Chapter Ten

Blake was still lying on top of Jewell, and he knew the second she lost consciousness. She obviously needed to rest, to be left alone, as the passion had drained her, but the thought of leaving her caused him actual physical pain. The need for her that was churning up his insides seemed insatiable. He’d spent three months thinking of no other woman but her, and during that time he had felt … bereft. That was the only word that captured it. He suspected he’d be feeling the effects of that loss for a long time to come. Even knowing what he knew, he felt that way, and it infuriated him.

Why? How? He had no idea. No woman had ever lodged herself so deeply and firmly inside him. Not even close. He’d almost said “inside his heart,” but that wasn’t something he had; it was inside his brain, obviously. He’d never allowed even that to happen before. What made Jewell different? Why did it seem that he’d never get enough of her?

He tried to reason it away, tried to tell himself it was nothing but raw hunger, but wouldn’t hunger eventually fade away with repeated satiation? So maybe what the two of them had would die, but for now, it was all-consuming and he couldn’t say that he didn’t love every minute of it.

This woman had barreled into his life and in a minuscule amount of time had shaken his world. Blake hadn’t thought that to be possible. He’d believed that he was so hardened by the traumas of his past that no woman would be able to make him feel. And he had to remember that she was completely suspect as a human being. She was a woman, after all, and a whore. But none of that seemed to matter to him when she was in his arms. And that made him feel like an even bigger fool. But he couldn’t seem to stop himself, and all his rationalizations were just that — rationalizations.

Rolling gently off Jewell, he lay at her side and watched his hand trail down her body. He’d taken her for what seemed like hours, had come twice inside her heat, but only now was he feeling even a modicum of relief from that damnable sexual tension that had dogged him since he’d first met her. And as he continued to touch her soft skin with light fingers, he felt himself begin stirring again.

As he watched Jewell’s eyelashes flutter, he knew for certain he couldn’t let her go, not any time in the near future, at least. And that had nothing to do with needing to figure her out, dammit! Of course he held the power to keep her beside him. He knew her primary weakness. Did he feel at all guilty that he was using her brother to get her loyalty? No. Because he didn’t trust her when it came to Justin. He justified his actions because he wanted her and he was going to have her no matter what. And damn the consequences, damn the cost to himself or to anyone else.

His heart had stopped its frantic thudding, and his breathing had slowed, but he knew both would go back into overdrive the moment he sank back inside of her glorious heat. When would he ever have enough? Never was impossible, but he knew too well what “they” said about saying never.

Her eyes floated open, and she looked dazed and sated. For one moment her guard was down. Maybe that was the key. He would simply keep her in his bed, where he could look into her depths when she was too defenseless to hold him at bay. But the problem here was that when she was like this, he was also vulnerable. He couldn’t afford that.

Blake wasn’t a weak man — he didn’t back down from a challenge. And Jewell Weston was most definitely a challenge. He wanted her obedience, and he wanted her pleasure. They belonged to him. But he also wanted them to come from her of her own free will, not because they were forced upon her. And the last thing he could do, if he were to be honest with himself, was make her hate him. But since when? Since seeing her again?

Though he could be ready to take her in moments, he also felt a perverse need to talk to her, to connect in a way that he hadn’t ever connected with another human before. Yes, he loved his brothers, but there was a limit to how far he let even them in. Why wasn’t he setting such a limit with Jewell? He’d have to fight this dangerous impulse.

He leaned over her and spoke. “You know that this is just the beginning, Jewell. I missed you. My body missed you, and I feel as if I can’t get enough of you. I’m not sure right now whether I ever will.”

He took the utmost delight in her shocked intake of breath. Then he looked down at her hardening nipples and felt pride in knowing he could turn her on with nothing but words.

He caressed her nipples with his palm, felt them harden even more under his touch. “You are mine. You have to know that. I’m the only one who’s ever brought you this pleasure, and I’m the only one who can.” He lowered his head, and when his mouth took the place of his hand, her exquisite flavor made his taste buds explode. She gasped as he moved his hand down her stomach and ran his fingers along the outside of her core.

“No. I … uh … I have to leave …,” she said, shutting her legs weakly and trapping his hand.

He knew how easily he could pry her legs back open, and how quickly he could have her begging him to take her, but that’s not what he wanted. He wanted her to own this too, wanted her to need him as much as he needed her. He wanted her to give herself freely, without any coercion on his part. He didn’t want to remind her that he’d bought her.

What in the world was wrong with him?

“I don’t want you to leave,” he said, removing his hand and resting it on her shaking stomach.

“I … I can’t think, Blake. Please stop touching me.”

The hint of desperation in her voice made him pause. Though it pained him to pull back, he did, but only after thrusting his tongue out to get one final taste of her nipple before he released her.

“You don’t need to think, Jewell. When you’re in my bed, all you need to do is feel.” Okay, he could admit how corny that sounded! To save face, he was left with no choice but to accompany his words with a cocky smile, one that instantly irritated her.

Why couldn’t he seem to stop himself from pushing her buttons, even when he actually wanted to stop? Maybe it was because the fire in her eyes turned him on, or maybe it was his armor locking into place, but whatever the reason, he could see that she was pulling back from him. He refused to show her that he cared.

“I came here for a reason,” she said, reaching for a blanket and covering herself, much to his disappointment.

“And that reason was accomplished,” he told her with another confident smile.

“I didn’t come here to screw you, Blake,” she told him, scorn dripping from her tongue.

He leaned in even closer, making her eyes fly open. “Oh, Jewell, don’t lie to me or to yourself — I won’t allow it. You can’t honestly tell me that you didn’t come here knowing you’d end up in my bed.”

When her breath caught in her throat and she was at a loss for any comebacks, only then did he sit up and fold his hands behind his head as if he had nothing more important to do than hang out in his bed with a raging erection while the two of them chatted.

Blake had to grin when he noticed her eyes straying to his arousal before darting back up to his face. “You can climb on and take me for a ride if you want to,” he told her, and those words earned him a glare.

“How can a person think about nothing but sex?” she said with a frustrated sigh.

“I find it very easy when I have such a captivating partner, Jewell.”

“We have to talk.”

“That is the last thing I’m in the mood for right now,” he replied.

“You can keep me in a sex coma for only so long, Blake.”

With an exaggerated show of throwing up his hands in defeat, he actually backed off, which surprised him. This woman made him do things he wasn’t willing to do, and what bothered him most was that it didn’t actually bother him.

“So, what do we need to discuss?” Blake asked her.

“My brother. What else?” she said as she gripped the blankets tightly against her luscious breasts. He’d so hoped that she would let the damned covers slip.

“I told you that I’ll help you to see him.”

“But how? I want to know how.”

“I know people,” he said. He couldn’t tell her his plans yet, couldn’t make things happen too quickly, or he would never know what he needed to know. And then she would be gone from his life. That he couldn’t allow.

His arousal died down as the depressing topic drove away any thoughts of sex. Blake stood up and yanked on his sweats, frustrated that his evening wasn’t going the way he had hoped.

“You got your sex,” Jewell said firmly. Now give me my brother.” Her words stopped him where he stood at the foot of the bed.

He turned his face into a blank so she wouldn’t see what her words were doing to him. He did want sex, that was true, and for her to trade her body for her brother is what he’d asked of her. So why did he feel as if he’d been punched in the gut?

Ridiculous. That’s what it was. He wouldn’t tolerate any weakness in himself. If she wanted to play dirty, then dirty is what she would get.

“Do you really think I’m that easy, Jewell?” he asked in a deadly cold voice. She flinched, and he refused to let it make him feel a single thing.

“Yes. I think that you’re an emotionless drone and you’ll do anything it takes to get what you want. You wanted sex. You got it. I want my brother. I think I’ve earned the right to get what you offered.”

Her chin tilted up in the stubborn way it did when she was terrified but trying to hide it. How was it that he knew so much about her when he’d spent so little time with her?

He couldn’t answer that question. Maybe it was because he hadn’t seemed to be able to think of anything or anyone else but her since the moment he’d walked into that sleeping area at the escort agency and seen her sitting up in that small bed. Yes, that was until he’d also found out about Justin. Since then, he’d only been able to think about both of them.

“Do you really think you’ve done enough for me to let you go? I have you for an entire month, Jewell — at least.”

Again she flinched, and again he refused to let up on her. If she saw how weak he really was when it came to her, she would be the one with all the power. That was simply unacceptable.

“I do,” she said, the words barely above a whisper.

“You aren’t a stupid woman, Jewell, not at all. So why do you insist on acting like one?”

“I’m not acting stupid, Blake. I’m trying to get you to honor your word.”

“If you think I’m letting you go this easily, you aren’t displaying a shred of intelligence. Don’t forget that I paid a quarter of a million dollars for the privilege of doing anything I want with you. Your services didn’t come cheap, sweetheart. Mine won’t either.”

He turned away to draw in a deep breath. Unbelievably, this conversation was taking a lot out of him. It shouldn’t have. He was letting her upset him and that wasn’t even a little okay.

“So you threaten me, bribe me, get what you want, and you won’t hold up to your word? Obviously not your word of honor. You wouldn’t know that word.”

That made his hands clench into fists. When he felt the urge to slam them into the wall, he knew this conversation had best end soon. It wasn’t going at all the way it ought to. Finally, he turned back around and the look on his face must not have been as composed as he had thought it was, because she seemed to shrivel down into the bed.

“Believe me, Jewell, if I threaten or blackmail you in any way, there will be no doubt that I’m doing so. I don’t need to hide my words in secret meanings. I don’t need to beat around the bush. I will express myself loud and clear, and I will get exactly what I want.”

Exactly? Not really. They were both lying to each other, but he wasn’t about to admit that.

“But I did what you wanted,” she practically cried.

“You haven’t even tapped the surface of what I want!”

She struggled to find words to throw back at him, and he was eager to hear what she would say next. With Jewell, he really had no idea. She was obviously feeling cornered, but that was good right now. Sometimes that was what it took to make people go outside their comfort zone. She wanted him. She just felt that she had to be pushed to accept that. He could live with being the one to push her.

Her expression hardened. “How long will you want me in your bed, Blake?” She was waiting for a number. A fixed time.

The question made him smile. No, not a real smile, but the smile of a shark about to fasten its teeth upon its prey.

“Do you really want to hear my answer, Jewell?” he asked, his lips turning up even more.

“What? A month? A year?”

“Ah, Jewell, you underestimate yourself. Do you really want to see your brother? Will you really do whatever it takes?” He refused to even think about the small sting of regret his atrophied conscience might try to make him feel over his next words. Look, this was just another business deal. It didn’t make him a monster.

“Yes, I’m willing to do whatever it takes, Blake. You obviously know that.”

“Good.” He said the one word and turned his back on her as if the conversation were done.

She jumped from the bed, jerking on the blanket and wrapping it awkwardly around her.

“Don’t walk away from me, Blake. Tell me what you want.”

He faced her again and pulled her into his arms, kissing her breathless before he spoke. “If you want your brother, you will forget about Relinquish Control and forget about the auction, and you will remain mine.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m not letting you go, Jewell — maybe ever. Quit planning your escape, quit trying to leave me, and just agree to belong to me.” He didn’t even know where these words were coming from. This hadn’t been what he had planned to say. She’d just blown him away, and he’d reacted instantaneously. A hair-trigger response.

“I don’t belong to anyone, Blake. And what makes you think that I would keep my word? I could tell you anything you want to hear right now, and then walk out anyway.”

That stopped him for a moment. She was correct. What could he do that would ensure that she wouldn’t leave until he had everything he wanted? He paused as he looked down at her and then he got an idea. No. That was ridiculous. It was something he’d vowed never to do, not even after … never mind that. So he was just as shocked as Jewell when the next words emerged from his mouth.

“Marry me and I’ll give you your brother.”

When her mouth dropped to the floor, Blake decided to kiss her again. In his book, after all, she’d just consented and it was time to seal the deal.