The Devil's Fire Read online

  My stomach tightened, my moaning deepened. The bucking of my hips told him exactly what it should. My climax was nearing and just as I felt the first pleasurable wave start to claw its way up inside me, he stopped and pulled his beautiful length from my mouth. It glistened in the low light. I leaned back, wanting more, I didn’t want this to end, but he controlled his excitement and released me.

  He stepped to the side of the tub, completely naked and breathtakingly gorgeous. Even the bruising to his side enticed me. It suited him. Increased his animalistic nature. I wanted to place my lips to his wounds, caress them as gently as he had my own. Show him tenderness and care.

  I adjusted in the tub to allow myself to see all of him. I wanted to visually take in his majestic form. He was stunning as ever. Every curve on his body built as if to please me and me alone. He was a God among men, so gracious to refer to me as a Goddess when I knew there were women who outshined me in their own right. Women he could easily have at any moment. But he chose me and I was grateful.

  A man’s true gift is to be able to make a woman feel as if she is the only one who ever existed in his world, the only one who ever truly mattered.

  Jack did this for me and more.

  He reached down and took my hand, helping me up. He soaked in the length of my body with his deep and lustrous eyes, they lowered to my breasts, over my stomach, the curve of my hip and finally rested between my legs. Each moment made my heart beat harder in my chest.

  “You have no idea how beautiful you are, Abigail. You are a gift.”

  He helped me out of the tub. The water ran down the length of me as he traced a few droplets with his fingertips. It made me tremble, and he stopped, pulling them back and tasting them. He removed his fingers from his voluptuous lips and whispered to me.

  “You have no idea how it makes me feel when you react to me this way. It makes me want you more than I have ever wanted anyone in my life. My body aches just thinking about your beautiful mouth, the way you try to catch your breath every time I slide my fingers inside of you. Everything that you do pleases me.”

  I reached up and touched his mouth. The tip of my scarred finger pulsated against the cut to his lip. One wound calling out to another. I longed for his embrace. He grabbed my hand and kissed it, closing his eyes and preserving the moment. He quickly picked me up and carried me into the lavish bedroom that was adjacent to the master bath.

  He set me down, kissing my lips over and over again. Each kiss becoming more passionate than the last. Each kiss sending me higher and higher, knowing that the fall would be that much more intense, but I craved it as badly as I craved him.

  I stood at the base of his enormous bed. It was carved out of deep black wood. Shined to perfection and flawless in every way. The headboard looked like branches, criss-crossing over each other, intertwining until they seemed to become one. The branches reached above the bed, forming a canopy, white linen lay across it, pulled back and exposing the entire bed. It was covered with a white sheet with white pillows. It was so beautiful and pure.

  I stood there as Jack picked up one black rope and wrapped it around my wrist. He tightened it as he studied my expression, gauging my reaction to what he was doing.

  “Tighter,” I whispered. He jerked on it, and I made a small noise in the back of my throat. I could see the twitching between his legs, he was clearly disirous. His sexual appetite was increasing with each passing moment.

  I bit my lip, glancing down at it and wanting nothing more than for him to place it in my mouth again. He pulled on the rope, and it lifted my arm up and out. It was now tethered to the pole at the end of the bed. He leaned over and tied my other wrist, tightening it as he had the first one. I moaned a little bit louder this time, the act alone getting me excited. I felt the rope dig into my skin. I wrapped my hands around each one as he stepped back and inspected me with his opaque eyes.

  He reached down and grabbed his rock hard shaft. Rotating his hand as he moved forward then back. His rhythm slow and steady. My eyes locked on every movement. I fought against the restraints in protest. His tremulous smile took me by surprise. He had never appeared unnerved with me, shown any trepidation at all, and yet I could feel his anxiety. It excited me even more. His apparent vulnerability fueled my passionate desire for him.

  Jack was becoming more than a mere construct in my mind. His walls were crumbling down all around his feet, the door to his soul stood wide open. He invited me in to see the real Jack Landon. The one who could love, the one who could place others before himself. The one who loved me.

  He regained his control without missing a beat. “Is this what you want, baby?”

  I nodded to him. “Please.”

  “Beg for it.”

  I pulled against the restraints. “Give it to me.”

  “Give you what, Abigail?”

  I paused, but I was way past being shy. He had me so flustered I didn’t even care.

  “Your cock,” I whispered to him.

  He growled. “My cock, huh?” he stroked it harder, lifting his free hand and touching his stomach. His fingers moved over his tightening muscles, they contracted over and over again as his other hand continued to move along his stiffened girth. It drove me mad with anticipation. I usually avoid cursing, unless it is with good reason. This situation certainly warranted just that.

  “Fuck,” I muttered.

  He continued to put on a show for me. “Oh, I intend to,” he said quietly, with his piercing blue eyes locked onto mine.

  I pulled on the restraints and his stroking slowed and then stopped. He removed his hand and walked toward me. He slid his hand down the front of me and started to rotate his fingers against my clit. I parted my lips, each slow rotation nearly causing my knees to buckle. He took in my pleasure as his own.

  He leaned in and whispered into my ear. “Is this mine?”

  My chest rose and fell, my breathing was heavy and staggered. My mind reeling. It took everything in me to collect enough strength to answer his question with any sort of clarity. “Yes. Always. it has always been yours, Jack.”

  “Good, kneel,” he replied without hesitation.

  I lowered to my knees without questioning him. I enjoyed his command over me.

  He stopped and grabbed a blindfold, gently covering my eyes. It was made out of black lace so I could still see him through it. He tied it in a knot behind my head, jerking it tight and pulling my head back. He leaned in and spoke to me with his lips only a half an inch from my own.

  “Do you want me?”

  I tried to nod, but he shook his head.

  “Speak.”

  “I want you,” I said quietly.

  He grinned. “How badly do you want me, Abigail?”

  I bit my lip and he licked his own. “More than anything.”

  He lifted his hand and placed his fingers into my mouth. I could taste myself on them. I closed my eyes and he sighed at my swollen lips, pulling his fingers out and placing them into his own mouth. He tasted me, letting the moan rise in the back of his throat. He pulled them out.

  “Do you want me inside you?”

  I whispered, “Yes.”

  “Call me Daddy.”

  “Daddy. Please—”

  He grabbed my chin and held it, leaning in and shoving his tongue inside my mouth. His other hand cupped my breast and his fingers twisted my nipple. I cried out and let my head fall back. He eased and let his thumb gently stroke it back and forth.

  I felt the cold steel clamp down on my right nipple and tighten. I hissed and then he attached the clamp to my other one. He tightened it and I shuddered. He stepped back from me.

  “Baby, let it take you. Let the pain lead the way.”

  I nodded to him and accepted the ache that rose inside of me. I wanted it as badly as I wanted him. I wanted the pain to take me to a new place that I had never been to before. To break all of the barriers between us.

  He leaned down and picked up a black mask, and put it on. It had
an elongated nose on the front of it. Rounded and shorter than a regular mask would be. He lowered to his knees in front of me and turned his head to kiss me, his tongue forcing its way past my lips and wrapping itself around mine.

  He moaned inside of my mouth, taking his hardening desire and slowly rubbing it against my opening. He reached up and jerked on the nipple clamps with one quick tug and I cried out. He grinned at my lips. The combination of pleasure and pain drove me wild. It made me want to do very bad things to him. Things that no respectable virgin could possibly imagine.

  “I want to show you something, little girl.”

  “Okay, Daddy, show me,” I said.

  I thought that he would take me, but just as the thought crossed my mind, he lowered, laying down on his back and pushing his way under me.

  He slowly guided the nose of his mask into my ass. I let my head fall back as it made its way up inside me. The pain began to blend with pleasure. I moaned, grabbing the black ropes on each side and struggling to break free.

  “Daddy!” I cried out, quickly grinding my teeth together, he reached up and grabbed my thighs, pulling me down to bury the erect nose into my opening and then back up again. He quickened his pace. I cried out with each thrust.

  “Oh my God, baby—wait, wait,” I yelled. My chest rose and fell, my nipples hard and aching. Sweat rolled down the front of me, starting a trail from the base of my neck and stretching the length of my stomach.

  He slowed down and then buried it as deeply as he could, flicking his tongue against my sensitive clit. I rose up and then back down, slow at first, trying to relax and enjoy every new sensation. I stayed down, moving my hips forward and back, the sharp bursts of pain started to ease as the vibration between my legs intensified. Jack reached down and began to stroke himself, thrusting upward as he lapped at me.

  I felt the intense ardency in my legs first. My muscles tightened, hard as a rock. He had a death grip on one of my thighs and stroked himself with his free hand.

  “Yes—let it take you, feel me—take all of me,” he said, half out of breath as his hand rose and fell on his shaft, quicker and quicker. I tightened on him, and the feeling was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. The orgasm stopped my breathing. I let my head fall back, the moan escaped me as Jack came, his explosive seed rushing out of him.

  His deep moaning reverberated throughout his entire body. He pulled out from underneath me, standing up and ripping his mask off. He tossed it aside. He placed his hand to my chin and pushed it upward, my lips parted, and he shoved his length into my mouth. He thrust without mercy, and I wanted none. I groaned as he twitched on my tongue and his second orgasm tore through him. He reached out and grabbed the bedposts, unable to speak while his warmth raced down my throat.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  WHERE YOU GO, THEY FOLLOW

  __________________________

  I woke up in the bed alone, covered in a white sheet. The refreshing breeze was rushing across the room and waving the white linen around the top of the canopy. Everything lay in ruin. From broken lamps to turned over side tables. Books lay scattered across the floor, along with framed pictures. The chaos had a beautiful release to it as if I had waited my whole life to cause this destruction, only to rebuild it with Jack by my side.

  We had used each other all night. Tapping into the monster as one.

  Him giving me the animal that he told me that he was, and me begging as he had predicted.

  He never penetrated me, took that part of the gift he seemed to be saving. I wished that he had. It was the perfect night, with the perfect man. Flaws and all. He could have taken my virginity, and there would have been no regret. Not from me. But he had saved me, like a last meal.

  I would have gladly given him anything that he asked for, but he knew it. We had already gone further than we ever had before.

  He had opened himself up to me, more than ever. He had shown me tenderness and care. He had uttered the words that I had longed to hear.

  Love—in all of its ugly glory.

  For love is ugly, if it wasn’t, if it were pristine and predictable, then it wouldn’t make you scream. It wouldn’t force you to give up that part of yourself that only you knew existed.

  It would never be epic, as it should be.

  Painfully unforgettable.

  I sat up and hissed. I ached, but in a good way. My muscles were sore, my wrists bruised, and my jaw tired. But what ached most of all was my heart.

  I was terrified, but in a way that made me feel alive for the first time in my life.

  I grabbed the sheet and pulled it with me as I left the bed. I let my feet gently touch the floor and I could feel the heat in the stone beneath me. I grinned. I expected the shock of the cold to rock through me, but Jack must have the floors heated. The estate wasn’t like this, this home was full of comfort, as if someone loved it, and I believed that Jack did.

  I also believed that he loved me.

  I walked toward the window and looked out across the field. It was so breathtakingly beautiful here that I could easily slip out of my life and into this one without any problems at all.

  The grass was lush and green. The forests thick and winding. The house had been built with a happy ever after in mind.

  A fairy tale come true.

  I saw Jack riding across the field on a black horse. My eyes widened, I touched the glass separating me from him. I wanted to open it up and call out to him. Just as I started to reach for the handle on the window, I heard a voice behind me that sent chills through every fiber of my being.

  “Hello, Abigail.”

  I turned to see Victoria standing there in the doorway. I wrapped the sheet even tighter against myself. This was the ultimate intrusion of privacy and she was the last person that I ever wanted to see again.

  But she was tied to Jack, just as I am now. The escape would be impossible.

  “Victoria,” I said, without any emotion. I knew that she could smell fear and weakness.

  “I see that you have made yourself at home here.”

  She stepped in and looked around the room at the destruction. It was a disaster zone. We couldn’t help it.

  I ignored her expression. “Jack invited me.”

  She walked toward me, passing me by and stared out the window. She still looked younger than she was. Money could do that. But it wouldn’t be able to hold back time forever. Someday she would wrinkle and fade, as we all do. No amount of money could save her from that.

  She watched him riding the black horse across the field. She turned to me and grinned. I didn’t trust anything about her, I never would.

  “Oh, I am sure that he did.”

  “Why did you bring Rose back? You must have known what it would do to Jack.”

  She eyed me and then stared back out the window.

  “Rose needs to be handled gently. She doesn’t have the same resolve as Jack, Jerod, or even myself.”

  I spoke quickly, without restraint. “But she has the same name.”

  “Yes, she does, unlike you,” her words were laced with bitterness.

  She looked me over and walked toward the bed. She stared down at the ropes lying on the floor. She picked one up and then tossed it onto the bed, turning back and giving me a once over.

  “I see that your tastes have changed.”

  “This isn’t about me,” I said, hoping to steer her away from the mess in the room.

  “I disagree, when it comes to my son, it is all about you. It seems to be his only interest.”

  My eyebrow rose, I hoped that she would elaborate, but of course she would only tease me and then back off of it. She just wanted to leave a small snack on the table to tempt me.

  “Good,” I added, straightening my shoulders. I hoped that Victoria understood that I wasn’t the same girl she had pushed and shoved around before. I had been hardened by his loss. It gave me the strength to fight against her this time.

  “Mmm. Well, get dressed. I’m having
breakfast made for all of us.”

  “All of us?”

  She grinned. “Unless you want to dine with the family half naked, your choice.”

  The muscles in my jaw tightened, and she left the room. She closed the door behind her.

  What did she mean by that? What drama was she about to unleash in our lives now? I could only guess.

  I stepped out of the room after a refreshing shower and peeked down the hallway. Jack had never returned to the room, and I wished that he had. I felt like an ambush was coming, and unfortunately I was right.

  I walked down the stairs and made my way to the dining room, listening to voices, I could hear more than one. I stopped at the large door and then opened it up, gathering my courage and ignoring the will to run. But where would I run too? I would have to fly out of here, so I was trapped.

  I stopped dead as I saw Victoria at the head of the table, Jack to her right, Jerod to her left and Rose next to him. I swallowed hard and made my way to the empty chair next to Jack. Miss. Cox entered the dining room and stepped up to Jack. She handed him two small pills. He set them down next to the glass of water on the table. Victoria eyed the pills, but Jack refused to take them.

  “Jack, you know how you get when you go without these. The last couple of weeks have been a perfect example. You need to get back to work. You love working.”

  I watched as he shook his foot under the table. Surely his return to me wasn’t spurred on by his lack of medication, was it? I would be heartbroken if that were the case.

  “I don’t like how it makes me feel, mother,” Jack said, refusing to look at her.

  I reached over under the table and took his hand. He gripped it tight while she leaned back and sighed.

  “Rose, take your medicine,” Miss. Cox handed Rose her pills. Rose didn’t comply. She kept her eyes locked on me as she set them down on the table next to her glass of water.