Constant Craving [Rapture Island 2] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) (21 page)

It got colder when he got angry, lower and deeper, but without the silky cadence it held when she’d done something to disobey him.

Pleased that she’d begun to understand him, and the way he lived, and loved, a little better, she leaned back, swinging her foot as she listened to him reprimand an employee.

It made her understand just how gentle he’d been with her.

He made her reevaluate herself, something she hadn’t done for a long time, and listening to him now, she had the chance to think.

She hadn’t fallen in love before, and figured she’d never feel that emotion.

Until she met Gabriel.

He’d taught her more about herself than anyone ever had, and with it, the knowledge that she could love—and love deeply. He’d ruined her for anyone else.

He didn’t
take
, but enticed her to
give
.

And gave back in return—more than anyone had ever given her.

“You’re staring.”

Kelsey blinked, meeting Gabriel’s amused gaze. Smiling at the picture he made, she curled her legs under her and let her gaze rake over him. The rush of warmth no longer surprised or alarmed her, the combination of his magnificent looks and confident gleam in his eyes so sexy she wanted to jump him.

Lost in thought, she hadn’t even noticed that he’d finished his call.

Tilting her head, she licked her lips. “You should be used to having women stare at you.”

Stretching, he laced his fingers behind his head, his pose relaxed, but his eyes sharp and watchful. “You didn’t seem to even see me. You appeared lost in thought. Is something bothering you?”

“No.” She’d gotten a little more used to being naked—or close to it—in front of him, but still felt incredibly exposed when he looked at her with such possessiveness. Gesturing toward the scrap of pink draped over the back of the sofa, she raised a brow. “Are you going to give my top back?”

“No. You won’t be wearing it anymore tonight.”

A little unsettled that she couldn’t read him, or guess his intentions, she shifted restlessly. “So what’s the plan for tonight? Since you don’t want to fuck me, I’d say our options are limited.”

Gabriel grinned. “A statement which proves that you don’t know me at all. Why didn’t the authorities come looking for you when you ran away from the foster home?”

Grinning, Kelsey sat back, wondering how long it would take him to get back to that. “My foster parents woke up to their son screaming that I’d beat him up. I told them that I was leaving and if they called anyone and told them I was gone before I had a chance to cover my tracks, I’d tell them why I left and have her son arrested.”

Getting to her feet, she made her way back to the windows, crossing her arms over her breasts. “I don’t know how long it was before anyone checked on me, but I’d moved to Philadelphia by then.”

“And looking over your shoulder until you turned eighteen. So, what happened then?”

Kelsey shrugged. “With makeup, I looked older. It was easy enough to find a job working for cash. Once I turned eighteen, I was home free.”

* * * *

Gabriel could only imagine what it had been like for her. Alone and scared, she’d probably had to live on the streets until she made enough to find a place. No money, no friends, and in a strange city, she had to have been frightened. Hungry.

But, she’d made it.

It had made her tough and understandably distant.

“I’m proud of you, Kelsey.”

She turned from the window, frowning. “For what? Surviving? There really wasn’t much of a choice.”

Getting to his feet, he strolled toward her, aching with the need to hold her. “Yes, for that, but also for what you’ve been doing since we got here. You’ve been letting me in. I know that’s been hard for you.”

Shrugging, she looked away, smiling when he came up behind her and slumped against him. “I don’t really have any choice. I can’t seem to resist you.”

Sliding his hands around her, he cupped her breasts, smiling at the way she slumped against him without hesitation. Kissing her hair, he stroked her nipples with his thumbs, the satisfaction welling inside him nearly choking him. “I can’t seem to resist you either. I’ll go slow, baby. As slow as you need.”

He wanted to dress her in the finest clothes. He wanted to bring her back here often, to get her to relax. He wanted to build a life with her, to wrap her in a cocoon of security and love.

He couldn’t seem to stop smiling. “We’re both going to live out our fantasies. Since I don’t want to let anyone else see you naked, though, I’ll have to indulge your fantasy, and your fear of public exhibition in other ways.”

A fiery blush accompanied her look of shock. “What desire for public exhibition? I don’t want to be naked in public.”

Gabriel smiled, anticipation flooding his veins as he thought about all he could teach her about herself. “Being naked on the beach aroused you. When you were in my arms and pretending to be naked and surrounded by other men, you were wet and got that little catch in your breath that you get when you’re aroused.”

She’d also done something that had thrilled him, something that he’d probably never tell her.

She’d shifted her focus to him even more, tilting her head as though listening for the slightest inflection in his voice. She’d been so attuned to him that she’d responded to his change in tone and even in the rhythm of his breathing, and he doubted she even knew it.

Sliding his hands down her waist, he paused to undo the jeweled clasp at her hip. “No, my pet. You don’t want to be naked in public for real, but it’s another of those fantasies you have. You need to live out your fantasies in a way that’s safe—in a way that you can enjoy to the fullest.”

Smoothing his hand over her abdomen and lower, he slid his fingers through her slit, unsurprised to find her wet and swollen. He couldn’t resist teasing her clit, her soft cry going straight to his cock. “Together, we could explore
all
of your fantasies—maybe even create a few more.”

He’d given her only a taste, and wanted more. From the subtle to the more extreme, he wanted to experience everything with her. The idea of a permanent relationship, and the growing intimacy that came with it, had his mind racing with possibilities. He could explore subtleties he’d never been able to experience before.

With a woman he loved.

He wanted,
needed
for her to look toward him the way she had earlier.

For a lifetime.

Kelsey shivered against him, a soft moan escaping when he tapped her clit. “It’s not fair for you to arouse me when you’re not going to fuck me.”

Gabriel smiled, more in love with her by the minute. Sliding a finger into her wet pussy, he bit back a groan at the way she clamped down on him with a moan. “Who ever said I was fair, my pet? Love and war, darling. Love and war.”

Watching the erotic film in the darkened room, Kelsey soon found herself lost in it, feeling everything the woman felt and completely mesmerized by the man’s focus.

Nothing seemed to matter to him except her.

He surrounded the scantily clad woman from behind, forcing her to bend partially over a car. His focus was entirely on her, the hunger in his eyes unmistakable.

Still, it lacked what she saw in Gabriel’s eyes when he looked at her.

Stunned by the revelation, she kept her face turned to the screen, and started to imagine Gabriel doing to her what the Dom in the movie did to the other woman.

When the woman on the screen reached for the man, he took her hand in his and placed it on the hood of the car, telling her, without words, to keep it there.

Kelsey leaned more heavily against Gabriel, the heat at her back intensifying the fantasy. “Why doesn’t he want her to touch him?” She kept her voice at a whisper, not wanting to ruin the intimate atmosphere.

With his arms wrapped around her naked body, Gabriel kissed her hair. “Because he wants to make it clear that he’s the one in charge.”

Kelsey shifted again when he began to idly circle a nipple, wishing she could rub her thighs together against the ache that settled there, but he’d spread her thighs with his own, preventing it. “I thought the sub was in charge.”

Chuckling softly, Gabriel hugged her before teasing her breast again. “It’s a delicate balance. She is overall. He’s in charge of the scene, and needs to be in control of it. He’s responsible for her safety, and he sets the tone. She has to obey him or pay the consequences. On the other hand, one word from her ends everything.” Still teasing her breast, he worked his other hand to her mound, his almost absent caress causing a hitch in her breathing.

Kelsey’s breath caught, not wanting the excitement to end. “But she won’t use it, will she?”

Gabriel tapped her clit. “Look at her face, my pet. She’s enjoying this. She knows that he’s in tune with her and that he’s delighted with everything about her.”

Kelsey couldn’t take her eyes from the man’s face, stunned by the captivation in his eyes. It wasn’t difficult to see that Gabriel spoke the truth. The man dominating the woman on the screen appeared to be totally attuned to her, as though nothing on earth mattered except having her surrender. Having her as his own.

She couldn’t help wondering if Gabriel had looked like that when she’d been blindfolded.

The fingers moving in a slow caress over her mound dipped between her folds to stroke her clit again.

Closing her eyes, she lifted her hips, crying out when he pinched her nipple again.

“Keep your eyes open. Watch.”

Kelsey struggled to appear unaffected when the man slapped the woman’s ass, her own bottom clenching in reaction.

The woman’s cries echoed Kelsey’s own pleasure, her enjoyment obvious as the man slapped her ass again and again.

The man’s eyes didn’t hold anger. They glittered with possession. Passion. He wanted to own her and wring every bit of passion from her he could. Even when spanking her, his obvious pleasure in her couldn’t be denied. He didn’t do it to hurt her.

“Why is he spanking her?” Kelsey’s question came out in a strangled whisper.

Gabriel chuckled. “She wanted him to. Did you see the way she fought him? She knew he wouldn’t let that bit of defiance go unpunished. She did it to get his attention. To make him fight to have her. They understand each other very well, my pet.”

Fisting her hands at her sides, Kelsey couldn’t hold back a moan when Gabriel released her nipples. “It doesn’t make any sense. Look how she’s lifting into his slaps. She’s teasing him to give her more.”

Nuzzling her neck, he wrapped his arms around her again. “Yes, she is. Does he look like he’s doing it out of anger or because he wants to degrade her? Look at the way she’s moving against him. Look at her eyes, Kelsey.”

Stunned at the look of pleasure and abandon on the woman’s face, Kelsey released a shuddering breath, her bottom clenching with each slap. She saw the man’s lips move again, and wanted desperately to know what he was saying to her. Already fascinated with Gabriel’s voice when he touched her that way, she wanted desperately to hear the Master’s on the screen. “Why won’t you turn up the volume? I want to hear what he’s saying to her.”

With a soft laugh, Gabriel plunged a finger into her pussy. “You don’t need to hear him. All you have to do is look at their faces.”

Kelsey squirmed, her pussy clenching on his finger. Too aroused to be embarrassed, she rocked against him. She couldn’t stop imagining she was experiencing the scene in the movie with Gabriel. She would love to feel him that way around her, love that she could put that look on his face.

She realized another aspect of submitting that she hadn’t thought about before. It would be exciting to see how far she could push Gabriel, to test the boundaries of his control.

Looking over her shoulder, she searched his features lit only by the light from the television screen. “You know I’m aroused. Are you going to do anything about it?”

“Later.” Gabriel slid his finger free and tapped her clit. “I like playing with you. Watch the movie.”

Her entire body burned for him, every inch of her skin tingling with an awareness that wouldn’t be satisfied until he gave her the release that lingered just below the surface.

“You’re a bastard.” She looked up at him over her shoulder.

A dark brow went up. “Excuse me?”

The cold threat in his tone couldn’t be mistaken.

She waited with breathless anticipation for his response, her bottom tingling in expectation.

Gabriel clenched his jaw, saying nothing as he stared down at her.

Realizing that he had no intention of doing anything until she made the first move, she jumped to her feet. “Damn it. You’re going to make me do this, aren’t you?”

Eyeing her steadily, Gabriel inclined his head. “It’s your move, Kelsey. I made that clear.”

Kelsey gritted her teeth against the hunger, wrapping an arm over her breasts and using the other hand to cover her mound. The vulnerability forced her to take a step back, and then another. “I’m not draping myself over your lap. I’m willing to be tied up, wear what you want, and let you fuck me. I’m even willing to have you put the clamps on me.”