Mine

At first, months ago, he’d said very little, almost nothing, as his gaze followed her. She’d pretended he repelled her and tried to boss him around. Insisted she didn’t need his protection and would be fine on her own. But everything about him, even from that very first day, intrigued her. Made her want to know more.

All that strength. The command he held over his body. His competence. The scruffy beard that drove her wild. Her hands balled into fists as she forced her arms not to move.

The mattress dipped from his weight as he sat down next to her. Facing her. He put his palm on her stomach and his long fingers spa

The system served her well for years. She’d been on the run, maybe not physically but emotionally, her whole damn life. But with Gabe, she felt free. She could be a smartass, throw his words back at him. Sometimes she even went too far and said crappy things he didn’t deserve. Despite her flaws and her attitude, he never lost his control. Never struck out. He actually seemed appalled at the thought of doing so.

He gave her a different kind of strength. A feminine one. She knew she held a certain power over him, that she could meet his needs. He didn’t deny his attraction to her or try to hide it. Didn’t hold back.

And with him she didn’t have to pretend either. She could let go. For the first time in a long time, trust.

The warmth from his hand seeped into her skin. Still he didn’t move. Every nerve ending inside her jumped to life, begged for more, but he just watched. Held his ties in one hand and touched her with the other.

“You are so fucking beautiful.”

Not what she expected him to say but somehow exactly what she needed to hear. “With you.”

“It’s bound up in how you look, which is so smoking hot my dick gets hard just watching you walk. That voice, so sexy.” He shook his head as a small smile played on his lips. “The things you do with that mouth and that brain.”

The words battered her defenses. The awe in his voice, the reverent way he touched her, she knew he meant it all. “I never found big men with beards appealing until you.”

He ran a hand over his chin. “I let it go a little for this assignment.”

“Did you think I wouldn’t like it?”

“When I kissed the inside of your thigh that first time, I knew you did.”

The memory floated through her head and her stomach dropped. The roller coaster, spi

The smile lit up his face now. “Much more than that.”

Desperation clawed at her. “Do it now.”

“You’re not in charge, Nat.”

The nickname spun through her. He used it and her insides turned to liquid. She had no idea why. “I feel pretty powerful.”

“Oh, you are.” He lifted his hand and skimmed his palm over one of the red ties. “I plan to harness that.”

“But I won’t be able to use my hands.” He flirted, so she flirted back. She’d do almost anything to keep him close.

“You can still use your mouth.” He bent down and brushed his lips over hers then lifted again.

Quick and short but enough to get the excitement revving inside of her. “Gabe, please.”

She knew he liked the begging. She’d seen his eyes widen, grow darker, when she pleaded. When her voice dipped low and got all scratchy with need.

He slipped his fingers around her wrist. Touching his thumb to the tip of his forefinger. Encircling her without binding her. Then he lifted her arm, laying it against the fluffy pillows as his finger went to work threading the tie through the thick post at the top of his bed.

Air hiccupped in her lungs as he slid the tie around her wrist. At the first touch of the silkiness she knew she’d misjudged. Not a scrap of material at all. A thin padded cuff with a long length of red curl at each end.

He tightened the bindings. At first her skin pinched but then it eased around her, soft but strong. She tugged and realized unless she pla

With an aching slowness he leaned over her, letting his chest hair tickle her chin as he fastened the other cuff. After he’d attached both, she yanked on her arms. The bindings pulled tight. She curled her fingers over the material and held on.

He eyed her, staring as his gaze moved over her face before dipping for the briefest second to her chest then back up again. “Are you sure you want this?”

With her mind scrambled and her body starting to shift around on the sheet, she said the first word that popped into her head. “Now.”

He nodded. “Right now.”

She expected him to move down her body, but he didn’t. He straddled her chest and leaned forward. His cock stood long and thick, just inches from her mouth. She lifted her head and skimmed her tongue over the tip.

Just as she was about to lie back down, he cradled her head, slipped his fingers around the back of her neck and into her hair. Held her there with one hand. The other moved to the base of his cock. He dragged the tip across her lips. Once, twice.

She didn’t play games. Opening her mouth, she took him in deep. Felt the bed dip again as he put more weight on his knees. She kept sucking, taking him deeper. Her mouth worked as his hand supported her. In and out, he pressed against her lips. Slid to the back of her throat. Never too much. Never too hard. Enough to kick up his breathing and make him rock hard.

When she thought he might continue and end in her mouth, he backed away. His lips replaced his cock in a kiss that left her shaky and aching. Hot and wet. Filled with a mix of longing and need. Every emotion bombarded her. Tiny pulses moved through her.

“You are amazing.” He whispered the compliment against her mouth.

She tried to talk, wanted to say something, but he moved back to her breasts. One after the other, side to side, licking and sucking. Caressing and cupping. He didn’t leave a single inch of her skin untouched.

Her back lifted off the bed and those bindings pulled tight. She heard a creak and knew the bedpost strained under her hold. The sensual torture continued until her breaths came out in gasps. She’d gulp for air then his kiss would pull her under. Just when she thought she couldn’t take the cycle one more second, he slid down her body. Moved to her stomach. Caressed the small bump as he covered it in lingering kisses.

She’d never felt so sexy. From the thump of his heartbeat when his chest touched her to the shake in his hands, she felt his need. She did this to him. She took a strong, vibrant man and turned him inside out. Had him crawling all over her for more.

Then his mouth continued its journey. His tongue snaked down. His fingers slipped between her legs and his shoulders settled into the V he created. Her body vibrated, almost hummed, at his touch. And when he pressed his tongue inside her the winding sensation gripping her stomach tightened even more.

Her skin felt too tight. Too sensitive. He’d turned her body into his playground, ru