His stamina amazed her. He was a machine. A beautiful, ruthless machine designed to bring her maximum pleasure.

He wrapped his hand in her hair, twisted and then pulled her head back, angling it so she was forced to meet his fierce gaze. His eyes glittered. Animalistic? Oh yeah, she’d gotten her wish. This was no gentle wooing. No swoony love-making session. This was as guttural as it got. He was fucking her, owning her, giving her no doubt that he owned every inch of her body and that he could do what he damn well pleased with her.

“Come, Ren. You have exactly ten seconds to take your pleasure before I take mine.”

To reinforce his command he pulled harder on her hair and began fucking in long, rapid strokes that shook her entire body.

Her vision blurred. Heat fanned out over her body until sweat broke out on her forehead. Tension. So much tension. He drove into her body, hammering with speed and force that made her breathless.

And then his other hand went to her neck. Just a simple, gentle caress. He ran his fingers over her shoulder and then down to her breast to tenderly brush over her nipple.

The contrast between the savagery of his possession and the one hand in her hair holding her so tightly and the other hand caressing her so sweetly completely undid her.

Her orgasm flashed over her, brutal in its intensity. So …powerful. She couldn’t breathe. She could only take what he continued to give her as wave after wave of excruciating pleasure consumed her.

She didn’t want it to end. Not just the orgasm, but the experience of being so consumed by this man. She wanted him to keep touching her. To keep that contact between them and the intimate connection made so much stronger by trust.

Did she trust him? Definitely she did. And maybe that made her a fool, but she saw no deception in him. All she saw was genuine regret and a soul-deep desire to make up for past mistakes.

Even when she’d felt betrayed by him, she’d known he would never hurt her. Never.

His thrusts slowed and he became gentler as her skin prickled with post-orgasmic sensitivity. Then he pulled out and walked around in front of her, yanking impatiently at the condom.

“Open your mouth.”

Her lips obediently parted and he placed the tip of his cock on her bottom lip and began to work his hand back and forth.

“Put your tongue out. That’s it,” he said when she complied.

He closed his eyes and groaned, gave one more pull and the first jet of semen shot into her mouth. He continued to guide the hot liquid onto her tongue and then he slid into her mouth, warm and rigid and emptied the last of his release into the back of her throat.

For the longest time he remained there, his cock deep in her mouth as he stroked her hair with loving caresses. Then finally he pulled away and brushed his thumb over her swollen lips.

He tucked himself back into his slacks then bent to retrieve the belt he’d dropped on the floor. Her ass tingled all over again as she relived each and every stroke of the leather.

“Get dressed,” he said softly. “I’ll have the saleslady collect our purchases and send me the bill.”

CHAPTER 21

Ren was nervous and she wished she wasn’t. With Lucas she didn’t worry because …She frowned a moment, feeling disloyal for the thoughts crossing her mind. But it wasn’t like she could turn off an entire year of an intense, close connection to a man she trusted implicitly.

When she was with Lucas, she didn’t fear new situations. She knew with absolute certainty that he would take care of her, make sure she was comfortable and that any fears or nervousness she might experience would be soothed.

With Lucas, she felt confident and at peace both with herself and her role in his life.

Now she was going with Cole to meet his friends and the fact that she was on edge was pretty damn ridiculous. She’d even met Damon and his wife already, though not under the best of circumstances.

But she’d only been with Cole two days. She’d only been back in his life such a short time. Though she did trust him, she hadn’t yet reached the same level of confidence as she had with Lucas. No, Cole wouldn’t hurt her physically, but he’d hurt her emotionally. He’d devastated her and he had the power to do so again no matter how much she wished no man held such power over her.

And well, there was the fact that Cole had been intimate in varying degrees with both women who would be present. If that didn’t make things awkward, she didn’t know what would.

She put on a pink dress that fit her like a dream with just a little swish at her mid-thigh. Enough to make her feel a little sassy and the color set off the dramatic midnight black of her hair and her creamy skin tone.

The hot pink fuck-me shoes were the natural choice, but when put together with the dress, it made her feel like a tart. The Barbie shoes would wait for another night when she didn’t care one way or another what others thought of her.

Instead she went with strappy silver sandals with a clear heel and just enough bling to make her feet sparkle. What girl could resist sparkly shoes? If there was such a woman, it wasn’t her.

She brushed out her hair, applied pink lip gloss and then went in search of Cole. He was waiting at the bottom of the stairs and whistled appreciatively as she descended.

His smile brought back so many memories. He looked …happy. And younger. Much like the young man she’d known ten years ago. Only now he was much more larger than life, older, wiser and so damn gorgeous and confident that she went weak in the knees around him.

What would their lives be like now if he hadn’t walked away? Would they have stayed together? Would they be happy even now?

As she got to the last step, he reached up to take her hand and assist her down. He pulled her in close, breathed in the scent of her hair, just like he always used to do, and then he nudged her chin up so he could take her mouth.

And she said take, because that’s precisely what he did. He didn’t kiss her exactly, although that was what happened. But it was the way he kissed her. It was a reminder—a forceful, unmistakable reminder—of his possession. That he considered her his. But at the same time, it wasn’t a sterile, clinical gesture.

It was …sweet. Breathtaking.

Warmth spread through her veins until her pulse throbbed and her chest squeezed for air. All her lip gloss would be gone but she didn’t give a damn.

What woman didn’t want to be kissed this way? Tender. Yet strong, dominant, reassuring. That was the word she was trying to think of. Reassuring.

His touch held a wealth of reassurance. It told her I’ll never let anything touch you. I’ll take care of you. You’re mine.

When he pulled away, their gazes locked and he seemed content to simply stare at her. He touched her cheek with his finger and traced a gentle line over the contours of her face.

“You’re beautiful, Ren. You’ve always been beautiful but there is something mesmerizing about you now. Time has been very good to you. You look …content. Confident. And I can’t tell you how sexy I find confidence on a woman. You look like a woman with nothing to prove and it makes me want to possess you all the more.”

Her cheeks tightened with pleasure at the compliment but also at the sincerity that warmed his eyes. She self-consciously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and he chuckled softly, tracing the path of her hand with his own.

“You always did do that when I complimented you. It’s still as adorable now as it was then.”

To cover the fact that she had no idea how to respond, she broke away and performed a sassy twirl and then held up her hands. “Do I look all right? Not going to embarrass you in front of your friends?”

He frowned and then caught her hand. “Never.”

He tucked her into his side and started for the front door. Parked outside was a steel gray Aston Martin. She lifted one eyebrow as he opened her door for her and she slid into the luxurious leather seat.

When Cole slid in next to her and started the engine, she quickly buckled herself but stared over as he pulled out of the drive.

“How did you make your fortune, Cole? Not that I ever doubted you wouldn’t become a success, but when we parted, you were still raising cash for your first business venture. At the time, no one wanted to deal with you because you were so young and you didn’t yet have a business degree. Did you ever finish school?”

Cole grinned, pulled out on the highway and gunned the engine. “Nope. You better than anyone knows that school frustrated me. I didn’t like the regimen, the discipline and above all the patience. I never subscribed to the whole do A and then B and eventually get a job doing C.”

She sighed. “Unlike me, who craved the routines and schedules and the comfort of knowing I’d be employable after graduation. Even if I did never end up using my degree. So you made it all on your own?”

“I bought into a partnership because I was never able to raise enough capital to go out on my own. After two years, I bought out my partners, spent another year streamlining the business until it was turning a healthy profit and then I sold it for a very nice sum of money. Enough to live on and begin a new venture.”

“And what do you like to venture in?” she asked.

“Damon and I partner on a lot of projects now. I have a keen interest in timber, chips and bio fuels.”

She wrinkled her nose. “It all sounds like Greek to me. You invest in potato chips?”

He laughed and reached over to tug at her hair. “No, smartass. Wood chips. To make paper out of. I supply paper mills with chips. I also own a sawmill and am partnered with Damon on another. But I also fund a lot of development and I turn over real estate.”

“So you’re in the business of making money,” she teased.

Cole snorted. “Aren’t we all?”

She shrugged. “I suppose. I guess you’re just particularly good at it.”

He nodded and didn’t offer any false modesty, which she found even more drool-worthy. She hated a man who didn’t own his success. Or made silly excuses or blamed luck. Cole knew he was good. He may not walk around bragging about it but he wasn’t about to not take credit for it either.

“So tell me something,” she said after clearing her throat. “About tonight.”

He turned to quickly glance at her, one eyebrow lifted. “You aren’t worried about tonight, are you? We don’t have to go. Just say the word. I’ll arrange for us to have a nice dinner together just you and I.”

She smiled, touched by his concern. “No, that isn’t what I mean. I’m just wondering how this is supposed to play out. I mean, am I going as your …” She formed the word carefully, not wanting to sound offended or like she thought he was being disrespectful to her. “…submissive. I mean, I know you said both Damon and Micah are like these big dominant males with women who are completely submissive to them, and I just wasn’t sure what my role is tonight. I just don’t want to embarrass you or do or say the wrong thing.”

To her utter shock, his expression went grim and then he swerved onto the shoulder before pulling to an abrupt halt. Then he turned in the seat to face her.

“What you are, is someone very important to me. These are my friends. Very good friends. It’s no different than any other group of friends who get together and have dinner, have a few drinks, laugh and have good conversation. Yes, Serena and Angelina are submissive. They also happen to be very much in love with their husbands, and conversely they are adored beyond reason by their men. If you want to know if they know anything about our relationship, the answer is no. However, they are well acquainted with my proclivities, if that word doesn’t offend you, so they are very likely to guess or at least speculate on your role in my life.”

“I’m sorry,” she offered softly. “I’m still just a bit off kilter with all of this. Three days ago I was with a completely different man. A whole different set of rules. You have to know, this isn’t typical of me. I prefer long-standing, intimate relationships with a foundation of trust. I’m not into bed hopping or partnering up on a whim. I’m still a little bewildered by how quickly I became the property of another man.”

He touched her chin, forcing her gaze back upward. “Not just another man, Ren. Me. There’s a difference. You were mine first. And don’t apologize for wanting information before walking into a new situation. I should have done a better job of explaining it to you. I’d never ever want you to feel uncomfortable, embarrassed or uneasy. I’m not some asshole who has to flash around his submissive on a leash in order to prove I’m some kind of man. I don’t need those kinds of statements in order for the world to know you’re mine. The only people who need to know it are you and me. Everyone else? I could give a fuck about.”

She smiled because now more than ever he sounded just like the Cole she’d always known. No, he’d never given much credence to what others thought. It was likely what had made him the success that he’d become.

He smoothed his palm over her face, brushing aside a strand of hair. “Does it bother you, Ren? For them to know you’re mine?”