He pulled back, panting. “Vixen.”
Her hair had been arranged in an elaborate coil. Heloise sat back on her heels as he raised his free hand and gently pulled out a pin. A curl fell down against her neck. Another pin. Another. He worked slowly, methodically, until her hair fell down around her shoulders in a soft cloud. He threaded his fingers through it and combed it forward to cover her breasts. She shivered.
Heloise ran her palms over his shoulders, enjoying the reflexive leap of his muscles, luxuriating in the feel of him. She nibbled kisses on his collarbone, teethed the muscle on the side of his neck, and felt the racing pulse beneath his skin, heavy and erotic against her lips.
The metal cuff forced Raven’s right arm out at an awkward angle, but he used his left hand to stroke down her back and squeeze her bottom and she let out a groan of encouragement. She stroked his biceps, his pectorals, petting him like a giant house cat. Instinct told her that whatever had felt good to her surely felt good to him, too. He bared his teeth when she circled his flat male nipples with her fingers and when she flicked her tongue over them he hissed in a breath and curled up toward her.
The muscles of his stomach tensed one by one as she slid her hand downward and ran a finger from his navel to the top of his waistband.
She smiled against his skin.
Chapter 45
Raven swallowed, his throat tight with excitement.
He studied her face, so beautiful, her brow furrowed in concentration as she explored his body, as immersed in the sensations as if she were studying a new, mystifying code. He couldn’t ask for more.
She toyed with the waistband of his breeches, then brushed her hand over the hard shape of him. His hips bucked off the bed. She raised her eyes to his.
“Don’t stop there,” he rasped.
She popped open the buttons of his breeches and peeled back the flap. His cock sprang free and he raised his hips from the bed to help her as she drew down his breeches over his thighs and threw them to the floor. He lay naked in front of her, more vulnerable than he’d ever been in his life. It was terrifying, and exciting beyond measure. He reached up with his free hand and caught her nape.
“Touch me,” he ordered.
She obeyed. She closed her fingers around his shaft and the exquisite pressure made his eyes roll back in his head. He throbbed beneath her palm and groaned as she made a tentative slide, up and down. He arched up into her touch.
And then she leaned forward and took him in her mouth.
The sight of her lips closing around him had him bowing off the bed. Sweet heaven. Her untutored exploration was the most erotic thing he’d ever experienced in his life. Raven threaded his free hand through her hair and smoothed his thumb over the scar at her temple. She tensed, an almost imperceptible pause, then turned her face into his hand, accepting the caress. She glanced up at him with a wicked, sparkling look from beneath her lashes.
“You’re the expert,” she whispered. “Now what shall I do?”
He lost himself in her thunderstorm eyes. “Take me,” he whispered, breathing hard. “Do it, Hellcat. If you want me, take me now.”
She placed her hands on his shoulders and straddled him. Her skin was flushed, her lips parted, as he used his free hand to position himself at the entrance to her body. She lowered herself down and her wet heat closed over him, barely an inch.
“More.” He panted. He could hardly choke out the words, the sensation of her was so incredible. “All of me. Slowly. That’s it.”
He moved his hand to her hip to steady her, guide her, and watched her face as she bit her lip in concentration. She slid down farther, and he saw stars. His hips arched upward automatically and he captured her mouth with his own, kissing her hard, merging his soul with hers. He caught her gasp as he filled her with a deep, swift stroke that slid him fully home. He paused, afraid he’d hurt her, but she rose up and slid down on him again with a moan of delight.
Light filled him, seeping through his veins, banishing the darkness and leaving only glowing pleasure in its wake. His heart was beating as if he’d run a race. Need pounded through his bloodstream, roaring in his ears, demanding he take. And take and take. He wanted to roll her over and get on top, but the metal cuff prevented him. He concentrated on her instead. Her breasts on his chest, hard-tipped and perfect, her lips on his, her hands clutching his shoulders, her legs tight around his hips as he drove into her again with a guttural cry.
She threw her head back in abandon. Her long hair brushed his thighs. His mind went blank. She wiped his soul clean, burned him away until they were nothing but bodies, his and hers, hot and sliding, pumping deep. Nothing but the feel of her all around him, inside him, as he was inside her. She filled his heart, his soul. So deep there was no getting her out.
He heard her gasp in pleasure and began to quicken the rhythm of his strokes. She rocked her hips, drawing him deeper; he felt her inner muscles clutching him and her climax triggered his own. He surrendered to it, felt the pulse of him flowing into her, and he cried out, savage and triumphant, falling, dissolving, and being reborn.
Heloise collapsed onto him, panting and limp. She let out a shaky laugh then rolled onto the bed next to him.
Raven sat up, the handcuffs clinking against the wooden post. He’d lost all feeling in his right arm and had nearly pulled his shoulder out of its socket, but it had been worth it. He jiggled his arm. “Let me out of these. Please.”
Heloise laughed, slipped out of bed, and padded across the room to the desk. “Is this what you’re after?” she teased, holding up the key.
Raven eyed the slim perfection of her naked body, pale and sleek in the fire glow. “It’sexactlywhat I’m after,” he growled.
She came back to him and slid the key into the lock. The metal fell away and he rubbed his wrist. His fingers tingled with returning circulation and there were raw red marks on his skin, but he didn’t care. He’d never imagined he could give himself so completely to another person. But surrendering control to Heloise was a pleasure, not a punishment.
He gathered her into his arms, tucked her head beneath his chin, and drew the covers over them both. She let out a long, contented sigh.