CarnalTakeover (16 page)

Daniel touched her cheek. “Are your eyes open?”

“No. And they won’t be,” she pouted. “I don’t want the
stupid Twinkie anymore.”

“Sure? You earned it. Twenty-two minutes, to be exact.”

He hadn’t stopped at twenty and allowed her relief then?
Alexandra twisted around, ready to bitch, but didn’t. Daniel held the crushed
treat in his palm, his fingers smeared with its sugary guts, offering it to
her. She ate like a starving woman, licking the crumbs from his hand, sucking
the creamy filling from his thumb.

He smiled, then tongued a stray morsel from the side of her
mouth and whispered, “Care to try for thirty minutes this time?”

Before Daniel could stop her, Alexandra slipped off the sofa
and fell beside it.

The thud of her hip against the floor must have hurt. “You
okay?”

She stopped rubbing herself and muttered, “Perfect.”

Sure. Feeling mischievous, he taunted, “Couldn’t take any
more, could—what are you doing?”

After breaking the second Twinkie in two, she smeared the
filling down the length of his cock. “Seeing how long you last.” She smashed
the cake against his curls, then took the remaining cream that had escaped and
slathered it over his balls.

Jesus.
He felt those strokes to the roots of his
teeth. Digging the heel of his foot into the cushion, Daniel lifted his ass
from the sofa.

“You okay?” Alexandra asked, parroting his earlier question
to her.

He was a fucking mess, literally and figuratively, enjoying
this far too much. Liking her to the point that he’d taken great pains to get
her favorite junk food and had pondered over what movie she’d enjoy. And now,
he was letting her take charge. Not like him at all. Again, he wanted to run
but couldn’t budge.

She smiled. “I’m sentencing you to sixty minutes. No
breathing, thinking or moving. At all. I don’t even want your cells dividing,
or we’ll start over and it’ll be an hour and a half the next time. Good fucking
luck.” Holding his cock to the side, she dragged her tongue over his sac.

Daniel’s hair stood on end. His protest died in his throat.

She licked the cream off his balls as if it were mandatory
for her survival, her eagerness palpable. A tsunami of pleasure crashed into
Daniel, stealing his restraint. With each sweep of her tongue over him, he
grunted and groaned. That and her whimpers mingled with the lapping noises she
made. Fleetingly, he wondered which taste she liked best, the Twinkie or him.

Doesn’t matter.

This was about fun and proving he could last as long as she
damn well demanded. An hour, she’d said. He’d go two. Since she hadn’t told him
to be quiet, Daniel made lewd noises that turned downright crude and glared at
the clock. Only three minutes had passed and already he was drenched in sweat.
His jaw ached from clenching it so tight. Didn’t stop waves of heat from
building in his groin, drawing his focus to that one spot.

She’d finished with his sac and moved to his thatch, eating
the stuff she’d mashed on him. Her teeth tugged playfully at his curls, her
hair kept dragging over his thigh, tickling it. He noticed those sensations for
a second, until she scraped her thumbnail down his left ball. A shot of
pleasure rocketed through his body, dimming his peripheral vision.

She tongued the edge of his pubic hair. Her mouth’s wet heat
dampened his skin and kicked up his sensitivity to everything she did. Fearful
of surrendering so quickly—like Junior for Chrissake—Daniel tightened his ass
and locked his knees.

“You moved.” She smiled smugly, then lost it in a solemn
stare. “We’ll have to start over and recalibrate to an hour and a—oh no, you
don’t.”

Alexandra slapped Daniel’s hands away, not letting him haul
her up and take her as he wanted. “You’re gonna show me what you got.” She ran
her fingertip around his navel. “Unless you don’t think you can stand it.”

Of course he couldn’t. Only a dead man would’ve been able to
withstand the sweep of her sweet tongue, the brush of her hot breath, her
slavish attention to him. She’d abandoned his navel to stroke the insides of
his thighs. Daniel’s belly quivered and his pulse jumped. He bared his teeth.
“Bring. It. On.”

“An hour and a half,” she warned.

“Let’s make it two.”

She laughed and patted his knee as she would the head of a
cretin. “Sure. Whatever you want.”

“You’re wasting time.”

“You’ve got all night,” she purred sweetly, then bent her
head to devour him again.

It took her shitting forever to eat the Twinkie gunk off his
groin. She kept pausing to savor and moan, making certain she fondled his balls
or stroked his shaft while she did so. He played dead on the outside even as
arousal simmered and churned within him. By the time she got to his cock, the
fucking thing was hard enough to penetrate a block of ice.

She murmured, “Isn’t it nice that guys can’t fake arousal?”

He spoke through gritted teeth, “You’re so wet, you’re
leaving a trail.”

Her complexion darkened. In regular light, it would probably
be bright red. She played at being nonchalant despite her blush. “We’re talking
about you. And you shouldn’t be talking or making one sound. We’ll have to
start—”

“To hell with that, your demands didn’t include—
shit
.”

She’d taken him in her mouth, all the way to his cock’s
root, her tongue swirling as she suckled. Loving that part of him in a way her
cunt never could.

Hold off, hold off, hold off.

He’d made it this far, a whole ten minutes. God, he was
screwed. He couldn’t manage more of this any better than Leonardo was
containing his lust as he sketched Kate in the nude.

Idiot, put down the pad and jump her. You don’t have that
much time left before the damn tub
—

Alexandra tongued the back of Daniel’s crown. He gasped and
stiffened.

She finally noticed when he didn’t relax. Even in the gloom
of the fire, he saw her face pale. Her apprehension. Letting his rod slip from
her mouth, she rested her hand on his belly. “Are you all right?”

“Better than you.”

“Hey!”

He was already off the sofa. Quicker than she probably
suspected, Daniel pulled Alexandra to her feet and threw her over his shoulder.

She pressed the heels of her hands against him and tried to
push up. He smacked her butt twice, the cracks precise and sharp. “Don’t. I
mean it.”

Instantly, she stopped fighting and cooed, “’Bout time you
got back to this.” She ran her hands down him and stroked his ass. “Gonna tie
me up in the steam room again? Have your way with me?”

He headed for the stairs.

“Whoa.” She gripped his butt cheeks. “We can’t go up there.”

Daniel climbed the first step. “I’ll come back for the junk
food later.”

“Forget that. You can’t carry me up the stairs.”

“Why not?” He was already on the third step. “I did it the
other night when you conked out on me.”

“But I’m—you’re…”

When she didn’t finish, he paused on the fifth step. “You’re
what and I’m what?”

“Never mind.”

He frowned at how embarrassed she sounded.

“Let me down so I can walk,” she pleaded.

“No. You’ll run back downstairs for the Twinkies.”

“Daniel, I’m too heavy. You’ll hurt yourself.”

She was worried about her weight? He tightened his grip,
refusing to allow her to get away from him. “Don’t talk like that. Ever. Got
it?”

Her sigh warmed his back. It sounded sad.

A flood of feelings welled in Daniel. Sorrow. Empathy.
Anger. “Did your grandfather bully you about your weight as a kid?”

“No…yeah…sometimes. Actually, he’s never stopped.”

Daniel muttered an oath beneath his breath. “I know he’s
family. But trust me, he has no right to say anything. You’re fine as you are.”

She laughed self-consciously. “You don’t have to be nice.”

“Nice?” He smacked her ass again. “You call that nice?”

She made a wanton sound. “I call it arousing. Don’t stop.”

He did. The last step clanged beneath his foot. In the
bedroom, Daniel flicked on the lights, then put Alexandra on her feet and
pointed his finger at her. The tip touched her chin. She tried to lick it. He
pulled his hand back so she couldn’t. “Don’t move from this spot. I mean it.”

“Where are you going?”

He turned at the top of the stairs and put his hands on his
hips. “Did you move?”

She backed up a step. “No.”

Daniel wasn’t going to smile. Not at her breathless lie or
how cute she looked. Remnants of the Twinkie dotted the sides of her mouth and
chin. Her messy hair skimmed her cheeks, the ends grazing her breasts. Her
nipples, silky cunt and those tats—damn, those tats—drew Daniel more than he
wanted. Whenever he was near her, he wasn’t himself.

He wasn’t even certain what that was anymore and wasn’t
about to dwell on it, keeping his focus on what he needed downstairs. The bag
of goodies, what was left of the candles, and the plates they’d melted on.

With the stuff cradled to his chest, Daniel returned to the
bedroom. Alexandra was in the same spot he’d left her in. However, the lights
were off and flames leaped behind her in the fireplace.

He arched one eyebrow. “After I told you not to move, you
laid a fire?”

“No. It came on by itself.”

He lowered his face but still laughed. “You are so fucking
bad.”

“And you’re going to punish me, right?”

Damn, he’d really unleashed her hunger for discipline. Him
in control, just as he liked. Trouble was, Daniel had rarely felt less in
charge of his own emotions. Not answering, he put the bag on her dresser and
set up the candles around the room.

Alexandra didn’t stir from her spot, though she did twist to
the right and left to watch him as he worked. “You’re not?”

What? Certain of himself, or what was going on inside him?
Hell no, he wasn’t. Suppressing a frown, Daniel lit the last candle and tossed
the spent match in the fire.

“Are you?” she asked.

“Am I what?”

“Going to punish me?”

“What do you think?”

Her expression grew blurry with desire. She murmured, “You
left your belt downstairs.”

Daniel got hers from the closet where he’d returned it after
using it on her that first night.

“I’m all yours,” she breathed.

Her remark sent off alarms inside his head. The truth that
he wanted her more than he had any other woman.

Leave.

He couldn’t bring himself to do so. Ignoring his thoughts,
he muttered. “Put out your hands.”

“You forgot the rope.”

“Alexandra.”

She offered him her hands, wrists pressed together without
him directing her to do that.

Daniel secured the belt around them, then led her to the
bed. “Hop on.”

She sank to the mattress. He looped the other end of the
belt around a slat in the headboard, tying it so tight she couldn’t get loose.
Her chin pointed at the ceiling as she watched him, then came back down when he
rolled a condom over his cock and got on the bed.

The mattress shifted with his weight. She whispered, “What
are you doing?”

He knelt between her legs, simply gazing at her, stirred by
what he saw. Moved too much. He didn’t want this. It was too intense.

“What?” she asked.

Unable to answer, Daniel leaned down and brushed his mouth over
hers. Alexandra’s breath greeted his. She licked his top lip. He slid his
tongue inside her mouth, kissing her leisurely, enjoying her flavor, scent,
warmth, as though his heart wasn’t slamming into his throat.

When he slipped his shaft into her damp cunt, they both
stilled for a moment, then eased toward each other on rough sighs, their bodies
finally touching. Her extraordinary heat and tightness touched every part of
his body and mind, then reached his soul. He pulled his mouth free and propped
himself on his elbows so he could look at her as he pumped.

Their gazes locked and never strayed. Everything around them
receded. In this moment, Alexandra became the sum of his existence, what he
craved and had to have. Morning would come too soon, changing his mind,
bringing him back to good sense.

He kissed her again, more greedily this time, helpless in
his desire, then continued to thrust, not worrying about the coming hours,
days, weeks, months. Their inevitable parting.

Right now, this was all that mattered.

Something had changed. Daniel was…

Alexandra wasn’t certain what term would have adequately
described his behavior. Tender. Impassioned. Genuine. Yeah, that was it.
Suddenly, they weren’t role playing any longer, the big bad Dom training his
timid sub. Which had been great. She’d enjoyed the thrill of punishment, his
macho act, their fervent screwing that had felt so damn good. However, now it
had gone deeper.

They were actually making love. A coming together that
enriched each moment and nourished her forlorn heart.

She couldn’t stop kissing him, driving his tongue from her
mouth so she could fill his. He couldn’t seem to get close enough, his body
pressed into hers, lingering there before he continued to thrust.

The bed creaked with his movements. Alexandra kept tugging
on the belt, wanting to be free so she could touch him.

He paused in his pumping.

Oh no.
She feared he might pull out of her, claiming
she’d been bad, she deserved punishment because he was back to his Dom act.
That’s not what she wanted now and sucked his tongue to keep him to her.

He didn’t stray. Instead, as they continued to kiss, Daniel
released her hands.

She wrapped her arms around his beautiful body, clinging to
him, he to her. Still joined, they rolled from one side of the bed to the
other, each of them trying to get on top. She won finally, no doubt because he
let her.

With his cock deep inside her pussy, Alexandra pushed to a
sitting position and looked down at Daniel. He brushed her hair aside and grinned.
So did she.

“Ready for the ride of your life?” she murmured.

He flexed his rod in answer.

Good enough for her. She rode him, lifting her body until
his cock was nearly free, then she sank back down until all of him was safely
back inside.

Alexandra trembled.

His nostrils flared slightly. “Damn, this is nice.”

“Oh baby, you ain’t felt nuthin’ yet.” Squeezing her inner
muscles around him, she pulled back up.

He made an appreciative noise that thrilled Alexandra as
nothing else had. Energized, she kept to a slow, steady pace. Up, down, up,
down. Rapture flooded Daniel’s features. So did lust. He played with her boobs,
then stroked her clit.

Ah…god.
She stilled at the shot of pleasure, losing
her stride.

Daniel took up the slack, pumping his hips while tending to
her nub. On a ragged sigh, Alexandra forced herself to resume, lifting herself
from him once more.

For minutes, they gave their all, gazing at each other
throughout the act, the moment powerful and moving as they climaxed.

Still panting, she didn’t want to fall asleep, but did.
Daniel tickled her until she was alert again, after which he dropped back to
the mattress, yawned once and snoozed. She gave him a hickey on the inside of
his thigh, finally biting him gently, to wake him up.

He groped for her, but she was already out of reach. His arm
fell to the mattress. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

Gently, she removed the condom from him, tied it in a knot,
then flung it at the wastebasket near the dresser.

It hit the mirror.

He watched it sliding down the glass. “Now I understand why
your office is such a mess.”

She countered, “I may be shitty at throwing condoms and Beer
Nuts, but I’m good at other stuff.”

“Like what?”

Turning her back to him, Alexandra straddled Daniel, then
positioned herself. Beneath her, his marvelous balls and cock awaited, while
her pussy was just above his mouth. “This,” she said, finally answering him.

His deep sigh said he approved.

She tended to him, bringing his cock back to life with each
lick, while his mouth, tongue, and fingers explored her pussy. Finding new
areas to touch, to entice and thrill her with, until Alexandra was one horny
mess once more.

Even so, she didn’t rush toward climax. Neither did Daniel,
fighting as hard as she did to hold off. He even used her ass as if it were a
set of bongos, tapping out a tune, trying to distract himself or her.

Alexandra finally stopped licking him and laughed. “What is
that you’re playing on my butt?”

“Dunno.”

“It’s peppy. Play it again.”

Chuckling, he pulled her pussy back down to his mouth and
licked her with full carnal intent. Bringing her to climax as she did the same
with him.

After that, the rest of the night was a blur of pleasure
with them alternately playing and catnapping, until they both finally passed
out.

Morning came too quickly. She punched her alarm’s button to
stop the irritating buzz. With her legs dangling over the side of the mattress,
Alexandra wheezed in as much air as she could, then bitched, “I can’t do this.
I’m calling in sick.”

Daniel didn’t comment.

She looked over, figuring he was still asleep, surprised he
was awake. Really awake. As though he’d been up for some time. Falling across
the mattress, she rested her head on his belly. “Write me a note, please. Tell
them I can’t come in for another week or two.”

Nothing.

Alexandra leaned up to see his face. Instantly, her stomach
clenched.

His attention remained on the ceiling, his expression more
than preoccupied. He had the proverbial thousand-yard stare, whatever he saw
troubling him.

“Daniel?”

He blinked then looked down. As though he hadn’t noticed
her, even though she was resting against him. Something flashed across his
face, the emotion too quick for her to catch before he pushed it away.

Bracing himself on one elbow, he glanced at the clock. “Shouldn’t
you be getting ready for work?”

Uncertain as to his mood, she hesitated then joked, “I
thought you’d write me a note so I can stay here with you.”

He didn’t smile, nor did he continue to look at her. “I have
stuff to do.”

Stuff? What kind?

She wanted to ask but didn’t, sensing he wouldn’t have told
her. As opened as he’d been a few hours before, he was closed to her now and
Alexandra couldn’t figure out why. Maybe he’d had a bad dream. Maybe he really
did have things to do today that he didn’t want to bother with, which gave her
a thought. “You forgot to bring your laundry by.” She trailed her fingers over
his pecs, liking how they jumped at her touch. “Bring it here tonight and I’ll
help you do—”

“I did it yesterday at the barracks.” He spoke hurriedly
before she could comment. “I need to see to some things for the next few days.
I won’t be able to come by.”

Her skin stung with panic and embarrassment. She didn’t
understand this. It wasn’t as if he was promising her they’d hook up at the end
of the week. This sounded more like an excuse to say goodbye. What had
happened? What had changed, for godsakes? She’d been asleep for maybe two or
three hours. She hadn’t pulled a Rip van Winkle, awakening after he’d fallen
for another woman.

Her chest ached so much Alexandra could barely breathe.
“You’re leaving the area?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I need to go now. And you should get
ready for work.”

Alexandra didn’t give a shit about that. She needed to ask
him what in the fuck was going on. Problem was, she didn’t want to hear the
truth. That this was it.

“Aren’t you even going to take a shower?” she asked, right
behind him as he headed downstairs.

“I’ll do that at the barracks.” He tugged on his clothes.
She did the same with hers, not wanting him to leave while she was washing.

Outside the cabin, wind slammed into them. Alexandra pulled
her hair away from her face and followed him to his pickup. Before he could
climb inside, she touched his arm and asked, “You’ll be back on Friday?”

“I don’t know.”

Oh god, please don’t do this. Tell me what went wrong.
She
forced herself to remain calm, to keep her voice from shaking. “I’ll call you
on Thursday to see if you—”

“I won’t be answering my phone. Like I said, I have stuff to
do. I won’t have time to talk.” He looked at her for a moment, then glanced
away and mumbled, “Have a good day.”

How in the hell was she supposed to do that with him
barreling down the road in his desire to flee? By the time Alexandra grabbed
her keys and was in her vehicle, his taillights were no longer visible. All the
way to her office, she trembled. Not from the cold, her shock at his brush-off,
her confusion over what had happened. She kept going over it in her mind,
trying to figure out what she’d done after they’d passed out from the best night
of her life. Had she spoken in her sleep, saying what was in her heart? Had he
heard and it frightened him shitless?

She reached for her iPhone, then pulled her hand away. He’d
said he didn’t have time to talk and obviously didn’t want to. He needed to put
distance between them.

She recalled what one of Lucius’ housekeepers had said when
Alexandra was a child. Alexandra’s mom had just left for another guy, a new
future, leaving her husband and daughter behind. As Alexandra had sobbed, the
housekeeper stroked her hair and murmured, “She’ll be back. Absence makes the
heart grow fonder.”

Her mom had never returned. Absence made the woman forget
her.

She tensed at the memory, the pain. Bad then. Back now with
Daniel. Alexandra wanted to call him, but didn’t. She couldn’t force him to
want her any more than she’d been able to accomplish that with her own mother.

He didn’t know what to do, where to go. If he went to one of
his friends’ or relatives’ houses, they’d wonder why he was bothering them at
this ungodly hour. A sudden appearance at his grandparents’ front door would
positively freak them out. If he were to go to the barracks or his cubicle,
he’d eventually run into Alexandra. Her chin might tremble again, as it had
outside her cabin, like she was trying hard not to cry. No way did Daniel want
to see that, because he’d caused it.

Asshole. Jerk.

He shouldn’t have let things get this far without
considering where it might end.

Hell, it had already ended. There wasn’t any other choice.
He’d awakened too many times last night, afraid she’d be gone, terrified that
she was still snuggled against him. Torn in too many directions, he had no idea
what to do except escape and give himself time away from her to clear his head.
This was infatuation, nothing more. He’d worked himself to exhaustion and she’d
provided an unexpected diversion. That was all it was or could be.

His job didn’t allow for a lasting relationship. It was too
nomadic, with him traveling the globe to remote, inhospitable locales. What
kind of a life would that be for either of them? After his time here was up,
he’d take off once more. No telling when they’d be in the same state again,
much less the same country.

He’d done the right thing.

Muttering oath after oath, he wondered how in the hell he
was going to get through today without her.

Worse, how would he be able to work with her for the rest of
his time on this project? Daniel wasn’t certain he could do it without craving
Alexandra again, making things worse than they already were.

He stopped at a crossroads in the village and ran his hand
down his face, uncertain of every fucking thing.

Alexandra slumped in her office chair, staring at nothing in
particular, trying not to think.

She kept seeing Daniel’s face in her mind, his sudden
indifference, how he avoided looking at her. She recalled his voice, so
distant, as though he were speaking to a stranger. Not a woman he’d finally
made love to.

Her hands and feet got colder. She turned up her space
heater, wishing she could cry or fall asleep, anything to mute her awful pain.

Go through your usual routine
,she told
herself.
Keep busy.

She had no other choice. Gathering what little energy she
had left, Alexandra finally checked her voicemail.

No calls from Daniel. None from her grandfather either.

She took that as a good sign that maybe something else
miraculous would happen today. Like Daniel rushing into her office, telling her
he’d been kidding, they were back on for tonight. They needed to watch the rest
of the Hollywood version of
Titanic.
They still had to enact the X-rated
version.

She forced down a swallow and fired up her computer. Her
shoulders drooped when she saw there was an email from Lucius.

You have to go to Anchorage today
,he’d
written.
Your flight and hotel have already been arranged. Michael King and
Greg Vincent will arrive there at five this afternoon. They’re booked until
next Monday. So are you. They’ve never been to Alaska. Show them a good time.
They’re important investors. Do not disappoint me.

Alexandra burst into tears. Of all the damn times for Lucius
to pull this on her, why today? She needed to regroup, heal, decide how to
approach Daniel, ask him what in the hell had happened to change—

Her office phone rang. She flinched and answered it. “Yeah?”
Please, Daniel, talk to me.

“Miss Waite?” a male said.

Frowning at the unfamiliar voice, she ran her cuff beneath
her runny nose. “Yeah?”

“Your grandfather asked me to call to remind you about your
flight today. We’ve booked a taxi to pick you up so you won’t have to drive to
the terminal.”

Uh-uh. No way.

She had to stay here and stare at her phone, waiting for a
call from Daniel that wouldn’t come. He had stuff to do. He was too busy. He
didn’t want to talk.

“Ms. Waite?”

“Yeah, I heard you. Look, I have work to do here. I run this
place. I can’t leave.”
I won’t.

“You do have a weekend supervisor,” he countered, as though
he’d been prepared for her argument and knew too much about the operation.
“Your grandfather’s already approved a bonus for the man to take over in your
brief absence.”