silent convulsions; she couldn't tell if they were laughter or tears. Both, maybe. She had never felt so intensely alive. Seth had ripped a veil off from the world as she knew it, and every detail glittered with unnatural brilliance. The bathroom light blinded her, the white porcelain of the toilet and sink glowed as if lit from within, the plain metal faucets blazed like sunlit platinum.
She was coming unglued.
She finally managed to snag the shower nozzle, and bit her lip as she rinsed gently between her legs, wondering if it were always going to hurt that much. She had thought that Frederick had relieved her at least of the technical unpleasantness of losing her virginity, but she was not to be so lucky. Maybe there was something anatomically wrong with her. She wouldn't be at all surprised.
Granted, Seth was much more generously endowed than Frederick. But she'd been so excited. She was still shivering with unrelieved tension, despite the stinging between her thighs. The man was addictive. Even if it hurt again, she wanted more of him.
If he was still there. It was completely quiet in the room outside.
The thought slipped into her mind with the sneakiness of a cold knife between the ribs. Maybe history would repeat itself, and she would come out of the bathroom to find the room empty.
She turned off the water, held very still, and listened.
Nothing. She finished washing up with mechanical motions. Whether he was or whether he wasn't, she would know as soon as she opened the door. There was no point in working herself into a state.
Time enough for that later, her sarcastic inner voice commented.
She flung her hair back over her shoulders, unlocked the door, and marched out into the room.
He was there. Oh, God, was he ever. The whole lean, dark, muscular length of him, lounging on the bed, and managing somehow to look both relaxed and dangerous. A smile of pure joy and relief took control of her face. His heavily muscled arms were folded back behind his head, showing off thick, silky tufts of dark armpit hair. His big, thick penis was flushed and erect against his flat belly, swelling and stiffening before her eyes.
“You OK?” His dark eyes were keen and watchful.
She nodded, trying to wrestle down the silly smile on her face.
“Did I hurt you?”
She hesitated, and his eyes narrowed, silently demanding the truth. “It's all right,” she said shyly. “I know you tried not to.”
He sat up, his expression darkening. “I'm sorry,” he muttered.
“No, really, it's OK,” she hastened to reassure him. “The first part was wonderful—”
“Which part?”
“What you did with your hands and, um, mouth,” she stammered.
A smile dawned slowly on his face. She blushed, and took a deep breath, forcing herself to continue. “And the rest was... intense. Exciting,” she finished, in an embarrassed little rush. “I loved it.”
The grin changed his face completely, making her realize how habitually grim his expression was. His smile lit up the room. She couldn't help but smile back at him.
He held out his hands. “Grab some condoms and get over here.”
A hot glow of anticipation pulsed between her legs “Already?”
“I just want them handy, that's all,” he said. “There’s no rush.”
Raine licked her lips nervously. “How many?” she whispered.
His eyes gleamed with amusement. “You tell me, sweetheart.”
Hah. He would learn what it meant to challenge a pirate queen. She scooped up a double handful of condoms and stalked towards him. She flung the condoms onto the bed and looked down at him with what she hoped was a cool, challenging expression.
“No, Seth. You tell me,” she said softly.
His grin faded and was replaced by a look of total concentration. She drew herself up, resisting the urge to cover her body with her hands, and quietly bore the weight of his scrutiny.
His eyes narrowed, as if he had discovered something unexpected. “You're no butterfly,” he said, almost to himself.
“What?” she asked, puzzled.
“Not a flower, either.”
Raine gazed down at him, trying to interpret his cryptic remarks. “I don't understand,” she said
He shrugged, looking uncomfortable. “You're not as fragile as you look,” he said brusquely. “That's all I meant”
She felt a bright, warm stirring of pleasure. He could not have given her a compliment that would have pleased her more.
“Thank you,” she said awkwardly. “I think.”
“You're welcome,” he replied.
For a long moment, they just stared at each other, smiling. He held out his hand. “Come here.” His eyes were full of hot invitation.
She glanced down at the amazing size of his erection. He intercepted the glance and did not try to misunderstand. “Don't worry,” he said. “I'll make it better for you. I won't hurt you this time.”
She extended her hand. “If it's any better for me, I'll burst into flames on the spot.”
He seized her hand and pulled her until she sprawled across the whole length of him. The hot shock of contact made her gasp with pleasure. She pushed herself up onto her knees, straddling his muscular thighs, and studied the details with greedy eyes and hands.
He was a banquet, a treasure trove, a sensual delight. His golden body was lightly furred by silky dark hair that lay fiat and glossy against his skin. She didn't know what to touch first
He propped himself onto his elbows and watched as her hands skimmed over him. His jaw was taut and vibrating with tension, his penis jutted proudly up against his belly. She trailed her fingers over the curves and hollows of his throat. Even his neck was thick and powerful. She petted the heavy muscles of his shoulders, her hands sliding across curves and contours, dips and bulges, the delicate tracery of vein and tendon. His body was hard and wiry, perfectly proportioned, beyond her most extravagant fantasy of the ideal male body.
She could not get enough of it.
She splayed her hands against the broad expanse of his chest, leaned over and kissed his flat brown nipples, letting her hair pool across his body. He made a low, tortured sound in his throat and started to sit up, but stopped himself, falling down onto his back with a groan. He grasped her waist, almost spanning it with his long fingers which slid over her belly, her ribs, tenderly stroking the underside of her breasts with a deliciously light, tickling touch. She followed his example with her own fingertips, brushing them across his chest, smoothing the dark hair that arrowed down to a point at his navel where his penis lay, stiff and rigid. She hesitated for a long moment and then grasped his shaft with both hands. It was hot and hard, the soft skin sliding beneath her hands, as smooth and velvety as suede.
He gasped, and swiftly covered her hands with his. “Bad idea.”
“Why?” Her position, poised over him, gave her a pleasurable feeling of power, and she loved holding his penis; all that pulsing energy trapped in her two hands was wildly exciting. She gave him a bold, stroking caress, her thighs tightening instinctively around his.
His hands clamped down, immobilizing her. “Because I promised it would be better for you this time, and if you tease me, I'll lose it.”
She smiled at him. “But what if that's what I want? For you to lose it? It sounds exciting.”
Seth pried her hands away from his cock and trapped both her wrists in one big hand. “Too bad,” he said flatly.
She tugged at her hands, but they might as well have been locked in a steel manacle. “Are you always this bossy?”
“Yes “ he said, his face implacable. “Get used to it.”
She yanked ineffectually at her hands. “Give me my hands back,” she pleaded. “You're beautiful. I want to touch you some more.”
“No. I don't trust you.”
His words were light in tone, but something dark and cold suddenly yawned between them. Her teasing smile
