By Invitation Only Read online

  She offered me a smile guaranteed to drive a man insane with the need to kiss her full on the mouth. “Dessert? I don’t think I can take another bite.”

  “This dessert doesn’t require eating, at least not yet.” I certainly hoped before the night was through she’d eat me. Or we’d eat each other. But first things first.

  “Oh?”

  “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes.”

  That was all I needed to hear. I stood up. She followed suit. “Take off your dress for me.”

  She studied me for a long moment, although she voiced no questions regarding my request.

  “Please,” I added. I didn’t want to dominate her. I didn’t see myself as a Dom. Nor did I see her as a submissive. I wanted only to bring us both the greatest pleasure.

  Standing before me, she did as I asked.

  Naked. Beautiful. Standing in black heels, she was artistic perfection made of beautiful curves. I stepped around her, taking her in, committed every aspect of her to memory. She moved to follow my movements. “No, stay still.”

  She did as I asked. When I was behind her, I took a red silk blindfold from my pocket. “I’m going to blindfold you. You’re perfectly safe. I promise. Tell me your safe word.”

  “Moonlight. Please, no pain.”

  I heard the way her voice shook. I had already promised her no pain. I knew what she did for a living—working every day to save and protect abused kids. I wondered who the hell had hurt her. I also wondered what I would do if I ever found out who. “Relax. I won’t hurt you.” I leaned close and whispered in her ear. “I promised you pleasure. If anything I ever do causes you any pain, say your safe word.”

  “Moonlight,” she said again.

  “That’s right.” I finished tying the blindfold near the side of her face so as she lay on the nearby table, the knot would not be pressing against the back of her head. The blindfold covered the top half of her face along with the mask. I moved back around to face her. “Your nipples are a beautiful pink color.” I brushed my thumbs around them; they were already hard. I was hard too.

  With my words and touch, her breathing increased and her sweet nipples brushed against my thumbs.

  “You like when I whisper across your skin, don’t you?”

  My whispered words near her neck sent a delicious shiver down her. I ran my tongue up her throat, loving the sweet, salty taste of her, loved even more the gasp my action drew from her.

  “Yes.”

  Her reply was little more than a breath. I saw her fists clench and unclench as if she didn’t know what to do with her hands. I kissed her. I honestly think I could kiss her forever and never grow tired of the wonderful feel of her mouth.

  I broke the kiss and quickly took one breast into my mouth, eliciting a loud gasp from her. In nearly the same instant, I slipped my finger into the tight heat between her legs. She was wet and ready. I wanted nothing more than to slip my cock into her and make her scream as she came. But I wanted to introduce her to a game or two first. I kept my finger in her but put my other hand around her back as I pulled off her nipple with an audible pop that made her moan.

  “Step back,” I instructed.

  She didn’t hesitate. She was so ready, no needy. I led her backward to the dungeon table. Just before she bumped against it, I paused and pulled my finger from her.

  “No, please.”

  Her words were breathy and filled with passion, music to my ears. “Patience, my love. The night is young.” I lifted her onto the table and eased her back until she was lying down. I suspected the leather would be cool against the heated skin of her back. I was proud of the way she wished to please me as she tried to relax. Her perfect round breasts pointed toward the ceiling. Her belly was flat, leading to the place I wanted to make my dessert.

  “Put your arms up, hands above your head, please.”

  She did. My palm was sweaty against the handle of the flogger I held. It was leather, soft strips held together in a round circle. It took all my will not to lean down and take her nipple into my mouth. Making sure I was nothing but the gentlest of gentle, I allowed the cool leather fringe to fall across her breasts.

  Her reaction was exquisite. Her intake of breath sounded caught in her throat. She drew her legs together and brought her hands down, reaching for what I’d just placed on her breast. “No, stay still. Breathe.”

  She put her arms over her head again and visibly worked to relax. I kept the leather on her skin, giving her a moment to collect herself. Then I caressed her with it, sliding the small strips around her torso, down her belly. She breathed deeply and let out a subtle moan as I slid the flogger down first one leg, then the other. I even swirled it around each foot after removing her shoes, making her wiggle her toes. She let out a giggle.

  It was heart-stopping to make her come. But it was a joy to hear her laughter. She worked saving kids, barely ever gave time to herself. If I could give her an ounce of pleasure for every pound she put in, trying to save an abused kid, I’d be satisfied.

  Maybe.

  My caresses continued. I allowed the flogger to drop gently on her—it was in no way a whip or a slap—and I worked the flogger up her body. I discovered she was very sensitive on the underside of her arms above her elbows. My touch there caused her to shiver and giggle more as if it tickled. Yet she kept her arms still. I followed my brush across her hands with a touch of my lips to her palms.

  A long, “Oh,” escaped her lips.

  I had no plans to share her here at the Castle. Ever. However, I might allow a third person to join us so he could kiss her arms and hands or perhaps use a feather on her while I fucked her, considering how sensitive her palms and arms were. But for now, she was all mine.

  I gave in and leaned over her, brought my lips to hers, and caressed her mouth with my tongue. All the while, I swirled the flogger on her belly in a figure-eight motion, crossed her breasts, then slid it over her pussy with a light touch again and again, almost bringing her hips off the table.

  Time stopped for us. There was only Alexandria and me. There was only the touch of my lips to hers. There was only her sweet moans as I continued my leathered caresses.

  If someone from the Castle had told me a week before a woman could come from a simple kiss, I wouldn’t have believed it, but I believed it now as her breathing increased, her heart raced, and she arched her hips over and over as if reaching for the touch of the leather.

  “Spread your legs, my sweet,” I whispered. I let the flogger rest on her breasts as I moved my hand to the juncture of her legs, which melted open like warmed butter. I slid two fingers inside her, felt her tight, wet heat. She thrust against my hand and screamed as she came.

  Amazing.

  I watched her face. A sweet flush filled her cheeks and slowly spread down her neck to her chest, causing her already beautiful nipples to darken. I leaned down and ran my tongue over one. She let out something close to a scream as she tried to slither away, out of reach. I only wished she wore no blindfold over her mask, so I could watch her eyes.

  Next time, I promised myself.

  I planned, hoped, wanted there to be a forever of next times. For now I thought I’d just join her on the dungeon table and…

  Alexandria

  My world was spinning out of control. How could this be so wonderful? I’d never craved it or let it in any way overwhelm me. Not like this. Not like this man. Who was he to my soul that all he had to do was kiss or touch me and my world spun away? He had to know me, or he wouldn’t have invited me. And yet there was no one in my life that I could conceive who would drive me this insane. It seemed like light-years before my breathing slowed to a controlled rhythm, before my thoughts came back into focus.

  His fingers were still lost deep within me. Thank goodness he didn’t move them. If he did, I might implode. My insides were shaking in the aftermath of the earthquake he’d just set off in me all the way to my core. His continued kiss was like an electric current surgi
ng through me, lighting me up as nothing else ever had.

  It lit up all the darkness left in the wake of my childhood. Strange, considering with the blindfold on, all I could see was darkness. Strange that through his touch, I was able to be brought into the light. I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. He took his fingers from me. I nearly cried in protest.

  But then I felt him move onto the table with me. I felt his closeness, his heat, the touch of his skin against mine. The coarseness of the hair on his legs brushed against mine and tickled with a delicious feel as he settled close to me. I was amazed at what I could feel when I couldn’t see. The hardness of his dick brushed against the top of my right leg. I couldn’t see it, but I recognized the feel of it, and it sent my heart racing again. His wrists touched the sides of my upper arms, one on each side. The soft fringe he’d caressed me with was dragged across my chest and away. He hovered over me. I felt the subtle touch of his breaths on my nipples, like the light touch of whatever it was he’d slid over my body a few moments ago, only hotter. The warmth sent fire through me that settled just below my belly button. I still held my arms above my head. The position lifted my breasts. His chest against my nipples was anticipated, and yet, the feel of him sent a shock wave through my body.

  I felt on the verge of overload, and at the same time I wanted more. I wanted all of him, everything he was able to give me. His clean, evening woodsy scent made me breathe in deeply, which caused my nipples to press harder against his chest.

  The hardness of him pressed against my still-quivering pussy. I knew he was there. I needed him in me. I wanted him in me. What was taking him so long? What was he waiting for? When he finally thrust inside, I thought I might fly apart with the sparks that shot out of me.

  Then he was moving. In. Out. In deeper. Out far enough to threaten driving me insane. He brought one of my hands down from over my head and laced his fingers through mine and held on tight as he moved more and faster. I held him as if my life depended on it.

  Perhaps it did. I know I’d never been on a ride like this in my life. It scared me. It excited me. Like an endless roller coaster, filled with curves and hills I couldn’t see, only feel.

  A moment later, the bottom dropped out. And the two of us catapulted into oblivion.

  I had no idea how much time passed before coherent thought returned. Minutes? Hours? Days?

  What I did know was that he still filled me. He pulled the blindfold away. I found myself caught in the deep blue fire of his gaze. His face was flushed as if he’d just run a race. He was naked, his body covered with a soft sheen of sweat.

  “I wish the world could stop, right here, right now, with you inside me like this. I never thought I could feel this and like it so much.”

  “Who hurt you?”

  His words cut into me like a knife that sliced through from nowhere. For several seconds, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t seem to make my lungs draw in a breath. How could he ask after just showing me how much it didn’t hurt?

  Raven

  Fuck.

  Three little words. One simple question, and the color drained from her face. I also saw the way she retreated. In her eyes, I saw her try to actually close a door and shut me out. Now I really did want to find out who’d hurt her. The last thing I wanted was to push her or scare her away, but a new sense of determination washed over me. I wanted to spend the rest of my life showing her how she should be treated, with no pain, only pleasure. There was no way I could let her close me out, not after all we’d shared.

  “Don’t, please don’t. Don’t shut me out, not when I’m a part of you.” I held her gaze, trying my damnedest to peel back the layers that made her the woman who fought hard for every kid, the woman who worked for every inch of justice. I wanted to see her soul, see who was there lurking in the dark, terrifying her when it came to the possibility of pain, pain that I wished I could convince her she’d never feel from me. “I won’t hurt you, ever. I give you my word. I know this is only supposed to be excitement and games, sex and screwing. And I meant it when I promised you only pleasure. But after touching you, after putting my lips on you, this is so much more to me. This has become a bond unlike anything I’ve ever known. I’m honest when I say I need you as much as my next breath. It’s why I invited you back on a night when the Castle is usually empty. It tears at my heart to know that someone hurt you, and I want to help you be able to let that go, so you can trust me in every sense of the word. My hope is that soon we can remove the masks, perhaps even be together outside these walls.”

  A single tear slid down her cheek.

  She could have plunged a dull knife into my chest, and it would have been less painful.

  Fuck. Whoever hurt her was going to die. Slowly. She pulled her hand from my grasp to swipe the tear away.

  “I have to go. Let me up.”

  To say no, refuse, and make her stay would hurt her more. But letting her go to bear the pain and face it alone would be torture.

  I climbed off her, slid away from her fire even though it pained me to do so. I fought the urge to kiss her until she melted and couldn’t move. She climbed off the table. I grasped her arms and steadied her until her legs no longer threatened to buckle beneath her. I kissed her, wishing she’d see the connection between us. I tried to pull her into my arms, but she maneuvered away from me. She picked up her shoes and her dress.

  She turned away, holding her dress in front of her. At the door, she stopped. I stood naked, watching her, taking in her beautiful curvy ass, thinking she must really need to leave if she thought she’d step out without putting on her clothes. Her back moved with her breaths. Sobs? Please, no. I didn’t think I could watch that. When she spoke, her voice shook.

  “It wasn’t me.”

  “What wasn’t you?” I stepped closer, terrified my closeness might push her out the door.

  “It wasn’t me who was hurt.”

  “Who, then?” I was just as terrified to question her more, but if it meant she’d stay and share this aspect of herself, I had to go with it.

  “My friend Ana. She lived next door to us when I was thirteen. She was the best friend I ever had. She’d have bruises that she refused to talk about. Her mom worked a lot. It was her mom’s boyfriend we’d hear yelling. I think he did things to her. She’d want to stay at our house, and she did as much as possible.”

  Alexandria finally turned to face me. Her cheeks glistened with tears that angered me so much and tore me apart at the same time. I clenched my fists, then forced myself to unclench them.

  “I think he did unspeakable things to her. Then one day, she wasn’t there. Both he and her mom insisted she must have run away. But I don’t think so. I think he did something to her, because she wouldn’t have run away without telling me. I saw him from my bedroom window. He was in his garden in the middle of the night. I think he was burying her. I was terrified to say anything, terrified he’d kill me too. I was thirteen, and he was a big, strong man with a badge and a gun. And I was afraid to say what I saw.

  “Maybe he saw me watching him that night, because after that, I always felt like he looked at me like he knew what I’d seen. Looking back, I think he spied on my bedroom window a lot. He couldn’t see in, because it was on the second floor of the house, but sometimes when he was drunk or mad or both, he’d yell up at my window ‘Little girl, are you up there?’ as he looked for Ana.”

  She looked at me. “That’s why I do what I do. That’s why I try and protect kids. And when I allow myself pleasure like this, I think of how many will never know this pleasure, never feel it, because someone somewhere robbed them of it. The ones who feel pain haunt me. I see it in their eyes, like I used to see it in Ana’s. I shouldn’t be here now, feeling this with you. I should be working on my next case, working to save the next kid. No one helped Ana. And I can’t help her now. But I can help others.”

  I stepped closer and pulled her into my embrace. I held her close and ignored how one of th
e heeled shoes she held pressed against my chest. “My God, what a burden to carry every day.” From sheer love for her friend, Alexandria had taken it upon herself to save every abused child she could. She’d deprived herself probably countless times while she’d been busy trying to do just that.

  She cried against my shoulder. My bed was in the next room. I led her there. I took her shoes from her and put them on the floor. I put her dress over the foot of the bed. I eased her beneath the clean white sheets. I held her close until she cried herself to sleep. It was all I knew to do. I could not take her burden from her, but I could help her carry it.

  I vowed to do that. I vowed much more as I lay in the darkness holding her, listening to her rhythmic breathing as the sobbing ended and she slept. I never slept. I stayed awake all night, listening to her breath and holding her tight.

  Chapter Nine

  Alexandria

  Holy fucking shit, what have I done?

  I’ve shared my darkest secret with a man I don’t even know, a man I probably wouldn’t recognize as my lover in a crowd unless he kissed me, a man who knows me as no one else but only in the carnal sense.

  He’d touched me, tasted me, fucked me, and turned me on as no one else ever.

  I sat at my desk, trying to make heads or tails of the latest case. I stopped reading. Hell, everything stopped as I just realized he didn’t fuck me at all. To me, fucking does not involve feelings and emotions. Fucking is what people do in one-night stands to simply get their rocks off. Then they go to work and get on with their lives as if nothing happened.

  With Raven, it was so much more.

  With Raven, something definitely happened. He’d reached in and held my soul. He saw my darkest side, something I’ve kept to myself since I was thirteen. I’d been terrified as a young girl to even mention it, afraid Ana’s mom’s boyfriend would come after me, even more afraid he would come after whomever I told. And he was a fucking cop, someone people were supposed to trust. I know he beat up Ana’s mom. I also think he beat her worse when she tried to report him. What a horrible, vicious circle.