Valorous (Quantum Series Book 2) Read online

  “Ah, God,” he says when he comes down on top of me, capturing my lips in a deep kiss.

  He kisses between my breasts, his forehead resting against my chest.

  I comb my fingers through sweat-dampened hair, massaging his scalp, which makes him sigh with what sounds like contentment. I hope it is.

  I’m going to make him happy. No matter what I have to do, I will make him happy. Despite my determination, a niggle of doubt begins to take hold. What if I can’t do it? What if I just can’t be what he needs?

  Chapter 13

  Her panic attack has left me totally undone. I don’t want to be afraid to touch her, but I am. I’m terrified of doing something to bring that fear back to her eyes. If I never see that again, it will be too soon. It’s like navigating a minefield, not knowing what will set off the panic.

  Her fear was loud and scary. Mine was silent but no less terrifying.

  The most pervasive thought in my head is thank God I didn’t give in to the guilt and tell her about the club. That would’ve been a fatal error. She never would’ve married me if she knew about that.

  When my racing heart finally returns to a normal beat, I kiss her and withdraw to go into the bathroom to get a towel to clean her up. Then I use it myself and drop it to the floor before I crawl back into bed with her.

  She curls up to me, her hand on my belly. “Thank you for what you did.”

  “What did I do?”

  “You gave me exactly what I needed when I needed it. Most guys would’ve run screaming for a lawyer after that show I put on.”

  “I’m not most guys, sweetheart, and I will never leave you. Ever.”

  “I wouldn’t blame you if this is too much for you.”

  It pains me that she’s worried about me right now. “I’m going to pretend like you didn’t say that. I knew exactly what I was getting when I said ‘I do’ earlier, and nothing has changed since then except now you can’t get an annulment.”

  I feel her lips curve against my chest. “That’s the last thing I want.”

  “It’s the last thing I want, too.” I hug her in closer to me. “I’ve got everything I want right here.”

  Now if only I could figure out what to do about my fear of triggering another flashback for her. I’d rather die than do anything to cause her pain, and it’s going to be a long time before I forget the terrified look on her face, the screaming, the crying…

  It’s unbearable.

  I finally fall into restless sleep hours later. The next thing I know, we’re in the dungeon in New York, she’s facedown on the spanking bench, her arms and legs propped on the pads, her bottom raised for my pleasure. I’m aware that I’m dreaming and should put a stop to this while I still can, but I can’t bring myself to do that. I want to see how this plays out. I need to know.

  Her ass is red from my paddle, and the largest of my plugs peeks out from between her cheeks. It’s still not as big as I am, as she’s about to find out. We’ve been building up to this moment for weeks now, but something is holding me back.

  I’m afraid to scare her, to push her too far. She’s trembling, her legs shaking violently.

  “Nat.” I run my hands up the backs of her legs to cup her heated cheeks. “We don’t have to do this. You can still say no. Let me hear your safe word if you’re not ready.”

  “I’m not saying no, and I’m not saying my safe word either.”

  “You’re trembling.”

  “I’m excited.”

  “You’re not scared?”

  “Only a little. You said it will hurt.”

  “It will. At first, but if you stay with me, I can make it so good for you. You’ll come so hard, harder than you ever have before.”

  A huge shudder overtakes her. “Do it.” She’s so wet that her inner thighs are glistening.

  I bend to lap up that moisture with my tongue, licking her from front to back where she’s stretched by the plug. She’s as ready as she’ll ever be, and I can’t wait any longer. I have to have her sweet ass. I need to know that every part of her is mine.

  Grasping the base of the plug, I begin to withdraw it, removing it in slow, steady increments that make her whimper from the pressure. Withdrawal is every bit as grueling as insertion was, and I take my own sweet time, drawing out the pleasurable pain until she’s a trembling, vibrating mess of sensation. As the plug pops free, I move quickly to stroke a handful of lube onto my hard cock. I apply more lube to my fingers and press them into her, making sure she’s as ready as she can be.

  I remove my fingers and replace them with my cock, pressing against her insistently.

  She cries out. “It’s too big, Flynn. I can’t.”

  I spank her ass, hard, and gain an inch. She’s so tight and hot that I worry I’ll come before I make it all the way inside her. “Who am I here?”

  “Sir.” She’s sobbing, but she’s not using her safe word.

  “Don’t forget it.” I soothe the place where I spanked, wanting to calm and comfort her now. “Press back against me, sweetheart. You can do it. You can take me.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Yes, you can. I know you can.” I reach around her to stroke her clit, and her entire body seems to clamp down on my cock, making me grit my teeth from the powerful need to come. That’s not happening until she takes all of me.

  I stay where I am, about two inches inside her, giving her time to adjust. “Ready for more?”

  “There’s more?”

  I can’t believe she makes me laugh at a moment like this. “A lot more.” Bending over her, I kiss her back, which is covered in goose bumps. I slide my hands under her, tweaking her nipples, trying to give her something else to think about other than the cock that’s breaching her ass.

  Rolling her nipples between my fingers, I give each of them a hard pinch that makes her scream and allows me to gain another inch.

  “Holy fuck,” she whispers. I’ve never heard her use that word before, and it’s hotter than hell coming from her.

  “Does it still hurt?”

  “It’s… Not like it did. It doesn’t feel good yet, though.”

  “Give it a chance, sweetheart. Try to relax and let yourself go. I promise it’ll be amazing.”

  She grunts, and I’m not sure, but she might be laughing. “Relax… Right. You try to relax when you’ve got a gigantic cock jammed up your ass.” She gasps. “Oh God, it just got bigger.”

  “That’s what you get for talking dirty to me.” I pull back, ever so slightly, drawing a keening moan from her, and then push back, deeper than I was before. She’s now taken more than half of me, grunting and moaning all the way. I repeat the in and out movements several times, adding more lube to ease the entry. “That’s it, sweetheart. Just a little more.”

  She moans—loudly—and then screams when I give her the wide base. Her muscles spasm so hard I have to bite the inside of my cheek to give myself something else to think about other than the desperate need to come. “You did it, sweetheart. You took all of me.”

  Her grunt is her only reply.

  I stay there, buried in her ass for a long, amazing moment, and then I begin to move, fucking her in gentle strokes intended to make this as good for her as it can possibly be. “That’s it, baby. I love you like this. So hot and tight. I’ve never felt anything as good as this. Your ass is on fire.”

  I pick up the pace, moving in and out of her incredibly tight passage until I feel the telltale signs of impending climax as her muscles ripple. No way am I letting go until she does. Reaching around to the front of her, I find her clit standing up hard and tight. I use the flood of wetness between her legs to make my finger slick and then run it in circles over her clit until she’s screaming out her release and clamping down so hard on me that I can’t hold back any longer.

  I come with a roar of hot, liquid pleasure that seems to come from my very soul. It goes on for what feels like an hour.

  Natalie is like a rag doll under me, kept upright onl
y by the pressure of my body against hers.

  I withdraw from her as slowly as I went in. Reaching for a towel, I clean us both and then pick her right up from the bench and cradle her in my arms. Her eyes are closed, her face is flushed and her lips are swollen from the blow job she gave me earlier.

  I kiss her face, her lips, her nose. “Nat.”

  “Hmm.”

  “Open your eyes.”

  “Can’t.”

  “Try.”

  They flutter open to meet mine, and what I see there amazes me—she’s absolutely glowing.

  “Talk to me. Tell me how you feel.”

  “I feel… I… You were right. Once it stopped hurting, it was incredible. When can we do it again?”

  “Natalie…” I’m stunned and humbled by her acceptance of me and the needs that drive me. “Baby, I love you.”

  “Mmm, love you, too. Now when can we do it again?”

  Laughing, I kiss her sweet lips. “Talk to me about that tomorrow when you know what the day after is like.”

  She draws me into another kiss and bites my lip. The sharp stab of pain wakes me from the dream to discover it’s happened again. I’ve dreamed my way to orgasm while Natalie sleeps next to me, unsuspecting.

  The dream comes back to me in increments, torturing me with scenes of things I can only dream about. I feel betrayed by my own subconscious mind. It’s punishing me for my deception by showing me things I’ll never have with the woman I love more than life itself.

  Natalie turns toward me, her hand landing on my chest, above the mess I’ve made on my belly.

  I lift her hand and get out of bed, leaving her to sleep while I go into the bathroom to clean up.

  I’m disgusted with myself and afraid, deeply afraid that I may not be able to live without the things I’ve given up for her.

  I wake to daylight and my ringing cellphone. Addie’s ring tone. Natalie is curled up to me, sleeping soundly. Moving carefully, I get up without disturbing her and take the phone to the other room to answer.

  “Hey.” My voice is scratchy and my head is pounding from the goddamned champagne, the lack of sleep and yet another disturbingly erotic dream starring the woman who is now my wife. “What’s up?”

  “You know I’d never, ever bother you this morning unless I really had to.”

  “Yeah, I know, which is why you’re making me nervous.”

  “The whole world is going mad over you getting married. It’s the lead story everywhere.”

  “Everywhere meaning…”

  “The whole fucking world, Flynn. The paparazzi have descended upon Vegas. They have every street in the city covered. I’ve been in touch with the security firm this morning, and they’re worried about getting you guys out of there today.”

  I can’t help it. I start to laugh.

  “Are you laughing? What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “It’s just so ridiculous, Addie. So I got married. Why does anyone care?”

  “Umm, is that a rhetorical question?”

  “It is in the sense that I don’t expect you to answer it.”

  “Well, that’s a relief. It’s your own fault for saying you’d never get married again and then marrying someone you met a few weeks ago.”

  “You have to admit it’s a cool story.”

  “Precisely why the whole world is interested, especially in light of everything that’s come out about her in the last week.”

  “I have an idea of how we can get out of here. Let me make a couple of calls, and I’ll get back to you.”

  “I’ll be here.”

  I place a call to Gordon Yates, the owner of the security firm we work with for all of Quantum’s needs in LA. He answers my call on the first ring.

  “There’s the man of the hour.”

  “So I hear.”

  “I understand congratulations are in order.”

  “Thanks, Gordon.”

  “We’re trying to figure out the best way to get you out of there. I’ve been in touch with security at the hotel, and we’re working on a few ideas.”

  “What about a chopper from the roof?”

  “That’s on our short list.”

  “Let’s do that. I’d like to get Natalie out of here and back to LA with minimal fuss and no screaming paps.”

  “Give me two hours to set it up.”

  “Take three. I got married last night. I want to wake my new wife properly.”

  Gordon laughs. “You got it. I’ll call you in three hours with the details.”

  “Thanks, Gord.”

  I call Addie back to tell her the plan and ask her to have my Ducati taken to the LA airport along with two helmets.

  “I’m on it.”

  “Thanks, Addie. One of these days, you’ll get a day off. I promise.”

  “I’m not holding my breath, but that’s okay. I happen to love my job.”

  “Thanks again for everything these last couple of weeks. We both appreciate it so much.”

  “The picture from last night was awesome. I hope you guys had the best day ever.”

  “It was a good one. Talk to you when we get back to LA.”

  “Sounds good.”

  I leave my phone on a table in the main room and return to the bedroom, where Natalie is still asleep. I use the bathroom and brush my teeth before getting back into bed with her. She murmurs in her sleep and snuggles up to me, her arm wrapping around me like she’s been sleeping with me for years rather than days.

  It’s so natural between us, the attraction, the banter, the desire. It’s all there. Her body is warm and soft against mine, and my reaction to her is swift and predictable. If she’s in the same ZIP code as me, I want her. When she’s naked in bed with me, I’m helpless.

  I lay there holding her for a while before she stirs, looking up at me with those big eyes. “Why are you awake so early?”

  “Already dealing with logistics to get out of here. Apparently, we’re the story of the day around the world.”

  “Yay,” she says with a nervous laugh.

  “How do you feel about becoming famous practically overnight?”

  “About the same as I feel about becoming married practically overnight. It’s all good.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “So what happens the morning after one marries the most famous actor in the world?”

  “You have a number of choices as the wife of the most famous actor in the world. A, you can order anything you want for breakfast. B, you can make love to your famous actor husband, and C, you can do all of the above.”

  “C,” she says with a warm, sexy smile. “All of the above.”

  After Flynn outlines our escape plan, I’m curious and nervous about my first ride in a helicopter. It’ll be another first in a long line of them since I met him. I’m worried about Fluff panicking about the helicopter, so Flynn has a tight hold on her leash as we are escorted to the roof by hotel security.

  The helicopter is huge, and apparently it will be taking us all the way to Los Angeles because both airports are under siege with reporters hoping to catch sight of us today. We’re loaded into the helicopter, and Flynn straps me in, handing over custody of Fluff, who’s put out by the whole thing.

  Then the engines fire up and she goes ballistic, barking and snarling. Once again she makes us laugh when we need it most.

  I gather her into my arms and stroke her, hoping to settle her. “We used to live such a quiet boring life, Fluff-o-Nutter.” We’re sitting very close to Flynn so we can hear each other over the roar of the engine.

  “I think she preferred that life to the one you’re leading now.”

  “She’ll adapt. She has before.”

  “How did you get her after everything happened?”

  “The detective who was nice to me? He went to my house and got her for me.”

  “They just handed her over?”

  “He never said, and I didn’t ask. I didn’t care how it went down. All I cared about was ha
ving her with me. She was always my dog. She was literally the only thing I took with me from my old life into my new life. The clothes I was wearing when I left Stone’s house and the items in my backpack were considered evidence.”

  He shakes his head in disbelief. “I hope I never cross paths with your parents. I won’t be held responsible for my actions.”

  “We won’t see them. For years, I half-expected them to show up out of the blue to say it had all been a huge mistake. After about two years, I stopped waiting for that to happen.”

  “People are funny when it comes to money. Now that you have a lot of it, they may become interested in you again.”

  “Wouldn’t that be something?”

  “Don’t spend one minute worrying about that. They won’t get anywhere near you. Not as long as I’ve got a breath left in me.”

  I drop my head to his shoulder. “What you must think… growing up with a family like yours to hear about one like mine.”

  “It makes me feel even more exceptionally lucky than I already felt to have been born to Max and Estelle. Until I met you, the greatest stroke of luck in my life was having them as my parents.” He cups my cheek and runs his thumb over my face. “I don’t want you to spend one second worrying about me thinking less of you because of who you come from. I think the world of you. You have to know that.”

  “I do, but thank you for reminding me.”

  “Any time you need a reminder, you let me know.”

  “I keep thinking about my sisters and what we said at the end of the interview. Do you think they’ll try to get in touch with me? What if they don’t even see it or if they haven’t heard the news about me?”

  “They’ve heard, and they’ll see it, and they’ll call. Of course they will.”

  “I can’t get my hopes up.”

  “If you don’t hear from them, I’ll put someone on finding them.”

  “You will? Really?”

  “Yes, I will. What happened between you and your parents had nothing to do with them. We’ll find them and we’ll set the record straight with them. You want your sisters in your life, you’ll have your sisters in your life. Damn it.”