Bedding the Wrong Brother(42)
“Tell that to the female bedbug. When she lets a male get close to her, it pierces her body cavity with its penis to deposit sperm. Seems pretty calculated to me.”
He frowned. “What are you saying, Melina? You're afraid I'm going to hurt you? Male insects don't exactly have it easy, you know. Everyone knows what happens to a male praying mantis when he mates.”
Confusion swept over her expression, making her look like the little girl he'd met when her parents had first come to help his parents. Again, she seemed to force out a little laugh. “The female only occasionally bites off his head. Only when it's well deserved, I'm sure.” She shook her head, her expression growing somber. “Seriously, of course I don't think you're going to hurt me. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I know how things go. That's why I want to learn all I can about physically pleasing a man. The flowers. Chocolates. Deep conversation that a man puts out when he's interested in a woman? It's all part of the mating ritual. A man puts forth great effort to catch a woman's attention so he can get what he wants.”
Not liking what he was hearing, he circled her like a shark, noting the increased color in her cheeks and the rapidness of her breaths. “I'm still not getting your point.”
“My point is…you don't need to do it. The teasing. The picnic. The compliments.” She waved the air separating them. “The little lessons on trust and submission. All this. I don't need to be wooed, Rhys. I'll give you what you want. I'll give you anything you want this weekend.”
Her message was implied but clear. This weekend, but not longer. He lunged for her and she squealed, barely managing to elude his grasp this time.
Despite the slow build of anger inside him, he tried grinning wolfishly. “I'm the teacher here, remember, baby? Or have you decided there's a thing or two you can teach me? If so, I'll spread myself out on that picnic blanket right now so you can show me your stuff. You'll get my point loud and clear.”
Her eyes widened, and he could see her thinking. What she said, however, nearly blew him out of the water. “What about spreading yourself out on a bed and letting me tie you down? Would that be unpredictable enough for you?”
Chapter Eight
Dalton's Magic Rule #9: Tie someone up and use a little mood music.
After her bold declaration, Melina heard nothing but the gentle lapping of the water. Unable to stand it, she looked down, straining her eyesight as if she could see one of the fish that had brushed against her. Maybe she'd been too bold? Crossed the line? Hadn't he said they'd play by his methods or not at all?
“Look at me.” Shivering at his hoarse command, she reluctantly raised her head. She gasped at the intense desire reflected in his hooded eyes, which blazed at her like ice-hot gems, but she didn't miss the edge of temper surrounding them either. “It depends what's driving you. Are you scared of me? Because if that's it, then this whole thing—”
“I'm not scared,” she rushed out. “I told you I trust you, and I do. It's just something I've never done before. All my other lovers, I would've felt silly asking them. But with you—” She shook her head. “Never mind. It was another stupid idea—”
“Come here, Melina.”
The way he said it, with more than a hint of a dare, made her heart leap out of control. To counter it, she cocked a brow, but she didn't move any closer to him. “Why?”
In response, he glided slowly toward her until they were treading water next to each other, his legs occasionally bumping against hers. What had he said about seeing her wet? Because if he touched her in the right place—she almost whimpered at the thought—he'd feel she was far wetter than mere water could make her. She was also so hot she was surprised the water around them hadn't started to boil.
Reaching out, he cupped her cheek, soothing his thumb across her brow in a tender gesture that still managed to make her think of that big bed in his bedroom and him tied down and spread out for pleasure. His and hers. He smirked as if he could read her mind. “Because I'm going to kiss you. And then we're going to get out of this lake, pack up my stuff, drive back to my house, hopefully without crashing, and you're going to tie me up. But on one condition.”
He floated closer, until her nipples brushed against his chest in a teasing dance choreographed by the water surrounding them. Desire coursed through her, a heavy ache that made her want to wrap her arms around him and sink into the liquid depths below, like a siren whisking her sailor away from his duties in favor of decadent sensation.