Heart of Stone (16 page)

"I am," he agreed. "And I've had plenty
of time to come up with new things I want to do with you, lass. But
right now we'll keep it simple."

He grasped her hands and lifted them
against the wall, so she stood with the hot spray on her torso.
"Keep your hands there, and don't move them, understand? No matter
what happens."

She gave him a wide-eyed look over her
shoulder, and he nearly laughed at the trepidation and excitement
in her gaze. But he narrowed his eyes at her and slid his cock
between her thighs. "Open your legs for me, siren."

With a sound that was nearly a whimper,
she did. She arched her back, pushing her lovely ass out at him as
he moved again, sliding along her sleek furrow, the hot water
spraying over his cock and her pussy. He reached around her and
parted her with his hand, and then thrust inside her, panting with
the effort of not driving home all at once.

"Oh, Stone," she moaned. "Oh, oh,
please."

"You want it?" He nipped at the wet
curve of her shoulder, slender, yet strong. "You want all of
me?"

"Yes. All of you, I want all
of you—now.
Please
."

Oh, he loved the raw pleading in her
voice. She was so soft, her pussy sucking demandingly at him as he
thrust again, until he was seated deep inside her, his balls flush
against her inner thighs, her ass cradled on his thighs, his hand
full of her mound and one of her breasts.

"Ah, fuck, you feel so good," he
groaned. Enveloping him in yielding, yet demanding, heat and
flowing moisture. "I want to feel you come around my cock,
Rose."

She whimpered, a high sweet sound as he
found her swollen clitoris and stroked it swiftly, timing it with
his swift, short thrusts. He couldn't bear to pull all the way out
of her, couldn't bear to be separated too long from the snug home
she made for his cock and for his heart. It swelled joyously in his
chest, thudding in perfect time with the pulses of her
pussy.

"Stone," she moaned. "Oh, oh … I'm
coming, I am."

"I know you are, love," he crooned. "I
can feel every … sweet little … squeeze."

She had him by the cock, and he wanted
her to have the rest of him, too. With a roar of triumph, he let
go, his cum exploding into her, his heart tumbling
after.

# # #

Rose couldn't remember ever feeling so
happy in her life. She could hardly stand up on her trembling legs,
so she collapsed forward, her forearms and cheek against the warm,
wet wall of the shower-dry, her bottom supported by Stone's
powerful thighs. His cock was still inside her. She wished she
could keep it there forever.

"You want me to stay there that long,
siren?" he asked, smiling against her ear. "Demanding woman that
you are."

Oh, no, she'd been thinking aloud
again—something she seemed to do when he was making love to her.
She discarded her embarrassment as unworthy of the occasion and
smiled as he soaped his hands and began to wash her, paying close
attention to her breasts.

"You came after me." She clasped her
hands over the back of his much larger ones as he fondled
her.

"I did. And I'm not letting you go."
His hands tightened.

"No?" Her heart thumped with hope and
she knew he'd feel it.

"No." He slid one hand down to cover
her mons, and then further where he was still joined to her,
although his cock felt smaller now. "I'll be inside you so often,
you'll forget what it's like not to have me there."

Then he grinned against her cheek. "If
you're sure you still want me, even though I'm not a pirate any
longer."

"Oh, you—" He cut off the words with
his mouth, hot and demanding over hers. And she sank back against
him, and into his kiss, surrounded by his strength.

His cock slid out of her, but he
replaced it with his fingers. He finished washing her, and then
returned to caress her. She moaned into his mouth, reaching up to
wrap her hand around the back of his neck so he wouldn't stop
kissing her.

He did, but only long enough to whisper
tenderly. "Can you come for me again, love?"

She couldn't refuse him any intimacy,
not when he asked like that. With his fingers in her sensitized
pussy, and his thumb on her clitoris, her body responded helplessly
to his expert touch, pleasure squeezing tighter and tighter around
his hand until it imploded and burst outward.

He made a deep sound of pleasure as she
relaxed against him. "Good. Now that I've satisfied you for the
moment, we can talk. Or rather, I'll talk and you
listen."

She made an encouraging sound, reveling
in his arms around her, his deep voice in her ear and the satisfied
hum of her body.

"It's not goin' to be easy, siren,
being with me. Your life will have to change."

"Well, I certainly hope so." She tipped
her head back to smile at him.

He shook his head, although he dropped
a kiss on the tip of her nose. "More than just us being together.
You won't be able to travel alone, or go anywhere that's not
secure, and I'll always have to know where you are. Do you
understand, Rose? I told you my life is dangerous. I meant
it."

She straightened and turned to face
him. Stepping forward, out of the hot spray of water, she reached
up to touch his face. She didn't smile, because she wanted to make
sure he understood, too. She was handing him more than her body
here, she was about to offer him her heart.

"I do understand, Stone. Really, I do.
But, you must understand, when I followed Branch to Frontiera, I
was terrified, because I knew it was wild and dangerous. But I
wanted a new start for me and Thorne, and to get that I had take
the risk. And for you? I'm willing to take any risk. Because you're
worth every bit of trouble." Her voice shook, but she went on. "I
love you. And I want to be with you—for as long as you want
me."

The look in his eyes melted her knees
and her heart. His eyes glowed molten gold as he pulled her hard
against him. "Ah, siren. You undo me. I want you with me, all
right. Forever. You've declared yourself now, and I warn you,
you're not getting away from me."

She let her smile blossom as she
caressed his angular face. He wanted to keep her forever? Happiness
swelled inside her until she felt as if she could float right up
off the wet floor.

He was an alpha predator and always
would be, but he was hers. There were just three more words she
needed to hear from him. "Why, Stone?"

A dark frown moved over his face, his
brows drawing together. She raised her eyebrows at him, and he
froze, realization dawning. Incredibly, he looked
uncomfortable.

She waited. She'd said it, he quarking
well could too.

He sighed in that way he had, as if he
were a poor, put upon male. Then he cupped her cheek and looked
into her eyes. "Because I love you, Rose Thorne. With all my
heart."

"Ohh," she breathed, tears filling her
eyes. She really was going to float away, and carry him with
her.

"Must be love. I can't reckon any other
reason for going off my food and drink," he added
provokingly.

"Oh, you." She kissed him to shut him
up. It went on for a long time, as his warm, wet mouth spun its
magic on her.

"By the way, I'm proud of you," he told
her, when they paused for air. "A business of your own, that's
wonderful."

She smiled beatifically. "Thank you. My
friend Farah is immigrating to be my partner."

"Good. You'll need startup capital. I
can get you a good rate on that," he offered, waggling his
eyebrows.

She batted her lashes at
him. "I'll pay anything, Mr. Masterson. Even …
you
know."

He growled, deep in his chest. "Oh, I
do know. I know more than you ever dreamed, little immi. But don't
worry, I'll educate you."

Considering where his hands kept
wandering, she was pretty sure he would, and soon. And she couldn't
wait, because she'd dreamed a lot.

"There are just one or two things," she
remembered, ducking as he nuzzled her throat right on the spot that
always made her melt. He was an alpha all right, and if she wasn't
careful he would take charge of every aspect of her life. With the
best intentions, of course.

"What?" he asked without interest, then
winced as she tugged on his hair. He lifted his head. She put one
finger over his lips when he would have kissed her
again.

"You can't just give me orders and
expect me to obey them," she said. "I'm not one of your
employees."

He frowned down at her. "It's for your
own good, love."

She raised her brows at him. "When you
think so, you are welcome to explain why, and we will discuss the
issue to see if I agree with you."

"Discuss, eh?" He fiddled with a lock
of her hair and then sighed, his mouth quirking as if he was biting
back a grin. "Having a wife is going to be a great deal of trouble,
isn't it?"

She stroked her hand down his back,
cupping his stellar ass. "Yes, but I'll be worth it. I
promise."

"Yes, you will," he agreed, squeezing
her even more intimately. His cock stirred against her belly. "Now
let's get you dried off, and I'll show you how. And I may as well
warn you, siren, I still have those soft restraints you used on
me."

She stared up at him, alarm and
excitement warring inside her. He was going to use them on her this
time?

He growled deep in his chest, and
reached down to lift her up against him. "On second thought, don't
bother to dry off. I can't wait."

Neither could she.

The End