Rectify (Return to Us Trilogy #2) (14 page)

She smiles and nods. "There. You should stand on top of a white frosted cake."

"All I'd need is you standing next to me."

"Yeah, right. You'd stand up there like a lustful deity, and I'd probably fall through the top of the cake."

"I'd catch you if you did." I wrap my arms around her waist and draw her ambrosial body up to mine. "Mmm, you covered in buttercream icing." I growl in her ear.

I pull her closer and sway her. I press my mouth to her ear and hum an impassioned tune. I want her to feel me in her soul. I whisper in her ear. "I'm yours. Even if death parts us briefly, I belong to you."

She swallows and breaks away from our embrace, brushing invisible dust off her skirt. I've pushed her too far again. When the time is right, she won't withdraw from our intimacy.

I rub my beard with my hand.

"So, you met Jude?" I cough. He usually makes his presence known.

"I did."

"Where?" In that dress?

"I was... uh, getting coffee from downstairs, and we crossed paths." I shove my hands in my pockets and stare at her. She looks at the floor and pushes her toes into the carpet. I need to fuck her in those shoes.

I lean on the edge of the desk and peer down at her. She won't return my gaze. Jude uses the private stair entrance to avoid seeing council members in the lobby. What's she hiding?

She blurts out, "Okay, fine. I was exploring the rooms when Jude caught me."

"Exploring the rooms?"

Oh shit.

"Yeah. Well, one room. You walked me past all these lettered doors. What else was I supposed to do?"

I can't help but laugh.

"Out of curiosity, what room did you go into?" Please don't say D. Please don't say D.

"D."

Aw fuck.

Ivy

His watch counts the ticks of awkward silence in the room.

"So, is this a sex club?"

"Of sorts."

"Have you ever been with anyone in room D?"

"It's a suite," he answers, avoiding my question.

"Okay. Have you been with anyone in suite D?"

"Yes, but not recently."

"Why?"

"That's a long story." He motions for me to sit opposite him in the office chairs.

I hear him, but I'm not paying attention. My right foot bobs with restless vigor.

Bob, bob, bob. Bob, bob, bob
.

"Ivy." His tone is adamant, but my thoughts are on vacay.

Bob, bob, bob. Bob, bob, bob
.

Why am I so jumpy about this newfound information? I wanted to know more about him and here it is.

"Eyes on me. Now."

I lift my gaze to his. "I'm happy to tell you about this part of my past. But that's exactly what it is, my past. Nothing more, nothing less. It doesn't mean I need or expect anything different from you."

He crosses one ankle over the other and gets comfortable.

Slut Ivy and Feminist Ivy hunch in front of a rusted steel door marked
Vault of Jacade
. They wear welding helmets and blowtorch the hinges like Irene Cara in Flashdance. I wouldn't even try, ladies. It's shut. Closed. Locked. Feminist Ivy whips her helmet off and throws it against the wall. Slut Ivy keeps soldering the door until it falls off its hinges. Oh my gosh. She got it! Slut Ivy lifts her helmet, and a smile shines through the black soot. The Vault of Jacade has been cracked.

"Jude is my older half brother. I own this place with him and a few other investors."

"Oh. And are you only an investor or are you a…"

"Dom?"

"Yeah."

"I am." His alert eyes scan mine for my reaction.

Slut Ivy prances like a show pony.
I knew he was a dom
!
Could tell by his walk
.

Jacade rubs his hair, then grips the back of his neck. "But, like I said, it's been a few years. More questions?"

"When did you first come here? How many women… Scratch that. And why did you stop if…" My brain rattles with thoughts of him with other women in these rooms.

Jacade leans in close, and his scent distracts me. "Jude invited me to invest while I was doing my residency." He puts his elbows on his knees and clasps his hands together. "I haven't brought anyone here in three years. It didn't suit my needs anymore." His eyes send me a message, but I don't get it.

"And what if I'm curious about being with you in suite D?"

He freezes and his eyes darken.

"Come again?" His voice is low and gruff.

"I said what if I'd like to try it?"

His eyebrows scrunch. "That's what I thought you said. Please elaborate."

He licks his lips. Extremely hard to elaborate, Jacade, when you are clearly turned on and thinking about me naked in suite D.

"
When you blindfolded me and tied me up, exhilaration charged my senses. And the binder clips..." I pause to collect my thoughts. "But it was more than the excitement. There was... exoneration in being yours. I'd been sleepwalking until then. I want to feel awakened again—with you." My gaze drops to my lap. All this openness is overwhelming.

He lifts my chin with his finger.

"Did you go in any of the other suites?" Umm, no. I shake my head. "They were locked."

He laughs at my answer. He taps his finger against his lips and stares at me.

"Are you angry?" I ask him.

"No. I'm not thrilled you found out this way. But I want the truth between us. If it's safe for me to tell you, I'll share. And I expect the same from you?"

"Sure."

"Give me your word."

"I promise." What's he hinting at?

"So, say your ex and two thugs pay you a visit, you'll tell me next time?"

I nod my head with my mouth open. How did he find out Viktor came to see me?

"What did he want?" he asks me.

"Dirt on you."

"Did he threaten you?"

"A little." His jaw clenches.

"Did he hurt you?"

"No. I may have hurt one of his cronies though." I shrug my shoulders.

"Hmm. What's Viktor got on you?" he asks me.

Jacade is being forthright with me at last. I promised I'd do the same. I take a deep breath and give him my truth. "I owe him for helping me when I was a teen." I glance up into his eyes. "I also shot him and took his car."

"You did?"

"Yeah. I was a desperate sixteen-year-old runaway when I met him. Viktor helped me get off the streets. He was going to come for his IOU someday. I've lived most of my life fearing it."

I rub my forehead as Viktor's cold-hearted words pierce my brain like scorpion stings.

"
You're not leaving.
"

"
I am.
"

I was in over my head and needed to get out of there.

"
No, you're not.
"

After what I'd done that night, he wasn't going to let me leave alive. The dead don't talk.

"
You think I give handouts
?
I fed you, clothed you, fucked you, and this is how you thank me
?
By leaving?
"

Bang
!

Bang
!

"Aghh
!
Fuck you, bitch
!
You'll pay for this. I'll come collect when you least expect it, but I will get you.
"

"Ivy, you don't owe him anything." Jacade's comforting timber rescues me from the unsettling memory. "But with the security system installed and Viktor's days numbered, he shouldn't be a threat again. The point remains, you should have told me."

"I'm sorry."

The anguish from the coatroom returns to his voice. "No. I'm sorry. I should have been there to protect you."

"Back then? You didn't even know me. And there's no way you could have known he was going to show up at my place that morning."

He drops his head, then raises his gaze back to mine.

"You're safe now," he says with conviction.

I nod. I believe him.

His burly arms wrap me in a secure embrace. "Good. We have an understanding then," he says in a soft voice. He clears his throat. "Now back to our previous discussion. You're saying you want to go to suite D with me, now?"

"Yes."

His forehead wrinkles. "Tell me something. What's your most pervasive fantasy?" He whispers in my ear. "When you masturbate, what do you envision in your mind?"

Oh gosh. Can I tell him this? "I pretend I'm tied up and can't move. Not even an inch. I imagine a man—a man like you—takes control and does whatever he wants with me."

Whew. I've never said that out loud before. And since I'm being frank. "Sometimes he pulls my hair till it hurts." My words float in the air between us.

He nods and his Adam's apple bobs as he swallows. "You'd trust me to do that?"

"Yes." It turns me on he's experienced in this. I'm not some teenage girl experimenting with sex. I'm a thirty-four-year-old woman, and I make my own choices. It would be hot as hell with him, and Jacade has never given me any reason not to trust him, when it comes to sex at least.

He stands and walks to me. "Put on your shoes."

I use his hand for balance as I slip on my heels, bending to fasten the bows. He helps me to stand and pulls me out the door.

He stops and stares down the hallway.

"Follow me." He pulls me down the hallway, right past suite D.

Ivy

He stops at suite B and holds the door open for me as I cross the threshold. Whoa. The grandeur of suite B blasts me in the face. Lavish fabrics and rich colors blanket the palatial space in luxury. A master suite fit for a king. King Jordan.

I'm drawn to a crackling fire behind a pair of antique parlor chairs. I hold my hands out to absorb the warmth. In a watercolor painting above the mantel, a silhouetted groom kisses his bride's forehead as they stand in the rain. The fire of their love persists through a heavy downpour on their wedding day. Perhaps Jacade and I could be them someday.

Clunk
.

I swivel when the deadbolt locks. Jacade saunters to a cabinet identical to the one in suite D. He opens the door and grabs some items, but uses his body to block my view. He places the items on the bedside table and turns to me.

He smiles as he removes his bow tie. He unbuttons and untucks his tuxedo shirt, letting it hang open and revealing a hint of his sleek pecs. His bulky frame extracts space from the room like the walls are caving in on us.

Gulp.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Why?" I grip my elbows, but my fingers slip on the sweat.

"Don't lie to me." His gravelly voice ripples through the room.

"I was kind of excited about the spinning thing I saw earlier in suite D."

He grins and slips his hands in the pockets of his pants.

"You need to trust I know what's best for you. If you decide that's what you want, we can try it in the future."

I nod. He's right. The idea of spinning on the wheel of death turns me on, but I'm not so sure I'm brave enough to make my fantasy a reality tonight.

"Sit on the edge of the bed." He points to a stunning four-post wooden bed covered in lush golden silks. Light from pillar candles housed in glass wall lamps flickers over the fabric of the bedspread and pillows.

I think I can make it there. Let's try it.

I stumble as my shins hit the frame of the bed. My bottom sinks into the velvet fabric as I turn and sit.

He toes off his shoes and pivots on his bare feet. He removes his belt and undoes the button of his tuxedo pants.

He runs his hand through his spiked hair and pierces me with his gaze as he stalks me. I press my thighs together, even though nothing will help this ache. The throbbing I have for him is submerged deep in my psyche.

He sojourns in front of me. I open my hand and touch his rippled abs. I need to know we're genuine and here together in this moment. My palm meets his scorching skin, and he seizes my wrist.

I peek up at him. "Not yet," he says.

He squats and rests his elbows on his knees, interlocking his fingers in front of him.

"Tonight, you'll address me as Sir. Understand?" I nod.

He shakes his head. "Words, Ivy."

"Yes, Sir. I understand." I swallow because this is so hot. My body blooms at his commanding demeanor.

"Like before, Ivy, you follow my orders. No arguments. What's the safe word?"

"Cashmere, Sir."

"Good. The word
stop
means nothing." He's an ascetic Spartan warrior preparing for battle. He shakes his head and stands. My gaze follows his hand as he adjusts the massive bulge in his tuxedo pants.

He bends at the waist, presses his lips to mine, and touches the sleeve of my dress. Panic bolts through me, and I forget to kiss him back.

He pauses, takes my left hand, and pulls me to standing. He places our palms flat on his taut abdomen, covering my hand with his. The heat from his undulating muscles isn't helping my situation.

His voice is intent but tender. "Close your eyes."

I close my eyes and listen for his sensual voice.

"Breathe, Ivy."

I take a deep breath.

"Follow mine." His diaphragm rises and falls. I match my breathing to his.

"Excellent. Now, with every exhale, I want you to leave your worries, insecurities, or whatever irrational thoughts you're having on the other side of the door."

Here goes nothing. With each breath, I send my self-doubt out the door.

My tarnished body.

His impeccable body.

My vile scar.

The lacerations on my midsection.

All the picture-perfect women he could be with in here.

Inhale. Exhale.

***

Jacade

I release my hold on her hand. When she opens her eyes, the rain clouds have lifted. Her reservations have evaporated.

She's ready.

I take her mouth again, and she responds with enthusiasm. Her ardor catches me off guard and sends a bolt of urgency straight to my cock. I want to take her hard, right here, right now. But I can't. She needs me to stay in control.

I reach behind her and grip the cold metal of her zipper. As the teeth separate, I nudge the fabric from her shoulders with my nose. My fingers unhook her bra and it slides from her chest. I kiss every newly exposed inch of her alabaster skin as her dress and bra drop to the floor.

On my knees in front of her, I grab her ass cheeks in my hands. I rip the thin lace of her panties and shred them from her body.

"Fuck, you're lustrous." I kiss from her left hipbone to her right and smile when her belly spasms from my touch.

I glance up at her and pause at the irony. Her fantasy involved a man controlling her every want and need. Yet here I am on my knees at her feet, exalting her. She holds the reins to my chariot and doesn't even know it.

I clamber to my feet and walk her out of her dress. Those heels and thigh-high stockings are staying on. She grins when I tug a handkerchief from my pocket. I take one last look into the depths of her pupils before I cover them. I knot the fabric behind her head, lingering to smell her mango-coconut shampoo.

I whisper into her left ear. "Still with me?"

"Yes, Sir." That word floats so easily from her mouth.

I kiss her earlobe. "Crawl up on the bed and lie on your back."

I watch her ass as she feels her way to the headboard. I take some six-millimeter nylon rope from the nightstand. I raise her arms over her head and tie her wrists with a French bowline knot. I weave the rope through the rails of the headboard and pull until her arms are fully extended, her breasts upright and pert.

I secure the rope and gawk at her buxom figure. Her light skin glistens against the comforter, and her hair floats like a halo above her head. The rope disturbs her capillaries and incarnadines her wrists. She's the philter fueling my vitality. If she were to perish, no doctor could revive me from my broken heart.

***

Ivy

I'm completely exposed and vulnerable.

The vestiges of his clean, woodsy aftershave comfort me. The scent of my mate.

My sweaty fingers slide around the rough ropes, the thin threads poking into my flesh. The decadent sound of "Desire" by Meg Myers reaches my ears. My whole body tenses with fear and anticipation.

His calloused hand flattens my stomach and caresses my hip, across my abdomen, and to my other side.

"Relax, baby." His tone is serene but stringent. In a
Relax, baby, that's an order
kind of way.

I rest my cheek on my bicep. I do need to chill out.

Inhale. Exhale.

***

Jacade

I remove the tuxedo pants and take one more glimpse of her tied to the bed. She's wiggling a little too much for my liking, but I'll work on that.

I shake myself from her breathtaking beauty and walk to the footboard. I spread her legs, crawl up the bed, and place my hands under her shoulders. In a pushup position, I lower my face to her mouth and skim my tongue along her bottom lip.

"I'm going to see how many times I can make you come." I rise and position my dick above her pubic bone. I lower my hips, and she shudders as I press the tip of my dick to her clit.

"And in how many ways." I stroke my shaft up and down her vulva once slowly. I kiss her neck and whisper in her ear, "Mmm. Let's see what you can handle."

I flex and rotate my hips to create the ideal friction on her clit. I bite down on her right nipple and pick up the pace. Jesus. I could come like this. I need to think of something else. Baseball. Her wet cunt. Shit, no! Snakes.

"Come. Now." I bite down hard on her left nipple. Her thighs clamp around my back. She grunts and shakes hard as she comes. All I can think of is her empty pussy convulsing without my cock in her. In due time.

I lick a bead of salty sweat from her neck. "That's one."

I position my knees on either side of her breasts and peer down at her as I stroke my cock.

"Open your mouth." Her jaw falls open, and I rub the tip of my dick across her upper lip.

"Suck me." Her soft, lipstick-covered lips pull me into her mouth. I slide my left hand behind her head and grind my hips.

Goddamn, she knows how to siphon my cock.

I reach behind my back and between her legs. I arc my fingers and tease her G-spot ruthlessly. I hold her gyrating hips down like a rodeo cowboy riding a wild steer. I continue my rapid massage of her G-spot and add my thumb to her clit. Her sucking falters, and her mouth slackens around my cock. A garbled gasp escapes her throat, and she pants hot breaths on my dick. Her pussy contracts around my fingers, and her body bows up.

"Two," I say with a raspy voice as I pull my cock from her mouth. Two shockingly fast ones. Christ, I might not make it through this torture.

I climb off her and pull her legs down until the rope tied to the bed is taut again. With a sharp tug and twist, I rotate her to her stomach. Her bare ass smiles at me as she rests on her elbows.

"Up on your knees." She complies, and I tie ropes around the tops of her stockings. Time to take care of that wiggling.

"Down." She sits back down, and I secure her calves to her thighs. I spread her knees wide and savor the image of Ivy fully trussed and subservient in front of me.

I move to her face and she arches for my lips like a starved woman. I pull her as close as possible and take her mouth at an awkward angle. Our kiss is wet, messy, and urgent. I force myself to break it and whisper in her ear, "You're doing fantastic. I knew you were made for me." I pull away and say, "I think you can take a few more."

***

Ivy

He lies on his back perpendicular to me and slides underneath me like a car mechanic. He shuffles back until his face is wedged between my tits. He laps at my nipple, skimming his tongue along the outer edge of my areola then biting down hard.

While he's toying with my nipples, his rough hands graze my hips and massage my bottom. He spreads my cheeks apart, and I tense as his finger slides into the crevice.

"Relax."

Damn.

He scooches his head between my legs until his mouth is directly under my pussy. I can't pull away. The ropes hold me tight and in perfect position for him to consume me. He trails his tongue between the lips of my pussy and teases my clit. He moves back farther and circles my hole. I lift my head and gasp. The scruff from his beard rubs my wet folds, and the warmth of his breath hits my sensitive flesh. No one has ever touched me there.

For years, I laid brick upon brick desperately avoiding intimacy and vulnerability like this. But my masonry walls are no match for the wrecking ball that is Jacade Jordan.

***

Jacade

I love tasting her. From clit to ass.

Her muscles tremble against my thumbs milled into her inner thighs. I push three fingers in her wet pussy, and her juices run down my hand. I flick her clit with my tongue in a relentless rhythm. She comes hard and fast, and her pussy constricts on my hand. She wails through her third orgasm.

"That, my dear, is three," I say to her pulsating pussy. I'm not sure if she heard me.

I slide out from under her and lick my fingers. I rub her ass and massage the enticing dimples above it as she calms down. I squeeze some lube on my finger and press it against her hole.

Her head lifts and she stiffens.

I whisper, "Don't worry. Just let go."

Her thighs slacken and I sink my finger inside her. She writhes her hips and moans. She whimpers when I remove my finger. Don't fret, I'll be back. I'm glad she likes it.

"Take a deep breath." She complies. "Excellent. Now, relax and push back a little." I press the tip of the rod to her entrance. Her mouth drops open and she makes a pained sound.

"Might sting for a moment." This anal rod with vibrating graduated beads is ideal for her first time. The first ball pushes past her entrance and disappears inside her. I watch the second ball pop in and pull it out again, only to watch it go back in. Wicked hot.