Necromancist, p.8
Necromancist, page 8
“Making a fool of yourself,” her mother’s voice said.
Another memory poured into her mind. “Poor Alice,” her music teacher had said, addressing the dance teacher who’d smoked in the schoolyard. “She’ll never live up to her mother.”
Frowning, Ivan urged her to continue with a nudge of his head, but even the pianist didn’t take up the score, again.
She did the only thing she could to save grace. She bowed with a forced laugh and left the room. In the corridor, she started running, not stopping until she exited in the alley at the back of the warehouse. Another pair of footsteps echoed behind her on the tarmac. She glanced over her shoulder. Ivan was walking toward her at a fast pace. She broke into a sprint, barely dodging a trashcan, but three seconds later, warm fingers dug into her arm and flung her around.
“Alice!” He gave her a shake. “What happened in there?”
“Nothing.”
She tried to pull away but he didn’t relax his grip.
“Let me go.”
“You’ve got to stop lying to me, Alice.”
Trying to jerk free only prompted Ivan to dig his fingers deeper.
“Let me go or I’ll scream.”
“No, you won’t.” He backed her up to the wall until she was pressed against the hard surface.
His eyes were as mesmerizing as a magician’s but so intense she couldn’t help but cower under his stare. His square face was harder now, the sharp lines defined by the perfect shave of his short beard. The gentle, tormented boy she used to know had changed into a man, a very dangerous man. Despite her resolutions, her body heated. Liquid heat gathered between her legs, and her breasts turned heavy.
The atmosphere changed. Something in Ivan’s stance shifted. He started breathing harder. His fingers flexed on her arm, his nails imprinting half-moons on her skin. For a charged moment, they simply stared at each other until Ivan’s gaze finally dropped to her chest.
He lifted his free hand to her breast.
“No, you don’t,” she whispered.
“Oh, yes, I do.” Fingers splayed, he clamped his hand over her curve.
Her nipple hardened. Her stomach muscles fluttered as he gently rubbed a flat palm over the tip before testing the weight of her breast. She wasn’t going to give in, but her body arched toward him when he rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Taking her reaction as his cue, he leaned in. He wasn’t unaffected. It was evident in the hard-on pressing against her stomach. She jerked when he pinched her nipple, feeling the sensation all the way to her clit. Letting go of her arm, he worked her dress up over her thighs with frantic impatience.
This was it, the moment of surrender. She was too tired to fight it, any longer. She didn’t want to contemplate the consequences. All of that could come later. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t handle emotional pain. If she was sure of one thing, it was that going down this path with Ivan could only result in more pain. For now, she didn’t care, because her desire was running away with her, and it was too good to feel with so much intensity, again.
Holding her gaze, he pushed the elastic of her underwear aside and drew his finger over her folds. The contact made her shudder with pleasure. He brought up his hand up and studied his finger. It glistened with her arousal.
“Tell me you want me,” he said with a gruff voice.
He already knew that from touching her. She kept quiet.
He reached for the clip of her hair, but she tilted her head to escape the touch.
“I want to see how long it is.”
“The same as always.” Her hair wasn’t her best feature. He wouldn’t be tempted to trail his fingers through long, silky strands, because hers were brittle with split ends.
“Show me the color,” he urged.
“You know the color.”
“All right,” he gave her the indulgent smile of a cat on the hunt, “tell me the color.”
“Mousy brown, as always.”
He crushed their mouths together. When her lips parted with a gasp, his tongue delved inside. He bent his knees and rolled his hips, rubbing his cock over her sex until she parted her legs and let him settle between her thighs. The metal of his zipper slid over the silk of her panties to stroke her clit. A needy convulsion ran over her body. She inhaled sharply, sucking the air from his mouth and giving it back on a low moan. With one hand on the bun in her nape and the other on her hip, he yanked her against his lips and his cock, kissing her until she felt dizzy.
As fast as he’d started, he stopped. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before taking her glasses from his pocket and handing them back to her. “Let’s go.”
She hesitated.
“Now, Alice, unless you want to be fucked in the alley.”
Chapter 4
Not giving Alice time to answer, Ivan took her hand and led her down the street. It wasn’t a long walk to The Ritz. As they moved along, Ivan all but dragging her behind him, people turned their heads. She looked down, trying to make herself small, but if anyone recognized him, they didn’t say so.
The doorman greeted them politely in the lobby of Ivan’s building, not batting an eye at her presence or the unmistakable urgency with which Ivan rushed her to the elevator. Why would he? According to the media, Ivan slept with more women than there were days in the year.
Ivan unlocked his door and pulled her inside. The air conditioner was on full blast, making her shiver. She looked around the luxurious lounge. Sharp sunlight fell through the windows, basking the baroque furniture in a golden glow.
“Like it?” he asked close to her ear.
The decoration was over the top, too royal for her taste. She fixed her attention on the door off the side, which had to lead to the bedroom.
Following her gaze, he said, “After you.”
She summoned her courage and entered his bedroom. She still didn’t know what she wanted from Ivan, but she did know she needed his body. It wasn’t going to be gentle, she could tell from the way he ripped off his jacket and how hard he gripped her when he moved her to the bed, but gentle wasn’t what she was looking for.
He turned her to face the wall and started undressing her. His actions weren’t seductive. The zipper of her dress made a tearing noise as he pulled it down too fast. With efficient movements, like a man who knew his way around women’s clothes, he stripped her naked. His hands fell on her bare shoulders and smoothed down her back to her ass, caressing each cheek with a squeeze before he twirled her around. She stood in front of him, vulnerable and exposed, while he studied her from head to toe.
“You still want this?” he asked, breathing hard.
She nodded. It was all the affirmation he needed. With his palm between her breasts, he pushed her down on the mattress until she was flat on her back.
“This is the point of no return, Alice.” His gaze was steady, controlled and calm, but desire burned underneath the surface. “You know that, don’t you?”
“On one condition. I don’t want it to be like our first time. I want nothing to remind me of that night.”
His lashes dipped. When they finally lifted, some of the fire in his gaze was replaced with dejection. “What do you want?”
“Not gentle.”
“What are you asking of me, Princess?”
What did she want? She wanted him to wipe away the sweet, beautiful memory of their incredible lovemaking with something hard and fierce that would help her forget how good it could’ve been. She wanted him to stamp out the tender love he’d awoken and crush this never-ending emotional torment. She wanted to die in his arms so she could wake up when he was gone and start living, again. How could she explain all of that to him without confessing her feelings, without him knowing she never got over him?
“Tell me,” he urged.
“I don’t know.”
“I think I do.” He looked down at her as if he could see right into her soul. “Fine. Have it your way. I’ll give you what you want, but I’ll make it hurt so good.”
He placed his palms on the insides of her thighs and opened them wide with a rough push. True to his promise, there was nothing of the tender look she’d seen in his eyes when they’d first been together. There was only need and darkness. She feared and welcomed both. A part of her wanted that darkness because it would feel so good to be purged with his wrath.
“I would’ve loved you gently,” he said, his gaze searching hers. Upon her silence, he gave a nod. “You made your condition. Now I’ll make mine. When I’m naked, you don’t get to back out, any longer.”
She bit her lip. There was no going back. She’d already surrendered to that knowledge. For all her intentions of staying strong, she couldn’t win the battle with herself, and, to her surprise, it felt good to surrender.
After taking off her glasses and depositing them on the nightstand, he pulled open the drawer and removed a coil of rope.
Her breath caught. “What is that for?”
He stretched the rope, testing its elasticity, and gave her a slow smile. “You know what it’s for.”
She’d only ever had vanilla. The first time with Ivan had been so intense it had felt like much more, but they’d been in a missionary position. That was how she’d done it with the few lovers she’d had since. Kink wasn’t her thing, but she already knew this was going deeper than kink. It scared her witless. Most surprising was that the fear excited her.
He dropped the rope on the bed and pulled the T-shirt over his head, exposing his ripped chest. The muscles bunched in his arms as he reached for his belt. He tugged it from his jeans and dropped it to the floor, holding her eyes as he unfastened the button and pulled down the zipper.
Her mouth went dry when he pushed the fabric over his hips to free his cock. She’d forgotten how big he was. During their first time, he’d insisted on keeping the lights on, but she’d been too shy to stare. Not so, now. She was past the point of being embarrassed about the coldness of the situation. Fully naked, he walked to the edge of the bed, still looking down at her with that peculiar sad light in his eyes.
He didn’t allow her to enjoy the sight of his naked body for long. Bending down, he ran his hands over the length of her body, pausing on her breasts to pinch her nipples. They pebbled into aching points, begging for more, but he flipped her onto her stomach and lifted her arms above her head. She lay perfectly still as he tied her arms and legs to the corners of the bed, spreading her like a sacrifice. Stretched to her limit, she couldn’t move her limbs.
Too frightened to look, she kept her face burrowed in the pillow, anticipating his next move. Her muscles quivered not only from cold, but also from trepidation as Ivan knelt between her legs.
“Do I need to use a condom?” he asked.
She didn’t want anything between them. “I’m on birth control, and I’m clean.”
“So am I.” He shoved a pillow underneath her hips that lifted her ass and exposed her in the most vulnerably way.
Without warning, he parted her folds and pushed a finger inside. Already wet, her muscles welcomed the intrusion, gripping when he pulled out. She moaned. She longed for his voice, but he said nothing as he worked her arousal around her clit and rubbed two fingers over the sensitive nub. It took her only a few seconds to come.
Disappointment that he wasn’t inside her when she found her release washed over her. It made her feel empty even as aftershocks from the intense but short orgasm pulsed through her body. He stretched out on top of her, his chest pressed to her back, and stayed like that for a moment, skin on skin, before lifting off. Expecting him to take her, she called out in surprise when his finger gathered her wetness and worked it around the pucker of her ass.
His intention hit her too late. Before she could utter another sound, he penetrated the tight hole with his finger, making her gasp with discomfort. He stilled, giving her time to adjust to the intrusion.
The mattress creaked, and then he breathed in her ear, “It’ll be easier if you relax.”
When he started pumping, the burn set in, but she welcomed the sensation, needing it with a fierceness she didn’t understand. It didn’t matter why. She wanted to hurt, and she needed him to punish her. He pulled out, making her ass muscles clench. That was it? It wasn’t so bad.
He turned her face to the side, wiping away the hair that had slipped free from her bun, and placed an object in her line of vision.
“It’s a couple vibrator,” he said.
She tried to focus on the white, C-shaped object, but it was difficult without her glasses.
“This is yours. If I tell you to wear it, you’ll wear it.”
He pushed a button, and the device hummed to life. When he kneeled behind her, she looked over her shoulder. He parted her folds and slipped the vibrator inside. It fit snuggly with one end vibrating on a sensitive spot deep inside and the other on her clit. It was pleasant and electrifying, quickly making her need climb again even though she’d just had an orgasm. Her inner muscles clenched around the toy with an involuntary spasm of pleasure as Ivan sat back on his heels and watched. After a short while, apparently having had his fill, he positioned his cock at her entrance.
Anticipation made her close her eyes. He entered her slowly, sliding his cock on top of the toy until both were lodged inside. When he started moving, she was ready to come, but he slipped a hand between the pillow and her body, down between her legs, and switched off the toy.
A disappointed moan escaped, but she reveled in the feeling of him filling her, pushing in and out, the toy and his cock stretching her to a point of pleasure so intense she was going to come just thinking about it.
Her muscles already contracted in preparation for release. Before she reached the peak, he slipped a finger into her dark entrance, again. The sudden intrusion took her by surprise. The slight discomfort pulled her back from her orgasm, making her breath catch on a hitch as he moved his finger. He carried on like that for a few seconds, fucking her ass and her pussy with a synchronized pace, and then he pulled out his cock but not his finger. The toy came back to life, massaging her clit and g-spot with stronger intensity. He gathered more of her wetness and worked it around her dark hole. A second finger joined the first as he put up the speed of the vibrator another notch.
She cried out as Ivan stretched her, taking her need to a new high with both pleasure and pain. Slowly, her body adjusted until there was no more discomfort, only a strange sensation of fullness. A few seconds later, his fingers was replaced by the head of his cock that nudged at the virgin entrance.
Without giving her time to think, he pushed forward. The tight ring of muscles gave with a pop, letting him in before she could tense. He gripped her hips and lifted her higher. With the next push, he was buried inside her so deep, his groin was pressed against her ass.
It was impossible not to be loud. Her moans filled the room as he started pumping. She buried her head in the pillow to muffle the sounds. In contrast, Ivan wasn’t shy about letting her hear him finding his pleasure. He grunted behind her, bruising her hips with the force of his grip as he took her with deep, hard thrusts.
Pain mixed with pleasure until she couldn’t tell the sensations apart. The stimulation was overwhelming. Her need built to a crescendo, demanding release. Letting go, she embraced the pain. When Ivan plunged forward, she slammed back.
“Goddammit,” he gritted out.
The pain wasn’t enough, any longer. She wanted more, needed much more. It felt good to hurt. She moved harder and faster, forcing Ivan to meet her pace until the ache morphed into a deep and carnal pleasure. Her orgasm detonated slowly, spreading from her abdomen and coiling up her spine. The intensity rocked her to her core.
Ivan jerked behind her. Not a sound came from his lips as jets of cum filled up her ass. He kept on thrusting even as his dick turned soft, and only when it went limp did he pull out.
Spent, her body collapsed on the bed. She was vaguely aware of Ivan’s weight lifting from the mattress. Water turned on in the bathroom. A moment later, he returned with a warm facecloth. After removing the toy, he clean her gently before untying her. When her arms and feet were free, he turned them both on their sides with her back against his chest.
He stroked her shoulder and arm for a long time, until the room shone copper in a bronze dusk. Long shadows fell over the floor, filling her heart with a sudden coldness. When she shivered, he tightened his arms around her. Snuggling closer, she absorbed his heat. He rubbed against her, his cock growing hard between the globes of her ass. She stilled. Without warning, he penetrated her with a single thrust from behind. Her inner walls contracted around the intrusion. Nerve endings came to life when he started pumping, but it was over before she could find her pleasure. He came quickly, his cum running down the insides of her legs and dripping on his sheets. Once he’d pumped himself empty, the vise of his arms eased to a gentler embrace. After how rough he’d fucked her, holding her came as a surprise.
A realization hit her. They weren’t two people making love. In this case, there was a winner and a loser. His hug wasn’t a gesture of caring. It was the consolation he offered to the loser of their fight. He’d meant to hurt her, and she’d welcomed it. Why did the tender way in which he held her hurt so much more?
She fought to get up, and he let her. Clothes lay scattered over the floor. Where it had seemed so hot, so out of control just an hour ago, it now seemed shameful, not because she’d slept with him, but because of what she wanted him to do to her. In those moments of passion, she’d felt free, relieved even, but now reality came crashing back.
Bending to retrieve her underwear, she caught a glimpse of herself in the full-length mirror. Her hips were wide, her stomach round, and her thighs plumper than when Ivan had first met her. Behind her, he got to his feet in all his naked glory. The timing couldn’t have been worse. Next to her, he was sculptured perfection, his skin glowing with a golden color. She hastily pulled on her clothes to cover her untanned skin, a skin the London climate had not blessed with a bronze tan. She smoothed down her hair, not bothering to redo the bun. When she straightened from putting on her shoes, Ivan stood next to her, holding her glasses.
