ADULT EXCERPT

Arleigh caught her lip between her teeth. Her eyes fluttered downward. The sight of her sudden surrender made his heart stutter. When she began to unlace the strings of her shift with shaking hands, he wondered how long he would let her suffer. She shouldn’t have been so bitchy. He had been going to let her off the hook, but now, well, now he was pretty much going to make her pay. He’d let her go in a little while but enjoy her discomfort while he had it. His dick rose in anticipation of the sight of her. He would pay for it later.

She shrugged the shift off her shoulder, and her gaze darted to his. “Keep going,” he said.

“You’ll die,” she whispered.

“We all die.”

“I mean tonight,” she said.

“Is that a threat, Arleigh? Planning to kill me in my sleep?”

She shook her head. “I won’t need to. You’ll just die.”

“I’ll risk it. Take it off.”

The shift slid downward and dropped to her hips. Ryder sucked in a breath. One breast, pert with her youth, tight, the rosy nipple hard and swollen, jutted toward him eagerly. The other breast was hidden by a veil of hair. He swept it over her shoulder and took a step away. She wouldn’t look at him. He reached toward her, and she flinched when he hooked his finger into the fabric at her hips. He counted to ten, prolonging her agony, watching her face twitch in anticipation then gave a little tug. The chemise fluttered to the floor. He was glad her eyes were closed. The sight of her nearly overwhelmed him. She was the most breathtaking thing he’d even seen.

“Christ, you’re beautiful,” he whispered.

She was a small woman, but the curves sweeping her body were sensuous, pure female, gentle swells that enhanced the fragility of her tiny body. The perfect globes of her breasts rose high and firm above a tight abdomen and the contours of her hips. Her flesh held a girlish innocence that had nothing to do with her youth. Her pale skin had a rosy tint, perfect, not a blemish, not a scar. It amazed him to find such perfection, considering the life she must have led. He silently thanked Stephen for taking such good care of her. Her hands clenched against her thighs, long, lean muscles that tensed in her fear. Between her thighs a small thatch of russet curls glistened with moisture.

He struggled to keep the awe from his voice.

“Turn around, Arleigh.”

She didn’t argue. She turned slowly, and his gaze wandered over the long strands of deep red hair, down to where the curls swept the curve of her lower back. Her ass swelled taut and firm, not overly generous, but still full and rounded. He would be able to cup it in his hands. He moved closer and placed one hand on her. Her skin was so smooth. He ran his hand over the soft swell, cupping her for a moment then he swept his finger slowly between her cheeks. She clenched her muscles against the invasion, and her breath hissed from between her teeth.

He laughed softly. “Nice butt, Arleigh, but I’m sure you’ve heard that before.”

Her fists flexed. The little wench wanted to deck him. She trembled with fear, but her feisty nature still had a little control. He was glad he hadn’t made her cower. She was a brave little thing. He circled around her body, inspecting every inch of her, watching her face and the way each muscle in her body tensed, clenched, or otherwise tried to repulse the touch of his stare.

“You’re quite the package, a nice piece of ass. Almost everything I’ve ever wanted, all wrapped into one woman.”

“Almost?” she whispered.

“I could do without the bitchiness.”

“I wouldn’t be that way if—”

“And the backtalk. You have an argument for everything. I’m beginning to think you had Stephen wrapped around your little finger. Those days are over, honey, so you better get used to it. I’m in charge now. Look at me.”

Her gaze drifted up to his.

“Do you want to do this the easy way or the hard way?”

“What’s the difference?”

“The difference is what you get out of it,” he said. “I can take what I want, or I can take you to heaven. It’s your choice.”

“I don’t want to do it at all,” she murmured.

“Objection noted but overruled. Here or the bedroom? I’ll give you the choice.”

Arleigh’s gaze drifted around the keeping room then closed wearily. “Here is fine.”

“The wall, the table, the floor? Have any preference?”

She shook her head.

“Unlace me.”

Arleigh’s eyes shot open filled with horror. She shook her head furiously and darted away from him. He grabbed her arm and spun her around, pulling her tight against him.

“You don’t take orders very well, do you? We’ll have to do something about that.”

“Please, Master Kendall.”

He dropped his arms and took a step away. “Unlace me, Arleigh.”

“I don’t want to.” A glimmer of fire flashed in her eyes. “How far do you intend to take this charade?”

“All the way, baby. And for your information, I don’t play charades. I’m more of a Scrabble man. Better get down to business. I’m growing impatient with your dawdling.”

She tossed her hair over her shoulders. Her eyes filled with a lively spark, and a haughty superiority flashed in the green depths.

“And I’m growing impatient with your arrogance. What makes you think you can inspect me like chattel? Who do you think I am that I will allow this pitiful attempt at lovemaking? You’re a swaggering overbearing tyrant, and I want you to leave my house.”

“The hard way then,” Ryder said.

He swept her up in his arms. The feel of her bare skin in his hands was intoxicating. “I’ve changed my mind. We’re going to the bedroom. And it’s still an invitation. The way I see it, Arleigh, you want it as much as I do.” He slid his hand between her legs and ran his fingers across the soft moist folds. “Your pussy is wet. Hard to deny you want me.”

“You’re wrong!”

“I’ve been wrong from time to time, but not about this.”

He slammed his mouth over hers and forced her lips apart. When he pushed his tongue into her mouth, Arleigh moaned and pulled it deeper, sucking on him with a need that turned his erection into a rock. He took advantage of her preoccupation and carried her into the bedroom. He dropped with her to the mattress.

He listened to her sputter and fume while he unlaced his pants. She tried to scramble from the bed, but one push and she fell back. If her strength matched her determination, he would be in serious trouble.

“You’ve got a lot of balls for a woman in your position. I admire that. Another woman would have spread her legs and accepted it. I’m going to forgive your impertinence and sassiness tonight because—”

“You’re going to forgive me? That’s the most ludicrous thing I’ve e’er heard!”

Ryder laughed. “You haven’t heard my story yet. Shut up and lay down, Arleigh. You’re going to like it. I’m good at this.”

“I can’t. You shouldn’t. You don’t understand—”

“I understand this.”

He pushed her down again and stretched out beside her. He slid his hands between her legs, and Arleigh gasped. She was hot and damp, ready and eager for him, but she froze under his hand. Her pussy was so wet she could not deny she wanted it. He simply had to get around whatever blockade she’d built in her own mind.

“You want it,” he said.

“No,” she breathed.

“Don’t lie to me.”

He put his knee between her thighs and forced her legs apart. He pulled his cock out of his breeches and swept it over her soft folds.

“Open your legs farther, Arleigh.”

She moaned and clenched her thighs around his.

“Look, I don’t want to hurt you, but you need to loosen up.”

“I can’t.”

“Well, the hard way got harder,” he said. He spread her legs apart, and she moaned. When she tried to pull them together, he squeezed her thigh. “Stop. We’ll pretend you don’t want this if it makes it easier for you, but I don’t want to bruise you, and I sure as hell don’t want it to hurt. I want you to like it, Arleigh. Kiss me, honey. Say anything you want if it makes you feel better, but show me how you really feel.”

Her hands slid up his arms, digging into his flesh. Somewhere in her mind, Arleigh may have wanted to stop it, but her body definitely had other ideas. Her arms draped over his shoulders, and one hand curled around the back of his neck. When he bent toward her, she wet her lips in anticipation, and when his mouth touched hers, a blaze of fire shot through him. Her tongue plunged between his lips and swept inside eagerly. Her hips lifted toward him.

He nestled against her, and his cock reveled in the feeling of her soft hair and the smooth wet skin that seemed to swell at the pressure of his body.  Their kiss deepened and her tongue reached toward his throat.  Her hips pushed against him, and she wiggled. He ran his hand beneath her and touched the smooth mounds of her bottom. She tore her mouth from his and pushed her face against his shoulder.

“Just take me,” she whispered.

“You’re an impatient wench. Stephen must not have been a very good lover.”

“He was nicer than you are,” she said.

“You’re in my hands now, Arleigh, and sex has nothing to do with niceness. We have all night. Do you want to touch me?”

She shook her head against his shoulder.

“Don’t go shy on me, wildcat. Give me your hand.”

When she tightened her arms around his neck, he reached up and pried her hand loose. He pulled it between their bodies and flattened it against his cock. He searched her eyes in the darkness. The clear green glittered in what small amount of light filtered in from the other room. She looked a little scared but also filled with something that looked like curiosity. When her fingers curled around him, she sighed, and he thought he might explode.

“You’re very soft,” she said.

“Not exactly what a man wants to hear.”

“I mean the skin.” A blush stole over her face. “Softer than the finest velvet. The rest is very big, very hard.”

Ryder laughed. “Much better for my ego.” He nuzzled his face into her neck and heard his name drift toward him on a soft sigh. “What, baby?”

“I can’t do this any longer. Please finish it.”

“Are you scared of me, honey?”

“No, but I don’t want to enjoy it. I don’t want any memories. I want it o’er. Take me, Master Kendall. I can feel what you want.”

“What do you think I want, Arleigh?”

She sighed. “You want to drive into me, hard, fast, deep. You want to feel my heat surround you, slide your cock into the moisture that fills me. You want to revel in the pleasures of the flesh, in the ecstasy that comes with the motion. And when the pleasure reaches its peak, you want to spill your seed into me in a flood of spent desire. What are you waiting for, Master Kendall? I’m hot. I’m ready. I’m wet. And I’m willing.”

Ryder gulped. She seemed to be playing a new game with him, but he wasn’t going to win.

“Christ, Arleigh.”

“Are you waiting for an invitation? Then take me, Master Kendall.”