Since the cost was her heart, it was a hefty price tag, clinging to this fruitless dream of a happily ever after for them.
She repeatedly hammered that resolution into her brain—right up to the moment Jerrick strode back into the room. He stopped a few feet away from her, the corners of his lips twitching. “Is there something you’d care to come clean with me about?”
Her brain went completely blank. “I, uh, don’t think so.”
“Really?” He slowly pivoted, and her gaze landed on the delectable sight of his butt cheeks protruding from the cutouts she’d made in the tight leather. “Pretty damn sure these pants didn’t have built-in air conditioning for my ass two days ago.”
“I might have made some adjustments back when I was pissed at you. Now I’m extra glad I did.”
He grunted and turned around to face her. All moisture drying in her mouth, she stared at the sheer masculine magnificence of him. The red leather molded to his long, powerful thighs like a second skin. The garment was slung low, revealing the deep, mouth-watering V lines where his hip and groin met while also accentuating the eye-popping bulge of his cock.
“On top of having my ass exposed, if these damn things sat any lower, I’d have to shave everything,” he groused.
There was an intriguing prospect. It took all her restraint not to ask if she could apply the shaving foam for him.
He adjusted a strap on the chest harness, drawing her focus to that portion of his costume. On anyone else, she suspected the accoutrement would look ridiculous. But it absolutely suited Jerrick. It was easy to imagine he’d come tumbling out of the womb wearing it. Which was a weird thought that threatened to make her chuckle. Regardless, the leather harness created an ideal framework for the glorious, caramel-skinned perfection of his muscled torso. He looked so damn alpha badass, she wanted to swoon. “Just so you know, you couldn’t resemble a sub named Bill any less if you tried.”
He grunted. “What does everyone have against the name Bill?” Returning his focus to the uncooperative strap, he continued tugging and cursed when it remained unbudging. Taking her cue, she launched off the sofa and batted his hand away from the buckle.
She eased her finger beneath the leather strip, and the velvety expanse of his rib cage rippled under her touch. He radiated heat and delicious, woodsy musk. She longed to bury her nose against his golden skin. Become drunk and woozy on the essence of him.
So she did.
His sharp inhalation drew his muscles rigid, and the rapid drum of his heart pounded beneath her lips.
“Avi, what are you doing?”
“Not Avi, remember? Mistress Scarlett.” She shifted lower and swirled her tongue over his nipple. The flat nub hardened, and she rewarded his response with a gentle nip of her teeth.
The shaky groan that slipped from him filled her with feminine pride. To be able to affect him, crack through his defenses—no headier power existed.
Curling her tongue, she followed the curve of his pectoral and beelined south. His abdominals quivered under her roving kiss, bolstering her confidence. Gripping his hips, she crouched in front of him, her rapid breaths fanning his straining fly. She peered up at him through her lashes and caught the tautness of his features and the wild, exotic glow in his eyes.
Without breaking the intimate connection of their gazes, she inched forward and stroked her tongue over the swell of his erection. Even through the layer of leather, she swore she tasted him and the potency of his desire. She trembled with need, with love and desperate craving.
She reached for the fastener on his pants, but he hauled her up fast, his hands banding fiercely on her upper arms. “Goddamn it, Avi.”
“No, Mistress—”
He slammed his mouth over hers, cutting off the remainder of her denial. His tongue thrust past her lips, sweeping deep and igniting her blood. He tangled his hands in her hair, his kisses greedy. “You’ve had your turn at playing master. This time it’s mine.”
Her pussy clenched at his primal growl and the carnal way his gaze drifted over her body, as if he were already fucking her in his mind. He deftly slipped the buttons free on her blouse and eased the garment from her before following suit with her skirt. His hands glided over her butt, instigating a colony of goose bumps. Just as she was melting into his touch, he delivered a firm smack on both ass cheeks.
She jolted, gasping. “What was that for?”
“Desecrating a bloody expensive pair of pants.”
She started to rub her backside, but he held her arms to her sides. Excitement heated her blood, further fired by the persuasive caress of his lips along her tummy. Punishment became bliss as he ran his tongue over her quivering skin. She moaned, and he immediately stopped. He released her hands and offered a warning tap on either wrist, mutely commanding her to stay put. Weak-kneed with anticipation and desire, she breathlessly waited to see what his next demand would be.
It didn’t come until after he pulled his belt from its loops. Instructing her to clasp her hands in front of her, he secured the unyielding strip of leather around her wrists. His palms a gentle coax on her shoulders, he guided her down to the floor. She stretched her arms above her head and looked up into his impossibly blue eyes. There wasn’t an inch of her that didn’t tremble in expectation.
He lifted to his feet and crossed to the silver bag that’d been left with his pants. He removed the strange fur mitt she hadn’t been entirely sure of the purpose of when she’d first discovered it. Witnessing the blazing intensity in his gaze now, she had a good inkling that mitt came with nefarious designs guaranteed to drive her out of her mind.
He sat near her hip and blew a soft breath upon her nipple. She shivered, the tremors quadrupling when he coasted the mitt along the swell of her breast. The fine, ticklish fur proved an inescapable torment as he swirled over the hollow of her belly. Whimpering, she dutifully spread her legs when he directed her to do so. The fur swept lower and found a new target to tantalize and torture. She bit her lip to keep from crying out when he unerringly zeroed in on her clit. Dander-fine fluff teased the agonized bundle of nerves. Fluttering…fluttering…
She tensed, her hips instinctively straining toward that blissful flitter of fur. “Jer.”
The mitt abruptly vanished, and she sobbed in anguish, her tears leaking down her cheeks. Something wet and marvelously soft flickered over her clit. Jerrick’s tongue. A delirious moan rolled from her chest, and she arched her back from the rug. He upped the pace of his feasting, eating her with lusty growls that sent delicious pleasure swimming through her cells. She broke on a keening wail, the orgasm crashing through her system and leaving her a limp wreck. Jerrick climbed over her, his free hand reaching for his zipper.
She scissored her legs wider, desperate mewls tearing from her throat. “Please, take me.”
A look of indescribable agony flashed across his face. He closed his eyes, his hand fumbling with his fly. She offered a contented sigh when he sprang his cock from the confines of his briefs, but rather than guide it where she wanted it most, he stroked himself to a hard, fast orgasm all over her breasts and belly. He shuddered, his pumping fist slowing until he’d squeezed his cock of every drop of his seed. He stared at her breasts before sliding his fingers through the mess he’d made of her.
“I’m sorry, Avi.” The awful regret in his eyes was like a punch to her soul. “This is the only way I can ever take you, and I shouldn’t have stooped to it.”
Stooped to it? “What are you saying?”