A Price to Pay Read online

  He was so close now that I could see all the different tones in his green eyes; the edge of his irises was a darker forest green with flecks of navy, whereas the centre was several shades lighter and almost reminded me of moss. It was so striking that I wasn’t sure how I’d never noticed it before.

  It felt so natural being with him that it was just instinctive for me to reach out my hands and rest them on his hips, but the moment I made contact I felt Marcus’s entire body tense and realised my mistake.

  I’d touched him.

  Broken his number one fucking rule within less than a goddamn minute of being in his bedroom. Leaning back so I could look at him, I saw that his jaw was clenched and his cheeks had paled, removing all traces of his earlier confidence and calm. There was even a visible sheen of sweat on his brow, and from his raised breathing I started to seriously worry that he might be about to have a panic attack.

  ‘Marcus… I… I’m sorry …’

  He didn’t respond verbally, but he did shuffle backwards away from me as he took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He closed his eyes for a second, then opened them, blinked once, and walked to a dresser to our right where he began to rummage around in the top drawer.

  I was trying to think what to say to make things right again when he pulled something from the drawer and returned to me. As I glanced down at his lowered hand I realised he’d selected a length of black silk and a flutter of nervous excitement ran through me.

  Silently he moved behind me and looped the material around my wrists until they were fastened together at the base of my back. I’d never been restrained by a lover like this before and a tingle of fear-laced excitement ran up my spine.

  I wriggled my wrists to see how tight they were, but it was immediately apparent that there was no room for escape. My heartbeat began a panicked drum, but then I glanced over my shoulder at him and relaxed. It was Marcus doing this, and for some unexplainable reason I trusted him completely.

  The idea that I was his to use, his to do whatever he wanted with, was erotic, dark, and on the borders of perverse. It brought with it a searing-hot need in my core that was matched by a heating of my skin. I desperately wanted to rip my clothes off, but now my hands were tied that was obviously no longer an option for me.

  He stayed behind me, and he was so close that I could feel the heat radiating from his body, and a gasp slipped from my lips as he ran his hands up my arms to my elbows and then back to my bound wrists, tickling the skin as he went.

  Everything felt like it was magnified, every touch, every breath, and every movement. I wasn’t sure if that was a reaction to the bondage, or just down to the intensity of the connection we shared.

  Hot breath skimmed across my neck as he leaned even closer and spoke by my ear. ‘Is that OK? Or is it too tight?’ The feel of him so close behind me, gripping my wrists, holding me captive, sent a shiver of lust through me and dried my throat so much that I had to swallow twice before I was able to answer.

  ‘It’s fine… it feels good.’ And it did. I might not have experimented with bondage very much, but I was really enjoying this. After our lovely evening spent talking and flirting I felt completely relaxed in his company, and the thought that I was now at Marcus’s mercy was really turning me on.

  Giving my wrists a brief tug and finding them well and truly trapped, Marcus hummed in apparent appreciation and placed a lingering kiss on the nape of my neck. ‘That’s better.’

  He walked around in front of me again. I glanced at his face to check if he was still looking stressed, but his earlier panic had dissolved completely and been replaced with such blazing desire that a second shudder rippled through my body.

  ‘Now, where were we?’ he murmured as he stepped closer and lowered his mouth to mine again.

  For a guy who freaked out at accidental contact he certainly was confident with his moves. His kiss alluded to years of experience, his tongue moving with sure, practised moves against mine until my legs weakened and he had to grip my hips to help keep me upright.

  He held me so closely that having my arms tied behind my back didn’t affect the moment as much as I’d thought it might. In fact, with his fingers running across my body as he rolled his hips against mine, I quickly forgot about my tethered wrists and just let myself sink into his attentions.

  Now I couldn’t touch him, Marcus’s demeanour had completely changed. His body was noticeably more relaxed, and all the tension from his face had gone. Clearly his touching trigger was just to do with hands, because he didn’t seem to mind when I rubbed my hips against his or arched my back and pressed my breasts into him.

  Marcus dragged his lips from mine. He took a small step backwards and raised his hands over his shoulders to grab the neck of his T-shirt so he could pull it off. Pausing, he gave me an intent stare and then frowned.

  ‘I… I have some scars,’ he mumbled. ‘I hope they don’t put you off.’ After his announcement, he dragged his shirt off and threw it to the side.

  Standing still for a second, he just continued to stare at me, as if giving me time to look him over. I did, my eyes greedily dropping to his impressively muscled torso and taking in how amazing his body was. He was like a model from a magazine; buff and firm, but not overly bulky. I’d seen a weights bench in the room next door, and it was clear from his impressive physique that he worked out very regularly, but as my eyes continued their inspection I found them being drawn to the scars he’d mentioned.

  I’m not sure what I’d expected when he’d said he was scarred, maybe birth marks, but the puckered, red marks on his skin looked vicious. The lighting was dim in here, but I could see multiple lines on the sides of his chest and across his stomach and I frowned as I wondered what had caused them.

  They didn’t put me off like he’d worried, but I immediately wanted to ask how he’d got them. Lifting my eyes to his, I found him staring at me with an intense expression and immediately knew that he wouldn’t tell me if I asked, so I didn’t. Instead, I voiced a different question that had sprung to my mind. ‘Do they hurt? Is that why you don’t like being touched?’

  Marcus’s eyebrows tweaked in surprise, as if he’d been sure I was going to question him on the cause of the scars, but then he shook his head. ‘No. Some of them are a little sensitive, but that’s all.’ Licking his lips, he glanced down at his torso and then looked back at me. ‘Do they disgust you?’ He asked the question so quietly that I almost didn’t hear it, but the hoarseness to his voice gave away just how much weight had gone into his few words.

  He was worried, really worried, that the scars would put me off him.

  He glanced down at his body and made a self-disgusted grunt as he grimaced. ‘It’s fine if they do. I can untie you and take you home…’

  ‘No.’ I shook my head, and he looked up at me, perhaps surprised by the vigour with which I had replied. ‘They don’t disgust me, Marcus. Not at all.’ And it was true. I could see why he might think I’d be that shallow – after all, whenever I saw him at the club I was always dressed up to the nines and wearing a ton of makeup – but his scars didn’t put me off. They were just part of him. Part of Marcus, the man I was starting to fall for more and more each time I met him.

  ‘They’re just part of you.’ I vocalised my thoughts and his shoulders relaxed slightly but he still didn’t look entirely convinced by my statement. With my hands tied behind my back I wasn’t sure how I could reassure him. After looking at his flat stomach again, I decided to act on impulse and dropped to my knees, immediately placing my lips on the closest scar and kissing it gently.

  I heard him suck in a surprised breath, but I repeated the move to several more of the marks and then glanced up at him. Marcus’s eyes were screwed shut, but as I continued my kisses and began to run my tongue across the taut skin of his abdomen he let out a deep, desire-filled moan and slid his hands under my arms to drag me roughly to my feet.

  ‘I want to tie you to the bed.’ His gruff statement wasn’t word
ed as a question, but I could sense from his tone that Marcus wanted my agreement before continuing, so I nodded and smiled shyly.

  ‘OK.’

  Once he had my consent he didn’t waste any time. Marcus untied my hands, stripped me naked, briefly explored my body with a heated growl, and gently laid me back on his bed. The sheets felt shockingly cool against my heated skin and I sucked in a breath as I tried to get control over my ragged breathing.

  Marcus collected something from a dresser at the far side of the room. As he approached me again I saw that he was holding some leather cuffs. This was my first real exploration into restraint, so a swirl of anxiousness curled in my belly at the sight but seeing the purposeful look on his handsome face somehow helped relax me. This was his “thing”, and if I could just relax I was sure I would enjoy whatever he had planned for me.

  Once again, I noticed that Marcus grew more alert and tense while my hands were free, but as soon as he had attached the cuffs to the headboard and had my hands stretched above my head and secured tightly, he grinned down at me, his earlier cool, controlled demeanour slipping back into place.

  Gently lifting my head with one hand, he used the other to pull my long hair out from underneath me and then took his time spreading it across the pillow with a sweetly intent look. The level of concentration on his features as he arranged my hair would have been quite comical if the gentle tugs on my scalp hadn’t been quite so erotic, but they were, and after just a few minutes I was squirming on the bed and pressing my thighs together to try to quell my rising arousal.

  ‘Beautiful.’ Marcus stood and gazed down at me, and I blushed under his scrutiny. What was it with me when this guy was around? I hardly ever blushed, but put me within sniffing distance of Marcus Price and my cheeks had a life of their own. Not to mention my libido… That went crazy whenever Marcus was around, too. It was like he released a pheromone that appealed directly to my sex drive and lit me up like a firework. Maybe he did, I didn’t know enough about biology to say otherwise, but he certainly sent both my mind and body wild.

  ‘You are so fucking gorgeous, Sasha.’ Marcus bit down on his lower lip as his eyes strayed across my body again.

  My eyes copied his gesture and roved over his body and I grinned. He wasn’t half bad himself.

  ‘Ditto,’ I squeaked, my voice all high and lusty. I’m not sure I’d ever been naked with a guy who had such a great body, and that in itself was quite a compliment to him, seeing as I’d been with a lot of men in my time.

  Marcus lowered his head and I thought that he was frowning at my compliment, maybe feeling self-conscious about his scars, but as a dimple appeared in his cheek I realised he was trying to hide a huge smile. Even with the scars, Marcus’s physique was amazing, and he was so handsome it made something inside my chest hurt every time I looked at him.

  Lifting his head again, he grinned at me and my lungs tightened as if a band was squeezing them. God, he was just stunning. Especially right at this moment as he stood there, topless and staring at me with his head slightly tilted and a chunk of his wild hair falling messily over his brow. He still had his jeans on, although the zipper was now noticeably straining, but then he broke my ogling by kicking off his shoes and socks and moving closer.

  I held my breath as he lowered himself to sit beside me on the bed. ‘Now, where I should start?’

  He moved his hand to my shoulder, gently brushing some of my hair back and then trailing across the skin, down over my collarbone before tracing the curve of my breast with the lightest of touches.

  ‘Here?’ He didn’t go anywhere near my nipples, which were hard and achy and desperate for his touch, but a shudder of lust still ran through my body.

  Marcus noticed my reaction and chuckled, before removing his hand and lifting it to brush across my lips. ‘Or here?’ He lowered his head and placed a feather light kiss on my lips that had me straining upwards to try to deepen the contact, but once again, he pulled back before I could get any real satisfaction, causing me to groan in frustration.

  ‘Or maybe here?’ he asked softly, his hand dancing across my belly before trailing down towards the thin strip of hair at my groin. Oh God. He’d barely touched me and already I felt on the brink of an orgasm. My legs were still clenched together in an attempt at sating the throb between them, but Marcus tutted and brushed his knuckles over my thigh. ‘Open your legs.’

  His command was soft, but I still followed it immediately, parting my legs and praying that he would put me out of my misery and touch me where I needed it the most. When his hand moved between my legs I thought I’d got my wish, but then Marcus’s finger made just the slightest touch, brushing over the sensitive skin on the inside of my thighs and almost, but not quite, stroking my clit before he ripped it away and pounced forwards to lie over me and crash his lips against mine.

  This time there was no gentleness, no teasing touches, it was a full-on, hot, open-mouthed kiss that dared me to join in, and then dragged me in whole when I did. I’d kissed a lot of guys in my time, but I seriously don’t think I’d ever been kissed quite like this. His kiss was amazing, more than just a meeting of lips and tongues. It felt like a meeting of souls, and as our mouths continued to move together I found myself getting light-headed. This was when I needed my hands, because I desperately wanted to grab onto him to help ground myself, but instead I wrapped my fingers around the bonds at my wrists and gripped so hard that I was surprised they didn’t rip from the pressure.

  I might not be able to grasp him with my arms, but as Marcus continued to kiss me and tease me with his hands I lifted one of my legs and wrapped it around his hips, dragging him down onto me so I could get some much-needed contact.

  He lifted his head and grinned down at me, showing his appreciation of my move, and trailed a hand along my raised leg from the ankle all the way up the calf and onto my thigh. Digging his nails in, he dragged them across my skin and pressed my thigh down to widen my legs before bringing his denim-covered groin into closer contact with mine.

  ‘Marcus…’ The gasped name slipped out like a desperate plea for more, and in response Marcus nodded and placed another kiss on my parted lips.

  ‘I know, I feel it, too. Let me take care of you.’ His kiss trailed over my jaw, and then he began to slip lower on my body, his hands, lips, and tongue leaving a blazing trail of need on my skin as he kissed and licked across my collarbones and finally reached my breasts.

  Both of my needy nipples were finally showered with attention until I was writhing below him, desperate for his touch to move lower to where I needed it the most. Marcus seemed to sense my need, because after giving a harder nip to one of my breasts he continued lower on his exploration, his lips trailing across my stomach and making it quiver with anticipation before he finally reached the sliver of hair at my groin. My hips rose of their own accord, and Marcus chuckled, his warm breath feathering across my clit and making me let out a low, lusty groan as he teased me by blowing a cooling breath across my soaked flesh several times.

  Finally, after what felt like hours of teasing, Marcus made his first proper contact with me and laved my clit with his tongue before sucking it into his mouth. The touch felt so good on the swollen bundle of nerves that I cried out in pleasure, my arms tugging at the restraints on my wrists and my legs bucking from the bed and looping around his shoulders.

  Using a firmer grip on my waist, Marcus held me still and upped his movements by adding one hand to the mix. While his tongue continued to lick and suck on my clit he slid a finger down through my folds and then teased my entrance with it several times before slowly sinking it inside me. ‘Jesus. Fuck, Sasha, you’re so fucking wet.’

  There was no point denying it, because I was. I was aroused to the point where I could feel my own moisture wetting my buttocks and thighs, and it was all because of the man who currently had his head buried between my legs.

  Marcus upped the single finger to two, or possibly even three, I couldn’t tell, but the s
tretch increased, and then, while sucking rhythmically on my clit, he started to thrust his fingers in and out. His hand moved quicker and quicker, rubbing against my G-spot on each hard, deep thrust, and then, before I could even begin to catalogue just how multi-talented he was, my stomach clenched and my groin tingled as an orgasm raced up on me.

  I groaned, and my back arched as my core clenched around Marcus’s fingers over and over again until the spasms started to ebb and he slowed his movements to ease me down from the explosive peak.

  Holy fuck. That had been some seriously good oral sex.

  My head flopped back, my arms hanging limp from the leather that held them captive, but then a movement on the bed was followed by the sharp sound of a zipper lowering and I dragged my lust-dizzy head up just in time to watch Marcus peel off his jeans and boxers.

  My dry throat got even drier as my eyes trailed down over his body and landed on his manhood. Nestled in a trimmed clutch of blond hair was a mighty fine cock. Thick at the base, and not relenting much as it stretched upwards to an equally impressive head that was already shiny with a bead of pre-come. I had only just climaxed, but the sight of his huge erection bobbing away as he moved to throw his trousers aside had me wide awake and ready for round two.

  Marcus moved back beside the bed, pausing to grab a condom from the bedside drawer and roll it on. He stood there completely unashamed of his nakedness. Not that he had anything to be ashamed of – he was magnificent. Even the vicious scars didn’t mar his beauty. My gaze drifted lower to where he was sheathing himself. His dick was so big that the rubber was stretching and straining as he rolled it down his length, and I had to swallow hard to try to contain my excitement.

  He climbed back on the bed with me, one hand casually working up and down his sheathed length, as if making sure I’d got a good eyeful of what I was about to have inside me, and then he moved between my legs, spread them wide, and lowered himself over me again.

  Our mouths met in a deep kiss, and the weight of his cock laid heavily on my stomach. As he continued to kiss me, Marcus shifted his position, allowing his erection to drop between my legs and rub against my opening. I was so wet the tip slipped through my folds with ease, and then with one more small adjustment he lifted his mouth from mine and stared down at me as he thrust forwards and began to bury his length in me.