Falling into bed after midnight and waking at the crack of dawn had become Aiden’s new routine. Although he was in town—primarily working from his office at Heart of Wyatt—I rarely saw him. He and I caught glimpses of each other during the early mornings, when I rolled over in bed and watched him stroll out of our bedroom for work. Other than that, a text here or a phone call there was the sum total of our quality time. Somehow, he still managed to carve out special moments for just Lyric and him. If it meant skipping lunch, working from home and taking business calls with the baby in his arms for most of the day, or even falling asleep in the nursery, that’s what Aiden did.
Although this disruption to our lives was temporary, I still found it difficult to maintain the patience the situation called for. Aiden offered reassurances that our lives would soon return to normal—actually sooner than he’d anticipated, being that he’d hired new executives and promoted several others—but late at night when the house was quiet and I was alone, those reassurances weren’t enough to keep his side of the bed warm.
Sloan and Nicholas had been named senior vice presidents and were tasked with the oversight of many key divisions. There were also plans in place for corporate offices in Boston which would become the new headquarters for Raine Industries. All in all, Aiden was setting up things in a manner that would allow him to back away. It would be several months before the offices were complete and everything else was in place, but the day he resumed a nine to five was one I was looking forward to. I missed my husband. Other than a quickie here or there, we’d barely had any intimacy. Thinking of him as I lay in bed had become my own special way of tormenting myself. I typically ended up with a toy, but there were nights when that simply didn’t do the trick.
In Lyric’s room, I was lost in the fantasy of the prince and the princess—the bedtime story Aiden had started. Our toddler’s eyes were content on my face as I mimicked some of the voices Aiden used when he was the storyteller. As I came to the part of the story about the father and son’s camping expedition, Lyric’s lids became heavy—finally closing.
After wishing my little guy sweet dreams, I wandered downstairs to check on Aiden. Entering his office, I discovered he was on a call.
“Every day you report no results strains my tolerance,” he said. “My patience has reached its limit. You know what I’m capable of, so get it done.”
There it was. The part of Aiden I didn’t always like. The part that could be cold and ruthless. I felt genuine sympathy for the person on the receiving end of his belligerence. I didn’t particularly enjoy being on the receiving end of it myself, yet there was something about that domineering side that made him that much hotter.
I studied him from head to toe—a vision standing near the floor to ceiling window, his feet planted firmly apart, one hand in his pocket, the other at his ear, holding the phone. He was wearing a dark blue suit, so perfectly tailored to his sculpted build that you couldn’t help but wonder about the body underneath it. I leaned against the door frame and listened, my lids closed as I focused on his velvet voice. When he became quiet, I opened my eyes and saw that he’d turned around and spotted me. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Deciding I wasn’t in the mood for a concentrated dose of angry Aiden, I mouthed a goodnight, blew him a kiss, and headed to bed.
Over three hours later, it was nearly midnight and Aiden was still downstairs. I was hoping he’d come up, but as the minutes ticked by, the chances of that happening seemed less and less likely. I tried to go to sleep, but my mind wouldn’t let me. When I realized how much I really needed my husband, I reached for my phone.
Are you coming to bed anytime soon?
Not for a while. Why are you still awake? Go to sleep, princess.
Hell, if I could go to sleep, I’d already be asleep. It was going to be another B.O.B. kind of night, so I went to my nightstand. I’d decided on one of my favorite vibrators, but then tossed it back into the drawer. I was filled with a yearning that a piece of silicon couldn’t touch.
I hopped out of bed and grabbed the sexiest, most exposing piece of lingerie I owned. It was the vintage grey lace teddy I’d purchased after our honeymoon as a surprise for Aiden. If I had to rate it on a cock-hardening scale of one to ten, it would be off the charts. It was a two-piece lace set with an underwired teddy, matching thigh-highs and a G-string back. There were at least ten thin straps that had to be placed just right, so it wasn’t easy to slip on—it took time and patience, which I was running thin on. Although I hated to interrupt Aiden, and regardless of how busy he was, I knew Kingston would respond instantly, and I was looking forward to his undivided attention. After finagling my body into the little strips of fabric, I covered myself with a robe and started my mission.
“Make sure it’s done. Don’t contact me again until it is,” Aiden said, as I stood outside his office door. When I was sure the call had ended, I stepped in sight. Aiden was flipping through papers and stopping every so often to scribble something. I cleared my throat, and he looked up from the chaos of his desk.
He met my appearance with a frown. “Is everything okay?” he asked. “Why aren’t you in bed?”
That certainly wasn’t the reaction I was looking for. I didn’t answer him. Instead I stepped further into his office.
Moving closer to his desk, I released the tie on my robe and shrugged it off, letting the silk garment fall to the floor. Aiden’s expression was priceless. He was smooth as per his normal self, but for a brief moment, he’d lost his composure, and then his eyes glided appreciatively over my body.
I took a seat on the floor in front of his desk, and with a sphinxlike smile on my face, I spread my legs. “Mr. Raine, since you won’t come to the pussy, the pussy is coming to you.”
Aiden reclined in the high back leather chair as his gaze continued to move over me. Reaching for his tie, he pulled it loose, his gaze lingering between my opened legs.
“I don’t think it’s wise to deprive your wife of what’s considered your husbandly duties,” I said. “Do you?”
Grabbing the near-empty cocktail glass from his desk, Aiden swirled the caramel colored liquid before taking a sip and returning his gaze to mine. “Isn’t Dianna still here?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said.
Aiden’s gaze narrowed as he cocked his head, his attention refocused on the space between my thighs. “Close the door,” he said. “And lock it.”
Now that was more like it. Judging from his expression, my not-so-subtle method of persuasion had met his approval. As a matter of fact, I had a feeling he was planning to give me more than I bargained for. And considering our recent encounters, where we’d walked away only partially sated, that suited me just fine.
I paused for a beat and then I closed my legs, my eyes never leaving the seductive allure of his. I mean seriously, how could they? It was always terribly difficult to tear my gaze away from Aiden’s. That task proved a hundred times more difficult when he looked at me as he did now—like I possessed the only thing in life he’d ever crave. I felt him on my skin—and he wasn’t even touching me.
A slow smile traced his lips as I turned away and moved into a crawling position. Casting a fleeting glance over my shoulder, I gauged his reaction. I wanted his hunger to yearn every part of me. I wanted the anticipation to build to a point of delirium. “You like?” I asked.
“What do you think?” he replied.
Moving at a snail’s pace, I made my way to the door, delighted that I was providing him with a sight that was sure to drive him crazy. The G-string allowed for minimal coverage, so his eyes would have been glued to my ass as I crawled away from him.
“Stay there,” he said once I’d locked the door and stood to face him.
Would I ever be unaffected by Aiden’s presence? I mean, we were married for God’s sake. I knew this man—I knew him in the most intimate of ways, so how did he still make my heart beat an irregular pattern every time he looked at me like that?
A familiar heat churned between my thighs as two dark emeralds crawled over my body and then a wide smile creased Aiden’s oh-so-suckable lips. Oh, those perfectly pink lips. And his eyes—he drowned me in them each time he looked at me.
With an inexplicable tinge of nervousness, I returned his smile and wondered if he was thinking the same about me. Did he lose himself in my amber eyes? Did he want his soft, full lips pressed against mine? I’d often wondered about the thoughts behind his disarming gaze. And I loved when he shared those thoughts—some devilish, others sentimental and sweet, and then there were those that were designed to tear down my defenses—the ones that had led to my marrying the most complex guy on the planet.
And lastly there were moments like this, when he simply stared. It was a heady thing to be the sole focus of Aiden’s thoughts. And to this day, that still placed me on edge.
After swallowing the remainder of the alcohol, Aiden rose from his seat and started toward me, all the while drinking me in, the scalding heat of his gaze instantly raising the temperature of the room.
Once he reached me, he said, “I must say, Mrs. Raine, I’m very impressed. Your gift for seduction is unparallelled.”
“I do what I can, Mr. Raine,” I replied.
Aiden’s fingers traced over the thin strap of fabric at my shoulder. His fingertips were light traces of heat, emitting currents to every part of my body. “And this is especially nice,” he said, leaning in closer, the hint of alcohol on his breath pulling at my core. “I particularly enjoyed the view from behind,” he added.
“That was a nice touch, huh?”
“Indeed it was. Very nice. So it made me wonder …”
“Yes?”
His lips were at my mouth, so close that his breath had become mine. “Was it an invitation to fuck that tight little ass?”
“Maybe.” Oh hell, he was already making me want to rip his clothes off.
He came closer, his lips gently touching mine, but still not kissing me. “Turn around,” he said. “And place your hands on the door.”
I didn’t move. Was he going to fuck me or play Simon Says?
“You know I dislike when you hesitate, Aria,” he said. “Just do as I say.”
With undisguised impatience, I followed his instruction, turning around and placing my hands against the door. If this was the cost of having his dick inside me, I’d go along with it, but I hoped he didn’t drag this out. I didn’t know how much more I could stand.
“Now slide your palms up—as far above your head as you can, and don’t move them.”
Again, I honored his request, but this time I did so without hesitation. And my reward was the soft caress of his palms moving over my curves.
His low moan filled the space between us. “Very nice indeed, princess,” he said.
“It’s all for you, baby,” I whispered.
“And mere words alone can’t express how much I appreciate it,” he said, his fingers tracing a slow trail over my cheeks. “Now … tell me more about these derelict duties.”
“Well …” I started, but silenced my views on his deprivation when his finger slipped beneath the crotch of my teddy, the motion of his finger stirring the heat between my thighs.
“Are you going to answer me?” he asked.
“Mmm,” I moaned. “Yes,” I finally replied, as I consumed the pleasure of his fingers, my body weakening, and my hands sliding down the door.
“Hands back up, princess.”
Oh shit. Why? How could he expect me to remember that when he was fingering me like this? The last thing on my mind was hand placement; even so, I leaned into the door and reached up as far as I could.
“I’m waiting,” he said. “Tell me.”
“Well, it’s just that I miss you. I’ve missed having you … like this,” I said, whimpering as his fingers moved faster.
“Is that right?”
“Mmm hmm.”
“You don’t think I’ve missed you?” he asked, as another finger entered me.
“I didn’t say that,” I whispered between moans.
“Clench your muscles around my fingers,” he said.
My mouth agape, I constricted the walls of my sex as his fingers worked back and forth.
“Tighter,” he said, as his fingers twisted. “Yes, just like that.”
Oh yes, that’s it. I’m close. So close.
“Do you like that?” he asked.
“Uh hmm,” I moaned, my hands again sliding down the door.
He leaned in, his mouth at my nape and whispered, “What did I tell you about your hands?”
“Oh fuck, Aiden. Please.” My legs stiffened as his fingers stroked my core, seizing the part of me that was aching to let go.
“It feels like that pussy wants to come?” he said. “Should I let it?”
“Yes,” I breathed. “Yes.” My orgasm was tipping over the edge.
“You know I’m not going to do that,” he replied.
“Holy fuck. Why not?” I asked, panting.
His fingers stilled. “This is all your doing.”
“What?”
“You’ve been disobedient,” he said, as he eased his fingers out of me and spun me around to face him.
“How so?” I asked.
“I told you I was busy and that I had deadlines, but that didn’t work for you.” He captured my chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing my eyes to meet his. “You just had to have your way. I think someone needs to be reminded of who’s the husband and who’s the wife.”
If he pulled that orgasm denial shit on me again, there would be hell to pay. “So help me, if you—”
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “But I have every intention of letting you come.”
Then do it. Stop making this so difficult.
Aiden pressed his body against mine, effectively pinning me against the door. Satisfied that he had me in place, he reached for my hands and restrained my wrists above my head.
“Then what’s the plan?” I asked. “Are you going to punish me?”
His fingers were back at the crotch of my teddy, pushing it aside. “As only I can,” he replied.
Aiden lowered his mouth to my neck, his lips tracing the sensitive skin behind my ear and with deliberate roughness, he moved his finger in and out of me. “One finger isn’t enough, is it?” he asked.
Despite the vicious yearning that had taken hold, an unexpected twinge of nervousness billowed within me as his dark eyes bore into mine. Something in his tone beckoned for my attention, but I ignored it. “No. I’d like more, please.”
“I figured as much,” he said, as he plunged a second finger inside me, and then a third. “Your pussy has always been so greedy.”
“Isn’t that how you like it? Wet and greedy?”
“Are you sure you want to talk to me like that, Aria? You know it only makes my dick harder.”
“Maybe that’s what I need,” I said, staring directly into the darkness that was once his eyes. “A nice hard dick.”
“Oh you’ll get it hard, princess … but it won’t be nice.”
Something was screaming at me to be careful, to not goad him, but my body was defying me, rolling into Aiden’s fingers, desperate for more.
“Ahh. Yes.” I moaned. “Fuck my pussy.”
Aiden responded by applying pressure to my clit, enhancing the effect of his fingers as they started to move faster.
My hands were still above my head. I needed something to hold onto, but there was nothing. “I need to come, Aiden,” I pleaded.
His lips were pressed to my ear. “Shh. Shh. I’ve got you,” he purred.
Tilting my head against the door, my lids closed as I absorbed the assault of his fingers. It felt so good. He had this way of twisting his fingers inside me with just the right speed to make me damn near lose it. Lost in the rhythmic thrusts, my eyes shot open and a gasp escaped my lips when Aiden shoved deeper inside me.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his fingers twisting.
“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong,” I panted. “That was just a little rougher than I expected.”
“Come on, Aria. You didn’t come down here dressed like that looking for me to make love to you. Now did you? You want to be fucked.”
Again, his tone was different. The way he’d said the word fucked. It sounded rougher … dirtier.
He leaned down—our lips only inches apart—his alcohol-laced breath washing over my mouth as my stomach twisted with anticipation.
“Are you without words now?” he asked.
One of the many things that had drawn me to Aiden was his intensity. At times like these, it was intimidating yet still dangerously alluring. And his eyes—his unusual green eyes—they’d pulled me further into their dark trance, deepening with a desire that flamed higher with each breath.
My breathing had become irregular, my chest clenched. “What are you going to do to me?”
“Whatever I want,” he said, as the pace of his fingers slowed, still moving in and out, still twisting inside me.
There it was again … the unfamiliar tone. It was deeper … darker.
“And if I object?”
“Do you expect me to take heed to your objections?” he asked, as the grip on my wrists tightened. “Because I won’t. You’re mine to do with as I see fit. You belong to me. Or have you forgotten?”
Part of me was worried. I often wondered if Aiden sometimes held back when we had sex, but why was he letting go now? And how much more was there? I was no sprinter. Like him, I was in it for the marathon, but even on my best day, he dominated me. He molded my body and my orgasms to suit him. And I was fine with that because it also gave me everything I could ever want or need from a lover. Was it the fear of unchartered territory causing me to see the darker gleam of his eyes? Was that a silent warning that I was in trouble?
“I see you aren’t going to answer,” he said. “None the less, your stubbornness will make this evening all the more sweeter.”
I was sure this would lead us some place for which I was unprepared. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because you need it,” he replied.
“Says you.”
His fingers were out of me now. But he wasn’t done. “Who better than me? The man who knows your body better than you.”
“You really believe that?” I asked.
“Of course I do,” he said. He slid his fingers between the lace of my sex, working the small bead of my clit.
“Why are you making …” Ah, shit. His fingers. “… this all about you?”
“That’s not at all what I’m doing. I’m giving you what you want—I’m submitting to you. Would you like to know why?”
I swallowed the panic that his words inspired and replied, “Enlighten me.”
“Because you think it restores the balance between us—that it levels the playing field.”
“But it never has, has it?” I asked.
“I didn’t say that.”
He didn’t have to. No matter what level of control it appeared I had when it came to Aiden, it was only what he allowed me to have.
“Isn’t this what you wanted? My undivided attention. So much so that you barged into my office and practically demanded it. Well, now you have it. Only because I know you need it. And as for this,” he moved his leg, forcing his knee in the open space between my thighs. “I’ll take care of it my way, which may not be at all what you’re expecting.”
I didn’t know what the fuck he was leaning toward, but he’d said just enough for me to decide I didn’t want to find out. I pulled at my hands, attempting to free my wrists, but my strength was no match for his—it was as though I hadn’t budged at all.
“Let go of me,” I said, my voice small.
His fingers were inside me again, working in and out. Back and forth. Twisting and turning. “Why should I let you go?” he asked.
“Because this was a bad idea.”
“Do you want me to stop?” he asked, his fingers continuing their rhythmic pace.
“Yes. Yes, I want you to stop,” I said.
“But I thought—”
“I was wrong,” I said, cutting him off. “Haven’t you ever been wrong before?”
“A time or two,” he said. “But there’s nothing wrong in this, Aria. Nothing at all.”
“I told you I didn’t want it. So just let me go and you can get back to work.”
“So you’re afraid,” he said. “You know I won’t hurt you. Don’t you?”
I swallowed my apprehension as I considered his question. I didn’t know what the hell he would do unintentionally. Not when he was like this. Again, I tried pulling my wrists from his grip, but he didn’t release me, nor did his hold lessen.
“What if I don’t want to stop?” he asked.
He had no intention of letting me go, I could tell. It was in the way he was eyeing me—like I was the meal he hadn’t had in far too long. The only time I could recall similar behavior—even in the slightest—was the night I’d denied him my body, but tonight was different. Tonight was darker.
He must have seen the worry in my expression, because his gaze softened as he asked, “How about I take it down a notch? Make it a little easier for you.” His thrusts slowed, caressing my insides and weakening me.
Filled with arousal, a tightening deep inside me, I said the only thing I could at that moment, “I don’t need you to do me any favors. I can take whatever you give,” I said, not really believing my own words.
Aiden’s eyes were adhered to the heat in mine, but his hand was between my thighs, his fingers moving in small tempestuous circles over the stimulated bud that peeked between my lower lips.
“How does that feel?” he asked.
My mouth opened to articulate a response, but Aiden’s fingers had begun working faster and my intent to speak was swallowed by a string of whimpers.
“I love that you get so wet for me,” he whispered. “Do you hear it?”
“Mmm hmm,” I replied, and pulled my lip into my mouth.
“I love it even more when I watch you slide your fingers inside your perfect little pussy, ease them out and then taste yourself,” he said.
“Do you?” I asked, my breathing labored and my eyes locked on the dark seductiveness of his gaze.
“Yes, princess. But do you know what I love most of all?”
“No,” I said.
“Tasting you myself.”
“Oh fuck,” I panted. “Please Aiden,” I said as his fingers scissored and twisted inside the clenching walls of my sex.
“I told you, I’m going to give you exactly what you need, Aria.”
Oh, God, yes. That’s what I wanted to hear, because I was so close. On the precipice of coming apart, of releasing days of frustration and want, of letting my purity flow over his fingers.
“How many times should I make this pussy come for me?”
“Perhaps you should tell me,” I challenged. “I’ve been a bad girl, right? Why don’t you show me what you do to bad girls?”
“Remember you said that,” he warned.
In a swift move, Aiden’s fingers exited my pussy, and he was on his knees. “Give it to me, baby,” he said, and buried his mouth between my legs.
The sinful pleasure of his touch took me there—to the spot I needed. “Ohh. Your tongue. Feels so fucking good,” I breathed. My core tightened and my legs quavered as waves of heat washed over me and centered in my loins, and then I let go, calling out Aiden’s name as I exploded on his wicked tongue. “Aiden. Ohh. Holy shit. I’m coming, baby.”
His hands moved up the back of my thighs until he was cupping my ass, forcing my sex flush with his mouth, his exquisite skill driving me directly into a second climax. Trying to pull my mind back to the familiar, I swallowed and concentrated on catching my breath while Aiden’s lips moved over the slickness of mine, licking and sucking as much of me as he could. My fingers sifted through his hair as he softly laced my pussy with wet, luscious kisses. And after one long, deep stroke, he finally severed his connection.
“Have I ever told you that your pussy is divine?” he asked, his attention still on Virginia.
I was still rolling in the aftershocks, and hadn’t quite found my voice.
“Do you approve?” he asked, looking up at me.
“Yes,” I whispered, as I tried to catch my breath.
“Good. Because there’s more,” he said, standing and moving his tongue over his lips. “Much more.”
With one arm, he lifted me and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He cradled my behind, and pressed his mouth to mine, kissing me and sharing the taste of my come as he carried me to his desk. He groaned as he broke our kiss, and with his free hand, he raked the contents of his work space to the floor.
“I have a surprise for you,” he said, as he positioned me on all fours. “Stay just like that.”
Aiden’s surprises were always mind-blowing, especially when they involved our ever-growing sexual appetites. My breathing had already resumed its crazy, ragged pattern as I remained perched on my hands and knees, eagerly anticipating everything to which he’d alluded. He slapped my ass and I squealed at the unexpected sting as he stepped away and cornered his desk.
“I was waiting for just the right occasion to show you this. It’s something I picked up on my last trip,” he said, and pulled a key from his pocket.
Opening the drawer, he lifted a long slender box and placed it on the desk in front of me. I was intrigued. Once he opened the lid, my eyes widened. Inside was a gold glass butt plug with a tail that curved at the tip, vibrating nipple clamps, a petite leather crop, candles, lube, a strip of purple satin, a matching blind fold, rope, and a small vial containing some type of oil.
“What’s all of this?” I asked.
“Something I thought we’d enjoy. You did say you wanted to return to Seducente to use every item in that dungeon room—did you not?”
“Yes, but—”
“No,” he said, placing a finger to my mouth. “No buts. This is just a little taste of what’s to come.”
“Aiden, wait.”
A sinister smile spread over his lips. “Don’t tell me I’ve frightened you again.”
Did he actually think a novice attempt of reverse psychology would work on me? In a situation such as this? You’d think he’d use his powers of persuasion in a way that was more beguiling. But then again, why would he waste his efforts when he already knew how this would play out? He knew I wouldn’t back down, he knew my body wouldn’t let me. It disobeyed me at every turn, especially when it came to Aiden’s desires. And right now, he wanted me cloaked in the darkness I’d introduced him to. I wanted to say no, but Virginia wasn’t having it. The tight clenches lubricating the walls of my sex were in direct opposition to the anxious thoughts circling in my head.
“I’m not afraid. I want everything you have to give me.”
“What if I want you to be dirtier than you’ve ever been?”
“You know I love it dirty, so why would that be a problem?” I asked.
“Interesting … how quickly you alternated from a resounding no to an unequivocal yes,” he said.
“Does it matter? I’m sure it pleases you,” I said. “Doesn’t it?”
“Very. But I’m the first, right? You’ve never done this with anyone else.”
“No, only for you.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear. Now tell me, what are you willing to do?” he asked.
“I’m not sure I understand your question.”
“What are your limits, Aria?”
Limits? I didn’t know if I had any. This was as new to me as I was hoping it was for him. Where was he going with this, and where had it all come from? I decided it didn’t matter, because this was Aiden, my husband, my protector. “You’ve got me, right?”
“Always.”
“Then I trust you to explore, discover, and push every boundary with me.”