Reluctant Desire Read online

  Charity gritted her teeth, trying to remain as still as possible as he spread the cool paint over her nipple. “How many of them are there? Please don’t tell me you plan to try all of them.”

  Beau sat back, glancing up at her before he studied her nipple. “Of course. How else am I supposed to know if they do what they’re supposed to do? Be patient. There’s only a few.”

  “Don’t you think one is enough?” Charity didn’t know how much more she could take. She wanted to spread her legs, but with Beau’s knees on either side of them, she couldn’t. Rubbing her thighs together didn’t do any good. Her pussy was soaked, and she couldn’t stop clenching, the need to be filled driving her insane.

  Her clit felt so hot and swollen, she couldn’t stand it, and the feel of his cock, only inches from her mound, made her crazy to have him.

  He seduced her senses, making her want him more each passing day. He made her aware of desires she’d never known existed, somehow drawing her deeper and deeper into a decadent world of physical hungers and desires that she still didn’t understand.

  Beau set the paint and the brush aside, grinning down at her. “One is never enough, is it, chéri?”

  Too aroused to be embarrassed by his teasing, she sank her fingertips into his muscular thighs. “I have no idea. You’re the one who makes me come more than once. It’s your fault.”

  Leaning so close that their noses almost touched, Beau gripped her chin, his eyes narrowed. “When you come, chéri, it sure as hell better be my fault.”

  The rare show of the domineering attitude she recognized from most of the other men in Desire sent a thrill through her, one that startled her with its intensity.

  She’d always bristled at that attitude, and couldn’t understand why Beau’s infrequent displays of it thrilled her so much. Frowning, she met his gaze, sucking in a breath at the hint of jealousy and threat in his eyes.

  Sitting back, he gave her a hard look before picking up another jar. “I play, but I don’t share. I see nothing wrong with those who choose to, but I don’t. Ever. I’m selfish.”

  He smiled, all trace of arrogance replaced by erotic playfulness. “Hmm, blue. Let’s try this other brush. It’s smaller and rougher than the last one. Stay still. I think I should do another heart. That way we can tell the difference in the texture.” Watching her face, he dipped the brush into the paint, tapped off the excess, and touched the brush to her other nipple.

  Charity jolted. “Oh, God.” Kicking her legs, she dug her nails into his thighs as the rush of heat shot from her nipple to her clit.

  “Tell me.” Beau moved the brush over her nipple again, the rough bristles creating an intense combination of pleasure and sharp, almost painful sensation.

  Sucking in a breath, she lifted a hand to cover herself, but Beau once again knocked it away. “Too much. Beau, my nipple’s already too sensitive. No more.”

  “I have to finish. I’m only half done. Why don’t you grab on to the headboard again? We need to keep your hands out of the way so I can finish testing this.” He smiled, his eyes daring her to object. “You did promise to help me with my business, didn’t you?” He dipped the brush into the paint again.

  Charity couldn’t hold back a moan when he stroked the brush over her nipple again. “Hurry up!” Even though he moved the brush slowly, the effect of the rougher bristles over her nipple sent her arousal soaring.

  Beau shifted over her, rubbing his cock against her stomach. “Just a little more. There. Be real still. Perfect.” Sitting back, he set the jar and brush aside, his smile pure sin.

  “What shall we paint next?”

  Looking down at herself, Charity frowned. “I look ridiculous.”

  “Not at all.” Bending low, Beau ran his fingers through her hair, lifting her face for his kiss. Running his tongue over her bottom lip, he slid his hands beneath her shoulders, lifting her higher. Sliding his thumbs over the outer curve of her breasts, he nibbled at her lips before slipping his tongue inside, tangling it with hers.

  He teased her, inviting her to play, curling his tongue around hers and leading her into the first steps of an erotic dance that made her heart leap in anticipation.

  Tangling her fingers in his hair, she kissed him the way he’d taught her, earning a groan of pleasure from him.

  Easing back, he brushed his lips over hers before lifting his head, his eyes dark and mysterious as he stared down at her. “You look beautiful. Sexy. Sweet.” His tone, more serious than she’d become used to, cracked her composure and sent a jolt of alarm through her.

  Swallowing heavily, she tightened her hold on him in an automatic and silent need for reassurance.

  She loved him so much that sometimes she could hardly contain it. Scared to face the time he would decide he wanted to move on to his next playmate, Charity stiffened, earning a look of concern from him, one that eased some of her apprehension.

  “What’s the matter, honey?”

  Shaking her head, Charity smiled as a sense of relief washed over her. “I’m aroused, and my lover wants to paint instead of taking me.”

  Sitting up again, he positioned himself between her thighs, spreading hers and lifting them over his. With another of those devastating smiles, he teased her curls. “I like playing with you. We still have one more color to go. Red. It’s supposed to taste like cherry. It’s only fitting that I use that one on your clit.”

  Her clit tingled in anticipation, and she tried to close her legs against the sharp awareness, but Beau kept her knees bent outward and outside of his. “Beaaaau…”

  “Shh. I saved the softest brush for your clit.” Holding the brush up for her to see, he grinned. “Perfect. Huh? Now, be still so we can try this out.” He lifted her hips higher, using his own powerful thighs to prop her up and keep her held wide in that position.

  “Beau!” Having her entire slit spread wide in front of him, and with enough light in the room to allow him to see everything, Charity thrashed, shaken by the sharp tingling in her clit.

  He hadn’t even touched her there, and she feared she wouldn’t be able to hold back, and would come at the first touch of the brush on the swollen and already tingling bundle of nerves.

  His foreplay continued the slow build to take her to new heights, something he did with alarming regularity, and shocking her with just how many ways he could arouse her.

  And to what heights.

  He’d never made her come before taking her, but each time he made love to her, she found herself moving closer and closer to losing complete control before he even entered her. He eyed her slit while dipping the brush into the paint, licking his lips as if he wanted a taste of her.

  Feeling too exposed, she tried to close her legs, but held high and wide by Beau’s muscular thighs, she couldn’t, and tried to at least close her knees, but he knocked them aside without pausing in his task.

  Beau shook his head, laughing softly. “There’s no reason to be shy with me. I’ve seen it all before, chéri.” He ran his fingers through her slit, brushing them lightly over her clit before sinking a finger into her pussy and startling a cry from her. “Beautiful. You’re so beautiful.”

  Embarrassed by the amount of moisture there, Charity shifted restlessly against him, moving on the finger he held deep inside her. “Just take me, Beau. I’m ready.”

  Beau blinked in surprise and amusement. “Of course you’re ready, chéri, but we’re not done yet. It amazes me that you can be so shy with me. We’ve been working up to this, haven’t we, cher? Little by little. One step at a time. It’s all right for me to see you this way. It’s all right for me to watch your face when you come. It’s all right for me to see this beautiful pussy.”

  Charity shook her head, fisting her hands against the dizzying rush to her senses. “Turn off the light.”

  He’d put his mouth on her there many times before, but always in the dark. “No, baby. I want to see. Now, I know you’re gonna move around a lot, so I’m gonna keep my finger insid
e you to hold you steady.”

  “Oh, God.” The tingling in her clit grew, enticing her to rock her hips, which moved her on the finger Beau held inside her. She watched, holding her breath, as he dipped the brush in the paint again.

  “Should I paint another heart?” Beau frowned, as though considering that. “No, you’re probably gonna move and make me mess it up. I’ll just paint your whole clit. It’s so tiny anyway.”

  Charity groaned, staring at the brush. “It doesn’t feel small.” Her clit felt huge.

  Swollen.

  Throbbing.

  Beau laughed at that. “I’m sure it doesn’t. Needs attention, doesn’t it, sweet baby? Don’t you worry. As soon as I finish painting it, I’ll lick all the paint off.”

  With the brush poised over her clit, Beau paused. “Hold on to the headboard again. I don’t want you trying to cover your clit while I’m painting it. I want you to come, and I want to see your face when you do.”

  “Oh, God.” She fisted her hands on her thighs, moaning as the tingling grew stronger. Sucking in another breath, she stared down at the brush and waited.

  And waited, her thighs shaking with the effort to remain still.

  Blowing out her breath in a rush, she glanced up at Beau shaking everywhere. “What are you waiting for, damn it?”

  He withdrew his finger almost all the way, brushing his thumb over her clit as he slid it deep again. Smiling, but with that arrogant look in his eyes that excited her so much, he gestured to a spot over her head. “I’m waiting for you to hold on to the headboard.” He met her look with a shrug, his lips twitching. “You were the one who wanted me to check the inventory, chéri. I’m just doing as you asked. I’m checking out my woman at the same time, and enjoying it immensely.”

  Narrowing her eyes, Charity attempted to glare at him, but the hot rush of pleasure as he moved his finger again prevented it. “You’re teasing me on purpose, damn it.”

  Chuckling softly, he ran the blunt end of the paintbrush around her navel. “Of course I’m teasing you on purpose—another example of working and playing at the same time. You can sneak a little play into almost anything if you try.”

  “Stop that. It tickles.” Swatting the brush away, she laughed, reaching for the headboard and holding on tight as she rocked her hips. She’d never thought that laughter and sex could coexist, but every night she spent in Beau’s bed had been filled with laughter.

  And pleasure beyond her wildest dreams.

  Once she gripped the headboard, Beau nodded his approval. “Ready, cher?”

  As always, there came a time when all laughter died.

  Charity’s died on a moan when Beau moved the finger inside her again and poised the brush over her slit. Stiffening, she gripped the headboard tighter, unable to tear her gaze away from Beau’s face as he lowered the brush.

  Jolting at the first touch of it on her clit, Charity cried out and reached to cover herself with both hands, but Beau withdrew his finger from her pussy and caught her wrists in one big hand.

  “No, cher. Let me finish.”

  Digging her heels into the mattress, she lifted her hips. “Beau, I’m gonna come!” The sharp warning tingles she’d come to recognize burned hot, the sensation so extreme, it wiped away her inhibitions.

  Beau’s eyes narrowed, sharpening on hers. “So come.” He touched the cold tip of the brush to her clit, his forearms pressing down on her thighs at her initial jolt.

  Charity cried out at the feel of the soft bristles on her throbbing clit, and went over with a speed that stunned her. The coolness of the paint, a sharp contrast to her hot clit, made it even more arousing, the unfamiliar sensation sending Charity soaring.

  “Oh! Beau!” Even though she’d expected the rush of pleasure, it always took her by surprise. Bucking against it proved futile, leaving Charity helpless to escape Beau’s devious ministrations.

  The slow strokes of the brush kept the sensation going on and on, the pleasure holding her in its grip for several heart-pounding moments. “Ahhh!” A cry of pleasure—of magnificent bliss—erupted from her as she dug her heels into the mattress, swell after swell washing over her.

  As the pleasure began to dim, the sensation of the brush moving on her clit became too intense to endure. She fought to get her hands free to push the brush away, but Beau didn’t loosen his hold on her wrists.

  “Easy, chéri. Nice and slow. Yes, that’s it. Nice and slow. Doesn’t that feel good?”

  Moaning at the feel of the brush moving with slow deliberation over her clit, Charity opened her eyes, drinking in the sight of her lover.

  She loved to watch him. She loved his eyes. His smile.

  Most of all, she loved the way he looked at her.

  The way he looked at her now.

  Lifting the brush, he stared down at her, his eyes glittering with something that never failed to take her breath away, an emotion she couldn’t let herself believe.

  She wished she had the courage to ask.

  While the rest of his body remained stiff with sexual tension, his expression softened into one of affection and indulgence.

  Setting the paint and brush aside, Beau gathered her close, brushing his lips over her chin, her cheek, and finally, her lips. “You okay, cher?”

  Braced on his knees and elbows, he surrounded her, the warmth of his body and the gentleness in his touch making her feel like something precious, and easing the helpless feeling of losing part of herself she always experienced when she came.

  His big body blocked out most of the light, cocooning them in a private world she’d never known with anyone else, and couldn’t imagine sharing with another. “You come so beautifully.”

  Charity buried her face against his shoulder, needing the warm, solid feel of him. “I can’t believe the things you say.” It amazed her that she could be so adept and confident in every aspect of her life, but when she was with Beau, she became shy and insecure.

  Lifting his head, Beau pushed her hair back from her face. “Why shouldn’t I tell you how beautiful you are?” Grinning, he sat back and eyed her breasts. “Especially when you let me paint you. I have to say, though, I much prefer the natural color of your nipples. Rosy and pink.”

  Gripping his thighs, she wiggled against him, her nipples burning under his gaze. “Next time I get to paint you.”

  Beau laughed. “We’re making progress. At least you admit that there will be a next time, and that you’re planning to play with me in the future.”

  Bending again, he watched her face as he touch his tongue to her nipple. “For future reference, chéri, you can play with me anytime you want to.”

  Charity gasped at the feel of his lips closing over her nipple, arching against him as he sucked it into his mouth. “Beau, oh God!”

  The pull to her clit had her writhing against him, and lifting her hips to get the friction she needed. She shouldn’t have been surprised to be aroused again so soon after coming. With Beau, she’d learned that she could never get enough.

  His mouth worked its magic on her nipple, creating a long, slow pull to her clit that had the swollen bundle of nerves craving his attention again, and her pussy clenching with the need to feel him inside her.

  Hard and fast.

  Frustrated by his teasing, Charity pulled at his shoulders, but couldn’t budge him. “Beau, please!”

  She tried to lift against him, wiggling her hips in an effort to get his cock inside her. The feel of it against her hip threatened to drive her mad.

  Beau lifted his head, and glanced up at her, smiling as he licked his lips. “The purple tastes like grape, just as the salesman promised. Now, let’s see if the blue tastes like blue raspberry.”

  Charity threw her head back as his lips closed over her other nipple, kicking her legs as the need sharpened. Rocking her hips, she pulled at his shoulders again, her frustration growing when she had no better luck at getting his cock inside her than she had the last time.

  “Hmm.” Beau s
ucked her nipple, taking his time as he licked the flavored paint. Scraping his teeth over the beaded tip, he slid his hands under her, lifting her against him. With a groan of pleasure, he raised his head a few inches, touching the tip of his tongue to her nipple. “Blue raspberry. Hmm, so far everything the salesman said is true. Now, for the cherry.”

  Charity’s stomach muscles quivered under his lips as he worked his way down her body. Her clit throbbed harder, the anticipation of having his wicked mouth on her slit making it difficult for her to breathe.

  Need clawed at her, the strength of it driving her wild.

  She already knew how it would feel—how incredibly sharp the first touch of his tongue would be—and that after the first touch, she would be lost.

  Running his tongue over her belly, he dipped it into her naval before lifting his head. “You’re so soft. I’m always amazed at how soft you are. How tiny. When you’re mad at me, and lose that temper of yours, I forget how delicate you really are.”

  Every inch he moved lower made her breathing even more ragged, her abdomen clenching as his teeth scraped over it. When his hands slid to her inner thighs, she cried out and tried to close her legs against him, and at the same time lifting into him.

  Whimpering when his mouth moved lower, she clawed at the bedding, her breath catching as he slid his hands under her bottom and lifted her.

  “And now for my cherry. All mine.”

  Jolting, she cried out at the first swipe of his tongue over her clit. The second had her kicking at him to escape the too sharp pleasure, and by the third, she was calling his name and grabbing fistfuls of his hair.

  Too hot. Too intense. Too unbelievably good.

  Her clit tingled and burned under his mouth, the tingling sensation growing with every brush of his tongue. Her body stiffened as the swell of pleasure hit her, and with a cry, she dug her heels into Beau’s back as he tightened his hands on her bottom and pulled her against him.

  “Beau!” The magic of his tongue sent sizzling heat rolling through her, the soft caress of warm velvety friction over her clit leaving her breathless.