PleasureBound (7 page)

Sam went on as though he hadn’t spoken. “Do you remember me
asking whether you’d like to come in the back of my throat?” His eyes popped
open again as he felt her tongue swirl around the swollen rim of his glans,
warm and wet. Ribbons of pure pleasure unfurled to run through his belly and
thighs, and he had to lock his knees for fear of ending up on them. “I remember,”
Sam said, “and I’ve been thinking of nothing else all day. I’m ready to find
out the answers now. Are you?”

She looked up at him in such a way that he couldn’t move,
couldn’t speak, couldn’t say no. He should, god help him, but as her lips
closed around his shaft all he could do was set his muscles and watch and groan
and tremble.

She took it slow. Achingly slow and soft. And just like
she’d promised last night, she took him all the way in, sucking and sliding him
over her soft, velvet tongue until he was lodged snug in the back of her throat
and was unable to do anything but surrender himself to the moist, heavenly
sensation.

“Sam,” he whispered, hardly daring to move as the swell of
orgasm started all the way down in his toes. Prickling, it swept up through his
legs and rushed in a hot boil through this balls and cock to fire deep into her
mouth. Reverently, lightly—careful only to make contact, not to take control—he
lay a shaking hand on either side of her head, and through blurring vision saw
that she kept her gaze locked on his as she swallowed every drop of him down,
her eyes alight with love and acceptance and desire.

Jesus. Adam felt himself sway on his feet as he shuddered
and gave her all of himself. The last thing this woman needed in order to master
him were physical restraints of any kind.

Chapter Eight

Sam’s senses were awash with pleasure. Adam’s pleasure. From
the passion-drenched blue of his unfocussed gaze to the soapy-clean scent of
his damp skin. From the salty-sharp essence of his release jetting over the
back of her tongue to the tremble of his hands cradling her head.

And the sound of his throaty groans filling her ears.

“Oh god, Sam. Enough,” he eventually rasped. “Enough.”

When she drew her mouth from his flushed, pulsating cock, he
reached down to hook his hands under her armpits and pull her to her feet.
Enveloping her in his arms, he held her to him, resting his chin on the top of
her head while he sucked in lungfuls of air.

Happy to have closed the distance that had been growing between
them all day, Sam snaked her arms around his middle and squeezed tight,
absorbing the pound of Adam’s pulse through the press of flesh. Feeling his big
body twitch with the aftershocks of his orgasm, she rubbed soothing circles at
the base of his spine.

“I was right.” She allowed herself a somewhat squashed smile
against the bulge his right pectoral. “Things would have been over way too soon
if I’d let myself do that last night.”

Adam stiffened, his hold on her loosening. “Maybe. But I’m
not tied up and useless now,” he said, grasping her around the ribs and picking
her up off the floor. Turning, he stood her on the wooden chest beside the
ewers, barely giving her time to find her feet before sliding his hands down
and around to grasp her buttocks. Bending forward, he pulled her hips toward
him, bringing her pussy right onto his waiting mouth.

Sam gasped at the feel of his warm tongue tracing along the
central split of her labia, soft and featherlight. She bit her lip when he
repeated the caress over and over, letting only the very tip of his tongue slip
into the cleft and whisper against her hidden folds. She forgot to breathe when
he gave in to her pleas and pushed all the way into the moist valley to lick at
her with long, luxurious strokes.

Her first orgasm was upon her before she knew it, floating
up from pelvis to belly and popping like a little bubble. Adam worked her
through it, looking up along the length of her torso, his tongue on her clit,
slow, sensuous—gentle but relentless. She came harder the second time,
clutching at his head and feeling the warm ooze of her release trickle from her
clenching body. A deep rumble sounded from Adam as the taste reached him. Blue
eyes blazing into hers, he tightened his hold on her buttock-cheeks and pulled her
closer to lap at her seeping entrance before returning his attentions to her
clit, sucking the swollen nub between his lips. When the third orgasm hit, it
did so like a solid force, making her knees give out and the edge of her vision
turn black. She was aware of Adam changing his grip, using his hands to hold
her up as wave after wave of mindless pleasure crashed over her. And then she
was in his arms, thoroughly spent and being carried across the tent toward the
bed.

Overjoyed to find herself back where she belonged, she
snuggled close and tried to maneuver herself to straddle him as he lowered
himself to sit on the edge of the mattress. She could think of no better way of
completing their reconciliation than by a slow, sensuous joining of bodies. “Adam,
I need you,” she whispered against his neck when she found his hold too tight
to let her move. “I lov—”

Shifting quickly, Adam brought one hand up to cover her lips
with his fingers and it was then Sam realized that his posture was too stiff,
the tension in his muscles too strained for a man glowing contentedly in the
aftermath of lovemaking.

She pulled herself back a little and was dismayed to see the
stark look on his face. For a moment he sat unmoving, looking into her eyes,
and she didn’t like the way they studied her so seriously, so solemnly. But
that was nothing compared to the complete horror she felt to see him blink away
welling moisture.

Adam cleared his throat. “Get dressed, Sam.” Her stomach
somersaulted with dread at the sound of his quiet tone, at the way his hands
pushed her carefully but inexorably off his lap. “I’ve got something I need to
say.”

On legs that now wobbled through fear rather than pleasure,
Sam grabbed her overnight bag from the floor and started drawing out items of
clothing. Suddenly vulnerable in her naked state, she was only too happy to
have some protection against whatever blow she feared was about to come her
way—even if the armor was no more than flimsy cotton and linen. She barely
registered what she was putting on as her mind spun with thoughts too
devastating and heartbreaking to contemplate.

Finally dressed but feeling far from ready, she took a deep
breath and forced herself to turn and face Adam. He was also dressed and
perched on the side of the bed again, waiting for her and looking so tense and
uncomfortable she wanted to weep, wanted to turn back the clock and undo
yesterday, make different choices. She wanted to shout that it was all a
mistake, that none of it mattered apart from him—them, together. But she knew
that would be a lie. It had mattered. And besides, it wouldn’t do any good now
to pretend otherwise. It was too late to change what had happened. All she
could do was try to deal with the aftermath.

Before either of them had an opportunity to say a word, a
polite cough sounded from the other side of the tent flap and a voice told them
that dinner was ready to be served. Sam didn’t fail to notice that Adam looked
more relieved than annoyed by the interruption.

Pushing to his feet without hesitation, he barely met her
eye as he muttered that they’d better not keep the food waiting. It was so out
of character for him to jump so quickly at another’s bidding, to run from a
situation rather than tackle it head-on, that his behavior only confirmed her
fears for the worse.

Outside, the little table under the palm trees had been set
for dinner, with lanterns flickering here and there and a brazier burning
nearby to provide warmth as the heat of the day disappeared with the fading
rays of the sun. Beyond that, Sam didn’t dare let herself register too much of
their awe-inspiring surroundings, not when she dreaded this might turn out to
be a night she’d rather forget.

The tagine of chicken, lemons and olives that had smelled so
tantalizing a short time earlier may as well have been a pile of sand and rocks
for all the effort it seemed to take them both to chew and swallow each
mouthful. Sam was so miserable with worry that as soon as the last of the
plates were cleared away, she turned to Adam, unable to stand the uncertainty
for a second longer.

“Adam, please. Tell me what’s going on.”

In the flickering lantern-light, she watched his gaze jump
to locate the positions of the hovering staff. After a moment, he pushed his
chair back from the table and stood, sweeping a hand in the direction of the
trees. “Let’s walk over here a bit.”

Tamping down on the instinct screaming at her to run in the
other direction to avoid getting hurt, Sam forced herself to follow him, each
step as heavy as though her feet were shod in lead boots.

Adam came to a halt in front of the watering hole, his
shoulders hunching as he shoved his hands into his trouser pockets.
Dry-mouthed, Sam stepped up beside him, turning to face his profile. Away from
the lantern light, his strong features were cloaked in the shadows of the
night, but it hardly made much difference when she couldn’t seem to read him at
all at the moment anyway.

“I didn’t think much in life could surprise me anymore,” he
started after a moment, voice soft, words measured, attention focused on the
dark pool of water at their feet. “I’ve always been so sure of myself, of my
place in the world. But last night you challenged that, Sam, pulled the rug
right out from under me. And I have to admit, I’m having a hell of a time
trying to regain my balance.”

Sam could do nothing but stare at him through the darkness,
the thought of where all this was heading leaving her breathless and frozen.
Adam was still as well, she realized, his only movements the clenching of his
hands within the confines of his hip pockets.

“The problem is,” he went on, “even when I do manage to
re-find my feet, I know there’s no way I can be the same man I’ve always
believed myself to be. Last night, I lost the one absolute I had in life—the
unshakeable belief and trust in who I am. The things I let happen,” he paused
as though remembering, “well, I hardly recognized myself. Do you know how
shocking it is to suddenly discover that the core you thought was solid and
strong is weak and flawed instead?”

That’s what last night’s events made him think about
himself?
Sam couldn’t tolerate that. “Oh, Adam. I’m so sorr—”

“No.” Adam was quick to stop her. “Don’t apologize. I won’t
accept it from you, Sam. I can’t.”

What? Sam felt her heart drop. He wasn’t even going to give
her a chance in this? That wasn’t fair. “Well, you can’t stop me offering it.”
Anger swelled, allowing her to swallow back the tears that threatened to spill.
She wasn’t going to let this end without a fight. “Because I am sorry, Adam.
I’m sorry that trying to please me pushed you over some personal line, sorry
that because of me you feel like this about yourself.”

He gave a mirthless laugh. “Trying to please you. As I
recall, I didn’t do very well at it.”

Sam had to admit he was right. His take on the absolute
surrender part of the deal had been a bit hit and miss to say the least, even
before he’d gone all Tarzan on her at the end. “It doesn’t matter. If I’d
dreamt for one moment that something that was supposed to be a bit of fun and
excitement would turn into something this deep and disturbing for you, I’d have
never had asked it.”

“Christ almighty.” Adam threw back his head and sucked in an
audible breath. “It better have meant something more to you than just ‘a bit of
fun’ given the ungodly can of worms it’s opened.”

“Of course it meant something to me, you know that. I
wanted—needed—to explore that side of my sexuality with you. And as I’ve
already explained, you’re a force to be reckoned with, physically and
intellectually. Straight up, head-to-head, I can’t begin to compete. It was
important to me to know that you were willing to level the playing field every
now and again, that we could be well matched for once. I just don’t know
whether it’s been worth this—leaving you doubting yourself and your actions.”

He half turned his head toward her, the whites of his eyes
flashing in the dim light as he looked at her for the first time. “It’s my
reactions that worry me the most.”

Sam frowned. Was he was still stuck on the losing-his-head,
out-of-control theme? Pig-headed man. “There’s nothing wrong with the way you
reacted, Adam. How many times do I need to reassure you of that—reassure you
that you didn’t abuse me, didn’t hurt me?” she demanded, unable to stop herself
grabbing his arm and giving it a shake. “You may not be prepared to even let me
make my apology, but I’ve already offered you free and full forgiveness. That’s
what love’s about, isn’t it? Forgiving, forgetting?”

“Ah, but you see, I’m not just referring to what happened at
the end of the evening.” He turned then to face her fully. “The submitting, the
bondage, the helplessness—” He paused to give an uncomfortable shrug. “It
excited me, Sam. Against everything I’d thought and said, I found myself liking
it. And that realization made me so angry, so fucking furious with myself I
couldn’t see straight. How could I? How could someone like me enjoy the act of
surrender, of leaving myself weak and powerless?”

Sam reeled, sure she couldn’t have heard him right.
“You—you’re saying you liked it?”

“The physical pleasure, yes. God help me.” Adam nodded.
“Almost as much as I hated the psychological implications that came with that
discovery.”

Sam frowned again, having a hard time trying to keep up.
“So—?” she started, but found herself at a complete loss as how to go on.

Adam took a step closer to her. “So,” he picked up the
verbal baton. “The question is, now that my deepest, darkest secrets have been
revealed, would you be prepared to stand by me?”

“Stand by you?” Sam repeated, her brain struggling to work
under the direct intensity of the gaze he’d pinned her with.

“Yes. Knowing what you know about me now—am I still the sort
of man you’d want to be with, Sam?”

She expelled a breath on a rush. How could he even ask such
a thing? “Of course. I love you.”

That gaze remained boring into hers for a moment then Adam
nodded slowly. “I’ve been sincerely hoping that would be the case.” Removing
both his hands from his pockets at last, he reached his left hand out and ran
it down her arm. Closing his warm fingers around her palm he drew her hand up
between them. “When I said before that I wouldn’t accept your apology, it
wasn’t because I couldn’t forgive you, but because no apology is needed. If
you’re okay with what passed between us last night, then what I will accept is
your promise that you’ll stand by the mess of a man you’ve made of me.” Adam
raised his right hand, and Sam caught sight of the ring he held clutched in his
fingers. Over the sudden rush of blood roaring in her ears, she swore she heard
him say: “Samantha Tyler, I love you. Would you do me the honor of marrying
me?”