Gloria's Man (2 page)

She looked at him then. There were no tears, but her eyes shone brightly, a testament to how close they were. "I know you don't know me very well, Raulf," she said, her voice perfectly calm, "but is there something wrong with me? Am I not an attractive woman? Does my attitude suck or something?"

Raulf groaned inwardly, his eyes crossing. Not only was Gloria the sweetest, kindest, most gentle woman he'd ever encountered, but she was the epitome of a sex goddess. At least, she was to him. But how did a man say that to a woman he barely knew? He had no doubt he could convince her, but he wasn't sure now was the best time. She must've had too much to drink, otherwise she wouldn't be talking like this. She was a strong, proud woman. He might've spent limited time actually in her company, but he'd studied the woman for months.

"I think you know the answer to that, but if it makes you feel better, I can honestly tell you I've never wanted a woman more in my life. You are beautiful beyond compare, Gloria, and you’re a very giving person. Any man who is a man would be proud to call you his."

Payback

His words wrapped themselves around Gloria's heart and squeezed. She knew she wasn't in any state of mind to take on Raulf Lundgrin, but when he'd pressed his impressive erection against her backside so blatantly, she'd hoped he'd take her to a place where she could forget all about betrayal. She wanted passion. She wanted pleasure. She wanted to close her eyes and be transported away from pain and heartache. Unfortunately, she was a practical woman. She knew this could only lead to more heartache and a decidedly uncomfortable situation with Tasha. She'd be no better than Emma, Max, and Donovan. Hell, that she'd gone this far with Raulf made her guilty as sin.

"I'm really sorry, but I can't do this." She would've turned away, but Raulf gripped her chin, holding her gaze fast.

"You aren't leaving me, Gloria. Not now."
Not ever!
The unsaid words shimmered between them, making her shiver. Gloria had never been so close to tears in a man's presence. She absolutely would
not
cry. Unfortunately, her emotions were way too raw to hold in check for long. If she didn't get away from him soon, she would make a fool of herself and never be able to look this man in the eye again.

"But Tasha—"

"Gave you that invitation to the club so I could be with you. She and I have a business relationship that is to our mutual benefit. I assure you, no matter what we let the media and our associates believe, there is no sex involved."

Stunned, Gloria had no idea how to respond to that. She was thankful she hadn't really betrayed her friend, but it still stung that she had been willing to do just that in order to satisfy her own needs.

"Your emotions are so transparent, Gloria." Raulf smiled, stroking her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. "You would never have betrayed your friend any more than I would have. Let's go inside and we'll sort everything out tomorrow."

Gloria blinked, confused. She didn't have time for his words to really sink in because he was out of the Hummer and opening her door before she could really process what he'd said.

He took her hand and threaded his fingers through hers, taking her inside his home. She was immediately distracted by the beauty around her. Shiny marble floors made her every step echo. The dim lighting around the great entrance enhanced rather than dimmed the surroundings. Heavy tapestries hung from the walls in lovely mosaics portraying everything from Catherine the Great to snow-covered mountains in an old Slavic style. There were religious works as well as political ones representing a wide variety of topic and points of view. Obviously, Raulf was a man of varying tastes.

"Artwork my family has collected over the centuries," he said matter-of-factly, as if one tapestry alone wasn't worth enough to buy a small town. "My family's legacy, if you will. My family hands them down from generation to generation, most of them surviving even the Russian Civil War.”

"It's like walking into a museum." Gloria had never seen anything like it. She was so out of her league! "I think maybe I should leave," she said, suddenly very nervous.

Raulf growled and simply scooped her up in his arms. She squealed, but he ignored her, climbing the long winding staircase as if she weighed no more than a child.

"Raulf—"

"No," he said, not looking at her, but focused intently on the top of the stairs. "You will not leave. Not tonight. Tomorrow, if you still want to go home, I'll take you."

"I really don't think that's the best option." Lord! Why had she drunk so much? She wasn't drunk by any means, but she was a little too buzzed to make rational decisions. Like now. She had her arms wrapped around his neck, and he smelled so good...

Before she realized what she was doing, she had buried her face in his neck and inhaled deeply. After that, his earlobe beckoned her and she took it between her teeth, tugging gently before sucking it gently with her lips.

She had no idea how they made it to his bedroom, but the next thing she knew, he was laying her down, covering her with his big body. He pressed himself between her legs so that his cock brushed her thinly covered pussy. Mouth fused to his, she clutched at him, tugging his shirt up so she could get to the bare skin of his back. She needed him naked!

Raulf pressed against her aggressively, catching her hands and pinning them above her head. His other hand found the hem of her blouse and slid his way upward to her bare breast, cupping it in his large palm. Gloria arched into him, crying out softly when he broke their kiss. Kissing his way down her neck to the swell of the breast he so lovingly squeezed, Raulf blazed a trail of fire along her skin. She creamed for him, throbbed and ached for him. God! Sex had never been like this! Was it the alcohol? She didn't know. All Gloria knew was that she needed more. More of Raulf. More of everything.

He buried his face in the soft skin of her belly, nuzzling her there, licking the slight indenture of her belly button. Gloria held her breath, knowing he'd lift her skirt and feast on her. He undid the zipper at her hip, slid the leather down her legs. For a moment, he sat back on his heels and simply looked at her. There was such hunger in his gaze Gloria thought she might just go up in flames from that smoldering look.

"God, I want those long legs wrapped around my waist. I want you clad only in those fuck-me boots while I take you." His voice was husky and thick with his own need. Gloria was woman enough to recognize the primitive call of man to woman. Whatever else happened, in this moment, Raulf Lundgrin wanted her every bit as much as she wanted him.

With painstaking slowness, Raulf undid her boots to slip them from her feet, which puzzled her. Hadn't he just said he wanted her wearing them when they fucked? No. That wasn't the right word. Somehow, Gloria knew when he took her, it would be much more than a simple fuck. She knew, deep in her soul where it counted, this man would consume her. He might live like a playboy, but she got the distinct impression he wasn't one. Why else would he keep up an elaborate rouse with Tasha? Normally, she'd have simply dismissed that little statement as a horny man trying to get into her panties, but it actually made sense. Tasha was secretive about her relationship with Raulf, and some of her comments on how things weren't always what they seemed clicked into place.

After her boots hit the floor beside the bed, her panties and top followed. Next went his clothing. Gloria was helpless to do anything other than watch him strip for her. The heavy muscles roped with veins played underneath his skin as he moved. She reached out to touch him and he leaned into her. Her hands finding his chest, she traced the lines of muscle and sinew over his torso, shoulders, and arms. Raulf had to stand to remove his slacks and underwear, but soon those too were in a pile on the floor.

He made no move to cover his impressive erection as he crawled into bed beside her. Instead of reaching for her immediately and repeating his drugging kisses, he simply covered them both with the comforter. He pulled her close and kissed her once, though tenderly this time. The heat was still there, but it was tempered.

"Just so there is no mistake, Gloria," he murmured next to her ear. "I'm not making love to you tonight. You're not drunk, but you are tipsy, and I'm not taking advantage." Gloria groaned and would have protested, but his lips found hers once again, and this time, his tongue darted into her moist recess. He kissed her until she melted against him before he continued. "But tomorrow, sweetheart..." He trailed kisses over her cheek, chin, and finally down her neck to her breast, where he latched onto one ripe nipple for the barest of moments. "Tomorrow, I'm taking what's mine. And make no mistake, from this moment on, you
are
mine."

Gloria shivered and wondered how she'd ever make it through the night without jumping him. Maybe if she caught him asleep, she could coax him into sex. Unfortunately, Gloria didn't make it that long. Raulf pulled her securely against the hard frame of his body and stroked her back until her eyelids drooped. He kissed the top of her head, her forehead, her eyelids, until her body was heavy, if still very needy, and she simply sighed, giving in to sleep.

***

Mind-shattering pleasure swept through Gloria in the haze between sleep and wakefulness. Before she could contain her reaction, she screamed Raulf's name as an orgasm crashed over her in one heavy wave after another. Panic seized her as she fought to remember where she was. This wasn't her bed and those certainly weren't her fingers playing so deftly with her cunt and clit. She knew because she had one fist pressed hard against her mouth while the other was fisted in the blond head between her thighs.

It all came back to her in a rush. Raulf Lundgrin lay sprawled on his belly, his hands pressing her legs apart as he sucked and nipped her tender flesh. His clever tongue flicked her clit with sure strokes only to lave a path with the flat of his tongue from her opening to her clit.

As if sensing she was fully awake, he lifted his heated, sky-blue gaze to hers and repeated the motion, taking his time, drawing the motion out until Gloria thought she'd die. Raulf pushed her legs higher until her parted thighs were on either side of her body. Instinctively, she gripped them behind the knee and held them to her. That was when she realized he'd put her boots on her.

With the thought came another wave of pleasure so that her body seemed to fragment, splintering around Raulf so that the only part of her grounded was her cunt, and it was in his complete possession.

"Oh, God! Raulf!" Her cries seemed to spur him on, his grunts filling the room in harmony to hers. Sweat and sex filled the air along with a deep, woodsy scent that seemed to cling to the sheets and comforter, the scent wholly Raulf. If she lived to be a hundred, Gloria knew she'd never get the scent from her nose. It imbedded itself in her lungs and was there with every breath she took.

Raulf inserted two fingers into her cunt, still flicking her clit with his tongue, never taking his sharp blue gaze from her. She seemed powerless to look away from him when all she wanted to do was close her eyes and feel. But Raulf would have none of it.

"Keep your eyes on me, Gloria." His command was husky, a seductive enticement. "You will look at me and know who gives you pleasure."

As if he'd willed her to orgasm, Gloria came with almost savage intensity. Bliss swept through her, threatened to burn her alive with the spiraling heat that curled from her clit and spread through her entire body.

Before she could completely recover from the shock of such an intense orgasm, Raulf was looming over her, his weight braced on one arm, his cock in the other hand as he fitted the condom over its length. Then he surged into her in one smooth stroke. Again, Gloria screamed, her inner muscles clamping down on him. She shoved her pelvis at him, meeting him thrust for thrust, hooking her heels over the backs of his thighs to use as leverage. Gloria wasn't a passive lover. The sound of flesh slapping against flesh was loud, as was their groans and shouts.

"That's it, Gloria. Take what you need. Fuck me like you need it." Raulf's voice was a savage growl. He was an Alpha male claiming his mate and demanding she claim him right back. His hand fisted in her hair as he turned her face toward him and took her mouth.

Over and over he surged into her. When he dipped his head to latch onto one breast, Gloria caught sight of their merging bodies in the full-length wall mirror. His hips flexed and bunched with every stroke, taking her with force and dominance. The muscles along his back rippled and the contrast of the white sheets, her dark skin, and his pale skin made an intoxicating sight. His biceps bulged with the effort he exerted, and Gloria couldn't help wrapping her hands around those steely hard arms just to feel those delicious muscles.