This time it was her turn to obey and she did, even though this too was like none of the illustrations she’d seen.
He rose behind her and pushed her legs further apart. When she looked over her shoulder, her gaze met his and their reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall at his back. He gave her a wicked grin.
“That’s it, dragonfly. Watch your body take me.”
He dipped a finger inside her first, hitting a spot that made her writhe against his hand the way she’d writhed against his face.
“Christ, you’re beautiful,” he rasped as he slid in another finger. Jess kept her gaze on their reflection so she could see the way his whole body was tense with muscle behind her, his face flushed, his expression intense and his eyes hooded. She felt like a nymph being readied for a rutting satyr - like the ones in her sister Gert’s mythology books.
“Are you ready? I can’t hold on much longer.”
She nodded, because the rough cadence of his voice rendered her mute.
He set one hand on her hip and fisted the other in her loose hair. “Ride me, little dragonfly.”
He entered her in one long glide, and she felt the small sting of him leaving her hymen behind for all eternity. And then he was fully seated and she felt full and not full enough. She gritted her teeth against the pressure and tossed her head. He lifted his hand from her hip to stroke it down her back, as if she were a skittish mare.
Jess laughed at the thought and wondered for the first time that night who was taming who. Her lover had likely only given her the illusion she was in control. He tugged her back, so her head was nearly resting against his chest, and her body was arched at an almost painful angle. This time when he thrust intoher, the hit was deeper and the base of his cock brushed against her clitoris.
“You were playing games,” she wailed.
“Hush, sweeting,” he murmured and untangled his hand from her hair. “Bite my hand if you need to, but know this. Nothing about this thing between us has ever been a game. Even when I tried to convince myself otherwise and pretended that’s all it was.”
Jess dug her teeth into the side of his palm and he hissed as he thrust into her again. This time she reared back against him. His fingers dug into her hips and she knew the imprint would linger. Another reminder that this was her last chance to convince him he was made for her.
“I’m coming, dragonfly,” he groaned as he dropped his head to the curve of her shoulder. He set his teeth against her nape and the weight of him shuddered over her back before he went still.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you,” he mumbled into her shoulder before pressing a kiss there. “I’m sorry you didn’t find your release,” he said as he drew away from her.
She flipped over as he leaned back and watched him untie the sheath. He tied it tightly and set it aside, his solemn gaze lingering on her face.
“There will be no apologies between us. Not for this,” she told him.
He just gave her a wry smile and rose to his feet. “I’ll make it up to you,” he said over his shoulder as he strode to the washstand.
She leaned her face into her hand and unabashedly watched the flex of his bare ass as he walked away. There was muscle at his hip that rippled every time he took a step and she was fascinated.
He disappeared into the garderobe, and when he emerged, he caught her staring. He came to a stop and braced his hands on his hips. “Should I turn around for you?”
She propped her chin in both hands. “Please.”
He spun around several times.
“That’s enough for now. I don’t want you falling over and breaking something I may need later.”
The rich sound of his laughter filled the room before he pounced as he’d threatened to do.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jesshadn’tnoticedmuchabout his bedroom when he’d hauled her, clinging, across its threshold. But now that she was lying on top of him, her chin propped in her hands, she noticed everything. The decadent satin of the sheets against her bare feet. The scar on his chin that gleamed in the smudgy light of the kerosene lantern. The half-smile that hadn’t left his face and the way his thumb likely stroked her ribcage.
And the book on the floor. She’d almost stumbled over it - just before he’d caught her and tossed her down. It was the same one on pest control and agriculture she’d returned last week. It was flipped open to the title page and there was a scrap of folded paper inside it. She pushed herself to the edge of the bed and picked it up.
She heard his intake of breath when she started unfolding it.
It was an incredibly accurate, exquisite pen and ink rendering of a Gold-Tipped Garner.
She held it up to his face. “What is this?”
