23. Don’t Ask Me to Set You Free
CHAPTER 23
DON’T ASK ME TO SET YOU FREE
Paloma
His muscular form brushes every inch of my body. I indulge in the fantasy that this beautiful man is all mine. He is everything I thought he would be. Our mouths collide in a heated kiss. I take on his full length and his tongue, while I run my hands all over him—his hard chest, the planes and valleys on his back, and his slim hips. The man is perfection. And the way he’s claiming me, like he never wants to leave my body ever again, makes me call out for him. I don’t even care that I sound greedy and broken.
Liquid fire laps at my core, igniting the usual climb. It’s impossible to want a person this much. I shouldn’t be this weak, but I can’t help it. For however long Archer wants me, I’m his. He thrusts into me, cursing against the soft spot behind my ear. Panting a breath, he moves down to give my nipples the attention they crave. But the fleeting release only works to fan the flames of my desire even more.
I rub my leg against his thigh, feeling every muscle there. He cups my butt cheek and rams into me, sending me over the edge. I peak, my orgasm tottering at my core, but then he stops. Embers simmer right on my G-Spot. I’m ready to come, but he’s so still, I don’t quite get there.
“Archer.” I bring my palms up his biceps and over his shoulders. “Don’t stop.”
“You don’t get to come just yet.” He sucks on my neck, kneading my breasts. “Twice you’ve tried to escape. I need to make sure you don’t try that again.”
“I wasn’t trying to leave today.” I cup his cheek. The anguish I find in his eyes brings tears to my eyes. “I want to be with you.”
“You feel so good.” He rocks his hips. I feel my orgasm touch me again, but still, he refuses to give me the release I need. “And you taste even better.” His gaze bores into mine. I’m about to catch fire from wanting him so much. But then, he pulls out and lies down next to me. “Have a taste of that pussy, Little Dove.”
My whole core screams at me in protest of my unrealized climax. I rub myself, trying to soothe my aching clit to somehow give it what Archer is denying me.
He takes my hand and kisses it. “Not you. Me.”
The world stops as the full recognition of what he’s offering washes over me. He brings my hand to his erection, which is covered in my arousal. My own needs are forgotten as I scramble to my knees. The drumming in my ears intensifies with the anticipation of having him like this. I dig my nails on his abs, bend over his shaft and take him into my mouth.
“Fuck.” He groans, gripping my hair at my neck.
He’s massive, hard, and smooth. My lips stretch when he pushes forward, making me take all of him. I wrap my fingers around his cock and awkwardly pump up to meet my mouth, then down. I’ve never done this before, but he guides me to take him the way he wants. When I find a rhythm, he releases the hold he has on me and watches me with hooded eyes.
“Do you like that?” he asks.
“Yes.” I lick him from base to shaft, following the angry vein along his length until I reach the tip. I suck on it, then make my way down on the other side. His cock in my mouth is an erotic dream.
“Jesus.” He cups my cheek. “Is it all clean?”
I nod, but I push him past my teeth one more time, pumping with one hand, while rubbing his muscular thighs with the other. God, his body is impressive—lethal even as he lies here seemingly under my control.
He lifts me at the waist, so his member falls out of my mouth with a pop. “Drench it again.” He plunges past my entrance.
“Ah.” I let my head fall back.
This time, my lust for him is so overpowering, there’s no climb or easy ascent, my legs tremble around him as my walls grip his erection tight.
“I’m coming,” I confess.
“Not yet.” He slides his palms under my ass and pulls me off him.
“Lick me clean again,” he orders. “Don’t waste a single drop of your juices.”
“It hurts.” I swallow, meeting his gaze.
“Think about that the next time you want to escape.” He grips the nape of my neck again. “Suck my cock, Little Dove.”
I do as he says. The lap of my tongue washes away my arousal one more time. I’m careful to go slow, so he knows I’m doing a good job, so he knows how much I fucking love his massive cock in my mouth.
“Such a good girl.” He feeds his erection into my mouth and thrusts into me several times.
I relax the muscles on my neck, and let him fuck me like this. At least this way, even if I don’t get the orgasm I crave, I can touch him all over. A salty drop touches the back of my throat, but it’s gone too fast.
“Archer,” I plead when he releases me.
“Promise me you will never try to escape again.” He slides the pad of his thumb over my lips.
“I promise.” I’m on my knees next to him. “I want you.” I plant a kiss on his chest and then his neck.
He sits up and pulls me to him, so I’m straddling his thighs…just the way we began. I tunnel my fingers through his hair and kiss his lips. I’m tender because I don’t want him to push me away.
“I love watching you come.” He thumbs my nipple, tugging it into a peak.
And that’s all it takes for my core to ignite all over again. I rub against his abs. I’m so turned on by his body, I feel like I’m losing my mind. I reach between my legs and rub my clit.
“Just like that.” He teases my pussy with his shaft, sliding it up and down before plowing into me. “Let it go.” He wraps his arms around my waist, his mouth on my neck, and finally fucks me until I come.
I’m still coming, when he flips me onto the bed without losing our connection and thrusts even harder. He fists the side of the mattress, relentlessly charging into me, while chasing his own climax. His muscles strain under his skin with the effort. He’s beautiful the way he comes. Because in that moment, I see all of him—the torture in his eyes, his need for me, and something else I don’t quite recognize.
I’m a puddle of want beneath him. I hold on to him, letting him take from me what he needs. But Archer is a force of nature. If he’s going down, he’s not going down alone. My body reacts to the rise of his desire. And I meet him there. Just in time to jump off the precipice with him.
“Fuck.” The word echoes in the room.
I’m coming again and it’s just as powerful as the first time and just as all-consuming. Heat rushes through me and leaves me absolutely breathless. When our release is finally complete, we lie there in each other’s arms, covered in sweat, and unable to move.
“You’re going to be the death of me.” He murmurs, kissing my neck and shoulder.
“We could have this all the time.” I scrape my nails down his side and the hard obliques there. “Why do you fight it?”
He presses his forehead to mine. His lips part, but after a while, he lets out a breath and pushes off me. I reach for his body but catch nothing but air.
“Don’t go.” I sit up, then crawl to the edge of the bed. “Please.”
He stands there, towering over me with his semi-erection on full display. I bite my lip. And even I recognize the greed and obsession building in the pit of my stomach. Is that what he’s afraid of? Is he scared to be consumed by what we have?
“Are you scared of me?” I ask.
He chuckles, cradling my cheek. “If I were a smart man, I would be. I would’ve run the day I met you.”
“You don’t mean that.” I pull him back toward the bed. “You want me too. You want me as much as I want you.”
“That wasn’t the question, was it?” Slowly, as if his body weighs a ton, he lowers himself on to the bed, resting his back on the pillow.
When he puts out his arm to the side, I take it as an invitation to climb on his lap and lay my head on his chest. I’m not ready to let him go. His heart drums fast beneath me. With every beat, a wave of warmth engulfs my body.He feels like home.
“Even if you don’t want a marriage, we can still have this.” I snuggle closer to him.
“What is this, Little Dove?” He kisses the top of my head and wraps his arms around me.
“Sex,” I say.
His chest rumbles with his laughter. “If it were just sex, I would’ve taken you the day you found me in your bedroom.”
“I would’ve let you.” I sit back to look at him. “I wanted you then too.”
“I know.” He touches the tip of his finger to my chin. “There’s so much you don’t know.”
“Then teach me.” I place my hand on his hard chest.
“I don’t mean about sex.” He glances upward for a breath. “You don’t know anything about me.”
He’s talking to me. He’s finally opening up his heart to me. Maybe he can’t love me, but I’m okay with that as long as he doesn’t love anyone else. My jealousy rears its ugly head in an instant. I can’t stand the thought of him having sex with anyone else. If he loved someone else, I would die of sorrow.
“What don’t I know about you? Are you in love with someone else. Edith? Or is it Gardenia? But you can’t have her because she’s practically your sister.” I stop to inhale.
“First of all.” He cocks his head to look at me. “I’ve never been in love. Not once. And second of all, I thought that after tonight’s dinner, the Edith situation was put to rest.”
“It was, but now you sound like you don’t want me.” It’s irrational. I know. But what other reason could there be? Why can’t he just accept what we have? Why push me away?
“Believe me. I want you.” He takes my hand and presses it against his hard cock. “Sex is not the problem between us.”
“What’s the third thing?” I stroke him gently.
As much as I’m ready for round two, I want to know more about him. I want to know why come morning he’ll be cold and distant again.
“Gardenia is not actually my sister. Her father is my mentor, if you have to call him something. But blood non-relation aside, I just don’t think of her like that.” He slides his hand up my thigh.
“Then why do you push me away?” I plant a kiss on his muscled shoulder.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” The pain in his eyes cuts me. “But each day, I find that I don’t have the will anymore to stay away from you.”
“Then don’t.” I press my forehead to his. “I don’t care how we got here. I want to be with you.”
I love you, Archer . The words echo in my head. But I’m not ready to tell him how I feel. Or rather, I’m not ready for him to reject my love. At least for now, he’s not running away.
“Good. Because I’m not letting you go.” He cups my cheek, a smile playing on his lips.
“Can I ask you another question?” I shift my weight on his lap so I’m straddling him instead.
“Hmmm.” He groans. “Ask away.”
“Do you think your mom will like me?”
That earns me a laugh. “What?”
I glance down feeling silly. So what if his mother doesn’t like me? “I mean. Would you care if she doesn’t?”
“She will love you. You have a lot in common, actually.” He tilts my head so I’m looking at him. “Ballet is her entire life. Or it was before the accident.”
“What accident?” I instinctively rub the side of my knee.
“She fell down the stairs and broke her leg.” His jaw clenches. “She couldn’t tend to it right away, so it didn’t set right.”
“That’s why she teaches.” I feel for her because I know what it’s like to love something so much knowing it will soon be taken away. I’ll be lucky if my knee lasts one more season.
“Yes. Though I know she wishes things had worked out differently for her.” He lets out a quiet chuckle. “Her students adore her though. You’ll see when you meet her. Her passion for ballet is infectious. Like I said, you two have a lot in common.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting her.” I brace my hands on his chest. Being here with him feels like a stolen moment or a waking dream.
“How about you?” His gaze drops to my leg. “How did you hurt your knee? I can tell you’re always in pain.”
“I don’t remember very well.” I shrug. “Dad says I fell when I was little. I didn’t break my leg, but I dropped hard on my knee. I don’t know. It’s always hurt like this.”
“You were a child when it happened?” He moves my hand out of the way and digs his thumb under my kneecap. “And your father still made you dance?”
“He didn’t make me. I wanted to do it.” I scoff. “Whatever gave you that idea?”
“Earlier you mentioned you started dancing when you were four. I can’t imagine a child wanting to continue an activity that causes them so much pain.” He cocks his head, daring me to find a hole in his logic.
“I wanted to be a ballet dancer just like Mom.” My eyes water as a forgotten memory tugs at a thread in the back of my mind. Did I want to be a dancer like Mom? Or was that dad’s dream? I grip my left wrist. “Dancing is everything to me. Ever since I can remember, being Swan Queen was all I ever wanted to be.”
“Is it?” He cups my face. “When you first came here, I waited for you to demand I take you back to finish the other seven performances, but you never asked.”
“You would’ve let me finish?” I meet his gaze.
He isn’t disappointed that I didn’t want to dance again after I came here. Making Swan Queen was the ultimate dream. But then, it was tainted by the auction. Everything I ever wanted, everything I ever worked for, culminated in Dad selling me off to the highest bidder. It’s by sheer luck that Archer was there to save me from Dad’s friends.
“I would have.” He pushes a strand of hair away from my face. “Not right away, of course. You could barely walk after you finished the last act. You were wonderful that night, by the way.”
“Maybe I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to repeat that level of perfection the following night.” I let out a sad chuckle.
“Or maybe you were afraid to go back to the theater.” His gaze darkens and fills with hatred. And I just know he blames the whole thing on Dad.
“Can we talk about something else?” I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to keep those memories at bay. But they’re there waiting to flood my mind at the slightest provocation. “I don’t want to think about that night.”
“Tell me how you felt. Get angry. At me or them. I don’t care. Just don’t keep it all inside.”
Suddenly I’m aware of how naked we both are. My nipples are hard peaks against the cold air in the room. I make to get off him and get under the covers, but he wraps his arms around my waist and keeps me in place. I don’t want to think about Dad and how alone I felt in that moment—how I dropped to the floor at his feet, and he just left me there.
“He doesn’t deserve your love, nor your sacrifice.”
“I was so scared when Dad fetched me from my dressing room.” My voice is barely above a whisper. Talking about it makes it real. And I don’t want it to be real. “And then all those men looking at me like I was some prized pig.” I wipe my cheek. “They’re all dad’s friends. Did you know?”
He shakes his head, pursing his lips. “No, I didn’t.”
“I never knew they thought of me that way. All those times I sat on their laps when I was a little kid, they were thinking vile things about me. How is that possible?”
“And for that, I will never forgive myself. I put you through all that. You were right to hate me when I brought you here. I should’ve helped you when you asked. I wanted to protect you.” He kisses me, and there’s so much he’s not saying. “I thought that if you saw your father for what he was, you would?—”
“I would what? Stop loving him? I can’t do that, Archer.” I swallow my tears. “He’s my dad. The auction was horrible. But I don’t regret it because I was able to save him.”
“Yeah, I see that now.” He scoffs. “You would do anything for him, including marrying a stranger. They were right. I should’ve let you be when I had the chance.”
“They? Your family?” I run my finger along the edge of one of his scars, peeking below his shoulder. “Do they know why you had to marry me?”
“They do. But my family is not the problem.” He takes my hand and kisses it. “You don’t have to worry about them.”
“Then what is the problem?” I tunnel my fingers through his hair.
“Me.” He furrows his brows. “In time, you will learn that I’m not worthy of you.”
“Don’t say that.” I press my lips to him. “You’re everything to me.”
“I can’t be.” He rolls to his side and pins me under him.
His mouth finds my breast, and I’m spiraling again. The weight of his body on top of me washes away all the bad memories. What does it matter anymore how we got here, if in the end I get to have him? I get to be with him like this. Always.
“I want you.” I grip his cock, and he hisses.
“I want you too.” He swells into me, capturing my mouth.
“I still need to ask you for one thing.” I push at him to get him to stop.
“What is it?” he asks without losing the slow pace of him sliding in and out of me with languid strokes.
“Can I get my phone back?” I brace my hand on his chest.
“Why would you need a phone?” He braces his hands on either side of me, hovering over me. His breathing is ragged as he considers my request.
“So I don’t feel like your prisoner. So I can talk to people.” I meet his gaze.
“May I remind you that your last phone is still at the bottom of the pond. I can’t take that risk again.” He nuzzles my neck, rolling his hips into me. “I can’t have you setting up clandestine meetings while I’m at work.”
“You can’t keep me like this, away from the world and the people I care about.” I’m pushing my luck, but until I get this one freedom back, I won’t feel like Archer and I have a normal relationship. I’m still not sure I can call what we have a marriage. Even if he’s talking to me now, I can sense he’s still keeping secrets.
“Oh yes, I can, Little Dove. I thought I had made that point very clear.” He sucks on the cord of my neck. The sting of it tells me he’s doing it to leave his mark on me. “You’re mine.” He plows hard into me in a relentless pace. “I’m not letting you go. And you’re sure as hell not making any more plans to see your ex.”
“I didn’t go out there to see him. And you know that.” A moan escapes my lips when he pulls out.
“The answer is no.” He pins my wrists over my head, flips me onto my stomach, and continues to fuck me from behind.
I grip the sheets, fighting to contain my orgasm. It feels wrong to find pleasure while he’s telling me that in so many ways I’m still his prisoner. I can’t leave his house. And I can’t have contact with the outside world.
“Archer,” I call for him as he reaches under me to tease my clit.
“I want to see you come.” His fingers slide up and down my folds, and it’s pure bliss.
“No.” I don’t feel like following his orders.
“Now, Little Dove.” He inserts a finger in my butthole, while he tortures my aching clit with his other hand. All the while plunging into me to the hilt.
The pressure is too much to bear. He’s touching me everywhere at once. Pleasure erupts at my core and shoots like lightning to the rest of me. I come hard as he claims my mouth, while wrenching another climax from me.
“Don’t ask me to set you free. That will never happen,” he murmurs in my ear.