Annie’s fine.”
Annie spoke, behind him. “I’m fine. Really.”
Nick smiled at the two women standing in the morning sunshine. “Thank you for the breakfast. Y’all going to bring lunch as well? In case we’re still…resting.”
Emily frowned, not sure how to respond to that, but Marta spoke up. “We’ll bring lunch. Of course. Also, there is a letter for Miss Annie. A note from the brother. Javier sent a man back to the ranch last night.”
He took the letter, nodded and went back into the cabin, shutting the door behind him. Setting the tray on the bedside table, he sat down on the edge of the bed. There were several covered dishes, eggs, fried potatoes, and a heap of bacon. Suddenly, he was overcome with hunger, and judging from Annie’s expression, she was too.
He handed her the envelope. She read it with a smile on her face. “Beau says he’s having a fine time on the trail.”
“I told you I’d take care of him.” He offered her a plate with a wry grin. “Our first meal together and you’re naked, Mrs. Kendal.”
She clutched the sheet to her and took a bite of bacon. “And you’re half-naked. Furthermore, if you had an ounce of decency, you’d go back to the house and tell them to send my travel trunks.”
He ate his breakfast, polishing off what she didn’t eat and setting his plate aside. She eyed him warily while she finished off the last of her food.
“What is it?” she asked.
A smile tugged at his lips. It was hard to resist smiling at her when she looked at him with the smallest hint of apprehension on her features. She clutched the sheet more tightly as if that would provide some protection from him.
A soft growl rumbled inside him. “You saying I’m not decent?”
A shadow of worry crossed her features. She bit her lip and gazed at him for a long moment. “Are you saying you are decent?”
He took her plate and prowled the length of the bed. He’d awoken that morning, fully aroused. The feel of her next to him, her scent and the memory of what he’d done to her and with her the night before, made his cock hard. Or maybe he’d stayed hard. That had pretty much been the case ever since he’d first laid eyes on her.
He pulled her down beneath him. A small cry of dismay came from her lips. She pulled the sheet up to the bridge of her nose, so just her eyes were visible. Before they’d married, he’d caught her gazing at him many times. Sometimes with curiosity. Sometimes with anger, when he’d just beaten her brother at cards. Mostly with contempt, when the saloon girls sat next to him to say hello. Now, she looked at him with a mixture of nervousness and desire.
He leaned down to kiss her. Just a light brush of his lips on her forehead. “I asked you a question and you answered with a question.”
“Is that bad?”
She spoke in a whisper, her mouth still concealed by the sheet, her eyes lit with amusement. It stole his breath. His sweet Annie. He loved this teasing, playful side of her and wanted to tease her back. He wanted to make her smile. To writhe with pleasure. To whimper while he spanked her or drove into her.
“Most women are a little worried about getting on my bad side.” He spoke softly.
She shrugged a shoulder. “We’ve been married less than a day, but I’m not sure I’ve been on your good side yet. Why should I be concerned?”
“You have a lot of questions first thing in the morning.”
“I have a hundred questions, Nick.”
“I’ll answer two of them.”
She frowned. “The first is, when can I have my clothes?”
“Later. That’s one.” He tugged the sheet from her mouth and kissed her. “What’s the second question?”
Her eyes softened and a look of vulnerability drifted across her face. She looked so innocent and lovely, it stole his breath. He waited. Wondered. Did she have feelings for him? Feelings that overwhelmed her?
“You want to tell me how crazy you are for me and how you’ll always do exactly what I tell you to do from now on. And, your question is how can you please me?”
Her lips thinned and she shook her head. “I wanted to know how you manage to be such an impossible beast first thing in the morning.”
With another growl, he yanked the sheet to her waist. When she tried to cover her breasts, he grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the bed. The night before, he’d only seen her in the soft lamplight. Now, she lay beneath him in the bright morning sunshine. He groaned. She was slim, he knew that already, but naked, she looked small and fragile. Her breasts were full and lush, and fit perfectly in his hands. Her waist tapered and then flared into the soft curve of her hips.
“Are you finished?” Her voice was soft, but the challenge there sparked a primitive response inside him.
He frowned. “Finished? I haven’t even started.”
Her mouth opened and she blinked. “You…you can’t mean for us to…in the daytime?”
He let go of her wrists and narrowed his eyes. Twirling his finger, he motioned for her to turn.
She gave a breathless laugh and shook her head. He grasped her shoulder and gently urged her to her side with the intention of putting her on her stomach.
“Sounds like my bride needs a little reminder of how to obey her husband in bed. Do I need to remind you of the vow you took last night?”
She allowed him to turn her over. Before he got her on her tummy, though, she darted to the edge of the bed, jumped to her feet and snatched the blanket. She wrapped it around herself as she backed away from him. Her breath came in soft panicked bursts, her eyes glinted with mischief.
“Come back.” He got up from the bed.
“I don’t think so.” She stepped behind the table and edged away. A swathe of hair fell into her eyes. She swiped it away and bit back a smile. “I’m going to scream for help. Tell everyone what an impossible, domineering man you are.”
He stalked across the room and lifted the table to its side, shoving a chair that was in his path. She yelped and backed into the corner. “You didn’t answer my question. How do you manage to be such a beast before noon?”
“Only when I’m provoked.”
He set a hand on either side of her, caging her. She held the blanket tightly and gazed up at him with a look of exaggerated innocence.
“Give me that blanket and I’ll only spank you five times.”
She shivered. Her eyes darkened with arousal and his cock strained against the fabric of his pants. No woman had ever worked on him like Annie. With other women he’d only ever wanted a single night, but after last night, he wanted her twice as badly.
