“Oh, fuck.”
Ronin didn’t speak. He watched his cock disappearing into that small rosette and grunted with satisfaction every time his cock bottomed out.
Amery kept her head up, her gaze hot with desire as she started tightening her inner muscles around his cock when he was fully seated inside her.
That’s when he lost all track of his counting and his need to make this last. His hips connected with her flesh with a hard, fast slap. Perspiration glazed his body as he raced toward the tipping point.
But Ronin wasn’t going over that edge alone. He reached for the remote and cranked it to high.
“Damn you. That’s not fair. I can’t take . . .”
“Hurts so good, doesn’t it?”
She lowered her lids and arched her neck, purposely giving herself a mark.
“Look at you,” he growled. “So sexy and defiant. You don’t want to come again, but you will.”
“Ronin—”
“Give it to me. This one is mine.”
He felt the vibration from the lotus every time his cock bottomed out and his balls swung up. When he pulled out fully and rammed home with each thrust, she shuddered.
“Yes, like that.” As soon as she said, “Don’t stop,” her inner muscles began that rhythmic spasming, and she cried out.
Ronin let her body pull the climax from his as each pulsating spasm milked his cock, almost in slow motion. The heat of his seed against the hot tissues of her anal walls eased his every short, fast jab.
His head nearly split from the pleasure—the visual of her body bound as he fucked her mindless and the orgasm that nearly had his knees bucking from the sheer magnitude of it.
When his brain finally stopped spinning, he realized he’d rested all his weight on her as he slumped over her body. His cock was still buried in her ass and the lotus kept buzzing away.
And he felt the power of it again as another orgasm rocketed through her. He fastened his mouth to the side of her neck, tasting her sweat and feeling her pulse pounding beneath his lips. As soon as Amery sucked in another breath, he switched off the lotus.
“I can’t—”
“I know, baby. I’ve got you. We’re done.”
He pulled out of her. Then he unhooked her hand binding from the body binding. He gently hauled her upright, away from the rigging. “Can you stand?”
“I think so.”
Keeping one arm banded around her hips, he worked the knots free. The last piece was the neck rope. After he removed it, he ran the tips of his fingers across the rope burns. He had a momentary pang of guilt until Amery said hoarsely, “I wanted the marks tonight. I earned these marks.”
He pressed kisses from one side of her throat to the other. “You wear them beautifully.” Then he slipped his right arm behind her knees and lifted her into his arms.
“Ronin, don’t. Your knee—”
“Is fine. And as the victor in tonight’s challenge, it’s my right to bring my prize into my bed.”
“You haven’t undone my hands,” she said softly against his neck.
“Because I don’t want you pushing away from me when I’m carrying you.” He kissed the frown lines in her forehead as he strolled down the hallway. “I’m running on a lot of adrenaline right now, so I’m good.”
But he became a little concerned when his neck got wet. With her tears?
The easiest way to undo her wrist wrap was to place her upper body on the mattress and get at her from behind. But her emotions were high, so he took her to the chair in the corner, keeping her cradled to his chest. Luckily the binding was such he could undo it with one hand. Even with both hands tied behind her back.
Ronin brought both wrists into her lap and began to rub. “Any numbness?”
“Yes. But no pain. Not yet.”
“Soreness anywhere else?” He rubbed her forearms and up to her biceps.
“Just my ass,” she mumbled.
A soft laugh escaped. “No apologies for that.”
“It’s not funny. I’m going to feel it for the next day.”
“Good. I want you thinking about me.”
She traced the edge of his jaw.
Ronin snagged her hand and kissed her fingertips. “Thank you for tonight. But, baby, why are you crying?”
“A rush of adrenaline makes you stronger. It makes me weepy. Sorry.”
He tipped her chin up. “Don’t apologize. You are beautiful, honest, and real. And you are also completely mine.” He kissed her until she sighed and relaxed into him. Then he undressed her and tucked her in his bed where she belonged.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“WE’VE got to stop meeting like this,” Shiori deadpanned.
“Are you afraid people will start to talk?” Amery joked back.
Shiori peered over the top of her sunglasses. “That’s the question of the day, isn’t it? Why did you summon me to your lair?”
“To go over my questions on the contracts. In private.” Amery had set up this meeting after everyone in the office had gone for the day. She still hadn’t shared with her friend and officemate Chaz why she and Ronin had broken up in the first place. Now that they’d reconciled, Ronin’s family connections didn’t matter—at least not to her. But if sexy, mysterious Shiori Hirano sauntered into the office, Chaz would grill her. So the best way to deal with the potential headache was to avoid it.
At least for now.
While Shiori wandered around Amery’s apartment, Amery filled the two lowball glasses with ice. “What would you like to drink?”
“Just water. I’m teaching the late class tonight.”
“How’s it going?”
Shiori took a seat at the breakfast bar. “I enjoy teaching far more than I thought I would.”
“I’m surprised you have time with all the responsibilities of someone in your position.”
She shrugged. “I’d be training there anyway if I weren’t teaching. My sensei in Japan reminded me that teaching is just another way to learn.”
“Philosophical. Are all masters of martial arts like that?”
“The good ones are.”
“You sound like Knox.”
“The only thing Knox and I have in common is our desire to beat each other unconscious.”
Amery raised an eyebrow.
Shiori pointed to the contracts. “What have you decided?”
“You said the terms are negotiable.”
“To some extent. But to be blunt, Okada walks away if the terms aren’t to our liking. Then all negotiations are permanently over.”
“I understand that I need Okada more than Okada needs me. But along those lines, I don’t think I can work for one company exclusively, no matter how well they pay.”
“Forgive me if I don’t quite grasp this. Your company is dangerously close to shutting down because of lack of revenue, and Okada is offering you a permanent, steady income, and you’re turning it down?”
Amery fiddled with the ice in her glass before sucking down a mouthful of booze. “I know it sounds crazy. And believe me, I’ve wrestled with this, but I like the diversity of what I do. Being contracted for a specific project line with Okada would provide me with enough income to keep Molly on and maybe hire another employee. Yet at the same time, I could retain my other clients. They’ve stuck with me, so I don’t want to ditch them when a bigger company waves a big, fat check in my face.” She met Shiori’s confused gaze. “You do get what I’m trying to tell you, don’t you?”
“You’re about loyalty. You’d rather fail on your own than compromise your integrity.”
“Exactly.”
“I can respect that.” Shiori rifled through the contracts. “I believe the language in this one is case specific. I’m fairly confident Okada will agree to those terms, but they will expect you to forego design work for your clients in the restaurant business.” She offered a small smile. “We would prefer consumers were at home eating our line of healthy frozen meals.”