Chapter 4
The rough, implacable demand fired another shot of excitement up her spine.
Beneath her fingers, his pulse throbbed sure, steady and fast, although not as fast as hers.
Hers had taken a wild turn the moment his voice had collided with his indescribable hotness, and it showed no signs of slowing anytime soon.
Noah King.
His name was manly. Commanding. She heard herself silently repeating it and pressed her lips together. She didn’t trust herself not to say it out loud. To test it. To taste it.
Shock jerked through her, and she swayed against him. Or perhaps she just couldn’t help it; had lost control of her body just like she’d felt her mind going when she’d set eyes on him.
She wanted to melt into him. To feel more of that incredibly hot body against hers; the unmistakable imprint of his cock heavy against her belly as they moved to the music. Another blush flared up her neck and into her face. His gaze traced it, and a small smile curved his lips.
He leaned down and placed his mouth against her ear. “Anyone tell you you’d be hopeless at poker?” he rasped.
“Poker relies on the ability to hold a bluff through the body’s reaction. I prefer games that demand more mental aptitude.”
He tensed. “Are you saying you prefer mind games?”
“Not those that deliberately inflict discomfort or pain. I prefer healthy mind games.”
Sharp eyes bore into hers, speculation narrowing them. Hell, she should’ve kept her mouth shut. Now she sounded like some mind control freak.
“You haven’t answered my earlier question—what else do I need to know?”
“Oh, right.” She scrambled for ways to explain without scaring him away or opening the floodgates for more questions. “I have a small thing about being touched.”
Blue eyes that defied coherent description pried her words apart. After several seconds, he said, “I don’t think it’s as small as you make it out to be.”
She hesitated, afraid of driving him away. “All I needed was to be the one to touch you. That’s all. I won’t need to orientate myself again.”
“You mean now you’ve touched me I can touch you back anytime I want?” There was a mixture of puzzlement and pleasure in his voice. The former made anxiety flare deep within her. The latter sent her pulse soaring even higher.
“Something like that.”
His answer was to squeeze her tighter. “That’s good to know, Leia Michaels.”
She looked up, and he stared down at her. Assessing.
They gave up any pretense of dancing and just swayed to the music. His hand drifted down her back to the waistband of her pants.
The knowledge that his hand was a few scant inches from her ass slowly coiled tension in her stomach.
Whatever she’d imagined when she’d signed herself on this trip had been blown to smithereens in a few short minutes. Clawing hunger sank deeper hooks, sending sparks to her clenching sex.
There was a time when Leia had thought she would never feel this way. Never get over her turbulent past to even contemplate the idea of sex again. So much so that she’d been surprised when the hunger had started a few months after she’d turned twenty-one.
At first, she’d tried to ignore it. When she hadn’t succeeded, she’d bought a few self-pleasuring gadgets.
Dr. Hatfield, her therapist, had encouraged her to use them on a regular basis. But even they hadn’t kept the need at bay. Now she feared she was a hot, sexually frustrated time bomb.
She’d reached the point where she couldn’t close her eyes without dreaming about hot hands on her body. Or a hard cock pounding into her.
Except reality was different. She couldn’t just go out and hunt down the first willing male she came across. A part of her was horrified that this would have to be the solution to her banishing her demons.
Aside from her very real triggers that could flare up at any time, she was Leia Michaels, heiress to a fortune most people dreamed about…
Warm lips brushed the side of her neck, forcing reality and sensation through her body. She gasped and shuddered hard.
“Easy, baby. Your finger has been caressing my neck for the last few minutes. I had to take something before I lost my mind.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“Fuck, don’t apologize. In the interest of getting to know one another, I like your fingers on my neck. Your mouth would be even better. But I can wait.”
They hit a pocket of turbulence and the plane dropped. Her nails dug into his neck and his eyes darkened dramatically. His lips parted and she caught a glimpse of his wet tongue.
Her nipples puckered into hard, painful nubs, imagining that wetness flicking against her sensitive peaks. Blood roared through her ears as she pictured herself kissing him.
“Do you want to kiss me, Leia?”
The question was forceful, demanding an immediate answer.
She nodded before she could stop herself. “Yes.”
“Then do it.”
She gasped and looked around. “Right… here?”
“I don’t think you want to go anywhere private with me just yet, sweetheart. I won’t stop at just kissing you. I’m into a lot of things, but I’m not into voyeurism. So yes, right here. Where you’re safe from me tearing your clothes and fucking you until you pass out in front of everyone.”
Inappropriate images reeled through her mind, strong enough to make her knees sag. She didn’t think it was their surroundings that had the man giving in to his dirty side. She had a feeling Noah King spoke with that raw sexuality and intent wherever he was.
She thought about whom else he might have said those words to, and a sharp feeling joined the alien emotions swirling through her. No, she didn’t like that feeling. Not one little bit…
Sure fingers speared into her hair and tugged firmly, redirecting her focus back to him. He wasn’t giving her the option to back out. She realized that. Not that she wanted to. She licked her lower lip and he puffed out a breath.
“You can take it as slow as you want. But you need to get on with it. You don’t want me to take over, baby.”
“Why not?” she asked breathlessly.
“Because I’m a greedy, controlling bastard and I won’t be gentle.” There was a trace of apology in the response, but not enough to reassure her that he didn’t mean every word.
The pulse between her legs hammered like a frenzied drumbeat. Again, Leia wondered why she wasn’t running, why her insides continued to fizz with excitement when a guy like him was the last person she needed to be around.
Her stomach hollowed out with another sudden drop followed closely by another. His grip tightened around her, restricting her breathing.
His mouth dropped another fraction, and she could almost feel the firm, warm texture of it on her own.
“Kiss me. Now.” He breathed the words over her mouth.
Fresh tingles shot up her spine. She sucked in a breath, started to rise up on her toes.
Ladies and gentlemen, we’re going through an area of turbulence. We expect this to last between five to ten minutes. If you’re already seated we request you to remain seated with your belt fastened. Otherwise please ask your valet to escort you to the nearest safe area. Thank you.
One corner of Noah’s mouth tilted up. “This would be the perfect time to take this somewhere more private. But I don’t think I’ll make it back to my suite without kissing you.”
She tensed. “You assume I want to return to your suite with you.”
His laugh was tight and rough. “Sweetheart, you’re going to end up there sooner or later. For now, we need a location for you to kiss me without us getting thrown up against the ceiling.” He stepped back and linked his fingers with hers.
She missed his body immediately, but she was glad for the momentary reprieve. Although the way his fingers curled around hers and pulled her behind him told her he didn’t intend for them to remain parted for very long.
“Shouldn’t we find a seat?” she asked.
He looked around and back at her. “All the seats are taken in here. Come with me.”
He left the dance floor and headed for the door. The plane dipped again, making her stumble. His fingers tightened around hers.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Bjorn straighten from where he’d been leaning against the bar, watching them.
Noah must have clocked him too. His eyes narrowed a fraction as they zeroed in on him before his gaze swung to her. “You won’t be needing him anymore,” he said.
“Oh, really? Have you dismissed your hostess too?”
He tugged her in front of him as he reached the hallway and kept his hand on her waist. “Not yet, but she was never going to be an issue.”
She looked over her shoulder and smiled at Bjorn, who lingered in the doorway. “I like my valet. He’s sweet.” She waved goodbye, and he nodded and went back inside.
Noah’s nostrils flared. “Yeah, right.”
They hit a large pocket of turbulence, and the plane went into free-fall.
She lost her footing and Noah caught her, bracing her against his body with one hand splayed over her stomach.
Against her ass, the impressive outline of his cock pressed into her.
He flexed his hips. The move was so possessive and hot, desire flared wildly.
He held her like that for several seconds, the blaze of lust firing up between them.
Leia scrambled for something to say. Something besides begging him to push his hips deeper into her ass so she would feel even more of his thick cock. “You don’t think he’s sweet?”
“Baby, as long as he stays far away from you, I don’t give a fuck whether your valet is the sweetest guy in the whole fucking world.”
Her breath fractured. “You have a dirty mouth, Mr. King.”
“I can do even dirtier things with it, but only if you beg repeatedly, preferably from a kneeling position.” His mouth brushed the side of her neck again, and another shiver coursed through her. “Come on, I need to get you secure and safe.”
His large hand returned to her waist and urged her down the hallway in the opposite direction of where she’d come earlier with Bjorn.
After a few feet, the hallway widened into six separate alcoves, three on either side, each holding a thick fold-up leather seat.
He pulled down the nearest one and pushed her into it.
It was only after she sat that Leia noticed the couple in the seat farthest from them.
Her mouth dropped open at the blatant spectacle.
The man was seated with his trousers around his ankles and the woman, with her dress bunched up around her waist, was on her knees in front of him.
One of his hands was buried in her hair and the other fondled her naked breast as she sucked on his engorged cock.
The plane jerked through another series of turbulent air pockets.
They both groaned as if the tinge of danger added to their pleasure.
“Leia.”
Noah was on his knees in front of her. Even at his diminished height, he still towered over her. She looked up, and her breath caught at his intense expression. “Yes?”
“Eyes on me, baby.” There was a ruthless command in his voice that demanded her attention.
The man gave another loud moan, and Leia swallowed.
Noah caught her chin in his hand. “I’m going to secure the belt around your waist. Tell me if it’s too tight.”
She looked down in surprise and noticed two wide belts hanging from either side of the chair. It wasn’t the standard-issue airplane seatbelt. It was made of leather and three times wider but with a release catch in the middle of the buckle-like fastening.
He slipped the ends through their holes and pulled. The belt gripped her in place from below her breasts to the top of her pants. The corset-like effect pushed her breasts out, and her aroused nipples pressed boldly against the material of her top.
With quick movements, he secured the second and third buckles, then looked into her face. “Okay?”
“Yes,” she responded, struck all over again by the intensity in his stunning blue eyes and the rugged beauty of his face. “Aren’t you going to take a seat?” she asked to cover the fact that she was fighting the need to reach out and touch him again, make sure he was real.
The plane jerked sideways, and she gasped. He smiled, shook his head and ran his hand down her waist to her hips. “No, baby, I’m staying right here until I collect what you owe me.”
“The kiss?”
His hand drifted down her thighs, leaving a trail of fire on her skin. He stared at the movement as if the friction he was creating mesmerized him. He reached her knees and raised his head. “Yes. The kiss. Are you ready?”
Breathless, she nodded. “Yes.”
“Good.” He hooked his hands behind her knees and gripped her tight. “Open for me, Leia.”