No Ordinary Billionaire Read online

  “Are you threatening me?” she asked defensively.

  “Nope. Those aren’t threats, those are promises. Trust me.”

  Jesus. She’s a stubborn female.

  Nevertheless, there was a part of her that was just so damn vulnerable, and Dante could see it. She could put on a brave face all she wanted to, but he understood the hell she’d been through, and he wanted her to finally live a life free of fear, a life that didn’t make her feel different or odd.

  “I do trust you. I just don’t want to see you get hurt,” Sarah said hesitantly.

  Dante slowly shook his head, unable to understand this woman who cared more about his safety than her own. Did she forget that he was a cop? “I won’t get hurt. This is what I do, Sarah. And I’ve done a hell of a lot more dangerous cases than this one.” But right now, none of them seemed as important as keeping Sarah safe from somebody who wanted her dead.

  I need to protect her. If something happens to her, I’ll never forgive myself and I’ll never get over it. She’s mine to protect now.

  “I want to resolve this. You’re right. I can’t run. I’d be putting other people in danger wherever I go. What can I do?” she asked, her voice resigned and determined now.

  Obviously her rational mind is back. “Just don’t run away. I’m not in any shape to go chasing after you, but I will if I have to.”

  Her face turned into an expression of concern. “Are you hurting?”

  “No. But I will be if I have to come after your beautiful ass,” he told her in a voice of warning.

  “You’re crazy. You know that, right? You hardly know me, yet you’re willing to be my personal bodyguard.” Her voice was bewildered.

  “There’s no body I’d rather be guarding right now than yours, sweetheart.” He kissed her forehead before he stood up again. “I have future plans for it.”

  “I’ve already told you that you don’t want to see me naked,” Sarah reminded him warily.

  “Oh yeah, I do,” Dante contended, his hazel eyes narrowing into a challenging expression.

  “Let’s just get this issue over with and out of the way,” she mumbled irritably.

  Sarah stood up in front of him and stepped back. Dante watched in fascination as she crossed her arms, grabbed the hem of her makeshift nightgown, and lifted his T-shirt off of her body hastily, as though she might change her mind if she didn’t. She wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing underneath the garment. She stood before him completely nude, and his cock was suddenly jerking in appreciation.

  “This is the body you’ll see,” Sarah told him tremulously. “It’s nothing but scars. The knife wasn’t big, but the scars are numerous and not very pretty. I lived through the attack, but I see the reminders in the mirror every day.”

  Dante stood there gaping at her as his eyes ran up and down her body. Sure, she had scars, but that was to be expected after what had happened to her. Otherwise, she was absolutely perfect, from her beautifully formed breasts with pink, generous nipples to her long legs that seemed to stretch forever. He tried not to think about those slender legs wrapped around his waist as he pounded into her until they were both spent, and failed miserably. The blonde thatch of hair between her thighs was as light as the hair on her head, and Dante wanted to bury his face between her legs and feast on her. Touching her had been mind-blowing, but tasting her would be fucking perfect.

  Mine.

  The word radiated through his body until he could barely keep himself from taking what he already knew belonged to him.

  “Put the T-shirt back on.” His voice was coarse and graveled, his need to sweep her off to his bed nearly overpowering. But she’d been through too much today. Right now she needed a different kind of comfort, and he wanted to give her whatever she needed. “Go get some sleep.”

  Holy shit. I need her to cover that beautiful body now, before I do something I might regret. Not that I’ll ever forget exactly what it looks like. It will be branded in my mind forever.

  Fuck! He wanted her so badly he could hardly take a breath, but he didn’t want Sarah like this. He wanted her hot and begging, giving herself to him because she was burning with need. This wasn’t that kind of night, and he didn’t want any regrets later. Painfully, he shoved his carnal instincts down, but he had a hell of a time doing it with her standing naked in his den. Sex isn’t what she needs. Down, boy! What Sarah needed right now was a friend, and he’d be whatever she wanted him to be, even if it was nearly killing him.

  “You can’t say I didn’t warn you about my body,” she mumbled as she pulled the T-shirt back over her head.

  Dante watched in confusion as she turned on her heel and hurried out of the room. He heard the padded sound of her footsteps on the carpet as she raced up the stairs before he really understood exactly what was happening.

  She thinks I didn’t want to look at her body because of her scars?

  “Holy fuck!” Dante whispered fiercely, running a frustrated hand through his short hair. How could she not feel the sexual tension between them? Hell, his need was palpable, and thick enough that it was nearly choking him to death.

  I see the reminders in the mirror every day.

  Thinking back on their little discussion on sexual chemistry, Dante wondered if Sarah really bought into all that crap about the propagation of the species and being attracted to the ideal mate—one who, obviously, she was under the impression was minus any scars or imperfections. In his eyes, all of those hardly noticeable marks were part of her, symbols of the hell she’d been through and survived. For him, the whole package of Sarah was his ideal.

  He shut down his computer and grabbed the pistol from the edge of the desk, checking the locks and setting the alarm system before he headed up to his bedroom. Once there, he set the Glock on the nightstand and shucked off his clothing, leaving it in a heap on the floor.

  I was wrong. Sarah doesn’t need just a friend, although I want to be the one she comes to whenever she needs someone to listen to her. She needs a lover, too, a man who will worship and pleasure her body, and it’s going to be me. She needs to understand that physical desire goes a hell of a lot deeper than science.

  He had to admit that what was happening between him and Sarah was somewhat out of his knowledge base. Truthfully, he’d never needed a woman as badly as he did Sarah. But he was willing to wing it, to listen to his instincts.

  Dante stalked out to the hallway and nudged her bedroom door open with his foot, letting the hallway light flood over her bed. She was there, huddled in the very middle, curled almost into a fetal position. Not certain she’d grab on to him, he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, feeling the pain in his ribs as he grasped her ass to keep her steady, but he ignored it.

  “Dante,” Sarah squealed anxiously. “What are you doing? Put me down. You’re going to hurt yourself, dammit.”

  He walked back to his bedroom with her over his shoulder, stroking her bare ass with his hand, and then smacking it hard. “Stay still. You’re not my damn doctor anymore. You’re a woman I desperately want to fuck. And from this moment on, I’m treating you that way.”

  He bit back a smile as she hushed entirely, her body completely still. He lowered her slowly to the floor once he entered his bedroom, nearly groaning as the T-shirt bunched up around her breasts. Her bare skin slid softly along his naked chest and abdomen as her toes searched for solid ground.

  Tossing her hair back once she found the floor, she looked up at him, and then down. And then down some more, until her eyes landed on his engorged cock, and Dante couldn’t keep from grinning evilly at the expression on her shocked face.

  “You are crazy,” she muttered softly, her eyes never leaving his groin.

  Dante opened the top drawer of the nightstand and snatched his handcuffs and the key. He raised the hem of the T-shirt with his other hand, blocking her vision before yanking the garment over her head and letting it fall to the floor.

  “Sarah Baxter, you’re under arres
t.” He slapped the cuffs on her with her hands in front of her before she even knew what was happening. He made them tight enough so she couldn’t slip her hands out of them, but not tight enough to hurt her wrists. Most of the time, he preferred to be the dominant in the bedroom, and from the quick flash of heat he’d seen in her eyes as he’d been cuffing her, Sarah liked it, too. Problem was, he’d never felt anywhere near this covetous and primal, and his feeling were already way beyond just a game of dominance.

  Her confused eyes flew to his face. “For what?”

  “Fleeing the scene of a crime,” he told her, talking to her like she was one of his felons. He was pissed off, so he let his anger exit his body with his voice. “It was a crime to cover those amazing breasts.”

  “You told me—”

  He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. It was still a crime. And then you fled.”

  Her body was trembling as she asked, “What’s my punishment?”

  She wasn’t afraid; she was shaking with arousal, those needy violet eyes almost begging him not to stop. Dante picked her up and tossed her on the bed. Before she could get anywhere, he was on her. After opening one of the cuffs with the key, he threaded the cuff through one of the bars on the iron headboard, and then calmly reattached the cuff and tossed the key onto the nightstand.

  “Punishment is learning the truth the pleasurable way,” he answered her firmly. “Did you really think I even saw your scars?” he asked huskily.

  She turned her anguished eyes to his face and nodded jerkily.

  Dante’s cock twitched as he knelt between her thighs and lowered his body onto hers, allowing him to finally be skin to skin with her. Seeing her shackled to his bed satisfied a little of his primitive caveman urgency, and now he was just enjoying the moment. He could tell that she was a little confused, but her body was heated and turned on, her nipples so hard he could feel them abrading his chest. “I saw the scars only because it nearly kills me to think of how much some bastard hurt you, and I’d like to kill the son of a bitch. But your body is perfect. I know you didn’t miss the raging hard-on I have whenever I feel you or when I looked at you naked, right?” He brushed back a lock of hair from her face, and then gently ran the back of his hand down her soft cheek.

  “No. I saw it,” she whispered softly. “It was . . . confusing.”

  Dante knew he was now caught in a web of his own making, but he couldn’t seem to make himself give a shit as he was captured by the look of raw need and vulnerability he saw in her eyes. He saw his own desire reflected in her eyes, and giving up any semblance of control, he lowered his head and kissed her.

  CHAPTER 9

  Sarah had never seen anything hotter than Dante, feral and untamed, towering above her while she was completely helpless beneath him. Her body was on fire, and seeing the possessive, desirous look on his face had made her come unraveled.

  Dear God, I want him so badly I can hardly breathe.

  She opened to him willingly, letting him have his way with her mouth as she gripped the bars on the headboard. It was the first time any man had ever wanted her this way, and it was heady and intoxicating to have Dante’s ripped, muscular body holding her captive. He kissed her with a desperation she’d never experienced before, and she felt just as needy. Her tongue dueled with his, coming out on the bottom in their war for domination, which only made her body burn hotter.

  She’d been right when she’d told Dante that she thought she’d like the whole bossy cop thing sexually. It definitely had . . . merit.

  Sarah had been devastated when he’d told her downstairs to cover up, thinking he’d been repulsed by the scars left from the brutal attack in Chicago. But he hadn’t been spurning her; he’d been protecting her from himself. Fortunately, she liked him just fine the way he was—thank you very much! She might be a smart female, but she was, in fact, a female, and he treated her like a desirable woman. Apparently, her brain liked to do its own independent thinking, but her body wanted to be manhandled in the bedroom. And the carnal part of her mind liked his dirty talk and dominant tendencies. Obviously, she had a thing for cops, or at least this particular cop. The more he became a bossy tyrant, the wetter she got for him. No doubt she’d fight him over being a dictator outside the bedroom. But here, she relished it.

  Panting as he lifted his mouth from hers, she begged, “Please don’t hurt yourself. You aren’t ready for this.” Her body wept from the comment, but her brain knew Dante wasn’t yet healed.

  “I’m ready to taste every inch of you, and bury my mouth between your thighs, sweetheart.” He started to run his tongue over her old scars, starting with the one on her shoulder and moving down.

  Her scars were everywhere, the majority of them on her belly and torso. Sarah shuddered as his mouth ran over her abdomen, his tongue leaving a trail of fire wherever it roamed. She whimpered as his hands came up to cup her breasts, his thumbs circling the hard points, making them even more sensitive. His mouth closed over one of the diamond-hard nipples, and her body arched beneath him as she lifted her hips against his muscular chest, needing . . . more.

  She wanted to touch him, and the need swamped her as he nipped at her other breast, the pleasure-pain sensation almost unbearable. She clenched her fists harder around the iron bars above her head, gasping as his mouth slowly trailed down her stomach, his tongue still flicking over every single scar.

  “Please,” she moaned, feeling almost incoherent. The only thing she could recognize anymore was the feel of Dante’s touch.

  “I’m going to make you come with my tongue, Sarah. Is that what you want?” Dante forcefully commanded that she answer.

  Is that what she wanted? She wanted—she actually desperately needed—something. “I haven’t ever—” Her trembling voice broke into a groan as he parted her thighs and she felt the first touch of his mouth on her pussy. “Oh, God.” The feel of his tongue delving between her saturated folds was exquisite. “Yes, yes.” That was what she wanted.

  Her hips lifted, begging for more, needing him to make her climax. The feel of his mouth on her clit sent a jolt of electricity through her entire body, the tiny bundle of nerves reacting to every stroke of his tongue.

  “Dante. Please,” she begged, not caring if she was pleading for mercy. He was in total control of her body, and it was evident that he knew exactly what he was doing: he was trying to drive her completely insane, and succeeding.

  She squirmed, trying to get him to go faster, harder, but he took his time, exploring every inch of her exposed pussy, groaning into her flesh as he tasted her arousal. He thrust his tongue into her channel, pulled back, and then pushed into her again, making Sarah yank on the cuffs above her head, wanting nothing more than to grab on to his head and pull his face flush against her and ride his mouth into oblivion.

  “I can’t take any more. Please.” Then she moaned as she felt his finger invading her channel, impaling her as he moved his tongue back to the tiny bud that desperately wanted his attention. He worked another finger beside the first one, stretching her open, filling her as he bit gently on her clit. Her body writhed on the bed as he worked his fingers like his cock, burying them deeply inside her, stroking a sensitive area that made her moan with every pump of his fingers.

  “So. Fucking. Tight,” Dante rasped against her flesh.

  Finally, he put the pressure she needed on her clit with his tongue, matching the furious rhythm of his fingers, driving her over the edge.

  Sarah felt herself flying to pieces, the spiraling in her belly snaking down to her pussy as she arched her back and climaxed so powerfully that her entire body quaked. Her channel tightened around his fingers, and she let herself go with an erotic cry of ecstasy.

  The orgasm left her spent, panting, and gasping as Dante continued to lap at her juices like they were nectar.

  He crawled slowly up her body until he was close enough to kiss her, and tasting her own essence mixed with Dante’s in his fierce embrace was intoxicating.

&
nbsp; Opening the eyes that she hadn’t even realized she’d closed, she saw the carnal look on his face, but she could tell that he was hurting. Sweat was beading on his forehead, and his breathing was labored. “Open the cuffs,” she requested firmly.

  “I need to fuck you, but I don’t have a damn condom,” he grumbled, sounding frustrated.

  Still trying to catch her breath, Sarah didn’t think this was the time to tell him that she was on the pill to regulate her periods, and she’d seen all of his medical records. They were both clean. And oh, how she wanted to feel him inside her. But he wasn’t ready for that kind of physical activity. “Undo me,” she told him again. “My arms are going numb.” Really, they weren’t. But she knew Dante would let her go immediately if he thought she was uncomfortable.

  She was right. He rolled over and snatched the key from the bedside table and released the cuffs so fast that her arms dropped limply to the bed before she could support them.

  “I’m sorry.” Dante rubbed her arms as though he were trying to return the circulation to her limbs.

  “It’s fine.” She felt a little guilty because she had fibbed to him, but he really needed to stop pushing his body so hard. He’d thrown her over his shoulder like she was a featherweight, which she wasn’t. Everything he’d done today was just too much. And she’d been the recipient of all of the pleasure while he was hurting.

  She watched as he put the cuffs back into the drawer along with the key before he turned back to her and cuddled her against his side, his breathing starting to return to normal. She touched his chest, lightly tracing the bruises still visible there and on his upper abdomen. “You’re hurting.”

  He turned his head and grinned at her, the gold flecks in his eyes almost shimmering. “It was worth every second. It’s not that bad now.”

  Sarah rolled her eyes. “That’s because you’re at rest.” She looked down at his raging erection. “Well, most of you is resting,” she amended. Fascinated by the size and girth of him, she wrapped her hand around his cock, stroking the velvety head with her thumb. The tip was dotted with moisture, and she swiped at it with her finger and lifted it to her mouth, sucking his flavor from her finger with small strokes of her tongue.