Escaped Artist (Untamed #3) (15 page)

“You’re cheating.” His voice hummed against me in low warning.

My body quivered under his touch as I panted in reply. “And you’re playing dirty.”

I could’ve sworn I felt him smile. “Tell me you don’t love it,” he said.

Oh, god, I fucking loved each lick and every nibble. My response came in the form of a loud moan.

“Good.” He spread my knees wider and thrust his tongue deeper. “Now, hands on the table, Ree.”

I gripped the table again, allowing him free reign. His tongue drove me wild, and my body was already wound so tight from what he’d done to me by the mirror that my climax approached quickly and forcefully. Once again, just as I was about to launch off the edge and burst apart, he pulled away, leaving me aching in pleasure-infused agony.

FUCK. ME.

“
Please
…”

He licked his lips and grinned. “Not yet. We have a long session ahead of us.”

A little part of me wanted to scream in frustration, but a much bigger piece was excited as hell by the idea of more Dare, more…
this
.

“I need you on your side. And you’re going to have to be very still for this part.” He put on his gloves, then massaged cool ointment over the stenciled area of my skin, and I immediately knew what was coming next.

The pain part of
pleasure and pain.

The first few stings of the needle caused me to bite down on my lip, but the next few weren’t so bad. Soon, all I was focusing on was the soft hum of the machine and the way Dare’s eyes seemed to be worshiping each line and every stroke he made. Whenever he paused to wipe, the corners of his lips lifted into a reassuring smile that seemed to be aimed straight at my heart.

With the outline of the wings done, he shifted back into
pleasure
mode, putting down the gun to lavish attention on my mouth, nipples, and stomach, finally ending up back between my legs, teasing me hard and fast with his tongue and fingers before pulling away yet again to return to the phoenix’s body.

By the time the outline was completed, I was a complete mess. Not due to the discomfort, but because of the desperate need for release that was driving me to the edge. I’d barely felt any pain while he tattooed, but every time he kissed, licked, and touched me, a raw unfulfilled ache tore through my insides. Sprawled on the table with my hands above my head, I had been completely at his mercy, and my body was starting to rebel. I was so tightly wound and so incredibly turned on, I felt like a single gust of air could be the trigger that pushed me over the edge.

“You did amazing,” he whispered on a kiss. “We’re done for now. I’ll finish the rest next time.”

I looked up at him with a wide, excited grin. “Do I get my reward?” Dare had delivered on his promise to take good care of me. Now I just hoped he’d finish the damn job, before I was forced to take matters into my own hands.

His shoulders shook with laughter. “You make it sound like you were the only one being tortured here. Try keeping your hand steady while tattooing a sexy, naked chick that keeps moaning your name over and over again as you work.” He finished wrapping my tattoo, then bent his head and grazed his teeth over my collarbone. “We
both
get our reward,” he said, his eyes full of fire. “Right fucking now.”

NOW. That three-letter word had never sounded so sweet.

He moved to the foot of the table, pulling my ass all the way to the edge, spreading my legs so that they were wrapped around his hips. My arms still above my head, his gaze heated my skin as it raked over me, all the way from my mouth down to my throbbing core. He followed with his touch, running two fingers over my lips all the way down to heat deep inside my core.

“Please, Dare…I can’t wait anymore.”

My body shuddered and I let out an audible sigh of relief when I heard him unzip his jeans. Then he was pushing inside me, groaning and thrusting so deep, the answer to all my dirty fantasies and horny prayers.

I watched every muscle in his body tighten as he drove into me, his chiseled face an erotic portrait of arousal and need. One of his hands teased my nipples as the fingers of the other drifted up and down my thighs, first gentle, then growing in greed as his hips began to move faster and harder.

Looking down at me with his stormy gaze, he hooked his arms around my legs and lifted them up so they were resting against his shoulders, shooting me a satisfied grin when I cried out, knowing exactly how far into me that maneuver had brought him. I felt every long, hard inch fill me, stretch me, own me as he moved with powerful, piercing strokes.

The force of limitless delayed climaxes was locked within me, vibrating deep in my core, begging to be released. I was no longer teetering on the edge of some tall cliff…I was floating in space in a whole other universe, needing Dare to show me the way home.

His thumb touched down on my clit at the same time as he drove inside me, detonating the first quake. With every intense thrust, he set off a new wave of pleasure, each spasm taking me higher than the previous one. Arching my spine, my eyes rolling to the back of my head, I cried out his name through ragged breaths, experiencing what I could only describe as the best and longest orgasm of my life. Or rather,
orgasms
. It was impossible to tell when one ended and the next one began.

Just when I thought I’d died and gone to some kinky version of heaven, Dare leaned forward and slammed into me again, his eyes meeting mine as another toe-curling burst of delirium surged through me. I cried out his name, and he responded by groaning mine as his own release quaked his body.

He collapsed on top of me, careful to protect my bandaged side as he pressed his lips to mine, parting them with his tongue, and indulging in a long, leisurely taste of me. His kiss spread fire through my veins, reaching a place even deeper than the one he’d just come from.

“How do you feel?” he asked, glancing down at my covered tattoo.

“Free.” I smiled into his mouth. “Happy.” Excited to be on a path that finally seemed to be going in the right direction.

Ecstatic to be walking it with Dare.

sixteen

“R
EE! You’re here!” That familiar shriek only belonged to one Wilde. My body flooded with warmth at the sound of her voice. “Oh, hey, Dare.”

“Dalia,” Dare said without turning around, his attention focused entirely on my tattoo as he shaded the wings over my ribs. “So great to see that I’m just a postscript.”

But he smiled as he said it. I knew how much he loved his siblings, and the fact that they’d taken me in, accepted me as one of their own meant a lot to him. He’d had enough crap in his family life, so any discord between me and them would not have gone over well. Honestly, it would’ve probably destroyed us long ago.

“Wow!” Dalia bent over Dare’s arm to examine my ink. “The phoenix looks gorgeous on you. You’re like a fiery, golden goddess, Ree.”

“Holy crap. A half-NAKED goddess!” I didn’t even have to look to know where Dax’s gaze was glued. I immediately pulled my shirt down a little. “Damn, don’t shy away on my account, babe.” He was practically panting. “I’m a big fan of Dare’s nude work. In fact, I enjoy dabbling in some of my own. You wanna see?”

“Tell you what,” I said with a teasing laugh, “if I ever stop being a fan of your brother’s work, you’ll be the first one I call.”

“I’m the one with the gun in my hand, you know that, right?” Dare bent down to claim my bottom lip between his teeth. “You better watch what you say, Princess.”

“Or what?” I let out a little squeal when he bit down. “Is that all you’ve got, Wilde?” There was a challenge in my voice. “Just empty threats and a few little nibbles?”

Lowering his lips to my ear, he said, “I
dare
you to leave me. See how far you get before I drag you back here and make you grip that table. Just like last week. Except my
nibbles
won’t be so gentle, this time.” He pulled back and pinned me with his gaze as we shared a heated look.

I felt my cheeks redden as my imagination went a little wild with the possibilities—things that were way too inappropriate to even THINK about with his sister and brother in the room.

Dalia giggled. “Look at you two. Such sweet lovebirds! No, wait.
Love-phoenixes
.”

Good thing Dalia couldn’t see just how very
un
-sweet my thoughts were about Dare. And from the wicked grin on his face, his own were just as filthy.

Dare straightened up and looked over his shoulder at his siblings. “Take two steps back, Terrors,” he said. “You’re blocking my light.”

I arched an eyebrow at him. “Terrors?”

Dalia rolled her eyes and Dax winked. I had no doubt he’d earned that nickname over and over again. And not just from Dare.

“Terrors,” Dare said. “Ever since they crayoned my first sketchbook when they were five years old.”

“Don’t you think that’s gotten a little old by now?” Dalia said, sinking her weight into one hip.

Dare nodded his chin at Dax. “Take a look at your twin right now ogling my girlfriend and you tell me if it’s not well-deserved.”

Dalia was popping Dax’s arm even before she turned to him.

“What?” he said, a huge grin splitting his face. “I’m just fantasizing about how I can get a partially naked chick to let me draw all over her. Or better yet, a FULLY naked chick.”

“GOD.” Dalia groaned. “Do you actually hear the things that come out of your mouth?”

I bit back a smile and turned to Dalia. “Did you two just get in?”

“Yup. About an hour ago.” She sank into an empty chair in the corner of the room and let out an exhausted sigh. “We dropped off our loot from Germany and Austria at Dash’s, and booked it over here to see you guys right away.”

“Just in time for the concert tonight,” Dare said, turning off the machine and wiping down my skin.

“And all the GROUPIES,” Dax said.

Dalia shook her head at her brother. “You know they’re only interested in the hot band members, right?”

“What about the guitarist’s hot younger brother?” Dax asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Nah.” She dismissed him with a wave of her hand, her multi-colored nails making a rainbow in front of her face. “Dare’s already taken,” she said. “They don’t stand a chance with him.”

Dare threw his head back and laughed while Dax stared at Dalia with his mouth hanging open. I couldn’t help but laugh with them, reveling in their warmth and love as I filled up on this amazing sense of belonging.

“Brilliant!” Synner said, sitting next to Dalia at the restaurant that night, surprisingly without a groupie by his side. A huge grin lit his face as he raised his glass. “A fucking brilliant concert tonight.”

No Man’s Land was glowing like the bright stars they were. The whole lot of them. Indie couldn’t keep her hands off the guys, hugging them, laughing at everything they said. Dash was in his element, shining, though even tonight there was still something bittersweet about his smile. Hawke and Leo were happily draped with groupies. They were all the most content I’d ever seen them. Clearly this was what each of them was meant to do.

There was no sign of the usual bickering and harassment that I’d witnessed every day for the past week. They were like a tight-knit, albeit slightly dysfunctional, family. Even though they argued and pushed each other’s buttons, their love for each other was undeniable. Tonight, their feelings were as clear as the full moon outside.

Seeing the group on stage, in sync, playing together, feeding off of each other, high on their own music—was hot as hell. They transformed into four sex gods and one hell of a rock goddess, dominating the stage, captivating the audience, making women of all ages moan and shed their panties.

Of course, many of the ladies were panting at the visuals, too—the way Dash ground his hips as if he was making love to his guitar, the raw rhythm and power of Synner’s drumming, the deftness of Leo’s fingers as they danced over the keyboard, the skill and speed with which Hawke played his bass, Indie’s energy and sexy, expressive voice as she belted out the lyrics.

The show had been exhilarating—music thumping, the crowd pumping, technicolor lights dancing to the beat. Each song better than the last. Two of the best hours of my life, and I’d gotten to do it backstage, watching from the wings by Dare’s side.