29. June 17th

JUNE 17TH

TB

This woman.She has no idea the power she has.

TB moved in his seat, adjusting his cock in his jeans. It took everything in him not to groan aloud. He could not screw this up. This was going to be his most delicate operation and clearly his most important ever.

"Unbutton your blouse, but do not take it off. Just leave it hanging open."

He watched her stutter through his instruction. First, her weight shifted from her left foot to her right foot. Then something changed. She paused. He watched her stiffen her spine with determination as her hands rose to the mother-of-pearl buttons. Buttons undone, she allowed the material to gap open as directed and dropped her hands to her sides.

Knew you were smart, princess.

At first, she wouldn't have realized, but as her adrenaline evened out, her brain would have put together the pieces with the position in which he put them in relation to the flames. She now knew that all he could truly see from this distance was a glow along her edges. He had done that on purpose. He wanted to push her boundaries but do so while empowering her. He knew that with all of her research and with all he had taught her before they met in person, she would understand. In this way, she had control and the freedom to experience without feeling threatened.

And then she did the unexpected. She walked toward him and kneeled in front of him, her hands on her thighs, her eyes downcast.

Closing his eyes, he swallowed hard, breathing in deeply through his nose, then expelling through his open lips. The rapid rise and fall of her chest, the slight tremble in her shoulders showed she was nervous but not afraid.

Opening his eyes, he stood, reaching for his gun at his back. He pulled it from his waistband and laid it on her desk.

His large hand cupped the side of her face. "Look at me, princess," he commanded.

Her eyes rose to his from her position in front of him. The tip of her tongue swiped between her lips.

"Unbuckle my belt and remove it."

Her hands shakily rose to the buckle. She slipped the excess length through the buckle, pried the tab from the hole, slid it out of the way, and then released the rest of the leather from the buckle. Her left hand rested flat on his hip, and with her right, she pulled the strap free of his belt loops. When it had cleared his body, she stretched it straight between her two hands and held it before her on her upturned palms.

His hand caressed the top of her head, down the side, and cupped her cheek.

"Keep your eyes on mine at all times." He took the belt from her hands and laid it on the edge of her desk behind him. "Take out my cock."

He watched her chest expand with a heavy inhale that was nothing close to fear and all about arousal.

Eyes locked to his, still on her knees, her fingers reached for the button on his jeans. It slid easily from its slot; then, she used the thumb and forefinger of her left hand to lower the metal zipper at a pace he could only describe as agonizing. She didn't smile. Didn't blink, as far as he could tell. Just held his eyes, suddenly in complete control of her actions.

Once his zipper reached its lowest point, she raised herself off of her heels to kneel in a straight-up position. She reached down into the denim to find his cock. He heard a soft gasp as she realized he was bare beneath the material. She recovered quickly, her hand cool against his skin. When her fingertips grazed his flesh, he felt himself twitch slightly. It was already hard, but now it felt like it was swelling beyond normal. As if she could feel the cool, jagged metal against her own sensitive skin, she dragged his jeans down an inch so that he didn't rub against the zipper.

Her fingers slid around his cock, the tips of her fingers unable to circle him completely. He wasn't outrageously huge, but definitely not small. Her grip was strong and sure but gentle enough that when she removed him from inside the material, he didn't feel scrapes or rasps of the zipper teeth because she kept her hand wrapped around the root to protect him.

This meant that his cock was pointed straight at her very fuckable mouth.

"Take me in your mouth, princess."

The tip of her pink tongue snuck out between her lips, cupping over the top one, then she sucked it back between her teeth, which bit lightly into her bottom lip.

He waited.

She licked her lips again and leaned forward ever so slightly. When her lips met the tip of his cock, her mouth opened automatically and slid down the length of him about halfway. She rolled her tongue along the underside of him, then pulled back so that her taste buds rasped against the vein beneath. When her lips pulled completely off of him, she swirled her tongue around the head, swiping away the precum that had begun to leak from the tip.

Her eyes fluttered shut, and she mewled.

"Eyes," he ordered gruffly.

They reopened languidly, pupils blown.

His hand began to stroke her hair, from the top of her head to the back of her neck. She continued her tentative pattern, each time sliding just a little bit farther along his length and each time using a little more suction as she pulled away.

On the fourth retreat, her other hand rose up to grip him at the root, her two hands holding him steady. Then, she pushed the weight of her hands toward his groin until they applied strong pressure against his pelvic bones. The pull stretched the skin tight, sensitizing it, now all wet and shiny from her mouth, and he couldn't contain the loud groan as she buried him in her mouth all the way down to her fingers.

"Fuck, sweetheart, who taught you that?" His other hand reached out to lightly grasp the other side of her head. He didn't put pressure, just held onto her as she found a rhythm up and down his shaft.

One hand curved around to the back of her skull. Again, no pressure, but she understood his subtle direction when her lips met her fingers, and she held her mouth and tongue in place for a heartbeat.

He felt it before he heard it.

A near-silent hum vibrated along his nerve endings, a hum that was coming from her throat. A hum that would have released like a moan if her mouth had been free.

Saliva pooled in her mouth around him as she held him.

Then she dropped the hand that was closest to her mouth and slid slightly back on his shaft, sucking hard enough that her cheeks hollowed. When she hit the halfway point between root and tip, she slid back down on him until her lips met her other hand.

"That mouth, princess," he groaned. "More."

Without missing a beat, she increased the suction and began to pull back on him again. Slowly, she set her rhythm back up. Her lips slid smoothly down to meet her fingers, still grasping the root of his cock tightly. He felt the tip of her tongue flutter teasingly along the vein on its underside, and he squeezed her skull lightly in the palm of his hand to let her know what she was doing was good.

More than good. Fuck, I'm not going to last long if she keeps doing that much longer.

Then she began to pull back, her cheeks hollowing deeper, her tongue flattening as she dragged it against the vein.

Suddenly, he realized that her free hand was flat on his other thigh, and her nose was buried in the skin of his pelvis. She had relaxed her jaw, and it had allowed her to take him farther into her mouth to the back of her throat. She remained still. He could feel her trying to get used to the sensation of her mouth being that full and trying not to panic about airflow. She was concentrating hard on breathing through her nose, but there was still some tension and unease.

She'll get there, and in the not-too-distant future, will be my guess. So, so good.

"Easy, little Flame. You've done so good. Back off my cock, sweetheart. I want to see those pretty eyes again."

She slowly pulled back, a gasp escaping her open mouth and a thin line of saliva connecting her mouth to his cock. Her eyes were glassy and just short of tears that would have fallen if she'd pushed any further.

His hands curled to cup her face, his thumbs brushing along her cheekbones. "So beautiful." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Undress me."

Her attention returned to the tip of his cock, still straight out to her face. She poked the tip of her tongue out just enough to swipe through the slit to catch another drop of precum and took it into her mouth to savor. He watched her, noticing that her tongue was swirling around in her mouth as if trying to make sure every part of the cavern got a taste of him, and then she swallowed.

Her eyes dropped toward the floor to his boots. She grabbed ahold of his left hand and set it on her right shoulder to use her for balance. She coaxed him to raise his foot so that she could grab the heel, pull it, and slide it off his foot, followed by the sock.

She repeated the process with the other side.

Once the socks were neatly folded and tucked inside his boots, she put them together and off to the side.

Her hands went to the waistband of his jeans, slowly pulling them down, her eyes trained completely on his, the fabric bunching at his ankles. Again, she repeated the process she'd used to remove his shoes. Almost reverently she folded the jeans, then placed them on top of his boots.

He moved items on her desk to the far side, then reached down and gripped her biceps gently, lifting her to sit on the desk's edge. She reached for the hem of his tee and began to drag it up his torso. He helped her pull it over his head since he was a foot taller than her. Again, she folded the material, this time lightly tossing it onto the seat of her chair.

Ignoring his nakedness, he reached down for her left leg and began to gently knead the calves and ankles. He had been on his knees a few times in his life for long periods of time, particularly with a gun pointed at the back of his head, and he knew that she would need time for the blood to begin flowing normally again before she could move. Their eyes remained locked in each other's gaze.

When he felt her leg muscles loosen, he gently lowered it and reached for the other to give it the same treatment. When that leg had loosened up, he lowered it to dangle from the desk's edge like the other.

"Let's see if I can't make you even more beautiful."

His left hand caressed the side of her face, and she leaned into his touch, her eyes beginning to drift closed.

"Eyes on me, sweetheart," he reminded her gently.

Her lids opened fully.

"Put your arms in front of you, bent at the elbow."

Languidly, she followed his instruction. With his right hand, he reached behind him to the desk where he left his belt earlier. He put the tongue of the belt in between her hands, palms together as if in prayer, the very first punch hole peeking out at her thumbs. Then he wound the belt around her wrists and the heels of her hands until he ran out of strap. He needed just a bit more room, so he pulled to tighten it, then slid the tongue through the frame of the buckle, caught the prong in the first punch hole, then slid the tongue through the loop.

Sliding his fingers between the belt and her wrists, he checked to ensure that he wasn't cutting off her circulation. "Remember. If you begin to feel any tingling, you let me know immediately."

"I will."

"What are your colors?"

"Green means go, yellow means slow down, red means stop."

"Excellent." He picked her up, his arms around her waist. "Raise your arms straight, princess, and then loop them around my neck."

Once she had her arms where he wanted them, he carried her over to the window bed and laid her down on the comforter.

"Wrap your legs around me. Grip my hips with your knees and thighs." As she complied, he made sure to notch his hips in her cradle, his hands framing her hips. As he whispered in her ear, his hands followed the cues of his voice. "You remind me of a genie from a bottle." His left hand slid along her skin up along the dip to her waist, the curve to her shoulder, then slid his palm beneath the back of her head and threaded through her hair. "That beautiful long hair," he groaned. "Every time I look at it, I want to wrap it around my fist and pull your head back to expose your throat." He tugged gently so that her neck pulled slightly to the side, and he laid an open-mouthed kiss on her throat.

His lips stayed against her skin. "All these gorgeous dips and curves." His other hand slid across her skin to the places he praised. "This tiny little waist with those hourglass hips, strong thighs gripping me so tight." His tongue licked a stripe from shoulder to earlobe. "And you taste all warm and sugary, like vanilla frosting."

She made a purring sound as his mouth traveled down from her ear to her throat, then between her breasts, where he began to nip at her flesh, then soothe the bites with soft licks of his tongue.

He raised his head. "Look at me, Flame." Her eyes, in the moonlight, were telling him everything he needed to know. "You glow in the moonlight. You're so beautiful. So perfect."

I don't deserve her. But damned if I'm not going to take her anyway.

"I'm going to hurt you," he admitted. She had no idea how true that statement was right now. "I don't want that."

She smiled sadly. "I won't lie and tell you it won't break my heart when you leave. But that's part of life. I may write about fated mates, guaranteeing readers a happily ever after, but that's not the real world. Your leaving won't kill me, and I'm not going to be one of those stupid heroines who vows to never love again or die of a broken heart. There'll just be a small piece of me that's never completely over you, is all." Using her bound hands, she applied pressure to pull him down to her. "Just make love to me. That's all you have to do."

He began to push the tip of his cock into her opening when he realized he was bare. "Shit. Flame, I need?—"

"No." Her legs wrapped around him, her thighs tightening their hold so that he couldn't move away. "I'm good. I'm protected. It's been six years since I've been with anyone. And I really want all of you if this is all I get to have."

"It hasn't been six years for me, but it's been a while." He brushed the strands of hair from her face, then traced a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "I haven't even scened at the club since we met online the first time."

He'd never taken a woman bare before. But he wanted to give her this. When all went to hell in about forty-eight hours, he wanted to at least be able to say that he'd made this good for her. And to be honest, he wanted it. Wanted it more than anything he'd ever wanted in his entire life.

He lined himself up with her opening again, and he could feel just how much she wanted him. Her juices were slicking her thighs and making his cock wet and sticky already. Just to make sure she could take him, he backed off her a little and slid a finger inside her channel, groaning at how wet she was. She was definitely tight.

In and out, he worked his finger, pressing kisses to her fevered skin. She moved her hips in countermotion to his thrusts.

When he felt her begin to loosen for him, he added a second finger, stretching her by pressing his fingers against her walls. He was able to work himself in a little farther, and he paid an inordinate amount of attention to her breasts, nipping at the soft skin, laving away the sting with his tongue. She began to mewl with each brush of his fingers against her inner walls.

He added a third finger, curving up his fingertips to find her G-spot. Her breathing became panting and indecipherable begging, her bound hands clenching and unclenching.

Finally, he felt as if she might be able to take him. Slowly he withdrew his fingers, then notched the tip of his cock yet again at her opening. "Flame. I need your eyes, baby. I need to be able to see you so that I can make sure I'm not hurting you."

She opened her eyes, looking straight at him, and nodded. "Please. I need to touch you."

He shook his head and pushed his hips forward so he was barely inside her. "Just feel," he whispered. Then he pushed just a little further. Every time he stopped, he felt her walls squeeze him, threatening to make him release.

My God, this feels so much better with nothing between us. Is it the lack of condom? Or is it because it's her?

He pushed the thoughts aside, focusing on her and regaining control. When he did, he slid back, then pushed farther forward.

"Keep those arms around my neck, princess. Don't move them."

She shook her head. "You'd have to break them and move them yourself."

He stilled inside her, and as he waited for her body to adjust to him, he brushed his nose along her neck, beneath her ear. "Fuck, you're beautiful. The perfect temptation. Sweet on the outside and inside, but this spicy little surprise in between the layers. It's been hell resisting you." The tension eventually lifted from her body, and he began slow thrusts back and forth, making sure to give his hips a twist when he pulled back and another when he pushed in to create friction for her.

"Yes," she hissed. "More. Like that."

"You want more, little Flame?" he asked with menace.

"More," she acknowledged. "Harder."

"Oh, I'll give you harder. Hang on tight."

Her belted hands reached for what hair she could grab at the back of his neck, threading through the longer strands. When she pulled at the roots, he hissed at her. "Minx," he growled, then snapped his hips hard until he was buried to the hilt.

She moaned. "More, please," she begged, sounding like she was in physical pain. But when he looked at her face, she was so far from pain he could barely restrain himself from losing all control with her.

TB began to piston his hips faster, gaining momentum with each thrust. His hands grabbed the frame of the window on the opposite side of the bed, ensuring that if she moved across the mattress with his pounding, her head would be protected from hitting the ledge. It also allowed him with each twist of his hips to not only grind into her but also put his full weight on her hips without crushing the rest of her.

He felt her orgasm coming like a speeding train. She clenched her legs around his waist so tight, her body actually came forward to connect with his above her. The arms around his neck locked, and he felt the edge of the leather bite into his skin. Then her inner walls spasmed like a fist, squeezing the life and his release right out of him, her scream muffled in his shoulder as her teeth actually bit down on him.

He remained where he was, trying to regain his equilibrium but also trying not to crush her with his weight. In the end, it was easier to roll over with her sprawled on his chest, his cock still locked inside her. The damn thing wouldn't come down.

Just like her damn wolf shifters, knotting in place.

Somehow, it didn't seem so corny anymore.

His hand idly combed through her long hair as their heart rates slowed.

"Do you have a hair fetish?" she mumbled.

His mouth formed a genuine smile. "I enjoy yours." He pulled her wrists from around his neck, removed the belt from around them, and tossed it to the floor. He gently massaged her wrists by rotating his thumbs along her pulse points, his fingers on the opposite sides, making sure the blood was flowing to avoid tingles and numbness. He became thoughtful in the quiet.

Normally, you'd be up and out of a woman's bed by now. Are you sure you haven't fallen for this woman?

Yep. Totally have. Doesn't mean I'm still not wrong for her.

She tipped her head toward his, her chin resting on the hand she had laid on his chest. "I can hear the gears grinding and smell the smoke. What's wrong?"

He shook his head, smiling at her. "Nothing. Just having a conversation with myself over something."

She smiled. "I thought I was the only crazy person who did that."

"Hell no. Sometimes, it's the most intelligent conversation I have all day."

"Sometimes it's the most intelligent conversation I have all day," she said in unison with him.

They both laughed.

Sucking on her bottom lip, he watched her make the decision. "What was the conversation about?"

He rolled her over onto her back so that he was leaning over her. His hand drifted down to between her legs, feeling the mix of their fluids on her, knowing that he, too, was covered in them. He'd marked her. She was his. It would take so little for him to just claim her right there and then. To say it out loud. But somehow, he just couldn't do it.

"I really should clean us up. But I?—"

She reached down for his cock, cradling it in her hand. "I don't want you to. I like knowing we're covered in each other. It should feel gross, but it doesn't."

With her hand gently stroking him and his hand dragging back and forth on the inside of her thigh, he kissed her forehead. "I was just thinking," he finally answered her question, "I can't remember the last time I stayed in bed with a woman throughout the night. Not sure if I ever have other than last night."

Her hand stopped moving. "Why did you stay?"

He looked down and noticed her eyes focused on his face. He hesitated before answering her. "You were so scared. I was enraged that the bastard had the balls to reach out to you like that, take away your feeling of security in your own home. I wanted to protect you." He corrected himself. "I needed to protect you more than anything else at that moment.

"Part of it, too, I guess, is I'm not easily captivated. Being a part of the kink community, I've seen and heard so many things over and over. But watching you learn it and experience it for the first time was like it was all new again. If I were to really introduce you to that world, I think you'd be at the club every night if I let you. And then I'd have to collar you so that no one else got to you."

Hello? Collar her? Where did that thought come from?

Doesn't sound like the worst idea.

Shut up. It's a terrible idea. You can"t. She deserves better. She'll suffer and be miserable. You can't possibly keep her.

You lie like a rug. Worse than that, you're a coward. Take what you fucking want for once.

She hummed in thoughtfulness. "I guess I'll take that as being tempting."

Pushing his inner voices to the deep corners of his head, he kissed her temple again. "That you are, my little Flame. That you are."

Her words were timid as she asked her question. "Will you stay again tonight?"

He felt her holding her breath, waiting for the letdown. "I don't want to be anywhere else."

An hour later,TB sat in the darkness, propped up in the window bed against the headboard. Sylvan lay in the crook of his arm on the inside of the bed closest to the window. Her arm lay across his bare stomach, her breaths even and deep as she slept. One of his hands made lazy circles on her bare shoulder. The other lay gently on top of her arm that lay across him.

He stared at the blank wall across from him, not seeing the wall but simply staring into space, his brain processing what had happened tonight. He wasn't sure how he felt about it, let alone how she felt about it.

Well, that's a lie. You know exactly how you feel about it.

On the outside, he was as cool as ever. On the inside, he was in panic mode. Sylvan was stirring up more than just his protective instincts. Emotions better left unfelt. He didn't want them. And yet he did. He wanted them so badly. He wanted her. But taking that final step and taking a sledgehammer to the carefully constructed walls he'd been building and solidifying since he was seven years old felt like a task too great.

What if she leaves you when she discovers you're not enough?

What if I lose her because I don't make a decision at all?

Well, if you never make the decision, then it eventually gets made for you.

And then I'll always be left wondering, "What if…?"

If he gave in to her, made his claim, he knew that his career at Tribe could be at risk. Obviously, God wasn't going to carry through with his threat about executing anyone who tried to leave the corporation over a relationship. Waters and Kubrick were proof that it had been an emotional but empty threat. And in all honesty, even if he had put the order through, no one on the team would have carried out the hit. But still. He'd always worry about her when he was on a project. And the projects were often dangerous. He'd be distracted, and not only would that risk him, but also his team.

He shifted his head and looked down at her sleeping form in his arms. The problem was, she felt right where she was. Like she was supposed to be where she was and nowhere else.