Close Cover (Masters and Mercenaries #16)(85)

He tugged her shirt over her head. Maybe he should make it his mission to make love to her in every damn room of this place. Everywhere he went he would be able to see her there, naked and waiting for him. They would play. He could tie her up on the bar after hours while he worked on paperwork, wrapping his rope around her naked form so he would have something pretty to look at. He would install hard points all over the place because he would want to suspend her everywhere. She was insanely gorgeous trapped in midair and waiting for her pleasure.

He wanted so badly to be her Master.

“I know you asked about it the other night, but you were also under the influence of all that strawberry wine.” He whispered the words against her ear.

“I was under the influence of everything about this town.” Her hands moved over his arms, brushing under the fabric of his T-shirt like she couldn’t wait to get it off.

“I have to know. Is our contract still in place?” He wanted to dominate her, to take control and know she trusted him in this one way. It might be the only way she trusted him.

Her eyes came up and he was floored by the need he saw there. “Yes, Remy. Please take control. For however long we have left, I want to play with you. I want to be your sweet sub in the bedroom.”

That was what he needed to hear. His cock was thick and long and thumping against his jeans. He knew exactly what he needed from her now. Complete and total submission. “Take off your clothes for me. Show me how beautiful you are. Let me know that I’m the boss here and now.”

He pulled a chair out, easing into it. He wanted her to forget all the stress of the day, all the worries they would face tomorrow. He wanted her in the here and now.

“Yes, Remy. I like working for you,” she said as she pulled her bra off and tossed it aside. Her breasts bounced free. She pulled the clip from her hair and it dropped out of its bun, cascading around her shoulders and chest. There was his lovely mermaid.

If he did take her to Chartier House, he would spend their evenings off playing around the pool in the back, skinny dipping and making love to her under the stars.

“You work with me, chèrie. Hell, sometimes I think I’m working for you,” he replied. Yes, they were playing, but he needed her to understand how smart and capable she was. She needed to value herself so when she went out into the world again, she could find something that made her happy. He was surprised at how important it was that she be happy. With him or without him. “It’s precisely why I need to be in charge of this. I have to be in charge of something or my manly ego can’t handle it.”

“I like working here and you have way less of a manly ego than I would have thought.” She toed out of her shoes and he loved that she was slightly clumsy in her haste.

“I like having you work here. It reminds me of…”

She stilled, her hands on her jeans. “Your grandparents. You know from the stories your mom tells, they probably did stuff like this. She said they were pretty crazy about each other. I like that.”

He shook his head. “Nope. Let’s not think about that.”

“But they were happy here and it must have been nice for you to have a happy couple after your dad passed away.”

“Yes, they were happy and they made us happy. They took Momma in and treated her like their own. They built this place. I think you should consider helping startups get off the ground.” He’d thought about it for a long time. She would never be happy as an accountant. She needed challenges to shake her up. “I think you should consult. But after you follow my orders, of course. The jeans and undies. Take them off now.”

He did not want to get into a career discussion with her. He wanted her mouth working on something else. And he didn’t want to think about who she would be working for in a few weeks. Here and now. It was all they had.

She shimmied out of her jeans and her undies and looked around. “Am I giving the night fishers a show?”

“Maybe, but I don’t care. I’m the king here and they can deal with how I treat my queen. My queen is the most beautiful. In the evening light her skin shines like a pearl.” He motioned her forward so he could get his hands on her hips, studying her body with loving eyes. “She is deeper than any ocean and far more mysterious to me.”

He pulled her forward, the ripe berries of her breasts calling to him. How had he gone for days and days without this? He brought her close, her back bowing, offering up her nipples. Pretty pink nipples, and he knew how to play with them. He licked one and then the other, teasing them to points. He sucked one nipple into his mouth, gently at first, lavishing it with affection. She squirmed in his arms because he was going easy on her, and his girl liked a little bite. “My queen is everything to me. She is sun and moon, night and day. She is food and water to this old wolf.”

He nipped her, his teeth sinking a tiny bit into her sensitive flesh.

She gasped and her whole body went tight and then relaxed.

“Please, Remy. That makes me crazy.” Her hands found his shoulders, balancing herself.

“The words or the bite?” He licked the tortured nipple.

“All of it,” she rasped. “All of it, mon loup. The bite, the words. God, I missed the words.”

“You are earth and air to me and even if you are gone, the memory of you will be the solid ground on which I stand, the thought of you the oxygen in my lungs. But for now I take succor from the beauty of your body, memorizing every inch, every hollow and curve. For now this is my home.”