Giving her a patented Jared smile, he agreed, but Annabelle could tell he was anxious to get rid of the woman. When she’d left, he set off like a kid with the key to the candy shop, pulling her along after him with a tight hold on her hand.
Opening the front door, he walked into the foyer. “Damn, it’s even better than I thought.”
“Oh, Jared.” Annabelle felt her mouth drop open in surprise. “It’s like a fairy tale.”
The circular foyer led to a sunken area that was twice the size of the entire first floor of the shop. A grand staircase with a balustrade of dark wood to the right of the door led to the second floor.
Wandering through the first floor, Jared noted broken windows, some water damage. Looking through the materials from the agent, he said there were eighteen bedrooms on the second and third floors, but only three had separate baths.
“Have to add baths,” he mumbled under his breath. “Lose a couple rooms there. The kitchen’s huge but that’ll need a total update.”
After exploring the first floor, they headed up the staircase. The first few rooms lacked anything other than wallpaper and trim.
Jared stopped in one room to check out the bathroom, but Annabelle continued on to the end of the hall, her curiosity piqued by a large intricately carved panel of wood on the wall. Flowers and vines writhed over the surface in a pattern reminiscent of Arabic script. She moved closer to have a better look and realized the panel was a door.
She looked for a knob but found none. After a few minutes of pressing her fingers into any and all indentations, she found a hidden latch in one of the carved flowers.
The door glided open on silent hinges to reveal a curved stairwell. Up the stairs, she gasped in delight as the tower room came into view.
Rose moiré silk draped curved walls, inset with windows every few feet and a door she assumed led to a bathroom next to the entry. This room was bare, but an intricate metal spiral staircase near the back led to a loft. Climbing up, she came face-to-face with a scene out of Arabian Nights.
Panels of gold, silver, and purple fabric hung from a ring on the ceiling, creating a tent-like effect over a large circular bed dead center in the loft.
Wandering over to the bed, she ran her fingers down the drapery, marveling at the quality of the silk. Golden tassels held the panels together at the sides, and a purple comforter covered midnight-blue silk sheets.
Wow. She’d love to meet the designer of this room.
What a bed! Annabelle couldn’t help but kick off her shoes and stretch out. She closed her eyes and let the sensuous silk surround her, soothe her, seduce her into relaxing.
A small sound made her eyes fly open, and she saw Jared at the top of the stairs.
“You look like you belong there.” His voice caressed her, the intense heat in his eyes scorching. “I want to tie you to that bed and never let you leave.”
Her heart began to race and she couldn’t catch her breath. His desire was a palpable force, holding her in place as if he’d tied her hands to those silken panels with the tassels.
Just thinking about that made her body heat and moisten.
As she stared, Jared shrugged out of his coat and dropped it to the floor. She raised herself onto her elbows and watched as he walked toward the bed and stopped in front of her.
Reaching for her jeans, he popped the button, then released the zipper, the metallic rasp echoing through the room. The cool air seemed to heat around them, and she swore she’d be able to see steam rising from their bodies soon.
Instead of pulling down his own jeans, though, he grabbed the sides of hers and yanked them to her bent knees hanging over the side of the mattress.
She drew in a sharp breath as her underwear caught and followed, leaving her exposed to his hot, searching gaze. And her legs trapped.
Wanting him to touch her, she arched her hips but he reached instead for the buttons on her sweater. The little discs didn’t give him any hassle, but she felt each pluck and release between her legs.
He didn’t remove the sweater, just parted the sides so the pretty pink bra that matched her underwear was exposed. His fingers drew white-hot lines of fire over her skin, drawing her nipples into aching points that throbbed under his gaze.
She reached for him, but he caught her hands before she made contact and held them at her sides. When she murmured a protest, he just smiled.
“This bed was made for sex, wasn’t it, Belle?”
Instead of being turned off by his language, Belle’s body tightened, desire drenching her like a downpour. Her nipples tightened into unbearably hard peaks, the muscles of her pussy clenching in anticipation.
“Will you let me fuck you on this bed? Clothes on, fast and hard, down and dirty.”
Jared released one of her hands so he could run a finger down her torso starting at her chin, carefully avoiding her breasts until he reached the soft curls between her legs. He drew a few strands between his fingers, curling them around the tips, before he withdrew, causing her to groan.
“Do you trust me, Belle?”
She couldn’t speak so she nodded.
He moved then, reaching above her head.
When he untied the tasseled cords from the posts and left them dangling, she thought she might hyperventilate from excitement. He released her right hand, then brought her left one up and wrapped the cords gently around her wrist, laying the ends in her hands.
When he’d done the same to the right, he just stared, his breathing a harsh rasp in the silence.
When he reached for her again, he brushed against the sides of her breasts, sweeping down to her hips and her outer thighs. Sensation followed, pulsing over her like a wave. He touched every inch of her body but the throbbing flesh between her thighs, until she strained against the cords so hard she was afraid she’d bring the bed down on them.
At the precise moment she couldn’t take it any longer, he groaned and froze, his fingers shaking as his control began to implode.
Then his fingers moved again, arrowing straight between her thighs. He slipped two fingers between her legs and felt the wetness seeping from her. Because of her jeans at her knees, she could barely open her legs, and his fingers felt huge as he worked her.
When she was panting and nearly ready to climax, he withdrew, making her cry out. But in the next second, he found her clitoris and rubbed the moisture around it until she sobbed.
“Jared, please.”
Her eyes closed, she banged her head against the mattress and pulled on the cords, wanting to release her wrists so she could reach for him.
The sound of foil tearing made her pause and her eyes opened to find him rolling a condom onto his engorged shaft.
“Hurry.”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he stepped back, but only far enough so he could grab her ankles and lift them to his right shoulder. He lifted her until he was perfectly aligned to thrust into her. The tip of his cock pierced her, and he gave one shallow thrust before he slammed home and slid deep.
The pace he set was hard and fast and just this side of dirty. The position allowed him to watch her, his eyes slitted and intense, a dark, dark blue. He reached out to caress her breasts in time with his thrusts. Raising her hips to meet each thrust, she encouraged him to go faster, to fuck her harder.
She couldn’t look away. He had her pinned with his eyes. He forced her to stay with him, to match his every thrust with her own.
“Like it, Belle?”
She didn’t have the breath to answer. She could only tighten around him, making him groan.
“I know you do. Jesus, Belle, you are so fucking tight. I love being inside you.”
His words tugged on that invisible string inside her, making her body tighten almost to the point of pain.
Her orgasm built low in her body, her blood beating in her veins. She drew the scent of him into her lungs with each breath and let that trigger her final descent into bliss.