Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
NATASHA
I didn’t know what to believe.
This Lachlan was not the same man I married the first time. Worse, he was making me feel things I had no business feeling—like maybe there was more to life than eliminating people who didn’t deserve to exist.
And yes, it was like a really stupid romance novel plot, but I could tell the difference in his kiss. Comparatively, the kisses he gave me on our wedding night were technically perfect. The one he laid on me just now was… not.
He trembled in my arms as if he was holding himself back. As if I was the only person in the world who could give him succor. I felt for a brief, brilliant moment that I held his soul in my hands.
That didn’t mean I was willing to trust him again, but I decided to see where he was going with this completely uncharacteristic behavior.
His touch reverent, he slid his hands down my ribs as he lowered himself to his knees. “Let me make love to you like I should have.”
I caught the words before they came out, but I really wanted to remind him that making love didn’t fit us. We were not—and never would be—in love. Then again, he rocked my world the first time, and I was willing to see if he could deliver on his promises.
A woman had needs, right? Who was I to stop him from scratching my itch? As long as I didn’t catch feels for him, everything would be golden. And instead of busting my ass cooking breakfast for the ungrateful jerk, I’d leave him sleeping in the wet spot and wouldn’t bother with a wave goodbye.
I nodded my agreement, but he shook his head. “I need the words from you, Natasha. Tell me you want this.”
Since when did Lachlan give a shit about consent?
“I… Yes.” The words tasted like ash, but I said them anyway. “Make love to me.”
“Your wish…” He unbuttoned my jeans, and the rasp of my zipper was loud in the quiet room. “My command.”
His hand burned like fire as he slid it down my leg and lifted my foot to remove my sneaker, and I held in a gasp when he repeated the process with my other shoe.
“Lachlan—”
“Say it again, Natasha.”
“What?”
“Tell me you want this.”
God help me, I did. My skin felt too tight for my body, and I shivered as he rose to his feet. Even knowing what he was… Knowing he was the definition of danger and duplicity…
I wanted him.
“Tell me.” He sank his hand into my curls and tugged gently, forcing my chin up. “Tell me you want more pleasure than you ever dreamed. Tell me you want me to fuck you until you scream with passion.”
It was definitely past time to peace out, but I couldn’t. I was probably about to make the biggest mistake of my life, but…
The words wouldn’t come.
“Fuck me, Lachlan.” I hauled in a breath, praying I wouldn’t end up on the evening news as yet another dead woman chewed up and spat back out as fodder for true crime podcasts. “Fuck me and leave bruises.”
“No.” He gentled his touch on my hair and kissed my forehead. “I would give you everything I have, but not that.”
“Sorry, what?”
“Bruises, sweetheart. You don’t get to ask me to give you pain.” He kissed the tip of my nose and shook his head. “You don’t get to ask me to give you another reason to hate me.”
Smiling sadly, he picked up my T-shirt and gently eased it over my head before zipping up my jeans. “Decide what you truly want, Natasha. When your head is straight, I’ll be on the couch.”
Stalling the protest I still couldn’t vocalize, he trailed his fingers across my jaw. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Without another word, he walked out, leaving me confused and fuming as he shut the door behind him. Biting back a vicious curse, I picked up my shoe and threw it against the window. The stupid thing got caught in the sheer drapes and slid to the floor with a soft plop, making me want to scream.
“What the fuck just happened?” I asked, although no one was around to answer. “Seriously, is he for real?”
I wished Dante was with me so I could unload my crazy into his understanding ear, but he was probably hanging out in Ella’s kitchen waiting for treats. Cursing myself again, I tossed my other shoe at the window, then paced the room.
Had I screwed up with Lachlan? He’d never once come after me following our divorce and had silently obeyed every one of my spiteful edicts for months. It hurt a little, knowing he thought I was looking for ammunition against him.
I wasn’t. Not really, and definitely not right fucking now while my core was still pulsing with desire. Besides, I hadn’t given him a single reason to think otherwise.
Yeah, no. I didn’t trust him—not yet, and probably not ever—but it might be time to change the game.
* * *
LACHLAN
It took less time than I’d expected for the door separating the bedroom from the rest of the suite to open. Natasha wasn’t one to leave a challenge unanswered, especially now that she’d grabbed her power with both hands.
She probably wouldn’t believe me, but I meant what I said. Perhaps we’d get to the point where we could make love with the bite of pain I knew she craved, but it wouldn’t be tonight.
This was our second chance, and I refused to squander it.
Silvery moonlight made her gleam as she glided to the center of the room and lowered herself to her knees. She looked like a goddess, gloriously nude, with defined muscles tracing lines across her body. Her piercings were gone, but I didn’t miss them.
They were our past, and we were well rid of the degrading marks of subjugation she never deserved.
“You’re awake,” she murmured.
“Yes.” I rose to my feet, then crossed the room to help her up. “And The Spider kneels for no one unless she desires it.”
“What are you doing to me, Lachlan?”
I wanted to turn on the light to see her face but decided to let her hide in the shadows. They were her home, more now than ever before.
“Nothing you don’t ask for. Nothing that would cause you pain.” I moved behind her and kissed a path up her shoulder to her tender throat. “And nothing that doesn’t bring you to the heights of joy.”
“I think I’m broken.” She lowered her head, letting her curls conceal her face. “I don’t know what to ask, or how I should feel about anything.”
My heart stuttered and missed a beat at her painful admission. Because of me and her father, she had no idea what a healthy relationship looked like, but I’d fix my mistakes if it killed me.
“You’re not broken.” I petted her silky skin until she relaxed under my touch. “Let me show you.”
Slowly, I kissed her spine, following the trail of vertebrae until I reached the swell of her beautiful ass. She shivered under my touch, but I didn’t think it was because she was chilled. She was out of her comfort zone.
“Good?” I knelt and skimmed my hands up her legs before turning her to face me. I inhaled the scent of her, thick and sweet with flowers and her unique perfume.
“Yes.”
“You’ll tell me if it’s not.” Before she could reply, I kissed the top of her mound. “May I touch you here?”
“I…” She tightened her hands into fists, then relaxed and spread her feet a scant few inches further apart. “I want more.”
“Good girl.” I circled her clit with the tip of my tongue, then eased a finger toward her opening. “How much more?”
Without warning she stiffened and pushed me away. “I need you to stop teasing me. Your days of edging me are over, so fuck me or get out.”
“Natasha—”
“You heard me.” She lifted her chin and glared at me. “Which is it going to be? And by the way, you don’t get to kiss me again.”
“All right.” I invaded her space and yanked her into my arms, concealing my satisfaction at getting a secret she hadn’t meant to share.
My young bride was terrified. Despite her attempts to hide her fear behind bravado, I saw it in her face.
Natasha held herself stiffly, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.
Her eyes darted to me, then to the door leading from our suite, and a rapid pulse pounded in her graceful neck.
She wouldn’t purposely show how much she longed for intimacy, and I was betting she hated the idea of being vulnerable to anyone, least of all me.
Without giving her a chance to protest, I carried her into the bedroom, then tossed her on the bed before freeing my throbbing erection.
“Lachlan!”
“Shh.” Instead of kissing her, I laid a finger over her lips as I settled between her spread thighs, letting her wet core scald me with its heat. “I’ve decided to give you what you asked for, unless you’ve changed your mind.”
For now, at least. My beautiful Spider would soon learn I wasn’t about to give up on her or our future together.
“I haven’t.” She met my gaze and wrapped her fingers around my shaft, lining me up with her entrance. “But if you try to kiss me, I’ll make you regret it.”
“I have no doubt of that.”
I slammed into her, relishing her pleasured cries as I fucked her hard. For a moment, I worried I’d hurt her, but she wrapped her legs around my hips and lifted herself to meet my thrusts.
“So…fucking…tight.” I wanted to punish her, make her realize what she was missing. But I couldn’t. Not without risking everything. The stakes were too high.
“Yes!”
Her nails scored my back, the sting forcing me to redouble my efforts. I wanted to take my time, but I wouldn’t last much longer. Needing to make her come before I did, I slid my hand between our bodies and pinched her clit.
She cried out wordlessly and tightened around me, her inner walls squeezing rhythmically with the force of her climax. The base of my spine tingled in warning, and with a shouted curse, I pulled out and fisted my cock. My cum sprayed her chest and abdomen, marking her with pearly liquid.
Before she could speak, I leaned down, close enough to hear her soft, gasping breaths, and put my lips to her ear. “You’ll get my cum when I get a kiss from you.”
A brilliant smile lit up her face as she cupped the back of my head and pressed her lips to mine in a scorching, but too brief kiss.
When I tried to coax her into more, she twisted her hips under me and did something with her arms that sent me flying.
I landed on the floor with a bone-jarring thump, thankfully missing the edge of the dresser with my forehead.
Unhurriedly, she rose, letting my seed drip down her torso. “I’m going to shower. Make sure you’re not in my bed when I get back.”
She sauntered into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. I chuckled then rose to my feet. Natasha didn’t know it yet, but she’d given me everything I needed.