18

Chapter 10

Chapter Ten


Chapter Ten

SOON he’d take this choking chain off its leash. Now he’d find out if all the submissive signals Mystery had been putting out were real. Nearly everything else about her fit him perfectly. Damn it if he didn’t want their kinks to match, too.

“What?” She blinked at him, her stare bouncing from his face to his thighs and back.

“Did you not hear me?”

“I think I did, but—”

“Is there any part of the instruction you don’t understand?”

Her stare fell to his lap again, and she couldn’t possibly miss the eyeful of hard cock there under his jeans. He adjusted himself, trying to find a position that didn’t strangle his erection, then patted his thigh.

She frowned. “Like lie across . . .”

“Face down, ass in the air. Yes.”

“Oh.” Still, she hesitated, as if she tried to make sense of his command in her head.

“Questions? Problems?”

“I don’t know.” She shifted nervously. “I’ve never done this.”

But Axel suspected the idea turned her on. She sounded breathless. She fidgeted. Her nipples looked hard again. She stared, lips parted, sucking in a raspy draught of air.

His cock stiffened even more.

“There’s a first time for everything, Mystery. Somehow, I doubt it will be our last. You’ve got three seconds, or I’m adding a count of ten.”

Which wouldn’t hurt his feelings in the least. He knew exactly how beautiful her ass was. Having the opportunity to touch it again, this time to spank and discipline it? Fuck, yeah.

Mystery scrambled toward him, casting another uncertain gaze his way, before she lowered herself awkwardly over his thighs. She towered over an average girl by six inches or so, but he still dwarfed her. Axel appreciated that folding long legs in an unfamiliar position wasn’t easy, but he was beyond impatient to get this punishment rolling so they could get back to pleasure.

She wriggled and scooted, bracing herself to slide this way or that over his lap. Again and again, she brushed his sensitive cock. His body tightened, and he’d love to just fuck her every which way. But if he wanted any future with her, he had to set the expectation now.

Finally, he palmed her hips and stilled her, dragging in a long breath before he moved her body up a fraction, sending her long braid spilling, ends brushing the floor. “Don’t move.”

“A-all right.”

“Nope. I expect a polite ‘Yes, Axel’ or ‘Yes, Sir.’ Either is acceptable.” Later, he’d be more exacting, because if this relationship went where he wanted it to, she’d be calling him Master. For now, he simply waited, reaching down to give a gentle tug on her braid.

“Yes, Axel,” she gasped.

“Better.” He cast his gaze over her body, still except for her harsh breathing. The yoga pants she’d tossed on just before they’d left the hotel hugged the curves of her ass and lovingly outlined her thighs. Not a line or a bump marred the black cotton surface.

“You’re not wearing underwear,” he observed.

“No, Axel.”

“Perfect.” He dragged his fingers up the crease between her cheeks, and the fabric clung inside the crevice, stretching even tighter across her ass, further defining its shape. “Beautiful.”

As Mystery splayed over his lap, he felt the rise and fall of her body, heard her long shuddering sigh. She lifted her butt to him, seeking more.

He smiled, then trailed his fingers from the crease of her backside toward her pussy. With barely a brush of his fingers over her cotton-covered folds, he realized she was damp. No, soaking wet. The longer he rubbed lazy circles over the mound of her cunt, the more her moisture wet his palm.

Mystery Mullins liked submitting. To him. That realization jacked up his desire, and Axel had to leash his need to fuck her, at least until he made a few things clear.

When she began to whimper and press her hips toward his playful fingers, he pulled away. “Does my touch feel good?”

“Yes, Axel.” Her words were high-pitched, spoken somewhere on the cusp of orgasm.

“Good.” He intended to have fun with her now. “Pull your pants down to the tops of your thighs.”

Without hesitation, Mystery complied, loosening the tie at her waist and wriggling as she shoved the garment over her hips. When the waistband fell, exposing her gorgeous, perfect ass, Axel couldn’t keep his hands off her. He palmed it instantly, kneading, pinching, and gripping it. She gasped and raised her butt, seeking more of his touch.

Oh, she was about to get it.

Axel raised his arm and slammed it down, hitting her bare ass with an unforgiving smack. “One.”

She yelped, froze, then gasped and struggled to get away.

He pinned her with a heavy arm across her body. “Stay still.”

“What are you doing?”

“You’ve heard of punishment, I presume.” He rubbed his wide palm over her bronze backside, the same sun-kissed shade as her back. Knowing she sunbathed in the nude just turned him on more.

She moaned as he spread the heat under her skin. “Yes.”

“To start, I’m going to make sure you understand I won’t tolerate any more lies. I expect you to be honest with me from now on. Do you understand?”

“I didn’t know how else to get close to you,” she replied.

“So, in order to protect your feelings, you decided mine didn’t matter?”

The starch went right out of her spine. “No.”

“What I didn’t know wouldn’t hurt me?” he challenged.

“I guess I thought if you never knew . . . yeah.” The contrite posture, without an ounce of fight, told him that she now grasped his point.

“I understand why you were afraid and uncertain. You could have tried to e-mail or call. I even have a Facebook account. Did it cross your mind to open a conversation, ask me if I was interested, and see what happened? I’m going to guess no because you’d already decided what my answer would be. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, Axel.” She sobbed the words.

Sometimes, Mystery had so much moxie, he forgot she could be fragile. She’d been raised with privilege, but she’d also been through way more than her peers. He had to tread carefully as he reached her. She would only associate the pain of a harsh spanking with rejection. As soon as he’d finished making his point, he would start rebuilding her again.

Axel lifted his palm and struck her backside once more, watching her flesh give and bounce with his touch. More red bloomed across her cheeks, and he rubbed her skin to distribute the heat even more. “Two.”

As she moaned, he smacked her again, more to keep her attention and awaken the submissive inside her than to cause pain. “Three.”

She squirmed on his lap. “That feels . . .”

“I know,” he crooned. “Hold still, Mystery. No more manipulation. You will communicate openly and tell me even the painful truths.” He spanked her other cheek. “Four.” Then he waited for the impact to sink in.

She whimpered. “Axel . . .”

“Yes. I can give you more of that—and so many other sensations that will send your body soaring. I want to introduce you to a whole new realm of pleasure. You want that?” He stroked her from nape to ass, following the sleek line of her spine.

“More than anything,” she rasped out.

“I want to give it to you. God knows, I’ve wanted to for years. I even hate to admit how long and how often I’ve taken a temporary withdrawal of you from my spank bank.” He let his fingers drift between her thighs.

Despite the waistband, she managed to spread a bit wider, and he appreciated her effort to open herself for him by caressing her slick folds and skating his fingertips over her hard clit.

“That’s so good,” she gasped out.

“The way I’m touching you?”

“Yes.” She grabbed his shin and rubbed her face against his calf, despite his jeans, as if she needed to touch him. “But also knowing you stroked yourself while thinking about me turns me on so much. I—I touched myself thinking about you, too.”

He circled her clit again, bringing her closer to the edge of ecstasy. “That was beautifully honest. Let’s have more of that between us, not lies or topping from the bottom.”

Mystery didn’t answer him. Her body language told Axel that desire rumbled through her body, thundered in her head, and clouded her hearing. He removed his fingers.

“No,” she protested breathlessly.

“Yes. We’re not done talking.” He swatted her ass softly, delivering a blow that should sting sweetly. “That’s five.”

She jolted, but the whack did its job, bringing her back to attention.

Now he could say his piece. “You trying to force me to give you your way, removing my choices? That’s unacceptable. I’m the Dom, so I’m in control. I can’t be in any sort of relationship with someone who can’t respect my needs. I’ll always do my best to respect yours. I know right off the top of my head that you need affection, attention, and understanding. I’m sure you require more, and I’ll find out what as we get to know each other more. I will always do my damnedest to satisfy you. But if you try to manipulate me like that again, it’s a deal breaker. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Axel.” She sounded almost solemn, and he hoped he’d actually reached her.

“Good.” He helped her rise on unsteady legs between his feet and gripped her thighs to balance her. When he looked into her slightly dazed eyes, so yearning for approval, his heart clutched. “Kneel here.”

He helped her down, and she wasn’t graceful—not that he gave a shit now. She was willing and open and wanted more. Nothing else mattered.

Axel cupped her face and leaned in to kiss her, a gentle clasp of lips at first. But damn it, Mystery was so fucking sweet, and he’d been fantasizing of having her—as her—for way too long to hold back.

He parted her lips with a nudge of his own, and she acquiesced instantly, rolling out the welcome mat with an enthusiastic passion that made his desire skyrocket and tilted his world on end.

Jerking away, Axel looked down at her, his stare following the trail of her body, her rosy lips, the little bites on her neck, the T-shirt stretched just a bit too tight across her breasts, then the pants banding around her thighs with that sweet bare pussy almost hidden between.

He grabbed her chin and looked right into her eyes. “I’m going to fuck you.”

His words made her jerk as if they’d impacted her chest. “Yes, Axel.”

“It wasn’t a question. And I wasn’t asking for permission. I’m telling you what will happen, unless you’re giving me your safe word. That clear?”

“Very.”

“Good. Do you have a word in mind?”

“I—I don’t know. I’ve never . . .” She shrugged, looking a little lost. “What’s your recommendation?”

“Let’s use the traffic light system for now. It’s something you’ll remember.” He gave her a wry grin. “I want to try a million perverse acts on you and watch you respond. If I’m hurting you too much or doing something you absolutely don’t want, call ‘red.’ If I’m approaching the edge of your comfort zone, say ‘yellow.’ Make sense?”

She nodded, looking at him with eager eyes that glowed green and needy. Knowing he’d put that expression on her face revved him up even more.

As much as Axel wanted to tear through her clothes and shove his cock into her now, he forced himself to take a breath. Much like that first kiss she’d pressed onto his lips, their initial sexual encounter didn’t really count because he hadn’t known that he’d been touching Mystery. And she hadn’t felt the way he would make her body his.

He intended to change that.

“Do you know any of your limits, hard or soft?”

A relieved smile flitted across her face. “I told Heath you were responsible and would ask. He wouldn’t listen to me. Instead, he suggested you’d whip me until I bled or make me sleep with a stranger . . .” She shook her head, her aversion to either of those possibilities clear. “Just no.”

“I don’t know where the hell he heard that, but rest easy. Neither of those are in my wheelhouse. In fact, I’d go so far to say they’re a hard limit for me.”

The relief in her expression deepened. “He said he saw those things during an undercover mission in London.”

He raised a brow. “Not in a club with Dominion’s reputation. Thorpe has strict rules and an even more stringent membership screening. Everything that happens here is both consensual and well supervised. Whatever Heath saw must have been in a private hardcore club. I like rough play now and then, but nothing like that.”

She seemed to sigh with relief. “Good.”

“So, any boundaries I need to respect? A soft limit is something that both scares and intrigues you. You’re not sure you want to . . . but you’re not sure you don’t.”

“I like bondage. I mean, I like the idea of it.” She blushed profusely. “I’ve never done it, but the thought of it turns me on.”

“I like it, too. A lot. We’ll definitely go there. What else?”

“The spanking was nice. Not so much the first smack, but the rest . . .” She gave him a dreamy smile, and he held in a chuckle. “I’ve seen a video with a Dom wielding a soft flogger on his sub’s butt. That looked interesting. But I don’t know how I feel about anal sex or exhibitionism or so many other things.”

Because she’d never tried them out. If he had his way, they’d eliminate whoever threatened her, then he’d spend however long it took to become exactly the Dom and lover she needed.

“Floggers are fine,” he said, then gave her a slow smile. “Anal? I love the hell out of it, but it’s not for everyone. Exhibitionism doesn’t appeal to me much, but I’m not against it, either. At the end of the day, I’m the kind of Dom who prefers to do one thing above all: get in your head and own you.”

A visible tremor went through her body. Yeah, she wanted what he could give her. She sought the physical surrender, but she ached to yield her soul even more.

“You can do that, can’t you?” Her voice shook as if the possibility aroused her terribly.

“Oh, little girl . . . I can do it so fast, you won’t know what hit you or how to stop it, and you won’t care because you’ll have given every thought, along with your aching pussy, to me.”

As he watched her breath catch again, her nipples bead tighter, Axel repressed a smile. The girl liked a dirty mouth. He’d give her that, too.

“I have a few other rules,” he began, running a fingertip between her luscious breasts before cupping the weight of one in his palm and caressing it with his thumb.

She almost threw herself against his body, then seemed to remember he’d told her to assume this position and sat on her heels again. “Yes, Axel.”

“You don’t come until you’re given permission. But unless I say otherwise, don’t hold back your sighs, whimpers, pleas, or screams. They’re mine, and I want them all.”

“Yes, Axel.” She shifted her hips from one side to the other.

Clearly, Mystery had a bad little habit of trying to ease her desire whenever she pleased.

He gripped her shoulders. “Hold still and stop trying to make your pussy throb less.”

Instantly, she complied, but she bit her lip as if the ache was too overwhelming to ignore.

He stroked his fingers across her cheek, then wrapped them around her nape. “You think you’re aroused and want me to fuck you now?” When she nodded, he smiled. “Just wait. I’ll make you beg—with your mouth, those nervous hands you’re wringing, your wide eyes. You’ll offer yourself to me with your words, your pouting nipples, your spread legs. When you really know what it’s like to need me to fuck you and you’ve begged sweetly, then I’ll make you scream.”

Mystery closed her eyes and dragged in a ragged breath. “I know you will. I think I’ve always known that.”

Just like on some basic, elemental level, Axel had always known that she would not only torque up his desire but drive his Dominance to new heights and fascinate him completely.

“More beautiful honesty. Excellent.”

She sent him a placid smile. It pleased her to please him. What would please him more was to have her naked. He could tell her to strip, but he wanted to unwrap her like a special gift.

Taking her braid in hand, he eased the elastic band from the ends and combed his fingers through her damp tresses. They spilled everywhere around her shoulders, brushed her waist, with soft curls that shined under the golden light from the ceiling fixture. Then he lifted the T-shirt from her curves. The stretchy knit skimmed her waist and caught on her heavy breasts.

As he pulled it over her head, she sat, spine straight, watching him raptly. Damn it, she wore another one of those frilly bras that short-circuited his brain completely. Her nipples were barely contained by the half cups. Only the upward curve of scalloped lace concealed them at all. They poked at the fabric, a deep rosy brown that had his mouth watering.

“You always have the sexiest lingerie,” he breathed as he lifted her breast in his palm and dipped his thumb under the edge of the lace.

Her nipple jumped to even stiffer attention. “I like how feminine I feel when I wear it. And I like your reaction to it.”

“That bra and panties I hand washed for you at the ghost town? As soon as I took them from the water and set them on the towel rack, I had to jack off. I knew if I didn’t, I’d picture you wearing them and you’d be flat on your back with your legs spread for me.”

Mystery closed her eyes. She fucking glowed with arousal. She wanted this, wanted him . . .

As badly as he yearned to pounce on her, Axel couldn’t. He had to take her slowly, introduce her to some of the kinks he’d like to share with her, convince her without words that she’d be satisfied long, well, and often.

He reached behind her and unclasped the bra. Her breasts bounced free. Damn, he wanted those nipples in his mouth, wanted to know if a bite of pain would excite her.

“Up on your knees,” he demanded.

Swallowing hard, she raised her butt from her heels. Her body strained toward him. Even her nipples pointed straight at him. Axel couldn’t wait to give her everything she craved.

He wrapped his big hands around her torso. She looked so small comparatively. So soft and submissive. Spreading his legs wider to make room in between, he lifted her closer. Then he bent and kissed her lips, her jaw, dragging his mouth down her neck, then the swell of one breast.

“Offer them to me,” he rasped out. “Lift them to me.”

Her breath caught as she obeyed, cupping her mounds in her palms. They spilled over her smaller hands, but she brought the stiff tips closer to his mouth, and that’s all he needed.

He latched onto one, sucking it deep and hard, giving it a little pinch with his teeth.

Mystery yelped, and Axel waited a breath, a heartbeat, then . . . There came that moan he wanted. From the startled note it held, he suspected the nip of pain had awakened her nipples with sensations she’d never felt.

She wrapped her hands around his head and held him close to her breast. He hadn’t given her permission to touch him. He enjoyed her urgency and the closeness for a moment. Someday, he’d make love to Mystery softly and let her touch him at will. Today wasn’t that day. Everything inside screamed not only to dominate but to claim her, to bind her to him with pleasure. Because he still didn’t know if she would truly want him when the real world came calling again, when her father found out and the tabloids questioned why she was with a man who came from the backwoods, hadn’t finished college, and often liked guns more than people. But maybe, if he gave Mystery more pleasure than she could manage, when the dust settled with whoever pursued her, none of that would matter.

Winding his grip around her wrist, he pulled her hands from his scalp and drilled her with a chastising stare. “I told you to offer them to me. Don’t stop until I say otherwise.”

She licked her lips, then lifted her breasts to him again. “Sorry. Yes, Axel.”

Untrained, yes. But so beautifully compliant. He brushed a thumb down her still-wet tip, watching it bob and perk for him. He pinched it, teased it with the hint of his nail . . . and took in her pleading cry for more.

He held in a smile and shifted to her other nipple, stabbing the air and waiting for attention. Against his tongue, it puckered. Her breast swelled. Like a sweet sub, she kept presenting herself for his feasting. She offered. She welcomed. Yes, he’d told her to, but she could have safeworded out. Instead, she looked all too breathless and happy to comply.

He gave her a harder bite with his teeth while holding the other between his thumb and forefinger, squeezing and sliding the pad over her sensitive nub. She gasped, jolted. Barely a moment later, she gave him a long, low moan deep from her throat.

“You’re processing the bite faster,” he murmured with satisfaction. “So fucking pretty.”

“I understand it better now. Having just a little edge is . . . lovely.”

Yes, she was a sub to the core, and pride rolled through Axel. He fully intended to teach her about her body and flirt with her boundaries—then ease her past any that merely held her back.

“Mmm. Knowing you feel that way only makes me harder.” He let out a rough sigh. “Stand and take off your shoes.”

He helped her to her feet, then watched as she kicked off her flip-flops. He eased her pants the rest of the way down her thighs. As she stepped out of them, he cast her shoes aside and placed a soft, lingering kiss on the pad of her pussy.

“This is mine,” he insisted in a soft, growled tone, brushing his knuckles across the smooth flesh just over her clit. “Isn’t it?”

“Yes, Axel,” she rushed to say.

“You know that. Good. I’m still going to prove that to you. Get on the bed. In the middle. Legs spread.”

She made her way along the side of the bed, hips swaying, gorgeous ass on display, before crawling on the mattress. She glanced back at him—not in confusion or indecision. Her stare was all come-hither.

He chuckled. “Oh, you’re inviting trouble now. I’m so going to fuck you, princess.”

She rolled to her back and arched, breasts upthrust as she spread her legs. “Promise?”

Axel sauntered over and sat on the side of the bed, next to her. “You just keep tempting the devil. See what it gets you.”

Mystery didn’t reply, just watched him grab her wrists and lift them over her head. Since this used to be Thorpe’s bedroom and he’d combed every inch of the place when Joaquin had been protecting Bailey here, Axel knew damn well all the kink features built in.

He hit a button, and out popped a pair of leather, sheepskin-lined cuffs from behind a panel. The chains holding them together rattled. She gasped.

He smiled as he buckled one around each wrist. “Tug on those.”

She did, testing the restriction of her movement gently at first. Then she jerked a little harder. The more she thrashed against her bonds and realized she wasn’t going anywhere, the shallower her breathing became. Her eyes rolled shut. Bliss transformed her face.

Axel’s cock jerked so fucking hard he wondered if all the blood in his body had flooded south.

She moaned, tossing her head, seemingly lost in the pleasure of the binds themselves. What a damn pretty sight . . . But he couldn’t let her get too far into her own head. He still had more to give her.

After he watched her for a long moment, he cupped her face in his hands. “Stop. Look at me.” He waited for her to comply, then delved down into her slightly unfocused hazel eyes. “You’re well and truly bound. Unless you say your safe word, you’re not going anywhere until I release you.”

Mystery whimpered and bucked her hips. Jesus, the girl loved being restrained. The pressure around her wrists would be a constant reminder that he was with her. At least that’s how some subs described the sensation. For them, the cuffs served mentally as nonstop attention from their Dom, snug enough to feel like some sort of affection. Clearly, the bindings tripped an emotional trigger inside her.

Axel was damn grateful. He could think of a hundred ways to restrain her. But he’d start simple for now. He didn’t know how much longer he could wait to feel her around him.

“Remember, no orgasms without permission.”

“Yes, Axel.” She said the words, but the begging tone told him she was already desperate and asking for one.

Not even close yet, princess . . .

“Don’t forget. I want all your pleas, whimpers, groans, and screams. Be as loud as you need to. I’ll drink every sound in.” While hearing her would excite the hell out of Axel, it would also serve notice to her bodyguard and would-be lover in the bedroom next door that any hope he might have of making Mystery his was dead.

“Yes, Axel.”

“Good. Now spread nice and wide for me. I want to see every bit of that pussy that’s mine.”

* * *

MYSTERY sucked in a sharp breath. Axel seemed to know exactly what to say to ratchet her arousal up yet another notch.

She slid her feet apart across the mattress, her toes unconsciously flexing, heels digging in at the thought of Axel keeping her captive here and just staring to his cock’s content. Maybe she should have felt self-conscious or exposed or ashamed by how badly she wanted him, but no. She simply felt ready to combust.

“Pretty.” He complimented her, dragging his palm up her calf, the outside of her thigh, her hip, then finally back to her breasts, his thumbs and fingers making a quick, ruthless vise around her nipples. When she cried out, he released her and eased back, scooting down the bed to hover over her sex. “I want to inspect this pussy. Open to me.”

Mystery moaned and spread her thighs even wider, beyond eager to give him everything he demanded, anything that would make him want her tomorrow and the next day. And the next . . .

“You like being commanded in bed,” Axel murmured, his voice low and thick. “We’re going to get along great.” He parted her folds with his thumbs, then drew in a long breath. “You smell so good. That night in the ghost town? I could smell you then, too. Drove me out of my fucking mind.”

“Everything about you made me want you,” she admitted breathlessly. “Everything. Your knowledge of the landscape, your kindness, your protectiveness . . . your sexiness. I remember thinking that, until you, I’d never met a man.”

His ego probably puffed up at her words. His chest certainly did. Despite the hot need rolling through her veins, the sight warmed her heart.

“That’s good to hear,” he murmured. “I admit, I never quite figured if you wanted me because you had a bad case of hero worship or whether you saw beyond that.”

“I did think you were my hero, but it’s more. It always has been. It’s like . . . we’re in sync.”

“We click,” he agreed. “To me, you’re gorgeous.” He turned his attention back to her aching sex. “In every way. I knew when we met that you were a survivor. Despite your dad’s wealth and fame, you’re not spoiled or difficult. You’re sunny and sweet and a little bit naughty. And look at you now, so ripe and rosy and pouting for attention.”

Mystery struggled against her bonds. She didn’t want out of them. Oddly, they made her feel secure, like she was anchored to him in some way and he’d never let her fall. But everything inside her yearned to invite him in deeper. Never in her life had she felt this need to give herself to a man. Her sexual past had consisted far more of pretty boys who didn’t know much about giving an orgasm, much less getting in her head and fulfilling her fantasies. As with everything else, Axel was a whole new breed.

Since she couldn’t tempt him with her actions, she fell back on words. “Spreading my legs for you is so arousing. Your stare almost feels like a touch. I remember every moment in your bed earlier today, the way you tasted me. I want you to take all of me. I’m dying to give you everything you want. I don’t know how to make that happen or what to do or—”

“Sweetest sub,” he praised. “You were stunning, but having you spread out for me this way”—he skated his thumb over her clit, making her jump and moan with desire—“I’m humbled. And I don’t think I’ve ever wanted inside anyone as fucking much as I want you now.”

She smiled. “You always know just what to say.”

“I say what’s on my mind. And right now, that’s all about this.”

Axel leaned in, peered closely at her pussy. The thought of him looking at her so intently made her need and squirm. And when he pulled her even farther apart with his thumbs, then leaned in closer, she lifted to him.

“Normally, I’d think you meant to coerce me to put my mouth on you. But you’re giving yourself to me, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “I don’t know how you sometimes read my mind, but I love that.”

He placed the softest, almost chaste kiss right on her clit. That aroused her nearly as much as a hard pull. Without a word, he told her that he treasured her flesh, worshipped it. She melted.

“I loved getting my mouth on you this afternoon. And ever since I figured out who was in my bed, I’ve been desperate to feel your mouth on me.” Axel crawled his way up her body. “Suck my cock, princess.”

Mystery’s heart stopped. God, she’d love to taste him, get her lips around that salty, manly, sizeable cock.

As he unzipped his pants and shoved his garments down to his hips, his erection sprang free. The length was impressive, but the girth . . . Holy crap! No wonder she’d felt so tightly stretched when he’d worked his way inside her. A tingle zapped her from head to toe at the thought of feeling it again.

Eagerly, she opened her mouth to him. He braced his big palm on the wall above the headboard and used the other to feed the huge head past her willing lips. She had to open wide and worried fleetingly that she didn’t have enough experience to please him. But when her lips closed around him, they both groaned together. She stopped worrying.

“Jesus, princess. Yes. Deeper.”

She strained her neck up, wanting to take more of him on her tongue. His flavor was clean and masculine. She smelled his natural musk wafting up, giving her an olfactory buzz that made her dizzy and wet. Well, wetter.

He pressed his hips forward, and his cock sank nearly to her throat. She tried to open even wider.

“So good,” he praised, lifting her by the back of the head and cradling her neck in his hand.

Now she was immobile, at his mercy. Between his cuffs, his hold, and his big body, he controlled every move she made. She couldn’t imagine anything turning her on more.

“I’m going to fuck that pretty mouth,” he groaned.

Her stare tangled with his. The blue of his eyes had gone hot, electric. She whimpered out her need.

Axel drew back a few inches, then slowly pushed in again, deeper than before. The tip of her nose almost touched his belly. She wanted to work her head from side to side, suck more of him in, try to take every inch he had. But he had the control and he eased out of her mouth again. A deep, rumbling groan escaped from his chest. “Use your tongue.”

In answer, she swirled it around the swelling head still perched past her lips. She licked over the pinnacle, found the sensitive spot just under his ridge, then licked the shaft in desperation.

“That’s it. Oh, princess . . .” He fucked his way into her mouth again, establishing a brisk, soft rhythm. His eyes closed. His head dropped forward and ecstasy transformed his face.

For long moments, she simply tasted him, pleasured him. She’d never known how badly she longed to please a lover until Axel. Mystery suspected he could teach her a lot of things about her body and her sexuality. He’d already taught her so much about life.

“Damn . . . yes. You keep swiping the head with that wicked tongue, and it’s killing me.”

It thrilled Mystery to know that she could dismantle such a big bad man.

When he thrust in again, he plunged deeper still and nudged her throat. She did her best not to panic. She breathed through her nose, as one of her girlfriends who loved giving head had instructed, and relaxed her muscles there. Finally, the tip of her nose brushed his abdomen. She wrapped her lips around the base of his cock and sucked deep.

“Shit. Fuck. Son of a bitch!” He yanked from her mouth and dragged in deep, steadying breaths, clearly trying to bring himself under control.

Mystery couldn’t help it. The devil sitting on her shoulder prodded her, and his cock was just there in front of her, wet and purple and swollen. She peeked her tongue out and licked him like an ice cream cone.

His eyes flared open wide, gaze fixed on her, instantly sharp and predatory and just the slightest bit disapproving. “Trying to steal my control again?”

“No.” Maybe a little. “I missed your flavor.”

“But you wanted to take what I didn’t intend to give you. You didn’t have permission to drive me over the edge, but you still tried.”

“I . . . didn’t—”

“Think before you lie. Orgasm depravation is a terrible punishment. I can drive you so close to the edge again and again, then deny you for hours. Hell, I can do it for days. If you want to come again anytime soon, you’d better be honest.”

Mystery didn’t doubt him for a minute. He probably would drive her body to a clawing, aching need and suspend her there for as long as he pleased. He could likely control her body and her reactions, along with himself—in every way. That stirred her desire like mad.

“I wasn’t trying to drive you to orgasm,” she answered honestly. “But if I had, I would have liked it. I wanted to make you feel good, whether that was a little or a lot.”

“I’ll have to remember you’re a giver.” He smiled down at her as he released her neck, then brushed his fingers across her cheek, over her jaw. “You need that, don’t you?”

She nodded frantically. “Yes, Axel.”

Despite the fact that she ached and clenched and wriggled in need, Mystery still wanted to give Axel whatever would please him. Somewhere in her rational head, she realized that it sounded kind of backward to put her own pleasure on hold, especially since the guys she’d slept with in the past had been of the mind that everyone was responsible for getting their own orgasms during sex. Again, Axel was totally different.

He scrambled off the bed, kicking off his pants as he went, then tore into the drawer of the nightstand, fumbling around until he found an unopened box. He ripped into it, tearing off the entire side of the cardboard to grab one of the foil squares. With his teeth, he yanked off the top of the packet, then rolled the condom down his stiff length as if his life depended on it.

Less than a heartbeat later, he lowered himself on top of her, elbows on either side of her head, and took her lips with his, using them to spread her mouth wide for his kiss. He invited himself inside, his tongue delving, capturing. He invaded her everywhere, and she felt saturated by his scent, consumed by his passion.

Mystery arched up to him, trying to get closer. She was beyond realizing that Axel stirred and excited her unlike any other man. That train had left the station years ago. But somehow, every time he touched her, he reminded her all over again.

As he pushed his fingers into her hair, he gripped the strands in his fist, tilting her head to deepen the kiss. At the same time, he probed her aching sex with his erection, a rhythmic seeking against her slick tissue until he found the spot he sought and began a relentless press forward.

The slide in felt a little easier than it had this afternoon, despite her lingering soreness. As he surged forward, she stretched around his girth, working to accommodate him and losing herself in the delicious burn. He filled her completely. Her flesh stung and tingled as he withdrew slightly and surged deeper—over and over.

Every ruthless thrust should have been uncomfortable, but instead the feel of him forcing her to take every inch had euphoria clouding her head like a drug. She welcomed it—and him—wholeheartedly.

With a whimper, she tilted her hips up in offering. He slid his hands under her ass and gripped tightly. Every fingertip pressed into the flesh of her backside, and he used his strength to yank her onto his cock as if he couldn’t wait another second for her to take him all the way to the hilt. He tossed his head back with a low, rumbling groan.

The force of his next drive into her had her gasping with a pleasure-pain she’d never felt. She wanted to hold him in her arms, but they were bound. She wanted to throw her legs around him, but he held her exactly where he wanted her and unleashed a hard, pounding rhythm that had her whimpering, then moaning, then calling his name.

Every thrust of his cock rubbed against sensitive tissue along the front wall of her sex. He doubled the tingles with every lunge inside her as his pelvis rubbed her clit. The sensations climbed. She pressed her fingernails into her palms, tossed her head back, and keened.

Mystery felt herself spinning away, the absolute pleasure overtaking her body, her brain. She tightened on him, throwing her whole body and heart into his kiss as black spots danced behind her eyes.

“You want to come?” he growled. “For me? Right now?”

“Yes. Please . . .” She nodded frantically. “Yes!”

He ramped up his hard surges into her body, the headboard pounding the wall every time he slammed inside her. Above her, his eyes had gone a sexy shade of midnight blue. He stared at her intently, knowing he held the power to grant her orgasm . . . or take it away. She waited, breath held, dissolving for him.

“Beg me more. I’m not convinced you want it enough yet.”