His Princess: (A novella from the world of House of Payne) Read online

  That shocked her like nothing else. “You honestly think I would?”

  “I’m making sure you don’t,” came the emphatic reply as he refilled her wine glass. “You’re getting to know all about me whether you like it or not. You’re going to have me in your life every fucking minute that I can manage, so that when I’m not there, I want you to miss me like you’re missing a part of yourself. I won’t rest until every thought you have winds up being about me, and when you go to bed every night from here on in, you’re going to want me to be sliding between the sheets with you. That’s what I’m after when it comes to you, Joelle, so you’d better think again if you’re assuming this is just some casual shit you can eventually walk away from. Spoiler alert—it isn’t.”

  “I see.” Her heart was pounding so heavily she was pretty sure he’d be able to hear it, and she was grateful to take a couple moments when their servers reappeared with their entrees, beef medallions with red wine reduction, deep-fried broccolini and garlic smashed potatoes. “Well. It’s good to know where we stand.”

  “You asked. I answered.”

  “You did, indeed.” And it would probably take the rest of her life to recover from that answer, but that wasn’t a bad thing. Not at all. “I have a few more questions for you, if that’s all right.”

  He gestured at her with his fork. “Shoot.”

  “What’s your opinion on the Kama Sutra? Is it all just a bunch of hype that only contortionists can enjoy, or do you think some of those positions are achievable by normal people?”

  “I’ve got a few sex positions that are personal favorites, and missionary’s the least of ‘em.” He watched her as he cut into his meal, twin devils dancing in his eyes. “Why? Is this your version of kicking the tires before taking me out for a test drive? Because you should know I’m not into crazy-ass acrobatics in the bedroom.”

  “Neither am I, though I’m glad to hear you like a little variety.” The mere thought of what his preferences were behind closed doors made her a breathless, and her skin felt feverish in the cool, early autumn breeze. The place between her thighs was achy and starting to throb with a need she couldn’t ignore, and she had no doubt her face all but glowed with the growing hunger she had for him. “My first time was a complete and utter disaster. The whole thing was over and done with in just a couple minutes in the backseat of my prom date’s car. Ever since then I’ve made sure to get pertinent information from any would-be lover—you know, just to see if he knows what he’s doing.”

  “You’ll be able to judge that for yourself soon enough, and we’re not going to talk about anybody in our past, as of now,” he announced, and there was no mistaking the growl threading through his tone. “One, because I don’t like thinking about any other man touching that perfect body of yours, and I sure as hell don’t want you thinking about that, either. And two, because none of that shit matters. What matters is that while I might not be your first, you’d better fucking believe that I’m going to be your last. You almost finished?”

  She looked down at her half-eaten plate and realized she wouldn’t be able to choke down another bite. “Yes.”

  “Good. Let’s find our bungalow and find out what Kama Sutra positions work best for us.”

  Chapter Eight

  Their bungalow was a little single-story Craftsman with a grape arbor on one side and wisteria climbing along the frame of the bungalow’s small porch. They pushed through a carved wooden door depicting a scene of a grape harvest, and the light, airy living room/dining room combo was painted in a delicate cream. Massive picture windows let the waning sunlight in, showcasing breathtaking views of the vine-covered valley and the small rose garden out the back. Through an open door off the living room, she spied their luggage on a luggage stand at the foot of a sumptuous-looking king-sized bed, spotlighted in late-afternoon sunshine.

  Joelle took all this in with a quick but thorough glance, and while the creative in her appreciated how picturesque their surroundings were, the woman in her could only focus on one thing.

  Gus.

  “This seems like the perfect place for a seduction,” Joelle began, doing a little turn in the middle of the room while her pulse began to resemble bongo drums. “Do you want to get things started in here, or shall we take this into the—”

  He reached out, snagged a hand around the belt at her waist and tugged her to him. Her body slammed up against the solidity of his even as his mouth came down with sweet savagery on hers. Heat rolled over her skin wherever they touched, awakening her nerve endings and making her head spin as if with a delirious kind of fever.

  This was what it was to be wanted, she thought dazedly, while that delicious heat traveled down her spine to settle deep within her pelvis, spawning a damp achiness in the cleft between her thighs.

  No.

  Not just wanted.

  This man hungered for her like she was what kept him alive. It was both awe-inspiring and hot as hell to be that desired, and it sparked a wild, answering need within her.

  If she didn't get this overwhelming man inside her soon, she was going to lose her mind.

  “I want you.” There was no more room for games or being coy. Hunger pulsed through her hard and fast, and when his mouth finally released hers, she didn't waste a moment in getting her point across. “From the first moment I saw you, I wanted you. Don't make me wait another second.”

  “Hell, no.” His mouth sucked and nipped at her neck while his hands slid up from her waist to claim her breasts, his thumbs relentlessly stroking the peaks to hypersensitive life. She gasped at the sensation, arching into his touch even as she hurriedly began working on the buttons of his shirt. “You're out of your mind if you think I can hold off from getting my cock inside you. But I'm not about to rush through paradise, so be prepared, my lady. I'm going to make a fucking meal of you.”

  “You’ll get no complaints from me, as long as I can do the same with you.” Almost hyperventilating in her excitement, she ripped the shirt from his shoulders so she could run her hands all over that magnificent landscape that was his chest. “Oh, Augustus. You’re breathtaking.”

  It was true. A rough smattering of dark hair veed across his chest that was sculpted with just the right amount of muscles. She ran her hands down the muscle-padded ladder of his rib cage to his lean hips. Every uncovered inch of him was masculine perfection, and she couldn't wait to see if the rest of him was like that.

  “This dress is a goddamn knockout.” His voice, the audible equivalent of rich velvet, stroked across her nerves like a caress. “From the moment you opened the door today, I've been obsessed with tugging on this belt to see if it's holding everything together.”

  Thank you Alice. “Try it and find out.”

  “Way ahead of you.”

  Anticipation hummed through her as the belt gave way and the front of her dress slid open. A little shimmy of her shoulders and it fell off completely, puddling at her heels to leave her standing in matching bra and thong in a lacy, seductive black. “Just in case you didn’t know,” she said, a bit breathless as she stepped out of her shoes, “when women wear a matching lingerie set like I am now, it wasn’t the man’s idea to have sex.”

  “Holy hell.” He sounded gratifyingly winded as he took a moment to simply drink her in. “No wonder you're not shy about showing off your body, my lady. There's never been anyone more perfect than you.”

  “Except maybe you.” With her heart thudding and the wanton need rising inside her, she closed the distance between them and ran her hands down from his chest to the waistline of his pants. “Even half-naked, you're beautiful to my eyes.”

  His smile was a masterpiece of smug masculinity. “Baby, you ain't seen nothing yet.”

  A shivery thrill shot through her. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. Because between you and me, I think you'll find I've got reason to be proud of my body, too.” He took a moment to reach into his back pocket for his wallet, fished out a condom packet, and handed i
t to her. “Hold onto that for me.”

  She glanced down at it as he undid his belt. “Large to extra-large? Really?”

  “You tell me.” Without fanfare, he undid the front of his pants and pushed them down along with his boxer-briefs, revealing the muscular columns of his long legs and the thrust of his blood-darkened, fully erect penis.

  “My goodness,” she whispered, barely aware she even spoke. She was too busy eyeing that thick staff and trying not to moan as her intimate folds throbbed with a rush of white-hot lust. “I really did get the wrong size.”

  “No worries.” Taking the packet from her, he tore it open, took the condom out and rolled it in place. Then he reached around her to unhook her bra like he’d been perfecting that move since he was in short pants. “You're not the only one who brought an entire box of condoms, so we’re good.”

  “Yay.” The bra fell to the floor, and she reveled in his hungry gaze devouring her nakedness. “I love a man who thinks ahead.”

  “What I'm thinking,” he rumbled as his breathing roughened, “is that I should stop thinking, and get the hell inside you.”

  She wanted to tell him that sounded good to her, but at that moment he hauled her in for another kiss. His roving hands cradled her naked breasts, lifting their soft weight and caressing her nipples until they were hard, aching peaks. When the sweet lassitude of pleasure liquified her bones, she melted into him, thrilling at the sensation of flesh against flesh. His cock was hot and granite-hard, spawning an excitement so intense she couldn't hold back a moan. Wetness surged between her legs, her intimate folds achy with a desire that this man spawned in her just by breathing.

  “This has to go.” His fingers slid under the waistband of her thong. “Strip it off for me, my lady.”

  “You want me to strip?” With a playful smile, she stepped back a pace and turned, running her hands over her booty cheeks while smiling at him over her shoulder. “Besides streaking, that's another thing I've always wanted to try—stripping.”

  “You can strip all you like in front of me, lady, but that's as far as that particular desire is ever going to go.” His smile was the hottest thing she had ever seen, and she loved how he couldn’t seem to get enough of the sight of her. “Let's see it, baby. Put on a show for me.”

  “It’s a shame I didn’t think of doing this from the very beginning.” She slipped her thumbs under the thong’s thin waistband and took her time toying with it. “I mean, I would have more stuff to take off if I had. Maybe I should put my dress back on and start all over again?”

  “Don't you fucking dare,” came the immediate reply. “Off. Now.”

  “If you insist.” Delighted with the impatience crackling through his tone, she turned back to face him and pulled the tiny black material down the flare of her hips with agonizing slowness. “Here… it… goes.”

  She got the thong down to about midthigh before gravity took over, and she let them drop to her ankles. Then she looked up at him, standing there in all her glory. “Ta-da.”

  “Fuck, yeah, ta-da.” Imperiously he held out a hand. “Come here.”

  With a hint of sheepishness, she glanced down at the thong around her ankles. “Uh, I would, but I know me. After all that sexy hotness, I'd probably trip on this thong and ruin the whole moment, so, uh, hang on a sec. Let me just get untangled—”

  “I gotcha.” With a low laugh, he closed in and scooped her up. The thong, hooked on one of her feet, went flying as he headed for the bedroom. “Swear to Christ, you are the fucking limit, my lady.”

  “Am I?” Curling her arms around his neck, she began nibbling along the line of his neck. Yum. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

  “It's a great thing, especially when you make me laugh. Since you already make me horny as hell, the added kick of laughter makes you one helluva potent package.”

  “I'm happy to hear it.” Her lips caressed along the line of his jaw. He turned his head to catch her wandering mouth, and delved into a swoon-worthy kiss before setting her on the bed. “You have that same effect on me.”

  “Let’s see about that.” His mouth caught hers once more while he moved between her thighs, hitching her knees up high on either side of his torso until her legs were folded completely against him. She thought he would simply get to the good stuff and enter her then and there, but to her surprise and delight he slid a hand between their bodies to find her cleft.

  “There it is,” he crooned, and she could hear the triumph in his tone as he stroked her. Then he focused his attention on the throbbing little nub of her clit, and suddenly the only thing she could focus on was that earth-shaking pleasure center. “You weren’t lying to me, my lady. You really are horny for me. I love how wet your pussy is.”

  “It’s all your fault.” She closed her eyes and focused on the relentless circling and massaging of that light, pulsing cluster of nerves, feeling the pleasure balloon in every cell of her body. “Just hearing your voice arouses me. But this… Oh, God, this is…”

  “Perfect,” he finished for her, and repositioned his hand so that he could slip two fingers past her threshold, entering her even as his thumb continued its erotic stroking. “You and me together, that’s what I call perfect. Get used to it.”

  She could only arch her body in response, a keening noise escaping her clenched throat while the grip she had on her sanity began to slip. Frantically she tried to hold onto it, and made herself try to back away. “Not yet,” she panted, while every instinct she had cried out in protest. “I want you with me when I come. I want you inside me. Please, Gus…”

  “You’ll get what you want, but not just yet.” His fingers probed deeper while his thumb increased the pressure on her clit, and she could feel the sweet unfurling of ultimate pleasure giving way inside her. Then his mouth moved down to her breast, closed over it and sucked hard on that sensitized peak, and that was the final straw. The delicious tension inside her snapped like dry kindling, unleashing a tsunami of ecstasy that was glorious and all-encompassing. She rocketed into a state of near-mindlessness while her body bucked and writhed as if tortured by the staggering pleasure unleashed by his touch. It would have been perfect, perhaps the most perfect orgasm she’d ever experienced, except for one thing.

  He wasn’t with her.

  The pleasure went on and on, an addictive cascade she’d never even dreamed existed, but that tiny kernel of displeasure kept her tethered. Once her orgasm began to ebb, she reached up to bring his mouth down to hers so she could give in to the urge she’d had since she first met him. Looking into his eyes, she bit his lower lip in gentle punishment.

  “You,” she breathed, her world still rocking and her heart still hammering. “Inside me. Now.”

  “My lady gets bossy in the bedroom.” Clearly amused by this, he raised himself onto his knees, then moved her so that her legs draped over his shoulders. His big hands cupped her ass as the crown of his cock pressed against her now-hypersensitive threshold. “I’m good with bossy, lady, as long as you know who’s really in charge. You’re going to come for me again, and you’re going to do it with my cock buried inside you.”

  “Yes,” was all she managed to get out before he rolled his hips while bringing her up into his lap to meet his thrust. He filled her completely with that bold stroke, stretching her interior walls until it was all she could feel.

  The pleasure came roaring back, promising madness and delirium and so much joy she couldn’t stop the tears from leaking out of the corners of her eyes. They were a perfect fit, as if created from a single piece and somehow separated only to find each other once more. This was what she’d wanted. This closeness. This oneness. The pleasure in sexing it up with Gus had been her goal, yes. But now she knew so much more.

  She knew the sizzling chemistry that had been there from the moment she’d seen him had been a sign that her world was forever changed.

  She knew she had been created for this man.

  And she knew that if she went the
rest of her life searching the world over, she would never be able to find anyone who completed her the way he did.

  Because…

  She knew, with every instinct she possessed, that she was his.

  “God.” The word grated through his bared teeth as he thrust into her, his expression filled with such rapt pleasure he looked almost tortured with it. “God, lady. My lady. You’re so fucking exquisite. God.”

  “Harder.” She could barely manage to get her voice to work unless it was to moan out her pleasure. The tingling at the base of her spine heralded another wave of bliss, and she chased after it with abandon. “Fuck me, Gus. Fuck me, please.”

  “All the way inside you.” His thrusts became wilder, and the hold she had on reality began to fade. “I want you to feel me so deep inside you, you’ll always feel a part of me there. God, I love being inside you.”

  The ardent rush of his words tipped her over the edge of control once more, and this time it was true perfection, because he tumbled headlong into the euphoric madness with her. Her cries joined his as her orgasm clenched every muscle in her body, and she arched her back clear off the mattress in a spasm of the greatest pleasure she’d ever known.

  It took her eons for her to come back down to earth, and by degrees she vaguely realized he’d taken her legs from his broad shoulders, wrapped his arms around her and rolled onto his side, all the while still managing to keep himself inside her. It was such a neat trick she had to drag her eyes open to see if she hadn’t just dreamed him moving her around like a boneless ragdoll.

  “My God,” she whispered between fluttery breaths. “You are some kind of sex magician.”

  The way his eyes widened told her he hadn’t been expecting that. “Care to explain that?”