his lips as she spoke. When he attempted to deepen the kiss, she retreated. “Have I mentioned how dangerously sexy you look even all tied up, Master Black?”
“Several times. Now it’s time to untie me.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I like having you at my mercy.”
A rumbling noise started in his chest, and he realized it was a growl. “You trying to get me to tap out?”
“No. But there is a second part to my plan.”
Ronin wiggled impatiently. A length of rope brushed his thumbs. He maneuvered the rope between his index finger and thumb and tugged. He felt the knot give and the bindings loosen.
Oh, sweetheart, rookie rope mistake.
Somehow he managed not to grin.
Amery stepped between his legs and placed his chin between her breasts. Then she slipped the blindfold off.
He blinked at her. He angled his face and put his lips on the upper curve of her breast. “Take your shirt off. Bra too. I want my mouth on you now.”
“I believe I’m calling the shots.”
Not for long. He’d undone the first rope wrap.
“You know how you always wanted me to masturbate for you? I think now would be the perfect time, don’t you?”
Ronin swept another openmouthed kiss on her breast. When he tried to snake his tongue into her bra cup, she jumped back, and he used her distraction to tug the second wrist wrap free. “Why are you ready to do that for me now? Have you been practicing in the weeks we were apart?”
“No.” Amery framed his face in her hands and kissed his forehead. She slid her palms over his skull and freed his hair from the ponytail. She messed with the damp strands until she’d arranged it to her liking. “In fact, I didn’t touch myself at all while we were apart.”
“Why not?”
She ducked her head away.
“Amery. Look at me.”
“I couldn’t even put my hands on my body. All I could think about was how badly I wanted your hands on me.”
“Baby.”
“The memory of you was more potent than a thirty-second buzz with my vibrator.”
She undid him with her honesty. As soon as he removed his bindings, he’d give her a hot new memory to add to the others.
“Right now, after all the things I’ve done to you, I’m wet and achy and I need . . .” She kissed his furrowed brow. “Now seems to be the right time to give you something you’ve always wanted from me.”
“All I ever wanted was you.”
“You’re sweet.”
Like hell he was sweet. He wanted to pin her to the floor and fuck her hard.
“Don’t judge me too harshly since this is my first public show.”
When she stepped back, Ronin said, “No peep show. If you’re doing this, do it naked. That way I get the full effect of your quivering girl parts and the breathtaking blush that spreads across every inch of your skin when you get off.”
Unabashed by his demand, Amery whipped off her tank top, reached behind her back and unhooked her bra.
He finally unwound the last wrap. He inched his arms apart, and the rope fell to the floor. Rather than launching himself at her, he figured the element of surprise would work in his favor. He threaded his fingers together and clasped his hands behind his back.
Amery impatiently flipped her hair out of her face after she’d shimmied her yoga pants to her ankles.
“I love your body, baby. Keep going.”
“Wouldn’t it be sexier if I left my panties on?”
Ronin shook his head. “What would be hot is if you draped yourself across my lap. Your legs spread, your tits in my face. All I’d have to do is look down for a birds’-eye view of you stroking your pussy. And my mouth is right there, if you need extra lube.”
“Handy.”
“I thought so.” Come on. Come just a little closer.
She squinted at him. “You’re wearing an awfully wolfish grin for a man who’s covered in wax with his hands bound.”
“I’m just happy to see you naked.” His gaze dipped to her mound. “And wet and walking toward me.”
“Hmm.” She glanced at his crotch and then back into his eyes. “Are you hard again?”
“Yes. What part of hot, naked woman in front of me is confusing to you? Because my cock sure gets it.”
“I assumed you need recovery time.”
“When have I ever needed recovery time when it comes to you? Besides, you’re not the only one who went without.”
She froze. “What do you mean?”
“I didn’t spank the monkey or grease the pole when we were apart either.” Ronin couldn’t tell her he’d always been a fight-or-fuck guy. If he was training to fight, he didn’t expend energy fucking.
Amery draped her legs over his, and he pressed his knees together, providing her more stability.
It took every ounce of his control not to just grab her.
She set her forearm on his shoulder and dropped her other hand between her thighs.
When Ronin glanced down to watch, she yanked on his hair and tipped his head back.
“Huh-uh. Keep those beautiful eyes on mine.”
“Why?”
“The only time I can read you is when we’re intimate like this. The rest of the time, you are the unflappable Master Black.”
“Does that bother you?”
“It used to. Until I realized I get to see part of you that no one else does. So I feel a bit cocky about that.”
“You’re acting cocky today too. Driving me fucking crazy.”
Amery kept an intense eye lock with him as her hand moved between her thighs.
Jesus.
Then her fingers were in front of his lips. “Think I’m wet enough to start the show?”
Ronin opened his mouth and sucked her fingers inside, losing his head at the tangy taste of her. After sucking every sweet bit of her juice, he said, “You’re wet enough for what I have in mind.” He unclasped his hands and clamped them on her ass. “Surprise.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“OMIGOD! How did you get free?”
“Rope master secret.” Then he fisted his hand in her hair and pulled her head to the side, baring her throat to him.
The symbolism in that action wasn’t lost on her.
His mouth teased the spot on her neck that shut down all of her brain functions.
He muttered, “On the mat or against the wall?”
“Ah. What?” How was she supposed to think when his wet tongue was flicking . . . Oh, sweet mother of god. Right. Fucking. There. She trembled violently.
“Where I’m fucking you. On the mat or against the wall?”
“Wouldn’t the impact on the mat hurt your injured knee?”
Ronin made an agitated noise. Next thing she knew, she was briefly airborne before her back hit the mat with a hundred and eighty pounds of Ronin Black on top of her.
“The mat it is.” He reached down, yanked off his shorts, and was back above her almost before she blinked.
“Ronin—”
“Wrap your legs around my waist, baby, and let me in.”
If he didn’t give a damn about his injuries, why should she? All she could think about was how much she needed him.
Amery widened her knees and canted her hips. He slammed inside her so fast and hard she gasped.
“I’m sorry,” he panted as he began to fuck her with fast, deep strokes. “Sweet and slow next time, okay? Been dying for you.”
That confession sounded like it’d been ripped from the depths of his soul.
She pushed her hips down to meet his powerful thrusts, throwing her arms above her head like he preferred so he could restrain her with his hands. Or just his will.
“No. I want your hands on me, Amery. Your scratches on my back. Your nail marks on my ass. Your teeth on my throat.” Ronin kissed a line down to her nipple. That warm, firmly sucking mouth latched on to the tip, and he didn’t miss a beat as he continued to hammer into her.
Amery hooked her heels on the inside of his thighs, using his body motion as leverage to grind her clit against him. She twisted her fingers into his damp hair, slipping her other hand between them to feel that sexy flexor muscle tightening as he fucked her.
Ronin slowed down a little, letting his body abrade the magical spot on hers longer on every stroke. So in tune with what she needed.
She rubbed her lips across the shell of his ear. “I missed you.”
“I never want to be without you again.”
Her emotions were on overdrive because she had that urge to cry again.
His rapid breath drifted across his neck. “Baby, I am not going to last long.”
“Do that hip twist thing, and I’ll be right there with you.”
And he did.
One second she was clinging to him as he bucked hard and poured himself into her; the next, her pussy clamped down on his shaft. Every pulse in her clit and tightening pull of her soft tissues reverberated through her body like distortion bouncing off feedback from a microphone. When the throbbing stopped, her hearing was muffled as if she’d been at a loud concert.
Ronin found her mouth and kissed her with the familiar sweetness, fire, and satisfaction she’d missed.
Afterward, when they were lying side by side on the mat, Amery asked, “How’s your knee?”
“Ready for round two.”
She slid her hand down his belly and cupped his softening cock. “Yeah?”
“Keep it up and we won’t make it to the bedroom.”
She propped herself up on her elbow and started to peel off the wax droplets.
“Leave them.”
“We don’t need wax in the sheets. Especially since they’re what? Two thousand thread count?”
“Point taken.”
She remembered when he’d removed the wax he’d left a soft kiss on each spot. So she did the same, using her mouth and the gentle rub of her fingers.
By the time Amery finished, Ronin was ready for round two.
They didn’t make it to the bedroom.
And the second time wasn’t slow and sweet either.
• • •
AFTER they ate a light supper and were lazing around, talking, touching and just existing in the same space, Amery knew Ronin needed to rest. He kept yawning, and every time he shifted positions, he made a pain-filled huffing noise.
She crawled into the big bed and watched him flexing his leg. “You put too much pressure on your knee when you fucked me from behind in the practice room.”
“I’ll take the twinge of pain if I can be naked with you. Besides, it’s sore no matter what I do—or don’t do.” He seemed annoyed with himself after that admission and reached out to touch her cheek. “And I’ve had a few hours’ recovery time, keeping it elevated, thanks to you.”
Amery kissed his fingertips. “Is that your way of telling me you’re up for a third round?”
“While hard and fast always appeals to me . . .” Ronin followed the V of her pajama top from the edge of her collarbone to the swell of her cleavage. “I haven’t put my hands on you with slow deliberation for seven weeks.”
“You are a menace with those hands.”
He pressed kisses across her collarbone, stopping to run his tongue in the dip between her neck and shoulder as his rough-skinned hand caressed her belly. “I missed this. All the different ways I can worship you.”
When she twisted her fingers in his hair and tried to pull him away, he continued his maddeningly erotic exploration of the sensitive skin on the side of her breast.
“You know what I do with hands that get in my way,” he warned, rubbing his soft lips across the same spot.
“Tie them up.”
“Don’t pretend you don’t like that.”
“I do like it. It’s just . . .”
Ronin raised his head, stopping his delicious torture. “It’s just what?”
“I’m really sore from earlier.” She tried to say it without blushing but didn’t quite manage it.
“So touching you automatically leads to fucking you?”
“It always has in the past. Not that I’m complaining,” she added quickly.
“Sounds to me like you are.” Ronin pushed upright. His eyes were dark with that you’re-in-for-it now look. “It’s up to me to prove you wrong. Hands above your head.”
“I didn’t mean . . .”
He got nose to nose with her. “I won’t repeat myself.”
Shit. Amery raised her arms and grabbed on to the headboard.
Ronin reached into the nightstand and pulled out a length of rope.
“You keep rope in here?”
“Baby, I keep rope everywhere. I never know when it’ll come in handy.”
She watched with total fascination as he folded the rope. Then he straddled her chest, and within thirty seconds, he had her wrists bound and secured to the headboard. “What was that?”
“Hojojutsu quick bind.” Those wonderfully callused hands skated down her arms from below the wrist binding to her shoulders. “That’s the only thing that’ll be quick about this. One of my greatest pleasures is getting to put my hands on you whenever I want.” He circled her nipple with the tip of his finger. “Not just the obvious parts.”
Her stomach performed a little flip when he brushed a velvety-soft kiss on the edge of her jaw.
“And using my mouth to taste and tease is another pleasure.”
His warm breath and deep voice sent tingles down the left side of her body.
“You’ve voiced your concerns about establishing intimacy outside of sex.” He nuzzled beneath her chin until she arched her neck, giving him the section of skin he wanted. “Let me establish it right now. I will touch you, taste you, tease you—but I will not fuck you. This isn’t about seeing how hard I can make you come. It’s about you understanding how much I enjoy the journey of getting you there.”
Amery gave herself over to him.
His hands and mouth were in constant motion. Sweet, powerful words were whispered against her skin. He stayed true to his word; no part of her body went unattended. When he reached her sex, he touched, licked, nuzzled, and kissed with no more reverence than he’d given the flare of her hips and the curve of her outer thighs.
When he finished the front side of her body, he turned her and started over. By the time he finished, her skin felt electrified.
Next Ronin kissed her—a kiss unlike any other. Kissing her as