Body Rush (12 page)

“Can you honestly stand here and say you didn’t have some idea who Apollo really was?”

Lydia shook her head, unwilling to go down that road. “I didn’t know and you didn’t tell me. You should have told me.”

“I think you had some idea, Lydia. You just don’t want to admit it, not even to yourself.”

“It doesn’t matter now. It happened. We move on.”

“The hell we do. Damn it, Lydia. Can’t you see I care about you? I’ve never been so jealous of anyone the way I was jealous of Apollo.”

She frowned, confused since he in fact was Apollo. “That’s crazy.”

“I know. It makes no sense, but hearing you call that name when I took you from behind about killed me.”

Immediately the image of him sliding inside her, while Trent lay beneath her, filled her mind. Her pussy flooded with liquid heat. “Don’t, Dane,” she whispered, her voice husky with arousal. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

He stepped closer, filling her senses with his powerful presence. “Why? Because it turns you on?”

Lydia didn’t dare tell him the truth. Everything about him and that night turned her on. “No,” she lied.

Dane smiled and cupped her face in his palms. “Sweet Lydia, don’t you know I can tell when you’re lying?” His gaze moved south, stopping on her breasts. “Your nipples are rock hard through that thin little T-shirt and I’ll bet your pussy is wet too, isn’t it, baby?”

“Dane, please…” Her voice trialed off. She wasn’t even sure what she was pleading for, to be released or to be swept into his arms.

He dipped his head and covered her lips with his. Lydia moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck. He was so tender, so warm. She’d been so cold for the past two days and suddenly a raging inferno blazed inside her. As his tongue coasted over her lips, she let out a sigh and parted for him. He took his time, dipping between her lips and tasting her as if he had all the time in the world. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in deeper, edgy all at once for everything. She didn’t care about his deception, she didn’t want to worry about her future. She just wanted to feel his rough hands on her breasts, his cock filling her, driving out the sadness.

He groaned. Suddenly his warm palm lay flat against her bare flesh beneath her shirt, inching upward until the caress of his thumb on her aching nipple had her body vibrating with need. Lydia whimpered and Dane lifted his head, his gaze holding hers captive. “If you don’t want this, say it now, Lydia,” he ordered, his voice a rumble of sound in the room. “Push me away and I’ll go. I’ll leave you alone. It’ll kill me, but for you I’ll do it.”

He was giving her a chance to stop, to hold on to her dignity, but at what cost to her heart? Did she dare give him another chance?

“You won’t regret it, baby,” he murmured as if reading her mind. “I’d rather be skinned alive than cause you pain.”

“I-I want you, Dane,” Lydia admitted, “but we haven’t resolved anything. I’m still angry and hurt over what you did.”

“It hurts because you care about me,” he said softly. “Admit that much at least.”

“I told you already that I was attracted to you, but it doesn’t matter now.”

“It’s more than physical,” he ground out. “Why are you holding back? Why deny your feelings?”

“I can’t do this,” she cried. “Please, Dane.”

He held her firm, refusing to let her retreat. “Can’t do what? Help me understand why I’m not worth a second chance?”

Anger rose up and for the first time Lydia didn’t hold back. “You want the truth? Fine. I’m the one not worthy!” She jerked out of his arms and pointed to the family photo on the wall. “I wasn’t good enough for my own mother, Dane, why the hell would I be good enough for anyone else?”

“You can’t really believe that. You’re the sweetest, most lovable woman I’ve ever met.” His expression softened and Lydia felt the first tear trail down her cheek. He swiped it away with his thumb and murmured, “You’ve had me going in circles for two years, baby. Your mother had something precious, but she was too blind to realize it.”

She turned away from him, too scared to hope, but when her gaze caught on her mother’s image, everything seemed to fall into place. She wasn’t like her mother, maybe she never had been. Dane stepped in front of her and she saw the emotion flickering in his warm brown eyes. “You’re right,” Lydia whispered. “I do deserve to be loved.”

He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “Let me love you, Lydia. I know I haven’t earned a second chance, but so help me, you won’t regret it.”

Lydia buried her face in his white dress shirt, barely able to contain the emotions flowing through her. She wanted him with a desperation that bordered on pain. It couldn’t be natural to want a man the way she wanted Dane.

He pushed his hips forward and Lydia felt the heavy weight of his cock pressing into her belly. “Damn, baby, I can’t think for needing you. The past few days have been pure hell. Put us both out of our miseries, I’m begging you.”

Lydia leaned her head back, surprised when she witnessed a hint of vulnerability in Dane’s expression. Could he be as scared as she? “What is this for you, Dane?”

His thumb feathered back and forth over her nipple and Lydia had to contain a whimper. “You’re the woman I look forward to seeing each morning, Lydia. The same woman who had me practically salivating with her prim little outfits and intelligent wit. The truth? You’ve been in my life for two years and I’m just now getting around to telling you how I really feel. I’ve wanted you, but I was too much the coward to step up and do something about it. You’re different than any woman I’ve ever known. Sweeter, more defiant, and such a contradiction you’ve had my head spinning ever since you took me and those other two dumbasses to heaven.”

It was too much. She was slowly drowning and she knew it. She tried to look away, but strong fingers cupped her chin and coaxed her gaze back to his. “The instant you took off those clothes at Kinks you became mine, Lydia. It may have been Apollo, Poseidon and Zeus you gave your body to, but I’m the man you’ll scream for from now on.” With his other hand massaging her breast, Dane whispered, “Do I stay?”

This was it. Her chance to back out. Instinctively Lydia knew he wouldn’t hold it against her if she asked him to leave. Could she live the rest of her life without his touches? Without knowing what it would be like to make love to Dane without the other two men there? No masks, no fake names? It was beyond tempting.

Yes, she did need him. Dane was the only man who had ever managed to entice her inner vixen, that daring woman she’d been at Kinks. It could be the biggest mistake of her life, but letting him leave without having him filling her, chasing away the cold, was a much more depressing scenario.

“Stay, please,” she answered as new determination filled her with strength.

11

D
ane’s heart soared as those two words passed her lips. He wasted no time, sweeping her into his arms and striding down the hall. “Bedroom?”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled his shirt. “First door on the right.”

God, she felt good in his arms. He’d ached for her. For days his body had been cold from the inside out, as if only she had the power to warm him. When he stepped into her bedroom, his gaze swept the room, taking in the king-sized bed with the white comforter and canopy. The walls were painted a pale peach and the curtains on the window had a little seashell pattern. Dane noticed a large painting of a tropical beach behind the headboard and a big seashell-shaped area rug on the floor. There were plants all over, all of them looked well loved. He didn’t know what he expected. Her living room with the soft, mauve couch and chair had been more along what he’d imagined Lydia’s apartment to look like. White walls and comfortable-looking furniture, but nothing that really hinted at the naughty minx he’d witnessed at his club. This little oasis was definitely a nice surprise. It told Dane a lot about the woman she attempted to keep hidden. “Your bedroom is pretty,” he murmured as he placed her on top of the white bedspread.

She scooted to the edge, letting her legs dangle over the side. “I’ve never been to the ocean, but I’ve always wanted to go.”

He had a feeling there were a lot of things his sweet Lydia had never done, and he couldn’t wait to introduce her to every decadent one of them. “I’ll take you to Cancun,” he promised as he took off her glasses and placed them on the table next to the bed. “We can eat lobster and make love on the beach. Would you like that, baby?”

“Dane.” Her whispered voice held a warning and Dane didn’t want to hear it. He leaned down and covered her lips with his own, stealing any further protests. She tasted like summer, soft and warm and inviting. He could drown in Lydia’s kisses. She clutched onto his shoulders, digging her little nails into his flesh through the cotton shirt. As she moaned, Dane took the kiss deeper, drawing her backward on the bed and covering her with his body. Her tongue came out, shyly exploring, and Dane opened, sucking it into his mouth. Lydia groaned and arched against him, her breasts flattening against his chest, driving out all sane thought. It wasn’t easy for him to lose control. He took pride in maintaining control in the bedroom, but Lydia went to his head quicker than whiskey.

He pulled back and muttered, “Clothes.”

Immediately Lydia grabbed the hem of her shirt and tugged it upward. He started unbuttoning his dress shirt, watching as she exposed herself for him, one slow inch at a time. He knew she wasn’t intentionally trying to be seductive, but watching the pink T-shirt reveal her sexy slightly curved belly, caused Dane’s blood to pump hard and hot through his veins. As she exposed her breasts to his view, a haze of lust washed over him, driving out all else. He yanked, popping several buttons down the front of his shirt, and tossed it away. She stilled after her shirt hit the floor and bit her lip. Her plump breasts were a thing of beauty. Full, round and creamy, with little berry tips that he wanted to nibble on for hours. He ached to tie her breasts and spank them until they were a pretty shade of pink, then he’d fill her hot little pussy and drive them both over the edge.

Dane started to loosen his black leather belt, then stopped and waited to see if Lydia would continue her little striptease. Her gaze ate him up and, if he didn’t miss his guess, she was also holding her breath.

“Breathe, baby.” She flushed and let out a shuddering breath, her pretty tits jiggling. With her long dark hair spread out on the pillow beneath her, Dane thought she was the most adorable thing he’d ever seen. “Finish it, Lydia.”

Her fingers shook as she untied the front of her sweatpants. Dane felt a trickle of sweat run between his shoulder blades. After he pulled his belt free and laid it on the bed, he quickly finished undressing. With slow precise movements, Lydia slid her sweats down her thighs, revealing a pair of sheer red panties. He could easily see her dark curls. Dane inhaled, smelling her wet heat. Christ, he wanted to taste her. It had driven him crazy watching Trent lick at her sweet honey.

Dane clutched Lydia’s waist and slid her farther onto the bed, then straddled her. With his hands at either side of her head, caging her in, he growled, “The other night you weren’t made to submit. This time I want to give you a taste of what it means to be dominated. Do you trust me, Lydia?”

She closed her eyes and whispered, “Yes.”

Dane wrapped a hand around her throat and gently squeezed. Her eyes popped open and both of her hands flew to his, intent on dragging his fingers away from her vulnerable neck. “Trust, Lydia. Drop your hands.” Lydia stared for long seconds but finally relented. He smiled down at her and released her. “Good girl.” Dane leaned down and licked a spot just behind her ear, then let his tongue travel downward, tasting a potent mix of cinnamon and woman.

“Dane.”

Hearing her huskily whisper his name made his cock achingly hard. He took his journey farther south until he reached the swell of her breast. “Cup it for me,” he ordered. When she didn’t obey, Dane leaned back and wrapped his fingers around it, then smacked the hard tip.

She jumped. “Dane!”

“Next time do as I say. I won’t repeat the commands, Lydia. You do everything I say without question. Understood?”

She frowned up at him, that tempting defiant streak ever present. He spanked her breast again, this time a little harder. “I asked a question, sub.”

“Yes.” Her voice wasn’t quite steady when she muttered, “I understand.”

He smiled, his heart swelling. He could become addicted to Lydia’s special blend of defiance and submission. It was what every dom craved. A strong, independent woman outside the bedroom, but a sweet little submissive between the sheets.

“Does your nipple hurt, Lydia? And be honest with me.”

She glowered at him. “Not exactly.”

She was clearly confused by her own reaction. “What does it feel like to have this pretty tit spanked?” He squeezed, drawing another moan from between her lips. “Does that little sting make your clit throb, baby?”

“You’re driving me crazy, Dane,” she tossed back.

He chuckled. “Good, then I’m not alone here.” He dipped his head and licked the hard bud, easing the slight sting, before sucking it into his mouth. He flicked it with his tongue and Lydia whimpered, digging her fingers into his hair, clutching his scalp. He continued teasing and nipping before he moved to the other swollen nipple and lavished it with the same avid attention.

He traveled kisses down her ribcage to her belly before dipping his tongue into the little indentation there. She writhed beneath him and Dane let a low growl loose. He lifted his head and stared at the arousal in her eyes, the pretty flush of her cheeks. “You’re beautiful, Lydia. Such a lovely submissive, and all mine.”

“Dane, please,” she pleaded. “I need you so badly.”

He cupped her mound through the panties. They were drenched with her passion. “Shh, I know. But let me take my time. I need to savor this sweet body.”

“Maybe it would be better to rush, then savor later.”

Dane chuckled. God she was addicting. “No, sub.” He used the term on purpose, bringing them back to the game. “Quickies aren’t my thing. Relax and let me play with my pussy.”