Bound

CHAPTER SIX

THE next night Ronin whisked Amery into the elevator within thirty seconds of her walking in the building.

He didn’t touch her until they were in his penthouse, herding her against the wall with the soft command “Hold still.”

Not only did she hold still, but Amery held her breath.

Ronin’s lips glided across hers. His mouth imparted softness and heat. And patience. Lord, he had such patience. He didn’t dive in. His lips moved with erotic precision, as if memorizing the shape of her mouth.

One of Ronin’s hands cradled the back of her head; the other lightly circled her neck. He held her entirely in his thrall: her body and her will.

“So warm. So soft. I could eat at his mouth for hours,” he murmured, taking his own sweet time.

Amery clenched her fists by her sides, wanting so much to touch him. To feel the hard planes and the curves of his muscles beneath her hands. But she wanted his kiss—his whole kiss. Wanted to feel his tongue invade her mouth. Wanted him to consume her however aggressively or sweetly he desired.

His thumb swept across the pulse point at the base of her jaw—a lazy counterpoint to how fast her heart beat. And still he teased. Stealing her breath with every leisurely slide of his lower lip over hers.

Finally he said, “Open and let me taste you, Amery.”

Her lips parted and he sealed his mouth to hers. His tongue slipping past her teeth to stroke and lick.

The man knew how to kiss. Gradually cranking the power until she felt the change in him and his passion, his hunger rolling over her in a storm of need.

Amery returned his kiss with equal greed. Losing herself in his taste, letting him lead, but also showing him she’d follow wherever he opted to take them.

The kiss reached the combustible stage. She wanted to claw at his clothes to get to bare skin, reach down and undo his fly.

Ronin broke the kiss and pressed his cheek to hers, murmuring, “Hands at your sides.”

She let her hands fall down.

His ragged breathing ruffled her hair. He remained like that until she relaxed. Then his fingers started caressing her neck. He rubbed his lips across the top of her ear. “It’s humbling the way you just hand yourself over to me without question. That act of trust is a drug to someone like me.”

“Someone like you?” she repeated.

“Someone who not only wants a beautiful woman on his arm and in his bed, but a woman who can truly surrender herself to a man who will give her what she wants.”

“Which is what?”

“Pleasure without apology.”

Amery found herself leaning into him again. “Are you taking me to bed, Ronin?”

“Soon, but not tonight.”

She knew he sensed her disappointment.

“While I want you twined around me in every possible config- uration, there’s no rush.” Ronin kissed her temple, then her forehead, and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. His hands fell away. “I promised you a drink.”

“You said you had a surprise for me.”

“I do. Let’s figure out what we’re drinking first.” Ronin threaded their fingers together and led her to the bar in the corner of the dining room.

She loved the mix of old and new in this cozy corner bar. It had such personality she didn’t know how she’d missed it the night he’d given her the penthouse tour. Exposed red clay brick walls, bright blue neon lighting beneath the teak bar top. Track lighting hanging from the rafters highlighted the glass shelves holding the liquor bottles on the bar-back and cast muted light over the entire area. She slid onto a sleek leather and chrome barstool.

“What’ll it be?”

Her eyes scanned the liquor bottles. “Do you have every kind of booze there is?”

“I like a variety.”

“What do you usually drink?”

“Depends on my mood. I’m leaning toward a gin and tonic.”

“I’ll have the same.”

Ronin smiled. “Coming right up.”

Amery bit back a girlie sigh at seeing his rare smile. With her, away from the dojo, he seemed to have a softer side. Ronin in action as eighth-degree black belt and hard-ass owner of Black Arts had a cool veneer as well as an aura of power. Everything about him screamed discipline.

With that cool veneer stripped away, the man oozed sex. From his unruly black hair, to his liquid brown eyes that changed from ice to fire in one quick blink, to the fullness of his sensual mouth. And don’t get her started on the strength in his body. The measured way he walked—a combination of purpose and grace. The deliberateness as his hands performed a task even as simple as making a drink—no wasted movement. The man was an erotic enigma.

So . . . why was he interested in her?

She’d been so lost in thoughts of him she jumped when he slid a drink across the bar.

“See if that tastes okay.”

Amery sucked in a mouthful and swallowed. Crisp, tangy, limey. She smacked her lips. “It’s perfect. Is there anything you don’t do well?”

Ronin thought about it a bit before he shook his head. “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.”

“You’re intimidating as hell, Ronin Black.”

He offered a slight bow. “Thank you.”

Yeah, she was in way over her head with this man.

“Come on.”

Amery followed him inside the elevator.

He opened a small panel above the main controls and punched in a code.

The elevator moved up.

Wait. Up? Weren’t they on the top floor?

Before Amery could ask what was going on, the doors opened and a breeze blew in.

Ronin took her hand.

They stepped out of a small alcove onto the roof. As soon as they turned the corner, she gasped.

Ronin said, “Surprise.”

This wasn’t an ordinary roof in the city with vents sticking up and razor wire strung across the roof supports. This was an urban oasis with a view of the Rocky Mountains, the Denver skyline, and the Platte River Valley. And with the added height of brick walls around the entire perimeter, none of it was visible from street level. She said, “Heckuva surprise, Ronin,” and set her drink on the closest table.

The forward space had been transformed into a Japanese garden, complete with full-sized junipers shaped into bonsai trees and a rock garden with a trickling waterfall. Pots of blooming flowers were scattered everywhere. Long strips of green grass were interspersed with raised beds filled with sand and stones.

Amery looked to the right to where an eight-foot wall bisected the space. The pattern in the brick was eye-catching, as was the curved door in the center, crafted out of ornate metal. She glanced at Ronin over her shoulder. “What’s through there?”

“Take a peek.”

She crossed the decking, giving the thickly padded cushions on the chaise lounges a longing look. Somehow she tore her gaze from the relaxing garden and paused in front of the doorway.

That’s when she caught a whiff of chlorine. “No way.” She pushed through the gate and found herself in front of a big swimming pool with underwater lighting. This side had the same concealing brick walls. Tables and chairs lined the outside of the pool with seating for at least a dozen people. Torches were jammed in planters at various intervals. She squinted at the far back corner and noticed a structure with a grass-thatched roof. Tiki bar?

Amery closed her eyes and listened. She could barely hear the city noise up here. She felt him move in behind her, and her pulse quickened.

He didn’t touch her even when he spoke directly into her ear. “You’re quiet.”

“Stunned into silence. This whole rooftop thing you’ve got going on is beyond fabulous. I feel like I stumbled onto an episode of Cribs.”

“I’ll admit I indulged myself. Urban living has rewards, but I need that daily communal with nature in my life, so making the rooftop into usable outdoor space was the logical choice. Maybe not the cheapest or the most practical solution, but this garden is my haven.”

“How many people know about this place?”

“Not many. I guard my private space militantly. This is the tallest structure for several blocks. The only people who can see it are flying in the air above us. And even if they pinpoint the location, if they were standing on the street level they’d never find it.”

She tipped her head back, intending to look at the night sky, but Ronin was right there, gazing into her eyes, his face completely unreadable.

“Thank you for sharing this with me.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

“I’d appreciate that.” Ronin pressed his lips to the pulse point at the base of her throat.

Amery wanted to curl herself into him. Beg him to strip her and take her right here on the sun-warmed cement. But the nice-girls-don’t-do-that voice popped up in her head and took control of her mouth, keeping it firmly closed.

“Would you prefer to sit on the garden side or the pool side?”

“Pool side.”

He kissed the area below her ear. “Pick a spot and I’ll grab your drink.”

She wandered around the pool, choosing a chair with an ottoman. After sinking into the plush cushion, she propped up her feet. A soft breeze drifted over her and she closed her eyes. She heard Ronin wandering around and opened her eyes to see him lighting a candle on the table.

“I feel like I’m in some tropical paradise far from the mountains of Denver, Colorado.” She sipped her drink. “Do you spend much time up here?”

“As much as I can. I swim most mornings. I don’t bring work up here. I keep it . . . pure, for lack of a better term.”

“The sand and rocks portions on the other side . . . part of a Zen garden?”

“On a small scale. It is gratifying and mind clearing to draw images in the sand and attempt to stack rocks. Humbling to witness the resilience in nature’s elements and understand that no matter how much we fight against it, we can’t control it.”

His mind fascinated her; he had such a unique outlook. “I hope you don’t take this question the wrong way, but is a Japanese garden a family tradition?”

Ronin looked at the wall as if he were looking through it. “I never thought about the garden being a household tradition. But there’s been one in every place I lived growing up, even for the few years we lived in the U.S.”

That was the most he’d ever said about his family beyond the basics. “Do my questions bother you?”

Those sharp eyes were on her. “You ask me questions most people don’t, which is probably why I answer them.”

“I wasn’t allowed to ask too many questions growing up, so I made up for it after I escaped to college.”

His thoughtful gaze remained on her as he sipped his drink. “We had that in common.”

Silence lingered between them.

Amery let her head fall back and closed her eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so content.

Yet she felt Ronin’s eyes on her, moving across her body with as much power as an actual caress. She knew Ronin wanted her. They were adults; they should feel free to act on those desires. What was the holdup?

“What are you thinking about that’s put that furrow in your brow?”

She didn’t respond immediately.

“Don’t try to craft a plausible lie; I’ll know if you’re telling the truth.”

“How? Ninja mind tricks or something?”

He laughed softly. “No tricks. I can tell by your eyes. You have very expressive eyes, Amery. Your emotions are right there.”

Feeling a little reckless, she opened her eyes and leaned closer to him. “So tell me what I’m feeling, Ronin.”

He reached out and ran his knuckles down the side of her face, his gaze locked on hers. “You’re frustrated with me. You wonder why we’re not in my bedroom or even going at it right here on a chaise. You wonder if the problem is you. If you’re acting too desperate for sex and if it’s a turnoff for me. You also wonder if it’s me. If I have some kind of sexual dysfunction.”

Could he tell, even in the darkness, that she was blushing? She picked up her drink and drained it. Then she hopped up from her chair and walked around the edge of the pool. The concrete had retained some of the day’s warmth as she crossed to the steps on the far end. She dipped her toe into the water before she dropped both feet onto the first step.

She sighed. Of course the water was the ideal temperature. What would it feel like to have the warm caress of water over every inch of her bare skin? To float in the void where all her senses were dulled?

“You’re welcome to swim,” he said from across the patio.

“I don’t have a swimsuit.”

“So swim naked.”

Amery choked back a laugh. Right. She’d just strip and dive right in as if being naked in public was no big deal. It was a very big deal to her, and she hated that it was.

That sense of panic seized her. How had she ever believed she could get naked with Ronin Black? A man who probably had zero inhibitions and acres of muscles beneath his golden skin. Whereas she . . . had pasty white skin everywhere, the majority of it never having been exposed to the sun, or to very many men.

Right then she suspected this would be the last time she’d be alone with Master Black. She couldn’t risk—

Rough-skinned hands curled around her face and tipped her head back. Ronin said, “Lose that forlorn look, Amery. And don’t even think about leaving,” before smashing his mouth to hers in a consuming kiss.

If she hadn’t gripped the handrail tightly, she would’ve lost her balance and tipped them both into the pool. Her knees were feeling as weak as her will. Her head buzzed and she didn’t know if this was from slamming her drink or from his powerful kiss.

When she shifted toward him, he made a low sound in the back of his throat and scooped her into his arms.

Okay. The buzzing in her brain and the zinging in her blood were definitely from this man.

Ronin sat, keeping her sideways across his lap, continuing to kiss her. A hot, wet kiss that deleted all thoughts beyond more. The hard ridge of his cock digging into the outside of her thigh erased her doubts about his attraction to her.

Finally he broke their lip-lock and rested his forehead to hers. “You are beautiful. Get it out of your head I don’t want you because I haven’t pinned you to the ground and fucked you until my knees are raw.”

“Ronin—”

“Listen to me.”

That tone immediately had her mouth snapping shut.

“What were you thinking when you were standing in the pool?” He eased back to look into her eyes. “Truth.”

“That for all my bold talk I’m not brave enough to strip my clothes off in front of you and dive naked into the deep end of the pool.”

“Why?” His eyes darkened. “Do I scare you?”

“I scare me. I’m not a casual nudist.”

“And yet . . .” His fingers traced the seam of her capris up the inside of her thigh. “You tore off your pants and threw them at me the first night we met. Seeing those purple bikini panties? Every professional thought vanished from my head.”

She buried her face in his neck. “I don’t know what possessed me to do that. I’ve never done anything like that before in my life. I was just so . . . mad at you.”

“I’ve been told I have that effect on people,” he said dryly. “But most people throw punches at me, not clothing.”

“Did you think I was crazy? Or just easy?”

“Neither. I thought you were fiery and sexy. You were real, Amery. Because of who I am . . . I receive deference, not defiance. Your response intrigued me.” His lips brushed her ear. “You intrigue me. The proper girl who balks at casual nudity, yet I sense your desire to be bold. You can see yourself as the woman who strips bare to skinny-dip because it makes you feel rebellious. You want that rebel to break free.”

How had he read her so easily?

“Am I wrong?”

“No. I want to be freed from the moral shackles that’ve weighed me down my entire life. Not in a Girls Gone Wild way, but like you said, to show myself that I can let go and not feel guilty about it.”

“I’ll help you to let go.”

Her belly flipped. “How?”

“You have to trust me to find out.”

But I don’t really know you.

That realization didn’t bother her as much as the thought of saying no to him. Amery inhaled a deep breath and said, “Okay.”

“Hang on.” Ronin stood and deposited her on the chair. He scooted the ottoman closer to her and sat on it. He claimed her mouth in a sensual kiss. While his tongue tangled and teased, he began to unbutton her blouse.

She lifted her hands to touch him.

He took her hands and peered into her face so deeply she swore his gaze had brushed her soul. He kissed the tips of her fingers. “I touch. You let me.”

“But how is sitting here doing nothing teaching me to be bold?”

“Bold is not only an action. Bold is an attitude. Bold is a state of mind.” Ronin rubbed her knuckles across his jaw. “Sometimes the boldest choice is to let go. It takes more courage to trust someone else to give you what you need than it does to just rely on getting it yourself.”

“I never thought of it that way.”

Ronin smiled. “Which is the perfect time for me to point out I don’t want you to think. I want you to feel.”

Amery had the oddest feeling of . . . surrender? Or was it power?

“I see it in your eyes, Amery. Let me show you how bold you can be.” He kissed her again, his mouth coaxing hers to respond.

And respond she did. She stopped worrying where her hands should be and concentrated on the placement of his hands. Of the dexterity in his fingers as the rough tips brushed her skin. She let his pace—sometimes fast, sometimes slow—roll over her. Feed her. Soothe her. Incite her.

Then his callused hands were sliding beneath her collar. He pushed the shirt off her shoulders and down her arms until the fabric caught in the bend in her elbows. Rather than tugging it free, he murmured, “Perfect,” and pressed an openmouthed kiss to the center of her chest. “Lean back and rest on your hands.”

In this wanton position, she couldn’t help arching her spine, offering him total access to whatever he wanted.

Ronin’s fingers danced over her. Following the edges of her collarbones, the cords in her neck. The curve of her shoulders. “Your skin tone is amazing. So pure.”

Not pure, her anti-goddess side chimed in, pasty white.

For once she told that voice to shut up.

He twisted the front clasp of her bra and the cups separated. Although her eyes were closed, she felt his greedy gaze on her breasts as he slid her bra down to meet her shirt.

She tried to slide her palms out, but there wasn’t any give in her shirt and she couldn’t move.

Not a terrifying thought; an exhilarating one, the new goddess inside her purred.

“That’s it. Just you and me out here. No one knows what we’re doing but us.” Ronin’s hands cupped her breasts. He circled his thumb across her areola, almost brushing her nipple but not quite. His hands squeezed and plumped her flesh. Her breasts weren’t large, but they’d always been sensitive. Former lovers hadn’t paid much attention to her chest, and she’d assumed men preferred a big rack.

But Ronin worshipped her, first with his hands. Then with his mouth. Light flicks of his tongue. Soft sucks increasing in intensity until she swore he’d sucked her whole breast into the wet heat.

He said, “I want to hear you if you like how I’m touching you.”

Amery opened her eyes and met his gaze. “You think I’m being quiet because we’re outside and I’m afraid someone will hear me?”

“Are you?” he asked, and blew a stream of air over the damp tip.

“No. I’m just in shock because no man has ever given so much attention to my”—just say the word, don’t be PC—“tits before.”

Ronin said, “Pity, because these tits are perfection. Soft, creamy white flesh, big pink nipples. And they’re so responsive.” Keeping his eyes on hers, he bit down just shy of the point of pain. “Can you come just from nipple play?”

“I—I don’t know. I’ve never tried it.”

He continued to pluck the rigid points while he moved his mouth and face across the upper swells. “Would I find your cunt wet if I slipped my hand into your pants right now?”

“Yes.”

“I want to make you come. But I want to do it my way, Amery. You still feeling bold?”

“Yes.”

“Say, Make me come, Ronin. I don’t care how you do it.”

Amery repeated, “Make me come, Ronin. I don’t care how you do it, but make me come now.”

She felt him smile against her chest at her added plea. “Close your eyes. No matter what, keep them closed. Arch your back and spread your legs.”

Ronin’s voice had become velvet coercion—soft and sexy wrapped around a steely command.

He curled his hands around her face and he kissed her with the single-minded concentration that left her breathless. Helpless. Delirious. He eased back on the kiss, and one hand fell away as the other stroked her cheekbone.

He said, “Hold still,” and a second later something landed directly on her nipple. Molten at first and she almost cried out from the quick pain, but then it was gone, leaving warmth in its wake. Then his mouth was on hers again, for a long, slow kiss.

She whimpered when he pulled away and whimpered louder when a splash of heat seared her other nipple. That spark of pain lasted longer and was immediately followed by another one on the top of her left breast.

Before Amery could open her eyes, Ronin was there again, his fingers on her jaw, holding her in place as he kissed her stupid.

“So bold,” he murmured in her ear after he broke the kiss. “A little more and I promise I’ll make you come.”

More spikes of fierce pain. More intoxicating kisses. Just when she thought she couldn’t take any more, and considered jumping into the pool to ease the fiery heat spreading across her skin, a breeze wafted over her, cooling her off. Along with that came Ronin’s scent; she let that male musk soothe her senses, even as her heart picked up speed whenever that scent came closer. And beneath that she caught a whiff of citronella. Her mind cleared enough to realize Ronin was dripping candle wax on her.

Ronin didn’t kiss her after the next pinpricks heated her flesh. His hand moved between her legs to rub the seam of her capris against her clit.

“Oh god.”

Then his assault was relentless. Hot wax spattered on her chest, running down the valley of her cleavage—hot enough to steal her breath. Then Ronin’s hungry mouth was licking and biting her neck, turning her skin into a mass of gooseflesh. She swore the man had three hands and two mouths with the way he touched her and teased her.

“My bold Amery,” he whispered against her throat. “Are you ready to come?”

“Yes, please.” She canted her hips up, wanting his hand on the zipper of her pants, wanting his fingers testing her wetness and pushing deep inside her.

“Look at yourself.”

Amery opened her eyes and looked at her chest. Spots of wax dotted her skin. Her nipples were completely coated. A few rivulets ran down the plane of her belly. Seeing what it looked like, knowing she’d let him do that to her, caused her face to flame.

Ronin tipped her chin up. “Are you embarrassed?”

“I don’t know. It looks like . . .”

“Like I came on your chest. Like I marked you.”

She nodded.

“My way of letting you know I intend to mark you this way sometime.”

Be bold. Amery cocked her head. “And if you had? If my hands were free I’d swipe my finger across that big spot above my nipple and lick it.”

Ronin snarled and seized her mouth, one hand on the back of her head as he angled her backward, his other hand diving between her thighs, the heel of his hand grinding side to side, rubbing the seam directly over her clit.

The ferocious kiss ended abruptly. She kept her eyes closed as his teeth enclosed her nipple and bit down until the wax cracked and fell away. Then he suckled the tip strongly.

Amery was off balance. Entirely at Ronin’s mercy. She couldn’t move; she couldn’t control anything except accepting that she had no control.

Ronin moved his mouth to her other breast. The wax pulled at the tender tip as he removed it with his mouth. Then he groaned and his focus was on her nipple.

The grinding rub of his hand, his sucking mouth, his labored breathing, and the intense attention he lavished on her coalesced into that perfect moment. The orgasm hit her from all sides, setting off a throbbing in her nipples, clenching in her pussy. Even him pulling a fistful of her hair added to the erotic sensations bombarding her.

She couldn’t quit gasping until that moment when the pulses ended, the roaring in her ears faded to a dull whoosh, and her body quit trembling violently.

Stu-fucking-pendous. She’d never come like that. Not in twenty-eight years. She never knew she could come that powerfully. She’d begun to believe the awe-inspiring orgasm claims women made were a myth.

Not a myth with Ronin Black. He’d made her come that hard without his mouth or his cock, or even his fingers directly on her pussy.

The man had ninja sex skills too.

“I like that smile,” he said with amusement.

“You put it there.”

Ronin teased her lips and dragged his fingertips across her lower belly. “So I did. Hang tight for a second.” He brought her upright and disappeared into the tiki hut bar.

Amery watched his movements as he crossed the deck of the pool. He grabbed something off the counter and turned around.

That’s when she noticed the bulge in his pants. A big bulge. She kept her eyes on it as he settled across from her. Then she met his eyes.

“Yes, my cock is doing a steel post impression right now. That’s how you affect me.” He followed her jawline from side to side with the tips of his fingers.

“Do you want me to do something about that?”

“No. It’ll pass.” He kissed her again. “We’ll test your boldness with that another night.”

She laughed, mostly because this sexual teasing felt right between them. “Okay.”

He bent forward and breathed on her chest, a hot wash of air that made her skin tingle. His touch as he peeled the wax away wasn’t clinical, but highly sensual. His fingers stroking her skin and his soft mouth placing a tender kiss in the spot before moving to the next dot.

Amery closed her eyes, turned upside down by this man. Maybe part of her worried this was a practiced routine with him, but if he’d wanted something in return, he would’ve taken her up on her offer to alleviate his hard-on.

Then he said, “Done.” He kissed her again while he slipped her bra back into place and as he adjusted her shirt and rebuttoned it. He rested his forehead to hers. “You know I want you to stay tonight, right?”

“I do. And you know I would if you asked me. But I understand that’s not in the cards.” She didn’t push—for some reason he was sending her home. If he wanted her to know why, he’d tell her.

Maybe this Zen thing was contagious.

“I’ll walk you down to your car.”

He’d do it regardless of whether she argued with him, so she didn’t bother.

Ronin rose to his feet and helped her up. “You’ll be in class tomorrow night.”

Not exactly a question. “I imagine.” She cocked her head and looked at him. “Unless Sensei says otherwise?”

“No. You will be in class tomorrow night,” he repeated. But he said nothing about what happened after class.

Amery took one last look around the garden before they got on the elevator.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be here again. Sooner, rather than later.”

That was enough for her, for now.