“Yeah.” How had Ian protected his woman? “I know. It’s fine. I’m fine.”
Ian drove the rest of the way in silence while Liam’s brain raced with a million possibilities.
Unfortunately, not a one of them was good.
Chapter Nine
Avery woke up, blinking in the early morning light. She stretched, her muscles deliciously aching. Every minute of the night before came flaring back to life. She’d made love with Lee Donnelly, big, gorgeous Lee with the broad shoulders and beautiful face and filthy-as-sin mouth.
She’d made love with him in the middle of the night, but now it was morning and time to face the music. She didn’t look great in the morning. He probably would stay and have breakfast and be polite because that was the kind of man he was, but he would extricate himself from the situation and she needed to look cool and collected. God, she wasn’t cool and collected. She pulled the sheet up, unwilling to turn and look beside her. What if he was already gone?
How did these things work? What made her think she’d be able to handle a one-night stand?
The sheet she clutched was suddenly pulled straight out of her hands and cool air hit her breasts.
“I need you.” Lee straddled her, his eyes on her chest. He looked different this morning. Gone was the patient guy who had calmly explained what he wanted, and in his place was a hungry predator. He was boldly naked, his body lean and hard everywhere. The soft light of morning couldn’t dull his suddenly sharp edges.
And there was no way to avoid his cock. He was utterly erect, the thick, bulbous head of his dick nearly touching his navel as he stared down at her.
There was no kindness in him now. There was challenge and a cool distance that frightened her a little. For the first time, she really understood that she was small and weak, and he could likely kill her with his bare hands. Last night had still been civilized for all the dirty talk, but he seemed to demand something different in the light of day.
He leaned over, catching her wrists in his hands. She was trapped beneath his body, their chests touching, his cock nearly throbbing against her pussy. His weight bore her into the bed. His face was slightly cruel as he looked down on her.
“You want me to go, little girl? Last night was for you. If you let me stay in this bed, this morning is going to be for me and it might not be so pretty. It’s going to be dirty, and it’s going to be my way all the way.”
What had happened to him? She searched his face. Yes, he was acting like a dominant prick, but something in his eyes made her wonder. And what he’d said. He needed her.
She’d needed him the night before, and he’d given her everything she could have wanted. She wasn’t going to fool herself. She was already half in love with him. She wasn’t going to let him scare her off.
And wasn’t that what he was trying to do? Push her to see if she could really accept him?
She suddenly wasn’t so afraid of him anymore. She brought her head up and touched her nose to his. Her body was already warming up. “It wasn’t so clean last night, Sir.”
“Fuck.” The cold look vanished like it had never been there in the first place, and he slammed his mouth on hers.
He held her in place, and Avery understood what it meant to be inhaled. That was what he was doing to her. He dominated her mouth, kissing her like he needed her to breathe. Over and over again he took her mouth, and she gave it up willingly. When he released her wrists, she wrapped her arms around him. She let her legs tangle with his, offering him everything she had. He got her so hot so fast, as though her body now trusted this man to take care of her.
He moved from her mouth to her neck, his fingers on her nipples. “Tell me you’re mine.”
That was easy. She was beginning to think she’d been his from the moment he’d caught her in front of the mummies. “I’m yours.”
She wasn’t sure why he’d gotten possessive so suddenly, but he seemed to need reassurance and she was finding some of her own. He wasn’t acting like a man who was going to walk out on her.
“This is mine. This is fucking mine.” There it was again, that musical tone he took on when he was really aroused. She loved it. He whispered it across her breasts just before he sucked one inside his mouth and settled in to devour her.
She softened, her whole body giving over. She didn’t have to think here. Her mind didn’t run away from her. All she had to do was feel. All she had to do was let the connection between them flow.
She whimpered a little as he bit her nipple. It was a short, sharp pain, but seemed to spark something deep inside her. The pain melted into a thrumming heat.
“Yes, these are mine to torture. You like a little torture, don’t you, love?” He moved to the other nipple and bit down gently. She didn’t flinch. Her chest pressed up, welcoming him. “Yes, I’m going to clamp these gorgeous tits and run a chain between them. I can pull on it whenever I like and you’ll feel my bite.”
Dark images whispered across her brain. He’d told her what he wanted to do, but it hadn’t been real until now. He wanted to tie her up. He wanted her bound and helpless to the whims of his cock. It was so much easier to think that word now. The monster rubbing against her pussy wasn’t a penis. It was a big hard cock. It had brought her so much pleasure the night before. She wanted him inside again.
“Fuck, love. I don’t want to wait. Tell me I can have you now.” He growled against her skin.
Her savage beast. He’d told her it was his way or the highway, and just a few minutes of petting and he was domesticated again. “Please, Lee. I need you, too.”
He reared up, his hands pushing her knees apart. He spread her wide and looked down at her pussy. A little of the savage was back in his face, but she could handle him now. “You’re going to let me tie you up, aren’t you? You’re going to let me spank you. You’re going to be my submissive.”
She was willing to try just about anything with him. “Yes.”
“But not now. I need you too much now.” His hand went to the end table, and he came back with a condom. He had it rolled over his dick in a heartbeat. “Take me.”
He didn’t play around as he had the night before. He shoved his cock in. He spread her wide and forced that big dick inside in one long, penetrating thrust. He was up on his knees, his hands on her legs, controlling the penetration. He went at her hard. This was what he’d meant. He was in control, and he would have what he wanted.