Behind Closed Doors

Chapter 12

Maybe she could keep down chicken soup, if she was lucky, and some stale crackers.

Raine leaned back against the seat of the cab, exhausted. Her body was beginning to protest going so long without food, but a mental inventory of her larder was not inspiring. She didn't have the energy to contemplate shopping, or cooking, or a restaurant. Even the idea of sorting through a pile of take-out menus seemed too much to face.

She had to nurture herself better. She couldn't run on nerves alone. Each day was getting crazier than the last. The loony bin and the padded cell lay at the end of that road.

She wandered through the house once she got home, throwing off her coat and kicking off her shoes as she went. She didn't even bother to flip on the lights. The brief attack of hunger was already passing, and now she felt too tired to eat. She headed for the bedroom. First a shower, to warm her up, then her floppy fleece pajamas, and then—

“Where the fuck have you been?”

She leaped back from the door, cowering against the wall of the corridor. Her heart thudded against her ribs. The eerie blue glow of a laptop screen seeped through the bedroom door.

Seth, of course. Who else. She reached in the door and flipped on the hanging lamp.

The wingback chair he was slouched in looked too fussy and small for his long body. He was all in black like the cat burglar that he was; black jeans, a black sweatshirt, his thick scrub brush of black hair sticking every which way, like he'd been running his hands through it all day. His eyes were shadowed with exhaustion, but they blazed at her with unnerving intensity.

She shook so violently she had to clutch the doorjamb to stay upright. “You scared me practically to death!”

He made a few keystrokes and snapped the laptop shut. He slid it into the bag and glared at her. Not shamefaced in the slightest. As if she were the one in the wrong. The outrageous, presumptuous bastard.

“That settles it” She marched into the room. “The next man who scares me out of my wits jumping out of the dark at me—dies. Fm sick of it. Do you hear me? No excuses, no explanations. I am not speaking figuratively. Do you understand that, Seth?”

He didn't even blink. “Yes.”

“Yes?” Her anger bubbled and fumed. “That's all? Just yes?”

He got to his feet. “Yes, I understand that. Let's move on to what the fuck you've been doing for the past sixteen hours.”

She was so furious, his looming and glowering didn't even intimidate her. “What business is it of yours? You have no right to ask! You have no right to even be here! I should be calling nine-one-one!”

“After yesterday, I have every right.”

The cool conviction in his voice maddened her. She wished she hadn't discarded her shoes. She needed the extra two inches to face him down. “Let me explain something to you, Seth, because we're not communicating very well,” she said. “If I had a boyfriend, I would of course include him in every aspect of my life. I would call him, and e-mail him, and leave cute little text messages on his cell phone. I would keep him informed of where I'm going, when I'm getting back—”

“Yeah. Exactly. That's what I—”

“But I don't have a boyfriend, Seth” she yelled. “I don't have a phone number, I don't have a beeper number. I don't have a clue! What I do have is a problem. A big, nasty-tempered problem who invades my privacy and jumps out of the dark like a horror movie monster! A man who thinks he owns me just because we slept together!”

“For the record, that wasn't just sleeping together.”

“Oh no? What was it, exactly?” she demanded. “Enlighten me, please. Remember, I don't have your vast experience in these matters.”

“It was ... it was more.” He shoved his hand through his hair and shook his head. “It blew my mind. And there was no sleeping involved. In fact, I haven't actually slept since I met you.”

“Oh, please. I'm so flattered! I'm so incredibly hot in bed, you just can't help yourself? Sleep deprivation has driven you so far out of your mind that you feel justified in breaking into my house? What is it with me, Seth? Why does everybody seem to mink that the normal rules of civilized behavior don't apply with me? Have I got a sign on my back that says 'anything goes'? “

His breath hissed through his teeth. “Christ, Raine. I've been sitting here on a bed of nails wondering what that bastard was doing to you, and you're mad because I forgot to give you my phone number?”

She stared at him. “How did you know I was at the island?”

“I called the office! If you'd been there, I would have asked you out to dinner! But you weren't there! You were off at Lazar's fucking private island!”

She sat down on the bed and dug her toes into the thick carpet. “Why would you think that Victor would hurt me?” she asked gently.

“Oh. It's Victor, now, not Mr. Lazar, hmm?”

She brushed his words away with a wave of her hand. “Don't be ridiculous, please. Just answer the question.”

“He handed you over to me yesterday like you were a professional, Raine,” he said hoarsely. “He threw you to the wolves, and he did it for run. For fun. Why not again, if that's how he gets his kicks?”

Her mouth dropped open. He had been worried. Frightened for her. She was so touched that for a moment, she forgot how angry she was. “Victor Lazar did not force me to go to bed with you,” she told him gently. “I had already decided on my own to seduce you, if I could.”

He snorted. “If you could. Hah.”

She lifted her chin. “I went with you because I wanted you. I am not as helpless and stupid as you seem to think. Today, I negotiated contracts for Taiwanese pharmaceuticals, Indonesian teak flooring and textiles, Baltic timber and Norwegian cheese. I also formatted the annual report and typed letters and e-mails to the entire world, in five different languages. It was a very normal working day, Seth. I was not called upon to provide sexual entertainment for Victor or anyone else, so put your mind at ease.”

He opened his mouth, but she held up her hand. “I'm not finished yet. You have to follow the rules. Like knocking on locked doors, for instance. That's not too much to ask. And this jumping out of the dark and scaring me to death, that's a terrible habit. I won't tolerate it.”

“Like a dog pissing on the rug?”

She forced herself not to laugh at his sour expression. “Exactly,” she said. “People should try to follow the basic rules of civilized society. Particularly... lovers.”

The silence in the room was absolute. His gaze bored into her face, as focused as a laser. “Does that mean we're lovers, men?”

This was the moment of truth. She had felt it coming since his visit that morning. It was time to either dive off the cliff into deep, unknown water, or turn and run like hell. She squeezed her eyes shut, head spinning with a tingling rush of vertigo. She opened her eyes and jumped. “I don't know, Seth,” she whispered. “Are we?”

two swift strides, and he was upon her. “Hell, yes.”

His hard grasp made her stiffen up; it was too much, too soon, and she was still angry and contused. The world dipped and spun. She was on her back, on the carpet with Seth arched over her. He unraveled her braid and fanned her hair out around her head. He pushed her legs apart and settled his hard body against her.

She shoved against his chest. “Seth, hold on. Wait!”

“Relax.” He tugged her blouse out of the waistband of her skirt, sliding his hand beneath it. He growled with pleasure as his hand found warm skin. “What's the problem? You said we were lovers, right?”

She seized his wrist and yanked it out of her blouse. “Sex is not all that means, you dog!”

His eyes gleamed. “Woof” he said. “What else does it mean?”

“Lovers do things together! They rent videos, they ride Ferris wheels, they go out for pizza, they play Scrabble. They... they talk!”

“Talk?” He lifted his head and frowned, his eyes puzzled. “We talk all the time, Raine. I've never had such talkative sex.”

“That's just it!” She wiggled, flailed, but couldn't budge him. 'Two minutes alone with you, and I'm flat on my back. Every single time!”

A slow, knowing grin spread over his face. “Is this your way of telling me you want to be on top?”

It was too much. She had been pushed around all day, she was still buzzing with adrenaline, and that smug, self-satisfied look on his face was unbearable. Pressure built up and snapped, faster than she could think or reason. Her hand lashed out and slapped his face, hard.

They stared at each other, stunned. Raine looked at her stinging hand as if it were not her own. Seth seized her wrist and pinned it over her head without speaking. His eyes were hard with controlled anger.

“Oh, God,” she whispered. “I wish I hadn't done that.”

“Me too.” His voice was low and menacing. He settled more of his weight upon her, squashing her breathless. “That one was for free. Do not ever, ever hit my face again. Is that clear?”

She licked her dry lips and tugged at her trapped wrist. “Seth, I—”

“Is that absolutely clear?”

She nodded. Long, silent moments slid by. They were frozen, immobile. As if waiting for a bomb to explode.

Raine pushed at his chest, trying to make room for her lungs to expand. “You're playing power games again,” she said. “Please don't.”

“This isn't a game. You're pushing me, Raine. You're testing me, and I'm just laying down the rules.”

“Your rules,” she said

“That is right.” His face was implacable. “My rules.”

“That's not fair.”

“What's not fair? You wanted to follow the basic rules of civilized behavior, right? Civilized people don't hit each other. Simple enough. Or do the rules only apply to me, and not to you?”

“You just broke into my house, you manipulative bastard,” she hissed. “Don't you dare throw my words back in my face! And I'm not the one who's pushing. You’re the one who's pushing me. You never stop. Move, please. Right now. I can't breathe.”

He shifted his weight off, and propped his head on his elbow. “But it turns you on when I push,” he pointed out. “I feel what makes you hot, and I follow what I feel. That's how I make you come. By pushing you to the place that you need to go.”

It was hard to frame the elusive thought into words with his eyes boring into her face, scattering her wits. “But it drives me nuts!”

“I love driving you nuts.” He lowered his face to kiss her.

She shoved him away. “I mean nuts in a bad way, not in a good way! I've never hit anyone in my entire life, Seth! I'm a total creampuff pacifist, and you—you made me hit you!”

He studied her face for a long moment with a keen, assessing look. “That is such bullshit,” he said finally.

She blinked at him, bewildered.

“Don't give me that confused, innocent look. Your cream-puff act is just a mask. I can see right through it. I see right into you, Raine.”

“Do you?” She squirmed beneath him, restless. “What do you see?”

“Something shining. Beautiful and strong and wild. It pulls on me, makes me ache and burn. Makes me want to howl at the moon.”

His heated words licked at her like flames. Her body relaxed with one last shuddering sign, and she gave in and twined around him, pliant and soft. “Don't push so hard,” she pleaded.

“Stop resisting,” he coaxed, his lips nuzzling, nipping at her throat. “I could take you so incredibly far if you'd just let yourself go. Let me drive, Raine. I swear, I know where I'm going.”

She let out a choked burst of breathless laughter. “How can I trust you if you don't trust me? Look at us, Seth.” She gestured at his body, still pinning her flat “I only weigh about a hundred and twenty pounds, and you—”

“No, you weigh less. Your fridge has nothing but mustard and a couple of wrinkled apples in it. Do you ever eat, or what?”

His critical tone grated on her nerves. “The contents of my refrigerator are nobody's business,” she snapped. “My point is, you don't have to pin me down. Fm not quick enough to run away from you, even if I wanted to.”

“You don't want to?”

She opened her mouth, and closed it, unwilling to give him another opening. Simple honesty won out. She didn't have the presence of mind to tell him anything but the naked truth.

“No. I don't want to run away from you,” she said quietly. “I want you to let go of my wrist. I want you to let me breathe.”

The manacle of his strong fingers slowly relaxed. “I don't want to get hit again,” he warned.

“I promise, I won't,” she assured him.

He pulled her onto her side so they were lying on the floor facing each other, and studied her face as if she were a puzzle he were trying to solve. “I'm sorry I broke into your house “ he said, in a stiff, formal tone. “I'm sorry I scared you.”

She put her hand to his face, caressing the place where she had struck him. “I appreciate the apology.” She echoed his formal tone.

“I did it because I was worried about you,” he added, frowning.

That broke the spell. Raine laughed in his face. “Don't ruin a good apology by justifying bad behavior.”

His cautious smile faded quickly. “Does this mean that Fm your boyfriend, then? Officially?”

Another blind leap. She didn't know what those words meant to him, coming out of the alien landscape of his mind, but something hot and soft was moving in her heart. She couldn't draw back. She could see in his eyes how badly he wanted the strange, awkward declaration.

Don't cling to an illusion of control, Victor had said. For once, she agreed with him. It was time to give her heart a chance to run the show. Things couldn't possibly get any crazier than they already were.

“OK,” she said gently. “You're my boyfriend, if you want to be.”

He let out a long, slow sigh, and hooked his leg over hers,

pulling her closer so that the whole length of her body was touching him. “I want to be. God. Do I ever want to be.”

“All right, then.” She petted his tense jaw with a soothing hand and smiled at him. “You are. It's official. You can relax.”

Seth arranged her hair between their faces, right next to his nose, so he could stroke it and smell it. “I know I come on too strong,” he said, his voice hesitant. “It's a really weird time in my life.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” she invited gently.

“No.” His tone was like a gate clanging shut in her face. She flinched away, feeling thrown back on herself.

He pulled her back against him, cursing softly. “I'm sorry, Raine. I can't talk about it. I'm intense, yeah, but I'm not dangerous.”

“No?” She turned her face away, avoiding his kiss.

“No. Not to you.” He caught her face in his hands and insisted on the kiss, his thumbs tenderly stroking her cheek. She savored the hot, delicious flavor of his mouth, the intimate thrust of his tongue.

What Seth said was untrue. She would give anything for this passionate, ravishing tenderness from him—and that made him deadly dangerous to her.

He lifted his head, smoothing her hair off her forehead. “I got you a cell phone today.”

That was so unexpected, she could think of nothing to say.

“You'll send me cute little text messages now?” he prompted.

She closed her gaping mouth. “Is that what you want?”

“That's what I want.” There was a touch of embarrassed defiance in his tone. “I'm your official boyfriend now, and I want all the perks that go with the job. You cool with that?”

“Um, yes,” she murmured.

He cupped her head in his big hand and kissed her again, but the kiss had changed There was a soft, pleading sweetness to it, as if he were silently begging her for something which she could not help but give him. Something that would break her heart to withhold.

He pulled away and stared into her face, his eyes troubled.

“What's the matter?”

“I'm nervous,” he said bluntly. “I don't know much about the steady relationship thing. I feel like a bull in a china shop.”

She laughed softly and stroked the deep little frowning groove between his eyebrows “Just be nice. Be gentle.”

“It's not the sex I'm worried about,” he snapped. “And I've always been gentle with you.”

“Just because you don't leave bruises doesn't mean you're gentle. Conan the Conqueror.”

He stroked her hair, smoothing it all the way out to the tips. “Hey. Give me a break. I want you bad. You're so fucking beautiful, I just want to carry you off to my beastly lair and make love to you forever. On my bearskin rug.”

She touched his face with her fingertips and stared into his eyes, speechless. She could feel him gathering his seductive powers, weaving a spell to make her helpless with desire. He grabbed her hand, pressing hot kisses against her palm, and rubbed her knuckles against his cheek. “You're not throwing that Conan the Conqueror crack in my face again,” he said. “This time you'll tell me how much you want me. I want to hear you ask for it, pretty please.”

She drew back anxiously. “That sounds like another power game “ she said. “Seth, I don't—”

“Shhhh.” He placed a finger over her lips. “No, not at all. You've got me wrong. I just want to show you something about yourself. Something beautiful. You'll like it.” He explored her trembling lower lip with his finger, staring at her with hot, fascinated eyes.

A bold impulse flashed through her. She drew his fingertip into her mouth and suckled it. He jerked as if an electric shock had gone through him, pulled his hand from her mouth and began to unbutton her blouse with fingers that shook. “Goddamn buttons,” he muttered.

She laughed up at him. “You don't like my clothes, do you?”

“No, I do not. You're like a box with too much packing tape” “Poor baby. Such frustration,” she teased.

“Watch what you say, if you care about this blouse” he warned.

He got it open and flung it away, rolling her to her side to unhook her bra. He lifted it off with reverent slowness, caressing her breasts, rubbing the taut tipples against his palms. A flurry of peeling, unhooking and unzipping followed, and she lay before him naked.

He stared at her body, running his fingertips over her belly, dipping into her navel and then tangling tenderly in the soft nest of hair at her crotch. “Do you ever touch yourself?” he asked.

Raine was so startled, she couldn't reply. She stared at him, her mouth open, a hot blush sweeping up over her chest and face.

“Come on, sweetheart. Do you?” he coaxed.

“Doesn't everybody?” She tried to sound nonchalant.

“I don't give a shit about everybody. I'm interested in you.”

Her embarrassment melted away in the heat that radiated from him. “Of course,” she said simply.

“Touch yourself for me.” His voice was husky, pleading.

“But—don't you want to—”

He pressed her hand against the hot bulge in his black jeans. “God, yes. The next time. But first I want you to open up for me, all on your own. No pushing.” He settled between her legs and pushed her thighs wider. “Check me out, Raine,” he murmured “Civilized self-control personified. Didn't think I was capable of it, did you?”

“Is this another one of your power games?” she demanded.

“No way. It's a gift. To make up for hitting me.”

She shook with nervous laughter, and tried to wiggle away from him and his wicked satyr's smile. “Damn you, Seth. That's not fair.”

He lunged for her, grasping her waist and holding her still. “Please, Raine,” he said softly. “You're so beautiful. And it's so intimate, so secret. I'm starving for it. Show me that you trust me that much.” He dropped a gentle kiss on her belly, her hip, and let his hands slide, slowly and lovingly, all the way down the length of her thighs. He gripped her knees and pushed them wide again. “I want to know what goes through your head, what you fantasize about. I want to see that beautiful cunt get flushed and hot and soft and delicious. I want to watch you make yourself come. That's my idea of heaven.”

She couldn't answer, couldn't speak. He reached for her hand and pressed her fingers gently against her sex. “Show me.”

She squeezed her eyes shut and did as he asked, shy at first, but his magic was so potent that her inhibitions melted down into hot, sweet syrup. Her bedroom disappeared. They could have been anywhere; floating together in the silent heart of a white orchid, swimming in a tropical sea. She abandoned herself to the dance of shifting energy between them. He taunted her with his eyes, with his rigid self-control. She taunted him with her body and her desire.

A fierce, joyful power swelled inside her. She played with the soft, secret folds of her sex, her body arching and heaving, offering him everything. The feeling unfurling inside her no longer terrified her. It was a burning cloud that expanded in her chest, her belly, in her womb. Hotter, higher, brighter. She wanted to push him to the very edge of his self-mastery, but still he sat there, watching and waiting. His eyes glittered, feverish. Flags of hot color burned on his high cheekbones.

'Tell me what you're thinking now,” he demanded.

“I'm not thinking. I'm feeling,” she said shakily.

“What do you feel?”

“You.” She slid her fingers inside herself and writhed.

“What am I doing to you?”

“You're ... touching me. Kissing me.”

“Am I licking you?”

“Yes,” she moaned. “Yes.” Her hips began to jerk, frantic.

“And now?” His voice was low, hypnotic. “Is my cock inside you?”

“Please, Seth—”

“Am I fucking you now?”

“Yes!” She moved faster, following the swelling surge of pleasure.

“Say it,” he told her. “Say the words. What am I doing to you?”

“You're ... inside me. You're fucking me,” she gasped. The crude words launched her, made it all burst and fly apart.

She cried out and dissolved, shivering all over.

She rolled onto her side and curled up, panting. Reality slowly crept back, and along with it, embarrassment at what he must think of her. Displaying herself like that. She felt more vulnerable than ever.

Which had surely been his intent.

Her eyes flew open at the sound of his belt unbuckling, his fly unzipping. He peeled the black shirt off his lean, beautifully muscled torso, and flung the garment away. He pried off his boots and socks, tossing them into the corner, and hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his jeans. He smiled at her wickedly. “My turn.”

She licked her lips. “You're driving me nuts, Seth.”

He pulled his jeans and underwear off. His penis sprang out, jutting hungrily towards her. He sprawled next to her, pulling her against him. “Is that good or bad?”

She put her arms around him tentatively. “I don't know yet,” she said in a small voice.

“I didn't push you that time,” he protested. “You did it ail yourself.”

“Yes, you did too push,” she said quietly, petting the thick muscles of his shoulders. “I don't think you even know what it would feel like not to.”

He slid his arm behind her shoulders, pressing his hard chest against her breasts. His eyes were wary and troubled, “So you think I'm, uh, weird in bed, then?”

Raine almost laughed at the doubt in his voice, but stopped herself just in time. “I don't have any basis for comparison,” she said softly.

His arms tightened. He kissed her forehead. “Keep it that way.”

She ran her hands over the ridges of his muscular back, exploring him with eager, fascinated fingers. “Besides, this isn't a bed,” she pointed out.

“You can't see the mirror from the bed,” he said. “I like the mirror. It's another great view of your gorgeous, bare-ass naked body.”

She looked at the mirror, and blushed again. He followed her gaze, rolling onto his side and pulling her against him so that her backside was pressed against his hard, hot penis. He nudged her legs open, crooking her knee, and slid his hand between her legs with a low, rumbling groan of pleasure. “Beautiful,” he said. “You're ready now. Ask me for exactly what you want, Raine. Come on. Out with it”

She closed her eyes and pressed herself back against his bold caress. “Why do you do this to me, Seth?” she pleaded “You've always got something to prove. It makes me feel vulnerable.”

He nuzzled her ear, pulled her earlobe between his teeth and nipped it. “Face it, babe. You are vulnerable.”

His tone infuriated her, as if he were stating something too obvious to bother mentioning. She tried to pull away from him, but he just pushed her flat onto her belly and rolled on top of her.

He locked eyes with her in the mirror. “Too weird for you, huh?” His voice challenged her, soft and taunting. “You'd like it better if I was a nice, tame, normal guy?”

He pushed her thighs apart and slid his finger inside her. She strained beneath his weight with a soft moan. He slid his hand out and thrust again, with two fingers, deeper. Preparing her.

She couldn't think, couldn't speak, clenching around his fingers. “I like the way you are,” she admitted, in a halting voice. “But I don't know how to give you what you want. It's a language I don't speak.”

He bit her neck. “It's not that complicated. I just want you to know what you want. So I can be sure that I'm giving it to you. It may not seem that way, but I really am making an effort to be civilized.”

She laughed. “Civilized? You call yourself civilized? Seth, you are a wild animal.”

His eyes lit up like a wolf in the moonlight, making her shiver again. She sensed that her words had unleashed something that might have been better off left confined. He grasped her hips and pulled her up until she was on her hands and knees. The picture she made, made her blush even hotter, redder. Seth loomed behind her, his thick penis pressed against her bottom. He stroked her with his strong hands. “That’s what you want from me, isn't it? You love it that I'm a wild animal.”

The position made her feel too vulnerable. She murmured something incoherent and tried to scramble away, but he was too quick. He slid his strong arm in front of her hips, arching over her and holding her in place. “Trust me,” he said soothingly. “This is what you want”

She shook her head, frantic. “No, Seth. I feel too—”

“Wait,” he urged, his hands petting and soothing. “Give it a minute. Let me touch you... like this. Spread your legs wider. That's right That beautiful ass, open like a peach, all juicy and sweet. I won't do anything you don't like, Raine. I promise you'll love it.”

His fingers slipped tenderly along the delicate folds of her sex, and blissfully sensual tremors shook her at his skilful touch. He pushed her legs wider, murmuring his approval when she didn't resist.

“You'll love it like this,” His voice was a hypnotic rasp of desire. “You know why? Because you're a wild animal too, Raine. Just like me.”

He slid his thumb tenderly around her clitoris. She moved against his hand, seeking deeper contact. She had thought that the submissive position would make her feel weak and helpless, but it didn't. Not at all. It slid into focus and flooded her with heat She felt savage and hungry, full of fierce, primal yearning. All the energy of nature woke up inside her, charging her with its pure, wild potency.

She felt strong. Furious at him for his arrogance, for teasing, for making her wait She arched her back, seducing him with her body, with her naked, honest animal self. She looked into his eyes, saw his helpless response. For a bare instant, she had a fleeting sense of just how much power she could wield over him. If only she knew how.

“Beautiful, sweetheart,” he said hoarsely. “Arch your back for me, raise your ass in the air. Give it all to me.”

She obeyed him, deep in the grip of his sensual enchantment, and content to be there. He could push her all he wanted, drive her all the way to bittersweet, glorious climax. She would die if he didn't

She almost wept with relief when he fished the condom out of his jeans, smoothing it over himself. She pulsed her hips against him with a sob of eagerness, desperate to have him inside her. He grasped her hips and splayed his big hands across them, holding her still.

“Don't worry, sweetheart You'll get as much of me as you want. Just let me tell you when “

“Don't play games now, Seth. You're killing me. I can't take it.”

“What did I tell you?” he said softly, caressing the swell of her hip. “I knew you'd love it My beautiful wild animal”

He nudged his thick shaft a little deeper, and she braced herself, pushing back. “I know your secret. Beautiful animal. You're so wet and soft. You love it when we do it like this. Don't you?”

She tried to speak, but her throat was vibrating, and would not obey any mental commands. She gave him a jerky nod.

He flexed his hips, pushing deeper, his breath ragged in the silent room. His slowness maddened her. “You like that?” he demanded.

She heaved back against him with an impatient gasp. “Yes.”

“You want more? How do you want it? Deeper?”

She looked in the mirror and was lost in his dark gaze, in the pulsing magnetism of his sexual power. “Deeper” she whispered.

His fingers dug into her bottom. “Harder?”

She nodded, opening and reaching for him with every part of her whole self. “Yes,” she demanded emphatically. “Harder. Now, Seth.”

He thrust deep, his body slapping against her backside, jerking a sharp cry out of her throat. “Like that?”

“God, yes.” She sought his rhythm and lifted herself up to meet him. With each stroke she was more soft and wet and wanting.

“Look at us,” he demanded. “How your tits swing forward every time I put it to you hard, like ... this.” He punctuated his statement with a hard thrust. “God. It’s the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen.”

She stared at herself, dazed. The sight was more erotic than the most uninhibited sexual fantasy she had ever permitted herself. Her hair hung over her face, her breasts dangled and swayed, her legs were opened wide, her bottom high. And Seth behind her, as beautiful as a god, his muscular golden body driving into hers, gleaming with sweat.

He was so sexy, so strong; his big hands dark against her white flanks, the tendons standing out on his throat. He studied their image in the mirror, fascinated, one brown hand sliding up to caress her breasts, the other delving into her damp puff of blond pubic hair.

She watched herself, astonished. Her face was rosy, wanton, almost frightened. And as she watched, he reached around and pulled her up against him, her head flung back against his shoulder, open and arched back like a bow. He pulsed his hips against her with slow, controlled strength while his long fingers coaxed, caressed, undid her. Sent her flying over the top in an erotic cascade of hot, bursting pleasure.

When she could frame a coherent thought again, he had pushed her back down onto her hands again, and was thrusting hard and deep. “So beautiful,” he muttered. “Your cunt clutches at me like a wet little fist when you come. I love it. You are unbelievable, Raine. Red hot.”

Amazingly, the fierce desire began to spiral up again. She arched back and worked herself against him frantically, frightened at the intensity of the explosion gathering inside her. He followed, his instincts unerring, gathering speed and force and giving her exactly what she needed to detonate the charge. One final hard, relentless push, and she hurtled, headlong and yelling, into another orgasm.

He grabbed a handful of her hair, winding it through his fingers. “Open your eyes,” he urged. “Watch me while I fuck you, Raine.”

She opened her eyes, gasping for breath. “Oh, stop being a cave man,” she snapped. “The hair-pulling is over the top, even for you.”

He grinned, tightened his grip on her hair and pulled her head to one side, biting her on her damp neck. “You love it,” he said, watching her with each hard thrust. “Me Tarzan, you Raine.”

The goofy little line was so out of context in the dark, complex dynamic of their love play that it shocked a peal of helpless laughter out of her. Her laughter melted instantly into tears, and she collapsed forward, laughing and sobbing. She heard his voice against her ear, but couldn't understand his words. Then his anxious, pleading tone sank in.

“Don't cry on me. Raine, for God's sake. Please. I can't handle it”

“That's just tough,” she said, laughing through her tears. “If you don't like it, go find some girl who doesn't care as much.”

He pushed her down until she was lying on her belly and covered her gentry from behind, curving around her and surrounding her with his warmth. The carpet scraped against her cheek, the tears unraveled her. The sensations thundering through her body were almost too intense to call pleasure. He surged into her, tight and hot and unbearably intimate, his arms locked around her as he finally let himself come. His hips pumped furiously, his energy blasting through her body, lighting her up like a torch.

When she opened her eyes, she was lying on her side, her face wet, still shaking with tiny sobs. He stroked her hair, her shoulders, hugging her against him tightly. Nuzzling her neck with little, pleading kisses. She breathed deeply, and let the shuddering vibration subside.

Sweat began to dry upon them. He withdrew himself, got to his feet without a word, and went into the bathroom.

She tried to move, but couldn't. Her will was severed from her body. She just lay there on the carpet, limp and spent. She listened to the water run in the bathroom sink, her hair draped over her face. The door opened. He crouched down beside her, lifting the hair off her face and turning her face so that he could look into her eyes. She smelled her own fruit scented hand soap on his hands. Rosehip Raspberry.

“I'm wiped out,” she whispered. “I can't move.”

“You need food,” he said.

She grimaced. “Wilted apples with mustard? Ick.”

“Not I ordered out,” he announced, his voice triumphant. “There's bread, potato salad, turkey, pastrami, roast beef, ham. Sliced cheddar and Swiss. Some of that bottled fruit tea stuff. And brownies.”

She actually managed to lift her head at that. “Brownies?”

He slid his hands beneath her shoulders and knees, and scooped her easily into his arms, looking pleased with himself. “Yeah. Two kinds. Double fudge walnut and chocolate cheesecake swirl.” He carried her to the bed and laid her down. “I'm going to make you a sandwich. Then we'll try to get some sleep.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I don't remember inviting you to spend the night in my bed,” she said without real force.

“Official boyfriends get to spend the night,” he said, tucking the duvet carefully around her. “It's one of the perks of the job. Part of the standard contract. It’s also covered under the rules of civilized society. It's very bad form to throw a man out the door after he's made you come ... was it three times? Or four?”

Raine betrayed herself by giggling. “I really should throw you out Just to teach you a lesson.”

“Yeah. You and what ten big guys with Uzis and duct tape?”

She giggled again, and he followed up his advantage with a kiss that bloomed swiftly into something hot and sweet and sinuous. He drew back with difficulty, his breathing uneven. “Besides, who would feed you sandwiches and brownies if you threw me out?”

“You're terrible” she told him. “You really are an opportunist.”

“You're learning, babe. You're learning.” His grin slowly faded as he gazed into her eyes. “If you really wanted me to go, I'd feel it. I'd go. I don't stay where I'm not wanted. But you want me to stay. Just like you wanted me to take you on the floor just now. Like a wild animal.”

She sat up, stung, and the duvet slipped down to her waist “Don't you dare tell me what I want, Seth Mackey.”

He reached up, touching her bared breast, and she smacked his hand away. He shrugged, aggrieved. “I just followed your cues, that's all I meant I didn't mean any offense.”

She pulled the duvet up over her chest and slanted him a narrow look. “I thought you did that to punish me. For calling you an animal.”

His eyes widened, horrified. “Punish you? Fuck, no!”

“That's how it felt,” she murmured. “At least at first”

“You call screaming multiple orgasms punishment?”

She almost laughed at the bewilderment on his face. “The orgasms are beside the point.”

“The hell they are! If that’s your idea of punishment, then I'd by God like to know what constitutes a reward!”

“Seth—”

“It would probably kill me,” he went on, his voice incredulous. “My head would explode. And I didn't know being called an animal was an insult, either. On the contrary, I kind of liked it. It turned me on.”

She grabbed a pillow and swatted him with it. “Oh, please. Everything turns you on,” she snapped.

He jerked the pillow out of her hands and climbed onto the bed. He pushed her onto her back, straddled her and seized her chin, forcing her to look straight into his eyes. “Look, sweetheart. If Fm too weird, or too rough, or too over the top for you in bed, I'll tone it down. The sex doesn't have to be wild and crazy all the time. If you want it sweet and soft by candlelight, that's fine. I'll give it to you sweet and soft.”

“You will?”

“Sure. Sweet and soft is fine with me. I like it all ways. Anything you can dream of, that's my fantasy. Got that?”

She nodded. He stood up, looking relieved. ^t(Now relax while I go fix you some food.” He grabbed his jeans and tugged them on. “What do you want on your sandwich? Spell it out for me, babe. Don't make me guess. I don't want to lose any more points with you. Before I know it I'll be thrown out the door for pissing on the rug.”

“Oh, stop it,” she snapped.

“Little of everything? Mustard, mayonnaise, or both?”

“Both are fine.”

“Lemonade or peach tea?”

“Lemonade, please.”

He looked as if he wanted to say something more, but stopped himself. He picked up the pillow, tucked it tenderly beneath her head and smoothed her hair over it. “I won't be long.”

The door closed after him, and she slid down beneath the duvet, shivering in the cool sheets. She stared up at the ceiling fan, and struggled to comprehend what was happening to her.

And if it was a good thing or a bad thing.