Renaissance: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series Book 5) (18 page)

“I’m sure it will,” he murmured, then cleared his throat.

She was beginning to think that his constant steadiness was now being disrupted.

“When you see your doctor, he can check you over to make sure that fever of yours is in under control, check to see if your heartbeat is normal.  Did you know that there are several places on the body where you can check for your pulse?”

More noise in the background and some shuffling sounds came through.  Then keeping one hand on her nipple, she stroked the other down between her legs.  She pushed up into her fingers, listening to his voice.

A sound escaped from her throat.

“The most common place is on the side of your neck,” he said, coaxing her. 

She ran her hand up from her breast to her neck and felt herself there.  “I can feel it.  It’s beating really fast.”

“We need to calm you down.  Take some deep breaths with me.” 

She breathed in deeply and allowed his voice to move around her.

“Slow down your heartbeat.  Take another breath, then check the inside of your wrist.”  He waited a moment giving her some time, then said, “How are you feeling now?”

Her hand skated down from her neck, down her arm to her wrist, where her pulse fluttered like a trapped butterfly.  “Still really fast.  Like my heart’s about to explode from my chest.”

“Hm.  We might need to feel for those other pulse points while we bring you down a little.  Listen closely to my voice,” he spoke softly.  “Put your hand on your heart and breathe deeply again.”  He sounded like he was slightly out of breath.

She smiled, knowing he was now playing with her.  Having delicious phone sex would certainly rev her up while she waited...and hoped...for him to arrive.  Maybe she wouldn’t be as nervous with him this way.  She took a deep breath.

“That’s it.  Breathe slowly.  Move your hand from your heart over to your shoulder.”  Her hand played around her torso and stroked lightly over to her arm, teasing at the skin.  “Now, slowly bring it down your bicep to the inside of your elbow.  Let your fingers press lightly there.  Can you feel your heartbeat there?”

She did as he instructed until her skin was practically shooting sparks it was so sensitized.  She tickled the inside of her elbow and realized it was an undiscovered erogenous zone, and it caused a zap to go straight to her loins.

“Yes.  But I don’t know if it’s calming me down,” she whispered, feeling her blood flow sluggishly throughout as his voice and her fingers teased her closer to climax.  “My reaction is quite the opposite.”

“We have a couple more places we need to check, Ms. Daniels.  Make sure both hands are free while you feel for the next one.”

I’m way ahead of you there, Doc.

“I’m ready,” she practically whimpered.

“Good,” his voice soothed.  “Now let your hands drift down to your hip bones.” She heard a car honk in the background. 

Her legs were already open.  Hearing his voice was making her skin vibrate sweetly.  She was so ready for him and still couldn’t believe she was doing this.

“Then down your thighs, nice and slowly,” he continued. 

She did, feeling the crackle of excitement from her nerve endings. 

“There’s a pulse point right behind your knee.  Run your hands up the backs of your thighs and gently pull your knees back.”  He was speaking quietly, intensely.  “Let your hands rest behind your knees.” 

She lifted her knees toward her chest and ran her fingers up the backs of her thighs feeling her heart pounding in that very spot.  She opened her legs wider, her thong now sliding deliciously against her clit.

“What do you feel?”

“Heat,” she whispered.

“Mm, you’re still warm,” his voice rumbled in her ear.  “What’s your heartbeat doing?”

“It’s really fast.”

“There is one more place we can check, Ms. Daniels, but I think maybe your doctor should be the one to feel your pulse there.  It can be a little tricky to find.”  She heard the quiet smile in his voice.

“I think I can find it, but you may need to help me, Doctor.”

“Well, then.  Let’s see what we can do,” he said like an indulgent instructor.  “Tell me where your legs are right now,” he said softly.

“They’re open,” she purred.

“That’s perfect,” he said quietly.  “You want to run your hands gently down the inside of your thighs starting from your knees.  Not too fast.”

She smiled, as her fingers tickled down her thighs. 

“Are you doing it?”  She heard dinging sounds in the background.  God, please be nearby.  Could people hear what he was saying to her?

“Yeah,” she breathed out.  “It feels really good.”

“Mm.  Your doctor may need to check that out, make sure you’re doing it right.”

She chuckled.  “I’m looking forward to that examination.”

“Are you?”

“Very much,” she breathed out.

“That’s good to know.”

Just then her doorbell rang.

“
Shit
,” she exclaimed and almost squealed.  The truth of what might be happening was settling into her psyche and she catapulted up off the bed to grab her robe.

“I think there’s someone at your door.”

“Drew?”

“Answer the door, Daniels.”

Oh my God.

She grabbed her phone, now blushing from the roots of her hair to the bottoms of her toes, her body still vibrating with unleashed passion as she stumbled to her front door completely out of breath.  She leaned forward to look out the peephole and there stood Drew, glaring at the door, the phone to his ear.

“Open the door, Tiff.”

She unlocked the door and stepped back to open it, her robe loosely tied around her body.

Drew stood in the doorway, wearing jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt with his leather jacket on.  His eyes slowly moved down her body and she felt every inch of his gaze as if it were a caress.  By the time his eyes traveled back up to the top of her body and collided with hers, he dropped his phone in his pocket then stalked into her foyer, causing her to back up even more.  Keeping his intense eyes pinned to hers, he closed the door behind him, flipping the lock.

She couldn’t contain the lust on her face, standing there in her short and silky red robe.  Calming down her breathing wasn’t in the cards at that moment, and this time she actually did feel a little lightheaded watching him stand before her, his own breathing erratic and his nostrils flared.

He looked dangerous as he walked forward, tearing his jacket off and dropping it to the floor.  Stopping in front of her, he looked down into her eyes.  “I thought I’d make a house call.” 

He didn’t wait another second and pushed his hands into her hair, angling her head up to look into his eyes.  He didn’t kiss her, he didn’t speak.  He just looked into her eyes.

She touched his hand and he began rubbing his fingers at the bottom of her skull, interlacing them into her hair.  She stood before him in her short robe, naked but for that fabric and her thong separating them, and she seriously felt like a woman on the brink, her thoughts a complete jumble.  All she could do was feel, feel his hands, feel his breath, feel his heat, feel his body so close to hers.  She met his eyes and whispered his name.

He slammed his mouth to hers and began to methodically and sweetly devour her.

She let out a sound and tightly wrapped her arms around his neck, her body now rubbing decadently against his, the slide of the silk against her skin lighting up every nerve ending.  She felt the wall at her back as his tongue plunged into her mouth and his lips sucked at her bottom lip.

“Drew,” she whimpered while his mouth worked at hers and his hands stroked up her robed ribcage.

“You like to tease me, Daniels?  You want to see what happens, is that it?”

He bent his knees and let his torso press and slide up her body.  A growl escaped from the back of his throat, his lips biting at hers, re-angling his mouth over and over as if he couldn’t get enough of her.

She wanted to laugh with joy at how wonderful it was to feel him against her, his goatee lightly scratching her chin.  Her hands went to his head to grip his short hair while his mouth moved to her neck and sucked.

He brought his hand up her ribs and rubbed the backs of his knuckles on the side of her breast.

“You’re so soft,” he murmured into her ear, his hand now going higher. She ground her core into him and he groaned, moving his fingers closer to her nipple.  “I’m dying to touch you.”

She shimmied closer to him.  “Please,” was all she said.  She was close to climaxing and her nipples tingled, stretching tightly into the rings.  Hers were small rings, the ball resting on the nipples, often rolling onto them keeping the nubs at attention under her bra. 

What will he think? Please don’t think I’m weird…

He lifted his other hand under her hair staring deep into the windows of her soul while his fingers found her left breast and felt for her nipple.

She kissed the underside of his chin and let out a breathy sound just as his hand gripped her hair and the thumb from his other hand scraped the nub lightly over the silky fabric.  She could tell the moment he knew he was feeling something different.  His eyes looked into hers and registered first surprise, then lust.  His breathing kicked up and a flush hit his cheekbones.

With their eyes connected, his two hands came down and began to separate the front of her robe.  He pushed the sides back, causing the front to gape open while his hot gaze continued looking into her eyes.  Then it shifted down to see her for the first time.

“Shit,” he said reverently under his breath while staring at her breasts.

She stayed frozen, waiting.

Without saying a word his thumbs tweaked at the rings in her nipples causing her to let out a sound of arousal.  For a moment, he just lightly toyed with the rings.  If she died right then she’d be the happiest woman in the world.  He was pleasuring her slowly, experimenting by plumping her up with his hands, then pulling gently on the rings with his thumbs and forefingers.  Her nipples were so hard, they burned.  She couldn’t help but let go of another sound.  His touch felt amazing, his hands so soft.

Unexpectedly, he shifted quickly and bent down to take one nipple into his mouth, sucking and tonguing her ring, playing with it.  His other fingers toyed with the other.  “Mmm,” he hummed around her.  “Oh, Tiffany Daniels.  You are always going to keep me guessing, aren’t you?  I think I might be the one who needs a doctor tonight because my heart just stopped.”

She clasped his head and held him to her, loving his mouth on her.  She couldn’t believe they were finally to this point, having waited for so long.  The slick insides of his cheeks coupled with his tongue tugging on her, and his scent hit her in a wave. 

Sandalwood.  It was her new favorite scent. 

She whimpered softly when he caught the ring between his teeth and pulled.

“Does that hurt?” he asked, his lips still on her.

“No,” she moaned.

“You like this,” he stated, as he did it again.

“Yes,” she hissed.

He stopped with one then moved to the other.  “God, you’re beautiful,” he breathed out before putting the other one in his mouth.

“Drew,” she begged.  Her hands were at his head.  Tonight was the first time she’d ever touched his hair before.  It was close to his scalp, a mixture of his heritages making it soft but thicker than she was used to.  She scratched her nails lightly on him.

She could feel his smile against her skin then he moved up to her mouth, his fingers finding a home again at her nipples.

“Why did you pierce them?”

She stilled.  “Do they bother you?”

“The only thing that bothers me is that we’re still in this hallway and not in your bed,” he said sincerely.  He stopped his fingers from moving and waited, studying her.  “Do they bother
you
?”

“I just wasn’t sure what you’d think of them.” 

“They don’t bother me at all.”  He flicked one of the rings.  “They’re gorgeous.  Like jewelry highlighting how pretty you are.  But I’m definitely a little shocked,” he murmured.  He played with one as he said, “I can’t believe at my age and with all of the surgeries I’ve done, I’ve never touched a pierced nipple before.  I’ve seen them obviously.  And I’ve always thought the look was, well, hot,” he said, shrugging with a sexy quirk to his lips.  He kissed her chin.  “This is new for me.”  He kissed her mouth then asked, “What made you get them pierced?” he asked again.  Then, as if struck by lightning, he stopped and gently grabbed her face.  He exhaled a breath.  “Did he do this to you?”

She blinked furiously, looking away, but he angled his face so he could make eye contact with her.

“Did he make you do this to yourself?”

She sighed. 

And just like that, he scooped her up.  “Bed,” was all he said.

She put her arms around his neck and let her lips find his ear.  She was no lightweight.  She may have been willowy, but she was tall, and he held her like she weighed nothing.  He walked down the hall and found her bedroom.  Kissing her lightly and still holding her in his arms, he sat on the bed.  He moved them up a bit and pulled her with him until she was snuggled in his arms.

“I need to know what he did to you.”  He put his face near hers on the pillow and looked into her eyes.  Letting his hand coast down her arm, he finally linked his fingers with hers and brought them up to his lips.  She watched his lips suck on each fingertip, gripping each pad of her finger between his teeth and sucking lightly.  She squirmed against him, rubbing her naked leg over his jean clad one, her robe open slightly.  His eyes drifted to the inside curve of her breast.

“Tiffany?”  He continued playing with her fingers, still nibbling them.

She licked her lips.  “You’re distracting me.”

“I’ll remember the next time I need to distract you, that all I need to do is put my mouth on you.  Will anyplace do, or do you have specific areas of the body that will distract you more than others?” His eyes roamed down to the gap in her robe where her nipples immediately tightened.  His eyes bumped back up to hers.

She licked her lips again, feeling her body warming even more at his words and gaze.  “I have a feeling that wherever you put your mouth it would be distracting,” she mumbled.

His lips tilted into a sexy grin.  “Good to know.”  He finally removed his lips from her fingers and raised an eyebrow, prompting her to speak.

“Do we need to talk about this now?” she asked.

“Yes.”

She sighed.

“Are you not ready to talk about it?”

She cleared her throat and began.  “This isn’t an easy conversation for me to have, okay?”

“Okay.”  He reached for her face and stroked the side of it.  Finally, he took her hand again.  “No matter what you say, it’ll be okay. I promise.”

She almost blurted out ‘I love you’ but caught herself at the last minute. “A few years into my marriage, he convinced me to get them.”

He watched her.  “Did you want them?”

She paused.  Taking a deep breath, she said, “No.”

There was a moment of him looking at her.  “Son of a bitch,” he finally muttered fervently.  “Did he force you?”

“No,” she soothed him, touching his face.  She couldn’t stop touching him.  “Not the way you would think, just a lot of manipulation, like I wouldn’t be a good wife if I didn’t.  It would spice up our sex life, help with his wandering eye and our marriage, that sort of thing.  And I wasn’t strong enough to say no.  I thought maybe it would help the marriage, but I told him I didn’t want them.”

“So he
did
force you.  Pardon my French, but he’s a fucking asshole, Tiff.  He can’t stop himself from cheating, and he blames it on you?  What an
ass
hole.”  He was getting worked up.  Tiffany had wanted Drew unsteady that evening, but not like this.

She smiled at his vehemence.  “I’m an adult.  I could’ve been more adamant about not getting them, I guess.  But he was so persuasive and I was so, I don’t know, damaged by that point, and still so young.  I was angry, so angry deep down inside.  Especially when he knew I didn’t want to go through with it.  He just kept pointing out how much it would help him.  Us.”  She shrugged, embarrassed.  “I feel, I don’t know, stupid for doing it.”

“Baby, you’re not.”  His eyes locked with hers. “Tell me more of what happened.”

She looked down at their entwined hands and took a deep breath, preparing to tell him of the detailed memories forever implanted in her head.  “On the day of,” she stopped. 

“On the day of?” he prompted, then took her hand and put it on his cheek while touching her own cheek with his hand.  “Tell me.”

“I was crying.  He had someone come to our place to do it, and I was quietly begging him before the person got there, but I felt so guilty, like I needed to do this to save our marriage. That’s what he kept saying.  And he’d been dabbling in the BDSM world, even more after the
Fifty
book came out.  He liked to try things.  I hear myself now, and I might have been happy to do all of the things he did if I’d trusted him, felt one moment of safety with him.  But I kept thinking about how inadequate I was to cause him to seek out other women.  And I was trying to be a good wife, trying to honor my vows.  God, I was so young,” she muttered.  “The woman who did the piercings, she kept asking me if I wanted to do it because she could tell I was hesitant.  I finally signed a paper giving her permission and then, well, I got them.”

“We can remove them, you know.  You don’t have to keep them.  I can take them out for you.”  He was stroking her cheek, leaning close to her.

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and looked down, avoiding his eyes.  She took the hand that had been on her cheek and held it, gearing up for telling him the full truth.  “I’ve had one removed already,” she said quietly.

There was silence, then, “You had a third piercing?”

She nodded, then met his eyes.  She had no idea why seeing his understanding look made a wave of tears hit her, but it did.

“Where was the third piercing, Tiff?  Tell me,” he said, his face already telling her that he’d figured it out.  “That sadistic son of bitch.”

“It’s out now.  That’s what I was having removed the day I saw you in the cafeteria.”

“Where was it?”

“I think you can figure it out, and it hurt like a motherfucker,” she chuckled sardonically.

He leaned back, breathing heavily, looking around then meeting her eyes again.  He looked furious, in his calm, silent way.  He kept swallowing, like he was trying to get control over his feelings.

“It’s okay.”

“No, Tiff, it’s not okay.  I’ve never wanted to flatten a man as badly as I do at this moment.”  He shook his head, still processing. 

“You’re DNA is showing,” she smiled lightly.

“Who took it out?”  He looked so damned serious.  He wasn’t ready to joke yet.

“I found an OBGYN to do it.  She said everything’s okay down there.”

He was still shaking his head.  “Are
you
okay?”

She nodded.  “I jogged later that day for the first time in years.  It was nice not to have anything down there anymore,” she said feeling embarrassed again.  “I should’ve said no to that one.  I could’ve said no,” she said quietly.

“Don’t take the blame for something that he arranged because he’s an insecure excuse of a man.  Shit.”  He ran his hand down his face.  He leaned forward.  “If you want the others removed, I’ll take them out.  Tonight.  Like right now.”

He was so beautiful in his ‘indignant protector’ mode.  A light smile touched her lips and she took his hand.

“I’m okay.  I don’t mind the other ones so much.”  She blushed a little.  “They don’t cause pain.  I hated them with him, but with you,” she began and just gave him a heated look. 

His look immediately changed to one of predator.  He leaned closer until he was close to her face.  “But with me, what?”

“I think I’m going to like them,” she said biting at her lip. 

He raised his eyebrows, looking very interested in how she was going to continue.  She did.

“When I think of you, and you touching me.”

“They’re gorgeous on you.  But not if they cause you pain, physically
or
mentally.  So, please be honest with me about that, okay?”

“They don’t.  I know everything you’re going to do to me is going to feel good.  And,” she wetted her lips, “I feel safe with you.  Like I can say or do anything, and you won’t think less of me.  You’ll still protect me.”

“I
will
protect you.  And if you ever change your mind about them, all you have to do is say so, and we’ll take care of it.”

“Okay.”  She sighed while they still looked at each other.  She was so glad to have that conversation over with.  She’d been nervous about his reaction, but he proved again to be the man she knew him to be. 

“You said he was dabbling in bondage and stuff.”  There was a pause, then, “You said the other night that he didn’t hurt you?”

He looked so serious, so concerned. 

She sighed then snuggled into his neck.  “It’s okay, Drew, really,” she murmured.  “He liked to experiment.  He stopped when I told him to, with some grumbling at times.  Generally he didn’t really know what he was doing.  He did what he thought I wanted, I guess.  What he thought all women wanted.  And like I said earlier, if he had known what he was doing, and I felt his love behind it, the whole experience would’ve been different.”

“I will never treat you like that.  Anything we do will be consensual.  I want you to feel safe, feel good.  I might ask you lots of questions when we have sex.  I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

Sex.  They were going to have sex.

She grabbed his face and looked him in the eye, their faces so close their breaths mingled.  “No matter what you want to do, it will be good, Drew.  There will be absolutely no comparison.”

“That’s right.  There won’t,” he said vehemently, then took her mouth with his, melding their lips together.  “Only how good I’m going to make you feel, Tiff.  Always.”  He continued kissing her, running his fingers into her hair and holding her head.  His muscular arms bracketed her body as he shifted over her, his chest now smashed to hers.  His hand came down to rub the side of her body over the fabric of her robe, causing it to ride up with his searching fingers.  His lips rested on hers as he eventually touched her leg with his hand, skin on skin.  He rubbed erotic circles and stared down at her, nipping her lip.  

“You’re hands are so soft,” she murmured in between kisses.  “Are all surgeons’ hands as soft as yours?”  She angled her head so he could kiss her neck.

His hand rubbed up the side of her leg and cupped her hip.  She arched into it.  “Years of washing, wearing gloves, then moisturizing because of the constant washing…it’s not easy to develop calluses with that kind of regimen.”

“I love how soft they are,” she murmured. 

“I want you.”  Kiss.  “Tell me what you like.”  Kiss.  “I want to see you.”

She could barely catch her breath between the peppered kisses and words.  She loved his body.  He was so big, so powerful, yet so gentle.  It was an incredible turn on for her.  She wound her arms around his neck so he wouldn’t move away.  She felt his large hand untie the flimsy tie at her robe, then he spread open the sides.  He leaned back to look down at her.

Then he took her mouth again, murmuring in between kisses.

“I can’t wait to see all of you,” he said while kissing her.

She closed her eyes and basked in the sensation of his fingers toying with her, feathering lightly over one hip then moving to the next.  She was so wet, her body humming, and she lost focus allowing herself to float on the sensations. 

He moved one of his legs between hers and ground his muscled thigh right at the juncture of her legs.  With only her thong on, she felt every fiber of his jeans and its soft abrasion.  He rubbed into her, flexing his leg muscle between her legs, then dipped his head to capture her nipple in his teeth. 

She let out a frustrated moan and clasped his head again.

He was grinding slowly, methodically, pulling gently at her with his mouth.  Her breath stuttered as his teeth scraped the sensitive nub.  She was close...so close.  Her hand moved down to find him, almost frantically, wanting to feel him lose it at the same time she did.

He dodged her hand and looked down at her with promise and whispered, “We need to finish your examination, Ms. Daniels.”

He sat back and kneeled, his eyes eating her up with a hunger she’d never seen before.  Her silk robe hung open, as she leaned up on her elbows behind her on the bed.  “I want to see you,” she begged.

His eyes bumped between her eyes and her breasts, then drifted to between her legs.  “I think you were just about to check one of your pulse points, am I correct?”  He tore off his shirt, and knelt there, his chest showing for the first time in all its glory.

And it
was
glorious.  She stared at his chest and swallowed.  He was so broad and looked like the most fit and gorgeous of NFL players.  His brown flat nipples were puckered.  “What do you do?” she whispered in awe.  Her hand reached up and caressed his stomach.  The muscles jumped.

“Working out is kind of a hobby for me.”

She finally looked all the way up his body and met his eyes. She leaned up and he scooped his hands up under her hair, holding her up in a seated position.  She felt his erection rubbing just above her breasts on her collar bone, and let her hands encircle his ass.  They ran up to his waist, his lower back.  He was so warm, his hot skin stretched tightly over his muscles.  His breathing had definitely kicked up a notch, as had hers and his stomach was now directly in front of her lips.  She couldn’t stop herself from leaning forward and running her mouth over it.