His chair crashed backward as he rose. She stared at him, her eyes suddenly wide and wary. He picked her up bodily, knocking her water over. The glass shattered.
Uncaring, he crushed her to him, ground his lips against hers. She’d surrender to him in every way there was by the time he was done. She’d be so utterly his that she wouldn’t be able to even contemplate leaving him. No, she’d be demanding and possessive and greedy for him.
She’d never again ask him to go to a social function with some other woman, or tell him she wasn’t curious about an important aspect of his past.
Kerri’s jaw remained locked, her teeth clenched together in refusal. Her defiance added fuel to his rage. No longer bothering to kiss her, he cupped her breast instead. It was full and soft in his hand. He could feel the pulsing of her flesh through the bra and shirt.
He thumbed the plump mound, purposely avoiding touching her nipple. Her breath hissed out from between her locked teeth, and he could see the arousal in her dark and wide pupils.
Ethan carried her to the counter and spread her slim legs with his, his thighs keeping hers apart. She’d open here, for him, even if she locked him out of her luscious mouth.
His fingertips stroked the silk-soft crease behind her knees. Her sensitive spot. She shivered, her legs no longer resisting his relentless push to spread them wider. Her sandals dangled from her pink-tipped toes, then fell with soft thuds. He traced the gentle curve of her inner thighs, reaching all the way to the apex of her legs, then stopped, hovering there and feeling her moist heat. His cock hardened, wanting inside of her.
Not yet. Not yet.
Not until she surrendered unconditionally.
*
Kerri felt the shift in Ethan’s mood, the sharpening of his resolve. She’d angered him by refusing to ask about Lisa. Of course she’d wanted to know about the mysterious woman, especially since Catherine had said every woman Ethan dated was either exactly like her or a hundred and eighty degrees the opposite. If Catherine was right, Kerri had a pretty pathetic basis for… What was it they had? Not a relationship.
Sex, until they found someone else more suitable and more interesting?
She’d rather not know for sure. Not knowing, she could pretend everything was okay, the way she used to with her family until she discovered too much and couldn’t fake it any longer. Until she’d had to leave.
She sighed softly and tried to pull his hand closer to the small knot of nerves that begged to be touched. He didn’t budge. It was as though he was determined to punish her for her silence.
“Ethan…”
No response, although the heat coming off his body was like molten lava.
Okay, if that was the game he wanted to play… She let his hand go and touched herself instead, feeling her panties wet with desire. His eyes flared in surprise.
Holding his gaze, she stroked the crease between her legs until the flesh tingled and pulsed with warm pleasure. He stared at her, seemingly unable to tear his gaze away. Masturbating in front of him felt incredibly liberating—taking her own pleasure the way she wanted—yet also incredibly erotic and hot and so different from doing it alone and hurriedly at night, intent only on getting off.
No, this was a tease, a dare. Look at me, lover. Watch and see how I’m giving myself pleasure.
Given that he wasn’t shy about using his greater physical strength, it was important to reestablish the boundaries, declare with action that she could be alone again and still be content. That she didn’t need him.
She touched a breast, cupped it, while her other hand slipped under her panties.
Ethan practically tore her underwear off, clearly wanting to see everything laid bare, and something shifted in him as he watched her rubbing her slick, swollen clit. The tension coiled and mounted. She flicked her hard nipple, arching her back. She pushed two fingers inside herself, while rubbing the nub between her legs.
His hot gaze was unbelievably erotic, but her two fingers—which used to be enough—weren’t. He unbuckled his pants and pulled himself out, thicker and longer than her digits, and she licked her lips, feeling a sea-change building inside herself as well. Staring at his nakedness, she didn’t want her fingers. She wanted him inside her.
“Ethan…” she whispered.
He ignored her—or maybe he was too focused to have heard. He stroked his cock, his long strong fingers moving deftly up and down.
She undulated her hips, silently beckoning him. She’d wanted to show him he couldn’t manipulate her with his body, that she didn’t necessarily need him to pleasure herself. But instead, she was needier than ever before, wanting him inside her more than ever before. No matter how hard and furiously she pumped her fingers in and out, no matter how fast she rubbed her clit, the soul-shattering climax she wanted remained elusive.
His breathing roughened as his hand moved up and down faster. No. She didn’t want him to come without her. She might not believe she had the right to ask about Lisa. She might know that everything would end one day soon. But until then, this beautiful man belonged to her.
“Ethan, please!” She flung her hands away from her quivering body and gripped his wrist.
“Weren’t you going to finish yourself?” Despite the low tone, his voice was razor sharp, dangerous.
“I want you. Do you understand? Until we’re through with each other, your body is mine.”