Chapter Twenty-One

Communion

Ella

Slumped over him, Ella heaved in a breath as the realization washed over her like freezing water.

She longed for him.

Despite everything that had happened, the way he'd caught and punished her, she still desperately yearned for him.

Tucker—the man who'd thrown her over his shoulder and treated her like shit, the useless fucker who'd once befriended her inept father—he was the man she burned for?

How the fuck had this happened?

"Sir."

Did she want him to stop? For this peculiar ritual to be over and never spoken about again, or did she want his blissful penance to continue until it tugged her back to ecstasy again?

Gasping over his knee, she couldn't decide.

"Hmmm." The hand that had spanked her slid lazily along her back.

"I want you." Fleetingly, she mused how she probably shouldn't tell him that, but then, what difference did it make now? He'd hauled her over his lap, hadn't he? He'd heated her ass until she'd cried out and moaned for more. He might as well know how he made her feel. "I mean, I want you properly."

"You don't know what you're asking for, little girl." He smacked her bottom playfully, her brow creasing at the sting. "I'm not the kind of man you should want."

What?

It was a bit fucking late for cautious propriety! What the hell did he mean? He was content to drag her around and spank her at will, ordering her to stay when she didn't want to, and binding her around his cabin, but when she succumbed to his dark whims, he warned her away?

"I shouldn't even be here," she reminded him glumly. "You did this to me!" After everything he'd put her through, how dare he burst her precious bubble of pleasure. Confusion mingled with her hurt pride. "Remember, sir?" Her pulse quickened at her sarcastic tone, but she couldn't bring herself to regret it.

Hedeserved her spite.

"Yes, little girl." He gently pinched her punished behind. "I remember, and I want you, too, but…"

She twisted as his words trailed away. "But what?"

Suddenly, it didn't seem to matter that she was the one naked and flung over him, that he'd had the audacity to hurt her, or that she'd been crazy enough to find the acts alluring. All that mattered was the burning need between her legs and why he was abruptly so reticent to scratch the itch for her.

"What's wrong?" Finally able to wiggle from his grasp, she clambered to the floor and spun around to face him on her knees. "Why don't you want me?"

His apparent rejection stung, even though deep down, she knew her reaction made no sense. Tucker was right, for fuck's sake. She shouldn't want him, shouldn't want any part of this, and she certainly shouldn't have communicated the fact that she did to him.

"Ella." Expression softening, his large hand reached for her face.

She closed her eyes out of instinct, expecting some sort of physical rebuke, but to her surprise, his fingers merely grazed the sides of her cheek. Her gaze flickered open, and damn her, but she had to tangibly resist the urge to lean into his palm—the same hand that had bound and spanked her.

"Of course I want you." He leaned closer until his warm breath skimmed her collarbone. "Look at you, little girl. You're fucking beautiful. How can any man not want you?"

Pulling in a shaky breath, her gaze followed his as it raked over her breasts. She did have a lovely body, but as a result, she wasn't used to rejection where sex was concerned.

"Then what's the issue?" Hurt simmered in her voice as she tried to understand his refutation.

"I'm just trying to look out for you." A deeper furrow appeared in his handsome brow.

As she dragged her gaze over his face, she couldn't deny that he was handsome. Refusing him would have been so much easier if he wasn't so appealing, but God help her, she was weak. Tucker's charm and aesthetic had captured her.

"I should never have let things happen between us."

"But you did," she snapped, aware of the embarrassment burning in her face.

How had she been so stupid?

She'd allowed herself to believe in the feelings swirling in her mind. She'd told him that she wanted him. Hell, maybe after he'd rescued her from the bear and cooked her the soup, she was even starting to fall for him? Tucker was right. None of this should ever have happened. But neither one of them had called time on the proceedings. Until now.

"You did let them happen, sir." Just like I did. The accusations ripped like blades inside of her. "And now you're trying to put me off."

"Then I'm a fucking idiot." His hand slipped back to her nape and urged her toward him.

She shuffled forward awkwardly on her knees, knowing she should deny him, yet welcoming his attention, nevertheless. If she had to be there—cast out into the wilderness and away from civilization—then she wanted the distraction of his heat, his muscular body, and his cock.

"Forgive me, little girl."

"Do you want me, sir?" Her toes curled at her plaintive plea, but for some ridiculous reason she couldn't put her finger on, she was desperate for his approval. Naturally, the need at her sex only implored her to continue.

"You know I do." Closing the remaining distance between them, his brow rested gently on hers. "More than you fucking know."

"Then take me." Her hand rose to his jaw, her fingertips skimming through his soft, dark stubble. It was just the right length. Long enough not to tickle, yet not so long that it was untidy. Briefly, she wondered how he kept it trimmed in the middle of the woods. "Please, sir." She could hardly believe she was begging him for rapture. "I need this."

Rising to his enormous height, he swept her from her knees and laid her gently on the covers of his bed. She winced as her punished skin contacted with the bedding, but as he edged his pants down his hips, her gaze was drawn to his long, thick shaft. She clenched at the look of its velvety crown. That was what she wanted.

"You're sure?" His tone was hesitant even as he climbed onto the bed and settled between her outstretched thighs. His pants clung to his thighs, but the rest of him was gloriously naked. Reaching up to his strapping shoulders, she ran her fingertips over his strong shoulder muscles. "Because if you've changed your mind, then…" His brows knitted. "I'd understand." His cock throbbed between her legs as he spoke, protesting its complaint at his words.

"I'm sure, sir." Pressing her head against his covers, she stared up into his big blue eyes. "I want you inside me."

"I still don't have any condoms…" Concern gleamed in his eyes as he concentrated on her response. "But I did clean myself up before I tackled the soup."

"I know." She groaned, bucking her hips forward to meet his eager dick. She hadn't seen him freshen up, but then she'd been in a rather brutal position at the time. "And I know I should care more about the condoms, but…"

Time stretched as she tried to reconcile the sentence she couldn't complete. Could she really consent to sex again without any contraception? She was smarter than that, wasn't she? Last time, he'd withdrawn before he came, but she didn't know what diseases he might have.

"But you don't care?" His eyebrow arched as he slowly lowered over her body, pressing his palms into the blankets on either side of her head. "Is that what you're saying?"

"I should care." Her voice sounded distant. "But…"

Locking gazes with him, her throat dried. Tucker was so fucking sexy. His eyes seared her, and if she forgot the kidnapping, ropes, and rabbit pie, she could easily be lulled into believing his expression was that of the dark, brooding protector she'd always secretly longed for.

Daddy issues.

The concept flitted through her mind like a balloon on a breeze. Why did everything come back to Alexander? She was a grown woman with access to money and plenty of opportunities. The fact she was so vexed at the loss of a decent father appeared to be her downfall, however much she wished it wasn't so.

"I get it." His gaze burned into her skin. "Don't worry. I'll pull out before I come, and…"

Lifting her head from the bed, Ella swallowed his words. She appreciated his concerns, but the passion rising inside her was insatiable, and it easily subdued their collective sense of unease. If Tucker didn't do something soon to put her flames out, she would spontaneously combust.

"Woah." His brow rose at her proactive kiss. "Calm down. You're my captive, remember? I decide when we kiss." Dark clouds gathered in his eyes, the look of them sending the butterflies in her tummy zooming in all directions.

"Yes, sir." She bit back her smile.

She should still be intimidated by him, and deep in the darkest confines of her mind, she realized she was. She had been scared before in the forest and again when she'd woken up spread-eagled to his bed, but somehow, she couldn't muster fear anymore. Lust was making her crazy, as though its madness was swallowing her whole, and if his cock didn't spear her in the next few minutes, she might just lose her mind completely.

"Okay." His voice rasped as his cocktip grazed her slick lips. "You're going to get what you want."

Thank God.

Her mouth parted at the sensation of his shaft skimming her sex, her hands rising in surrender until they fell on either side of her head. His cock taunted her, almost giving her what she wanted, then trailing away. She writhed under his hard body, lost to the possessive glint in his eyes. She had never known a passion like this. No other man had come close to inspiring such a frenzied desire.

"Yes." She barely recognized her own voice as he pushed an inch inside her. Her back arched, wanting more than he offered. She craved every inch of his throbbing shaft. "Yes, please."

"But first…" Tucker drew away to her disappointed groan.

Why was he torturing her? He'd said he wanted her, and his shaft certainly confirmed his arousal. So, what was the problem?

"First, what?" She blinked up at him as her hips rolled up to contact with his hard body.

"First, you beg me." Vanity echoed in his dark gaze as first one, then his second hand shifted to gently pin down her upturned palms.

A carnal noise escaped her lips as he ratcheted up her submission, and at that moment, she accepted there wasn't much he could demand that she wouldn't cede to have what she wanted.

"Beg for my cock."

"Beg you?" Why did that sound so good? "You want me to beg, sir?"

"You're damn right I do." His cock pressed at her wet entrance, tempting her with what she most sought. "If you want me, you'll learn to beg."