Captivate Me Page 11

  Her body quivered, already begging him for more.

  “Greedy little thing, aren’t you?” he whispered against her skin. The scent of her, strawberries, sunlight and the sharp tang of sex, filled his lungs. God, he wanted more. If either of them was greedy, it was him.

  “Not usually,” she answered breathlessly.

  Beckett chuckled. She probably had no idea what she’d just admitted to him with those two innocent words. There was relief in knowing he wasn’t the only one overpowered by whatever was happening between them.

  Not even knowing she was going to be pissed with him when she realized the truth could make him walk away.

  “Not complaining,” he assured her, rocking his hips against her in short little bursts.

  Her breath caught in her throat and her thighs squeezed around his waist. Her hips moved, writhing against him, trying to get more.

  He was already skating the edge, and it wasn’t going to take much for him to explode. Beckett wanted her with him when he did, needed the connection of sharing that moment.

  Using the weight of his body, he pressed her against the wall. His free hand roamed over her body; the one and only thing wrong with the moment was that she wasn’t completely naked. But he used that as well, dragging the soft layers of her dress across her skin, letting his fingers sneak beneath the barrier to touch here and there.

  Her muscles jumped and clenched. His fingers tweaked her peaked nipples and her sex clamped hard around his cock. Beckett hissed, unable to stop his reaction to the feel of her already tight body gripping him harder.

  It hadn’t taken her long to realize she was far from helpless, even if he did have her pinned against the wall. She tortured him, gripping and releasing, gripping and releasing. Wiggling in the tiniest circles. Reaching between them, he found the already sensitive bundle of nerves buried between the wet lips of her sex. His fingertip grazed against her and it was her turn to hiss with pleasure.

  She forgot her little game and simply gave herself up to the sensations he was drawing from her body. It was gratifying and sexy and made him feel powerfully masculine.

  He ached. Throbbed. He wanted to move harder, deeper—needed it —but not yet. When he felt the first ripples deep inside her body, he finally let himself go.

  Pulling back, he relished her whimper of protest even as he surged back, burying deep. His eyelids fluttered, fighting the urge to close, to let him lose himself completely in the feel of her.

  Her heels dug into his ass. His pants, the only things protecting his skin from the sharp points of her silver sandals, were still bunched around his hips.

  How could he be fully clothed and still feel completely exposed?

  Beckett kept up a relentless rhythm, driving them both desperately to the edge of reason. He heard voices somewhere in the back of his mind but knew that in this secluded little closet they were safe from prying eyes.

  Small gasps and keening whimpers slipped through her open lips every time he moved inside her. Her fingers curled down, gripping the hard hand holding her wrists. He understood the need to find something solid to cling to in the middle of the building storm.

  “Oh...oh...oh,” she cried. “Please...please...”

  He could give her what she needed. And suddenly he wanted more than anything to give her everything she ever needed, not just this single moment of relief.

  Buried deep inside her, he knew the second her orgasm hit. The way her muscles constricted and then rippled, wave after wave coaxing him down into his own release.

  A knowing, satisfied smile curled his lips. Finally. Finally.

  Her body stilled, but he was too far gone to consider it anything but bliss mingled with physical release and exhaustion.

  The orgasm exploded out of him, almost taking him by surprise. His vision blurred. His hand clenched tight around Alyssa’s wrists. Afraid he was hurting her, somehow he found the brain power to let her go.

  He shook, every muscle in his body given up to the release he’d found with her. Pleasure. Depth. Something profound that he’d never experienced in his life.

  He’d had plenty of sex—seventeen years of good, bad, quick and dirty. But nothing like this.

  He was so absorbed in the experience, he wasn’t paying attention. Until it was too late.

  One moment he was lost in the best orgasm he’d ever experienced. The next, pain shot through his scalp as she yanked several strands of hair along with the string holding his mask in place.

  Pressed tightly together, while he was still buried inside her hot, wet channel, Beckett couldn’t have gotten a closer view of her reaction. It was something he’d never forget. Watching the languid radiance morph into shock, hurt and then anger.

  Alyssa’s expression, open and exposed just moments before, shut down completely.

  Panic hit him square in the chest.

  “What the hell,” she growled in a low, soft voice.

  He would have preferred it if she’d screamed. Lost her head. The banked and controlled fury scared him.

  “Alyssa,” he warned, scrambling for words that might cut off the outburst he knew was coming.

  “Beckett,” she snarled. “Let me go.”

  Beneath him, her hips bucked. Her hands scrabbled against his shoulders trying to find enough purchase to shove him away. Instead of doing what she wanted, he pushed his hips harder against her, locking her in place.

  Her swollen lips parted, but he cut off her diatribe before it could start. “Sweetheart, you keep moving like that and you’re going to get round three.”

  He flexed his hips to prove to her just what effect she was having on him. She went unnaturally still. Her only movement was the furious pounding of her pulse at the base of her throat. For a few delirious moments he thought about sucking on the spot.

  Sanity returned before he could make the mistake. Shaking his head, he dragged his gaze up to her glittery, glowing eyes. Wanting the same unfettered access to her, Beckett reached up and gently pulled the mask from her face.

  Her mouth tightened into a hard line, but she didn’t stop him.

  Although that movement seemed to spur her out of her frozen trance. One leg slid from around his waist, and her heel hit the floor with a thud. But she couldn’t release the other, not with his body holding her hips spread wide and his cock still buried deep inside.

  “Let me go,” she tried again, her voice carrying the whip of authority. But he wasn’t the kind of man used to taking orders.

  “I’ll let you go on one condition.”

  “Yes,” she countered too quickly.

  A smile played at the corners of his lips. Logically, he realized that probably wasn’t smart, but he couldn’t have stopped the reaction for anything. Not even knowing it was going to dig his hole that much deeper.

  He did like a challenge.

  Alyssa’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

  “You might not want to agree until you hear what the condition is.”

  “Whatever it is, it’s got to be better than being pinned against the wall with your cock inside me.”

  Beckett laughed. Surprise shot across Alyssa’s face before she buried the reaction.

  “What is so funny?”

  “You weren’t complaining five minutes ago.” He leaned closer, letting the warmth of his words spread across her skin. “Admit it, you wanted me, Alyssa. It’s all you’ve been thinking about since the night I stood on that balcony and watched you. God knows, it’s all I’ve been able to think about.”

  A shiver rocked her, and her sex clenched tight around his half-hard cock, betraying her and wiping any thought of humor straight from his brain.

  As if realizing just how vulnerable their position left her, Alyssa started bucking again. “Let me go,” she ground out, loud enough th
at the low murmur of voices close to them went silent.

  “Lower your voice, Alyssa. You’re upset. I get it and don’t blame you. We need to talk and that’s what I’ve been trying to get you to calm down enough to do. But don’t think I’m going to let you make a scene, especially now that both of us are unmasked.”

  She opened her mouth and he could see from the spark in her eyes it wasn’t to be accommodating. Cutting off her outburst, Beckett shoved his face close and stared into her eyes.

  “I’m doing what I promised, Alyssa, trying to protect you. Don’t do something in the heat of the moment that you’ll regret later.”

  The blazing flames in her eyes cooled slightly. She gave him a single, jerky nod but murmured, “Too late.”

  For some reason her words punched straight through his gut. The pain of them tearing at him.

  * * *

  SHE WAS AN IDIOT. How could she have missed that Beckett Kayne was her masked stranger?

  Had he been playing her the entire time? Gone to that balcony for the express purpose of spying on her?

  Humiliation suffused her. The emotion wasn’t helped by the precarious position she currently found herself in. Pressed to the wall, a crowded ballroom right outside and Beckett still buried deep.

  Her body throbbed from the aftereffects of the orgasms he’d just given her. Amazing orgasms. The kind she’d thought were more fantasy than reality. Even now, her traitorous body begged her to forget everything and let him give her another.

  The evidence of just how unbelievably talented he was slicked her inner thighs. Her internal muscles ached, from use and the need currently climbing higher and higher. Having him pressed full length against her wasn’t the best way to keep her head clear.

  So, first things first, she had to get him to let her go. Whatever she had to agree to in order to make that happen was worth the price.

  Either that or she was going to humiliate herself even further by begging him to take her again. And that was something she’d never forgive herself for.

  “If you promise not to run the minute I set you down, I’ll let you go.”

  He stared at her, those stormy blue eyes darker than normal as he waited for her answer. Slowly, she nodded. But he didn’t move. Instead, his eyes roamed her face, no doubt looking for some sign she was lying to him.

  But she wasn’t even certain herself what she would do when he let her go.

  Apparently deciding it was safe, Beckett pulled his hips back, disengaging from her body.

  She bit back a hiss, not from pain, but from the spike of pleasure as his length slid against her swollen sex.

  Something hot flared deep in his eyes, but other than that he didn’t react. It bothered her that he knew, though, knew the way she responded to him even if she didn’t want to.

  That knowledge gave him power. Power she didn’t think he’d hesitate to use against her if he could.

  Pulling a soft handkerchief from the pocket of his pants, Beckett stared straight into her eyes as he bent down and swiped it across the smooth expanse of her inner thighs.

  This time she couldn’t stop the hiss. He was gentle. Too gentle. She almost would have preferred him to be rough and perfunctory. But he wasn’t. He was thorough in taking care of her.

  Just as he’d been last night.

  Conflicting emotions twisted through her. She wanted to hate him...but she couldn’t. It would have been easier if she could keep her low opinion of him, the memory of him staring down at her years before, a mixture of horror and resignation filling his eyes just before he walked away leaving her panting, unfulfilled and embarrassed.

  But that’s certainly not how he was looking at her now.

  Somehow, in that moment, through the expression in his gaze, Beckett Kayne and her masked stranger morphed together, his stormy blue-gray eyes devouring her as if she was the only thing worth living for.

  The impact of his scrutiny had her chest tightening, need and denial and craving all mixing together.

  His meticulous care made her feel...protected. Cherished. Wanted. Just as she’d felt when he’d stared at her from the shadows of that balcony.

  She didn’t want to feel that way with this man.

  He straightened her dress, making sure everything was covered before stepping away.

  Once the wall of his body was gone she was suddenly cold. The flush of embarrassment faded from her skin.

  Silently, she watched him redo his fly and stuff the used condom in his pocket. Only when they were both back to rights did he put more space between them.

  He gave her the breathing room she desperately needed. She didn’t want to be grateful for his consideration, but she was.

  In an attempt to dredge up the anger that had been blazing through her not five minutes ago, she said, “You must have been dying of laughter. Standing on that balcony, staring at me, knowing what an ass I was making of myself. Did you come there to spy on me?”

  Beckett’s mouth compressed into a hard slant. “No. I had no idea who you were until I walked into that boardroom.” He ran a hand through the dark strands of his hair, sending them into disarray. It was the first outward sign that this was affecting him as much as it was her.

  For some reason that settled her thumping nerves a little.

  “I didn’t want to be at the party in the first place. I walked over to the end of the balcony for a few minutes of peace.”

  He’d gotten a hell of a lot more than that.

  Needing respite from the emotions churning through her, Alyssa screwed her eyes shut. She didn’t realize he’d moved until the soft stroke of his fingers over her cheek jolted her out of her mental tailspin.

  “I didn’t set out to use you, Alyssa. I already wanted you. The moment I walked into that room and saw you sitting there, your beautiful body covered up once more...it was too late. I was hooked. Couldn’t look away.”

  A sound wheezed out of her lungs, half laugh, half disbelief.

  “This.” He moved a hand between them. “Whatever’s happening between us has nothing to do with business.”

  “Yeah, right. Beckett, you sat across that conference table and kept your mouth shut. You lied to me, let me make a fool of myself.”

  “Is that what you’re upset about? Wounded pride? Do you know how hard it was to not say anything? But I knew the minute I did you’d push your masked stranger away just as surely as you were holding me at arm’s length.”

  “But that was my choice, Beckett. You’re trying to steal my work, and if you don’t think that’s personal you’re dead wrong.”

  He stalked several paces away and then came back. His fingers tugged at his hair, the gesture pure frustration.

  “I didn’t want to steal your work, Alyssa. I tried to buy it, but you wouldn’t let me. You left me no choice.”

  A harsh sound scraped through her throat. “There’s always a choice, Beckett. You could have taken my no and left V&D alone.”

  He whirled to her, sharp strides closing the gap between them. She felt anger rolling off him in pounding waves. The flat of his palms settled against the wall inches from her head, caging her in and forcing her to really look at him. The way his eyes churned, frustration, interest and heat edged with the sharp tang of anger.

  “I need that app, Alyssa. It’s going to take Exposed global, make it a household name. Make us both millions of dollars.”

  “Is that really what you care about?” she asked quietly. “Money? Does it drive everything you do?”

  Even she could hear the bitter edge to her own voice, but couldn’t temper the reaction. She didn’t want to think that of him, but...she’d be stupid to think anything else.

  It was the only reason he’d been interested in her before. Maybe it was the only reason he was interested in her now. Su
re, he was saying all the right things...but that didn’t mean they were true.

  He’d obviously been chasing that demon for years. Except he no longer needed to fight for that next dollar. Apparently, the man didn’t know how to stop.

  Nothing had changed in the twelve years between then and now.

  Why did that send a barbed shaft of disappointment straight through her chest?

  There had been a time in her life when money was just...there. Something she had, didn’t really understand and definitely didn’t appreciate. But as she’d gotten older, it had become apparent that money was what drove Bridgett. And Bridgett drove her father.

  Her stepmother hoarded wealth like a squirrel packs away nuts. Alyssa hated Bridgett’s manipulation and maneuvering, poisoning her own father against her just to protect Bridgett’s slice of the pie...and get more.

  Especially because that’s not what Alyssa had ever cared about.

  Standing there, she could see the same desperate gleam in Beckett’s eyes. It turned her stomach and left her panicked.

  “You don’t understand,” he growled. “You can’t possibly understand.”

  Alyssa shook her head, sadness curling through her belly.

  Beckett’s hot gaze raked across her face. “What have I ever done to you, Alyssa, that you’d dismiss me completely? Until four days ago I don’t think we’ve ever even met.”

  Alyssa stared at him, her skin stinging as if he’d slapped her. Part of her had assumed he didn’t remember their previous encounter. But to hear the irrefutable evidence that she was so easily forgotten and unimportant...

  It hurt. More than it should. More than she wanted.

  And hit way too close to home. Calling up long-suppressed memories from her childhood. Her father too busy to listen to stories of her day, but with plenty of time for Mercedes to sit on his lap and babble about ribbons or puppies or dresses. As an experiment, she’d once gone an entire week without saying a single word at the dinner table. And no one had noticed—or cared.