For Her Protection: 1 (Personal Protection) (9 page)

“Who’s in charge, Charlize?”

She panted and squirmed against his touch, both longing for
and dreading what he’d do next. He pulsed his finger against her but did not
enter. A taboo threat, a subtle promise of a different kind of pleasure—deeper
control.

“Who—tell me who.”

His other hand delved under her and stroked her clit,
pushing her to the sweet edge.

“You, Connor, you’re in charge,” she gasped.

He smacked her pussy softly. “And when will you come?”

“When you tell me to,” she groaned.

He leaned away from her but she stayed still, pressed her
bottom back wantonly.

“Protection, baby?”

“The drawer,” she whispered and waited.

The drawer creaked open and he pulled out the box of
condoms. The freaking unopened box she’d never had the chance to use. But as
with every task he tackled, Connor worked efficiently and a wrapper tore before
she had to worry about the wait.

His legs brushed the backs of her thighs and she tilted her
ass back against him. The head of his cock ran along her slit, up and over,
nudging her and moving on.

“Is this what you want, baby? Say you want me inside you.”

“I want you in me, Connor.” She dropped her head onto her
forearms and prayed she didn’t sound as desperate to him as she did in her own
ears.

He growled softly and turned her again, this time onto her
back. She barely had a chance to blink and he was there—pushing his way into
her.

She gave a half shout. He drove in hard, planted himself to
his base then maneuvered her thighs. Her pussy spasmed around him, pleasure
tinged with a burn. She’d known he was big, measured his thickness in her palm,
between her lips—but this, him stretching her open, filling her so fully she
barely dared to breathe—the strength of sensations were something she couldn’t
have expected.

He stayed still, must have known she needed a chance to
adjust to his intrusion. Pressure filled her abdomen, made her roll her hips.
He touched every corner of her with his girth.

“Now, baby, now you can come. With me in you.”

He withdrew, purposefully but with restraint, then surged
back in. Her muscles tightened, she was so ready and his cock felt as if it was
created to rock her G-spot.

Moisture flooded her and when he pulled out, he slid with
ease. He went from restrained to unleashed, grasping her hips and tilting her
center to him, pumping into her. She reached out and touched his abs, glorified
in the ridged nuances flexing with each thrust. He scooped up her hands and
pushed them over her head, driving into her savagely. She lay stretched out
beneath him, could do nothing but surrender—give in completely. Let him fuck
every thought out of her head, fuck every morsel of tension into a ball of
electric energy that centered in her pussy.

The grip on her wrists shifted and he grasped her jaw,
covered her mouth with his and kissed her. His tongue stroked her mouth, filled
it in the same delicious rhythm. He consumed her, from fingertips to toes. No
escape. Kissing him, fucking him, breathing him in, tasting him. Her vision
splintered, her limbs twisted, an orgasm crashed over her. Pleasure exploded in
waves, shook her in its thunderous fist.

She moaned into his mouth, shuddered and convulsed. He ate
her cries with his lips as if he could taste the flavor of her ecstasy. He took
her harder, faster. Pumped into her until new tension buzzed through her core.
He reached between them and touched her clit, forcing that tension into a
sweeter sensation.

The world narrowed, everything else slipping from
importance. Nothing mattered except the energy between them. His gaze on her.
He stroked her clit, using firm, quick strokes, matching the tempo of his cock.
Another orgasm gripped her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sank her
teeth into his shoulder.

She shook and tasted the scent of soap on his body mingled
with the tang of sweat. He groaned and pushed home, his cock butted her tender
cervix as he came. He collapsed on top of her, his hips still rocking, wringing
every last ounce of pleasure from her.

Finally he stilled but remained inside her. He rolled them
onto their sides and pulled her thigh over his hip to hold her close. He
breathed into her hair, arms wrapped around her, stroked her from shoulder to
hip. Tenderness wormed its way inside her chest, made her believe life had just
changed. He hadn’t lied.

She was his.

Connor rubbed his cheek against the silkiness of her hair.
He could live to be a thousand and he would always remember the feel of it
against his skin—the soft, feminine scent. Like something he could eat—a
cupcake…maybe vanilla.

Charlize curled into him, stroking her fingertips over his
collarbone. He knew why. She couldn’t stop touching him just as he couldn’t
stop touching her.

Taking her hadn’t quelled his desire for her, only hooked
him on her sensuous brand of love.

This created a problem. Because now sex wasn’t enough. He
wanted all of her—every single stubborn, sexy bit. Yeah he wanted to fuck her
in every way, in every place a woman could be fucked. No barriers, no limits,
he’d take everything. But worse he wanted her close, only a breath away from
him. Not to protect her, but because he craved her presence, because now
something deeper tethered him to her.

She snuggled closer and her soft breast grazed his chest. He
ignored the way his cock, still buried in her, stirred. Having her again so
soon would only hurt her. He smiled into her hair.

He’d give her a few hours.

Charlize lifted her head and gazed at him. Her eyes hit him
like they did that first time, warm and golden, but this time they were truly
open.

He smiled and touched her chin dimple with his thumb. She
smiled back, a fucking sweet smile that winded him. She looked as if she’d lost
five years…so damn young and pretty.

But then he knew this would happen, knew if he broke through
her barbed-wire-enforced guard, she’d be sugar underneath. And that hidden
sweetness had turned the dirtiest fucking of his life into the most intimate.

“I’ve been wondering,” she said, her smile twisting into
something more mischievous. “What would you have done if I’d said I wanted to
be in control?”

Connor raised a brow but couldn’t help mirroring her grin. “I’d
have let you think you were.”

“So you’d have done whatever I said?” She trailed her
fingers over his shoulder and tilted her face, looking up at him from under
lowered lashes.

He caught her hand and brought her fingers to his lips,
nipping the tip of one. “Did it look like I have a problem eating pussy?” he
breathed against them.

Charlize tugged her hand away and slapped his arm gently. “Is
that as creative as you think I am?”

Connor chuckled and shrugged. Fuck no, but teasing her too
fun to resist.

She looked at him all big-eyed and innocent. “How do you know
I wouldn’t have rimmed your ass?” She twirled her finger for effect.

Connor’s jaw slacked. The cheeky little brat. Like hell she’d
touch his ass but if that’s how she wanted to play it…

He grabbed the thigh still tucked over his hip and rolled
onto her. His cock had been hard again before he’d rolled them, now there was
no suppressing his renewed hunger. He slid his hand between their joined bodies
and cupped her ass. Her sweet, round ass.

“Did you like that, baby? Is that what you want, more ass
play?”

He looked down at her. Her mouth opened slightly, wild
strands of hair escaped her braid, her cheeks were red, her eyes wide.
Something in her expression stopped him. Not the hint of embarrassment but
rather the way her lips quivered slightly and her features softened.

He swallowed, sensing something that hadn’t been before. A
hint of vulnerability that told him they weren’t playing anymore.

Their first time had been like a dare—this was real. Just
him and her, nothing else. And it fucking took him apart. He couldn’t help
kissing those lips, breathing in her sweet breath.

How had he ever thought she was hard when she was so very,
very soft? He kissed her gently, touched her cheeks, her hair, felt the pulse
in her neck with his stroking thumb. He pushed into her, held her close,
whispered things he barely understood. Not fucking, he finally understood what
it really meant to make love. When she came, she looked like a fucking angel.
He soaked in her beauty, her joy, and it pushed him to the edge.

And sent him freefalling.

She took her time in the shower, ran her hands over her
body. Her flesh felt different. Reddened patches dotted her skin. Connor’s
stubble had left his brand on her. Charlize slipped a soapy hand between her
legs and gasped. Her pussy was deliciously tender, satisfyingly sore. Not that
the soreness would stop her if he walked in and took her against the shower
wall. She tilted back her face and let the warm water cascade over her skin. He
hadn’t joined her. Maybe he thought she’d had enough. He’d asked after that
second time if she was okay, if he’d hurt her.

Odd since he’d been so tender. So tender she could barely
look at him afterward. Her skin warmed from more than hot water. How would she
face him?

She was naked to him now, no shields to protect her…he’d
taken them all away.

They should have stopped after that first time. Now it was
too late. She’d never have enough. She’d be like a kid, gorging herself on
candy until she spewed. Because no matter how yummy, too much of a good thing
was bad for you.

And Connor was the worst, most addictive and most hazardous
kind of treat.

She finished her shower and dressed in jeans and a tee then
found Connor in the kitchen. The sight of him freshened up, stark white T-shirt
hugging muscles she could still feel above her, made her want to run back to
her room. But she swallowed, stepped forward and slipped into cooler, more
collected headspace. “So how does this work? You follow me around everywhere I
need to go?”

Connor leaned against her counter, one leg crossed over the
other. “That’s about the gist of it. Except today you’re going to have to come
with me to my place. I need a few things and my razor or you’ll be sacrificing
some skin.”

Her chest unclenched a little and warmed. Today hadn’t been
a onetime thing, he planned on more. Her biggest fear and greatest fantasy all
rolled into one.

She stepped up to him, snatched his cola from the counter
and took a gulp. He watched her drink. She placed the can back down and
grinned.

They may as well face the truth, while he was protecting her
there would be no denying their mutual desire. They may as well enjoy the
passion they shared while it lasted.

“Fine but I need a dress for the Seattle Business Awards
night. Are you going to follow me around while I shop? You’ll get arrested as a
stalker.”

He reached out and grabbed her hips. “Don’t worry about me,
baby, I’m giving you the boyfriend experience.”

“So you plan to look bored and tell me to hurry up the whole
time?”

He chuckled softly. “I won’t tell you to hurry up.” He
patted her hip. “We better get going then, your wantonness has cost us the
morning.”

“My wantonness?”

She stepped back as he moved around her for his keys with a
look that suggested she’d reacted to his statement exactly as he’d wanted her
to. Bastard loved riling her up. She grabbed her handbag and jacket and
followed him out to his car.

Pity she loved letting him.

* * * * *

Charlize followed Connor into the hallway of his home. He
lived about twenty minutes outside the city in a freaking idyllic family
neighborhood, complete with actual front yards. Not what she’d expected. Not
what she’d hoped. They stopped in a sunny kitchen, a little dated but pretty.
Clean. Buttery paint on the walls, white cupboards. Pots hung from a rack above
the counter. A picture-perfect suburban home just waiting to be filled with
some blissful little family. She could just imagine… Little old Charlize,
barefoot behind that counter, belly round and—

A mixture of longing and fear so sharp it stole the pulse
right from her chest washed over her. She closed her eyes.

“Don’t like my kitchen?”

She blinked and looked at him. His forehead drew tight.
Shit, she probably seemed like a complete snob.

“It’s just not the man pad I expected.” She glanced around. “Where
are all the motorbike parts? Spare tires for that beast you drive maybe?”

He grinned. “You haven’t seen the garage.”

“Now that would make sense.”

Connor walked around the coffee table in the family room. “This
is actually the house I grew up in. I bought it off my parents a few years ago
so they could get into the retirement community they wanted.”

“Oh…”

She watched him pick up a photo from a low side table. He
handed it to her and she hesitated a moment before taking it. Seeing Connor
like this, a family man, the kind of man who would want to fill the house he
grew up in with a family of his own, made her heart sink low into her belly.
The photo showed a younger Connor, one with dark hair that hung over his
forehead, smiling with an attractive older couple, his arm around a striking
brunette.

She gripped the frame harder. Shit, they might not be
dating—not officially—but if he was showing off his hot ex, she’d lose it.

“My mum and dad and sister Beth.”

Of course, his sister…not everyone was a lonely only child.
Other people had real families. Fathers who didn’t go crazy and mothers who
didn’t run off.

“Didn’t know you had a sister.” She should have recognized
the resemblance. The woman had the same intense eyes as Connor except hers were
framed by longer lashes.

“Don’t get to see her much—she’s a lawyer in New York. Just
made partner too.” He smiled and took back the photo and set it on the counter.

“You seem very proud.”

“Of course I am.”

Yes…he was…she could see it in his smile. He was proud of
his younger sister, fancy-pants New York lawyer and all.

Yeah it was stupid to think he wouldn’t be proud of his
sister’s achievements, but then every man she’d ever cared for including her
own father had wanted to put her in her place. That domestic, dutiful little
place that did not include big dreams and ambitions.

Connor showed her around, ending in his room where he
collected his things from the adjoining bathroom. The bedroom lived up to her
man-cave expectations. High-polish black bed and the hugest flat-screen TV
money could buy mounted on the opposite wall. Her gaze kept moving to the bed.
Couldn’t help wondering who had shared that bed with him. If it would be her
one day.

He came out of his bathroom with a sports bag. “You ready?”

Was she? To go shopping maybe, for what might come next—not
so much. But she couldn’t resist finding out. Besides if he planned to give her
the “boyfriend” experience, only fair she gave him the girlfriend one right
back.

* * * * *

Charlize turned in front of the mirror, examining the back
of the fitted black gown. Her gaze caught Connor’s in the reflection. Not this
one. He didn’t have to say anything but with every dress she’d tried on she
learned a little more about how to rattle him. When she showed a little back,
his shoulders would shift. Good… If it hugged her ass, then he’d touch his
chin. Freaking excellent…let him squirm.

Payback was beautiful.

He might like to think he was master tormentor but he wasn’t
quite the machine he’d like her to believe. He’d proven that every time she’d
deliberately brush against him and he’d jerked a little. She had this
girlfriend thing down pat. He was just about putty. She smoothed the dress over
the swell of her backside and watched his jaw clench.

She didn’t smirk. If he caught on, it’d be game over. If she
had her way, by the end of this trip he’d be the one begging for once. Her
insides tightened and her lips tingled. After the way he’d teased her earlier,
this would be sweet, sugar-dusted revenge.

Charlize changed out of the black dress and browsed the
store, making a few choices that fell wide of her usual criteria. She selected
a shimmering red number with a split right up the thigh and tried not to grin
like a toddler dipping her finger in the honey pot.

In the changing room she locked the door and stroked the red
dress. They’d work their way up to that one. She started with a white slip with
lace panels at the sides.

Connor sat on a stool in the central dressing room area,
elbows resting on denim-clad knees, playing the bored boyfriend part perfectly.
She stepped out of the room and stood in front of the mirrored wall. He leaned
back and crossed his arms over his chest. His white T-shirt tightened over his
shoulders.

“What do you think?”

She turned and glanced back at him over her shoulder. He
lowered his chin. His gaze devoured her from the ankles up, leaving a path of
heat on her skin as it moved over her. He cleared his throat but shot a look at
the shop assistant moving through the nearby aisle.

“I think you should change.”

She turned and placed her hand on her hip. “Too much
side-boob?”

He plucked a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket and pushed
them over his eyes, instantly slipping into invisible bodyguard mode.

Bastard
. She’d sort that out.

“Too sunny in here for you, Connor?”

He didn’t as much as twitch. “Go change.”

Oh he could try to play it cool but she was onto him. She
sashayed back into the stall and shut the door then covered her mouth to stop
giggles from flooding the dressing room.

Score one—white dress. The next gown would take the game.
She stripped and stepped into the red number she’d chosen and adjusted the
straps. Yeah he was about to eat from her palm. The sweetheart neckline plunged
between her full cleavage, presenting her breasts as if they were held out in
glittering hands. A small zipper ran from the underside of her rear to the
small of her back but she left it undone.

Charlize opened the door and leaned out just enough to give
him a good look at her princess-sparkle boobs. Connor stood, shoulders back,
one hand holding the wrist of his other arm, almost blowing his boyfriend cover
with his bodyguard form.

“Hey, baby, give us a hand with the zipper?” Her lips
quivered, quirking to the side.

He stayed stock-still for a moment then moved toward her.
Charlize backed into the stall then faced the wall and gave him her back. The
door closed and the lock clicked. His shoulder brushed her exposed back as he
turned behind her. Her pulse jumped against her collarbone.

His hands settled on her waist and he guided her forward
until her breasts grazed the wall. Her nipples tightened against the soft
lining of the dress. Her breaths deepened as she waited for him to move again.
He shifted and took hold of the sides of the dress. The gaping fabric at her
hips slid closed with the buzz of the zipper.

She sighed and the tension in her belly ebbed a little. So
much for hoping for a big reaction. She started to turn but his hands went back
to her waist and held her in place. He pressed the length of his body against
her.

“I know what you’ve been up to, kitten.”

His hands fisted in her dress and he yanked it up from the
front, gathering it at the waist. Her heart went from a flutter to heavy
thudding.

“Now you’re in trouble because I’m going to fuck you in this
dress.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“Hold up your skirt,” he growled into her ear.

Her fingers shook but she moved them to his and took up the
folds of fabric.

Connor ran one hand over her stomach and grabbed the
neckline. He tugged down and her breasts tumbled out. Her hands fisted in the
skirt and she wobbled on her high heels. He palmed her breasts, moving from one
to the other, squeezing and rubbing. Her core throbbed.

“You know don’t you? What these tits do to me…?” he
breathed. His other hand moved to the top of her panties and pushed its way
inside. His thick finger slid between her folds, brushing over her aching clit
to thrust deeply inside her. He plucked her nipple and her whole body quivered.
“You’re so fucking wet for me. It turned you on, didn’t it? Teasing me?”

He rocked his hand against her pussy. His palm butted
against her clit as his finger moved inside her tight walls. Pleasure hummed
through her nerves.

“You’re going to be sorry for that—you don’t even know what
teasing is.”

He pushed another finger into her, stretching her
deliciously.

She groaned.

His other hand moved from her breast and wrapped around her
neck, drawing her head back against his shoulder.

“You’re going to be quiet. No one hears your sexy sounds but
me. You’re going to need to remember that.”

He withdrew from her and pushed down her panties. She
bunched the skirt to keep from dropping it. His palm stroked over her arched
throat.

“Are you on the pill, baby?”

“Yes.”

His breath rushed against her cheek. “I don’t have a condom
to protect you but I’m clean and I will keep you safe. Just give me permission
to take you bareback.”

Bareback
.

Connor inside her, nothing between them—her thighs squeezed
together. “Okay.”

His fingers wrapped softy around her neck and he rubbed his
rough cheek against her ear. “Say it—say fuck me bareback, Connor.”

Moisture coated her thighs and her head rubbed against his
shoulder. Her breasts felt like two hanging, aching weights. “Fuck me bareback,
Connor,” she whispered.

His hands left her and his zipper creaked. He pressed her
shoulders, bending her at the waist. Then the thick head of his cock pressed at
her entrance. He rocked it against her opening, slid it down between her folds
and rolled it against her clit. She jerked then rested her forehead against the
wall, closing her eyes. He brushed there, back and forth, letting the
mushroomed head of his cock flick over her bud.

Electric bursts of pleasure radiated from her clit into her
abdomen. His foot slid between hers and eased her heeled foot out, spreading
her for him. He ran his cock back toward her entrance but didn’t stop there,
instead bringing it to nudge for a moment at the forbidden place at her bottom.
She twitched and pressed her lips together to stop the groan…or plea.