Secret Curves (Dangerous Curves Book 5) (15 page)

“Look at this,” he said to her. “Look at this shape… nothing more stunning than a woman with curves, baby.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He traced the line of her body up to her shoulder, then slid back down to her thigh. “A woman ain’t about hard lines, not for me. She’s all about soft curves, and you?
You’ve
got ‘em, sweetness.”

She nodded, watching closely as his hand moved back up her body. He stopped halfway, then slowly traced the shape of her right breast. Tessa gasped, pushed back against him. He grinned now, loving her honest desire, and circled her hardening nipple.

“Curtis…”

“Look at yourself.” His voice was husky. “Look at how your body responds to me, baby. How can you
not
think that’s fucking beautiful?”

“Oh, God.” She arched her back, pushing herself in to his touch. “It feels so good…”

“I know,” he said. “And it’s going to feel even better.”

Both hands were on her breasts now, cupping them, lifting their weight. Rough fingers teased her nipples, tweaking the sensitive peaks gently. Tessa gave a small moan, and dropped her head back on to his broad chest. Good Christ, what this man did to her – it should be illegal.

“Your skin’s getting flushed,” he whispered in to her ear. “You’re going all pink, and I
love
it when that happens. It means you’re heating up for me, sweetness… and from what I’ve seen these past few days, you get burning hot all over.”

She whimpered.

His right hand moved down her body again, skimming her stomach, moving farther down. He reached her pussy, paused.

“Are you hot down here, baby?” he said. “You getting all hot and wet for me?”

“Yes,” she managed to get out.

“Hmmmm.” Curtis’ throaty murmur made her slick up even more. “I think I need to check.”

One thick finger slid in to her golden curls, found her clit. He circled it, traced its shape, and Tessa gave a small cry. He stroked her lower lips, up and down, really took his time. Tessa felt her arousal coat his fingers, making them glide more easily over her pulsing, aching sex.

“Look at yourself,” he said again. “Look at how you just open up to me, baby. You don’t know how much I love seeing you like this… so honest and giving.”

She shut her eyes, trying to remember to breathe.

“Don’t do that,” he growled. “You watch me touch you. Watch yourself enjoying it.”

Her eyes opened, and Curtis smiled at the glowing desire he saw in their depths. She was moving on his hand now, helping him to find the places where she craved his touch. Her face was bright with pleasure, and his heart squeezed in his chest at her need. She needed something that only he could give her.

His fingers pushed inside her, slid out, worked their way in again. He started slowly, savoring every moan and gasp and shudder, but as always with Tessa, things got out of control fast. His pace quickened, he pushed deeper and harder, reaching in to her sweet heat, watching her watch him in the mirror. Her shyness and reserve was gone now, and her gaze as fixed on his fingers as they fucked her.

Tessa gave a long, low moan as his fingers moved in and out of her aching pussy; when his thumb pressed down on her swollen nub with every push in, she gave a scream.

“Fuck, yes,” Curtis rasped, knowing that she was coming undone. “Let go, Tessa. Let it all go.”

She raised her eyes to his now, wanting to see him in this moment. The blaze of lust in those blue eyes heightened Tessa’s arousal to fever pitch, and she felt her muscles clench around his fingers. She was coming for him, coming so damn hard. Her legs shook under her, her body jerked uncontrollably, but his arm was securely around her. She knew he wouldn’t let her fall; she knew she was safe to let go. So she did.

Her orgasm ripped through her, so intense it was bordering on painful. Curtis held her in place, not letting up at all with his fingers, making sure that she experienced every single second of her release. He moved his mouth to her ear, his whisper a harsh command.

“
Look at yourself
.”

And finally, Tessa did. She met her own eyes in the mirror, saw the wild light burning deep in them, moved her bright gaze down her curves. She watched her body writhe, twist, arch; every inch of her body was consumed with pleasure, and she
saw
it. She saw what Curtis saw, at long last.

The sight of her wild, beautiful abandon ramped her gently fading, rippling climax back to a roaring wave, and to her utter shock, she was suddenly coming again. Tessa threw her head back this time, her cheek turned in to his hard muscle, her hands gripping his strong forearms, her eyes fluttered shut. She flexed on his plunging, stroking fingers, over and over, her cries loud and almost desperate. Then she slumped, every bone in her body turned to jelly.

“Oh, baby.” Curtis was stunned. “That was fucking incredible.”

Her answer was a breathless laugh that ended on a sob. Her head flopped forward, and her legs gave out.

Curtis turned her in his arms, lifted her. She was limp in his grasp, her head lolling against his chest. For a few seconds, he actually wondered if she’d passed out.

“Tessa?” he asked as he carried her to the bedroom. “You good?”

“Ohhhhh,” she groaned. “I’m dead.”

He relaxed now, gave a laugh as he rested her on the bed. “Perfect.”

“It was.” She spoke in a soft little voice. She sounded both vulnerable and strong, and he loved hearing and seeing her like this. “It was absolutely perfect.”

He laid down beside her, and she turned in to his body. They stayed there, holding each other, silent. After a few minutes, Tessa leaned away from him.

“Thank you,” she said.

“For showing you how fucking beautiful you are?”

“Partly, yeah.”

“What’s the other part?” he asked, brushing her tumbled hair off her cheeks and forehead.

“For showing me that I’m enough, just as I am.”

“Of course you are, Tessa.” His hard, rough voice was as gentle as it ever got. “You always were.”

And for the first time in her entire life, Tessa really, truly believed it. She could stop chasing some unattainable ideal; she could just breathe, and let go, and
be
.

She was enough.

Chapter Thirteen
Two weeks later

Jax glanced up as the door of Curves opened, and he grinned when he saw King standing there.

“Well, well, well,” Mac drawled. “Look what the cat dragged in, huh?”

“Hey, man,” Jax greeted him. “Where the hell have
you
been lately?”

King strolled over to the bar, nodding at a few regulars as he crossed the room. Aidan was already pulling a beer for him, and by the time King got to the bar and shook hands all around, Aidan set it down in front of him.

“So,” Aidan prompted him. “How are things?”

“Good,” King replied and took a sip of beer. “Great, actually.”

“Yeah?” Aidan said, looking at King carefully. No bruises on his face or hands, no tension in his shoulders. King looked happy and relaxed, and his friends saw it all over him. “What’s going on?”

“Well, Jensen’s gone almost totally underground lately,” King said. “Ace says that he got his ass kicked so many times, had so much blow up in his goddamn face, he’s opted for radio-silence and near-hibernation. I mean, it’s clear as hell that he’s regrouping, figuring some shit out, but for now, all is calm. No ops at all. My people are going stir-crazy.”

“So you’ve been taking it easy?” Jax said.

“Yeah. Spending lots of time with Naomi, making things up to her.”

The other men grinned, knowing full well just
how
King was ‘making things up’ to his woman.

“And she’s letting you…uh… ‘make things up’ to her?” Mac asked.

King’s eyes sparked. “Mmmm-hmmm.”

“I’m glad, man,” Aidan said. “You had us all worried there for a while.”

“Yeah, I know.” King looked around at their relieved faces. “I’m sorry about that, guys. I was a dickhead not to talk to you. I should have, but it was just so – so
much
. You know? So much shit, so much disturbing crap. I didn’t want to see
any
of it, and the whole idea of rehashing it over a beer was fucking laughable.”

“We can see that, Matt,” Jax said quietly. “We’re just glad that you’re back now.”

Jax’s words echoed Naomi’s, and King started a bit. The fact that two people who cared about him had both used those
exact
words showed him just how
gone
he must have been. He must have been a million miles away, and they must have felt so fucking helpless as they stood there. Watching and waiting for him to come back.

“I
am
back.” King raised his beer, and Mac and Jax raised theirs too; Aidan hoisted his coffee cup high. “And? I come bearing news.”

“Yeah?” Jax said. “Good news?”

“The best.” King grinned, anticipating their reactions. “I asked Naomi to marry me.” He paused. “She said yes.”

The other men stared at him, stunned. Then, almost as one, they whooped. King was suddenly swarmed by three large guys determined to show their delight in the most overwhelmingly physical ways possible. Mac slapped his shoulder, Jax wrung his hand, and Aidan gave him an enthusiastic high-five. King smiled, a real smile, one that split his face in half.

“So,” he quipped. “You guys are happy for us?”

“Happy?” Jax repeated. “Man, we’re fucking
thrilled
. Me especially… I need another boring married guy around to go bowling with.”

“Ha!” King huffed. “Like you and me will
ever
put on rented shoes, Hamill.”

“Oh, man.” Mac glanced at Aidan. “We’re going down like dominoes, Carter, and if we’re going down in order of commitment,
you’re
next.”

Aidan blinked. “That’s… true. Fuck.”

“Yeah?” King said. “You and Gabi ever talk about it?”

“No.” Aidan looked uncomfortable now. “We’re still – we’re working through some things.”

The other men sobered up right away. They hadn’t asked after Gabi in a while, since it had been clear that Aidan hadn’t wanted to talk about any of what had happened to her. Him bringing it up now, though, gave them a green light. Or, more like an amber one: they proceeded with caution.

“She still having nightmares?” Mac asked quietly.

“Yeah.” Aidan glanced around, spotted Gabi talking to Tessa over by the pool tables. “Sometimes.”

“And are you two…” Mac trailed off. He was a snarky asshole roughly 99.9% of the time, but some things were no joking matter. “Working through the bedroom stuff?”

Aidan sighed, poured a few shots of J.D. for a group of college guys standing at the bar. “Slowly. It’s – it’s terrifying for me to touch her sometimes, to get in her space.” He hesitated. “Her biggest fear is to suffocate in the dark, and me even just holding her too tight can send her off in to a fucking tailspin.”

The other men were silent. They’d tried hard to not imagine what it must have been like for Gabi, to be buried alive. She’d been aware and conscious almost the whole time, fighting panic, and trying to stay in control of her breathing. If she fucking needed time to sleep in pitch-blackness, and to let Aidan crush her under his weight, they saw nothing remotely wrong with that.

“But you’re sleeping together, right?” Mac said.

“We are.” Aidan stuck his hands in his jeans pockets. “We’re getting there.”

“Man, when we’re talking about what she has to come back from, ‘getting there’ is pretty damn awesome,” King said. He’d been there when Gabi had been hauled out of the wooden box that so resembled a coffin; he’d seen her down on the ground, unconscious and not breathing, covered in dirt; he’d seen her screaming with panic at being touched. “Time, Aidan. Give her time.”

“Oh, I am,” Aidan said. “No problem with that.”

“No?” Jax said.

“Nuh-uh.” Aidan shook his golden head. “I waited
three damn years
for that woman, guys. What’s a few months longer?”

“Nothing,” Mac said, thinking about how long he’d waited for Mirrie. He’d been waiting for her without even knowing it – and he’d waited four years. “For the woman you fucking love, man? It’s the blink of an eye.”

**

Curtis stood in his usual place, in his usual position – his back up against the bar wall, his arms crossed – watching Tessa. She was talking to Gabi, and they were almost hysterical with laughter about something. She was fucking
glowing
, just so damn natural and beautiful, and he found himself smiling too. Seeing her happy made him happy.

“Hey, man.”

Curtis turned his head. Dillon Saunders was standing there, his mint-green eyes fixed on Tessa too.

“Hey,” Curtis responded. “All good in the back?”

“Yep. Crash rooms all occupied, and from the sound of things through the doors, everyone’s having a good time.”

Curtis rolled his eyes. The crash rooms at Curves were notorious, and they were incredibly popular. Known fondly as the ‘fuck rooms’, they were open for anyone to use, for anything they may want to use them for.

Curtis had never been back there with anyone, though he’d received his fair share of invitations. The thought of bending some bar patron over a sofa while Tessa was out here working had been unfathomable. She was all that he’d wanted for so long, and he’d spent over a year secretly yearning for her. It had meant lots of cold showers, and fantasizing about Tessa while jerking off, but he’d wanted it that way. Being with any other woman would have been a betrayal of his feelings for Tessa, and even if that made no sense to anyone else, it had made sense to Curtis.

“So,” Dillon said in his husky voice. “Your girl doing better?”

“Yeah.” Curtis watched her some more. “Much.”

Dillon nodded. Like Curtis, he was a man of very few words, and for this reason, the two of them had always gotten along well as co-bouncers.

“And how’s yours?” Curtis said. “How’s Maria?”

“Great, man. Loves being a nanny, but she’s talking about heading back to Clarity to work at Open Skies in maybe six months.”

“Yeah? How will that work for you?”

Dillon shrugged his massive shoulders. “We’re looking for a place in between Open Skies Ranch and Denver, and we’ll both commute.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“Sure is. Maria’s found a cute little house, and we’ll go look at it this weekend. If it looks good and we can swing the rent, we’ll move right away.”

“Nice.”

“I know, right?” Dillon shot Tessa another look. “You guys living together yet?”

“Not officially.” Curtis grinned. “But pretty much, yeah.”

“Her place?”

“My place.”

“Because yours is nicer?” Dillon said innocently, yanking Curtis’ chain. He’d been to Curtis’ apartment for poker, and he knew it wasn’t a palace.

Curtis gave him a mock-glare. “Nope.”

“Because hers is being fumigated?”

“Nope again.”

“Because you have that monster-sized bed?”

“No comment.”

“Ha!” Dillon exclaimed. “I
thought
so!”

“Shut it, Saunders,” Curtis growled, and Dillon smirked at his friend and colleague’s return to form. “Go ask the ladies if all’s OK at the tables.”

Dillon saluted like the smart-ass that he was at heart. “Yes, sir.”

Curtis watched Dillon approach Tessa, Gabi and Kenleigh, and check in. They all shook their heads, and Curtis relaxed. Nothing going on that was worrying them, nothing making them nervous or on-edge.

Tessa caught his eye now. She tapped her watch and smiled. His heart stopped dead in his chest, and he smiled back. He was so damn ready to finish work, so damn ready to get her back to his place. When he did, they were going to make love for the first time.

She was nervous about it, he knew. Despite the fact that, over the past few weeks, they’d done literally everything imaginable
except
full-on sex, Tessa still struggled to relax in her own body, to let go and forget herself, to give herself permission to just lose control. She trusted him, he was sure, but she didn’t trust
herself
.

Well. Good thing he had a plan. He just hoped that she’d go along with it.

**

Curtis watched Tessa putter around the kitchen. She’d washed that same damn tea mug about six times, washed the spoon about ten. She was almost vibrating with nerves and worry, and he went over to her, desperate to calm her down. He wanted her to enjoy this, wanted it more than
he
wanted to enjoy it.

He hauled her in to his arms, buried his lips in her golden curls. “You good, baby?”

She stood very still. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I don’t know why I’m so nervous about this. I mean, it’s not like I don’t know your body, or you don’t know mine. I know you love me, and God knows, I love you. But I just – I just can’t seem to totally relax.”

“Can’t totally relax?” he asked softly. “Or can’t totally let go?”

She was quiet now, really thinking. Finally, she sighed.

“Yeah. I think you’re right. Even after everything, I’m still… struggling to let go all the way. I’m still trying to keep some control over things, on some level.” Suddenly anxious, she peered up at him. “It’s not
you
, Curtis, it’s not a reflection on you at all, I swear. This is all in
my
head.”

“I know.” He sucked in a deep breath, took the plunge.“I’ve been thinking about this, and I think I know how I can really teach you that losing control isn’t the end of the world. But for it to work, you have to fully trust and believe that you’re safe with me.”

“I
do
trust and believe it, Curtis. With all my heart I do.” She traced his lips. “What’s your idea?”

“You voluntarily hand over control to me, Tessa.” Slowly, he reached in to the back pocket of his jeans, pulled out the restraints. “
All
control.”

She gasped at the sudden bolt of excitement that shot through her. “Oh. Oh, God.”

“OK, that’s a good start,” he said cautiously, grateful that she hadn’t run screaming out the door. “So… you’re open to it?”

“I – I –” Tessa swallowed hard. “I’m not sure. I mean, I don’t know.”

“You need to understand, Tessa, this isn’t about domination, not at all. It’s about you seeing that giving up control won’t kill you.”

“I know. It’s just…” Her voice trailed off.

“Talk to me,” he said. “Tell me what you’re afraid of.”

Tessa reached out, touched the restraints. They were surprisingly cool and soft against her skin, and she suddenly really wanted to feel that slippery silk on her wrists. Another surge of arousal washed across her chest, moved down to her stomach, slid lower. She rubbed her thighs together as her pussy fluttered.

“I’m not afraid,” she said suddenly. “I want to try.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes.”

“Then come on, sweetness.” He held out his large hand to her. “Let’s go to bed.”

She let him lead her to the bedroom, her breath coming out in soft, shallow pants. Never in her life had Tessa considered letting a man tie her up, she’d never even fantasized about it. Before Curtis, having a man restrain her would have been her textbook definition of hell on earth… but with him, it sounded like a shortcut to heaven.

He gently shoved her backwards on to the bed, and she fell. He sat down next to her, grasped her hand, extended her arm up and over her head. He stroked the pulse in her wrist, his thumb making small circles.

“You sure?” he said, searching her eyes for fear. “This is OK with you?”

“Yes.” She almost moaned the word, already unbelievably turned on. “
Yes
.”

Curtis tied the first restraint around her wrist, then attached the other end to the wooden slats of the headboard. He slid his fingers between the silk and her skin, checking that it wasn’t too tight.

“Good?” he said.

“Good.”

He tied her second wrist, checked it too, and she confirmed that she wasn’t hurting at all. Then he had her give a few small tugs, to show her that she could still move. With that, Tessa relaxed almost totally, actually enjoying the silky coolness against her heated flesh.

“Now,” Curtis said. “I know this ain’t hardcore bondage, baby, but you still need a safe word.”

She blinked up at him. “I do?”

“Yeah. You need to know that you can stop this any time you want. No debate on this point, so you pick a word.”