chapter 1
I woke with a start and sat bolt upright, the chill still holding me hostage, despite the warmth emitted from the blaze in the hearth. I shoved perspiration-dampened, plump dark-brown curls from my face as my heavy breaths echoed in the quiet bedroom.
Heart thundering, pulse raging.
My gaze flashed to the empty side of the California king Dane and I shared. To the tall windows in his creekside house. To the clock on the nightstand next to me.
A little after three in the morning.
I barely had time to process the nightmare I’d just had—the vicious game Vale Hilliard continued to play in my mind—when Dane barreled through the double doors to our room.
“Ari.” His emerald eyes were wild and filled with alarm.
“I’m okay,” I quickly assured him, though I couldn’t slow my breathing.
When he saw I was unharmed, he purposely schooled his hard features into softer angles. I’d witnessed his attempt to calm himself in front of me, to not be so enraged looking over what had happened in that canyon, and to not put me on-edge over the action he’d taken when he’d seen the blood on my face, my wrists bound to the rafters.
There’d been no snakes or scorpions. But I had been in Vale’s clutches. That had shredded Dane.
“Ari,” he repeated in a low tone. “What happened?”
“Nightmare. I woke myself. I’m all right.”
I watched him try to loosen his stone jaw, with no luck. I must have screamed aloud, not just in my sleep. And it haunted him, the way the memory of that day in the half-constructed house did. The way it had torn us apart until we couldn’t stand another second of the pain and I’d come to him here, making him swear we’d never be at anyone’s mercy again. That we’d never be away from each other.
The latter was a necessity. We were fated, each desperately needing what the other offered. The former wasn’t exactly a vow easy to make when the affluent Dane Bax was about to open the most exclusive hotel on the continent—and his former investors still wanted a piece of the pie.
I inhaled deeply, let out a long stream of air. Tried to steady myself, in hopes of wiping that guilt-ridden and tormented expression from his devilishly handsome face. “You just … You weren’t here.”
I’d felt his absence at the onset of the nightmare. Perhaps that was why, this time, I’d been left alone in the house, instead of Vale being there—threatening and sinister, but eventually defeated by Dane.
Not tonight. I’d been on my own, my most menacing fears unleashed. Including a missing Dane, who was supposed to rescue me.
He crossed the room in long strides and sat on the bed. The mattress dipped with his sturdy weight and it caused me to lean toward him. I clasped one of his rock-hard biceps to stable myself. And because he was too damn tempting.
His shirt had been tossed aside long ago, when he’d made love to me before we’d curled together and I’d drifted off to sleep, naked in his arms. I’d discovered from the very first night I’d spent in his bed that nothing compared to having his heat and commanding presence surrounding me. All those muscles. He would envelop me from behind, creating a cocoon of bliss and safety.
So much so that when he slipped away in the middle of the night I sensed it subconsciously.
“You didn’t mention you had work,” I said as he gently stroked my hair.
“Something occurred to me, and I had to speak with Nikolai. Different time zone in Moscow. It couldn’t wait and I didn’t want to wake him later on.”
I nodded. Dane and his legitimate investors were doing everything in their power to bring down the more corrupt members of a poli-econ secret society they belonged to, and I knew that was significant enough to weigh heavily on everyone’s mind, day and night. Regardless of time zones.
“I understand.” I shifted closer to him and he pulled me into his strong embrace.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“No, it’s okay. I have to get past all of this, find some way to stop freaking out every time you’re not right here with me.”
Granted, it wasn’t as though I could seek professional help for this particular ailment. I couldn’t exactly explain to a shrink that my boyfriend was part of a descendant Bavarian Illuminati faction that had turned dark and dangerous with insatiable greed. And he and some of the others fought desperately to extricate themselves from the oath they’d taken long before things had gone awry. Because, now, the actions of the corrupt members crept toward deadly—as I knew personally. Making time of the essence.
“Ari,” he said against my temple. “I love you. There’s nothing I want to protect more than you.”
My fingers grazed his tight jaw. “I know. But there’s something else that’s important to remain focused on, Dane. 10,000 Lux. It’s your vision, your dream. Everything you’ve been fighting for—something that means the world to me, too.”
With an agitated sigh, he untangled himself and stood. He turned toward the windows and stared out into the inky night, jamming his hands into the pockets of his loose, pewter-colored pants. Frustration and anger rolled off him in waves.
I climbed out of bed and, from behind, wrapped my arms around him. One hand splayed over the corrugated grooves of his abdomen, the other flattened against his hard pectoral ledge. He was too magnificently built not to touch. Six-foot-three, broad shouldered, tanned and toned, with lush, strategically mussed black hair and beautiful, mesmerizing green eyes.
I leaned into him, my bare breasts pressing to his heavily muscled back. I kissed his warm skin as his hands covered mine. The chill abated.
“I know you’re doing everything you can to save the Lux,” I said. “You, Ethan, Qadir, and Nikolai. Even Amano.”
Amano had been head of security for Dane’s father. Though Dane’s parents had died in a plane crash when he was just a month old, Amano had stayed on at the family estate in Philadelphia where Dane’s aunt had raised him.
The others were part of the small, generational secret society Dane had broken sacred rules to tell me about. For my own good, and because I’d insisted on knowing everything he was embroiled in.
Getting involved with a mysterious billionaire had posed a huge risk from the start, but it’d proven inevitable from the moment I’d laid eyes on Dane.
“We’re not far from the launch of the Lux,” I said. “A little over a month. Everything’s going as planned. No more mishaps. Clearly, the botching of Vale’s ransom attempt, combined with whatever it is you and the others have done to stand your ground, is working.”
It was two days before Thanksgiving. The grand opening of 10,000 Lux was scheduled for New Year’s Eve, with a jaw-dropping list of celebrities, global political and financial leaders, and other VIPs who had already RSVP’d to the event of the decade. The Lux was the height of opulence, and memberships were costly and exclusive. In high demand.
It had been seven or so weeks since I’d been kidnapped, a pawn to get Dane to reinstate the original investment team. Since then, we’d been blessed with smooth sailing—with the exception of my occasional nightmares, which left Dane tense with fury and remorseful that I’d been caught in the crossfire.
He said, “We’ve come to a silent truce. But I won’t take any chances.”
That meant I still had a bodyguard. The six-foot-six, solidly built, dark-haired, mid-fifties, incredibly formidable Amano. A man wholly dedicated to his charge.
“I know everything will turn out fine, exactly as you want it.” Dane was a perfectionist, and powerful enough to get what he wanted. “The only thing wrong at the moment is that I’m naked and you’re not inside me.”
He growled. A low, carnal sound that sent heat ribboning through me in the most alluring way.
He unraveled my arms from him and shoved off his pants. Lacing his fingers with mine, he led us to the bed. He climbed in first and held the covers up as I slipped in beside him.
We snuggled in the luxurious sateen bedding, facing each other.
Dane swept a curl from my temple. His touch was tender, though his eyes blazed.
“Believe me,” he said in his rich, intimate voice. “It didn’t go unnoticed that you were naked.”
I smiled. “I know.” My fingertips grazed his erection before wrapping around the base. Sliding my hand slowly up and down his thick shaft caused him to let out another seductive, sexy noise. Excitement flared low in my belly.
His lips tangled with mine. Sensuous, tongueless kisses that drew me in, so that I forgot all about snakes and scorpions and scary extortion plots.
I sighed contentedly against Dane’s lips. “You make everything fade away, dissolve into the background.”
“Good,” he murmured as he gently tugged at the corner of my mouth with his.
I pulled in a long breath, loving the smell of him. Male heat, a hint of sandalwood, and the enticing scent I could only describe as raw virility. Maybe that didn’t qualify as a fragrance, but it exuded from him, encapsulating his masculinity and power.
I breathed him in, feeling a heady rush from the intoxicating aroma. All that strength and confidence. The dark, intense beauty of him. Everything about this man permeated my senses and left me burning for his talented touch, his stirring kisses.
“Make love to me,” I whispered.
“Any way you want it, baby.”
Ah, decisions …
He had a healthy sexual appetite and a clever repertoire. I was certain that even after several months together he still hadn’t done to me everything he wanted.
But as my hand continued to pump, I had a change of plans.
“On your back,” I quietly ordered.
He crooked a brow.
Okay, so he was the commanding one in the relationship. Dane had never once denied me anything, though. And now was no exception. I released him and he did as I asked.
I straddled his waist, my hands gliding over muscles that flexed beneath my fingertips. He clasped my hips and raised me slightly, easing me back.
“Not yet,” I said, resisting him, though every fiber of my being ached to feel him thrusting deep. I had something else in mind. “You know how much I love your body.”
“And you know I’m not complaining about that. But once you get me going…”
“Yeah,” I said, leaning forward and nipping his lower lip. “It gets all hot and sweaty between us.”
I kissed him long and leisurely, our tongues twisting. His grip on my hips tightened. Our kiss deepened, turning provocative and passionate. I threaded my fingers through his silken hair and let him take the lead. Until I was restless and returning to my deviated plan.
Dragging my mouth from his, I kissed my way over his jaw and down the thick cords of his neck. My hands continued to caress his chest as I moved lower. He relinquished his hold on me and I licked one of his small nipples. Bit it affectionately, making his hips jerk. Then I ran my tongue along his abs, tasting him, admiring all the ridges and warm flesh.
“Ari,” he muttered sexily. His hands plowed through my hair, lifting the strands up and away from my shoulders and face. His cock nudged my opening.
I grinned coyly. “I told you … not yet.”
Shifting lower, I kissed my way downward, over his pelvis. My lips brushed along him, from base to tip.
“You little tease,” he ground out.
“I think you can handle it.”
“Don’t be so sure. Once you get started like this, it’s not easy for me to stop.”
I slid my tongue along the grooved underside of his smooth head, then closed my lips over him, suckling softly at first while my fist pumped again, unrushed.
“Christ, Ari.” He sighed. “Baby.”
Flicking my tongue over the indentation caused a bead of pre-cum to form and I licked it up. Then I took him deep and sucked hard.
His hips bucked. His fingers tightened the strands he held before he caught himself and loosened them. “Ari. You’re pushing me to the edge.”
I loved how he responded to everything I did to him.
My fingers unfurled and I slid my hand down to gently massage his sac, carefully rolling his balls as I took him in as far as I could again.
“Just like that,” he said in a strained voice.
I worked him in the way that made his breath come in sharp pulls. My tongue caressing, my teeth ever so lightly scraping on occasion, my mouth suckling.
“That’s it, baby.” He groaned. “You do it just right. You could make me come in a heartbeat.”
I knew he wouldn’t, though. There were times when I’d get him off like this, but since I’d gone on the pill and we didn’t need a condom, he preferred to come inside me. It was what I wanted, too. Needing to feel all of him, including his release deep in my core. From the first time I’d experienced the rush of heat and moisture, I’d been forever addicted.
My head bobbed a little faster and I heard the hitch in his breath. His cock pulsed in my mouth and I knew I tested his restraint.
When he was close to the boiling point, his hands shifted to my shoulders. “Don’t make me lose it,” he insisted. “I want to make love to you.” He guided me up his body while I left feathery kisses on his skin.
He kept leading me until his head was positioned between my legs, my knees on the mattress above his shoulders. The low headboard was tufted with distressed brown leather that matched all the chairs and the sofa in the room. A wide wooden ledge held a few expensive, artistic knickknacks and above it were framed sketches of various historic transportation schematics, with lighting to showcase them that was currently turned off. The only illumination came from the embers in the fireplace.
I leaned against the pile of pillows along the headboard and propped my forearms on the ledge as Dane’s mouth covered me. A raspy moan fell from my parted lips. My spine arched and my long curls tumbled down my back. Lowering my hips, I pressed myself against him.
“You get so wet for me,” he whispered, his warm breath teasing my sensitive flesh.
“Impossible not to. Just thinking about what you might do excites me. Actually, just looking at you does the trick.”
“But this is how you like to come. With my mouth on you.”
“One of many, many ways.” Everything he did was thrilling. I could never get enough of him.
His lips tugged at my slick folds, toying with me as an electric current raced through my veins.
I let out a lusty sigh. Dane got serious.
The tip of his tongue flicked over my clit as the tiny bud pulsed with an erratic beat.
“Yes.” My heavy eyelids closed and I concentrated solely on how wonderful it felt to have him licking and suckling, driving me wild. He’d been the first and only man to ever pleasure me this way. Every time he did, I was so relieved he’d issued a nothing’s off-limits ultimatum when we’d started our secret affair. That I’d accepted his demands.
It hadn’t been easy, but now, as I climbed that beautiful peak he always took me to, I had to admit he’d freed me from my intimacy-phobic shackles.
“Dane,” I whispered as the scintillating sensations heightened. “I’m so, so close.”
He worked me a bit feverishly, his tongue fluttering over my clit.
“Yes,” I moaned. “Christ.”
I twisted slightly and slipped a finger into my pussy from behind, pumping slowly. Not to be outdone, he eased in two fingers with mine and quickened the pace.
“Oh, fuck,” I gasped.
The flutter against the knot of nerves between my legs increased in tempo as well. The tension mounted.
“Come for me,” he commanded. “Now.”
He suckled deep. I erupted. “Oh! Dane!”
He didn’t let up, and I quaked from the powerful release that went on and on. My body vibrating, my insides sizzling.
“You taste so fucking good.” His words and his hot breath on my quivering skin kept my pulse jumping.
It took some time for me to be able to speak. “You want to be in me now, right?” My pussy throbbed with an incessant need for him.
I certainly wasn’t above begging—had done it many times before. But Dane didn’t disappoint. He withdrew his fingers and changed positions on the mattress, coming up on his knees behind me.
I returned to my propped-on-forearms position, back still bowed, my ass in the air. His supple yet strong hands cupped my cheeks, kneading almost roughly. I hadn’t pinpointed which body part of mine he liked the most, since he devoted equal attention to them all and diligently admired the entire package.
He playfully smacked my ass, jolting me.
“Hey,” I tossed over my shoulder. “That was for what, exactly?”
With a devilish grin and fire in his eyes, he said, “For being a bad girl and almost making me come in your mouth.”
“You like it when I’m bad.”
“And when you’re soft and sweet.”
“But that’s not what you want right now.”
“No.”
“You want me half out of my mind while you fuck me.”
“Hard.”
My stomach flipped. The throbbing in my core intensified. “What are you waiting for?”
His fingers slid along my cleft, sweeping back and forth over my pussy lips and then massaging my clit. “I don’t think you’re wet enough.”
“I’m plenty wet. So ready for you.” Everything about the man lit me up, whether he was touching me or not. I more than wanted him—I craved him. Had to have him.
“I don’t know, baby.” He gazed heatedly at me. “I’m really worked up over you. You do a phenomenal job of sucking my cock.”
My cheeks burned, though I should be used to his bedroom talk by now.
“I want you,” I simply said.
With the hand he’d used to arouse me, he stroked his erection, coating his shaft with my cream, slickening the skin.
“Now who’s the tease?” I asked.
His emerald gaze smoldered. “You know what I want.”
“Dane, please,” I finally begged, the way he liked. “Fuck me.”
His tip slid along my dewy folds, and I let out a throaty moan. Anticipation mounted as he continued to toy with me. It was wicked, a bit sadistic, and exciting at the same time.
My fingertips pressed into the ledge. My nerve endings ignited. And he wasn’t even inside me yet.
He rubbed slowly, tauntingly. So very tempting as his cock massaged with just the right amount of pressure against my clit and then along my damp flesh before returning to that ultra-sensitive spot.
“God, Dane.” I could barely breathe.
He pressed into me, just the tiniest bit. A sample of what I desperately longed for.
He stilled. I rocked back, forcing him farther in.
“No.” He didn’t let me get away with stealing more of what he wasn’t ready to give me, easing me forward with a hand at the curve on my waist.
“This is just plain cruel,” I whimpered.
“Not when I want to make you come again.”
He pulled out, his cock stroking along my folds once more. A bit faster. An exhilarating sensation that sent flames over my skin. He pushed against that throbbing bud between my legs and caressed skillfully.
As much as I wanted him inside me, the sensual rhythm along my hypersensitive flesh ensnared me. My eyelids drifted closed. I moved with him.
“Dane,” I murmured encouragingly.
“Changed your tune, I see.” Triumph tinged his intimate tone.
“Bed is no place to gloat.”
“But sometimes you need a little coaxing to my side.”
His very dark and edgy side. His intensely raw and occasionally dangerous side.
The hand that held my waist slipped around to my front and skimmed up to palm my breast. He squeezed enticingly, then pinched and rolled my nipple, pebbling it tight.
“You’re trembling,” he whispered.
“You’re going to make me come.”
“That’s what I love doing.”
A smile curved my lips. “And you’re fantastic at it.”
The crown of his erection nudged in once more. Dipping into me. Retreating. Dipping again.
My inner walls clenched, wanting to hold on to him, to never let him go. Wanting him to fill me and drive deep.
But then he went back to the erotic stroking along my lips and clit. A bit more forcefully, a heartier pace.
Lust shot through me. The thrumming in my pussy grew; the throbbing of my clit became strong, insistent. I clawed at the ledge as his hand shifted to my other breast, his fingers curling around the full mound, heavy and tender with my desire for him. The pad of his thumb whisked over the puckered nipple.
“I’m going to come,” I said on sharp puffs of air. “Oh, Christ. I’m going to come so hard.”
“Do it,” he demanded.
I was so frenzied, my body shook with the pleasure he brought.
Dane’s hand slid from my breast to that pearl between my legs, just as his cock thrust into me. Deep.
“Oh, fuck!” I called out. “Dane!” I with a fervent peaking that rocked me to the core of my being and sent scorching waves through every inch of my quaking body. “Christ!”
I clutched him, eliciting another low growl.
“Baby,” he said as he buried himself all the way, filling me thickly, stretching me. “Squeeze me tight.”
My inner muscles milked his cock.
“Like that,” he whispered.
He stroked in a measured pace, almost pulling out before pushing back in. My orgasm still radiated vibrantly, prolonged by this new pleasure.
“Dane,” I gasped.
One of his hands clasped my hip. The other still rubbed my clit as he pumped into me. “Nothing feels better than you, than this.”
I was as caught up in the passion as he was, torn between needing another soul-stealing release and wanting him to stay sliding and stroking forever.
His hunky body curled around mine and he kissed my shoulder, then nipped at the side of my neck.
I pushed my thighs together, flanked by his. Felt him even fuller and more acutely, every hard inch of him.
I gripped him firmly, and he said in my ear, “You know what that does to me.”
“It makes you want to fuck me faster.”
“And I’m going to.” His hips bucked as he plunged rapidly.
My breath hitched. “Yes … That is so good.”
He hit that sensational spot within that lit me up. I panted harshly as the pressure built and he thrust quicker.
“Oh, God.” My eyelids dipped, my back arched more, keeping my ass in the air, giving him the best access. “Fuck me harder,” I muttered. “Make me come.”
Greedy, sure. But I couldn’t help it. I had an insatiable need for him. And the orgasms he gave me were too electrifying to not demand more.
“Ari,” he said in a strained voice, his breath tickling the shell of my ear and sending a delicious shiver down my spine. “You’re so damn tight. So wet. So fucking perfect.”
I was far from the latter, but I certainly didn’t mind that he lusted after me so vehemently.
“I need you to come for me, baby.” His desire-roughened voice rumbled against my throat. His hips jerked skillfully as he pushed me closer to that alluring precipice.
“Dane.” The humming between my legs and the blaze in my core were too tempting not to give in to. Though I held on a few seconds more. “Right there.”
“I know.” He stroked confidently, inside and out.
Crazed whimpers fell from my lips.
“Ari. Christ.” His breath came in heavy pants with mine. “I have to feel you come.”
“It’s just so good…” But impossible to cling to, despite how much I loved climbing higher and higher. The tension reached the breaking point. “Dane!” I cried out as I shattered.
“Oh, yeah,” he said gruffly. “That’s it, baby. Come all over my cock.”
He slipped easily along my coated inner walls, still rapid and demanding. Keeping my climax hot and pulsating.
I stole a glance at him over my shoulder. His jaw set, his eyes filled with excitement and myriad other emotions. He was darkly beautiful. Mesmerizing.
Mine.
Love swelled within me. So, too, did his cock as he pumped heartily and barreled right to the ragged edge I’d fallen over moments before.
“You are too damn irresistible,” he told me, our gazes locked.
I felt the tremor move through his body, and then his cock surged and his body convulsed as he came.
“Fuck, yes.” He groaned. “Goddamn, Ari.”
His hot seed flooded my pussy, searing and wicked—making me come again.
“Dane.” I clenched him.
The igniting deep in my core, the release of his essence into my body, the intimacy we shared was all much more than I’d ever imagined for myself. And now I couldn’t fathom not having this in my life—not having Dane.
His sharp breaths mirrored mine, filling the quiet room. My body was limp; I was drained. But he held me to him, supporting me with an arm around my waist. With his free hand, he whisked damp strands of hair from my shoulder. I hadn’t even noticed the beads of perspiration that had popped up on my skin.
He kissed the crook of my neck, then the nape, in the spot that made everything inside me tight and tingly. I clutched him again.
“Oh, yeah,” he murmured. “Keep doing that.”
I slowly worked his cock with my inner muscles. He shuddered.
“Can I make you come again so quickly?” I asked.
“Only you could do this to me.”
I continued the tight squeezes, slow and measured at first. Then, as he grew hard, I picked up the pace, tensing around him, loving the feel of him as he stretched me once more.
“Ah, Ari,” he whispered against my hair. “So sweet and sexy. Needing me as much as I need you.”
More than I needed oxygen in my lungs and solid ground beneath my feet.
“I belong buried in your pussy,” he said in his sensual tone. “Surrounded by you. So snug and warm and wet.” His hips started to move again. Unhurried. Eliciting a slow burn. Pure heaven.
Though I held a claim over him, Dane Bax owned me. Possessed me. Call it whatever you wished, he had become my world. My lifeblood. Someone and something I couldn’t exist without.
We both had our issues, our crosses to bear. We were both embroiled in something ominous. A mysterious, fragile intrigue no one outside our small circle knew about. Even my best friend, Kyle Jenns, had limited knowledge. And I’d not uttered a word of it to my father, beyond telling him of the obvious attraction Dane and I shared.
Perhaps that was what made our bond so fierce. We were entangled in a private, sensuous, twisted, fated affair that left us with little control over our feelings for each other. And certainly no escape from them.
Unfortunately, that did not keep us safe from all the outside forces that threatened to tear us apart again.
I tried not to think of the terrifying aspect of being so consumed by love, so desperate for Dane on every level. Lost myself, instead, in the feel of him gliding along my heat and moisture, steadily increasing the tempo as he fucked me masterfully. I submitted to him, as always.
His lips grazed along my spine. Then his fingers lightly traveled up to my nape. Down to my tailbone, making me tremble. He slipped around to my front and cupped my sex with his large hand, rubbing the pad of his thumb against my clit, coating his skin. Then he returned his attention to my backside.
As he pumped into me, he rimmed that previously forbidden spot with his thumb. I’d given him free reign over my body the very first time we’d made love. I’d not once regretted it. Couldn’t. Everything he did turned me inside out.
Tearing my gaze from him, my eyelids closed and I rested my forehead against the top of my hand, splayed over the ledge.
He continued the decadent play and another orgasm built.
“Yes,” I muttered. Fire roared through my veins as his free hand returned to the apex of my legs and he massaged my clit. “I’m burning up.”
I palmed my breast, caressing it and pinching the nipple as all the sensations escalated.
“Come with me,” he commanded in a thick tone. “Now, Ari. Now.”
He thrust deep into my pussy, his thumb pressed in, and he exploded inside me. I cried out once more as his climax sparked mine, causing all that heat and tension to burst wide open.
My body shook. My lungs sucked in choppy breaths.
“Holy shit!” I blurted. “You are so fantastic.”
I always thought it could never get better or hotter between us.
I was always wrong.
Copyright © 2016 by Calista Fox
