Mastering Lexie (Stronghold Book 4) (43 page)

There was a
sharp, clanging noise, and Lexie realized he'd undone the clasp holding her
wrists above her head.  They were still cuffed together, but she could
move her arms, and she immediately looped them over his head.  Her fingers
caressed his shoulders as he shifted his body, moving away from her lips so
that he could watch her as he pumped his cock in and out of her pussy.  A
blush spread across her cheeks as he stared down at her, drinking in the sight
of her pleasure.

As exciting as
being watched by him was, it was a bit unnerving too.  She'd become
accustomed to hiding her own emotions from him, making them seem less than they
were.  As his own truth was revealed in his touch, hers was in her face
and her eyes.  There was no turning away, no lowering her eyelashes to
hide her gaze.  She didn't want to look away from him, even as her
vulnerability, her doubts, rose up... she wanted him to see all the way into
her.  This moment, this precious connection, was too valuable to risk on
something as silly as pride or fear.

"Patrick..."
 She whispered his name, too breathless to say it louder, as his eyes
flared with passion and something more.  Something much softer, much
sweeter.  

"Sweet
Pixie," he murmured back, lowering his lips again.

It was almost
a relief to close her eyes, to back away from the intense emotional connection
that had surged between them.  Pleasure rose up as his tongue thrust
between her lips, his groin pressing and rubbing against her clit.

He was so big
inside of her, so thick, and her fingernails dug into the muscles of his
shoulders as he did a slow, erotic bump and grind that had her spasming and
gasping for air.  Moaning into his mouth, she clawed at him, feeling her
orgasm rising up like a swelling tidal wave from the depths of the ocean. 
The sensation was more intense, more complete, a pleasure than she'd ever
experienced before.  Maybe it was the size of him, maybe it was because he
knew exactly how to touch her, maybe it was because she loved him; most likely,
it was an intricate combination of all three. 

Not that she
really had the brainpower to analyze right now.  Hot rapture was sliding
through her, wrapping around her limbs, and setting off sparkling lights behind
her eyes.  Patrick's steady thrusts were coming faster, harder, his cock
pushing deep inside of her as he deliberately rubbed her clit with every
stroke.  She felt impaled on him, full of him, and so decadently lost in
pleasure that there was no room for thoughts or observations.

Just him.

The slick
glide of his cock, the tightening of her muscles around him, the feel of his
body flexing under her fingertips, and the growling vibrations that were coming
from him as he claimed her.  Possessive noises.  Pleasured noises.
 

“Cum for me,
Pixie.”  The order was almost harsh in her ear.

A high,
keening sound erupted, and it took her a moment to realize it was coming from
her.  Ecstasy burst through her, like popping bubbles that fizzed through
her veins, so intense that tears sprung in her eyes.  She clamped down on
Patrick's cock, so tightly that it was almost painful as he thrust, forcing his
way back into her body.  The sound of his groaning pleasure mingled with
her frantic, sobbing moans, and she choked on a scream as he swelled inside of
her.

She could
actually feel each pulse of his cock as he came, every throb as each jet of cum
spilled into her.  The heat, the pleasure, the joy of a fantasy finally
realized, a need now sated, had her seeing stars.  Her lashes fluttered as
the white sparks of light filled her vision, Patrick's voice filling her ears.

"Breathe,
Lexie."

Gasping for
air at his insistence, she panted as he leaned back, allowing her legs to suddenly
drop back down on the bed.  She was limp and achy, her leg muscles
protesting now that they weren't being pressed practically against her upper
body.  

"Lex,
look at me, are you okay?"

Worried brown
eyes came into focus as she blinked, trying to assemble her thoughts, to put
herself back together after being shattered so completely.  Sensual
satisfaction hummed along her nerves, her pussy still clenching around
Patrick's slowly softening cock.  

Smiling up at
him, radiant, Lexie ran her hands up to his bald head, rubbing his scalp and
giggling before letting them fall over her own head, too tired to hold them up
for very long.  There was something wonderfully satisfying about being so
sated, so wonderfully high on pleasure, and still restrained.  Still under
his control.  

"Okay,"
she repeated, giggling a little.

The worry in
his eyes faded immediately, and his lips curved in a smile.  "You're
so full on endorphins, you're practically drunk with them, aren't you?"

"Sure,"
she said, agreeably.  Tilting her head up, she pursed her lips slightly,
and was delighted when he rewarded her with a kiss.  It was gentle,
tender, filled with warmth and his own satisfaction.  As if he no longer
felt the need to dominate, to claim, because she'd already submitted and it was
clear that she was his.  

Nice.

Happy, fizzy
warmth filled her as they kissed, slowly and sweetly.  She was practically
sighing with it, content in the knowledge that Patrick had her and he would
take care of her.  Because she was finally his.

Patrick had
gone back into his room five times since Lexie had gotten home, each time
emerging wearing a different shirt.  Twice wearing different pants along
with the different shirt.  

Sitting on his
couch, feet tucked up underneath her, pretending to read a book, Lexie couldn't
believe how cute he was.  Not that she'd ever say such a thing to
him.  She'd learned, a long time ago, that guys did not like being told
they were cute.  Which she didn't understand, because, to her, cute was a
good thing.  Cute was sweet, adorable, endearing... but somehow guys saw
it as almost an insult.  Especially a big, dominant guy like Patrick.

Shifting
slightly, Lexie tried not to think about the fact that she was about to go over
to her parents' house while not wearing underwear.  Since she wasn't
wearing a skirt, Patrick had insisted she go without.  At least he knew
there was no way she'd be wearing any other toys while over there.  She's
caught him fingering the vibrating panties thoughtfully, and she'd told him
absolutely not at her parents. 

The idea had
made her pussy clench a little, in a kind of taboo excitement, so maybe one
day, but definitely not today. 

Although, if
her parents were ever out of town, she was going to drag him over there to have
sex in her old room.  The double bed she'd had there would barely fit him,
but she'd had so many girlish fantasies about fooling around with Patrick in
that very room that if she ever got the chance to fulfill them, she'd jump on
it.  

Muttering
under his breath, Patrick left the kitchen again and headed back to his
room.  Lexie stifled a giggle.  She'd never seen him so nervous
before.  He'd gotten cranky when she'd tried to reassure him, so she'd sat
down on the couch to read and just let him work through his anxiety on his
own.  Better to let him pace and change clothes than to provoke him into
spanking her.  Lexie did not feel like showing up to her parents with a
freshly reddened butt.

Not that she
thought they'd know, but it just seemed wrong.

Glancing at
her watch, she raised her eyebrows and put down her book.  

"Patrick...
we have to leave in a few minutes if we're going to get there on time,"
she called as she stood up, surprised that she even needed to say
anything.  He was such a stickler for being early, much less on time, that
she'd been counting on him to let her know when they needed to go, but if they
waited any longer, they'd probably be late. 

He really was
nervous.

So freaking
cute.

"I
know!"  His frustrated voice echoed down the hallway.

Smiling, not
at all unnerved by his snapping retort, Lexie went into the kitchen and picked
up the bottle of wine that he'd picked out.  Her smile widened as she
looked at the label and realized that he'd changed the bottle of wine too, from
his original selection.

Coming back
out of the kitchen, she almost bumped into him.  He was buttoning the cuff
of a dark green, button-down shirt that looked damned good on him and went
really well with the khaki pants he'd changed into.  Of course, he'd
looked good in everything that he'd put on.

"Ready to
go?" she asked, smiling.

"Don't
say it," he growled, taking the wine from her as he gave her a stern look.

"Say
what?"

"That I'm
cute."

Lexie gaped at
him.  Yeah, he was really good at reading body language, but that was
approaching almost mind-reading levels.  

"How did
you know?" she asked, incredulous and a tiny bit awed.

"You have
that smile on your face."

"I have a
certain smile for when I think you're being cute?"

"Yes. 
It's a patronizing one."

Well she'd
have to take his word for it, she thought with amusement.  She hadn't
realized she had a different smile.  Turning her back as he helped her
into her jacket, she rolled her eyes a little.  Even if she did have a
certain smile, she didn't believe for a second that it was patronizing. 
Patrick just didn't like being called cute.

Even when he
was being adorable.

******

She had that damned
smile on her lips again, the one that grated on his nerves because it said she
was amused and thought he was being cute.

Cute like a
pathetic puppy dog.

Like a little
boy.

Like a baby.

Patrick
gritted his teeth, knowing that he was burning off some of his anxious energy
by focusing on Lexie so intensely.  But, despite her reassurances that her
parents were completely fine with them dating, he had a small, hard knot in the
pit of his stomach that refused to go away.  His entire life, he'd not
just loved her parents, but he'd looked up to them.  When his own parents
were missing from his life, hers were asking how he was doing, keeping track of
his grades, coming to his high school football games.  Of course, that was
partly because Jake had been on the team too, but even when Jake was injured
and benched, they'd still come.  To see him.

There weren't
many people whose opinion mattered to him, but the Standishes were at the top
of the list.  They'd supported him, cared for him, and been his role
models since he was a kid.  He dreaded seeing any kind of disappointment
or censure in their eyes. 

Lexie was
their baby.  Their little girl.  Not only was he much older than her,
but he knew the Standishes had a general idea about the kind of sexual needs he
had.  Considering his close relationship with them, he'd never hidden from
them what kind of club Stronghold was.  They'd always known, even if
they'd never asked for details.

He couldn't
help but wonder what they were thinking now.

The nerves
were getting to him.  Walking up to their front door felt like he was
walking to his doom, walking in front of the firing squad.

A soft, warm
weight pressed against his side, and he glanced down at Lexie.  She beamed
up at him, completely relaxed and happy.  Her blue eyes sparkled with love
and reassurance and the damned thought that he was oh-so-cute.  He could
see it in her smile.  

Still, he did
feel a little calmer with her so lovingly leaning against him.  Because no
matter what happened tonight with her parents, she was worth it.  She was
worth everything.

"Sweetheart! 
Patrick!"  Mrs. Standish practically shouted as she opened the door,
happiness filling her voice.  Her arms opened wide to embrace Lexie,
bright, shining blue eyes landing on him as she hugged her daughter, and her
smile widened.

Some of the
knot in his stomach relaxed.  Part of him had worried that Lexie had
exaggerated her mother's reaction to the news that they were dating, in an
effort to spare his feelings.  Seeing Mrs. Standish now, he could read her
sincere joy and excitement. 

"Come
here, big guy," she said, releasing Lexie and holding her hands up towards
Patrick's face.

He bent down
so that she could clasp his face between her hands, landing a kiss on her cheek
as she brushed one against his.  "Hi Momma."

She'd always
insisted that he call her that, whereas Mr. Standish had asked to be called
Brandon after Patrick had turned eighteen.  Before that, he'd accepted Mr.
Standish.  The Mrs. never had.

"Come on
in, come on in," she said, stepping back and bustling away towards the
kitchen.  "Dinner's almost ready.  Brandon," she called,
raising her voice in the direction of the living room, "the kids are
here."

Taking
Patrick's hand, Lexie pulled him in the direction of the living room, where he
could hear the sounds of the television.  She wound her fingers through
his as they walked into the room, both of them immediately locating Brandon, in
his usual chair.  Glancing at the television, Patrick grinned as he saw
that Brandon was watching a
Knight Rider
 re-run.

"Hi
Daddy," Lexie said, pulling Patrick behind her as she went to greet her
father.

Brandon was a
tall man with a ruddy complexion and the same black hair as both of his
children, although his was now liberally salted with white.  Jake looked a
lot like him, other than inheriting Mrs. Standish's startling blue eyes,
whereas Lexie had gotten her mother's creamy complexion, slight figure, and
pert nose.  Standing up, Brandon leaned down to hug his daughter, who
finally relinquished her hold on Patrick's hand to hug him back.

It felt weird
to be holding hands with her in the Standish's house, but Patrick hadn't wanted
her to feel rejected, so he'd done it. 

Hugging Lexie
tightly, Brandon kept a hold of her, tucking her under his arm as he turned his
attention to Patrick.  That ball in the pit of his stomach tightened
again.  Brandon had never been as openly expressive as his wife, and
Patrick wasn't sure what to expect from him now.

Eyeing him up
and down, the way Patrick had seen him do to all of Lexie's dates throughout
the years, Brandon cleared his throat.  "You sure you know what
you're getting into, boy?"

"Yes,
Sir," Patrick said, a smile curving his lips as he glanced at Lexie. 
She was rolling her eyes at the male posturing.

"Well,
good luck then."

Patrick almost
laughed as Brandon pushed Lexie back towards him, before the older man settled
back down into his chair with a kind of resigned sigh.  That had been
anticlimactic.  

Scowling,
Lexie looked over her shoulder at her father.  "Dad!"

"What?"
 His voice completely bland, Brandon leaned to his left.  "Could
you two scoot over a bit?  You're blocking my view of the television."

Making an
exasperated noise, Lexie patted Patrick's chest and went up on tiptoes to give
him a brief kiss.  "I'm gonna go see if Mom needs any help."

"Okay."
 Feeling a bit awkward again, Patrick settled in the other easy chair, the
one that he and Jake usually fought over when both of them were in the
house.  That's where he always sat when Jake wasn't home, but he'd always
done it as a kind of adopted son, not as Lexie's boyfriend.

He'd watched a
lot of
Knight Rider
 from this seat.  It was Brandon's favorite
show.

"How you
been?"  Brandon asked, not taking his eyes away from the
television.  The way he always did.  "It's been a while."

Finally
relaxing completely, since it looked like Brandon wasn't going to treat him any
differently, Patrick settled back into his chair.  "Sorry about
that.  I've been okay, just busy.  How have things been around
here?"

"Pretty
good.  Wendy wants to go on another cruise, go somewhere warmer in a
couple of months, but that'll depend on whether Jake re-enlists this time or
not.  If he's gonna be gone again soon, we'll probably stay home to get
more time with him before he goes."

"Is he thinking
about staying home?"  Patrick asked, surprised.  Jake had
mentioned it as a possibility the last time, but then he'd ended up deciding to
re-enlist.  He hadn't mentioned it this time.

"He said
something to Wendy about it, but not me," Brandon said with a shrug.
 "She's probably making a bigger deal out of it than it is."
 Meaning, Jake might have mentioned it as a possibility and then his
mother blew that small comment out of proportion.  She did get excitable
sometimes, especially because she really hated having Jake overseas and in
dangerous situations.

Ever since
meeting Jake and the Standishes, Patrick had been thankful to have them in his
life, but maybe never more so than tonight.  Momma wasn't just accepting
of him as Lexie's boyfriend, she really was thrilled by it.  She'd made
all his favorite dishes, beamed at him all through dinner, and didn't say
anything embarrassing once.  In contrast, Brandon just acted like tonight
was any other dinner, as if Patrick and Lexie sitting next to each other and
occasionally touching was nothing new.  He didn't even blink when Lexie
referenced the fact that she'd been spending her nights at Patrick's.

By the time
the evening was over, he felt completely comfortable standing in their kitchen,
talking with Brandon and Momma, while Lexie was tucked under his arm with her
arm around his waist.  It felt natural, as if this was the way it always
should have been. 

He knew that
he'd needed to wait as long as he had, to be with Lexie, but he was damned glad
he didn't have to wait any longer.

******

The new
routine to her days made Lexie feel like a cat blessed with an unlimited amount
of cream.  She was practically licking her lips with how satisfied she
felt.  In the mornings she woke up, got dressed, and kissed Patrick
goodbye on her way to work.  A portion of his closet had been cleared out,
and about half her wardrobe had found its way into there and the new dresser
that had appeared in his room.  Not that he'd said anything about it, the
empty space in his closet and the dresser had just been there one day when
she'd arrived, waiting to be filled.

So she'd
filled them.

After work,
she would go back to his place, maybe with a quick stop at her apartment
beforehand.  On nights when he was at Stronghold, she would change and go
meet him there, spending the evening in his office or walking around the club
with him.  Sometimes she'd kneel beside him, other times she'd sit in one
of the chairs across from him, and one time she spent about an hour under his
desk.  That had been fun.  As long as she'd always been touching his
cock in one way or another, he hadn't cared what else she did, and so she'd
been able to tease and torment him to her heart's content.  Well, until
his control snapped and he'd wreathed his fingers through her hair, pushing her
mouth down onto his cock until he came down her throat.