Chapter 3
RAIDEN
The second Marissa’s hand closed around the cab door handle and she slid inside, a knot I hadn’t realized was in my chest started to ease. Then she glanced up at me with heat in her eyes. That one look unleashed something dangerous in my blood.
I followed her in, shut the door, and gave the driver my address. Needing to touch her, I reached across the seat and laced our fingers together. I had to make sure this wasn’t something I imagined.
We didn’t speak. The air between us was heavy and thick. I brushed my thumb across her skin, and she trembled. I saw my effect on her in the way her breath caught, in the goose bumps that rose along her forearm, and how she shifted in her seat, crossing her legs even tighter.
My cock pulsed so hard against my zipper I thought I’d rip through it. I gritted my teeth against the urge to drag her into my lap and find out how far I could push her right here in the damn cab.
Instead, I gripped her hand a little more firmly, just enough to tell her I wasn’t letting go.
The silence stretched, thrumming with all the things we weren’t saying.
I watched her from the corner of my eye—the rise and fall of her chest, her thighs shifting restlessly beneath her black jeans, and the heat spreading across her neck and cheeks.
All I could think about was getting her upstairs and peeling that black sweater off her body, dragging those dark jeans down her hips, and tasting the place between her thighs that had been on my mind since the second I saw her walk into that press room.
By the time we reached my building, I was barely holding on. My blood was roaring, and my cock was a fucking problem. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to walk with the very large pole between my legs.
I tossed a tip at the driver, opened the door, and helped her out. Then I led her into the lobby, past the doorman who gave me a nod, and over to the private elevator that led to the penthouse. She didn’t say a word, but her body leaned into mine like it was second nature.
I punched the elevator button with more force than necessary, and when it opened, I pulled her inside with me.
The second the doors slid shut, my patience deserted me.
I backed her against the wall with my body, bracing my hands on either side of her head, and waited until her eyes met mine. Her breath hitched, and her chest rose against mine, her fingers curling into my jacket, like she needed to ground herself before she let go.
“You drive me fucking crazy,” I muttered. Then I crushed my mouth to hers.
Her gasp was something I’d chase for the rest of my life. I kissed her like I owned her, as though I already knew every inch of her body and couldn’t wait to map it again.
She kissed me back like she’d been starving for it. Hot, open, and needy.
Her hands slid under my jacket, her fingers curling around the hem of my shirt as though she was going to tear it off. I growled into her mouth, catching her wrists and pinning them to the wall above her head. She whimpered, her thighs pressing together.
I felt it all, every pulse of heat from her body and flicker of innocence behind her kiss. It made my chest tighten and my cock throb.
I wanted to devour her. Mark her. Brand her with every part of me.
Her body fit mine perfectly. Everything about her—curves, scent, the breathy little noises she made as I devoured her mouth—set off something primitive inside me.
The elevator dinged, but I didn’t move at first. Just kept kissing her like I’d die if I stopped. When I finally pulled away, her lips were swollen, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were glazed.
We stepped into the hallway in a daze. I walked her to my door, unlocked it, shoved it open, and pulled her inside. My living room was dark inside, save for the soft glow of the moon and the city lights bleeding in through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
She reached for me immediately. No hesitation.
Her fingers curled in my shirt again, and I kissed her as I kicked the door shut behind us.
Every kiss turned wilder and deeper. Hands tangled in hair, pulling clothes free.
Her sweater hit the floor, and my hands slid under the waistband of her jeans, palming the curve of her ass before I pushed them down as she fumbled to get my belt undone.
Then she stood there in nothing but a lacy green bra and matching panties, her hair messy from my hands, her lips kiss-bruised, and her eyes filled with need.
Slowly, I reached around her and flicked open her bra.
She let it slide down her arms and fall to the floor.
I groaned, watching her nipples tighten in the cool air.
My mouth was on them before I could stop myself, sucking one between my lips and biting gently until she moaned.
She clawed at my shirt, getting it over my head, then I lifted her by the thighs and pressed her back against the wall.
Her legs wrapped around my waist, and I nearly lost it right there. Her pussy pressed flush against my cock, and the heat from her center burned through her panties and into my jeans. All I could think about was how wet she must be. How hot and tight she’d feel when I finally pushed inside her.
I ground against her, slow and hard. Her head fell back with a gasp that sounded more like a plea.
She rutted against me without meaning to, her breath hitching every time my hands squeezed her ass or I ground her closer.
Her heels dug into my lower back, her body writhing between the wall and my chest.
“Fuck,” I growled against her throat as I carried her to the bedroom, her mouth finding my neck, her teeth dragging against my skin and fraying my control at the edges.
I lay her down gently, my eyes roaming over her flushed skin and tousled hair.
She looked like a goddess sprawled across my sheets.
She was radiant, her eyes dark with need—but something else was there too.
A flicker of uncertainty. A split second of hesitation, of vulnerability.
The second I saw the look in her eyes, I knew.
My gut clenched, and I braced my hands on the bed.
“You’re a virgin.”
It wasn’t a question.
Her breath caught, her lips parting. She blinked up at me, wary but not ashamed. Then she gave a small nod.
I exhaled a breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding.
"Thank fuck," I muttered, more to myself than her.
She blinked again. "What?"
I leaned in and kissed her forehead and temple, then settled my weight beside her and ran a hand down the curve of her side. "Now I won’t have to put my career in jeopardy by hunting down every guy who’s ever touched you."
She huffed a soft laugh. "You’re ridiculous."
I didn’t reply. Just kissed her again—this time slower, deeper.
She gasped when I palmed her breasts, my thumbs flicking over her nipples until she writhed beneath me.
"You’re so damn beautiful, Marissa," I rasped.
Her breath caught as I licked a path down her belly. She arched when I kissed just below her navel.
“Fuck me,” I growled under my breath, staring at the soaked scrap of lace barely hiding the slick heat between her legs.
Then I dropped to my knees on the floor at the end of the bed. I pressed my mouth to her through the fabric. Teasing. Tasting.
She gasped, her fists tangling in the sheets as I slid her panties aside. I dipped my head between her legs and dragged my tongue up the length of her slit, slow and filthy. She jolted and cried out. Tried to close her legs again, but I wrapped my arms under her thighs and locked her open.
“Don’t even think about it.”
She whimpered.
“Keep those legs wide, baby. Or I’ll stop.”
Her hips bucked, and I smirked before licking her again, this time circling her clit until she gasped. I sucked it between my lips and worked her with my fingers. One at first, slow and easy. Then two.
Her hands found my hair, her body rocked against my face, and the second she tightened around my fingers, I pressed a kiss to her thigh. “That’s it. Come on my mouth, pretty girl. Let me taste you.”
I licked her until she came undone. She cried out, her thighs shaking around my head, but I didn’t stop. I kept my fingers moving slowly and my tongue steady until I’d wrung another orgasm out of her, her hips rolling helplessly as she whimpered my name.
Her breath stuttered again when I hooked my fingers into the waistband of her panties and dragged them down, watching the blush crawl up her neck and chest.
Her thighs attempted to press together again until I nudged them apart with a firm grip, spreading her open so I could breathe her in.
She relaxed her legs slowly, hesitantly.
That kind of trust did something to me—made me feel violent and gentle at the same time.
Like I wanted to protect her from the whole world while also fucking her so thoroughly she never looked at another man again.
I ate her with a hunger that felt primal.
Then she came with a cry that shattered whatever control I had left.
I didn’t stop. Not until I made her do it one more time.
Her soaked pussy clenched around my fingers while her thighs trembled and her body writhed.
I was rock hard and straining by the time I got to my feet.
I undressed the rest of the way, not missing the way her eyes widened when she saw exactly what I was working with. Then I kissed my way back up her body, stretched out beside her, and brushed her hair off her damp forehead.
She looked up at me, dazed and flushed, her lips swollen from kissing and her breath coming fast.
“You okay?” I asked, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek.
She nodded, and I stroked a finger over her cheek. “You’ve got an incredible spark, baby. Your independence and sass are an incredible turn-on. But I want to make one thing clear. When we’re in bed, I’m in charge.”
She blinked at me in surprise but stayed silent.
“If you don’t do what you’re told, I’ll flip you over and spank your ass until it’s so red you’ll feel it every time you sit for the next week.”
Her eyes widened.
“If you’re good, I’ll make you come so hard you’ll forget your own name.”
Her skin flushed with that pretty pink, and her eyes darted away for a second. When they returned to mine, the heat in them was scorching. I knew she agreed, but I needed to hear it out loud.
“Can you handle that?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
I claimed her mouth, sliding one finger inside her pussy again to make sure she was still relaxed. Then another. She was tight but not tense. Ready.
Lining myself up, I braced a hand next to her head. The other hand gripped her hip as I started to push in—slowly and carefully—until I felt the barrier that marked the end of her innocence.
She was hot. And so damn tight I had to grit my teeth as I held myself still while her body adjusted, every muscle in my arms rigid with restraint. Finally, she shifted her hips slightly and gave a tiny nod. I thrust inside, popping her cherry with a deep, guttural groan.
Her hands gripped my arms, and her breath hitched, while mine stopped altogether.
“This pussy’s mine now. Say it.”
“It’s yours, Raiden.”
“Damn right.”
I started slow. Gentle. Giving her time. But I was already losing control. The way she felt, how she clung to me and whispered my name in a breathy little plea. Every part of me roared with the need to claim this beautiful woman. My woman.
I buried myself completely and felt her body stretch around me, taking every inch.
“Fucking hell,” I groaned. “You feel unreal.”
“I feel so…full,” she moaned, her hands digging into my shoulders.
“Wrap your legs around me,” I ordered, my voice ragged.
She obeyed instantly.
“Good girl.” I pulled back and drove into her with a force that rocked the bed. “That’s it. Take all of me. You were made for this dick, weren’t you?”
She gasped and nodded, whimpering as I picked up speed. Her pussy rippled around my cock, and I lost my damn mind.
I fucked her with hard, deep strokes that had her arching into me, her nails digging into my back and her legs wrapping around my waist like she never wanted to let me go.
I growled praise against her ear. Nipped at her neck.
Pinned her hands above her head and told her exactly what to do, what to give me, how good she felt.
It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t sweet. It was possession.
Her eyes drifted shut, and I growled, “Look at me.”
They fluttered open again.
“Don’t close your eyes when I’m fucking you. Let me see everything.”
She nodded, then moaned, “Yes. Oh yes.”
Her gaze stayed locked on mine.
“Good girl,” I breathed as I changed my angle so I hit her clit with every glide of my cock into her tight channel.
Marissa shuddered, and I pounded in and out like a fucking madman. “That’s it…just like that. Fuck. You’re taking me so good, baby.”
She arched up into me, crying out for more, so I fucked her even harder. “Fuck, look at you. You were made for sin. No one else gets to see you like this. Ever.”
“Oh, Raiden. Yes. Yes!”
Gripping her hips, I slammed into her with bruising thrusts until I felt her tighten again, her body coiling and shuddering beneath mine. She was close.
I didn’t realize I wasn’t wearing a condom until I was right there, on the edge and too far gone to stop. I couldn’t pull out. Didn’t fucking want to.
Being buried inside her like that—no barriers, no space, nothing between us—was the most intimate thing I’d ever felt. I wanted to come inside her. Brand her. Mark her in the most primal way possible.
I buried myself to the hilt and exploded, groaning her name as I emptied into her unprotected womb. She cried out, coming with me, clutching me so tightly I could barely breathe.
It was the best damn orgasm of my life.
Eventually, her arms went slack, but I didn’t move right away.
I stayed there, panting against her neck, my cock still buried inside her as I tried to wrap my head around what the fuck just happened.
I finally eased out of her and stood, grabbing a towel from the bathroom and coming back to gently clean her.
I pressed kisses to her thighs, her stomach, and her lips while I was at it.
She watched me with sleepy eyes, her expression soft and open.
I climbed back into bed and pulled her into my arms. She curled against my chest, tucked under my chin like she was made to be there.
She fell asleep fast, but I lay there for a long time, watching her with my hand resting low on her back, anchoring her to me as the truth settled deep in my bones.
Mine.
One night?
Not a fucking chance in hell.
Marissa was it for me.
I wasn’t letting her go.