Charleston Past Midnight (10 page)

Noooo, no, no, don’t turn around!
My hands are sweaty and my eyes are squeezed shut. Ever so slowly, I turn and peek over my shoulder to see the same black box. He’s gonna get me! Tears roll down my cheeks and my entire body shakes as I pound my fists desperately against the white wood door screaming, “Let me out! Please, let me out!”

Through my own choked sobs I barely hear the racing footsteps coming down the hall.
Oh thank God, they’ve heard me!

Suddenly, I hear them laughing hard as someone whispers through the crack in between the two doors,
“No, Calla, you can’t come out because that would ruin all our fun.”

* * *

I bolt upright, screaming at the top of my lungs, desperate for Brant or anyone to hear me, to come and help me. Big hands jostle me back and forth, dragging me from the dark recollection. I open my eyes and stare into Severin’s stunned face.

“Calla! My God … what was that? You were absolutely terrified. Was it about those men from the night we met?”

I slowly take in my surroundings, his room.
Safety.

Rational thought filters back in and I say in a shaky voice, “No, it wasn’t. I just dreamed about the first time I had one of my visions. It was a really long time ago.”

He cups his palm against the back of my head and pulls me into his strong chest. I drag in air and somehow manage to slow my ragged breathing when I feel a gentle kiss against the top of my hairline. His distinctive scent washes through me, instantly providing a soothing feeling. 

His lips pass back and forth against the top of my head and he whispers, “I have you now. You’re under
my
protection. That dream, that nightmare won’t ever hurt you,
ma belle fleur
.” He wraps his hands around my upper arms before pulling me back slightly to say, “I’d like you to tell me about it. I want to understand what you’re so afraid of, Calla.”

Never. Those memories are too raw and frightening.

“Please, Severin. I really can’t right now. Just hold me. You feel so perfect.”

“Mmm. All right, Calla.”

I’m pulled back into his embrace as my hands slide up the planes of his back, marveling at the definition of his musculature, the sheer size of him. His smooth skin feels so exhilarating against my bare chest, and I can’t resist placing light kisses along his rounded collarbone. He stills for a moment as I begin to flick my tongue across him in light, teasing licks. I glance up to see his eyes are closed, and those long black lashes fan out across his face. I smile as his breathing hitches then changes to longer, sexy drags. He tastes like raw, irresistible male and I’m completely craving where this could be headed.

The tips of his fingers push my chin up so that I can meet his eyes. “Calla, is this what you want?”

I watch him carefully for a thick moment before giving him my answer, “Absolutely. It’s
exactly
what I need right now.”

That unwavering gaze commands my rapt attention as he says in a husky tone, “Then it’s important that you know something.”

I try to read his heated expression as I ask warily, “All right, what is it?”

“I need control … in all things. That’s the only way it works for me.”

Control? If it means anything along the lines of the sublime wall-banging fuck he gave me in the bathroom, then I’m totally on board with those plans.

I whisper, “I know you like things to always be your way, Severin.”

“Especially with sex, Calla.”

Damn.
With that one sentence I just became drenched for him.

In foreign territory I struggle to say in a hushed breath, “Take me. I want you to take me hard, just like before.”

He shakes his head back and forth. “Never demand. Ask me. Ask me politely, sweet Calla.”

Oh, fuck
.

“Please, Severin, I want it again so badly. Please take me however you need ….” Heat floods my cheeks and I can’t resist looking off to my right. His stare is just too … extreme.

A low groan emerges from his throat before he instructs me, “Lie on your back and spread your legs as wide as you can.”

My eyes widen at his dominant statement that is both unexpected and undeniably smoking hot. I quickly comply and lift my head to watch him cross the wood floor toward a tall black dresser. The planes of his olive-hued body are astounding. His taut ass is firm with a slight hollow on each side. He’s nearly hairless, with the exception of the area around his sex and the black trail leading down from his belly button. He slides open the second drawer and rummages around. I hear the metal clink before I see it. Handcuffs. Shiny steel handcuffs.
Oh, shit … yes!

With a wicked gleam in those enthralling eyes, he crosses toward me, murmuring seductively, “Tell me, have you ever been bound, cuffed for a lover’s pleasure,
ma belle fleur
?”

Panting in wet little gasps I struggle to respond in anything other than a groan, “N-no, I haven’t.”

The corners of those full lips turn up. “Well, you’re about to be, and I do
so
enjoy being your first, my little beauty.”

Please let this be real …. Don’t let this only be a fantasy.

“Present your wrists to me.”

I raise them high, my trust in him at this point implicit. He would never hurt me intentionally. He is a protector to his very core. I can feel the connection that’s running between us like an indestructible tether.

I am busy drinking in his stunning body. For someone of his imposing height his proportions are perfect. Broad, well-honed shoulders, a tight row of delicious abs that ripple and flex as he kneels beside me on the plush bed.

The corners of his lips turn up ever so slightly. “I can see that the idea of being restrained excites you.”

Oh, you have no concept ….

He encloses first my left wrist then my right in the cool steel cuffs. I revel in the sinfulness of the act and await his next move.
Who knew the feeling of restrained helplessness could be such a huge turn on?

“Oh!” I cry out as his strong fist closes around the metal links right before he yanks me swiftly to my knees. Those steely eyes gleam down at me while his right hand dips to play between my legs. The pad of his index finger lazily swipes back and forth between my slick folds. Each time, lingering just a bit longer on my pulsing clit.

“Mmm … I see that you enjoy a touch of dominance during play, and know this, Calla, if you comply I’ll make you feel things you’ve never fathomed.”

“M-more … do it.” The pleading is unavoidable as his finger loops back and forth through my dripping sex. My knees spread wider, eager for more contact.

His fingers stop and press firmly against my pussy, not harshly, but not producing the same height of bliss. His left fist is still gripping the chain tightly.

He yanks me forward and bends slowly to whisper against my ear. “I’m surprised that I have to repeat myself, Calla. You will make no demands. I give or deny you pleasure based on your behavior and my wishes. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?”

Oh, God ….
My heart is going to explode out of my chest from the flood of need that he’s forced to erupt simultaneously within my body and brain.

I look up into his face. No hint of emotion. Cool, composed control.

He’s waiting with infinite patience for me to acknowledge him.

Can I do this? Can I give up my beloved power in exchange for something darker, something unforgettable? Part of my overloaded brain whispers a warning that I’m playing a dangerous game, one that I’m incapable of winning. I shove it aside. The decision is made.

“Yes, you do, Severin. I’ll try harder to behave.”

He pulls his palm away from my pussy and threads his fingers through the back of my hair before tightening his hold. The quick, possessive movement makes me gasp. It just teeters on the edge of light pain. I watch his lips descend on my mouth.

His full bottom lip brushes against mine once before he says ever so softly, “I can hear your heart pounding, Calla, and I know how excited you are. You’re practically trembling from it, but you will only be rewarded if and when you learn to place your trust fully in me. The
next
time you balk at my requests or attempt to dictate to me your needs, there will be consequences that will be unpleasant for you. Now, shall we continue? Are you certain that you are ready to behave?”

How can he read me so clearly?

“Yes, yes, Severin.”

“Say it.”

Embarrassed beyond words I manage to eke out, “I’m ready to behave and listen to you.”
To earn his delicious rewards? Anything ….

“Very nice.”

His lips silence me as they press skillfully into mine. He shifts, releases his hold on my hair and caresses my cheek with his long fingers just as the kiss swiftly turns more forceful.

Before I can wrap my thoughts around what’s happening, I’m lowered back down amid the silky sheets. His lips leave mine and a whine of protest nearly escapes before I catch myself. He follows me down and his eyes shimmer with unchecked lust as he reaches for the chain, pulling it up and over my head.

“These stay put, above your head, and pressed into the mattress. No exceptions.”

I nod twice and watch him move lower, shifting on his knees until he stops to stare down at my spread sex.

“I wish you had some concept of how desperate I am to taste you, Calla. How much I crave your lush sweetness in my mouth. I’ve wanted it since I had you pinned beneath me in the forest that first night when I scented you. I can’t wait any longer. Know this … I won’t hold back, I can’t be gentle, but I promise that you’ll love every minute of it.”

Please, please, yes!

He wastes no time lowering his broad shoulders down between the cradle of my thighs. I hear him groan low and deep just before the first searing pass of his tongue sweeps up from my opening to tease my clit.

I begin to shake. The sensation is
that
consuming and potent. He makes another slow swipe and I let out a desperate, instinctive cry. It’s going to take a monumental effort on my part not to plead for release. I crank my neck back and drag in air, trying hard to find a sliver of control. I’m not even sure if cumming without his permission is against his ‘rules’ but I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s definitely a ‘no-no.’

“Severin!”

I groan wildly as his lips close around my clit at the same time two thick fingers pump into me, forcing me to accept them. The feeling is beyond exquisite and if he doesn’t stop soon my primal need will take over. Lifting my head, I stare down at his glossy black hair that is teasing against my pussy and thighs. I’ve never seen anything sexier in my entire life. My body jerks from his hungry mouth that is relentless. I’m about to lose it when he pulls back and flips me over. Before I know what’s happened, my hips are gripped roughly, and I feel the forceful thrust of his hips as his cock plunges in deep, impaling me with its heat.

“Oh! Oh, Severin!” I scream out at his savage entry. The fullness is all-consuming as I breathe desperately, struggling to adjust to him.

He’s making low animalistic sounds as he ruthlessly bucks into me. My sweaty, outstretched palms strain against the cuffs and I grasp the sheets like a lifeline as he fucks me with vicious control. Suddenly he sweeps my hair to the side and the idea that he might bite me flicks thorough my mind; instead his large hand clamps down on my neck, shoving me against the mattress as he moves himself up for an impossibly deeper angle.

My choppy cries are bouncing off the walls as his hips slap against my ass with each vigorous, pounding thrust.

Suddenly his booming voice cuts through my cries, “Come for me! Give it to me … now, Calla!”

He picks up the already fierce tempo and his sinful command causes me to shatter like an explosive beneath his weight. My mind is overridden by pleasure so intense, so devastating that I struggle to hold onto it, never wanting to be without it as wave after luscious wave rolls over me, each clenching spasm swiftly replacing the one before it.

“That’s right, take it!”

His movements become harsher. I struggle to stay in place because each forceful swing of his hips is moving me across the slick sheets. Suddenly they halt altogether. His grip tightens on my neck, and he plunges back in once again, this time impossibly deep, shouting so loudly that my arm hairs stand on end from the near edge of brutality in his deep voice. He is pressing down into my back as I feel him release inside of me.

We’re both gasping for air after the hedonistic session when he drops a warm kiss down onto my right shoulder and asks in a concerned voice, “Was I too rough?”

I blink several times and try to realign my thoughts, which are still happily drifting in a sublime state of euphoria. Suddenly his weight is gone and I’m turned over onto my back. He straddles my waist and brushes my hair away from my flushed face.

Staring up at him and noticing the way his hair hangs forward to perfectly frame that heartbreakingly beautiful face, I smile and say softly, “I’m fine, Severin.”

His brows still drawn together with concern, he asks, “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Why? What’s wrong?”

He moves off me into a seated position with his back against the quilted leather footboard. I struggle to right myself with the cuffs still locked onto my wrists. Suddenly he pulls me across the bed to straddle his lap. He runs his elegant fingers through my hair, down my bare shoulders to finally rest against my forearms.

He says in a solemn voice, “Calla, when I’m with you, sometimes I nearly lose control, and I’m frightened that I could really harm you. You need to tell me immediately if anything I do causes pain and I’ll stop. I’m exponentially stronger than a human male and because of that I have to make a conscious effort to keep my power in check.”

I grin like a vixen and lean in to tease the seam of his full lips before saying, “But I
love
it when you give me all that sexy power of yours.”