Desire in the Dark Naima Simone
Alise has been in love with Mac since she moved to New Eden, Washington. Unfortunately, the sexy attorney considers her a friend…and not one “with benefits”. Just as Alise decides unrequited love is for fools and poets, a freak thunderstorm plummets the town into darkness and traps her with the man who has starred in her every erotic fantasy for the past year. A blackout. Wine. A gorgeous man. Anything could happen.
An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication
www.ellorascave.com
Desire in the Dark ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Desire in the Dark Copyright 2010 Naima Simone Edited by Jaynie Ritchie Cover art by Syneca Electronic book publication April 2010 The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
DESIRE IN THE DARK
Naima Simone
Dedication To the One who continues to bless me with ideas both big and small. As always, everything I do is dedicated to You.
Acknowledgements To my husband, who gives me “the look” that says “I have no clue what you’re talking about but I’m listening anyway”. You support and encourage me “anyway” and I love you for it.
Author Note You may recognize Mac and Alise as the best friends of Selig Richardson and Caitlin Madison in Sweet Ultimatum. The latter couple’s marriage reunited these troubled lovers and so they deserved a story of their own. I hope you enjoy it!
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Chapter One “I’ve decided to fuck Vince.” McKenzie “Mac” Dunn’s head jerked up from the contract he studied. His incredulous blue stare snapped to her face and Alise couldn’t deny the surge of satisfaction that coursed through her. For once in the year and three months since she’d known and befriended the lawyer, he looked at her with something over than sisterly affection. ’Bout time. “Come again?” “God willing.” A corner of his mouth—his luscious, bitable mouth—twitched with humor. “Cute.” Mac leaned back in his black leather chair and dropped the sales contract she’d brought by for him to examine on the top of his neat desk. “Now you care to explain that statement?” “I thought it was self-explanatory, counselor.” Alisa shrugged, the gesture nonchalant when inside her stomach did an uneasy roll. She’d made the decision to have sex with the man she’d been dating for the last three months. Her mind was made up—hell, her pussy was more than ready to end its sexual fast. Her damn heart just had to get on board. “If everything goes according to plan, by Sunday night I’ll be walking funny but feeling good.” Mac shook his head, a rueful smile playing over his lips. “Ever heard of playing hard to get?”
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“Heard of it, just don’t believe in it. Besides,” Alise scowled, leaning forward to jab a finger in his direction, “I’ll have you know that Vince asked me to go away with him this weekend. Not the other way around.” “Okay.” Mac grinned and she had to glance down at her hands on the pretext of cleaning non-existent dirt from under her fingernails. A reserved man by nature, on very few occasions had Alise witnessed an honest show of emotion from him. But when he did…whoa boy. The full, sensual lips he’d inherited from his Irish-Italian father lifted and crinkled the corners of the exotic tilted eyes of his Eurasian mother. Gorgeous. Simply…gorgeous. The rarity of the smile punched the breath from her chest. “Look, I believe you,” he continued. “It just seems to be moving a little too fast. You’ve been dating, what? Two months?” “Three,” Alise corrected, holding up the same amount of fingers. “And no, we are not ‘moving too fast’. Besides, when you haven’t had sex in two years, there’s no such thing.” Mac blinked. Then blinked again. “Two years?” he croaked. After clearing his throat, he bent forward, pinning her with an incredulous stare. “You haven’t had sex in two years?” Alise groaned, squeezing her eyes shut. Damn, she hadn’t meant to let that slip. She lifted her lashes, peeking out from under them and wanted to cringe. He stared at her as if she were some kind of fugitive from the freak show—horrified disbelief and fascination. She squashed the urge to pat her chest and check for a third breast. “Could you please not gawk?” she snapped. “We all don’t have stacked Amazons fighting to get into our beds.” An image of the tall, built women Mac dated—the opposite of her—flashed through her mind and she scowled. “You want to get a stacked Amazon into your bed? Sorry,” he apologized at the sound of her dark growl. He shook his head. A heartbeat of silence. “Two years?” She rose from the edge of her seat and he held his hands out, palms up, as if warding off her 7
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imminent attack. “Look, you can’t blame me for being surprised. I mean, look at you, Alise. A beautiful redhead and successful business woman. Surely there hasn’t been a shortage of opportunities. Why haven’t you—” “Gotten my groove back?” Alise supplied. Again he laughed, and once more her heart dived south of nowhere. Maybe she should confess the truth. Just lay her cards out on the table and allow the proverbial chips to fall where they may. Well, Mac, funny thing. Since I’ve moved to New Eden I’ve been suffering from a terrible case of unrequited love. Just recently I decided to move on because I realize this man will never truly see me. He will never recognize me as the woman who loves him, who would give him everything if he but looked at me. Oh yeah. By the way. That man is you.
Mac stared at Alise Layton, caught somewhere between appalled and floored. Part of him still couldn’t grasp her stunning revelation. Petite—only reaching his shoulder in heels—and slender, he hadn’t lied when he’d called her beautiful. The soft, tumbling curls framing her heart-shaped face shone bright like the pulsing heart of a flame. Elegant auburn brows arched over dark brown, expressive eyes while her wide, mobile mouth was always curved into a smile or grin. Alise had moved to his picturesque hometown of New Eden, Washington a little over a year ago and she’d immediately captured his attention. Hell, how could anyone miss her? Like the flame her hair reminded him of, she was never still. After handling the lease for her gift and coffee shop, he’d sat back and watched in awe as she conquered a town that could be cliquish to newcomers with her joy and enthusiasm. No one could withstand the sparkle in her brown eyes…including him. He’d only given the title of “friend” to one other person. In the short time she’d made New Eden her home, Mac had come to count Alise as another, bringing the grand total to two. 8
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Which made the twinge of anger he’d experienced at her blunt announcement bewildering. His friend had found someone she liked enough to enter a physical relationship with. He should be thrilled for her, not wanting to hunt the man down and punch him in the face for propositioning her. Shit, he’d introduced Alise to Vince! A lawyer in the firm they both worked for, Vince Tremont was a nice man. Perfect for Alise. Yet Mac still wanted to beat the shit out of him. “With moving here from Seattle and starting the gift shop, I haven’t had time for serious dating.” Alise broke into his thoughts, answering his earlier question. “Vince is cool and hell, Mac,” she shrugged, “I miss sex. Everything about it. The touching, the sounds, even the scent of it.” Her lashes lowered as if even then she were imagining what she described. Fuck, he knew he was. Her pale, willowy body arching, that glorious fall of fire spilling down her back. Full, pink-tipped breasts jutting forward as slender hips rolled in a sinuous ride. Her long, elegant fingers sliding up the flat plane of her stomach and slender ribcage to twist and tug on hard, pointed nipples. Her eyes at half-mast, hooded with the pleasure curling her lips in a siren’s smile. His cock pulsed, and the pants that had fit fine moments ago suddenly became too tight around his aching erection. Mac dropped his gaze back to the sales contract on his desk and the reason behind Alise’s visit to his office. He picked up the stapled sheaf of papers but instead of reading the verbiage regarding title insurance all he could envision was Alise taking her pleasure…from him. It had been his body—his cock—she’d been riding like a jockey taming the wildest thoroughbred. His hips that had been bucking between her slim thighs, his fears of fucking a woman her size absent in the face of the lust tearing through him. “Mac?” 9
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He lifted his eyes to meet her questioning regard. “You went quiet on me. Did I embarrass you?” He snorted. Embarrass? No. Made him hot as hell? Yes. Shit, it had been a couple of weeks since he’d fucked a woman. Maybe that’s why inappropriate thoughts about his friend besieged him. Hell, he needed to get laid. Tonight. “What do you say we call it a night?” Mac pushed his chair back from the desk and rose to his feet…and avoided answering her question. “The sales contract looks in order but I’ll go over it again tomorrow morning just to make sure.” “Okay.”Alise stood but a small, confused frown marred her brow. He didn’t blame her. He’d never been abrupt with her before, much less kicked her out of his office. But for the first time since the start of their friendship, Mac found himself uncomfortable. He didn’t care for the irrational anger and…and…jealousy eating at him. Jealousy, he scoffed to himself, circling his chair to grab his long, black coat off the corner stand. That had to be a mistake. Possessive and woman were two words that did not coincide in the same sentence. Like Washington and drought, they just didn’t go. “Okay,” she repeated, slipping her purse strap over her shoulder. “Did you want me to stop by tomorrow afternoon?” “No.” His quick denial almost made him flinch. “No, I’ll call you when I’m finished and have someone drop it by the store.” Mac turned and didn’t miss the flash of hurt that crossed her face. Regret squeezed his gut in its painful vise. He almost moved across the room to draw her to his chest, hold her there and apologize for his abrupt behavior. Then the image of her trapped in the throes of passion assaulted him and his feet remained rooted.
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“Fine,” she murmured, ducking her head and slipping into her jacket. “Just let me know. Mr. Reeves would like the sale completed as soon as possible and I’d prefer to be an owner instead of a lessee.” “Understandable.” Mac, feeling like a coward, waited until Alise headed toward the office door before following. Just as his hand touched the knob to shut the door behind them, the ominous roll of thunder reached them. He glanced over his shoulder to the dark window just as the hard patter of rain beat against the glass in a furious tattoo. “Rain in Washington. How shocking.” Alise’s dry observation brought a reluctant smile to his lips… Right before the room plunged into complete darkness. “That’s new.”
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Chapter Two “Wine and potato chips,” Alise sighed, biting down on a sour cream ’n’ onion chip. “Ah, the dinner of champions.” “You could be chewing air,” Mac pointed out from his office chair. She glanced at him and couldn’t prevent her grin. The dancing flames of the candles they’d located in the staff break room flickered over his long legs, crossed at the ankles, and bare feet propped up on the edge of his desk. Alise had never seen Mac so relaxed. He’d loosened his tie and tossed it, freeing the button at his throat and revealing an unnerving amount of olive skin. How his skin could appear so toasty warm and golden in the rainy, overcast winter eluded her. Damn but that patch of skin was so lickable… Dragging her starving gaze away, Alise returned it to the near empty bag of snacks. Reaching down to the floor, she snagged the coffee mug with the best wine she’d ever tasted and lifted it to her lips. Taking a deep sip, she sighed again, tilted her head back against the arm of the leather couch and crossed her ankles on its dark maroon cushions. “Now those are some good squashed grapes.” She took another sip and snickered around the rim. “You’ll have to thank ol’ Nicholas for me. Who knew such a putz could have such good taste in wine?” She pictured the founding partner’s son, Nicholas Gordon. Handsome, sophisticated and a complete lecher. “Putz?” Alise flashed him an unrepentant smile. “I figured that was kinder than asshole.” Mac grunted. “Asshole might have been more accurate.” His eyes narrowed. “Why? Has Nicholas tried—” The muted hum of his cell phone cut off his question. Unclipping the small phone from his belt clip, Mac glanced at the screen. His expression
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altered into another of those rare smiles as he pressed a button and lifted the cell to his ear. “Hey, Selig.” Alise straightened against the arm of the couch chair and eavesdropped without a hint of shame. Mac had mentioned this mysterious friend of his a handful of times in the year she’d known him. All she could pry out of Mac was Selig Richardson was a lawyer in Boston. Yet he had to be more to bring a smile to McKenzie Dunn’s face. “You heard about the storm all the way in Boston…Yes, I guess a blackout would make the news…We’re fine, though…Yeah, we. Alise Layton and myself. I was going over a contract with her in the office when the storm hit. With no power and it being pitch black outside we’re stuck here until it passes…” Mac glanced over and didn’t seem surprised to find her hanging on his every word. He held her gaze as she lifted the coffee mug to her lips. “I suppose there are worse people to wait out the storm with.” She choked, coughing on the wine trapped in her throat. Carefully, Alise lowered the cup to the floor and stuck her tongue out at Mac. A corner of his mouth kicked up. As did her pulse rate. She averted her eyes, knowing the heat spiraling through her chest and knotting her womb would be revealed in her hungry stare. “I’ll call you when we’re out of here.” After saying one last good-bye, Mac returned the phone to its clip. “You okay?” Alise waved off the underlying humor in the question with a flick of her fingers. “Fine.” Once certain her emotions were locked back in the hiding place she’d sentenced them to for all these months, Alise curled on her side. Propping her elbow on the wood arm, she cupped her head in her palm. “So tell me. Is Selig as hot as you?” She wriggled her eyebrows, her grin as lascivious as she could manage. Instead of the scoff or smile she’d expected, he fixed a stare on her, his scrutiny long and steady. “You think I’m hot?”
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Alise blinked, taken back. Hell yeah. The words hovered on her lips but were trapped by the terror of rejection and humiliation. She’d never been a coward. At eighteen, she’d left her parents’ home and struck out on her on. She’d put herself through college by working two jobs. She’d picked up her entire life and moved hundreds of miles to a new town and established her own business. So no, fear wasn’t something Alise associated with herself. Until now. Until this moment when she looked the man she loved in the eye and faced the opportunity to admit how she wanted him. Or she could protect the pride she had managed to maintain by hiding those same feelings and not deal with the “it’s me, not you” speech. She inhaled a deep breath. Studied the hardwood floor beneath her. Exhaled. And lifted her eyes to his. Fuck safe. It didn’t keep you warm at night. And it wouldn’t answer the “what ifs” that would haunt her if she took the easy way out, never discovering if maybe, just maybe, her attraction for Mac could’ve been reciprocated. Before she chose to give up on that dream and move forward with Vince, she had to know. “Of course,” she conceded, straightening and tucking her legs under her hips. The tight clasp of fingers in her lap betrayed the calm of her voice. “Are you going to try to convince me you don’t know your appeal to the opposite sex?” “No, I’m not going to try to convince you.” Mac’s unnerving inspection never wavered. “But I had no idea you thought so.” “I’m a woman, right?” She shrugged. “Besides what does it matter? We’re just friends.” “True.”
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A dagger to the heart. “And you don’t date women my…size anyway.” “True again.” There. Questions answered. Now she could go curl up with her defeated hope. “Why?” She almost cringed at the hoarse whisper. Common sense raged to leave what he said alone. When had she turned masochistic and relished the pain his rejection wielded? She closed her eyes. “Alise.” When she didn’t respond, Mac’s voice softened and worsened the ache. “Alise, look at me.” Reluctantly, she obeyed, pride rising to the call. Not a coward, remember? “My mother is your size. Petite. Delicate.” Mac bent his knees, uncrossed his ankles and dropped his feet to the floor. With his elbows balanced on his thighs and his hands dangling between his legs, Mac leaned forward, capturing her attention. “As a child and teenager I watched my father—my larger, stronger father—use her stature against her. Even in the bedroom.” Alise stared at him, shocked by both his revelation and that he actually opened up to her. She shook her head. “You wouldn’t—” “No, I wouldn’t abuse a woman. Ever,” he agreed, “But I’m a large man like my father. And while I wouldn’t intentionally hurt a woman, I know it’s possible. I don’t do gentle, easy sex, Alise. I want it raw, wild. So I fuck woman who can take it—can take me.” Even as his reasons registered, her pussy heated, the lips swelled and dampened. Raw, wild sex. With him. His cock burying between her hungry sex again and again until he catapulted her to orgasm. She wanted to be filled until every inch of his cock imprinted her pussy. A shallow breath whistled past her lips. Her chest heaved up and
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down as if struggling for the air that had been replaced by pure lust. “Do you know what I’ve dreamed of this past year?” Mac didn’t reply but she caught his harsh drag of breath as his arms dropped from his legs and he leaned back in his office chair. “You,” Alise whispered. “I’ve dreamed of you from the moment we met. Your eyes. Your mouth. The rare gift of your smile. I’ve imagined you surrounding me…inside me.” Her heart pounded in her throat, echoing fear and hope. The stranglehold she maintained on her fingers tightened to the point of pain. Still, she continued. She couldn’t hold back now. “I’ve awakened with the taste of your cock still on my lips, my pussy aching from being fucked so hard and deep I almost cried because when I woke, it wasn’t real.” For several long moments the sound of their rough breathing filled the silence. She could almost believe that New Eden had disappeared beyond the dark window, leaving her and Mac the only two people in the world. Him, with his rigid body and heavy silence. And herself, with the weight of her dreams. Alise shifted and lowered her legs to the floor. Her hands tumbled down beside her thighs, the palms upward as if in supplication. “Mac,” she murmured, “fuck me.”
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Chapter Three Nothing could have kept him in the chair. Her husky demand was a fisted stroke to his cock while the insecurity in her chocolate gaze twisted his heart. She looked as if she expected his rejection, but he couldn’t resist touching her any more than he could restore power to the darkened town outside the window. Desire twisted his gut. Anticipation hammered at his chest. The fire of her hair drew him like a beacon and his fingers itched to tangle in the bright strands. To feel the silk wrap around his hands. To tug her head back so his cock could slide past the wet plumpness of her lips to the tightness of her throat. Fuck, did he want that. As he crossed the small distance separating him from Alise, he lowered his hands to the belt at his waist. His gaze focused on the woman sitting quietly on the couch, he undid the buckle, sliding the leather free with a subdued swish that reverberated in the dark quiet. When his knees bumped hers, the belt hung open and he fingered the button of his pants. “No.” Alise reached up, her fingers covered his and, with a gentle but firm brush, moved his hands aside. “Let me.” Nodding, Mac complied. Instead of dropping his arms to his side, he gave in to his need and slid his fingers through the heavy weight of her hair. “Damn, Alise,” he groaned, flexing his fingertips against her scalp, drowning in the heaven of the silken fire falling over his hands and wrists, caressing his suddenly sensitive skin. Staring down into her upturned face, the tremor of her full bottom lip
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and the soft sigh of breath didn’t escape his notice. He wanted that breath on his cock, cooling the wet heat left behind by her mouth. Her touch shook, fumbling slightly before pushing the button through the stitched eyelet. As she grabbed the zipper, his breath caught in his chest and his erection throbbed like a toothache. Fuck, if she didn’t free him soon…He couldn’t remember ever being this eager and desperate to have a woman touch him. Not any woman. Alise. Every second seemed an eternity as she lowered the zipper. As if from a great distance, he watched her small hand dip inside the panel of his slacks. And when her fist enclosed his cock, time sped forward, brutal pleasure jerking him back into his body. The loud, harsh groan could’ve been his…it could’ve belonged to her. Mac didn’t know—didn’t care. Lust flogged him, lashing at his spine, his cock, his balls. Alise stroked upward until her fist covered the cockhead. And squeezed. “Shit,” Mac hissed, his fingers tightening in her hair. “Again, sweetheart. Squeeze my cock again. Harder.” She obeyed, humming her agreement. Sliding her fist back down his cock, Alise used the other hand to push his pants farther down his hips until the material bagged around his ass. With another foray inside his pants, she cupped his balls, liberating the tight sac to the cool air of the room and the heat of her gaze. Hell, Mac thought, grinding his teeth together, he could come just from the hunger in that dark brown stare. “Are you hungry, sweetheart?” Her eyes flicked up to meet his before returning to his cock. As if she couldn’t drag her gaze away from it.
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“Starving,” she whispered. Leaning forward, Alise rubbed her cheek against the rigid stalk. Her soft skin and gentle breath rocked him. His hips jerked forward of their own accord, seeking more. She gave it to him. Her tongue peeked out, the narrowed tip licking up his cock from root to under the ridged head. A small caress that enflamed and devastated. He growled. “You’re teasing,” he accused with a sharp tug on the fiery strands in his grasp. Her purr of pleasure vibrated over his cock, eliciting a small trickle of pre-cum from the tiny slit on the pulsing head. Spotting the clear fluid, she gave a greedy murmur and lowered her head, sipping as delicately at his cock as she had at the cup of wine. Her lashes lowered, fanning across her freckled cheekbones as her tongue slicked over the sensual curve of her bottom lip. “Just like I dreamed,” she breathed. “Not quite.” Mac spread his fingers wide, cradling her head in between his palms. “Open for me. I need your mouth.” Her lashes lifted and her chocolate gaze connected with his. In them he saw desire…and trust. “Ah, sweetheart, when you look at me like that…” He swallowed, his eyes closing for a brief moment. “Give me your mouth,” he whispered, reopening them. On a quiet sigh, she rubbed her lips over the cockhead before swirling her tongue over and under the flared cap. A flash of apprehension tightened his stomach as he watched the swollen, throbbing head bump against her lips. Thick and flushed dark with arousal, it appeared almost too big and brutal for her to take… Alise drew back, her tongue taking one last taste of his cock. She tilted her chin up, a small amused smile curving her lips. “I saw you naked once.” Her hushed admission stunned him, stilling the worried voice in his head. “I did,” she continued, pumping his flesh. She leaned forward and placed a pursed kiss against the tight crown. “When I crashed at your apartment on New Year’s Eve, I accidently walked in on you while you showered. I watched for a few 19
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moments. All I could think about was pushing back the curtain, stepping in and going down on you in that shower.” A whimper escaped her lips as she again rubbed her cheek against his cock. “I went back to the guest room and touched myself until I came, screaming your name in the pillow.” “Sweetheart,” he panted, imagining the picture her words painted. If he’d known she’d been there, watching, maybe this night would’ve happened sooner. If he’d caught that hungry gaze on him, Mac couldn’t say he wouldn’t have stopped until she’d been under the streaming water, his cock down her throat. “Don’t hold back, Mac,” she urged. Alise wrapped her hand around the root of his erection and slid the other into his loosened pants, rubbing a small palm over his ass. “Don’t hold back with me.” “Fuck,” he groaned, pressing forward and watching the plum-shaped head push past her lips into the wet, hot cavern of her mouth. “Fuck, sweetheart.” His whispered plea was lost beneath Alise’s moan of pleasure. Her eyes closed and an expression of such pure pleasure covered her face, Mac had to fight back the cum churning in his balls. He battled the urge to pound into her mouth, to take it as he would her pussy. But even now her lips stretched wide and she’d only swallowed the head. Though instinct screamed he claim, he had to go slow. “That’s it, sweetheart,” he praised, fingertips massaging her scalp. “Take a little more.” Her mouth opened wider and he sank in another inch. Withdrawing a small increment, he pressed forward again, taking more. Her eager tongue curled around the head before sliding beneath the thick stalk, stroking the sensitive underside. “That’s good. Damn, that’s good.” Grasping her head and holding it steady, Mac pulled out and drove forward. Pulled out. Thrusted forward. He repeated the rhythm until soon he fell into a gentle fucking of her mouth. She opened for him, her eager moans a separate, but just as erotic, caress over his cock. But soon it wasn’t enough. 20
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Dragging his shaft free, he stroked a hand over her head. Her eyes closed and Alise tilted her head as if seeking more of his touch. The small movement drew his gaze to the slender column of her throat. A new need clenched his gut. “Has anyone ever had your throat?” Her lashes lifted and heat—maybe excitement—flared in her hazel eyes. She shook her head. “No.” Anticipation and lust knotted his gut. “Let me,” he half-pleaded, half-demanded. “Yes.” Taking both her hands in his, Mac placed her small palms on his hips. Then, digging one hand deep into her hair and gripping the base of his cock with the other, he surged forward once more, breaching her mouth. He didn’t pause until his cockhead nudged the back of her throat. The tender muscles shivered around him. Pleasure speared down his cock, piercing his balls. A growl of need and anger erupted from his chest. “You lied to me,” he accused, withdrawing slowly. She’d taken him too easily, not even flinching as he’d slid to the back of her throat. “No.” Alise shook her head, her fingers gripping his hips. “I didn’t lie.” Her lashes lowered a moment before lifting to meet his gaze. “I practiced,” she whispered. “I have a toy your size. I practiced with it.” Lust mushroomed in his gut, almost taking him to his knees. Images of Alise lying on her shadowed bed, fingering herself while deep throating a dildo. Preparing. For him. “Oh fuck,” he groaned, stroking a hand down his aching cock. “Promise me I can see that. Say you’ll do that for me, sweetheart.” Circling the root of his cock again, he slid back into her mouth, not giving her a chance to reply. He couldn’t wait. He needed her throat. Needed to fuck it.
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One stroke. Two. His head fell back on his shoulders, his eyes closing at the exquisite pleasure. Three. Mac lifted his head, needing to observe Alise taking his cock. Needing to see the subtle ripple of her throat as her muscles worked to accommodate his rigid flesh. “Enough,” he ordered, voice rough. He drew free, his cock agreeing with her murmured protest. “When I come the first time with you, it’s going to be in that sweet pussy, not your mouth.” Her eyes darkened. “Promise?” “Oh yeah.” He nodded. “Take your clothes off, sweetheart.” He stepped back, placing a small amount of space between them. His hands went to the hem of his shirt. Not bothering with the buttons, Mac yanked the shirt up and over his head. By the time he dropped the clothing to the floor behind him, Alise had removed her sweater. Her fiery curtain of hair cloaked her shoulders, sweeping the tops of her lace-covered breasts. “Slow,” he commanded as her fingers hovered over the clasp between her breasts. “Take your time and remove it slowly.” Mimicking a sexy striptease, Alise released the catch. Grasping a cup in each hand, she peeled the bra away, until with a small shrug of her shoulders, the straps tumbled down her arms. A small flick of her hands and the material cleared her wrists and rested on the cushions behind her. “The pants, Alise.” Fuck, was that his voice? Mac grimaced. He sounded as if gravel roughened his throat. Fisting his cock to hold back the cum, he watched—an avid observer—as she unbuttoned the jeans. A teasing shimmy of her hips and the denim pooled around her
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ankles before sliding soundlessly to the floor. Having shed her underwear along with the jeans, she stretched against the back of the couch, bared to his needy gaze. High, pert breasts tipped by berry-colored nipples. Smooth stomach and small, neat waist. Thin, almost boyish hips. A strawberry patch of hair framing a wet pussy that gleamed in the moonlight. He lifted his eyes to hers, staring into the dark depths. “God, you’re beautiful.”
She felt beautiful. Alise remained still, her arms extended over her head and fingers curled over the back of the couch as Mac knelt between her drawn up knees. Somewhere between “I’ve dreamed of you” and “Mac, fuck me,” she’d lost all modesty. She craved this man—sometimes she couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t wanted him. And now he looked at her as if she embodied his every wish come to life. Maybe it would end when the power returned but for now she intended to take full advantage and create a memory of a lifetime. One fantasy had already become reality. She’d sucked his magnificent cock. Now the time had arrived to fulfill another desire. “Come here.” She crooked a finger and a corner of his mouth quirked. Her heart jumped and her pussy throbbed. He flattened his palms on either side of her hips and bent forward until his chest grazed the inside of her thighs. “Yes?” Lowering her arms, Alise reached out and cupped his jaw. She stroked her thumbs over the rigid lines, loving the sandpaper feel of his skin where his five o’clock shadow would darken. “Mac,” she drawled, “turnabout is fair play.” She grinned, feeling wicked. Tightening her grasp on his face, she nudged his head down. “Now play fair.”
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Surprise and delight lit his blue gaze right before his lips turned into the sexist smile she’d ever witnessed. “Oh yes, ma’am.” Lifting his hands from the couch, he cupped her thighs, pressing them wide to accommodate the width of his shoulders. Without preamble, he dove between her legs and speared her pussy with his tongue. Oh. My. God. His tongue. Alise bowed under the pleasure, biting back a piercing scream. His big palms abandoned her legs and slid under her ass, dragging her closer to his busy lips. Oh shit, he was good. Sliding free of her milking channel, Mac licked her drenched pussy lips, nipping and sucking until she writhed under his mouth like a live wire. With a low growl, he dove back into her sex, thrusting his tongue in and out. In and out. “Oh God, Mac,” she cried, digging her fingers into his hair, grinding her hips against his mouth and not caring how wild she sounded or appeared. The wet suction of his mouth on her sex was too damn good. “Fuck me, dammit.” “Not until you come for me,” he warned, treating her pussy to another lick. His tongue slid through her slit until it found and circled her aching clit. He drew the taut bundle of nerves into his mouth, suckling it with small sips and tiny flicks. This time she didn’t hold back the scream. Her head tossed on the back of the couch. Her hips bucked. He thrust two fingers in her pussy. She exploded. He continued to devour her, claiming every pulse, tremor and drop of cream for himself. With a whimper and a limp hand, Alise pushed at his head, silently begging for mercy. Mac nuzzled her sex, placing a gentle kiss to the drenched folds.
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He eased back and for a brief moment, Alise thought he’d granted her a reprieve. But as he stood, pulling his wallet from his back pocket before shoving his sagging pants to the ground, she knew he’d just started. Pinning her with his bright stare, he stood naked before her, all corded strength and sensual beauty. His broad shoulders tapered down to a narrow, trim waist and muscled thighs. His cock jutted from the dark, wiry thatch of hair at his groin. Even as her pussy echoed with the remnants of orgasm, Alise licked her lips, craving another taste. She hadn’t realized she’d leaned forward until Mac spoke. “Forget it,” he ordered, removing a foil square from his wallet. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the billfold. “I want your pussy.” Ripping the foil open, he withdrew the condom and rolled it down his erection. “I’ll come in your mouth later but now…” He didn’t finish the sentence but once again knelt before her, squeezing his large frame between her legs. “You know what I realized, Alise?” He raised a hand to her face, cupping her cheek in his palm. The broad pad of his thumb rubbed her bottom lip. “I’ve kissed your pussy but I haven’t kissed your mouth yet.” He stroked her. “How could I have done that?” “I don’t know,” she whispered, closing her eyes, afraid he would see the emotions he stirred within her chest. The love that consumed her. “I’ll have to rectify that,” he promised, bending his head over hers. At the first touch of his lips, Alise could’ve cried out. How long had she dreamed of this? Of him kissing her, wanting her? So long. So fucking long. And now, as reality collided with fantasy, terror warred with joy. Joy that this moment had finally arrived. Terror it would end. “You’re shaking, sweetheart,” he crooned, rubbing his mouth over hers. “What’s wrong?” “Anticipation.” Truth. And lie. “Kiss me.”
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Tunneling his fingers in her hair, Mac tilted his head and sank his tongue into her mouth. Just…sank. His tongue stroked hers, entwining and tangling. Mimicking his hold, she cradled his head between her palms, holding him steady as she revealed to him through her kiss all the love she harbored in her heart. Never breaking the connection, Mac maneuvered her until she lay back on the couch and his wide shoulders blocked out the stream of moonlight. He covered her, lifting her legs and spreading them until his hips notched between her thighs. “Are you ready, Alise?” He kissed the corner of her mouth and she turned her head, following him to possess his mouth in another kiss. “Yes. Please, Mac.” God, she was ready. Ready to be filled. Ready to be his. “Now.” He reared back, his knees digging into the couch cushions. Supporting her leg with a hand to the knee, he guided his cock to her pussy. Mac paused, the head of his erection nudging her lips. Love and understanding washed over her. Grasping the wrist that cupped her knee, Alise squeezed, drawing his gaze. “It’s okay, Mac. You won’t hurt me. Take me, please.” For several long seconds he remained still, his eyes blazing into hers. Finally, with a short nod, he pressed forward. Alise wanted to see it. Had to see it. Levering up on her elbows, she stared down her body. She and Mac watched in silence as the swollen head breached her pussy. She sucked in a breath. And released it on a smothered cry as he rocked forward, driving another inch of his cock in her pulsing sex….and then another… 26
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Her head fell back between her shoulders. “Shit, sweetheart. You’re tight. So fucking tight.” He ground another increment into her pussy and a hard shudder racked her body as her muscles spasmed around the invader, struggling to accommodate his thick erection. Pain and pleasure met, crossed and merged until one heightened the other. Small, involuntary jerks of her hips buried him another impossible increment. “Damn that’s good. You’re so good.” “Mac, please,” she pleaded, not knowing if she asked him to prolong the erotic torture or to thrust deep and finish her. Sanity fled, leaving her an aching, carnal animal intent only on pleasure. Her elbows dropped from under her and Alise stretched her arms over her head, fingers grasping the couch arm. With a sharp cry she twisted her hips. “Fuck, Alise! Don’t—” But his warning came too late. A scream ripped from her throat and echoed in the dark room as Mac lost his leverage and the entire length of his cock plunged into the depths of her pussy. Oh. God. Her chest heaved. Her thighs trembled. Her pussy convulsed. She felt so…full. She lowered her hand to the rippling muscles of her stomach and believed she could feel him there, tucked against the tip of her cervix. “Mac,” she whispered. “Dammit, Alise,” he growled, worry and lust darkening his voice. His palms slammed on either side of her head, denting the cushion. He lowered his head, grounding his lips over hers, his tongue diving into the heated cavern of her mouth. When he pulled away, his harsh breathing bathed her lips. She licked them, capturing his taste. “Sweetheart, did I hurt you? Do you need me to pull out?” As he asked the question, his hips moved, retreating. “I’ll kill you,” Alise threatened. Realizing the breathless warning carried little power, she raised up to cup his ass, digging her nails in the firm flesh. “If you don’t fuck me, Mac, I won’t be responsible for my actions.” 27
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He stared down at her, his expression torn between laughter and concern. After a long moment, he shook his head and bending, crushed another kiss to her lips. “We’re going to have to do something about your shyness.” “Later,” she demanded, squeezing his ass. His lashes lowered and he watched her face from a narrow line of blue as he dragged his cock free of her pussy until only the head remained tucked inside her sex. Both groaned as he surged forward. Alise sank her teeth into her bottom lip. He repeated the slow grind and she rolled her hips upward, meeting his slow strokes. She gasped, arching into the caress as his pelvis rubbed her clit, setting off tiny bursts of pleasure in the swollen button. “You like that,” Mac breathed. “Hate it,” she panted. His chuckle warmed her cheek and heart. Releasing her grasp on his ass, she thrust her fingers through his hair, holding his head steady for the burning kiss she pressed to his lips. “Harder, Mac. I won’t break. I want to be ridden hard.” “Fuck, I want that,” he groaned. Taking Alise at her word, his hips drove forward with such force she gasped into his mouth. He fucked her, plunging into her pussy and claiming it. Crying out, Alise wrapped her legs around his waist, granting him more of her, holding nothing back. “Damn, that’s it, sweetheart. Open that pussy for me. Open for me…” She did. His cock reached places inside her sex she didn’t know existed—places created just for him. Oh God, only he could take her to the place where lust and love melded. She stretched for it, grabbed for it… And found it.
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Later she would be embarrassed at the primal scream she released. But now, as his cock slammed in her pussy giving her the best orgasm she’d ever experienced, she didn’t care. Above her she faintly heard Mac’s hoarse shout as he followed her over the dark edge of orgasm. Then she knew nothing.
***** “How long have you been in love with me?” The warm afterglow vanished, leaving the stinging bite of reality in its wake. Even as he lay stretched over her, still nestled deep in her body, apprehension curdled her stomach. The brazen woman of minutes ago disappeared in the face of baring her heart to the one man that mattered. Struck mute, Alise returned Mac’s quiet contemplation. “Don’t lie to me, Alise,” he murmured, stroking the damp strands of hair at her temples. “A woman like you doesn’t give herself to a man unless she loves him.” “Not true,” she disagreed, hoping to distract him. “I was going to have sex with Vince.” “Don’t mention his name. Especially here,” Mac growled. “And I’m not convinced you would have gone through with it.” His fingers tangled in her hair, tugging lightly. “Now answer my question.” She considered lying—opened her mouth to do it. Instead the truth fell from her lips. Dammit. “Since I moved here.” He studied her, his blue eyes revealing none of his thoughts. He lowered his hand to her mouth, stroking the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip. Alise couldn’t contain the tremor that trembled through her body at the small caress. 29
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“I’ve loved you as a friend. I consider you one of the only two I have.” Her heart cracked. Fuck, she scolded herself, I will not cry. I will not… She cleared her throat. “That’s fine,” she whispered past the fist of tears in her throat. “Shh.” Mac halted her lie with a finger across her lips. Then replaced it with a tender kiss…a kiss that tasted of hope and… “I love you.”
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About the Author I was born the daughter of a sharecropper…okay, maybe not. But I am the daughter of a pastor, from whom I inherited my love of romance. The man can preach a mean Song of Solomon! (There’s that plug, Daddy! You can pay me later!) Although my first book starred a cucumber named Fred, my first romance came several years later in the seventh grade when I wrote myself as a heroine opposite Ralph Tresvant from New Edition. Through the power of my pen and imagination, Ralph took one look across a crowed stadium, met my dark, mysterious gaze, fell passionately in love and serenaded me in front of everyone—once we had the inevitable fight, a.k.a. black moment, and made up with a passionate declaration of love and fidelity. The same story reincarnated itself many times over the years—with Donnie Wahlberg from New Kids on the Block, Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington and, as recently as last night, Vin Diesel. Though the characters have changed, my love of love has endured. Shaping the lives of the unique men and women who experience the first, hungry bites of lust, the dizzying heights of passion and the tender, healing heat of love—nothing compares to it. Except maybe discovering new material for love scenes with my husband, the head of Research & Development! Naima welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by Naima Simone Sweet Ultimatum
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